lebanon county, flta. - lclibs.org

Cbe first Crial

Conviction and execution for ARurdei

lebanon County, flta.

PAPER READ BEFORE THE

LEBANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

APRIL 18, 1902,

—BV~ ' ~

S. P. HEILMAN, M. D.,

Heilman Dale, Lebanon County, Pa.

VOL. II. No. 5-

•yo

<J

first Crial

Conviction and £xccution for Murder

lebanon Countyf

PAPER RICAD BKi'OKU THE

LEBANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

Ai 'Ri i , 18, 1902,

—BY—

S. P. HEILMAN, M . D.,

Heilman Dale, I.ebanon Count}', Pa.

VOL. II. No. 5.

FREDERICKSBURS AREA LIBRARYLebanon Co. Library System

THE FIRST EXECUTION IN IvKBANON COUNTY. 155

The First Trial, Conviction and Executionfor Murder in Lebanon Cotmtv.

BY S. P. H K I L M A N , M. I).

Sevent}^-six years ago, thirteen years after Lebanon countyhad been constituted a separate civil district, the people of thetown of Lebanon, and of its vicinity, were startled by the re-port of a murder committed near the town, and the peoplewere confronted with the fact that their heretofore peace-ful life was for the first time to have imposed upon it theshameful stigma of murder. The first knowledge of the sadoccurrence, the subsequent trial, conviction and execution ofthe man who had thus, in the estimation of the law-abidingcitizens of the county, jealous of their good reputation, placeda stain on their hitherto peaceful record, caused a profoundand wide-spread sensation, and so lasting an impression did itmake that even to this day, among its oldest inhabitants, Jim-my Qtiinn is vividly remembered. For days, months andyears, in every household, in every harnlet near and remote inthe county, was it a matter of discussion, its remembrance re-iterated by parents to children, and a warning voice added asto the evil "which biteth like a serpent and stingeth like anadder," recounting as they did, and as it was believed at thetime, that both the persons concerned, the murderer and theperson murdered, at least the former, were at the time thefoul deed was done, in a condition of intoxication. And notuntil 52 years after this first trial and execution was our countyagain called upon to experience the humiliating fact of mur-der within its quiet borders.

156 LEBANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIKTY.

The town of Lebanon was holding what was then knownas a Cherry Fair, so called because held at a time of the yearwhen cherries are ripe. These Cherry Fairs were a legalizedinstitution, were well attended from town and country, andusually lasted two days. Their primary purpose was merry-making, and they afforded the first public opportunity of theseason to break away from the tedium of the previous longwinter period for a social gathering and out-door frolic.Eventually, however, they became so demoralizing that bycommon consent they were abolished. Young and old flockedto town, and after doing some business, went to frolicking,dancing, horse-racing, gambling and drinking. Womenwould walk bare-footed for miles until , near town, theyput on their stockings and shoes, "slicked up" and were readyfor the Fair. Peddlers attended with loads of dry goods ;hucksters with cakes, pickled oysters and confectioneries ;from the stalls of the old market house were sold cherries,raisins, mint drops, molasses candy, and the inevitable andindispensable "lei) kucha"—Hebe—love cakes—honey cakes ;booths were erected and places provided lor petty merchants ;gamblers paraded their seductive outfits; boys had their jokes,and almost every large exhibiting place had its fiddler fordancing. Boys and girls went through the streets with fingershooked, jovial and jolly, eating sweet meats and saying sweetthings, and everything was fair, fair as the cherry red.

It was on the first day of the Lebanon Cherry Fair in1826, on the 25th of May of that year, that occurred the sadevent to be described further on. In a narrow ravine leadingnorthward from what was afterwards called the Basin of theUnion Canal, about one mile west of Lebanon, and quitenear said basin-site stood a shanty-l ike structure calledQuinn's Shanty, in which lived James Ouinu and hiswife Elizabeth, or Biddy, as she was called. In thisshanty Quinu carried on the business of selling grog,drinking much of it himself, and declaring that his wife, Biddy,from time to time stole from the stock on hand and frequently

THE FIRST EXECUTION IN LEBANON COUNTY. 157

herself got beastly drunk. After her death had been accom-plished, but before her funeral was held, charges came to Leb-anon, pointing to an unnatural death on the part of Mrs.Quinn, which charges were laid before a justice of the peace,in Lebanon, on the evening of May 27th, whereupon a con-stable was sent to Quinn's place to make an investigation,who in turn had the coroner of the county, a coroner's juryand physicians summoned, to whom it was made manifest thatthe woman had not died a natural death. Quinn was chargedwith having caused her death, put under arrest and placedinto the jail in Lebanon. On the following day, May 28th,the body of Mrs. Quinn was brought to Lebanon for burial.At the following August court Quinn was arraigned beforethe grand jury, a true bill found, but owing to the absence ofcertain witnesses his trial was put off to the following Novem-ber court, when and where he was tried for murder and con-victed. On February 9, 1827, he was publicly hanged onwhat became known as Gallows Hill, an elevated point southof the present limits of the city of Lebanon.

