Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-07-12
JAMES GRIFFIN THE VICTIM
BODY FOUND IN RIVER AT YER.
NON JUNE 20 POSITIVELY
IDENTIFIED.


The body found in the Connecticut
river in Vernon Saturday, June 30, has
been identified as that of James ].
Griffin, about so, for a score of years
or more an employee in concreting side
walks and other street work in Brat
tleboro. He has been known famil-
iarly as BOSS Tweed" Griffin. He
lived alone in a little house on Yer
non street.
The description of the body publish
ed Friday, showing that the victim of
the drowning had a thumb amputated
at the first joint and that the upper
Jaw contained only two back teeth
led to a suspicion among some of Crit
fms neighbors on Vernon street that
he might be the man, as he had not
been seen around his house in several
days, and these peculiar marks fitted
the description of him. Notification
sent to his sitter, Mrs. Nora Touhill of
Springfield, Mass, showed that he had
not been to see her, and Mrs. Touhill,
thoroughly alarmed by the reports re-
ceived, came here Saturday.
The body was found Saturday, June
20. about 2 o'clock in the afternoon,
near Cooper's Point in Vernon by Will
liam Love and Everett Stockwell, two
young men who were in swimming
near E. T. Stockwell's. In diving
into 10 or IL feet of water Love touch
ed the body or the snag against which
it rested, causing the body to come to
the surface. The Hinsdale authori-
ties were notified, but they did not
deem an inquest necessary, and the
body was turned over to Undertaken
Wetherbee and it was buried Sunday
in the old cemetery in Hinsdale. The
drowned man had worn winter cloth
ing, heavy underwear, striped shirt,
tan socks and Congress shoes consid-
erably worn. The pockets contained
no money, but a meerschaum pipe,
handkerchief, door key and fine cut
tobacco were found.
An investigation was started Sun
day, when Grifin's guardian, S. w.
Edgett the sister, Mrs. Touhill, and
Mrs. Nora Duggan, John Baker and
John Moynihan went to Hinsdale.
They found that the body could not be
exhumed without a permit from the
state health authorities in Concord,
and they returned without gaining
much additional information.
On Wednesday the body was taken
I'D. the party going from Brattleboro
to view it, including DR.. Conland, DR..
Aldrich, Mrs. Touhill, Mrs. Duggan,
Mrs. Thomas Rouse, John Baker, John
Moynihan, and Robert H. Baker. The
body was not so badly decomposed
as might be expected, but so badly
bloated and blackened as to be I'M
recognizable. The undertaken had
reported finding slight wound on the
forehead, but this was only an aora-
sion, which might have been made by
striking against a stone, log or other
substance in the water. There was
nothing about the body to in
dictate the manner of death. A
measurement showed the height to be
exactly that of Griffin's, feet 5k
inches. The amputated thumb and
the Jaw with two teeth were the most
striking marks in the Identified
ton. The key in the pocket,
which had been secured Sunday, had
already been used in opening Griff1n's
house, fitting the lock perfectly The
shirt on the body, a Metropolitan
make, was exactly like one found in
Grifin's house. He had bought such
shirts of Young & Knowlton. The
trousers matched a coat which had
been brought from the house on Yer
non street. Griffin always wore con-
gress shoes, and it was known that
he had on his heavy underclothing
when last seen. Safety pins were
used in fastening the suspenders, and
the clothes in Griffin's house had SINH
lar fastenings. One strap on a shoe
was broken, and such a strap was
found at the house. Robert H. Baker,
who had cut Griffin's hair repeatedly,
thought he could recognize the head by
the scars, but the bloated condition
and the matted hair made identified
ton by these marks impossible.
All the evidence, both with reference
to the body and the clothing, tended
to show that the body was that OF
Griffin's. The sister and the other
relatives were satisfied that the iden-
tifcation had been established beyond
reasonable doubt. The body was turn
ed over to the relatives and brought to
Brattleboro for burial.
Grifin's death was probably caused
by accidental drowning, but there are
several strange circumstances con-
nected with the case that will probably
always remain a mystery. Griffin was
last seen Tuesday, June 25. One OF
his cronies admits being with him In
the forenoon and another says that he
left Griffin at the railroad crossing
that night, saying good night as Grit
fin started down the track toward his
home. Both of the cronies claim that
Griffin had not been drinking. Grimm
was addicted to drink, and often got
in a condition where he found naviga-
ton difficult. The natural supposi-
ton would be that he fell into the
river while intoxicated. But he was
not seen outside of Brattleboro so far
as known and it is unaccountable that
the body should be found seven miles
below Brattleboro sunk in 10 or IL
feet of water. If he had fallen into
the river at the toll bridge or near
Brattleboro the body would naturally
have gone to the bottom within short
distance. If it rose after decomposi-
ton set in it would not sink again.
The conditions tend to show that the
body sank in the water near where 1t
was found But it is difficult to ex-
plain how Griffin could have got to
Vernon without leaving trace OF his
course there. One theory is that he
may have gotten into the river, seized
a log and fioated long distance hang
Ing to the log before he became ex-
hausted and sank. The rivermen who
cleaned up the log drive passed