Year: 1861

Remarkable and Extraordinary Ndrratireof tie Re-
cirifcdtioa OF young Joseph TdylOr, arh0 acds sup
posed 70 hare been Hanged TO Death, liH oDoI'any
9rfLA that notorious highscayRdn, pickpoc4tt and
house6reaker, Archi5aLd TdyOr) on Boston Ntck, on
Thursday, tie sth Of Nay, 17ss, for a Tiolent As
he person and Irooerfy of Kr. AdttanieS Canning-
ham, butcher, in October, 17S7.


In letter from said Joseph Taylor to his kind
friend and cOuntryman, Mr.. Phem Dolance, in
Boston.


EGG HARsoR, Mouth of the Delaware,


May II, 1883.


Ny DEAR FRIEND-You will, no doubt, be !
greatly astonished at receiving letter from one
whom you so lately saw, to all appearance, num- |
bered with the dead, with all the ignominy of a
public and shameful execution. But though |
strange G may appear, it is no less strange
than true, that, blessed be God for his infinite
goodness, am now among the living to praise
him. 1t was my fervent desire that you should
have been made acquainted with the steps which
were taken to recover me to life Immediately
after my being hanged. But the doctor who
managed the affair would not admit of more than
five persons in the secret, as he feared discov
cry and said a crowd around me would be fatal,
and prevent tie air getting into my lungs, and
O'Donnell and Tector had been told of it before
/ saw you, and they, with the doctor, his young
man, and person he brought with him, made
the FIVE. | therefore take this early opportunity
to let you know of my being alive and in health,
blessed be God, / hope that these lines will
find you, as also the circumstances which attended
my execution and recovery to life; also my
present frame of mind and resolution, through
the grace of God, to sin no more, but endeavor
after new obedience.


You remember that YOU, among other friends,
had great hopes of my being pardoned on ac-
count of my youii but when their honors sat- /
soon found / must be made an example of, as
they were determined never to pardon highway
men. / then began to prepare for death, but
must needs say, though had many affecting COP
ferences with the reverend parsons who visited
me in Jail, / never, even after my condemnation,
realized that / was suddenly to die in so awful
manner, until a gentleman, who l afterwards
found>was doctor, came and talked privately
with the late unhappy sufferer, and my fellow
convict, Archibald Taylor. who, when the gen.
teman was gone, came to me with money in his
hand and so smiling countenanee that | thought
he had received it in charity But he soon
deceived me, telling me with an air of gaiety,
that it was the price of his body and then added
a shocking speech, which / sincerely hope is
blotted out of the book of Gods remembrance
against his poor soul.


This was the first time since my condemnation
that / thought what it was to die. The shock
was terrible and Taylor increased it, saying that
the doctor had desired him to bargain with me



not being permitted to remain in the grave in
peace, and my body, which my poor mother had
so often caressed and dandled on her knee, and
which had been so pampered by my friends in my
better DAYS, being sashed and mangled bY the
doctors, was too much for me. had been 6eaf to
the pious exhortatons of the priests, but now my
conscience was awakened, and hell seemed indeed
to yawn for me.


What a night of horror was the next night!
When the doctor came in the morning to bargain
for my body, | was in cold sweat; my knees
smote together, and my tongue seemed to cleave
to the roof of my mouth. He perceived the
agony of my soul, and asked me some questions
of the state of my mind. found utterance, and
poured out my heart to him. He seemed affected
at my distress, especially as my conduct was so
different from that of A. Taylor's; and after
pausng, he left me without mentioning the sale
of my body, and said he would call again the
next day. He came and asked me privately
whether | had two or three friends could de-
pend upon to assist in anything for my benefit.
He communicated his design of attempting to re-
cover me to life if my body could be carried, i'm
mediately after was cut down, to some conve
nient place, out of the reach of the people, as
surfing by all that was sacred, that if he failed
in his attempt he would give my body christian
burial. | closed with it without hesitation. The
doctor then left me, and soon after Tector and
O'Donnell came to see me. tn whom communi-
Gated the plan in confidence. The doctor came
back to charge me not to trust mere persons than
were sufficient to carry my body from the gal
lows to the place provided.


told him who the persons with me were; and
upon 0 O'DonnelPs engaging to procure number
of his countrymen to remove my body to pri-
vate place, who not to be let into the secret,
but suppose it was to secure my body from the
doctors, he seemed pleased with the plan, and


fv,fo
the secrets, upon pain of his not having to do in
the affair so soon as it should be discovered. He
gave them money to hire small boat to be in
readiness at the wharf nearest to the place of ex
ecution which boat think was hired of one Mr.
Skinner or Skillings, near divers Dock. The
doctor undertook to find the place of execution,
which was then reported to be in several places,
and to procure a two mast boat with good cuddy,
which was to be moored off the wharf at a
venient distance, all which was accordingly done.
| The two mast boat in which was the DOCTOR his
! friend and apprentice, with their doctors instru
ments, was moored up the bay, near the gallOws,
the morning of the execution day, but fell down
with the tide about two hours before the execu-
cuton, toward Dorchester Point, for fear of being
| grounded.


The state of my mind, after my conversation
with the doctor until the day of execution, it is
! impossible for me to describe. This glimpse of
| h0pe-this mere chance of escaping the jaws of
death, and of avoiding the eyes of offended
Judge, at whose bar | was n0ways prepared to
appear, seemed but to render my mind more dis
tracted. l sometimes indulged myself with the
thoughts of being recovered to life; and as | had
fortunately concealed my real name, that might
return, like the prodgal to my parents, and live
a life devoted to God and their comfort. But
oftener feared the means might fail to bring me
to life, and then / wished that this scheme had
never been mentioned, as the hopes of life seemed
to prevent my conversion, and then, to be sur
prised into another world, totally unpreparel how
/ terrible, Thus distracted, the time few, and the
awful day arrived. In the morning the reverend
parsons visited me. | was much softened by
their conversation, and really, at that time wished
/ had never seen the doctor, but by the near and
certain approach of death, had been prepared to
live in those blissful mansions which are prepared
in the world of glory for the truly penitent.


Soon after they left us, the doctors young man
came (under pretense of message from Mrs.
Ranger, who had shown me much kindness in
Jail the Lord rewarded her for it) TO renew the
doctors directions how to direct my body so as