This is the story of this sad occurrence, briefly and con-cisely told, the telling of which, by reason of its very grue-someness, certainly affords no pleasure to the writer. Butnow that in our count}7 there has been established an Histori-cal Society, the object of which is to collate for its archivesthe past history of the County along all lines, it is deemed tobe quite within lines of propriety to place on record with theSociety an account of this, the firat trial, conviction and exe-cution for murder in Lebanon county, the more reason so, asshown in an earlier part of this paper, that at the time of theoccurrence so deep and widespread a sensation was caused byit. The affair was not only described in the Lebanon "DerPenusylvauischer Beobachter," the only newspaper publishedin Lebanon county at that time, but a special pamphletof eight pages, giving an account of the affair, wasprinted and circulated at that time. At a recent saleof household effects a copy of this pamphlet came into

158 LEBANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

the possession of the writer. I have since learned that an-other copy is in the possession of L,. I,. Grumbine, Esq.Whether any more copies remain in existence is not known tothe writer, but the larger part of the balance of this paperwill consist of a translation of this very quaint pamphlet, thequaintness of which lies in having printed on the title page apicture of a coffin, and a very penitential soliloquy in versesupposed to embody the thoughts of the guilty man after hisconviction, and of his approaching execution, followed by anexceedingly solemn address, "To the Reader," in which theevils of drunkenness are set forth in most positive terms, andthis followed by by an account of the court trial itself, showinghow a trial of this kind was conducted seventy-five years ago.The severely gruesome character of this pamphlet, and the pe-culiarly admonitive spirit of its phraseology, give it a certainhistorical value, and these are additional reasons for at all pre-senting the matter in a paper to our Society.

Here follows a translation from the German of the pam-phlet above referred to, and just shown you,

"A SHORT AND S U M M A R I Z E DACCOUNT OF THK CRIME, TRIAL AND BHHAVIOR OF

JAMES QUIXX,WHO ON THK IJTH OF FEBRUARY, 1827, ON THK HlLL

SOUTHWEST OF L E B A N O N , LEBANON COUNTY, WAS

HUNG FOR TII ic M U R D E R oi' His WIFE,l i lUDY (JUINN.

4 & & f 0 u i ti % Itws^

'ttnN trtafi^SoK i,« $Qfkn j^en?Oiif W a*ta*bS«»,lM»,«* **«*

tat, id^lsa«;<l)"^ "car acf^wts.,̂d} ttssiK? Jiifs .tb«Kri«tf»!<fl*<ft' '

l^^^^^f^^^^l^ftf^l1

FAC S I M I L 1 C OK O R I G I N A L 1 'RINT.

l6o LEBANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIKTY.

*"O, thou grusorae gallows-tree,Built, O horror, built for me ;Lord of heaven, on bended kneeDo I cry in fear to Thee.Gallows-tree ! thy timbers strongFeed my anguish all day long,Telling me that soon my lightMust go out in blackest night !When I leave my prison cellShall I go to heaven or hell ?Lord, in Thee I place my trust,Thou art kind as well as just,Terror makes my spirit sore,—How I wish that all were o'er !Lord, to Thee I fain would f ly ,—Help, support me t i l l I die !Time for me is but a span,Yet I'd waru my fel low-man,Here upon perdition's brink,Warn him 'gainst the curse of drinkRum, alas ! has been my bane,Cause of crime, disgrace and shame !Lord, Thine ear in mercy lend,Help, (), help me face the end !Glad, I'll die on scaffold tree.And atonement make to Thee,Fain to reach that heavenly plain,Washed and cleansed from sin and pah),Soon will come my fearful end !Thou, O, Christ, wilt stand iny friend;Thee I feel—Thy power and might !Now, O World, good night! good night!',

"LEBANON.PRINTED FOR WHOM IT PLKASKS, 1827.

TO THE READER.""The court trial, the conviction and the execution of

James Quinn, the miserable murderer, of which an account isgiven in these pages, affords us a sorrowful example of thehorrible wickedness into which a man may fall when he gives

* Translation of this poetical so l i loquy was k i n d l y made for t h i s J'ajiei ' byDr. K. (jrtuiibine, Alt. /ion, J'a.


rein to his evil passions, and keeps these under curb neitherby moral principles nor by the softer precepts of the ChristianReligion. Almost daily we see people who are so given to in-temperance as to fall into misery and destruction simply onaccount of their secret indulgence in unholy passions, al-though we are often without opportunity to witness these in-dulgences, on account of the committal of which led in thiscase to so bloody a trail. Once these terrible passions arepracticed openly, which like a vulture lacerate the body, theypoison every virtuous principle, and give rise in the hearts tothoughts of the blackest vengeance, disturb not only domes-tic peace and public tranquillity, but very often, yes, only toooften, hurry their wretched victims away from the scene oftheir earthly career to appear only too early at the dread judg-ment before a justly angry God."

"Harmony in the family of any man is the highest, sum-mit of human happiness and maintenance oi the same shouldbe the constant endeavor of every man. Unity should at alltimes prevail between husband and wife, however comforta-ble their circumstances may be, and their prospects in this lifel^e ever so flattering,—when oace jealousy enters their homethen may every appearance of happiness well say farewell."

