Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 21, 2016

John Peters was born in Ulster County, New York, but when the time came to serve in the Civil War, he was in Philadelphia, and it was there that he enrolled in the 115th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, as a Sergeant, on 9 April 1862.  Supposedly, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant on 26 January 1863, but was never mustered at that rank.  He served until he was wounded at Chancelorsville, Virginia, on 3 May 1863, and following that injury, he recovered enough to return to service in the 110th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, with a discharge date of 14 April 1865.

From his Pension Index Card (Fold3 version shown above), it is known that he applied for a pension on 28 June 1865, a little more than two months after his discharge.  According to the card, he received the pension, but the card also notes that he died on 6 February 1882 at the National Soldiers’ Home in Virginia.

From these records, which are readily available on the web, it is not possible to tell much about how severely he was injured or how long it took him to recover.  Some of that information may be in the pension application files, but because of the cost of obtaining them, they were not consulted for this blog post.

In 1867, Army Surgeon John A. Lidell compiled his memoirs from the records of the Stanton General Hospital, Washington, D.C., of which he was in charge.  In addition to his own personal recollections, he used postmortem records, observations of friends, and material provided by the United States Sanitary Commission to produce a compilation of clinical reports relating to specific cases treated at Stanton General Hospital, many of which had not been previously published in the medical history of the war.  Lidell’s memoirs were not published until 1870.

Harold Elk Straubling included a few selected cases from the memoirs of Lidell in his book, In Hospital and Camp:  The Civil War Through the Eyes of Its Doctors and Nurses (Harrisburg: Stackpole Press, 1993).

Some of the medical record of John Peters is presented here.  The gruesome details have been eliminated by ellipsis but are presented by Straubling on pages 89-93 of the aforementioned book.

Case XLV. Gunshot Fractures of Left Femur and also of Cranium; Necrosis and Exfoliation of a Fragment of External Table of Scull; Chronic Osteomyelitis of Femur; Several Fragments of Necrosed Bone; besides some Detached Splinters, extracted from Thigh.

Sergeant John Peters, Company I, 115th Pennsylvania Volunteers, aged 25 years, was admitted to the Stanton U.S. Army General Hospital on 15 June 1863, for gunshot injuries.  He state that he was wounded on 3 May in the Battle of Chancellorsville by a minie ball, which passed through his left thigh….  When admitted to the hospital… the thigh was swollen and inflamed, and the wound suppurating profusely….

He had besides, a compound… fracture of the scull…. The scalp-wound was about two inches in length and one in breadth.  The depressed portion of the bone was about the size of a half-dime…. He states that his left side was paralyzed for about two weeks after the reception of the wound…. He complains of having some frontal headache, and pain shooting in the direction of his right eye….  His general condition is not promising.  His tongue is red and dry; his pulse frequent and feeble, his spirits are somewhat depressed, and he has but little appetite….

17 June 1863 – He had a chill, followed by a fever and sweating….

20 June 1863 – His general appearance has improved.  The head wound looks well…. The thigh wounds are also doing well….

27 June 1863 – The wound of the head is again suppurating, and he has no fever…

12 July 1863 – He complains of having pain in the foot, which prevents sleep.  Directed morphia sulph[ate]… to be administered at night….

10 August 1863 – His condition is much improved.  The head-wound looks well.  The fracture of the femur has united; but necrosed bone is discernible on exploration of the thigh wound.

30 August 1863 – He has rigors and fever in the afternoon….

5 September 1863 – He complains of pain in his right side, is restless, has cough, and there is course crepitation in his right lung….

8 September 1863 – His condition is much improved.  The pain, cough, and crepitation in the chest have ceased….

11 September 1863 – There is swelling, redness, and pain in his thigh.  Order the lead and opium wash to be applied to it.

12 September 1863 – The pain, redness, swelling, and tension of his thigh have increased.  Free incisions were made (long and deep), a quantity of us evacuated and relief afforded.

14 September 1863 – His general condition is much improved.

20 September 1863 – Wound of head is healed; abscess of thigh filling up with healthy granulations….

20 December 1863 – He complains of debility and want of appetite….

13 February 1864 – He has diarrhoea….

16  February 1864 – The diarrhoea is checked….

14 April 1864 – The patient was transferred to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, being in good flesh and spirits, and abundantly able to stand the journey.  The injure limb is recovering from the atrophy occasioned by long disuse, that is, it is increasing in size, and the patient is rapidly regaining the use of is.  The limb was shortened  just three inches.

Other than the transfer to the 110th Pennsylvania Infantry as noted on the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Card previously mentioned (from the Pennsylvania Archives), not much more is reported about John Peters‘ military service until his discharge on 14 April 1865 .  The injuries he received were apparently severe enough that he was forced to apply for disability benefits on 28 June 1865.  While he was granted those benefits, there is also evidence that he was not able to take care of himself, because as early as 1867, he appeared in the Soldiers’ Home records at Dayton, Ohio, and after that he was transferred to the home at Hampton, Virginia in 1871, where he died on 8 February 1886.

Little else is known about John Peters, his background, and his experiences in the Civil War.  But the medical records of the war, as well as the memoirs of doctors who served, do provide a resource that heretofore has not been fully utilized in genealogical research, as this one example shows.

Additional information is sought on how soldiers recovering from war-related injuries were treated in the hospitals of the time.  Appropriate comments can be attached to this blog post.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on John Peters – Saved By Surgeons, Pensioned, But Died in Soldiers’ Home in 1886
Tags: Medicine

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 19, 2016

Part 6 of this murder story will be told in today’s blog post.  It begins with the incarceration of Henry Fisher in Eastern Penitentiary in Philadelphia following his sentencing and ends with the years after his release – with a few surprising twists in-between.  The photo above of Eastern Penitentiary was taken in March 2009.  It is currently a historical attraction.

Sarah Ann [Reed] Klinger, a widow of a Civil War veteran and a pensioner, was brutally murdered in her home near Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, on 21 November 1906.  Through the stories printed in newspapers of the time, this horrendous murder story will be told.  In Part 1, the initial reports of the murder were presented as well as speculation on the motive and the arrest of Henry Fisher.  In Part 2, the initial courtroom appearance in February 1907 was followed by Fisher’s incarceration at the Danville Asylum so he could be evaluated for insanity.  In Part 3, the trial and conviction of Henry Fisher was told, with his sentencing to death by the Court.  In Part 4, the second trial is discussed through the conviction of Henry Fisher for a second time for first degree murder.  Part 5, deals with the appeals process that granted the third trial followed by the conviction of Henry Fisher for a third time, but this time for second degree murder.

Jacob Klinger was born on 3 April 1843 in Lower Mahantongo Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  During the Civil War, he served in the 172nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private, from 27 October 1862 through 1 August 1863.  Jacob Klinger died in early 1899. He had been collecting a pension, which, after his death, Sarah applied for and was receiving at the time of her murder.

From the Daily News (Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania), 7 April 1910:

FISHER BELIEVER IN BIBLE; WRITES DECLARING INNOCENCE

A registered number on the books of the Eastern Penitentiary at Philadelphia, represented in life Henry Fisher, who is serving twenty years as separate and solitary confinement at hard labor in that institution, he having been found guilty of second degree murder for the killing of Mrs. Sarah Klinger.

Warden Dietrich, of the Northumberland County Prison, has received a letter from Fisher telling of his life in the penitentiary and still protesting that he did not kill Mrs. Klinger.

In this letter Fisher states that he is enjoying good health and extends his thanks to the warden and the members of the family, for all the kindness shown to him during the time that h was in prison.  Part of the letter reads as follows:

“I am having a good life here, trusting in God.  I have my Bible with me and am going to live up to it by God’s help.  I think I shall get baptized in the Episcopal Church and trust that the day will come when God will show the people that I am not guilty of this crime.”

