The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1908-07-23

Dover. Del Especially The vii
lagos Of Marydel and Templeville
about 10 miles from here and just
over the Maryland line in Caroline
and Queen Anne Counties, were
greatly excited when it was learned
that the body of William Williams
aged Ga years, a prominent farmer
of that community, had been found
propped against the trunk of tree
with a rope around the neck alG
with an ugly scar on the top of the
head. 1t was supposed at first thai
Williams had been lynched, because
in his pocket was found a license C
marry Elizabeth Walls, the 13-year
old daughter of one of his tenants
The prevalent belief now is that WI
liams was murdered by some of his
relatives, who had been bitterly op-
posed to his marrying the young girl
The facts brought out at the inquest
held at Templeville do not point &c
any particular individual.
Shortly before noon Mr.. John Rus
sum. a farmer, living at Barclay
about eight miles from Marydel, went
into the thicket near his house tc
gather some black berries, and It was
at this time that lie discovered the
body. He had penetrated the thicket
but a short distance before he ran
against the corpse, which was prop.
ped against a tree with a small rope
around the neck The presence o
this rope on the body is what gives
the case an air of mystery and makes
Is a debatable question whether the
man was lynched for attempting to
marry the child Elizabeth Walls, or
was murdered. In the minds of
many this question will never be set
tied.
When Russum found the body the
feet were on the ground and the
body was in an upright position. with
one arm around q lower limb. The
idea of lynching on the part OF
the friends of the girl is hooted at,
because the body when found was
neither drawn up nor was the neck
broken. When Russum found the
body he did not wait to make an
investigation. but ran out to the road
to get assistance. and he met DR.. j
r. Smith. OF Templcyille. Or. Smith
went into the thicket and assisted in
cutting the body down Relatives of
the farmer were notified, and his son.
Thomas Williams. took charge of the
body
DR.. Smith performed an autopsy,
and found that Williams had been
struck over the head with some
heavy implement. presumably a
board 1t was the discovery of this
wound by DR.. Smith that dispelled
the idea in the minds of some that
Williams had been lynched. When
DR.. Smith and Russum cut the body
down they searched the pockets of
the clothes and found the license for
Williams TO marry the Walls girl
On the discovery of the license il
was at once assumed that Williams
had not killed himself. The girl has
just past into her teens and is not
particularly well developed for her
age. The fact that he had any in
tention of marrying the girl was q
surprise. The first conclusion was
that the members OF the girls fam
lily had gotten wind OF the affair and
had lynched him for his presumption.
This theory was accepted until Dr.
Smith found the wound on the head.
Then the fact came to light thai
the members of Williams family had
been bitterly opposed to the match
luSy udN ldNtH lHc BlOuHus IL is uD-
derstood, that relative of the girls
was pushing the match in order To
get a hold on Williams and eyent-
ually get some OF the latter's money
The old man and the girl did not
move in the same social circles
From the facts he cleaned DR.
Smith deemed il his duty to notify
Mr.. George Whitley and Mr. Thomas
C.. Heating, respectively the sheriff
and states attorney OF Queen Anne
County. They hurried to the scene
and Coroner 5. C. Faulkner held an
inquest, the jury finding that Will
iams came to his death by being
struck on tho head with some blunt
instrument In the hands OF person
or persons unknown to the jury.