"In publishing this account it is designed to point people-to the rock on which the unfortunate man suffered ship-wreck,and from his example to warn hardened slaves of sin againsta like dreadful fate at the horrible brink of which they stand."

"THE T R I A L OF JAMES QUINN, &C."

"On the evening of the 2yth of last May a number ofcharges were laid before one of the Justices of the Peace ofthis town that strong suspicious were at hand that JamesQuinn, who carries on a grog-shop at the Union Canal in Leb-anon Township one and one-half mile from the town of Leb-anon , had murdered his wife. A warrant was at once issued,and Constable Zimmerman with a number of assistants wassent there, who found the funeral of Mrs. Biddy Quinn about

162 LEBANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIKTV.

to take place. A coroner's jury and a physician were atonce summoned, who both agreed, and were of like opinionthat Mrs. Quinn had not died a natural death, and that JamesQninn was suspected to be the murderer of his wife, in conse-quence he was placed into jail for a further hearing. In or-der not to be too hasty we have taken the liberty of giving ashort description of the murder and the wounds inflicted onthe body of Mrs. Quinn. Her whole body was, to speaktruthfully, bruised, hardly a part as large as one's hand couldbe seen that did not bear more or less marks of powerfulblows, six ribs and the chest bone were knocked inwards, andafter the skull had been removed it was found that the brainsubstance was colored over with blood, &c., &c."

"The unfortunate woman was brought to the church yardof the Roman Catholic church for burial in the presence of avery large gathering of people, and on this occasion the Rev.Father Carren delivered a touching address, and especiallymade reference to drunkards, for the reason that as the Rev.Father preacher truthfully declared, this sad and sorrowfuloccurrence was caused by none other than strong drink."

"At the last August Court a bill against the accusedJames Quinn was presented to the Grand Jury of LebanonCounty and by it declared a true bill. On account of the ab-sence of certain witnesses the accused had the trial put off tothe November Court. The Attorneys for the State wereMessrs Klein and Forster, and for the prisoners Messrs. Weidman, Loring and Fisher. The Jurymen who were sworn forthe trial were

David Bauman, Frederick W. Martin,George Hess, Christian Hoffer,David M. Freight, Jacob Reist,Niel Shay, Peter Schott,Peter Smith, Martin Wenger,Jacob Imboden, Anthony Zweyer."

"After Mr. Klein had stated the case, a number of wit-nesses were heard, of the testimony we give the following asthe most important."

THE FIRST EXECUTION IN LEBANON COUNTY. I63

"Jonas Fortney said on the first Fair day I went toQuinn's shanty, cannot say exactly what o'clock, as I camenear the house I heard a noise inside, when I got into thehouse his (Quinn's) wife was lying on the floor, and he(Quinn) was striking her : I saw him strike her but twotimes, and when I spoke to him he stopped—he struck htrwith a spade-handle, and whilst I was speaking he hurled thespade-handle towards the wall. She wished to say somethingbut he threatened her, forbid her to say a word—she thensaid nothing more, he took a quilt and hung it so that I couldnot see her. I asked him whether he had a horse to sell—and he said yes,—one of the blows was on the arm, or alongthe side, the left arm I think—the noise I heard before goinginto the shanty was like a pounding. This was on the 25thof May. It was after dinner, perhaps i or 2 o'clock. I rodeout. I think it is a mile from the town, the shanty was quitenear the public road, close to the hill, the road passes close bythe door, there is no room between the road and the shanty, itis near the canal. There was no one in the shanty but Quinnand his wife. I was near the door when I first heard thenoise. He struck her body with one hand, she was lying onthe floor. He told me that she is so bad a woman when Itold him it was wrong that he struck her so. The handle wasabout 2J/2 feet long, perhaps longer. I took it to be a brokenspade-handle ; I was not long in the house, he was at firstsomewhat angry, was however soon in better mood. I wasthere not more than a quarter of an hour. I think a mancame there. I do not know who it was. She laid on herback—she screamed, altho' not very loud—I didn't hear anyscreaming outside—he held the handle as high as his headwhen he struck her the second time."

"Elizabeth Carson, said I was atQuiun's shanty—I livewith Mr. Ives. 1 was in Lebanon at the Fair, and had topass the shanty on my way home, mistook the way, and onthis side of the shanty got back to the road ; before I cameto the shantv I saw a woman and a man, I did not know them