Fisher also states that he is learning to make shoes.  The only thing that worries him is concerning the welfare of his children and he is anxious to have them visit him, but he is unable to pay the expense of their trip to Philadelphia.  He requests that his children be told that he wants them to write to him and would also like to hear from several parties residing in the county.

From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 1 January 1913; also from the Evening News (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), 1 January 1913.

SERVING 20-YEAR TERM FOR MURDER

Statement of Dying Woman May Set Shamokin Man Free

Philadelphia, 1 January — Serving a twenty-year sentence in the Eastern Penitentiary for a murder he has steadfastly contended he did not commit, Henry Fisher, of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, broke down and wept yesterday when he was told that the statement of a dying woman may set him free.

“Didn’t I always tell you I was innocent, warden?” he cried, tears rolling down his cheeks.  Then he was seized with a violent fit of coughing.

“Prison life doesn’t agree with me very well,” he explained, “and I hope to God I get out of here, for I swear that I am innocent.”

Fisher was convicted, on circumstantial evidence, of the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, an old woman, who was fo9und dead in her home at Shamokin, her skull battered in, on the evening of 21 December 1906.  His lawyers, Welsh and Welsh, of Shamokin, appealed to both the Superior and Supreme Courts, but the evidence was seemingly so overwhelming against Fisher that the verdict was upheld.

Several days ago Mrs. Margaret Miller was taken to the Shamokin State Hospital, suffering from injuries inflicted by her son.  Mrs. Miller’s condition is such that doctors say she has slight chance for recovery.  It was noticed that the woman was troubled in mind and doctors questioned her.

At first she was reluctant to unburden herself, but when her condition took a turn for the worse she told the doctors she did not wish to die with guilty knowledge on her soul.  Then, it is said that her son, George Miller, 35 years old, who had beaten her in a drunken frenzy, had been present at the murder of Mrs. Klinger and that Fisher did not commit the crime.

Attorneys Welsh and Welsh were summoned and took the dying woman’s statement.  According to them, she said that her son had told her that he was a witness of the murder and that Fisher, sent to prison for twenty years on circumstantial evidence, was innocent.

Miller is now in the Northumberland County Jail at Sunbury, awaiting trial on a charge of murderously assaulting his mother.  He denies all knowledge of the killing of Mrs. Klinger, but the police and Fisher’s counsel are redoubling their efforts to get at the bottom of the case.  They are convinced that Mrs. Miller told the truth, and, on the strength of her statement, an application will be made to the Board of Pardons for the release of Fisher.

Assistant Warden Walters accompanied a reporter when he went to see Fisher in the penitentiary yesterday.  Later Warden McKenty was told of the turn the case has taken.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said the warden.  “Fisher’s the sort that wouldn’t kill a rat.  He hasn’t been vicious since he’s been here.”

In telling of his conviction, Fisher said:

“I never killed Mrs. Klinger, though they forged around me a chain of circumstantial evidence.  I loved that old woman as much as I did my wn mother.  I had lived at her house, on the outskirts of Shamokin, for years.  On the 21st of December 1906, I came home from work and found “Mam” dead.  I always called the old lady “Mam,” as she was just like a mother to me.  I notified the police, and they arrested me on suspicion.  Circumstantial evidence put me here, but I swear by my Maker, that I am innocent.”

The murder of Mrs. Klinger and trial of Fisher attracted State-wide attention.  Fisher was generally believed to be guilty, and the efforts of his lawyers to free him were regarded as mis-directed.  Public opinion throughout Northumberland County was against the accused and the verdict of guilty met with popular approval.

Fisher himself, while protesting his innocence, was in dread of the gallows and at his trial went into hysterics.

From the Allentown Democrat (Pennsylvania), 2 January 1913:

DYING WOMAN’S STATEMENT MAY FREE ACCUSED MURDERER

Philadelphia, 1 January — Serving 20 years in the Eastern Penitentiary for murder which he steadfastily pleaded he was innocent of, Henry Fisher of Shamokin, broke down and cried when told that the dying woman’s statement may free him.  Fisher was convicted on circumstantial evidence for the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, an old woman whose scull was battered in at Shamokin on 21 December 1906.  Mrs. Margaret Miller, recently taken to the Shamokin Insane Hospital, dying from injuries inflicted by her son, George Miller, upon learning that her condition was serious, it is said, told the doctors that her son, George, witnessed the Klinger murder and told her that Fisher was not there.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 2 January 1913:

MAN NOT MURDERER, ASSERTS ILL WOMAN

Says Her Son Told Her Henry Fisher, Serving Twenty Years, Was Innocent

Attorneys for Henry Fisher, of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, who has served five years of a twenty year sentence for murder, will try to effect his release from the Eastern Penitentiary as the result of a statement made by Mrs. Margaret Miller, who is critically ill at the Shamokin Hospital.  Mrs. Miller has declared that her son George, who she says, was an eye-witness to the murder, told her that Fisher was innocent. 

Several days ago Mrs. Miller was taken to the hospital suffering from injuries alleged to have been inflicted by the son.  Miller is now in the Northumberland County Jail awaiting trial for the supposed assault.  He denies all knowledge of the murder.

From the Pittston Gazette (Pennsylvania), 3 January 1913; also from The Citizen (Honesdale, Pennsylvania), 3 January 1913:

DYING, MAY SET MAN FREE

Convict Always Protested His Innocence of Murder

Philadelphia, 2 January — Serving a twenty-year sentence in the Eastern Penitentiary for a murder he has steadfastly insisted he did not commit, Henry Fisher of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, broke down and wept when he heard that the statement of a dying woman may set him free.

“Didn’t I always tell you I was innocent, warden?” he cried, tears coursing down his cheeks.  Then he was seized with a violent fit of coughing.

Recently, Mrs. Margaret Miller was taken to the Shamokin State Hospital suffering from injuries inflicted by her son. Doctors say she has slight chance for recovery.  It was noticed that the woman seemed troubled in mind, and doctors questioned her.

At first she was reluctant to unburden herself, but finally she told the doctors she did not wish to die with guilty knowledge on her soul and, it is said, declared that her son, George Miller, thirty-five years old, who had beaten her in a drunken frenzy, had been present at the murder of Mrs. Klinger and that Fisher did not commit the crime.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 12 February 1914:

Sheriff John H. Glass, who took four prisoners… to the Eastern Penitentiary, near Philadelphia, has returned and reports that he saw a number of the prisoners from this county including Henry Fisher, who brutally murdered Mrs. Sarah Klinger.  Fisher, the sheriff says, is extremely anxious to get out.  He steadfastly declares that he is sane and swears he never committed the crime….

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 2 September 1919:

CAN’T LOCATE MAN ON PAROLE

Henry Fisher, convicted of murder in the second degree for the slaying of Sarah Klinger, and who was released on parole from the Eastern Penitentiary during 1916, after serving approximately half of a twenty-year term, is wanted by the penitentiary authorities for breaking his parole.

Fisher, who has been a model prisoner from the time he began serving his long sentence, was granted his parole on 16 October 1916.  Having mastered a trade while in prison he quickly found employment in Philadelphia and reported at regular intervals to Warden McKenty at the penitentiary until 1 October of last year, when he suddenly quit his job and disappeared;

Since that time he has not been seen or heard of, although efforts have been made by the prison officials, through circulars and letters, to ascertain his whereabouts.  The aid of the Shamokin officials was enlisted sometime ago in the belief that he may have returned to his former haunts.

Thus far, Shamokin officers have been unable to obtain any information regarding the parole jumper, however.

It will be remembered that Fisher was arrested for the murder of Mrs. Klinger, an aged woman, who was slain in a small house on Water Street, West of First Street, Shamokin.  Fisher and his wife had been making their home with the woman and Fisher was alleged to have killed her for a small sum of money she kept in the house.

Fisher was convicted of murder in the first degree, but was granted a new trial because of an error that was made during the trial of the case.  He was convicted a second time, but on this occasion there had been a separation of the jury, and the higher court, upon appeal of counsel, returned the case for another trial.  At the third trial a verdict of murder in the second degree was rendered.

