Endnotes

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

Years ago, when I first began writing about legal and criminal matters, an attorney friend who wanted to encourage my new interest gave me as a gift a rare copy of William E. Du Bois’s Trial of Lucretia Chapman, with its supplement on the trial of Lino Amalia Espos y Mina. “Read this,” my friend said. “Maybe you could write something comparing how murder trials were conducted in the early nineteenth century with how they’re conducted now. Besides, it’s a great read. A scandal, plus a murder by chicken soup!” But I was busy, preoccupied with scandals and murders of the moment, and I put aside the decaying volume with its crumbling pages and minuscule print. Twenty years rolled by and the book languished on my shelf. Then one day in a moment of leisure, I picked it up, and when I did I was immediately enthralled. After finishing the book I immersed myself in the Chapman case, delving into old newspapers, memoirs, and biographies, and discovering in the process that the murder of William Chapman, although altogether forgotten now, had been one of the major crime stories of the nineteenth century. I understood why, for I was hooked by the tale, and eventually I began writing this book.

For anyone who wants to know more about the case, the three best resources are the Du Bois work, the newspapers of the period, and David Paul Brown’s The Forum, or Forty Years Full Practice at the Philadelphia Bar.

Du Bois produced what was, in effect, the equivalent of a modern-day trial transcript, recording almost every word of the witnesses’ testimony; the lawyers’ opening statements, legal arguments, and florid summations; and the rulings made by the judges. His account does not, however, read the way a contemporary court transcript does. For example, Du Bois often didn’t write down the lawyers’ questions, merely the witnesses’ answers, so I have at times had to surmise the questions from the answers.

The newspapers covered Lucretia and Lino’s trials in great detail and with increasing prominence. Indeed one paper, the Barnstable Patriot, after running several pieces about the case in its inner pages, moved the story to the front page, apologizing for this unprecedented placement of a murder story by explaining, “We supposed it would be as interesting to many … as the President’s Message,” a standard front-page item.

Brown’s book is interesting on the subject of himself—he was a man of vast ego—as well as on his various cases and what it was like to be a criminal defense attorney in mid-nineteenth-century America. Alas, his account of Lucretia’s trial is short. Still, he does explain his strategy and talk about some of his personal experiences during the trial.

In addition to these three resources, a fourth that is of considerable interest is a collection of documents concerning the trial and its principals that was donated to the Bucks County Historical Society by the late George B. Ross, a descendant of prosecutor Thomas Ross. The collection, the Mina-Chapman Murder Case Papers, includes originals of the letters exchanged between Lucretia and Lino, as well as Mary Ross’s letter urging her son to visit Lino before his execution, William Chapman’s alien registration and citizenship papers, Dr. Hopkinson’s autopsy report, some of Lucretia’s tuition bills, and many other fascinating tidbits.

I would also recommend looking at Lucretia and William’s book on their United States Institution for the Treatment of Defective Utterance, and Lino’s The Life and Confession of Carolino Estradas de Mina. The latter, filled with miraculous events and lush descriptions of tropical scenes, reads in places like a tale by Gabriel García Márquez.

These were my principal research tools. I also used many additional sources, including books, newspaper articles, government documents, and information provided by the individuals cited in my acknowledgments.

In reconstructing events and providing dialogue, I have adhered to the historical record. Regarding the dialogue, while it was occasionally necessary to render as direct quotation remarks that appeared in the source material as indirect discourse, the remarks all come from the court testimony recorded by Du Bois or the accounts written by Brown and various contemporary journalists. Only rarely have I made alterations in these remarks, other than to clarify a speaker’s meaning with small grammatical changes, and wherever I deemed it requisite to make an alteration, I have provided the original words and an explanation for my change in the chapter notes that follow.

ABBREVIATIONS

DPB Brown, David Paul, The Forum, or Forty Years Full Practice at the Philadelphia Bar, 2 volumes, Philadelphia, 1856.

WC Chapman, Mr. and Mrs. William, United States Institution for the Treatment of Cases of Defective Utterance Such as Partial Speechlessness, Stuttering, Stammering, Hesitancy, Weakness of Voice, Mis-Enunciation, Lisping, Etc., Etc., Philadelphia, 1826.

TLC Du Bois, William E., The Trial of Lucretia Chapman, Philadelphia, 1832.

STMC Du Bois, William E., Supplement to the Trial of Mrs. Chapman: The Trial of Lino Amalia Espos y Mina, Philadelphia, 1832.

CEM Mina, Carolino Estradas, The Life and Confession of Carolino Estradas de Mina, Philadelphia, 1832.

M-CMCP Mina-Chapman Murder Case Papers, Spruance Library, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, Pa.

CHAPTER NOTES

CHAPTER 1 BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

1  Dr. John Phillips’s eminence, his willingness to see patients, and his attitude toward doctors who had not been trained at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School: Green, A History of Bristol Borough, pp. 181–82.

1  Lino’s appearance: Germantown Telegraph, Feb. 22, 1832.

1  Phillips’s height: Green, A History of Bristol Borough, p. 181.

2  My description of Dr. Phillips’s visits to the dying William Chapman is drawn from his testimony as well as from testimony given by Dr. Knight, Ann Bantom, and little Lucretia Chapman; see TLC, pp. 24, 32–33, 69, and 89–91.

3  Lucretia’s appearance: Germantown Telegraph, Feb. 22, 1832; see also DPB, vol. 2, p. 419.

3  “A beefsteak would do me more good than anything else”: TLC, p. 33.

4  “Not much” and “He may eat plenty of that”: TLC, p. 90.

4  Calomel drops: Calomel drops were considered effective against even Asiatic cholera. I came across a yellowed newspaper clipping from Hall’s Journal of Health, pinned inside an 1849 cookbook, Mrs. Putnam’s Receipt Book and Young Housekeeper’s Assistant, that stated that “a pill made up of ten grains of calomel with a little gum-water” could arrest cholera “unless it is in the very last stages … in nine cases out of ten.”

5  “I’m drowsy from waiting on Mr. Chapman” and “Call me if I’m wanted”: TLC, p. 34.

CHAPTER 2 CAPE COD AND PHILADELPHIA

7  Cape Cod: I am indebted to Thoreau for my description of the Cape: see Thoreau, Cape Cod, p. 14.

7  Mark Holman: The story of Lucretia’s girlhood romance with Holman was told to me by Al Clark of the Barre Historical Society. Clark wasn’t sure whether the young couple’s indiscretion occurred in Barre or at the Cape, and I have set the incident at the Cape because it seemed to me for a variety of reasons more likely to have happened there.

8  Lucretia’s grandfather and great-grandfather: Holton, Winslow Memorial, pp. 71–89, 130–131, and 403.

8  Zenas Winslow’s history: Holton, Winslow Memorial, p. 403, see also Josiah Paine, A History of Harwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620–1800, Rutland, Vt., 1937, p. 340.

8  Disgraced girl written about by Lucretia’s neighbor: See Vicery, Emily Hamilton, a Novel, Founded on Incidents in Real Life, published in Worcester, Massachusetts.

8  An age well past that at which most of the girls she knew were not just already married but already mothers: See Wright, Views of Society and Manners in America, p. 33.

9  Lucretia goes to Philadelphia: In a letter to a friend, reprinted in the Germantown Telegraph on February 15, 1832, Lucretia remarks that she left the Cape and went to Philadelphia in 1813. She does not say just when in 1813 she went there. I discovered the month of her arrival serendipitously, while leafing through 1813 advertisements in Philadelphia newspapers: see Germantown Telegraph, Feb. 15, 1832.

9  Endured such a rattling and shaking … skulls would be crushed: My description of Lucretia’s harrowing stagecoach ride was inspired by Charles Dickens’s description of a stagecoach ride he took several years later; see his American Notes, p. 254.

10  Heavily accented English: Bergerac’s accent is an assumption on my part, based on the fact that he was already in his thirties when he emigrated from France. See Naturalization Records, 1789–1880.

10  Location of Bergerac’s academy: See the Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, Sept. 7, 1813.

10  Somewhere en route, all her possessions had disappeared: See the Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, Sept. 7, 1813.

12  Lucretia’s sallies around Philadelphia: In constructing a likely itinerary for Lucretia, I drew upon numerous sources, among them Relf’s Philadelphia Gazette and Philadelphia Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser for the months of September to November 1813, an article by Frederic Trautman that excerpted the diary of the early nineteenth century traveler Ludwig Gall, an album of watercolor illustrations of old Philadelphia houses painted by G. Albert Lewis (now in the possession of the Library Company of Philadelphia), and the books of Merritt Ierley, Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer, John F. Watson, and Edwin Wolf. The books portray, for the most part, a Philadelphia that was orderly and sparklingly clean. But Gall, who was there in 1819, noted that the streets were muddy and the houses draped with drying laundry. The odd information that dentists of the time transplanted human teeth is something I came across in both Watson and Oberholtzer. Watson, writing in 1830, says, “It may surprise some of the present generation to learn that some of the aged persons who they may now meet have teeth which were originally in the heads of others” (Annals of Philadelphia, p. 167). Oberholtzer cites an Eighth Street dentist’s 1818 advertisement suggesting that patients “who have objections to the use of … human teeth can be supplied with natural teeth which are not human, to answer all the valuable purposes of the grafted human teeth” (Philadelphia, p. 119). Such teeth were apparently taken from the jaws of horses, hippopotami, and other animals (Philadelphia, p. 118).