at first, I and a boy with me and the man we had seen stoodon the banks of the canal near by the shanty. Mrs. Quinncalled us to the house, and we went in, Quinn was drunkwhen he came home, he asked his wife whether supper wasready, she said yes, he said, 'Damn you, the tea, butter andcakes all to hell. ' Mrs. Quinn then went to the table, andmoved around the things on the table. Quinn then took aclub and struck her—she then went away and let things alone.She, however, went back again, and he struck hei with astick when she went away again. He then went to the young-man, and Quinn and he went out the door—the young manbegged him not to maltreat the old woman. Quinn turnedaround and as she came through the door a broom and aspade stood there—he first took the broom and threw it at her,hit her left arm between the elbow and shoulder, turnedaround, took the spade and threw it at her and hit her at thesame place, as near as I could see. The young man saw itand turned around to come inside but the old man went outto him. Mrs. Quinn then came and sat down before me, shetook hold of her left arm, fell it and said, 'Oh, Lord, my a imis broke.' I took little notice of it as she said this unti l Iheard the bone crackle when she turned the arm. Then 1 calledthe young man, 'Oh, Lord, that woman's arm is broke.' Theyoung man did not go to see the arm, but turned around atonce and went out with me, the young man and I went somedistance into the woods to the left of the road, .remainedstanding" to hear how he would go on. I heard Mr. Quinnsay, 'I have as good a pair of pistols as are in town or county,I do not know which, and, by Jesus, I will blow out yourbrain, ' and then he repeated, 'By Jesus Christ, I will blow outyour brains.' After he had said these words I heard a pistolcrack. I then went away, and did not come back the samenight. I left a white neck-cloth in the shanty. The follow-ing morning I saw Isaac Umberger went there ; Isaac wentto get the neck-cloth, but did not get it. As 1 came to thedoor I saw something on it—it was blood, all bloody. I askedQuinn how it came there, and he said it made no difference

THE FIRST EXECUTION IN LEBANON COUNTY. i6.s

how it got there. I took the neck-cloth home and washed it.At this time the old woman was lying on the bed. This wasFriday morning. Thursday evening we got there about 11o'clock. The club was about the thickness of my arm abovethe hand ; he struck her with the same between the shoulders.Cannot say how often he struck her with it ; a number oftimes with it ; a number of times, however. The young manI found there was John Gallagher ; I do not know where heresides."

"Samuel Licht said that on the morning of May 20 at 10o'clock he rode by Quinu's shanty and said that a man wasspeaking out of it, and behind him Quinn himself. Quinnwas angry. I asked Quinn what is the matter ; he, however,did not answer. I rode about three rods further, when I metMrs. Quinu weeping. I asked her the reason ; she said Quinnintended killing her that night. Quinn then came walkingtwo rods with something in his hand, and said that he wouldbe damned to hell to-night if he didn't kill her. Mrs. Quinnbegged me to go along back to the shanty, but I begged off.Quinn again said he would be damned to hell if he would notkill her ; that he would to-night shoot her. He and she againwent into the shanty. He soon came out again, and said inrepetition that he would be darned to hell if he did not shoother dead, and immediately a heavily loaded shot was fired,whereupon the witness rode rapidly away."

"Thomas Rogers said that Quinn on the 26th of May, ati i or 12 o'clock came to him and asked him to go along ; thata man the day before was at the Fair drunk, rode by his shanty,and was thrown off his horse ; that he believes that his arm washurt,and should have the arm bled. I went with h im; as wecame into the woods Quinn told me that his wife for a numberof years drank so much that he did not know what to do withher ; she stole his liquor and became beastly drunk ; that sheis constantly drunk ; that this morningshe got over the parti-tion place, drank herself full, and when she wanted to getback from over the partition she fell down against the stoveand broke her arm. As we came into the shanty she was


seated ; as I took her at the arm and asked her twice whetherher arm is broken ; she looked at me but made no answer. Ifound the arm very much bruised from the shoulder to the el-bow, and her clothing soiled with blood. I tied up the arm,and laid her then into bed, and told him he had better sendfor the doctor, that she is very sick. He showed me whereshe was to have fallen down ; I looked for blood, but couldnot find any ; I then went away again. Saturday, between 9and 10 o'clock, he came again, and said that Biddy is verysick and wished to see me. I did not go. After this he senta boy for me, that his wife was very poorly, and that I mustcome. I did not, however, go until evening, and then shewas being laid out by a certain woman." More witnesses wereyet heard. The learned counsel having made their speechesand the Court its charge,when the jury withdrew for the spaceof an hour and returned with the verdict, "Murder in the firstdegree." The Court then addressed the prisoner as follows :

"Death sentence passed upon James Quinn by JudgeFranks.''

"After a long and impartial trial, in which your defencewas conducted by three skilled, learned and worthy advocates,the jury has declared you a murderer of the first degree, andwith your life you will have to pay for your breaking of thelaw of the land. You were proven to be the murderer of yourwife, and from the evidence it is clear that you committed thebloody deed in so horrible and shameless manner that the caseis scarcely without a parallel; and now you stand here to re-receive the judgment of the law which will shorten your pe-riod of life, and hurl you from time into eternity. And letme assure you that the land demands this terrible punishment,it yet earnestly desires the salvation of your undying soul.You stand now laden down with a heavy debt, which, unlessyou are saved from the same, will press down your soul intoeverlasting destruction. I beseech you to prepare your soulfor this judgment which stands before you in the presence of aliving God. Upon His mercy only you can now cast your-self, and His forgiveness you can yet attain if you bring him