From the Shamokin News-Dispatch (Pennsylvania), 4 February 1926; also from the Daily News (Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania), 3 February 1926:

HENRY FISHER, THREE TIMES TRIED FOR MURDER, IS NOW A SHOEMAKER, IS NOW A SHOEMAKER AT BRYN MAWR

Local Man Who Was Twice Convicted of First Degree Murder and Finally Escaped With Second Degree is Successful in His Vocation

Henry Fisher, formerly of this city, who was tried three times for the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, convicted twice of first degree murder and latterly for second degree murder, served a comparatively brief term in the Eastern Penitentiary, following which he was paroled, is at present engaged as a shoemaker at Bryn Mawr, near Philadelphia, and is said to be quite successful in his vocation, which, it is understood, he learned while in the penitentiary.

Fisher, it will be recalled, was placed in jail, charged with the murder of Mrs. Klinger, with whom he and his wife made their home.  During his period of incarceration he shammed insanity so successfully that a lunacy commission recommended his removal to the Danville State Hospital.  Following treatment there he was brought back to the county courts and tried for the crime.  A first degree verdict resulted, but this verdict was reversed by the higher court because of Judge Savidge having admitted confidential letters written by Fisher to his wife and the wife to Fisher.

At the second trial he was again convicted of murder in the first degree and again the opinion of the jury was over-ruled by the higher court because the jury had been separated during the time it was deliberating upon the evidence.

The third trial brought about a second degree verdict and his imprisonment followed, with parole coming after comparatively brief incarceration.

The case was one of the most sensational and hard-fought in the history of the county, with Attorneys J. I. Welsh, deceased, and his brother J. A. Welsh, appearing for Fisher, while Attorneys Herbert W. Cummings and D. W. Shipman prosecuted the case for the commonwealth.

Note:  Different headline on Daily News story – Henry Fisher, Murderer of Renown in this County, Shoemaker at Bryn Mawr, Man Who Was Tried Three Times and Escaped Gallows is Engaged as Cobbler.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 11 May 1928; also from Shamokin News-Dispatch (Pennsylvania), 11 May 1928.

SEEK RELEASE OF MAN FOR BRUTAL MURDER

Efforts Being Made to Secure Freedom for Man Serving Time for Killing

Henry Fisher, central figure in what has been declared Northumberland County’s most brutal murder, will be a free man after having served twenty-one years in the Eastern Penitentiary, if efforts now being made in his behalf succeed.

Fisher, who was sentenced in 1907 to a term of twenty years in the pen, for the murder of “Mom” Klinger, aged Shamokin woman, was once in the shadow of the gallows and had three or four trials before he was finally sentenced.

It was testified at the trial that Fisher, had entered a resort maintained by Mrs. Klinger and beaten her to death with a poker, for the purpose of stealing money she had received as a pension.  He was later seen at the pump in the rear of the house, washing blood from his clothing.

The man feigned insanity and a commission named by the court found him of unsound mind, with the result that he was removed to the Danville State Hospital.  It was found there, however, that he had been shamming and he was returning to jail in Sunbury to face trial.

In the subsequent trials, the slayer was once found guilty of murder in the first degree.  Before he could be sentenced to the gallows by Judge C. R. Savidge, then on the bench, however, an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court by Attorneys J. A. Welsh and his brother, the late Jack Welsh, who represented the slayer, and a new trial was ordered on the ground that the jury which had returned the verdict had been separated while deliberating and that one of the jurors had communicated with his home by telephone during that period.

In a subsequent trial Fisher was found guilty of murder in the second degree and thus escaped the noose, He was out of the pen for a short time on probation during the past two years but was returned in April 1927.

Fisher, now a man about sixty years of age and without friends is directing his own effort to secure his freedom.

It was recalled today how Fisher at one stage of the trials, yelped like a dog and crawled on hands and knees toward the judge’s bench.  He was restrained with difficulty and precautions were taken against him jumping from a courthouse window.

A certified record of Fisher’s case is now being made up in the office of the prothonotary and clerk of the courts at Sunbury for transmission to officials at the Eastern Penitentiary.

Note:  Different headline on Shamokin News-Dispatch story – HENRY FISHER SEEKS RELEASE FROM THE ‘PEN’, Efforts Being Made to Secure Freedom For Shamokin Man Who Has Already Served 21 Years for County’s Most Henious [sic] Crime.

From the Shamokin News-Dispatch (Pennsylvania), 4 January 1930.

Henry Fisher, County Slayer Works on Farm Near Philadelphia

Trial of Shamokin Man Furnished Stirring Chapter in Legal History of County — Convicted, Sent to Asylum

Henry Fisher, whose trial for the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger a score of year ago furnished a stirring chapter to the legal history of Northumberland County, is now working on a farm outside of Philadelphia, according to information in official circles in the county.

The woman was beaten to death with a stove raker and her pension stolen.  Fisher was arrested and taken to jail.  When it came time for his trial before Judge C. R. Savidge, he refused to go.  He was afflicted with a loathsome disease and threatened to bit [sic] anyone who touched him.

Finally Deputy Sheriff William H. Deppen, now Postmaster of Sunbury, John D. Bucher, then a news editor in the county seat and now deputy controller, and the keepers of the prison leaped on him, manacled him and dragged him to a McKinney hack whence he was transported to the court house.  Passing Cameron Park he looked at the grass, fresh in the early spring, and said: “What a pretty cornfield.”

In the court room he crawled under tables, snarled like a wild cat, neighed like a horse and put on some other excellent imitations.

He was sent to the Danville Asylum until word came from that institution: “Come for your man, he’s feigning insanity.”  They had put him alone in a room, observed him through peepholes and heard him say to himself, “I fooled them all right.”

He was convicted and then his counsel, J. A. Welsh, of Shamokin, learned some things of the jury that caused a state-wide sensation.  During the trial one of them went to a telephone to ask his wife for fresh clothing; others went to a barber shop and still others had quite a party in the hotel where they were quartered.

Fisher got a new trial.  He was again convicted and the Supreme Court again rejected the verdict because letters he sent his wife were used against him.  The next time he was convicted in the second degree.

He was given the maximum sentence, but did not serve it out, as he was paroled.  However, a subsequent report received at the controller’s office was that he had violated his parole and was sent back to the Eastern Pen at Philadelphia.  He served a few months and was again released.

From the Shamokin News-Dispatch (Pennsylvania), 22 April 1937.

WELSH SOUGHT AS COUNSEL….

Attorneys J. A. Welsh, Shomokin, and Eugene Mirarchi, Kulpmont and Mount Carmel… have been requested… to serve as defense counsel [in the murder trial of Anthony Peronace]… at Sunbury the first week of May….

In the event Attorney Welsh finally decides to act as chief counsel for Peronace, it will be his first appearance in a murder case in some years.

Attorney Welsh, and his brother, the late Attorney John I. Welsh, came into prominence as leading criminal lawyers at the turn of the century.  Their first major case was as defendants for Henry Fisher, Shamokin, charged with the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, of West Water Street.

Fisher was twice convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced each time to be hanged.  Attorneys Welsh appealed both cases to the Supreme Court and won new trials.  Fisher was finally convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in the Eastern Penitentiary.  He was subsequently paroled after serving a minimum sentence, and is reported to be engaged as a shoemaker in a suburb of Philadelphia.

Following the Fisher trials, the Welsh brother successfully defended a number of other murder cases and came to be known as the leading criminal lawyers in the region.

News articles are from Newspapers.com.

Category: Research, Stories | Comments Off on Sarah Klinger – Civil War Widow Bludgeoned to Death in 1906 (Part 6)
Tags: Women

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 17, 2016

George Nagle, born about 1824, enrolled in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, as a Private at Pottsville, on 23 September 1861.  He died at Washington, D.C., on 9 January 1864 of typho-malarial fever.  His widow, Lucinda [Martz] Nagle applied for pension benefits based on his service, which she received.  Fold3 has posted 27 pages from that pension application which can be downloaded from that site.  Included is the letter sent to Mrs. Nagle informing her of her husband’s death.