12  ablaze with a … fiery light: The illumination of Philadelphia occurred on September 24, 1813. See Relf’s Philadelphia Gazette, Sept. 25, 1813.

12  The office would specialize, he announced … collecting overdue debts: See Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, Sept. 24, 1813.

13  William’s emigration from England on the Roebuck: see Passenger and Immigration Lists, Philadelphia, 1800–1850.

13  Information about the Roebuck and about the hardships experienced by passengers at the start of the nineteenth century: Interview with Norman Brewer of the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, and Diane Snyder Ptak, A Passage in Time: The Ships That Brought Our Ancestors, 1620–1940 (Albany, N.Y., 1992).

13  William’s sparse possessions: See Baggage Entries, 1799–1856, Records of the Port of Philadelphia.

13  Schoolteacher: See “Visa of William Chapman,” M-CMCP.

14  When he spoke … fearsome grimaces: See WC, pp. 2 and 4.

14  “A stammering tongue signifies a weak understanding, and a wavering mind”: Aristotle’s Master-Piece Completed (New York, 1798), p. 101.

14  “Painful commiseration” WC, p. 2.

14  “the most respectable references”: Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, Sept. 24, 1813

14  He had also applied to become a citizen of America: See Naturalization Records, Philadelphia, 1789–1880.

14  Interviewing prospective citizens in local taverns: See the Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, Sept. 22, 1813.

14  Officially an alien, and as such, forced to register: “Registration as Alien of William Chapman” and “Visa of William Chapman,” M-CMCP.

15  William promptly signed up: It is certain that William, who according to Kite’s Philadelphia Directory for 1814 was the only William Chapman residing in Philadelphia that year, volunteered to serve his new country. Pennsylvania’s archives contain several references to a militia volunteer named William Chapman, one to a William Chapman serving under a Captain Tucker, the others to a William Chapman serving under a Captain whose name is given variously as McMillen, McMillin and McMullen. It is less clear whether these references are to one man or two, and consequently I have simply placed William in the militia, without specifying in which company he served. See Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, vol. 7, pp. 80, 347, and 351, and vol. 8, p. 15.

15  Called to an onerous duty: According to Oberholtzer, “all [italics added] the old companies [of volunteers] and several new ones were formed into one body” to protect the approaches to the city. See Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, p. 18.

15  “Not a stitch of dry clothing in the camp. Never rained harder since the flood”: Thackara, Diary of William Wood Thackara, p. 305.

16  “Three cheers for Cadwalader”: Thackara, Diary of William Wood Thackara, p. 308.

17  For the rest of his life he would revere that year, mark it as a turning point: See WC, p. 2.

17  The edict of Philadelphia’s administrators and the exodus from Philadelphia: Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, p. 17.

18  “The damned British have been defeated and their general killed”: Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, p. 20.

18  The investigation of Mark and Edward Winslow: Commonwealth v. Edward Winslow, 1814–1818.

19  LeBrun’s method: see Charles LeBrun, Le Directeur des Enfants Depuis l’Age de Cinq Ans Jusqu’à Douze, Philadelphia, 1811.

19  A bee who so surfeited himself on nectar that he could no longer fly: The bee story appears in N. Picket, The Juvenile Expositor, or Sequel to the Common Spelling-Book (New York, 1810), pp. 28–29.

19  The good little boy who broke his family’s best mirror but confessed: The mirror story, one of many such stories about children who couldn’t tell lies—most notably George Washington—appears in Picket, The Juvenile Expositor, p. 24.

19  “Without frugality, none can be rich”: Picket, The Juvenile Expositor, p. 33.

19  “Diligence, industry, and proper improvement of time are material duties of the young”: Picket, The Juvenile Expositor, p. 35.

20  An expensive instrument cost as much as a small house, while even an inexpensive one … a half-year’s wages: Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, 1790–1840, pp. 249–250.

20  “To beautify the room by so superb an ornament” and “the only thing that distinguishes ‘decent people’ from the lower and less distinguished”: Larkin, Reshaping of Everyday Life, p. 143.

20  “masculine”: Germantown Telegraph, February 22, 1832.

21  Girls … being educated would benefit the country: See Appleby, Inheriting the Revolution, p. 106.

21  “A new race” and “any nation on earth”: Wright, Views of Society and Manners in America, p. 35.

21  “Miss Winslow most respectfully informs her friends and the public … useful and ornamental branches of a polite education”: Relf’s Philadelphia Gazette, Sept. 27, 1817.

22  “rely on the most scrupulous attention being paid to … morals and improvement”: Relf’s Philadelphia Gazette, Sept. 27, 1817.

22  “Have you rose early enough for the duties of the morning.… Have you combed your hair with a fine tooth comb, and cleaned your teeth every morning”: from “Rules for the School and Academy,” written in 1814 by Eliza Ann Mulford, a student at Miss Sarah Pierce’s Female Seminary in Litchfield, Connecticut, and printed in Emily Noyes Vanderpoel, compiler, Chronicles of a Pioneer School from 1792 to 1838, Being the History of Miss Sarah Pierce and Her Litchfield School (Cambridge, Mass., 1903), p. 147.

23  “Show” meat: Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, pp. 82–85.

23  Waxwork displays, balloon ascensions, inhalation of nitrous oxide gas: Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, pp. 46–47.

24  “crowds upon crowds of buyers, sellers, and gazers”: Oberholtzer, p. 103.

CHAPTER 3 MARRIAGE

27  Methods of correcting stammering: see Alfred Appelt, Stammering and Its Permanent Cure: A Treatise on Individual Psychological Lines (London, 1929), pp. 31–38, and Benson Bobrick, Knotted Tongues: Stuttering in History and the Quest for a Cure (New York, 1995), pp. 85–94.

28  “tell, reveal … Rules thereunto belonging”: Agreement, M-CMCP. 28 “the” cure: Germantown Telegraph, August 3, 1831.

28  Sign language schools: Wilson, Picture of Philadelphia, pp. 85–86 and 91–92; see also Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, p. 128.

28  Lino’s birthplace and family: Davis, History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1876, p. 858–59.

29  Lino’s father’s employment: Davis, History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1905, p. 357.

29  Lino as a daydreamer and tale-teller: See CEM.

29  The idealization of mothers and the appearance of the first child-rearing manuals: Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, pp. 52–53 and 70.

30  “tender” and “seemed to enjoy an uninterrupted happiness in each other’s society”: TLC, p. 95.

31  “The bills are true except for the signature of the bank’s president”: See testimony of Nathaniel Crocker, Commonwealth v. Edward Winslow, 1814–1818. Crocker’s exact words were: “the Bills were true except the signing of the President’s name.”

31  “Here I stood to make some money, but there must always be some damn fool in the way”: See testimony of Nathaniel Crocker, Commonwealth v. Edward Winslow, 1814–1818. Crocker’s exact words were that Winslow “stated there had been a great chance for him to make some money but there must always be some damn fool in the [illegible word].”

31  “in the land of the living … this world of trouble and anxiety”: Zenas and Abigail Winslow letter, in Documents Pertaining to the Incarceration and Pardon of Edward Winslow, 1820–1823.

31  Edward’s reformation: A document signed by Seth Lee, Eleazar James, and others, included in the collection cited above, asserts that by 1823 Edward was “humble” and had “become a sincere penitent.”

31  Mark’s persistence as a counterfeiter: Mark was arrested in 1826, and died in prison in 1832. I was told by Barre local historian Clark that according to one account he’d read but was unable to locate, the citizens of the town were so afraid of Mark, against whom some of them had testified, that when his coffin was brought to Barre for burial, they implored a doctor to open the casket and make certain that it was his body and not a wax effigy that was laid out within.

32  “the vulgar term drunk [to] give place to inflated”: Hamilton, Men and Manners in America, p. 221.

32  Tilghman and Hopkinson’s membership in the Wistar Society: Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, p. 32.

32  “there is no country in which scandal … is so rare as in the United States”: Grund, The Americans in Their Moral, Social and Political Relations, p. 37. Grund goes on to write that a French gentleman, remarking to him that he found American society dull because “it precluded the very idea of a liaison,” termed the United States “‘le paradis des maris!’”