THE FIRST EXECUTION IN LEBANON COUNTY 16:

as an offering a penitent and, in truth, a contrite heart. Al-tho the darkness of sin's debt encompasses, altho the cloudsof unbelief envelope you as you must sail onwards on the seaof eternity, yet be assured, unfortunate man that you are,that there is a star of healing above whose rays may pene-trate their darkness, enter your heart, safely guide you, andand save your soul from destruction. It is the all-loving Sa-vior, the same who by the death on the cross patiently seeksthe salvation of the greatest sinner. He can and will saveeach and every one. Seek help from him in your sorrow, andyou will find it. Altho at first thought it may seem that yoursituation is entirely without hope, let not doubt keep you fromseeking pardon. Open your eyes, and look at your pitiablecondition, and when you may sink into despair then turn toGod, and call earnestly to Him for the salvation of your soul.Read the gospel, and let yourself be instructed out of it byand through its servants. Pray unceasingly and earnestly forthe pardon of a contrite heart, and you will not call in vain,and pray with a penitent heart for the forgiveness of God intrue penitence and faith, and, like the dying thief, you will ex-perience that He will notturn His merciful ear from your cry.God in His boundless grace desires not the death of a sinner,with greater mercifulness he invites all who have erred to cometo Him, and offers them out of His grace the means to eternallife. Yea the portals of heaven are gladly open to the trulypenitent. The God of mercy give you the grace and willing-ness which may support you to approach death with the joy-ful hope of forgiveness through penitence aud trust in thepropitiation of our glorious Redeemer."

"It only remains to me to pass sentence upon you.The sentence of the Court is : That you be taken back to

the prison of Lebanon county, from whence you came, andfrom there to the place of execution, there to be hung by theneck until you are dead,

And may God have mercy on your soul !""Whereupon the prisoner said : 'I will die like a soldier

and a gentleman, in Christ.' "


"During his imprisonment after his trial he was alwaysvery indifferent, although diligently visited by clergymen, de-clared himself entirely innocent, and said he would have todie innocent. Some weeks before he released himself one eve-ning from his fetters, and worked the same evening until 9o'clock a hole half way through the wall, at which he wasdiscovered, and was then more securely kept. James Quinuis about 60 yrs. of age, was born in Ireland, and some yearsago came with his wife to Montreal, in Canada. They hadno children. Lived, however, at all times in peace and har-mony with one another. Nothing but devilish strong drink,to tell the truth, was the cause of this whole sorrowful occur-rence. Oh, may every drunkard take from this an example,so that he may not cast himself and others into everlasting de-struction of hell. 'Watch and pray that ye may not fall intotemptation."

This ends the account, as translated from the pamphlet of1827. There remains to add an account of the execution ofQuinn, which also is not without historical interest. Follow-ing the English custom, the execution of criminals in publicwas then, as it had been in the beginning, the practice in thisState. It was not until the passage of the Act of April 10,1834, that executions were required to be conducted withinthe prison enclosures, the number of officials to be in atten-dance thereat limited, and the presence of minors excluded.At almost every county seat there was former!}' a "GallowsHill." The place selected for the execution of Quinn, thefirst public execution in the then recently formed Lebanoncounty, was on an elevation south of, and about three-fourthsof a mile from the centre of the town of Lebanon, the situa-tion of which is well known to most of us, and which thenbecame known as our "Gallows Hill," and was long remem-bered by that name. In some counties a tract of land aroundand including their Gallows Hill, was purchased by theCounty Commissioners for this special purpose, the reason as-signed for acquiring the additional ground being that the con-course of spectators at public executions was usually so great


that the property of private individuals was necessarily tres-passed upon.

A somewhat peculiar view as to the execution of malefac-tors was that this should be done in public, and their publicexecution was deemed a great object lesson in law and morals,so that the proceeding was commonly attended with religiousexercises, including, in some instances, addresses to the mul-titude by the reverend clergy. But experience proved the bene-fits of such occasions to be of more thau doubtful sequence.Murders continued to be as freely committed as before, and thescenes attending hangings were frequently degrading anddisgraceful. They were made occasions for large gatheringsof people from near and fai, mostly bent on idle curiosity, orfor a grand jollification, and some even bent on attempt torescue the prisoner. They came by wagons, on horseback,and on foot, and the accession continued in constantly increas-ing proportions down to the moment of execution. Manycame long distances, arriving the night before, crowding thetaverns the preceding evening, or sleeping in the wagons inwhich they had come to town, and in which also they pro-ceeded the following day in gay procession to the place of ex-ecution . On the road to that place booths were erected for thesale of confectioneries, eatables, and intoxicants. At the exe-cution of Quinn the number of people present was estimatedat eight thousand. The presence of the military was alwaysrequired to prevent turbulence, or possible rescue of the con-demned. In order also to eniphasi/e the majesty of the law ofthe land it was made incumbent upon the sheriff of the countyto issue proclamation, notifying justices of the peace, the cor-oner, constables, and all other civil officers within the county,that they and every one of them be in the borough of thecounty on the day and hour fixed for the execution, then andthere to assist the sheriff of the county aforesaid in keepingthe peace and good order at the execution of a certain prisonernow confined in the common jail of said county, who is to beexecuted on said clay at the usual place of execution, con-cluding with the well-known formula : "God Save the Com-

17o LEBANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

inonwealth." So disgraceful and shameful, however, werethe proceedings by the multitude at many of these public exe-cutions that public sentiment demanded a change, evidencedby repeated remonstrances to the Legislature, and bringing'about, as already remarked, the passage of the Act of 1834,since which time criminals have been executed in private.