David P. Newhart was born about 1827.  He enrolled in the 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, as a Private at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, on 11 November 1862, and was mustered into service the same day.  He was discharged on 17 November 1862 in order to serve in a cavalry regiment. His name was then located in the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company B, as a Private, but the records of that regiment indicate that he was “absent sick at muster out.”  No pension application was located for him in either regimental file in Fold3.  Also, he was not located in an 1890 Census, nor was he located in Findagrave.  His name was not located in the index to names on the Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg.

One military record indicates that he also served in the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry but he has not been found in that regiment. Another record indicates that on 8 November 1862 he was mustered into service in the 178th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company E, but that record reports him as deserted on 10 November 1862.

Nothing else is known about him at this time.

Lewis Noecher was born about 1831.  On 16 August 1862 he was mustered into service in the 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, in which he served as a Corporal.  He was discharged on 17 February 1863.  In the Civil War military records, he is also found as Lewis Noecker and Lewis Nocher.  Also, in one case, his rank was given as Musician.

Information on his Pension Index Card (shown above from Fold3) indicates that he applied for an received a pension which he collected until his death in Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill County, on 15 August 1915, and afterward his wife applied and receive benefits until her death.

The 1890 Veterans’ Census noted that his post office address was Schuylkill Haven.  And, in the substitute census for Schuylkill County (below), he was a 59 year old farmer and the family members names were listed, including two sons who were teachers, Frank M. Noecker, age 24, and James Noecker, age 20.

Also found was the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Burial Card from the Pennsylvania Archives which confirms the date of death and gives the place of burial as Union Cemetery, Schuylkill Haven.

John Ney was a member of the 39th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863), from about 17 July 1863 to about 3 August 1863.  He served in Company H as a Private.

In the 1880 Census, John Ney was living in Wayne Township, Schuylkill County, and working as a farmer.

According to information on the Pension Index Card (above from Fold3), John Ney died on 21 September 1882.  His widow made application for a pension on 25 April 1907, but did not receive benefits, probably because John’s total service was less than 3 months, the minimum time for receipt of benefits.  On the Ancestry.com version of the Pension Index Card, the widow’s name was reported as Catherine Ney.

George Noll served in the 39th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863), Company H, as a Private, from 17 July 1863 to 2 August 1863.  At this time, not much more is known about him.

James W. Neall served in the 39th Pennsylvania Infantry (Emergency of 1863), Company H, as a Private, from 17 July 1863 to 2 August 1863.  He is also found as James K. Neal.  At this time, not much more is known about him.

Jerome Ney reportedly was a Corporal in the pre-Civil War Pine Grove Light Infantry.  Supposedly, he enrolled in a three-month regiment on 21 April 1861, but his name has not been located in the records.

Pennsylvania Veterans’ Cards are from the Pennsylvania Archives.

Readers are invited to submit additional information about any of the above-named veterans.  Please add comments to this post or send the information via e-mail.

Category: Research | Comments Off on Some Pine Grove Area Veterans – Surnames Beginning with “N”
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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 14, 2016

In the Memorial Book of the Otterbein Church of the United Brethren of Christ, Lykens Borough, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the following tribute is recorded:

Brother Nathaniel Charles Lehman was born 12 September 1844 at Berrysburg, Pennsylvania, and died in Lykens, Pennsylvania, 5 March 1918, age 73 years, 5 months and 23 days.

He was married 29 March 1867 to Miss Malinda Moyer and to their union were born eight children, three sons and five daughters.  His wife, two sons, Harry C. Lehman, and William F. Lehman, and two daughters, Emma Lehman (Mrs. William P—-) and Ruth M. Lehman, have preceded him in death.

The surviving children are:  Amelia C. Lehman (Mrs. G. W. Heartter), Salome M. Lehman (Mrs. D. H. Fegley), Estella C. Lehman (Mrs. Harry Shomper) and Jacob D. Lehman, still at home.

There are also 18 grand-children.

He was a veteran of the Civil War having served a period of eighteen months.

The following Resolutions were adopted by the Official Board:

Whereas, God in His all-wise providence has seen fit to remove from our midst the soul of our deceased Brother Nathaniel Charles Lehman;

We the members of the Official Board of the Otterbein Church of the United Brethren in Christ feel that we have sustained a severe loss but it is to our Brother’s eternal gain;

And while we bow in submission to the will of Him who cannot err we desire to express our appreciation of the life and labor of our Brother.

Brother Lehman was converted and united with the Church in 1875 and continued faithful until his death.  He served the Church as an Official Member almost continuously as his name appears on the records as early as 1879 as a General Steward.

He served as Class Steward from 1890-1900.

In April 1903 he was elected to the office of Church Trustee of which he was a member at the time of his death.

His funeral services were conducted in his home on East Main Street, 8 March with short services there in charge of his Pastor and proceeded at once to the Odd Fellows Cemetery where services were conducted by the Knights of Pythias, and the Sons of Veterans.

He received a military burial.

The funeral then proceeded to the Church where services were concluded with a sermon by his Pastor, the Rev. S. L. Rhoads, from the words found in II Timothy 4:7,8.

[Verse 7. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Verse 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.]

Thus from our membership another has been called to his eternal reward and we should learn the lesson that this would teach us, always to be ready for in such an hour….

Therefore be it resolved –

First: that we tender to the family of our Brother our most earnest sympathy and prayer.

Second:  that these resolutions be published in the Conference Herald and that a copy be given to the family, and that they be spread on the Minutes of the Official Board.

William H. Snyder, H. G. Deibler, R. H. Rhoads – Committee.

At the time of the Civil War, Nathaniel Lehman enrolled at Harrisburg in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company B, as a Private on 22 February 1864, and was mustered into service the same day.  He gave his age as 19, birthplace as Dauphin County, his residence as Wiconisco Township, and his occupation as miner.  He was just over 5 foot, five inches tall, had brown hair, a dark complexion, and grey eyes.  The record card shown above from the Pennsylvania Archives shows that he was honorably discharged on 18 July 1865.

For his service in the Civil War, he was awarded a pension, which as shown on the Pension Index Card from Fold3, he applied for on 26 October 1891.  His death date is confirmed on the card as 5 March 1918, in Lykens, as previously noted.

The cause of death was reported on his Pennsylvania Death Certificate (from Ancestry.com).  He died of uremia, which was complicated by a enlarged prostate.

As a member of the Heilner G.A.R. Post at Lykens, he was named on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument, as “Nat. C. Lehman.”

Additional information is sought about this Civil War soldier, including a picture which surely must be available somewhere considering the date of his death, the number of survivors, and his activity with his church as well as with the G.A.R.  Anyone who can help can either add a comment to this post or send the information via e-mail.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Nathaniel Lehman of Lykens – A Tribute from His Church
Tags: Berrysburg, G.A.R., Lykens Borough, Wiconisco Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 12, 2016

Part 5 of this murder story will be told in today’s blog post.  It includes the appeal of the second trial and the third trial and conviction of Henry Fisher, this time for second degree murder.

Sarah Ann [Reed] Klinger, a widow of a Civil War veteran and a pensioner, was brutally murdered in her home near Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, on 21 November 1906.  Through the stories printed in newspapers of the time, this horrendous murder story will be told.  In Part 1, the initial reports of the murder were presented as well as speculation on the motive and the arrest of Henry Fisher.  In Part 2, the initial courtroom appearance in February 1907 was followed by Fisher’s incarceration at the Danville Asylum so he could be evaluated for insanity.  In Part 3, the trial and conviction of Henry Fisher was told, with his sentencing to death by the Court.  In Part 4, the second trial and conviction of Henry Fisher was told, with the indication that his attorneys would again appeal the conviction, this time based on the intoxication of the jurors.

