Press enter after choosing selection

Selections: Case Of Delia Webster

Selections: Case Of Delia Webster image
Parent Issue
Day
10
Month
February
Year
1845
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

SficiAt. Ttma c thk FAturta Gwctnt Cotmï.- tlon. Richard A. fcuckiter, Jr. p.e ing. Tuesday,DcemW 1?, 13 4. - Com moHWtnlth r. DtUa A. Webster, and Calrin jraír&rtwfc.-lndictment for teáüng the nogro boy Loui, th properij of Thomas Grant & Co, Th crt cominfr up for trial, in noswer to the qnetion whetber she was ready for tiiol, Miss Wobfter responded in the nffirmative, butdernaiided a scpnrate trial on the groi.nd hiitshedid not believe she could recei ve a T ir trial if tned jointly vvith Foirbanks. be¦ause of the prejodice existing egainst him, nnd of cettain cvidence which slie nderstood was to bc produced ngainst him at the trial by which she believed her cause would be injuriuusly ofücfed. Haviug made affidavits to Ihis effect the niotion was granted. Fairbonks applied for a conlinuancc - was Bworn and utateë thnt somo of his most important witnesaes vpero absent, particularly a Mr. Allon, of New York, by whom heexpected to prove that there werc no negioes in company on his j iurney to Maysville. Also that his counsel, John M. McCalIa, had lately left Lexington ond he had no oppiirtunity of employinr othera. The Court thereupon appointed Wilüam B. Kinkead as liis counsel; and after sonae debate, granted hisnpplicatioD and remanded him to juil. Miss Webiter was then arraigned and pleaded not gwliy Por the Commonwealth - Mr. A. H. Robertaon, Commonwealth's Attomey, aseisted by Richard Pindell, Etq.For the defence - Messrs. M. C. Johnson, Combi, nnd Shy. Afier soma difficulty, a jury having boen mpannelled, the Coramonwealth commenced tho exarnmation of 'tía witnessea, vvhoseeviencö was as follows: Miss Webster, forsome monthsprevious to her arrest, taught school in Lexington, und boorded with a Airs. Glass. About the first ef September a man caJlir.i' himself Fairbinks, carao lo the house and enquired for her; was kJd that sbe was ab.-ent; sltted that hecd very mtich to see hor tbr, although entirely unacquainted wiih her, he knew some of fcer friends n Ohio. VVhen Miss W. caine in, Fairbanks introduced himself, and immediRtdy desired a private conversation vi(h her. They retired to a sfpirate room and remained there together and alone for sorae ti.ne. At Miss Webster' s request Mrs. Glass consented 10 rceive Mr. Fairbanks as a b.arder in her bouw, and Trom that time, iintil aday or tvvo previous to her arrest, tliey held long conversations togetber, and seemcd desirous of avoidng ebservation. On Monciay, the 281 of September, Fairbauks called on Parker Cruig to inquire if he could get a hack to go to Maysville on the next Saturday. Craig loM him he could. On Wedneeday he aguin called, to provide against disappointment. On Saturday he carne to Craig and ordered the i hack to be sent to Mrs. Glass's, where a younj j lady would join hira. He asked if he conld jet to Paris that niglit, Btarting at five o doek. Craig told him he could. How long it would tke hitn to go to Maysville and return? and was answered foar days. He then remarked thit he would slart at five that e?ening, go to Paria that ntght, and Maysville the next day. if it was not too hard a drive. The hack ctlled agreeably to insiruction at Mrs. Glass's, ind Miss Webster goí into it wi h Fairbanks, itating to her landlady that she wosgoing to tpend her Sabbath in Vereailles with Borne friends, end would return early on Monday raorning. Instead of going directly to Paris &b Fairbanka had stated he intended to do, ii was proved that the hack was at the hospital t 6 o'clock, and at the Bruen House in ]xington at half past six, where two tntnks, both of lealher, which Fairbanks had left there aome days before, were placed upon it, The keeper of the tnrnpike gate on the Maysvüle rotd, proved that no hick passed the gate that evening before nine or ten o'clock, so that thry could not have left Lexington before past eight or nine. The same night that these transactions are proved to have taken place, Louis, the slave nained in the indictmem, the property of Messrs. Gram & Baxter, oscapcd together with his uije ond child theproperty of Mr. Bain. The next thing heard of Fairbanks and Webster is f rom the tavern Veeper at Washington, four miles on tliis side of the Ohio; he says that a a hack passet! that place on Sunday morning driving rapidly with the curtaina all down; that on Monday mornjng about 1 o'clock, he was aroused by the return of the same hack, out of which carne Fairbanks and the prisoner; there were two leather trunks on the hack as it went down. bul none as it returned; the horses were very much fatigued; they ieroained at his house for onje two or tbree hours whe he (the tavern keeper) went out of the room to see about the horses, leaving Miss Webster andbanks alone; when he returned the door was locked and remained so till about four in the morning, when they came oat to start, there was no bed in the oom; Mr. ftiusic (thetavcru keeper) thinking that they were a runaway couple, laughed