Smyrna times., 1897-11-24
JOLLY JOE DISBERRY
CAREER OF A THIEF OF REVOLU-
TlONARY TIMES.
Nothing Gould Cure Him of His Pilfering
Propensity - All His Property Confs-
Gated, His Ears Cut Of and Imprison-
ment For FL Years Imposed Upon Him.

Nothing Gould Cure Him of His F'ilferinR,
Propensity - All His Property Confis-
Gated, His Ears Cut OF and Imprison-
ment For FL Years Imposed Upon Him.
About the close of the Revolutionary
war a notorious character named Joe
Dlsberry lived about Selinsgrove and
Sunbury, on the Susquehanna. Whence
he came is unknown, but he is supposed
to have been Of Connecticut origin. He
Is reputed to have been possessed of
great physical strength and powers of
endurance, could excel in running and
Jumping, and i'll thieving and living had
no equal along the river. He was of q
humorous disposition also and fre-
quently lndulged in amusing pranks
while engaged i'll plying his avocation.
1t is related of him that on more than
one occasion he was known slvlv to en-
ter the kitchen Of a family when all
were i'll bed, start up the fire and cook
himself meal and leisurely eat it. If
discovered, he relied ON his swiftness of
foot to escape. Finally his thefts be-
came so numerous that the whole neigh
Dorhood arose against him, and he was
arrested and confined in the rude iail at
Sunbury, but as it was not very secure
he escaped, and Sheriff Antes offered n
reward for his apprehension. Joe took
refuge on the isle of Que and concealed
himself IN dense thicl1et. He might
have eluded pursuit but for his inordi-
nate love for perpetrating jokes. While
lying in his place of concealment near
the road which crossed the island Joe
heard the footsteps of horse and. slylv
peeplng from his covert, discovered the
sherltf's S wife approaching ON horseback
on her way to Selinsgrove. Quickly
stepping into the road he pulled off his
hat made polite bow and as quickly
disappeared in the bushes. The aston
lshed lady, who knew him, hurried Oh
to Sellnsgrove and gave the alarm.
A party headed by George Kremer,
afterward a member of congress. was
hurrledly made up and went in pursuit
OF the refugee. He was captured and re-
turned to the custody Of Sheriff Antes
at the Jail i'll Sunbury. He was tried
and convicted, and his sentence is one
OF the strangest found i'll the annals of
criminal history in Pennsylvania. The
quarter sessions docket, still preserved
among the court records at Sunburv
(tor September term, 1784), shows that
ne was convicted Of felony, and the fol-
lowing sentence was imposed:
Judgment - that the said Joseph
Dlsberry receive 80 lashes between the
hours Of s and o'clock tomorrow; to
stand in the pillory one hour; to have
his ears cut off and nailed to the post:
to return the property stolen or the
value thereof; remain in prison three
months; pay fine of $50 to the honor
able the president of this state for the
support Of the government and stand
convicted until fine, fees, etc, are
paid. -
This remarkable sentence shows the
estimate that was put on Joe as a Grim
InaL The whipping post and pillory
stood III the public square i'll Sunbury,
and the spot can still be pointed out.
Colonel Henry Antes, the sheriff. di-
rected the whipping if he did not do it
himself. There is no record to show
who did the ear cropping, but as the
surgical operation fell to the sheriff it
is presumed that he did. Among the u
men who composed the jury were sew
eral noted Indian fighters and Revolu-
tionary soldiers. Peter Hosterman, fore
man, was active as a militiaman and
had command at one time Of a company
to repel Indian attacks. Adam and Mi
chael Grove were famous as Indian
scouts and were engaged in several
bloody encounters with the savages.
This severe sentence did not cure Joe of
his thlevlng prOpensities, for the quar-
ter sessions docket for August term,
1898, shows that he was arraigned and
tried on three indictments for robbing
the houses Of Philip Bower, Peter Jones
and Isaiah Willitts and convicted on
each. The Hon. Jacob Rush, president
judge Of the judicial district, was on
the bench and imposed the following
sentence:
That the prisoner, Joseph Disberry,
forfeit all and singular his goods and
chattels, land and tenements, to and
for the use of the commonwealth, and !
undergo a servitude Of seven years for
the burglary committed in the house of |
Philip Bower, and be committed to the |
house of correction, pay the costs of |
prosecution, etc. " The court then SEN
fenced him on the two other indictments. |
seven years each, and continued: ''That |
the defendant be conveyed to the Jail |
and penitentiary house Of PHILADELPHIA |
to undergo the servitude aforesaid for
the term of 81 years And that the said
Joseph Disberry be kept for the space
OF two years i'll the solitary cell out of
the term of 81 years.
When the sentence was being de- /
Ivered, Joe was an attentive listener,
and when the last "seven" was pro-
nounced he broke in with the remark,
why, judge, three times seven are
21W which caused the audience to |
smile. Joe was brought to this city and |
served his long sentence, which expired |
in 1919. He returned to his old haunts /
about Sunbury and Selinsgrove an old
man, but as merry as ever. His long
and frequent punishment failed to make
an honest man of him, and he continued
to pilfer wherever an opportunity offer
ed The date of his death is unknown,
but it is said that he went one night to
a mill in Union county to steal flour,
and, falling through hatchway, sus-
tanned injuries which finally killed him.
philadelphia Times