Jacob Klinger was born on 3 April 1843 in Lower Mahantongo Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  During the Civil War, he served in the 172nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private, from 27 October 1862 through 1 August 1863.  Jacob Klinger died in early 1899. He had been collecting a pension, which, after his death, Sarah applied for and was receiving at the time of her murder. Klinger’s Military Index Card (from Fold3) is shown at the top of this post.

From the Pittston Gazette (Pennsylvania), 20 October 1908; and also from the Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 October 1908:

Sunbury, Pennsylvania, 20 October — ….

The court… received an application for a new trial in the case of Henry Fisher, convicted of murdering Mrs. Sarah Klinger, in Shamokin.  His counsel alleges that some of his jurors drank in saloons, and left the court room while evidence was being presented.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 20 October 1908:

THE REASONS FOR NEW TRIAL

Attorneys Welsh, Welsh and Morganroth yesterday appeared before court and filed their reasons for a new trial for Henry Fisher, twice convicted of murder in the first degree after he had brutally slain Mrs. Sarah Klinger.  The attorneys aver that the jury which convicted Fisher had separated several times during the trial.  Members of the jury were seen drinking in saloons and some of them even left the courtroom while evidence was being taken.  Judge Savidge will go over the reasons carefully and if he considers them of sufficient weight Fisher will get another chance to save his life.

From the Daily News (Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania), 12 January 1909:

THE FISHER JURY MEN WERE DRUNK?

The Murderer’s Counsel Claims So – Demands a New Trial for the Brute

Alleging that the jurors drank intoxicating liquor during the trial, counsel for Henry Fisher, convicted of the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger at Shamokin, are endeavoring to get another chance to make a fight for the life of their client.  They hold that the jurymen were unable to appreciate the value of the testimony introduced.

During the argument for a new trial some of the jurymen were heard.  William Dehaven acknowledged being in a saloon, but said that he did not drink anything of an intoxicating nature.  Samuel Sowers, another juror, said he took one drink, while a court official was present with him in a restaurant.  Dr. P. H. Jones was asked if Dehaven had not told him prior to the trial that Fisher was a scoundrel and should be hanged.  The physician answered that the juror said Fisher should be executed if guilty.

During the trial Fisher feigned insanity, and while in prison tore out his eyebrows and eyelashes.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 19 January 1909:

CALLS JURY PERJURERS

Thrice -Convicted Murderer May Get New Lease of Life

Special to The Inquirer.

SELINS GROVE, Pennsylvania, 18 January — That the argument today on the reasons in the Henry Fisher murder murder case may result in another lease of life for Fisher is believed on all sides.  This was the most sensational murder trial in the criminal annals of Northumberland County, the defendant having been convicted and sentenced to death three [sic] times.

The defendant’s attorneys contend that it was shown that the jury during the trial had been in communication with outsiders.  John Welsh, attorney for the Commonwealth [sic], said to the court that the jury in this case had been deliberating while intoxicated, and that the testimony showed that some of the jurors were perjurers, and that a man’s life should not be thus put in jeopardy.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 19 January 1909:

MURDERER FISHER BEFORE THE COURT

ATTORNEYS WAX ELOQUENT — BRAND JUROR AS LIAR — ASSAIL THE NEWSPAPERS

Henry Fisher, brutal murderer of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, who has already had two trials for his life, and who seeks a third, was up before the court yesterday morning when argument was made in his behalf by Attorneys Welsh, Welsh and Morganroth.  Stirring speeches, delivered with characteristic power by the murderer’s counsel, added interest to the proceedings.

Attorney John Welsh sailed into one of the jurors, branding him as a perjurer.  He then assailed the county newspapers, condemning them for the stand they have taken in Fisher’s case.

The usual pleas were advanced for the brutal murderer and Judge Savidge will give his decision later.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 5 May 1909:

Claims He Did Not Kill Woman

Special to the Inquirer.

SUNBURY, Pennsylvania, 4 May — Judge Savidge today summoned Henry Fisher, convicted murderer of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, of Shamokin, before him, and announced that he had decided to refuse a new trial.  Following this the judge asked Fisher if he had anything to say why he should not be sentenced to be hanged.  The prisoner replied:  “I did not kill Mrs. Klinger.”  His counsel will apply for a new trial, claiming members of the jury had been separated during the trial.

From The Columbian (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), 6 May 1909:

Fisher Will Hang for Killing Mrs. Klinger

Henry Fisher, convicted of killing Mrs. Sarah Klinger, was sentenced to be hanged by Judge Savidge on Monday at Sunbury.

Fisher as well as the woman killed was a resident of Shamokin.  The murder, which took place over a year ago, was an especially cold-blooded and brutal one.  Fisher, after being convicted, was adjudged insane and brought to the hospital at Danville.  Many thought that he was feigning insanity; at all events after being incarcerated for a short time he was removed to the jail at Sunbury.

Fisher’s case was taken to the Supreme Court, but the lower court was sustained.  Accordingly, sentence was passed upon him.

Fisher was commanded by Judge Savidge to arise and he complied in a stoical, unemotional manner, The court asked him if he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed upon him.  He replied that he had nothing to say beyond the fact that he was “not guilty.”

Judge Savidge informed him that he had received a fair trial and that a jury of twelve men had adjudged him guilty of murder in the first degree.

Then in due and legal form Judge Savidge pronounced the sentence of death.  The silence was intense and the words of the judge could be heard in every part of the court room as he informed Fisher that he was to be “hanged by the neck until he was dead.”

It only remains now for the Governor to fix the day for the execution.

From the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Pennsylvania), 8 July 1909:

MURDERER ATTACKS WARDEN

Pretense of Insanity Gets Him Into Dungeon

SUNBURY, Pennsylvania, 8 July — Feigning insanity, Henry Fisher, convicted of murdering Mrs. Sarah Klinger, in Shamokin, broke furniture in his cell, and when a warden remonstrated Fisher deeply cut him on the head with a salt-shaker. The murderer was placed in a dungeon.

From the Daily News (Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania), 9 July 1909:

Murderer Attacks Warden

Feigning insanity, Henry Fisher, convicted of murdering Mrs. Sarah Klinger in Shamokin, broke furniture in his cell at Sunbury.  When a warden remonstrated Fisher deeply cut him on the head with a salt shaker.  The murderer was placed in a dungeon.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 9 July 1909:

FISHER IS AGAIN PLACED IN DUNGEON

Becoming restless and impatient over the long confinement and the slowness with which the law moves in trying his case, Henry Fisher, who so cruelly murdered Mrs. Sarah Klinger and who was twice tried and found guilty of the murder and sentenced to hang, has renewed his former mean habits, which aroused the ire of the jail authorities, and as a result is again confined to the dungeon in the jail at Sunbury.

During his first trial Fisher through his maniacal actions succeed in fooling the court authorities to such an extent that his trial was called off and the fellow sent to the Danville Insane Asylum for treatment, where it was discovered that the man was shamming and he was returned here to be tried.

During his stay at Danville, Fisher confessed to an attendant.

Since then, his case has gone before two juries, both of which found him guilty of murder in the first degree.

During his incarceration Fisher at times would become unruly and abusive, acting more like a wild beast than a human being, with the hopes of shamming insanity.  It did not work a second time however and each time he was placed in the dungeon, the only means by which the murderer was brought to his senses.

Lately Fisher has been on good behavior but last week he again showed manifestations of his old ugliness.  After smashing the furniture in his cell and doing countless other damage, the jail warden attempted to stop him.  This so incensed the murderer that he picked up a salt shaker and hurled it at his keeper, striking him in the eye and badly bruising it.  For this act Fisher was again placed in the dungeon and will not be let out until he has tamed down again.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 25 September 1909:

THE FISHER CASE

The Henry Fisher murder case will be again argued before the Supreme Court.  Probably no murder case in the history of Northumberland County has attracted the widespread attention that the Fisher case has and the outcome of the coming argument before the highest tribunal in the state will be eagerly looked for.  Fisher was first tried for the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger in September 1907.  An appeal was made by his attorneys and the higher court in May 1908, reversed the judgment of the lower court and ordered a new trial.  The second trial took place in September 1908, when the verdict was once more against the defendant.  His lawyers took exception to the verdict in the last trial and base their reasons for a new trial on twelve assignments of error, including introduction of improper evidence and the separate and gross misconduct of the jury during the trial.  Service was made yesterday on the district attorney of the appellant’s paper book, Commonwealth vs. Fisher.  The arguments will be presented to the Supreme Court during the week of Monday, October 4th.

