The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-12-16
THE SNYDER CASE !
THE JURY RENDERS VERDICT
OF GUILTY

where Edith and Vanie Snyder (the latter
since married 10 Howard Eerger) lived on
the 18th of last July and carried on a mill
lInery store. On that night their house
was discovered To be on fire by III. NJ. Neff
a near neighbor, who raised the alarm, and
the fire was extingulShed by the people who
gathered there. A few days after an in
formation was made by w. j. Horner
charging Edith aad Vanie Snyder with
arson. They We're arrested and brought TO
EbenSburg where they gave bail for their
appearance for trial. At September term
the case was continued until this term.
On Wednesday of last week the case came
before the grand jury who returned Il true
bill and the case was set down for trial on
Tuesday of this week. The defendants
are represented by y. 7. Mervine, Esq, of
Altoona, and NJ. ID. Kittel of this place
while the commonwealth is represented by
Hon. John Eenlon, +. a. Shoemaker and
District Attorney O'COnnOr.
When the case was called Mr.. Meryine
challenged the array of jurors for various
reasons but Judge Barker after hear
ing the arguments sustained the panel. .
The following named jurors We're sworn
To try the case: George McLucaS, farmer
Dean townships; Thomas ). Scibert, team
Ster, JOhnStOwn; John MichaelS, farmer,
Summerhill township; John Cullom, labor
er JohnStown; Henry X. Shatfer. farmer.
Conemaugh township; Jacob HoSketh,
miner GallitZin borough; Conrad kunkle
laborer, Rchland township; j. c. Murphy.
contractor, South Fork; Edward Dunegan,
Jr., clerk, Clearfield township; James
Reynolds, clerk, South Fork: Thomas h.
Delany, laborer, JohnStown; Alexander
Marlett, farmer Dean township.
IL. NJ. Neff was the first witness called
and told substantially the following story:
| live in Hastings and was living there on
the 18th of July last: live about thirty
two feet from the house occupied by the
defendants; they were occupying the build
aS a millinery store and dwelling house on
the 18th of July last: il was wooden
building, two stories high; the front room
on the first floor was occupied as milli-
merry and the back room as u kitchen: there
were only two rooms on the lower floor;
the upper floor was divided into five rooms
paror and four bedrooms: there was
also hallway upstairs on the side next
my building: | saw the defend ants in my
place that evening between ; and 9 o'clock;
covered to be on fire; my wife was lying in
bed sick; she called me and said l should
get up, tina. the building was on fire; got
up, saw the fire flashing from the window,
and supposed the girls were burning up.
l ran over and entered the front door and
ran back through the building to the stair
way, crying fire aS | went, a. | went up
stairs | heard the girls and opened the
| door of the room they We're in and told
| them to hurry out, aS the building was on
| fire: they went down stains and | followed
down and they went out on the street and
| went and reused Mr.. Miller and came
back and the door was locked and the
| girls were in front OF the door and they re-
| fused To let anyone enter; they said the
| building was insured, let it burn: told
them we couldn't do that or the rest vi the
town would burn down; they said. Let
| il burn and save the other buildings |
| told them them that was impossible, but
| they still refused admission.
| | then went around 10 the rear door and
| tried TO get in. but the door was 80 well
secured | could not do so, and came back
| TO the front door and there was quite a
| crowd there demanding admission; kicked
| the door open and went in, followed by
| part of the crowd: | went 10 the kitchen
| and undertook TO draw water; l drew one
| buckettul and went up stairs. and when |
| came down again the hose had got there
! and | didn't gou up any more; when went
up stairs Smelt the fumes OF burning oil
and saw three fires, one in the hallway,
| one in the front room, and one in the next
room TO it: the one in the hall was in the
corner next TO the wall; the Others We're
where the registers had been taken out in
| the front room and the room next to il;
then | went downstairs, and by that time
| the fire was out, and l went home.
Philip Miller was placed on guard during
| the night to keep everybod out Of the
! building and next morning we made an
| examination: we found that the floor and
| one partition were burned up to the attic;
| found the floor of the parlor saturated
| with oil, also the hallway and two or three
| bedrooms: the bedding in the first bed
| room was completely saturated with Goa
| oil: in the bedroom next the rear one was
| a pile of ladies' clothes lying between a
trunk and a bed saturated with oil, and
| the wood work in the hall in the floor was
also saturated with oil; there was kindling
| chopped up and placed in the holes where
| the register had been taken out; part of il
was the drop-leaf of an old cherry table
| CThe witness here produced charred por-
| tions of the table referred to- | found one
of these pieces in one of the register holes
| one in the corner of the hallway, and one
| in she cellar; the other pieces were piled
| up in the hallway and in the register holes;
we found kindling piled in four places.
Others were called TO prove thai
|
| going into the house. that one of them had
knocked lighted lamp out of T.. +. Sti-
mans hand, and that the girls had bought
an unusual quantity Of oil a few days be-
fore the fire.
For the defense Miss Edith Snyder, on,
| of the defendants, took the stand and ties.
titled that she helped her sister in con.
ducting the millinery business AT Hastings
On Friday before the fire she took a can o
coal oil To her room To clean the bed. Sh,
tripped on the bed clothes, which had beer
thrown on the floor, and the can flew from
her hand. Oil was splattered over the car
pet and into the hall. To dry the carpe
more quickly she got pieces of an old cher
ry table from the cellar and raised the ear
pet from the fiOOs. After that she puShe,
the bits of wood into the regiser so as no
10 be obliged 10 carry them back To tn,
cellar.
Explaining the oil can found in the stor
age room, she said she was called to tn
store before finishing cleaning and shove
IL under the bed. On the Sunday of tn
fire the sisters retired at 10 o'clock, an
were awakened by 1lr. Neff. The hrS
! Miss Edith knew was when he broke int
the room. CRYING fire Both ran dow
the steps. She first saw Stinans, TIA
cripple, when he dragged her sister out
~ This man swore il was Edith he had hol
of. As TO what she told the crowd tina
wanted to 90 into the house Miss Edit