33  The visitor from Scotland: He is Thomas Hamilton, who wrote that Philadelphia “is Quaker all over. All things, animate and inanimate, seem influenced by a spirit of quietism as pervading as the atmosphere”; see his Men and Manners in America, p. 196.

33  “The collar of my coat appeared to stiffen … my hands folded themselves upon my breast of their own calm accord”: Dickens, American Notes, p. 139.

34  Lino’s predations on the Cuban country folk: see Davis, History of Bucks County, 1876, pp. 858–859.

34  “discovery”: Philadelphia Gazette, Sept. 16, 1826, cited in WC, p. 25.

35  “We are perfectly satisfied that no other person in the country possesses the effectual cure for stammering … have spent their time and money fruitlessly with such pretenders”: Leigh, Facts in Relation to Mrs. Leigh’s System of Curing Stammering, p. 2.

35  “Mr. and Mrs. Chapman respectfully inform the people of the United States that they have conducted an Institution for upwards of NINE YEARS”: WC, p. 2.

35  “is the first institution of the kind that has been established in the United States”: WC, p. 3.

35  “the inventor”: WC, p. 3.

35  “Original Discoverer,” “secret,” and “an all-wise Providence”: WC, p. 2.

36  “irksome”: WC, p. 6.

36  “violent contortions”: WC, p. 4.

36  “That numerous instances of cures have been effected by Mr. Chapman cannot longer be questioned”: WC, p. 30.

36  “If a great and important discovery demands a tribute of admiration … the superlative benefits of which shall continue to be felt through the rounds of time”: WC, p. 31.

37  Andalusia’s exotic name: Wainwright, “Andalusia,” p. 7.

37  Andalusia in the 1790s: McNealy, “Andalusia,” p. 91.

37  Tenant farmers: Conversation with Terry A. McNealy in August 2002.

37  Boutcher: Davis, History of Bucks County Pennsylvania, pp. 858–59.

38  Bristol’s market: McNealy, “Andalusia,” p. 50.

39  Lucretia’s advertisement for her school: A copy can be found in M-CMCP.

40  Exceptionally well versed in the catechism: See the Reverend Scheetz’s testimony, TLC, p. 92.

41  Lucretia’s criticisms of William: TLC, pp. 66–67.

CHAPTER 4 LINO

43  The raid on the royal treasury in Havana: Germantowm Telegraph, June 20, 1832.

43  He was insane: Barnstable Patriot, June 27, 1832.

44  Lino’s affection for his daughter: In his final days, Lino demonstrated his strong feelings about the girl by attempting to bequeath property to her: see STMC, p. 9.

44  Lino’s arrival in Boston: Barnstable Patriot, June 27, 1832.

44  The Sun Tavern: See ads for the tavern in the Boston Morning Post, Feb. 20, 1832, and Feb. 26, 1832.

45  The meteor on December 31, 1829: Lichtenwalner, Bensalem, p. 311.

45  A. Bronson Alcott’s school in Germantown: Madelon Bedell, The Alcotts: Biography of a Family, New York, 1980, p. 55–67; see also Germantown Telegraph, Feb. 22, 1832.

45  The use of globes: James McIntire, A New Treatise on the Use of Globes (Baltimore, 1826), pp. 63–64.

46  The teaching of botanical nomenclature and classification: See Mrs. Lincoln Phelps, Familiar Lectures on Botany (Hartford, Conn., 1829).

46  “My friends are on the other side of the Atlantic”: TLC, p. 69.

46  Sophia’s proximity to the Chapmans: see Bensalem Township Census, 1830.

47  Bonaparte’s grounds: Clarence Edward Macartney and Gordon Dorrance, The Bonapartes in America (Philadelphia, 1939), p. 87.

47  Bonaparte’s art collection: Owen Connelly, The Gentle Bonaparte: A Biography of Joseph Bonaparte (New York, 1968), p. 250.

47  Some visitors grew faint at the sight: Connelly, The Gentle Bonaparte, pp. 252–53.

48  Confidence men: The term “confidence man” is believed to have been coined in 1849 by the New York press while covering the trial of a swindler named William Thompson; Halttunen, Confidence Men and Painted Women, p. 6.

48  Advice manuals: Halttunen, Confidence Men and Painted Women, pp. 1–32.

48  Lino’s scams while at the Sun Tavern: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, October 22, 1831.

49  Celestino Almentero: This name was used by Lino until he left prison. The keeper of the prison Anglicized the name and called him Celestine Almentarius. See STMC, p. 11 and TLC, p. 66.

49  Lino’s appearance: See eyewitness descriptions of Lino in Philadelphia Saturday Courier, May 26, 1832 and Germantown Telegraph, June 20, 1832; see also the lithograph portrait of him in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.

50  Philadelphia’s Eastern Penitentiary: The prison, which is now known as Eastern State Penitentiary, is still standing and is open for tours April through November.

50  “I am persuaded that those who devised this system of Prison Discipline … which slumbering humanity is not roused up to stay”: Dickens, American Notes, p. 131.

51  Lino’s cell and his work in prison: The Eastern Penitentiary was a must-see destination for most foreign travelers to the United States. I used several eyewitness accounts to describe the cell, among them Dickens’s American Notes and Hamilton’s Men and Manners in America. I also used information provided to me by Brett Bertolino, program coordinator of the Eastern State Penitentiary. Lino’s prison job is mentioned in the testimony of the keeper of the prison, Israel Deacon, TLC, p. 66. 52 Lino’s letter to the prison inspectors: STMC, pp. 10–11.

52  Only four dollars … departing prisoners: Conversation with Bertolino.

53  Lino’s behavior on the morning of his release: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

53  The steamboat’s luxurious furnishings and elaborate breakfast buffet: see Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, pp. 70–71.

53  Lino’s refusal to buy a ticket and his being thrown off the boat: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

54  First stop for northbound steamboats: MacReynolds, Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, p. 7.

54  “I need victuals and lodgings for the night”: TLC, p. 20. 54 His shirt was a disgrace. Not worth anything, she thought: See Ellen Shaw’s testimony, “His shirt was not worth anything,” TLC, p. 22.

54  Lino asked if he could see the master or mistress of the house: TLC, pp. 19–20.

55  “I need a night’s lodging”; “They refused me”; “There’s a tavern up the hill [italics added]”; and the story Lino tells upon arriving at the Chapmans’: TLC, p. 20.

55  Carolino Amalia Espos y Mina: Lino’s last name appears variously in the documents of his day. Sometimes it is spelled Espos y Mina, sometimes Esposimina, sometimes Esposymina. (Lino himself signed his name as both Esposimina and Esposymina, but never Espos y Mina.) Similarly, his second name appears variously as Amalio and Amalia. I have chosen to use Carolino Amalia Espos y Mina, the spelling William Du Bois chose for The Trial of Lucretia Chapman.

55  “My father’s a Mexican general. The governor of Upper California” and “My dear, if you think so”: TLC, p. 37.

56  Jackson’s dismissal of Sam Ingham: Yerkes, “John Ross and the Ross Family,” p. 373.

56  Joanna Clue: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, April 30, 1830.

56  The story Lino tells at supper: TLC, p. 27; see also Kenderdine, “The Chapman-Mina Tragedy,” p. 455.

58  “What am I to do for shirts if this Lino has them all”: TLC, p. 22. 58

58  “Suppose you go with this gentleman and get someone to drive you”: TLC, p. 57.

58  Bonaparte’s generosity and his reputation as an easy mark: Wright, Views of Society and Manners in America, pp. 141–42.

59  Bonaparte’s sculpture: Wright, Views, p. 137.

59  “Count Bonaparte has company. He cannot be seen for two or three hours” and “I have to return to my school tonight”: TLC, p. 37.

60  Lucretia’s evening prayer: see “Evening Prayer” in Prayers for Female Schools (New York, 1825).

60  “You’d best let him alone. He’s a Spaniard. A body don’t know what he might do” and “He’s a fine young man … one of my own sons”: TLC, p. 20.

61  “Sir, I have the pleasure of addressing you … acquiring such an addition to his English education as the time may admit of” and “four hundred and eleven [such] pupils of both sexes … great distances in the United States”; “Lino, you know I do not understand your language. If you will write the letter, I will sign it”; and “I have done for you … for I have signed what I do not understand”: TLC, p. 38.

62  “Dear Madam” and “I am happy to inform you … at the table”; TLC, p. 38.

63  The high style of Chestnut Street tailors: Wright, Views of Society and Manners in America, p. 128.

63  “He has no money … hasn’t a suit fit to visit in”; “Make the clothes and charge them to me”; and “Could hardly hold them up”: TLC, p. 26.

64  “My name is Carolino … I beg you to hear my misfortunes,”: TLC, p. 81.