From the Wellsboro Gazette (Pennsylvania), 29 September 1909:

Northumberland County has a way of permitting prolonged trials for murder.  Two years ago, in September, 1907, the case of Henry Fisher was begun, for the alleged murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger.  Next month the Supreme Court is to hear this notable case, and the paper book to be argued contains 800 pages.  “The only interest the public has in this latter item,” says The Milton Standard, “is the probability that in the end it will be obliged to pay for it.”

From The Columbian (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), 30 September 1909:

THE FISHER CASE

Will Be Argued Before Supreme Court Next Week

The Henry Fisher murder case will be again argued before the Supreme Court.  Probably no murder case in the history of Northumberland County has attracted the widespread attention that the Fisher case has and the outcome of the coming argument before the highest tribunal in the state will be eagerly looked for.  Fisher was first tried for the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger in September, 1907.  An appeal was made by his attorneys and the higher court in May, 1908, reversed the judgment of the lower court and ordered a new trial.  The second trial took place in September, 1908, when the verdict was once more against the defendant.  His lawyers took exception to the verdict in the last trial and base their reasons for a new trial on twelve assignments of error, including improper evidence and the separate and gross misconduct of the jury during the trial.  The arguments will be presented to the Supreme Court during the week of Monday, October 4th.

From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Pennsylvania), 12 October 1909:

MURDER JURORS LOOSELY GUARDED

Allegations Made in Supreme Court That They Were Allowed Liberty and Whiskey…

In the argument for a new trial for Henry Fisher, convicted of murder in the first degree in Northumberland County, heard by the Supreme Court yesterday, accusations were made that the jury in his case was guarded with remarkable laxity.

Fisher was charged with the murder of Sarah Klinger, 65 years of age, who lived in the same house as he did in West Shamokin.  After his arrest, both orally and in writing, he accused his wife of the crime.  When first brought to trial he acted with such violence that the trial was postponed and he was sent to an asylum.  His counsel claim he was insane, while the state says he was shamming.

In the argument for Fisher the fact that he was not tried at the first term of court after being indicted, objections to the manner of securing a jury and to some of the evidence admitted were used.  The unusual feature of the case related to the handling of the jurors during the trial.  It was asserted that they were not kept together, that the public could have had access to them and that whiskey and beer were supplied to them.  In one instance one of the tipstaves drank with a juror.  It was asserted that once several jurors left the court room and passed into a crowded hallway, and that the presiding judge followed and tried to find a tipstaff to take care of them.  The judge when examined on this point had some faint recollection of something of that kind.  All this, Fisher’s counsel asserted, prevented him from having a fair trial. The attorneys for the state did not deny that there had been a separation of the jury and admitted that the tipstaves had not been as careful as they might have been.  They denied, however, that any communication prejudiced to Fisher had passed.  The drinking of the jurors was admitted, with the assertion that they did not drink to excess.

From the Pittsburgh Daily Post, 12 October 1909

JURY IN MURDER CASE ENJOYS REAL PICNIC

Supreme Court Hears That Members and Tipstaff Had Beer and Whisky…

That the jury in a murder case had the freedom of courtroom corridors and mingled with the crowds, and that a tipstaff joined them in drinking liquor, was the remarkable claim made yesterday before the Supreme Court in the argument in behalf of Henry Fisher, convicted of murder in the first degree in Northumberland County.

Fisher was charged with the murder of Sarah Klinger, 65 years old, who lived in the same house with him, in West Shamokin.  Following the crime Fisher spent some time in an asylum, but the prosecution declared he was feigning insanity.  He blamed his wife for the crime.

The charge that beer and whisky were openly supplied to the jurors was made and it was claimed that several jurors at one time left the courtroom and mingled with the crowds.  Fisher’s counsel say he did not have a fair trial.  The drinking of the jurors was admitted, with the excuse that they did not drink to excess.

From the Daily News (Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania), 15 October 1909

SENATORS IN THE FISHER CASE

HOW THE STORY OF A JUROR DRINKING A GLASS OF BEER IS EXAGGERATED

The following dispatch comes from Pittsburgh where the attorneys for Fisher are trying to get him another trial.  In Northumberland County it is a joke.

Pittsburgh, 13 October — That the jury in a murder case had the freedom of court room corridors and mingled with the crowds and that a tipstaff joined them in drinking liquor, was the remarkable claim made yesterday by Attorneys Welsh and Morganroth before the Supreme Court in the argument in behalf of Henry Fisher, convicted of murder in the first degree in Northumberland County.  Fisher was charged with the murder of Sarah Klinger, sixty-five years old, who lived in the same house with him in West Shamokin.  Following the crime Fisher spent some time in an asylum, but the prosecution declared that he was feigning insanity.  He blamed his wife for the crime.  The charge that beer and whiskey were openly supplied to the jurors was made and it was claimed that several jurors at one time left the court room and mingled with the crowds.  Fisher’s counsel says he did not have a fair trial.  The drinking of the jurors was admitted, with the excuse that they did not drink to excess.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 15 December 1909:

FISHER WILL SOON KNOW FATE

Henry Fisher, twice convicted of the murder of Sarah Klinger in Shamokin, whose attorneys, Welsh and Welsh recently applied to the supreme court of the state for a new trial, will in a few weeks know his fate.  The judges of the highest court in the commonwealth whose rose in Pittsburgh on Friday, November 12th, will again sit in Philadelphia on the first Monday in January, 1910, when it is expected that a decision on the appeal will be handed down.

The case of Fisher is one of the longest drawn out that has ever been tried in Northumberland County.  The murder for which he was twice convicted was committed in 1906.  Since that time, Attorneys Welsh and Welsh have been fighting with bulldog tenacity to save the condemned man from the gallows and thus far have met with great success.  This is the second time that the lawyers have taken an appeal to the supreme court and should they prove successful in securing a new trial, the case will hold the boards of the county for another year.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 4 January 1910:

A NEW TRIAL FOR HENRY FISHER

Henry Fisher, twice convicted of the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, of Shamokin, was yesterday granted a new trial by the state Supreme Court.

The case has been drawn out longer than any other tried in Northumberland County.  The murder for which he was twice convicted was committed in 1906.  His first trial was scheduled for the December term, 1906, but was continued until February.  Then it was continued until May, at the request of the defendant, who said that his attorney had not had enough time to prepare the case.  At the May term of Criminal Court the case was continued by the Commonwealth, the reason being that the prisoner’s physical condition would not allow him to undergo the ordeal of a trial.

On account of the prisoner’s poor health he was not tried until December, 1907, one year after the first trial was scheduled and he was convicted of the the murder.  The attorneys for the convicted man immediately made a motion for a new trial, but the motion was overruled by the court.

An appeal was taken, and the case was argued before the Supreme Court in May, 1908.  An opinion was handed down four weeks later, reversing the decision of the lower court, and a new trial was granted.

In September, 1908, Fisher was again tried, and as before, was found guilty of having committed the crime.  Another motion for a new trial was made by the prisoner’s attorneys which was again overruled by the Northumberland County Court.  The case was appealed his counsel contending that during the last trial the jury separated.

From the Wilkes-Barre Evening News (Pennsylvania), 4 January 1910:

SUPREME COURT GRANTS RETRIAL TO HENRY FISHER

Has Twice Been Convicted of Murder in the First Degree.

