Brown - Sarah - murderd 1875
SARAH BROWN - murdered 1875
Source: Crawfordsville Star, March 16, 1875 p 2
On Wednesday night of last week (March 10) between the hours of 10 and 11 o’clock, Mrs. Sarah A, wife of J. David Brown, residing on the old Morehouse farm, 5 ½ miles north of this city, on the LNA&C Railroad, was shot through the head and expired almost instantaneously with scarcely a struggle. On the following morning, John W. Ramsay, Esq, acting Coroner, accompanied by several other citizens of this city, visited this house of mourning; and when we reached there we found that hundreds of the neighbors had arrived before us, and that the Coroner had impaneled a jury and that the case was already under investigation. We remained through the greater part of the day, and not only heard all the evidence elicited, but witnessed the surgical examination made by Dr. Duncan. It appears from the evidence, that the husband, J. David Brown, had been to town on the day of the bloody occurrence, and that he was an applicant for the position of Superintendent of the County Asylum which was let to another party on that day and that late in the afternoon – in fact just after dark – he returned home, or at least as far as Mr. McDaniels within a half mile where he found the deceased spending the evening. It was further made to appear, that after a short stop at McDaniel’s he went over home alone and shortly returned and that they spent the evening with the McDaniels and Herrons who occupy parts of the old Croy place. Again, at or about 10 o’clock a witness testified, the Browns went home and that somewhere between 10 and 11 o’clock – probably inside of an hour thereafter – the report of a rifle or pistol was heard.
This was noticed by several witnesses; then the ringing of Mr. Brown’s farm bell which betokened distress or want of assistance. The call was readily responded to and when the friends reached the house they found Mrs. Brown lying upon the floor, still in death and the husband alone and apparently in the deepest grief and despair over this sudden and irreparable loss. According to Brown’s evidence, they had on getting home, taken seats on opposite sides of the stove -that he had taken her a pair of shoes home on his return from town and that she was in the act of trying them on or rather lacing them with a view to trying, when he discovered a flash of light at the window near which she was sitting, then the report of fire arms, and his wife reeling in her chair, fell to the floor a lifeless corpse, pierce thro’ the brain by the leaden messenger of death. The witnesses were all heard before the expiration of the afternoon on Thursday yet the evidence of Mr. Brown and that of the examining Surgeon proving somewhat conflicting as to whether Mrs. Brown was shot by some one within or without the house necessitated the calling of additional physicians, and Drs. Bass and Ensminger were summoned. A second examination – this time by the three physicians, and the matter was still undecided – Duncan and Bass being of the opinion that the ball entered the forehead and passed back; while Ensminger contended that the ball had entered the back of the head and passed out in front. This difference still existing, a further investigation was carried over to the following day and the remains were brought to this city for examination. Friday, the court and jury rooms were occupied, and the forenoon consumed in a post mortem examination by the major part of our doctors, and the afternoon to hearing their testimony:
Drs. Duncan, McClelland, Irwin, Purviance, Bass, May, Dorsey, Taylor, Cowan and Ensminger, all gave their opinions; and as usual, and natural with the profession, they were very badly split up in their conclusions, though the majority declared that the deceased came to her death from a pistol or gun shot entering the back of the head and not in the front as testified by others. The evidence having closed, the case was given to the jury who readily returned the verdict that Mrs. Brown came to her death from a shot fired by some unknown hand outside the house. Justice demands, that we further state that the neighbors of this Brown family all testify, without an exception to their being pleasant and congenial companions, and good citizens; and that during a residence of four years in their midst they have never known Brown to be intoxicated or disorderly. We are therefore, forced to infer that Mr. B., as far as his own people, at least, are concerned stands fully acquitted of having had any hand in this hellish transaction. The remains of the deceased were delivered into the hand of relatives and friends at about 2 o’clock p.m. and conveyed to Fredericksburgh for interment. So closes this mysterious, blood stained, tragic occurrence – at least for the present. We trust, however, that the guilty fiend, whoever he may be, may yet have justice meted out to him in full measure.