No. 645
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
March 19, 2024

Clubbed by a Wronged Wife.

April 22, 2014
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Encountering a ghost may be a strange, possibly terrifying experience, but fortunately they are rarely harmful.  However, every now and then there is an account of a spirit that is not just malevolent, but physically dangerous.  One such story was told by folklorist Mary L. Lewes in the December 1912 issue of “Occult Review.”  It concerns a couple named Mr. and Mrs. Caxton. 
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Strange Company - 3/18/2024
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HE DUEL IN ELLEN'S HONOR. Soapy Smith’s grandmotherOn Wednesday, August 9, 1820, an argument between 17-year-old, James Bowe Boisseau (1802-1820) and Robert C. Adams (unknown-1820) vying for the attention of 18-year-old Ellen Stimpson Peniston (1802-1860), took a terrible turn. The happy party in her honor took a tragic turn when the competition for Ellen’s affections ended in a deadly duel,
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Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 1/10/2024
Going to the theater has always been a beloved New York City pastime. But theater became even more thrilling with the advent of open-air rooftop gardens—which hit the scene in the late 1880s with the opening of the rooftop theater at the Casino on Broadway and 39th Street. It wasn’t just the cool breezes that […]
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Ephemeral New York - 3/18/2024
An article I recently wrote for the British online magazine, New Politic, is now available online. The article, “The Criminal Origins of the United States of America,” is about British convict transportation to America, which took place between the years 1718 and 1775, and is the subject of my book, Bound with an Iron Chain: […]
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Early American Crime - 12/17/2021
Dr. John W. Hughes. Dr. John W. Hughes was a restless, intemperate man whose life never ran smoothly. When his home life turned sour, he found love with a woman half his age. Then, he lost her through an act of deception, and in a fit of drunken rage, Dr. Hughes killed his one true love.Date:  August 9, 1865Location:   Bedford, OhioVictim:  Tamzen ParsonsCause of Death:&
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Murder By Gaslight - 3/16/2024
Included in yesterday’s trip to Fall River was a stop at Miss Lizzie’s Coffee shop and a visit to the cellar to see the scene of the tragic demise of the second Mrs. Lawdwick Borden and two of the three little children in 1848. I have been writing about this sad tale since 2010 and had made a previous trip to the cellar some years ago but was unable to get to the spot where the incident occured to get a clear photograph.  The tale of Eliza Borden is a very sad, but not uncommon story of post partum depression with a heartrending end. You feel this as you stand in the dark space behind the chimney where Eliza ended her life with a straight razor after dropping 6 month old Holder and his 3 year old sister Eliza Ann into the cellar cistern. Over the years I have found other similar cases, often involving wells and cisterns, and drownings of children followed by suicides of the mothers. These photos show the chimney, cistern pipe, back wall, dirt and brick floor, original floorboards forming the cellar ceiling and what appears to be an original door. To be in the place where this happened is a sobering experience. My thanks to Joe Pereira for allowing us to see and record the place where this sad occurrence unfolded in 1848. R.I.P. Holder, Eliza and Eliza Ann Borden. Visit our Articles section above for more on this story. The coffee shop has won its suit to retain its name and has plans to expand into the shop next door and extend its menu in the near future.
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Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts - 2/12/2024
Youth With Executioner by Nuremberg native Albrecht Dürer … although it’s dated to 1493, which was during a period of several years when Dürer worked abroad. November 13 [1617]. Burnt alive here a miller of Manberna, who however was lately … Continue reading
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Executed Today - 11/13/2020
A Human Vampire. | Sights and Sounds of Spring.

Clubbed by a Wronged Wife.

Clubbed by Wronged Wife

A Kentucky Wife Administers a Very Severe Punishment to her Husband and his Paramour. [more]

For some time the wife of Mr. Clay Henry, a well-known resident of Corinth , Ky., has suspected him of infidelity, and has several times been informed of his frequenting Madame Bricey’s resort. This, however, Mrs. Henry refused to believe untie the other day, when she went out on a still hunt, and proved to her own satisfaction that the rumors were true. Immediately after his Sunday dinner Henry arose from the table, saying he was going into the country for a drive with a friend. Mrs. Henry tried to persuade her husband to spend his Sunday at home, but he was obstinate and left the house. Mrs. Henry suspected that he had gone to some resort, and along toward evening started out to find him.

Proceeding to Madame Bricey’s house she saw a girl inmate hanging out of a window. Mrs. Henry asked the girl if Mr. Henry was in the house, and the soiled dove replied that he was not. This did not satisfy Mrs. Henry. She slipped around the house and coming to a side entrance peeped in. There she saw her husband and Mrs. Bricey occupying the same bed. Mrs. Henry rushed in and seizing a stout stick of wood began to rain blows upon her wayward husband and his companion in sin. With the fury of a tigress the wronged wife beat both offenders until they sprang from the bed and rushed from the house.

Mrs. Henry gave pursuit to her husband, but he could run faster and soon escaped. He has not been seen since, and has fled for parts unknown. Mrs. Bricey returned to her resort as soon as the coast was clear. She was considerably bruised up about the face and arms, and will show signs of the clubbing she received. As Mrs. Henry and her club devoted more time to Mr. Henry than Mrs. Bricey, it is certain that he is pretty badly damaged. It is thought Henry went to Cincinnati, and will remained there until the excitement blows over.


Reprinted from the National Police Gazette, October 14, 1893