64  General Mina in Philadelphia: Connelly, The Gentle Bonaparte, p. 255.

65  Strange fellow.… Looks more like a beggar than the son of a Mexican nobleman: Cuesta mentions in his testimony that Lino was “so dirty that he looked like a beggar.” See TLC, p. 81.

65  “Your manners, your way of speaking. These do not show you to be such a man as you would have me believe”: I’ve adapted this quotation slightly; Cuesta’s exact words were that “I observed that his manners, and his bad language, did not show him to be such a man as he would have me believe”: TLC, p. 82.

65  “It’s true” and “I am an ignorant man.… to improve my manners”: TLC, p. 82, although I have added the phrase “by whom I was raised” because Lino gave Cuesta this information earlier in his monologue.

65  “I did not know there was any governor by the name of Mina in Mexico”; “I only heard it from my grandfather”; “He is in some high employment, and I thought it was governor”; and “Where in Mexico did you reside”: TLC, p. 82.

66  “You’re lying to me” and “You’ve never been in Mexico”: Adapted from Cuestas’s statement “I knew from his answer that he had never been in Mexico, and told him so”: TLC, p. 82.

66  “All I’ve stated is true. But I have been suffering so much … that I am almost out of my senses”; TLC, p. 82.

66  “Give me some proof that you’re Mexican”; “What proof”; “Your passport”; “I have none”; “Your certificate of baptism, then”; and “Lost”: TLC, p. 82.

66  The man has an answer for everything … brought him here in it: These thoughts are expressed by Cuesta in TLC, p. 82.

66  “I have some business in town. I’ll come back for him in an hour”; “I’m ashamed to write in front of you because my handwriting is very bad”; “I’m busy. Write to your mother yourself—particularly as it’s rather her fault that you write badly, isn’t it”; “It is a custom in my country … merely as an act of politeness”; and “We are just beginning to eat … honored if you would”: TLC, p. 82.

67  “Would they like a sweet? And you? Would you care for a drink”: Adapted from a more wordy statement of Cuesta’s about how he offered Lucretia and her children sweets and a drink: TLC, p. 83.

67  “Cold lemonade”: TLC, p. 83.

68  “Romania speaks a little English. She can keep you company while you wait for Señor Mina”: Adapted from Cuesta’s statement, “I went upstairs to ask my elder sister, who could speak a little English, to be company for her till Mina was done”: TLC, p. 82.

68  “In his own country he’s very rich”: Lucretia Chapman, letter to Cuesta, TLC, p. 86.

68  “You must come and see me at my house” and “And you must come and see me here again”: adapted from Cuesta’s statement, “She told my sister she would be glad to see us at her house; my sister reciprocated her politeness by the same offer,” TLC, p. 83.

68  Altogether dispelled: TLC, p. 107.

CHAPTER 5 BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

70  She asked William to help Mary … kick with her foot: TLC, pp. 19, 21, and 67.

70  Esther Bache’s visit: This scene is drawn from Esther’s testimony, TLC, p. 23.

71  “We fear for his life” and “Mr. Chapman hardly understands anything”: TLC, p. 23.

72  The next morning … they’d be back in the evening: See TLC, pp. 21–23.

73  “Who wants to be troubled with a butterfly like you”: TLC, p. 22. At the time, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term butterfly meant “a light-headed inconstant person” or “giddy trifler.”

74  “Maybe they’ve run off to Mexico”; “I wouldn’t be surprised. The way they’ve been going on”; and “I wish the ship that brought Mina from Mexico had sunk”: TLC, p. 67.

74  The thoughts attributed to William in this scene are drawn from the testimony of Edwin Fanning, TLC, p. 68.

75  “A rogue” and “I’d rather be poor than have my peace disturbed the way it’s been since this fellow came here”: TLC, p. 68.

75  “In all probability their object is to tarry until the family has retired and perhaps then to engage in improper conduct”: Abbreviated from Fanning’s report that William said to him, “In all probability their object is to tarry until the family has retired, and I would like to know whether they would be guilty of improper conduct after they do return.” See TLC, p. 68.

75  “If I know of their going together … by God I’ll kill him” and “You stay up, and if they come home and go to that rogue’s room, you let me know”: TLC, p. 68.

76  William’s sympathetic treatment of Lino: This scene, too, is drawn from the testimony of Edwin Fanning, TLC, p. 69, as well as from that of little Lucretia Chapman, TLC, p. 89.

76  William’s letter to Watkinson: TLC, p. 174; see also TLC, p. 38.

77  Durand’s pharmacy: England, The First Century of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, 1821–1921, pp. 101–02, and 357–59.

77  “We haven’t. But we might prepare it” and “If you have plain arsenic powder, that would answer”: TLC, p. 30.

78  Arsenic was a principal ingredient in taxidermy: An eighteenth-century French apothecary named Becoeur was the first to use a paste containing arsenic to preserve animal skins. He was reluctant to publish his recipe, but in 1820, taxidermist Louis Dufresne did so, and by 1831, when Lino made his request, arsenic had become the chief ingredient in preservative formulas. It remained in widespread use throughout the nineteenth century, and continued to be used by some taxidermists until the 1930s. See WAAC Newsletter (a publication of the Western Association for Art Conservation) 18, no. 1, Jan. 1996.

78  My description of Durand is based on the portrait of him in England, The First Century of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.

78  William’s first uncomfortable night: See TLC, p. 90.

79  “The doctor will only give me medicine. I have drops for stomachache in the house. I’ll take those”: TLC, p. 90.

79  “You’ve had a mild attack of cholera morbus”: TLC, p. 32.

79  “A beefsteak would do me more good than anything else”: TLC, p. 33.

79  She decided on rice gruel … helping out in the kitchen: TLC, p. 90.

80  Little Lucretia was keeping William company.… He was vomiting again: TLC, p. 90–91.

81  “Not so well as in the morning. I have a misery at my stomach. It feels very much like fire”: TLC, p. 24.

81  “Tarry with me through the night”: TLC, p. 31.

82  “When Don Lino is sick all attention must be paid to him. But now that I am sick, I am deserted. I am left.”: TLC, p. 68.

82  “Then give him some salt and water … heard it recommended”: TLC, P. 31.

82  “I cannot live so”: TLC, p. 32.

84  “Bury them”; “Fish water can kill ducks”; and “They’ve been poisoned”: TLC, p. 35.

85  “Fifty-five beats in the minute” and “Now it’s forty-five”: TLC, p. 34.

86  “I studied medicine for two years”: TLC, p. 35.

86  The Marsh test and the history of arsenic: Dr. Anil Aggrawal, “The Poison Sleuths: Arsenic—The King of Poisons,” Science Reporter, February, 1997.

88  “Why would Don Lino not do,” “Because he’s a stranger. A stranger, and undersized,” and “Yes. I see no impropriety in that”: TLC, p. 35.

88  Scheetz had scolded the sexton … Dug right through the loamy clay to the sandy soil beneath: TLC, p. 92.

89  Putting straw on coffin lids: According to Nadianiel Hawthorne, this New England custom came about because “the clods on the coffin-lid have an ugly sound.” See Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, p. 101.

89  Covering the mirrors with white cloth: I’d always thought this a Jewish custom, but Larkin cites it as a New England one as well. See his Reshaping of Everyday Life, p. 100.

CHAPTER 6 BETRAYAL

91  Lucretia’s remark that even the sun looked gloomy to her: TLC, p. 37.

92  According to Lucretia, it was Lino who proposed: TLC, p. 53; see also TLC, p. 75.

92  “Lino never forgets a favor. If you will marry me … shall share a part of them”; “Would it not be more proper for you to marry my daughter Mary”; “No, it is you … not knowing who I was”; and “It would be thought nothing of in Mexico”: TLC, p. 39.

92  “Lino, I want you to marry me,” “Not till I ask my father,” and “I love you so much”: STMC, p. 3.

93  “My Dear Lino … Lucretia Esposimina”: July 5, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Albany, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

93  It was a crude conveyance … mere twists of irregular-shaped logs: See Hand, From a Forest to a City, Personal Reminiscences of Syracuse, Syracuse, NY, 1889, p. 36; see also Franklin H. Chase, Syracuse and Its Environs, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Inc., New York, vol. 1, p. 306.

94  My description of Lucretia’s ride from Albany to Syracuse is drawn from the July 7, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

95  Comstock’s Hotel: see Syracuse Courier, Syracuse, N.Y., March 15, 1880.

95  “I have not lain down one minute … dear companion for life” and “I very well know … without resting on her bed”: July 7, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

96  Lucretia’s ascetic lunch: It was probably just as well that she didn’t take the time to eat a big meal. Charles Dickens, who dined at Comstock’s some years later, complained, “I have tried all the wines in the house and there are only two wines, for which you pay six shillings a bottle, or fifteen, according as you feel disposed to change the name of the thing you asked for. (The article never changes.) The bill of fare is in French, and the principal article … is ‘Paettie de shay.’ I asked the Irish waiter what this dish was and he said: ‘It was the name the steward giv’ to oyster patties—the Frinch name. These are the drinks you are to wash it down with: ‘Monseuz,’ ‘Abasinth,’ ‘Curacco,’ ‘Marschine,’ ‘Anise,’ and ‘Margeaux.’” See “Dickens’ Correspondence,” Syracuse Journal, Dec. 8, 1879.