CRIME COMMITTED IN 1906

HANGING VERDICT SET ASIDE FOR SECOND TIME BECAUSE OF JURY SEPARATING

SHAMOKIN, Pennsylvania, 4 January — [Note:  See above article from Mount Carmel Item, same date, same contents, but with a different header].

From The Columbian (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), 6 January 1910:

THIRD TRIAL FOR FISHER

Twice Convicted of First Degree Murder, Supreme Court Again Intervenes

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, siting in Philadelphia has granted the appeal of the counsel for Henry Fisher a new trial for their client, who was twice convicted at  Sunbury of the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, at Shamokin, over two years ago.

The decision of the court was based on the contention of the lawyers that the jurors in the case were separated at times during the trial and that they had communicated with other persons contrary to law, and that the prisoner was therefore entitled to a new trial.

The first time a new trial was granted the court based their decision on the fact that letters from Fisher to his wife, which were admitted as evidence, should have been excluded.

The crime of which Fisher is without doubt guilty, was the most atrocious that was ever committed in Northumberland County.  He crushed the head of the aged woman with a stove raker.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 2 February 1910:

CRIMINAL COURT

The February session of criminal court will open in the court house at Sunbury next Monday, but with thirty-one cases listed for trial, and few old ones continued.  One of the features of the court will be the fact that there are more cases from the upper end of the county than there are from the coal regions.  There are about ten from Sunbury and Northumberland alone.  Henry Fisher will be put on trial for the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger.  The jury will be drawn at the opening of court.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 6 February 1910:

Newspaper Publishers Subpened [sic]

Special to the Inquirer.

SUNBURY, Pennsylvania, 5 February — Counsel for Henry Fisher, twice convicted of murder in the first degree for the killing of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, in Shamokin, today had subpenas [sic] served on all newspaper publishers in Northumberland County, claiming the press is published against Fisher.  His counsel will ask for a change of venue.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 9 February 1910:

Fisher Again on Trial

Special to the Inquirer

SUNBURY, Pennsylvania, 8 February — For the third time Henry Fisher was again placed on trial today for the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, in Shamokin, several years ago. He was convicted twice in the first degree, and his counsel appealed to the Supreme Court, which ordered new trials.  Eight jurors were chosen by this evening when court adjourned.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 10 February 1910

Jury Hard to Get

Special to the Inquirer

SUNBURY, Pennsylvania, 9 February — A noon today a new panel of jurors, which Sheriff William Taby had sworn in since last night, having become exhausted in efforts to complete a jury to try Henry Fisher for murdering Mrs. Sarah Klinger in Shamokin.  Judge Savidge announced that as two more jurors were necessary court would adjourn until tomorrow, when the Sheriff will have additional residents of the county to be examined as to their fitness for jurors.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 11 February 1910:

WHAT IT COST TO GET FISHER JURY

SHERIFF HAD 9 DEPUTIES DRIVING THROUGH COUNTY – WILL EXCEED $1000.00

Two special venires of forty men each were necessary in order to complete the jury to decide the fate of Henry Fisher, twice convicted murderer of Mrs. Sarah Klinger.  The cost of securing these jurymen will exceed one thousand dollars.

Acting under instructions of the court, Sheriff Taby had deputies in readiness to go out into the body of the county for the necessary jurors.  When the regular panel became exhausted the sheriff was ordered to secure forty men.  A force of deputies was pressed into service and the talesmen were secured.  However, another venire of forty was necessary and was secured Wednesday afternoon and evening.

As there were eighty extra jurors summoned, each was allowed $2.50 per day and about $3 mileage, making a total of $440 for special jurors alone.  Then, too, the sheriff had a force of nine deputies at work and as it was necessary for each deputy to have a horse and carriage in order to make his rounds through the country districts, the total cost of securing the two special venires will be a thousand dollars or more.

Trial Continues

The Fisher trial continues yesterday afternoon and this morning and at the present rate of taking evidence it appears as if the trial will run through Monday and Tuesday of next week.  The same evidence is being offered as in the previous trials with a slightly new phase added by the cross-examination of the Commonwealth’s witnesses by the lawyers for the defense.  Fisher having been already twice convicted through their previous attempts to befog the jury the attorneys are trying to case the crime upon a dead shoemaker who was dying in the house adjoining the Klinger home when the old woman was murdered.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 12 February 1910:

MURDER TRIAL MOVES SLOWLY

WITNESSES’ RECOLLECTIONS CONFUSED OWING TO LONG LAPSE OF TIME

The trial of Henry Fisher proceeds slowly.  The Commonwealth will has an abundance of testimony to offer and the defense is still to be hearts.  The case in all probability will go over Sunday and will continue next week.  Every convenience will be given to the jurors during the time that they will be shut off from the rest of the world.  At the same time the guard over them will be strict, and no chances will be taken for the securing of a fourth trial on this ground.

Only a few witnesses were heard yesterday.  Their testimony was fought every inch of the way by the counsel for the defendant.  Their reliability was questioned frequently, and their recollection of events of the day of the murder still more so.  It is now well over three years since that time and the recollection of many of the witnesses of small details is somewhat hazy.

A few witnesses kept notes of their part in the events of 21 November 1906, when Mrs. Sarah Klinger was killed, and they used them constantly in giving their testimony.

Others, who relied solely on their memories were frequently mixed by the counsel, who followed their previous testimony from the paper books of the other trials.

The evidence is circumstantial but convincing.  A knife that belonged to Mrs. Klinger was offered for sale by the defendant on the day of the murder.  Harvey Klinger, her son, told of finding the blood stained shirt of Henry Fisher’s hidden in an out-building.

William Delbaugh said that Fisher came into his bar room on the forenoon of the day of the crime and said that he had just done up some body and that the next time he would finish them properly.

He and his wife were in the house when the body was found.

Ex-Coroner Dreher testified that blows on the head from a stove raker which was offered in evidence were the cause of death.

From the Daily News (Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania), 12 February 1910:

Says Her Husband Lies

When Mrs. Ella Fisher, wife of the convicted slayer of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, was told at Tharptown, where she is employed as a housekeeper, that her husband had confessed that she had killed the woman and that he aided in the crime, she declared she had a perfect alibi to substantiate her statement that she was away from the Klinger house at the time the latter was killed.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 16 February 1910:

NO FISHER VERDICT

Jury in Murder Trial Still Out and May Not Agree

Special to the Inquirer.

SUNBURY, Pennsylvania, 15 February — The jury in the Henry Fisher murder trial was unable to reach a verdict up to a late hour tonight, having been debating since 11:20 o’clock this morning.

Fisher was convicted twice before of murdering Mrs. Sarah Klinger in Shamokin three years ago, but his counsel appealed to the Supreme Court, presenting a number of reasons sufficient for that court to order new trials.

It is the impression of a number of people that the jury will disagree.  Fisher believed that the jury remaining out so long indicates that he will be acquitted.

From the Reading Times (Pennsylvania), 17 February 1910; also from the Harrisburg Patriot, 17 February 1910:

ESCAPES FIRST DEGREE VERDICT

Thrice Convicted of Murder, Slayer of Sarah Klinger, Gets Off With 20 Year Sentence

[By Associated Press.]

Sunbury, Pennsylvania, 16 February — Henry Fisher, charged with the murder of aged Mrs. Sarah Klinger, of Shamokin, was tonight found guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to 20 years in the Eastern Penitentiary.

This was the third trial of Fisher.  The two previous trials resulted in first degree verdicts, but owing to irregularities in the trial an appeal was taken and new trials ordered.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 February 1910:

FISHER AGAIN FOUND GUILTY

Murderer of Mrs. Klinger Gets Second Degree Verdict and is Sentenced

Special to the Inquirer.