at them a Hule about it, but tbey neither ackno wledged nor denied sucli to be the tact. On Sunday momíngearly Mr. Bram foand ' that hts servants (the wifeand chile1 of Louis) had absconded, taking with thera two L-atiier iruitks', he proceeded to inquire what hacks Tiad left town, and Craig, hearing of it, iminediately 6uspectet! that they had goue oñ' i his hack with Fnirbanks. Traces of hackwheels were found m tlve street, where the hack had lun?d round jtist by Bains residence, and these traces were recognized by Craig as the track of Jus wheels - which hekncw by the peeuünr coaformaüon of the tire. Br.in and Crnig starled therv for Maysville, bnd a few miles, the other tide of Paris met the hack retuwung wiih Fairbanks k. WebBtcr stil! ifl it. Fairbaiikö asked Craig if he recog nizpd the horses; no lie replied, one of them is nol mine. Fairbankü tbcn explained tha out of the horsea he hired from Craig lio( d fjom fatigue in Alillftrïbnrg, aslliey went étnn; tW#v thcrt obtaineá anothcr vvbicbthfeylook with thcm, ond ott rcturhitlg, a strange horsö, the one henow éaj fblWed thbiit'fröin Mayslick tb Riillcrsbur wliere thc.v retltrtied the hörse tbey hnfci ii!rë! bh doUH, üHd pittiti the oiiö tliat had followcd them. Craig then ttsked him where he had been, and lie repJied, to oesist rtmaway conple to be matried. Wlmt were their mmw? nt-ked he; wlien Miss Webster sharply lolt] Fairbnnka o to ansicrr the queslion. The driver then proceedtd to Lexiiigton- -Bain ond .Croiji tbllowed jnst behii.d fficm. Hearing tU'at Miss W. was euspectod ofstealiiig neroes, Mrs. Glas.-, with a pasí key, enterei her room o ml found n one of her trunks =exeral leiters from Otyjrlin, Ohio; one trom Foirhnnks, proposinjr to come over and assist her in runniiijj off slave.,ke. Tliese lel tors tlie Commonwealth atiempted toread, but was not ollowed ly Ihe court, or. the principie laicl down in Greenleaf aiid the authorily of the cotes ihere cited j ihat the mere possession of lutters,not proved ! to be answeied, is no evidence of acq-iiescence n their conlents, [1 Greenleafa Evidence.] In the meiin tiroi?, Craig ond Bain returned with their prisoners, ond Fnirbanks was itnmediately searched by the jailor, and a letter found in Iiis possession wne utlempted to be read by tbe Communwealth, on the ground that on proof of a conspiracy. the acts and declaratioiiá of one conepirntor in purstiit of this comniKti ol.j -et is admissble against them all. [See cases Rox vs. Watt=on, 21 ïlowell St. Tr. - American Fur Company tr. United States, L Peters. 1 PI. ernd Am. on Evid. 21D.] The conrt refused permission to read the letter, there having been aa vet no sufficient proof of a con.epiracy between Foirbanks and Webster, which must bp established, at least prima facie, before the acts or declara! ion of one could be received against the othcr [2 Stark. Ev. 325; 1 Green leafEv. 122.1It was then proved f fiat in a conversal ion held subscqnently to hor arrest. Miss Web ster had declared thatphe had gone wilh Fairbanks to assist a rnnaway coupie to get morried; that nflenvards she said thnt Fairbanks who pretends to be a preacher, had persuuded her to g-o to Mülersburg wiih hirn as he had some ministerial duties there to attend to. - In another conversation she was nsked wlicro tbe negroea got into ihe hack. She answered, no negioes got iu. But betwecn this place and Paris three persons, n man woman, and a child ("mark the coincidence) got into tho hack: but added, they we re all white persons to her unknown. Agaiu she etatcd that Fa'rbanks had deceived her, and nnder prelence of taking her to Versailles had lured her on to Maysville. The Cummomvealth, having prev'ously 6Ceral times attempted to read the letter of Fairbanks, was now permitled lo do so. lt bore date ihe Thursday previous to the day the nrgroes escaped. After oticing the failure of the writer in his nttetnpt to run oíF a negro woman, the wiíe of Ghilson, a negro who it seems had made his way to Ohio from this neigljbornood, he goes on to e&y thnt Miss W. and the writer had concluded to carry off three negroe, a man named Louie.a stout active boy, his wife ed child, and that they wonld attempt it on the following Satnrday; that on arriving al Aberdeen, he would eend them on by the duily or underground route, and would then return with Mi.-s VV. to Lexington- that he was boarding: in the same house with her, and ihat neither was suspected. He says furtlier tiiat he hnd nlready sent his baggage to Cincinnati, (remember the two leather trunks taken from the Bruen House,) and would follow it there as eoon as lie liad seen Miss Webster home. I may probably send you a copy of ll.is letter, if yííii wish it. No evidence of any moment oSered by the defence. The jury retired on Friday evening, afior hearing the ab'e argument of counsel, and brought in on Saturday morning, a veidict of guilt)', fixing her punishmcnt at two years! imprisonment in ihe penitentiory. Smlence was pronounccd by Judge Duckner on Saturday, January 41 !i, and the prisoner taken down on Thursday, the 9th, to Frankfort.

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News