97  The property of married women: In 1831 all that a married woman possessed belonged to her current husband; New York, the first state to pass an act protecting the property of married women, did so in 1860. See “The Married Women’s Property Act,” in Miriam Schneir, Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings (New York, 1972), p. 122.

97  Early feminists … were already denouncing such laws: Frances Wright called the laws governing married women’s property “absolute spoilation” which permitted “robbery, and all but murder, against the unhappy female who swears away, at one and the same moment, her person and her property.” Cited in Tyler, Freedom’s Ferment, p. 428.

97  “They’ve moved ten or fifteen miles into the country,” “Spend the night with us” and “I should not be able to sleep”: July 7, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

99  “My pretty little husband,” “be careful, my dear, and not spill and so lose our precious love,” “let our children see the nonsense I have written,” and “Goodbye, goodbye, dear Lino … as is my young General Esposimina”: July 8, 1831 letter from Clay, N.Y., included with July 7, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

99  “As a memento,” “the black woman took them,” and “I followed her … pay the rest”: TLC, p. 39.

100 Lucretia’s clothes: see “London Female Fashions for May,” Godey’s Lady’s Book, Philadelphia, June 1831, and “Philadelphia Fashions for the Month of July 1831,” Godey’s Lady’s Book, July 1831.

100  Two new girls: TLC, p. 37.

101  “But you have William’s already”: TLC, p. 39.

101  “My Beloved Wife … Repay you with ingratitude”: July 18, 1831, letter, Mina (Philadelphia) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

102  “The whole house is dull … with melancholy”: TLC, p. 44.

103  “Those stars … given to me without stopping”: TLC, p. 44.

103  Receiving forty dollars for them: Receipt, Lino to Samuel Miles, n.d., M-CMCP.

104  Heat wave: Philadelphia Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, July 22, 1831.

104  The resorts of Cape May and Long Branch: Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, pp. 50–51.

104  The resorts of Sweet Springs and Niagara Falls: Philadelphia Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, Friday, July 22, 1831.

104  “They’ve gone to the Falls of Niagara”: July 31, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Andalusia) to Mina (Washington), M-CMCP.

105  Gone for quite a while: Cuesta left the city long before Lucretia’s visit. He departed on June 20, 1831, TLC, p. 84.

105  “Señor Espos y Mina has not been here for a long time”: July 31, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Andalusia) to Mina (Washington), M-CMCP.

105  The United States Hotel: see Hamilton, Men and Manners in America, p. 215.

105  “I went to inform you … duty to inform you of this,” “I think your Señor Lino is as great a scoundrel as ever lived,” “I hope not, Mr. Watkinson,” “I sent to the consul’s to inquire … to be an impostor,” and “You have acted perfectly right”: TLC, pp. 26–27.

107  The bill directed to the attention of “Mr. Amalio”: Lucretia included this bill in the letter she sent to Lino on July 31, 1831.

107  Lino had left the bill instead of a dagger to pierce her to the heart: TLC, p. 48.

107  “His excellency the President”: July 28, 1831, letter, Mina (Baltimore) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

108  “expressed great desire” and “speedily”: July 26, 1831, letter, Mina (Washington) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

108  “I find your presence so necessary … insupportable to me”: TLC, p. 44.

108  “As often as I remember your caresses … most soul-shed tears”: July 26, 1831, letter, Mina (Washington) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

108  “When I left Baltimore … one long embrace”: July 25, 1831, letter, Mina (Washington) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

108  “The translator of the above … He is the lady’s slave”: July 25, 1831, letter, Mina (Washington) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

109  “extensive robbery,” “horse and carriage … cake basket,” “You say in your last letter … Duke of England,” “perfectly happy,” “But no, Lino … happy this side of the grave” and “Lucretia”: July 31, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Andalusia) to Mina (Washington), M-CMCP.

CHAPTER 7 DEPARTURES

111  Philadelphia’s police force: Report of Committee on Police, p. 1.

111  The hardships of work in nineteenth-century print shops: See the reminiscences of Horace Greeley and William Dean Howells, cited in Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, pp. 41–42.

112  One of his underlings, thinking the widow’s letter insignificant … discarded it: Philadelphia National Gazette, May 1, 1832.

112  A peculiar web of underlined words … narrow margins: An original of Lucretia’s July 31, 1831 letter to Lino, which shows her emphatic style and distraught-looking handwriting, can be found among the papers in M-CMCP.

113  “I’ve been to New Orleans”; “I went all the way on the railroad”; and “Traveled night and day—at the rate of thirty miles an hour”: TLC, p. 50 (italics added).

113  “Leave me”: TLC, p. 40.

113  “What’s the matter … believed it”; “The chain you gave me is not gold”; “If your affections are so slender … might have been deceived himself”; “I ran under the arcade … umbrella”: TLC, p. 40.

114  “I was up all night … go home the next day”: TLC, p. 51.

114  “My sister is not at all satisfied with this conduct” and “We had better be separated then—I find I have more wives than one to please”: TLC, p. 40.

114  “The sooner, the better”; “Remember, Mrs. Chapman, before I go I must tell you something [italics added]”; “What is it”; and “I cannot tell you … I will tell you”: TLC, p. 40.

115  “something between ourselves”: TLC, p. 40.

115  Lino’s request that the letter not mention their marriage: TLC, p. 87.

115  The Winslows’ purchase of wilderness for the purpose of farming: Holton, Winslow Memorial, p. 74.

115  Brewster’s prosperity: Schneider, The Enduring Shore, p. 224.

116  Elijah Cobb’s history: Cobb, Elijah Cobb, pp. 8–9, and Schneider, The Enduring Shore, pp. 171–75 and 252.

117  “I saw Robertspiers head taken off by the [infernal] Machine”: Cobb, Elijah Cobb, p. 9. Cobb’s terseness about the death of Robespierre, a man he had actually met, is remarked upon by the editor of the captain’s memoir, Ralph D. Paine.

117  Lino and the high sheriff of Barnstable County: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Nov. 5, 1831.

118  “I understand that a person calling himself Mina spent some time in your house” and “He said he was going to the north”: TLC, p. 49.

118  “I have in my possession … suffered from his impositions”: TLC, p. 49.

119  “I’d supposed from his account … traveled night and day at the rate of thirty miles an hour” and “There is no railroad to New Orleans”: TLC, p. 50.

119  A railroad train started running to New Orleans in November 1831: see Chronicle of America, Chronicle Publications, Mt. Kisco, N.Y., n.d., entry for November 1831.

119  “From my knowledge of the character of this man … that he administered it”; McIlvaine’s surprise at Lucretia’s sudden paleness; “Did anything occur … that I suspected”; and “No, I saw nothing of the kind. Lino was Mr. Chapman’s kind nurse during his illness”: TLC, p. 49.

120  McIlvaine takes note of Lucretia’s reaction; “I have no knowledge further … to the north”; “If it is possible … punished for his crimes”; and “a mystery upon my mind”: TLC, p. 50.

120  Lino’s courtship of Lucretia’s niece: TLC, p. 52; see also Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

121  “Dear Madam”: TLC, p. 53.

121  The details of Lino’s letter to Lucretia from Brewster: Sept. 1, 1831, letter, Mina (Brewster, Mass.) to Lucretia Chapman (Andalusia), M-CMCP; see also TLC, p. 53.

122  “nearly a hundred ladies of the first families”: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

122  Ballroom etiquette of the day: The Laws of Etiquette, pp. 57 and 113.

123  Cotillions: Americans, observed Fanny Trollope in 1832, in her Domestic Manners of the Americans, “call their dances cotillions instead of quadrilles” (p. 130). Today, many of the figures of the cotillion, including the grand chain, the ladies’ chain, and the promenade, are still danced by square and contra dancers. See Elizabeth Aldrich, From the Ballroom to Hell, Grace and Folly in Nineteenth Century Dance (Evanston, Ill.), pp. 141–45.

123  Lino’s ball costume: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

123  “I have been deceived and injured by Lino Espos y Mina”: TLC, p. 50.

124  McIlvaine’s thoughts: TLC, p. 50.

124  “I cannot promise … rescue you from those consequences”; “Fictitious”; “Did Mina palm upon you any other documents or papers”; “For what purpose was this paper obtained”: TLC, p. 51.

125  “Señor Mina’s health is fragile … no means of claiming my rights to his properties”: TLC, p. 52.

