Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-08-11
.A MURDER FULLY AVENGED.
Two Men and Three Women Strung
Up by an Arkansas Mob.

WIFE WAS SUSPECTED OF COM
PLICITY IN THE CRIME AND COM
MITTED SUICIDE IN a CELL.
Little Rock, ARR, August 1O.-Five
persons, three men and two women,
were lynched at Clarendon early this
morning, and the widow of John T.
Or is dead in a call in the county jail
This is the tragic denouement of the
assassination of John T. Orr, a wealthy
merchant of Clarendon a few nights
ago. The wife died of a dose of poison
self-administered, while the negroes,
her associates in crime, were strung
! up by mob of citizens
The report Of the lynching was re-
ceived here early this morning after
Geographic communication had sus-
pended for the night and the only au-
thentic details OF the affair came from
| a railroad telegraph operator at Clar-
endOn, who saw the lynching. Four
bodies, Two women and two men, are
hanging from the limb of tree not
far from his office and few PAGES
away bangles the body of another
negro woman, the former cook in the
Orr household
All the victims of the mob's wrath
are negroes. They were the parties &C
cused of the murder of Mr. John T.
Orr, the wealthy merchant, who was
assassinated few nights ago. Their
names are: VIII Sanders, Dennis Ri
cord, Manse Castle, Rilla Weaver and
Susie Jacobs.
While the five bodies swung in the
breeze, the body of the widow of the
murdered man
LAY RIGID IN DEATH
in her cell in the county Jail, while
only the soft voice of her three-year-
old child broke the midnight silence Of
the gloomy Jail, as the innocent little
tot vainly cried for mamma.
Somewhere a young woman, once
prominent in Clarendon society, is a
fugitive from justice, hunted by the
officers of the law, charged with MUIR
der. Her name is Miss Rachael Morris
and she is the only survivor Of the
coterle OF seven named in the coroner's
verdict as being responsible for the
tragic death of John T. Orr
Mrs. Orr died by her own hand. At
ter completely breaking down and
| making partial confession, she OBJ
tained in some manner a quantity of
poison and tock the dose at 2 o'clock
yesterday afternoon. She never re-
gained consciousness.
Clarendon has been the scene of
great excitement ever since Orr was
| assassinated. Mr.. Orr was prominent
young hardware dealer of that city.
Last Friday night while making a.
glass of lemonade in his home an as
sassln crept up to his window and
fired a shot into his body from the eff
feet of which he died the following
day. There was apparently absolutely
no clue to the assassin. Mr.. Orr had
just returned from choir practice at
church of whose choir he was a mem
Der, while his wife was the organist
Bloodhounds We're put on the trail hut
they were unable to run down the as
sassin.
AFTER AN INQUEST
extending over two days a verdict was
returned charging Mrs. Orr. the MIR
dered mans wife, with being the in
| stigator OF the crime. Miss Rachael
Manse Castle, viii Sanders. Dennis
Ricord, Rilla Weaver and Susie JAG
obs, the latter five colored were
| charged with completely in the crime
| Castle was arrested Sunday and barely
| escaped lynching Sunday night. The
mob had already gathered to swing
him up and would undoubtedly have
carried out their plan but for the earn
est appeal in behalf of law and order
made by Judge Thomas, who ap-
peared on the scene just in time TO
prevent the lynching He addressed
the crowd, beseeching them to let the
law take its course. and promised that
the accused should have speedy
trial
Castle was accused of firing the shot
that killed Orr, but he denied his
guilt. According to his story, one of
the negro women involved in the case
had told him that Mrs. Orr wanted her
husband killed and would pay 5000 TO
have the deed done. Castle agreed to
the proposition but later weakened.
and turned the job over to Ricord.
Ricord likewise denied his guilt and ac-
cused Castle. The negro women in the
case had been employed as cook and
servant in the Orr household, and it
was shown at the inquest that they
had simply acted as agents of Mrs.
Orr in securing man to do the muir
dering. What connection Miss Morris
had with the case is not clear from
the information at hand.
AFTER THE ARREST
of Mrs. Orr and the five negroes, Mrs.
Orr made confession. She admitted
that she had said to her cook that she
wished her husband was dead and that
she would be willing to give $500 10
anybody to kill him. But she said that
this was uttered while in a fit of an
ger, and that she was innocent Of any
criminal intentions Her husband
abused her. she said, and once struck
her, and she being of high temper
herself, sometimes said things in an
ger that she did not mean.
John Orr was several years ago a
theatrical man, and in 1890 was man
ager Of a theater in small Wisconsin
town. There he met and married his
wife. The marriage was clandestine.
and the brides parents were bitterly
opposed to il. They lived happily but
short time. Both were hot tenn
pered and quarrTels were frequent A
few years ago the Orrs settled In Char
endon. where the husband engaged in
h..rsroes He 1roenarad and uoz CON