SUNBURY, Pennsylvania, 16 February — Convicted twice in the first degree for the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger in Shamokin three years ago, a jury in the third trial returned a verdict of guilty in the second degree against Henry Fisher tonight, after deliberating since 11:40 o’clock yesterday morning.  As the jury entered the court room Fisher was directed to face it, and when they declared their finding he shook with joy.  Judge Savidge then sentenced Fisher to twenty years in the Eastern Penitentiary.  Fisher grew pale as he heard the sudden announcement and almost collapsed.  When he recovered the full strength of his limbs he was escorted by the sheriff and deputies back to jail, where he said he was glad he was not to go to the scaffold.

Fisher was convicted twice before of the murder in the first degree, but his counsel appealed to the Supreme Court for new trials, which were granted.  Fisher will be taken to the penitentiary as soon as possible.

From the Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pennsylvania), 17 February 1910:

Three Times Convicted of Murder

SUNBURY, Pennsylvania, 16 February — Henry Fisher, charged with the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, of Shamokin, was tonight found guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to 20 years in the Eastern Penitentiary.  This was the third trial of Fisher.  The two previous trials resulted in first degree verdicts but were set aside on appeals.

From the Gettysburg Times (Pennsylvania), 18 February 1910; also from the Daily News (Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania), 18 February 1910; also from the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 18 February 1910; also from the Allentown Leader (Pennsylvania), 18 February 1910; also from the Adams County News (Pennsylvania), 19 February 1910.

SLAYER SAYS WIFE KILLED WOMAN

Henry Fisher, Convicted of Murder, Makes Confession

Sunbury, Pennsylvania, 18 February — Henry Fisher, found guilty in the second degree of murdering Mrs. Sarah Klinger, in Shamokin, over three years ago, and who was tried three times at an expense of almost $10,000 to the county, made the following confession to Sheriff William Taby:

“I was at a saloon on the morning of the killing and then started for Mrs. Klinger’s home.  I reached there and found my wife and Mrs. Klinger had been quarreling.  They had been doing so from the time I went out in the morning and were at it yet when I came back,  I went in another room and heard nothing until about ten minutes later, when I heard my wife well out, ‘I’ll knock your head off.’

“With that I ran out and saw my wife pick up a stove poker and hit Sarah on the back of the neck.

“The blow knocked her down and she fell against the door jam and got several more wounds.  In falling against the door she lost her balance against and went down headforemost striking her nose against the edge of a box in which were some playthings breaking her nose.

“My wife dragged the body over to the foot of the stairs and said, ‘I guess they’ll think she tumbled down.’  There Mrs. Klinger lay and the next thing I knew they collared me and I got the blame.”

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 February 1910:

FISHER SAYS WIFE KILLED MRS. KLINGER

Shamokin Man, Thrice Convicted of Murder, Signs Confession in Presence of Sheriff

Special to the Inquirer.

SHAMOKIN, Pennsylvania, 17 February, three times convicted of murdering Mrs. Sarah Klinger, in Shamokin, over three years ago, two juries finding a verdict of guilty in the first degree, and twelve men last night on the fifty-ninth ballot returning a second degree verdict, for which Fisher will serve twenty years in the Eastern Penitentiary, made a confession today to Sheriff Taby as follows:

“I was at a saloon on the morning of the killing and then started for Mrs. Klinger’s home.  I reached there and found my wife and Mrs. Klinger had been quarreling.  They had been doing so from the time I went out in the morning and were at it yet when I came back,  I went in another room and heard nothing until about ten minutes later, when I heard my wife well out, ‘I’ll knock your head off.’

“With that I ran out and saw my wife pick up a stove poker and hit Sarah on the back of the neck.

“The blow knocked her down and she fell against the door jam and got several more wounds.  In falling against the door she lost her balance against and went down headforemost striking her nose against the edge of a box in which were some playthings breaking her nose.

“My wife dragged the body over to the foot of the stairs and said, ‘I guess they’ll think she tumbled down.’  There Mrs. Klinger lay and the next thing I knew they collared me and I got the blame.”

Fisher’s three trials cost almost $10,000.  The authorities have no evidence that Mrs. Fisher aided in the murder and as the law will not allow Fisher to testify against her she will not be prosecuted.

From the Mount Carmel Item (Pennsylvania), 19 Feb 1910:

HENRY FISHER MAY YET HANG

IT IS ALLEGED THAT HE MURDERED TWO YEAR OLD CHILD SEVERAL YEARS AGO

Henry Fisher, the convicted murderer of Mrs. Sarah Klinger but who escaped hanging because the jury brought in a second degree verdict, may yet stretch the hemp and go the way which every citizen of the county feels he should go if the story told by a relative is true, for Henry Fisher is a double murderer.

Miss Mary Mutchler, whose sister is married to the murderer, stoutly declares that several years ago Fisher murdered his own child.  The woman states that in her presence Fisher picked up the child, which was aged about two year, and holding it above his head by the heels, stretched the little ones limbs as far apart as was possible dropped it on the floor, repeating the operation several times, only ceasing when compelled to do so by the mother’s screams.  The child sustained concussions of the brain and died some days later.  The physician in attendance stated at the time that the child’s death was caused directly by Fisher’s horrible deed but as the man was greatly feared, as it was alleged then that he had openly declared he had already killed several persons, no action was taken.

Miss Mutchler declared the story is absolutely correct and that she can be substantiated in it by the testimony of the physician and one more other persons who know of the circumstances.

As there is no legal limitation to the time in which a person can be tried for murder it is altogether probable that the district attorney will thoroughly investigate the story and if the evidence is sufficiently strong will have Fisher brought back to the county and tried for the crime.

From The Columbian (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1910:

FISHER MAY YET HANG

Murdered His Own Little son Several Years Ago

The following story comes from the regions.  It should be fully investigated and if it is found on fact, Henry Fisher, who escaped the gallows last week by the grossest miscarriage of justice, should be brought back from the penitentiary and made to stand trial for this brutal and unnatural crime.  Henry Fisher, the convicted murderer of Mrs. Sarah Klinger, but who escaped hanging because the jury brought in a second degree verdict may yet stretch hemp and go the way which every citizen of the county feels he should go if the story told by a relative is true, for Henry Fisher is a double murderer.  Miss Mary Mutchler, whose sister is married to the murderer, stoutly declares that several years ago Fisher murdered his own child.  The woman states that in her presence Fisher picked up the child, which was aged about two years, and holding it above his hear by the heels, stretched the little one’s limbs as far apart as possible, dropped it on the floor, repeating the operation several times, only ceasing when compelled to do so by the mother’s screams.  The child sustained concussion of the brain and died.  The physician in attendance stated at the time that the child’s death was caused directly by Fisher’s horrible deed but as the man was greatly feared, as it was alleged then that he had openly declared he had already killed several persons, no action was taken.  Miss Mutchler declares the story is absolutely correct and that she can be substantiated in it by the testimony of the physician and one or more other persons who know of the circumstances.  As there is no legal limitation to the time in which a person can be tried for murder it is altogether probable that the district attorney will thoroughly investigate the story and if the evidence is sufficiently strong will have Fisher brought back to Sunbury and tried for the crime.

From The Columbian (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1910:

FISHER GUILTY IN SECOND DEGREE

Sentenced by Court to Twenty Years in the Eastern Penitentiary

The jury in the Fisher murder case at Sunbury reached and agreement last Wednesday night and reported about nine o’clock after having been out since 11:50 a.m. Tuesday.  The jury found him guilty of murder in the second degree.  The prisoner was immediately sentenced by the court to undergo twenty years imprisonment in the Eastern Penitentiary.  Only a few people heard the sentence pronounced.

Henry Fisher was charged with the murder of Mrs. Sarah Klinger of Shamokin late in November 1906.  Fisher managed to secure three trials.

The defense opened at 11 o’clock Saturday morning.  A strong effort was made to throw doubt on the circumstantial evidence.  The lawyers for the defense also made a point of pleading that the defendant was intoxicated on the day when Mrs. Klinger was killed.

News articles from Newspapers.com.

Category: Research, Stories | Comments Off on Sarah Klinger – Civil War Widow Bludgeoned to Death in 1906 (Part 5)
Tags: Women