125  “I want to obtain a divorce from Mina”; “I can offer you no opinion on this”; “You must give me that paper … forgery committed in Pennsylvania”; “Will these communications get me into trouble”; and “You have come to me voluntarily … It is for you to decide whether the papers should be left or not”: TLC, p. 51.

126  Lucretia’s agitation: TLC, p. 51.

126  Deputy attorney general: At the time, instead of a judicial district’s electing a district attorney as prosecuting officer, the attorney general of the state appointed a deputy to fulfill this function. See Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, March 6, 1928.

126  He had a case to turn over to him … possibly of murder: TLC, p. 51.

126  Philadelphia National Gazette article: Interestingly, the story had already appeared the day before in a New York newspaper.

126  “A Villain Arrested”: Philadelphia National Gazette, Sept. 17, 1831.

127  “I hear Lino’s been arrested in Boston! On suspicion of poisoning William”; “Is it possible”; “I hear you married him”; “Of course not”; “Was my name in the paper”; “Oh, Lucretia. How could you have been so imprudent as to many that man”; and “It must be a fact. Or they wouldn’t dare to publish it”: TLC, p. 36.

127  “I thought he was very rich. I thought it was best for me—and for the children”: TLC, p. 51.

128  “Mrs. Chapman, I shouldn’t be surprised if the fellow had poisoned your husband”: TLC, p. 39.

128  “Do you think so, my dear? The police have intimated the same thing”; “Hearsay is not proof”; “Are you going somewhere”; “On a short trip. I’m going to town to sell some books”; “Don’t you think you are wrong to go off at a time like this? It looks like running off”; and “I’m not running off. I’m just going a short way to sell some books and get some money. I’m badly off for money”: TLC, p. 39.

CHAPTER 8 FRIENDS AND FOES

131  Brown’s appearance: See his portrait in Jackson, Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, p. 343; see also DPB, vol. 1, p. 119.

131  Brown’s autobiographical work: see DPB.

131  “Hortensius was a lawyer—Cicero an orator, the one is forgotten, the other immortalized”: DPB, vol. 2, p. lv.

131  If you asked him, David Paul Brown: My introduction of David Paul Brown is drawn from DPB’s “Biographical Memoir,” a lengthy tribute that is more autobiographical than biographical, for it consists chiefly of passages written by Brown himself and quotations from his speeches and from remarks he made to friends. I’ve used Brown’s words, condensing them somewhat, as he was even wordier than he sounds here, and tried to give the flavor of his voice.

132  The story of the composition of Sertorius: DPB, vol. 1 p. 70. 132 “Composing upon all fours … profitable”: DPB, vol. 1 p. 70.

132  Legal work had made him even richer: In DPB, p. xxxi, Brown says he made one hundred thousand dollars in his first fifteen years of law practice—i.e., 1816–1831. Very few lawyers earned this much at that time. “A typical income seemed to be something less than $1, 000 a year in 1810 or 1820,” writes Friedman in A History of American Law, p. 306. But there were, he points out, a few big moneymakers, one of whom was the extraordinary Daniel Webster, who “usually earned over $10, 000 a year after 1825; in 1835–36, he earned over $21, 000 in fees.”

132  He spent money as fast as he earned it … was his spur: DPB, vol. 1, pp. 32, 120.

132  When he was a child … made himself master of all within: DPB, vol. 1, p. 120.

132  His early days as a lawyer and orator … eager to enjoy his erudition and his passion: DPB, vol. 1, pp. 40–49.

134  The very essence of the term “gentleman”: Anne Royall says of Brown, “He is in the prime of life, of middling size, handsome person, and elegant manners.… If the appellation of gentleman be confined to personal appearance, Mr. Brown well merits the epithet.” Royall, Mrs. Royall’s Pennsylvania, p. 60.

134  All our days are anxious … knowing no end: DPB, vol. 1, pp. 123–24.

135  The poor thing … had come inquiring after her fiancé’s whereabouts on the day after his arrest: see McIlvaine’s testimony, TLC, p. 52.

135  “I wish to make some confidential communications to you,” “On what subject,” “On the subject of Mr. and Mrs. Chapman,” and “I don’t wish to hear anything. Better keep it to yourself”: STMC, p. 3.

136  “That he and Mrs. Chapman were married. And that before they were married she used to come to his room very often”: STMC, p. 2.

136  “Mrs. Chapman came to me … Mr. Chapman’s death”: STMC, p. 3.

136  Blayney’s spurning of Lino: STMC, p. 3.

137  “So you’ve intimated two or three times,” “If you’ll answer two questions for me, I’ll listen to you,” and “Nothing you say to me will appear against you if you’re indicted for the murder of Dr. William Chapman”: STMC, p. 3.

137  “Have you ever been in jail,” “No,” “Have you ever been a pirate,” and “No”: STMC, p. 3.

137  Reynell Coates: His first name is spelled “Reynell” in The Trial of Lucretia Chapman, but “Reynall” in Jackson’s Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, and “Reynold” in Green’s A History of Bristol Borough.

138  Coates’s wife: Green, A History of Bristol Borough, p. 184.

138  The condition of William’s face and body: TLC, pp. 55 and 57; see also Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

138  The graveside autopsy: TLC, pp. 55 and 57.

139  “Have I missed anything? Should I cut further?”, and “I’d compare it to pickled herring”: TLC, p. 55.

140  “the smell of a dried Scotch herring”: TLC, p. 59.

140  Collecting the mucus: TLC, p. 60.

141  “the ‘Domestic News’ of every journal … which the public appetite demands with a gusto”: cited in Reynolds, Beneath the American Renaissance, p. 173.

141  Orson Squire Fowler: Interestingly, in The Dictionary of American Biography, published in 1937, Fowler’s theories are treated with scorn and only a few of the many books he published are noted. But in Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography, published in 1888, before eugenics fell into disrepute, Fowler’s theories are treated respectfully and a great many of his books are listed.

141  “the disposition and mental powers of mankind are innate—are born, not created by education”: O. S. Fowler, Hereditary Descent: Its Laws and Facts (New York, 1843), p. 4.

142  “mode of moving … tone of voice, manner of laughing, form of nose and mouth, color of eyes and teeth, and other peculiarities”: O. S. Fowler, Hereditary Descent: Its Laws and Facts (New York, 1848), p. 23.

142  “intellectual superiority,” “acquisitiveness” and “destructiveness”: Fowler, Hereditary Descent, 1848 edition, p. xi.

142  “conscientiousness” and “benevolence”: Fowler, Hereditary Descent, 1848 edition, p. xi.

142  Lucretia’s disguise: Barnstable Patriot, Nov. 16, 1831.

143  “unequalled by any County Court House and jail in the state”: Bucks County Intelligencer, January 1833, cited in Davis, History of Doylestown Old and New, p. 28.

147  The conditions of Lino’s confinement, his relationship with Brown, his prison break, and the remarks he makes to the army officer who apprehends him are drawn from accounts of his escape in the Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Nov. 12, 1831, and Dec. 10, 1831.

149  Lucretia’s stay in Greenfield, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Nov. 19, 1831.

150  “An able Advocate … to aid him in pleading her cause”: TLC, p. 86.

150  “Ah! From what a height I have fallen” and the quotations in the following two paragraphs are from Lucretia’s letter to Cobb, printed in the Germantown Telegraph on Feb. 15, 1832. The letter was eventually widely reprinted.

151  “very wellbred and intelligent woman” and “imprudently”: Boston Morning Post, Dec. 1, 1831.

151  Brown’s account of Lucretia’s visit to him: DPB, vol. 2, pp. 410–20. Page references to specific dialogue and thoughts from that account are cited below.

152  “striking,” “slender,” and “well-proportioned”: DPB, vol. 2, p. 419.

152  “What service can I render you, Madam?”: DPB, vol. 2, p. 419.

152  “Mrs. Chapman”: DPB, vol. 2, p. 420.

152  Who could have put such an idea into the editor’s head … no idea: Brown writes in DPB, vol. 2, p. 419, that he was “apprized through the public journals” that it was understood, “from what quarter I am at a loss to ascertain,” that Lucretia’s defense would be entrusted to him. But it’s highly likely he put out the word himself. According to Friedman in his History of American Law, “Almost all lawyers, then, were constantly seeking new business and were in constant need of advertisements for themselves … lawyers reached out for the public through notices (‘cards’) and the newspapers” (p. 309).

152  Delicately, oh as delicately as possible: DPB, vol. 2, p. 420.

152  Remember … if you perform your task feebly, the blood of the defendant may be upon you. Do not, therefore, allow a feverish desire for notoriety blind you to the difficulties and dangers by which you will inevitably be surrounded, for the trumpet of fame cannot drown the small still voice of remorse: DPB, vol. 1, p. 82. Brown originally wrote this maxim, and several others, which he called “Capital Hints in Capital Cases,” in 1850, setting them down for the edification of his sons, who had just been admitted to the bar.