Whilst there still remain with us a few of the ' 'oldest inhab-itants" who saw that execution,or heard it described, and fromtheir memory give this or that detail of the execution of Quinn,we have also preserved in print an account of it in the before-named "Peunsylvanischer Beobachter." But of this sadlymemorable incident even the "Beobachter's" account is quitemeager. The contents of country newspapers of that periodwere made up largely of advertisements. In their news de-partments the principal subjects of attention were foreign af-fairs, particularly wars and rumors of wars among Europeanpowers. In a town of the number of inhabitants which Leb-anon about had, local happenings were presumed to be knownto all, and the journalistic allusions to them were brief andparagraphic merely. Meager, however, as was the accountof the execution given in the "Beobachter," it is added herein full, and for the reason also that that account brings out in-teresting facts not mentioned up to this point in this Paper, andfurthermore furnishes a fitting conclusion to this Paper. Theaccount (in the German language) is from the "Beobachter"of the issue of Kriday, Feb. 16, 1827.

"Last Friday, Feb. 9, 1827, James Quinn was hung at apoint near this town. About eight thousand people were gath-ered to witness his execution. Four companies of cavalryand seven companies of infantry, all under the command ofCol. Doebler, accompanied the sheriff from the prison to theplace of execution. The prisoner was clothed in white andwas supported by leathers Kurran and Keenan, clergymen ofthe Roman Catholic church, who walked by his side. Therewere also present Reverends Ernst and Stein, of the Lutheranchurch, all of whom in an orderly manner marched in the


procession with the military and the prisoner, the latter ap-pearing to be engaged in prayer. He seemed to be in a peni-tent mood and resigned to his impending fate. About ro'clock, after he had given farewell to his spiritual attendantsand to the sheriff, proceedings were entered upon to hang him,and hung he was, when to the fright and astonishment of theassembled crowd the rope broke * and he fell down about7 feet, hurting himself some. T Quinn, however, gave nosign of fright, and after the rope was fixed and reapplied,seven minutes after he was again dropped,his transfer from timeto eternity was accomplished. He died without a struggle.In every respect order and quietness were maintained duringthe day. With the approach of night nearly all the strangershad left for their respective homes." J

» As to the breaking of the rope, Mr. I,. L Grumbine, in discussing the Paperafter its reading, said : "it .seems to be an authenticated fact that the rope withwhich .lames Quinn was handed broke during the process of execution. I oftenheard my grandfather, John Light, recount this circumstance in my boyhood, hutwhether as the testimony of an eye witness, or merely as a matter ol hearsay, I amunable to recall. He would now be 102 years old if living, for he was born in 1800.Quinn, as was stated in the Paper just read, was one of a number of Irishmen,which the construction of the Union Canal attracted to this community Therewas a belief current in those days that the breaking of a hangman's rope was suchan auspicious event for the condemned as to entitle him to go free; and it was gen-erally believed that trie rope had been tampered with in tins ease, and partially cut

sylvania prevailed over Irish tradition and Misther Quinn was hanged over again.'

i A t th i s point a very ludicrous occurrence took place, if the term ludicrous isallowable, in connection wi th so gruesome an affair. It is to lie borne in mind that;it time the I 'uion Canal was under construction through this section, tile workmenon which were almost exclusively Irishmen, and of whom a large number were scattered along the line of the projected canal As Quinn was one of their race, theseIrishmen were made cognizant of Quinn's doings, and naturally were more or lessin sympathy with his misfortunes, so that interference at the execution on their partwas to be feared by the sheriff When the rope broke, throwing Quhm down,a greatfright seized the crowd of people attendant, which took direction in some one cryingout: "Die Irishe knmma ! Die Iri.she kumma !" This caused a quick stampede inmany directions, and atone period led to many persons being forced against anear-by fence, and some severely hur t . This was given the writer by the Hon. A.VV. Kill-good.

I l)r Win, M. ( iu i l ford , subsequent to the reading of this Paper, related tothe writer that after the execution of Quinn the gallows oil which he was hung wasstored for many years in (lie cellar of the Lebanon Court House, and that in theDoctor's boyhood days the Lebanon boys used to get by the big openings in thestreet cellar wall on fast time, and often 'if any boy was found loitering there a goodstart for other quarters could be promptly gotten on him by calling out : "Look outfor Jimmy Quiun."


A Paper giving a list and account of all the murders,trials for murder and executions in Lebanon county since itsexistence as a separate civil district would perhaps have beenmore satisfactory with mere regard to contributing a roundedout historical list of these shocking events that have so far be-come a part of the history of onr county. But this will be thematerial for another Paper at another time. Moreover, a Pa-per along that line would have shutout of this Paper many ofthe facts of earlier times here brought together for unified rec-ord, and precluded many details as to usages and proceedingsincident to the subject-matter, and in vogue nearly a hundredyears ago now obselete, largely forgotten, and even unknownto those of the present day, the bringing together of whichdetails into one Paper was, or is, the main purpose of thisPaper.