153  Lucretia’s trial was due to start in just a few short days: The concept of a speedy trial meant something in those days. Lucretia was arrested on Nov. 11, 1831. She visited Brown on December 10, 1831. She was indicted on Dec. 12, 1831. The first hearing in her case was on Dec. 14, 1831. And her trial commenced on February 14, 1832.

153  “a splendid mansion, in which wealth and taste are alike diffused”: Royall, Mrs. Royall’s Pennsylvania, p. 60.

153  He would be like the commander of a ship in a storm.… perish gloriously in the faithful discharge of his duty: DPB, vol. 2, p. lxxxvi.

154  He had assumed the responsibility of a cause upon whose outcome depended … the hopes and happiness of all who belonged to her: DPB, vol. 2, p. 420.

CHAPTER 9 PENNSYLVANIA V. LUCRETIA CHAPMAN, PART ONE

155  Brown’s first expedition to Doylestown: DPB, vol. 2, pp. 420–23.

157  “Lucretia Espos y Mina … Commonwealth of Pennsylvania”: TLC, pp. 3–4.

158  “Iago,” “old Judas,” and “a stripling of old Judas”: Yerkes, “John Ross and the Ross Family,” p. 377.

158  John Ross’s difficult personality: Book of Biographies, p. 12.

158  “Dear Tom … acceptable”: Yerkes, “John Ross and the Ross Family,” p. 382.

158  Mary Ross: Yerkes, “John Ross and the Ross Family,” p. 384; see also Book of Biographies, p. 12.

158  Intended soon to tell a jury: In his opening remarks, Ross would call Lucretia “wanton” and declare she was “possessed of no moral principle sufficient to restrain her” from committing murder: TLC, p. 18.

158  “Not guilty … Not guilty”: TLC, p. 6.

159  McDowell’s appearance, popularity and success as a lawyer: Davis, History of Doylestown Old and New, pp. 144–45; see also Caleb E. Wright, “Four Lawyers of the Doylestown Bar,” p. 267.

159  “How would you be tried … By God and my country”: TLC, p. 6.

159  A jury half composed of foreigners: although McDowell and Rush had informed the court that they might request such a jury (TLC, p. 6), in the end they did not do so.

159  “Are you ready for trial” and “Yes”: TLC, p. 7.

160  “To urge an immediate trial … highest degree unjust”: TLC, p. 7.

160  William B. Reed: The Dictionary of American Biography, 1935.

160  “We are ready to go to trial.… earlier than February”: TLC, p. 7.

160  “January ninth”: TLC, p. 8. For the purpose of narrative energy, in both this chapter and the next I have frequently put into Fox’s mouth words that DuBois attributed merely to “the Court” or “the judges.”

160  Judge Fox’s appearance and background: for his solemn and aristocratic looks, see the portrait of him in Davis, History of Doylestown Old and New, p. 304; for his stint as deputy attorney general of Bucks County, see Pugh, “The Rodmans and the Foxes,” p. 230; for his intimacy with and services to Andrew Jackson, see Davis, History of Doylestown Old and New, p. 36.

161  “January thirtieth” and “Case continued until Monday, February thirteenth”: TLC, p. 8.

161  “if life was to be lost, it would not be without a [valiant] struggle”: DPB, vol. II, p. 424.

161  Brown and McCall’s roadside mishap and the one-day delay of the trial: TLC, p. 8.

162  “Mr. Speaker! Who can bear the thought of seeing a black speaker occupying that chair in which you are now seated”: Philadelphia National Gazette, Feb. 21, 1831.

163  Crushing the ribs of one guard: Kenderdine, “The Chapman-Mina Tragedy,” p. 459.

163  Lucretia and Lino’s appearance and dress: Germantown Telegraph, Feb. 22, 1832.

163  “My application for separate trials is a mutual one … injustice would be done if both were tried together”: TLC, p. 8.

163  “The mode and manner … granted separate trials”: TLC, p. 9.

164  “If our application is refused … that it may not be granted”: TLC, p. 11.

164  “We can’t proceed”; “The prosecution … direct that they be allowed to have separate trials”; and “We would like to take up the case of Lucretia Chapman first”: TLC, p. 12.

165  “a sort of moral torture”: TLC, p. 14.

165  “the doors of the prison … the trouble of a trial”: TLC, p. 14.

166  Quaker opposition to serving on juries deciding capital cases: In subsequent years many Bucks County Quakers would ask to be excused from serving on juries that decided capital cases. Thaddeus S. Kenderdine, writing in 1907, says, “In the several murder trials in Bucks County since [the Chapman-Mina trials] I doubt if there has been a single member [of the Society of Friends] on the jury,” and explains the willingness of Quakers to serve on the Chapman and Mina juries as being due to “the public desire for the riddance of monsters so great”: Kenderdine, “The Chapman-Mina Tragedy,” p. 460.

166  “Opposition to capital punishment … have such scruples, others have not”:TLC, p. 16.

166  The jurors: for the son of a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1790, see Davis, History of Bucks County Pennsylvania, vol. 2, p. 84, re Hartzell; for the organizer of a society that promoted farming, see Davis, History of Bucks County Pennsylvania, vol. 2, p. 353, re Watson; for the coal merchant, see Davis, History of Bucks County Pennsylvania, vol. 3, p. 124, re Yardley.

167  “Gentlemen of the jury … any other country”: TLC, p. 17.

168  Lucretia’s tears and the presence of the children in the courtroom: see Philadelphia National Gazette, Feb. 28, 1832.

168  Mercy’s daughter and son-in-law, Mrs. and Captain Baker, are referred to by McIlvaine, TLC, p. 52.

168  “We shall lay before you a letter of Mrs. Chapman’s … Blood, though it sleep a time, yet never dies”: TLC, pp. 18–19.

169  “They went up to Bonaparte’s” and “I saw Mina and Mrs. Chapman together often”: TLC, p. 19.

169  “Under what circumstances?” This is a surmised question. Du Bois almost never recorded the questions put by the lawyers and judges, merely the answers witnesses gave to their questions. Here, and throughout the courtroom scenes that follow, I have had to infer the questions from the answers. Additionally, for dramatic purpose, I have at times put the questions into quotation marks, rather than presenting them, as DuBois did on the rare occasions when he bothered to include questions, as indirect discourse.

169  “Mina used to have fits … closed the windows”; “I don’t think Mrs. Chapman treated her husband right”; and “She called him a fool on Sunday, as we were going to church”: TLC, p. 19.

169  Brown’s questions: TLC, p. 20.

170  “this plaguey trial”: TLC, p. 67.

170  “His shirt wasn’t worth anything”: TLC, p. 22.

170  “He was a Spaniard”: TLC, p. 20.

170  “They used to kiss each other” and “They sang love songs to each other”: TLC, p. 21.

170  “They were often engaged in a private room by themselves”: TLC, p. 22.

170  “Mrs. Chapman went up to Lino’s room.… wearing her nightdress” and “His spells … soon over them”: TLC, p. 21.

170  Mrs. Chapman said she had to have the horse … could do as she pleased: TLC, p. 66.

171  “She spoke pretty harsh sometimes”: TLC, p. 21.

171  “She used to tell him she was ashamed of him … tired of him”: TLC, p. 67.

171  “Was that why you left the Chapmans’ employ?”: Question inferred from Ellen’s answer, which follows.

171  “I left because there were things going on … great deal of talk about Mrs. Chapman and her boarder”: TLC, p. 21.

171  The woman’s a human volcano … bent on total destruction: TLC, pp. 168–70.

171  “I have had no difference with Mrs. Chapman” and “Mrs. Chapman always had the chief management of the household”: TLC, p. 21–22.

171  “You say … what room was that”: As mentioned earlier, Du Bois was in the habit of writing down witnesses’ answers and leaving out the questions to which the witnesses were responding. Thus, in this scene, Brown’s questions are surmised from the answers Ellen gave him.

171  “The parlor”; “Religious service … much good did it do”; “What did you mean … did no good”; and “No. It just seems that way, seeing the way things turned out there”: TLC, p. 22. I have adapted this line of Ellen’s from Du Bois’s statement on p. 22 that when Ellen was “asked by the Court what she meant by that last phrase [i.e., ‘much good did it do,’], she said she had no fact to ground her opinion upon … except the way things had turned out.”

172  “Was your employer in the habit of singing songs?” This is a surmised question, based on the answer that Ellen gives next.

172  “She was not in the habit of singing songs,” and “She had a piano, and played and sung hymn tunes”: TLC, p. 23.

172  “What hymns did she sing?”: Again, this is a surmised question, based on the answer Ellen gives next.

172  “I can’t tell the names of any of the songs” and “This court has already refused … former case”: TLC, p. 23.