Between the years 1845 and 1850 there existed through-out our country an intense agitation as to the matter of capi-tal punishment. Incident and contributing to this agitationwas the appearance of a poem, entitled "The Gallows-Tree,"by Thomas Dunn English, now lately deceased, a man ofmany accomplishments, but,like Charles Wolfe, author of "TheBurial of Sir John Moore," best known to fame as the authorof a single poem—the simple ballad, "Ben Bolt." Like allsimilar productions, "Ben Bolt" was passing into neglectwhen Du Maurier imparted fresh life to the old ballad by in-troducing it into "Trilby." Then it started again in the noveland in the play with a vitality that rivaled its original popu-larity .

The poem, "The Gallows-Goers," is very rough, but ex-ceedingly vigorous, and had an immense circulation duringthe period of agitation named above. It first appeared in"The Spirit of theTimes," Philadelphia, Pa., March 29, 1845,and runs as follows :

"Up and make read}', ye lovers of fun !On with your holiday dress and be gay ;

Now that the sheriff has work to be done,Business with pleasure he mingles to-day.

THE FIRST EXECUTION IN LEBANON COUNTY.

Some may go hunting with guns ; and a few,Rods in their hands, little fish may pursue ;Ours is the spot that is sanctioned by law—\Ve go for a hanging, a hanging ; Hurrah !"

"Two months ago on a rare drunken bout;Bill, his comrade, the criminal slew ;

Murder's a deed that is vile, without doubt,Ergo—the law must turn murderer too.

As for the place the liquor he got—Liquor which maddened him—yonder's the spot |Sammy, who keeps it, approves of the law—He goes for a hanging, for a hanging ; Hurrah !"

"Look at the criminal ! please ye to look ?Standing behind him, the hangman you see,

There's the priest with his gown and his book —Galloping gayly they go to the tree.

Thanks to the priests who the hangman befriend.Choking such knaves as 'twas labor to mend.Hanging, they say, is Levitical law—Cheers for the clergy —they're Christians ; Hurrah !

"Firmly and proudly the culprit looks around,Holding his head with a satisfied air ;

Murmurs applauding go over the ground—Down drops the priest with the felon to prayer.

"How interesting his looks are, ' ' says Ann,"Yes," answered Sail, "and he'll die like a man ;"Klegant task for young maidens, but pshaw ;Shout for the hang ing—the hanging; "Hurrah !"

"Prayers are all finished, and now for the fun ;Over his features the cap has been drawn ;

Ketch and his comrade, the preacher, get down,Crack, goes the whip, and the wagon moves on,

Wonderful sight for the Christian to see ;Merrily dancing on nothing is he.Though there is no fiddle a hornpipe to sawLight are his leaps—he's hanging ; Hurrah !"

"After the rope has been severed in twain,Home go the people and joyfully sing ;

Heaven will receive whom the gallows has slain—Does not the clergyman settle the thing ?

Home go the people, and talk of it all,

173


Children in nursery, servants in hall ;B U B hangs the cat in the manner he sawHang at the gallows God's image —Hurrah !"

"Rouse ye, good clerymen. servants of God ;Stand by 1113' side while I fight for your fun ;

Hanging preserves us from shedding of blood —Remedy like it there never was one.

Rally your forces, thump pulpits and beClerical guards of the good gallows tree ;What if your Savior denounces the law ?You go for hanging—for hanging, Hurrah !"

As late as only two days before the reading of this Paper,I learned from my brother, Rev. U. H. Heilman, Jonestown,Pa., of his having amongst his curios a copy of another cu-rious production in the way of an "Ermahnungs-Lied," of 16stanzas, addressed to James Quin, printed Feb. 4, 1827,which copy has been kindly loaned me for use. That such aHymn was published at that time is perhaps now a new factto all of us, and it further confirms the view advanced as tothe very profound and widespread impression caused by theQuinn murder affair.

In this "Ermahnungs-Lied," as well as in the precedingsoliloquy, as in fact in the entire trial account, there is intro-duced an exegesis as to a ready open portal to heaven for thealleged repentant murderer so speculative or so dogmatic as toalmost compel one by way of contrast to place into juxtapo-sition the simple authoritative statement of St. John, — "Nomurderer hath eternal life abiding in him1 ' — and there I leavethe matter. For any extreme or hard views in this narrativethe writer is not responsible—he is only the narrator of them.

BIN ERMAHNUNGS-LIED AN JAMES QUIN.

Welcher seiu Eheweib todt geschlagen hat, und nunjet/tzuni Tod verurtheilt ist, das er sich noch mochte bekeren ;wie auch eine Ermahnung an Alle die noch in den Strickendes Sataus gebunden sind, das sie sich zu Gott bekeren und


noch errettet .werden mogen. . . . I Petri am 5 ten Cap.v, 8. "Seyd Nuchtern und wachet, danti euer Wiedersacher,der Teufel, gehet urn her wie ein brullender Lows und suchet,welchen er verschlinge."

MEL. O GOTT ! DU FROMMER GOTT.1. O grosser, truer Gott !

Barmherziger Erretter,Sieh' an die grosse NothDarinnen jet/.t thut SteckenDurch seine Rigene Schnld,Und Satan's Grimm und Zorn

Hat dich darein gesturtzt,Das Du sollst seyn verlohr'n.

2. Ach raffe dich doch auf,Gedenk an Jesu Worte,

Die Er zuni Schacher sprachAn jener Todes-Pforten ;Du sollst uoch heut' mit mirIm Paradiese seyn.Diss Wort, das gilt dir auchO Hebe Seelemein.

3. Bekenn' nur deine Schuld,Von Herzens Grund der SeelenUnd Glaub' an Jesu Huld,So wird es dir nicht fehlen.Sieh Ihn im Glauben an :

Er starb am Kreutz vor dich.Er ist der helfen kann,Das glaube sichcrlich.

4. So bald der Schacher sprach :Es ist ja billig rechteDann, ich empfang den Lohn

Ich armer Sunden-Knechte,So bald brach Jesu Herz,Versprach ihm gleich sein Reich ;Noch heute sollst du seynMit mir in Paradeiss.

5 O Mensch ! das gilt dir auchWann schon die Schuld ist grosse,Weil du dein Ehe-Weib


Ganz todt geschlagen hattest,Verzweifeln sollst du nicht ;Das hat der Feind gethan,Er bruellet wie ein Low,Wo er verfuhren kann.

6. Er gehet stets umher,Versuchet zu verschlingen,Durcli tansend Netz undStrick,In unvermerkten Dingen.Drum wer allhier nicht wacht,Den hat er bald am Strick.O Mensch ; sey klug und wach'Auch jeden Augenblick.

7. O ! Seele, raff' dich auf,Auch in der letzen Stunde ;Wann schon die Sund' ist gross,Sieh nur auf Jesu Wunden.Der Feind hat es gethan,Wo dich ill's Ungluck sturtzt,Nur Jesus ist dein Maun,Wo Blute fur dich schwitzt.

8. Scbon viele siud vordir,Schon hingerichtet worden,Die Gnad' erlanget danNoch an der Todes-Pforten.Drum schrey von Herzens Grund;Erbarm' dich uber mich,Und sey mir gnadiglich :Ach Gott! erhore mich !

9. Das Land darinn die Quell'Des Lebens sollte fliesen,Worinn sich aber MordUnd Eigenheit ergiessen.Ja. solche bose Frucht,Tragt jet/.t der Christen-Baum :Bey Turken findet niauDergleichen Greuel kaum.

10. Du frecher Sunder-Haus ;Schau an doch mil Krzettern,

THE FIRST KXKCUTION IN LKBANON COUNTY.

Weil dn in deinem Lauf,Den Sunden thust nach gehen ;Du eilst zum Trunk, zum Tan/.,Musik und Fraleckerey,I.'iid denkst nicht eimnal dranWie dock dein End' mag Seyn.

i i . Der Teufel ist der Furst,Und Laster Herbergsvatter,Wann du nicht wachen wirstSo wird er als Verather,Dich fangcn in sein NetzUnd binden vest uiid stark ;Behalten Bis in Tod,Und bis ins Grabes Sarg.

12, Schau' an die Gottes Rach,

Die auf die Menschen fallet :Das ist ein Schweres Ach :Wann sich der Mensch verfehlet,

Durch Mord un Tod schlag sturtztIn Jammer, Angst und Noth,Und darauf folgt jet/.t n u n ,Der bitlre, schwere Tod.

13 Mensch ! Wer du immer bist ?Ang'sehen, Reich, in Ehren,Gedenk 7.u jeder Frist,Und thue dich bekeren.Gebrauche Gottes Gab",Ja nur zur Noth mit Dank ,Mit Arbeit deiner Hand"Ja all dein Leben lang.

14. So wird der Hochste dich,

Hier seegnen und beglucken :Und du wirst dein GebetUnd Seufzen zu ihm schicken,Und wirst bewahret seyn,Vor Satans Grimm und /CornDurcli Gottes Engel Macht,Dass du nicht gehst verlohr'n.

15. Lass dein Herz seyn geueigt :Gedenk' auch an die Arnien.

FREDERICKSBURG AREA LIBRARYLebanon Co. Library System


Allmosen retten euch,Gott will sich deiu erbarmen ;Sie decken Sundeu zu,Und streiten dort fur euchVor Gottes Richter-Stuhl,Gott wird vergeben euch.

16. Nun Gott sey gnadig dirAnner Malifikante ;Und fuhr durch Christi BlutDich in sein Vater lande.Wann du ini Herzen hastDie wahre Reu und LeidWird Gott vergeben dirIn Zeit und Bwigkeit--Amen.

Durch die Gnade Gottes herausgege-

ben von Christian Brustle von Deutch-land, den 4ten Februar, 1827.

lebanon county, flta. - lclibs.org

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