173  Sat down at Lucretia’s right: TLC, p. 23.

173  Where else should the boarder have sat … nothing at all: these musings are drawn from the remarks Brown made about Esther Bache’s testimony in his closing argument; see TLC, p. 170.

173  The pivot upon which the prosecution intended to rest its whole case: See Brown, TLC, p. 171.

174  Brown’s thoughts regarding Boutcher: In his summation, Brown would make a pun about “quackery” and the poultry farmer’s “long lamented Quacks” (TLC, p. 172). It was a pun that the Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin of May 5, 1832, would criticize as being in bad taste, and call an “ill-timed and misplaced” attempt at humor.

174  “Who brought the soup and uneaten chicken back to the kitchen”: A surmised question, based on Ann’s answer, which follows.

174  “Mrs. Chapman put it on the table and left it there”: TLC, p. 25.

174  “Did Mrs. Chapman … the leftover chicken”: Again, surmised, based on the answer that follows.

174  “I don’t recollect that she said anything”: See TLC, p. 25.

174  “Was it thrown out right away”: Again, a surmised question, based on answer that follows.

174  “No, the chicken stood on the table … washed up the dishes”: TLC, p. 26.

174  “Was anyone else in the kitchen while the chicken and soup were sitting out”: Again, a surmised question, based on the answer that follows.

174  “The whole five of the children … being in the kitchen every day”: TLC, p. 25.

175  “Did Mrs. Chapman clean the pot”: Fox’s question is surmised from the answer Ann gives next.

175  “I do not think she cleaned the pot”: TLC, p. 25.

175  “Did she tell you to throw away the leftover food”: again, a surmised question, based on the answer that follows.

175  “Mrs. Chapman gave me no directions to throw the soup or the chicken away”: TLC, p. 25.

175  Poisoned chalice: Brown would use the phrase “poisoned chalice” and argue that it was beyond belief that a mother would permit such an object to remain “in the very centre of her children” in his closing arguments, TLC, p. 172.

175  “Carolino Estradas was born … generous, and liberal”: CEM, p. 5.

176  “A quarter of a pound of arsenic … gave it to him myself”: TLC, p. 29.

177  “I saw no want of tenderness … unbecoming to a wife”: TLC, p. 33.

177  “Might arsenic have accounted for Dr. Chapman’s symptoms”: A surmised question, based on the answer Phillips gives, which follows.

177  “If arsenic had been administered, it would, I think, have accounted for some of the symptoms … But neither am I prepared to say that natural causes and natural disease might not produce the same symptoms”: TLC, p. 33.

177  “At present, the aspect of affairs … so strong a case as was expected”: Germantown Telegraph, Feb. 22, 1832. The story was actually written earlier; its dateline is Feb. 17, 1832.

178  When the trial resumed … suddenly sympathetic to her: The change is reported in the Germantown Telegraph, Feb. 22, 1832.

178  “She absented herself … thought right”; “I do not remember her saying she had no servant,” and “I do not know if … reluctance to take the medicine”: TLC, p. 34.

178  “There were between twenty and thirty that died that day and the next”: TLC, p. 35.

179  “For him to describe these bones … miraculous organs”: TLC, p. 70.

179  “this side of the grave”: TLC, p. 48.

179  A clear reference to the pair’s having committed murder: TLC, p. 124.

179  Brown, of course, viewed the words differently … one the jury might well appreciate: TLC, p. 151.

180  “Several letters were put in evidence today … sought after with great avidity”: Germantown Telegraph, Feb. 22, 1832.

180  Murder trial books: see chapter six, “The Sensational Press and the Rise of Subversive Literature,” in Reynolds, Beneath the American Renaissance.

181  He would make it a big book … all the romantic and seamy details: see Du Bois’s “Advertisement,” for his book, TLC, p. 1.

181  The publishing firm of G. W. Mentz & Son: Robert Cazden, A Social History of the German Book Trade in America to the Civil War (Columbia, S.C.), p. 81.

182  Brown’s questions in this scene are, as explained earlier, surmised from Hopkinson’s answers.

182  “Putrefaction might be retarded by dry soil”; “I never heard or read … belonging to arsenic”; and “Though I have never … terminate fatally”: TLC, p. 56.

183  “No one can be certain … found in the body”: TLC, p. 59.

183  “Chemical proofs … of its presence”: TLC, p. 62.

183  “Smearcase and pork … sure to hurt him”: TLC, p. 63.

184  “Other substances can produce … one may be deceived”: TLC, p. 65.

184  Most trials at the time were exceedingly short … a few hours: Friedman, Crime and Punishment in American History, p. 245.

184  Ross’s gold snuff box: Davis, “Half an Hour with the Old Taverns of Doylestown,” p. 437.

185  The high constable had a sick child … official duties: TLC, p. 96.

185  “Your Honor, the stagecoach from Philadelphia … without his person”; “No further delays”; “May it please your Honors … staked upon the issue of your decision”: TLC, p. 70.

CHAPTER 10 PENNSYLVANIA V. LUCRETIA CHAPMAN, PART TWO

187  Brown’s strategy: DPB, vol. 2, pp. 432 and 436.

188  “Do you know what you have come here for”; “To swear to all I know”; “Do you know what will become of you if you do not tell the truth”; and “I will be cast into hell fire forever”: TLC, p. 89.

188  “Pa was sitting in the rocking chair, nursing little John”: TLC, p. 89.

188  “truckle bed”: TLC, p. 91.

189  “Mary brought the chicken and soup upstairs”; “The soup was in a blue quart bowl. The chicken was on a plate, I think … Pa cut it himself”: TLC, p. 91; “Pa tasted the gizzard, but it was tough. He gave the rest to me and I ate it” and “Pa ate only a few spoonsful of the soup, but ate very heartily of the chicken. I ate some of the soup myself”: TLC, p. 90.

189  “Her character was more than moral”; “very religious”; and “If anything had happened … informed of it”: TLC, p. 92.

190  “In the neighborhood of the ear”: TLC, p. 92.

191  “I believe I am acquainted with the general character of Mrs. Chapman. From 1818 to 1829 … gradually getting worse”: TLC, p. 96.

191  “Not in those exact words. I have said … to my personal knowledge, I have never seen anything but what was right”; “She lived in my mother’s house and behaved herself remarkably well … I never heard anything to the contrary”; “I am speaking of a police report”; and “I can’t say I ever heard a good police report”: TLC, p. 96.

193  “the lower jaw falls … the eyes are cast down, half-shut” and “the eyes open, but with the eyebrows considerably drawn down, the mouth pouting out, mostly shut, and the lips pinched close”: Moore, John Hamilton, The Young Gentleman and Young Lady’s Explanatory Monitor, New York, 1813, p. 320.

193  “as husbands and fathers, knowing the loveliness of domestic love, appreciating the sanctity of domestic obligation” and “a more unnatural, a more revolting crime than that which blasts all these, and blurs the purity of woman’s fame”: TLC, p. 118.

194  “in whose bosom the flame of impure passion brightens, that there is a summary mode by which she can remove the only check to licentious indulgence, and suggest means and materials for the completion of the gloomy edifice of crime”: TLC, p. 99.

194  “In the moral law of God the first great prohibition was, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ the next, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’—and the interval between the two points on the scale of human depravity is small, indeed”: TLC, p. 118.

194  “little creatures from five to ten years of age”; “to lisp from their slender summits entreaties for Divine mercy”; and “The mercy this wretched woman does not dare to ask, she has brought these innocent children to ask for her”: TLC, p. 128.

194  “thunder of that voice, the lightning of that eye”: TLC, p. 115.

195  “filled as they are with disgusting effusions of passion”: TLC, p. 116.

195  “the wealth she supposed the seducer to possess … the rank and honors with which she believed him to be clothed”: TLC, p. 112.

195  “Why is Mary Chapman not produced”: TLC, p. 127.

196  Brown’s indisposition on the morning of his summation: TLC, p. 155.

196  Brown’s maxims: DPB, vol. 1, p. 83.

197  “One thing that speaks volumes … more than twelve months”: TLC, p. 144.

197  “Left upon the wide theater … and promoting their happiness”: TLC, p. 149.

197  “however, if fate should decree this speech to be my last … hapless, helpless, friendless and forlorn”: TLC, p. 155.

197  “the storm, the tempest, the whirlwind of prejudice … the leprous distillment of pernicious rumor,” and “the sacred ermine of justice to be stained or polluted by the blood of the guiltless”: TLC, p. 156.

197  “should it affix crime to a mother’s name … stigmatize their memory when dead”: TLC, p. 157.

198  “dumb witness … small, it is true, but with a giant’s strength”: TLC, p. 161.

198  Vipers and liars: TLC, p. 168.

198  “Was she to join in the general cry … fidelity is the brightest jewel that adorns the female character”: TLC, p. 178.

199  “She was the teacher of a large and highly respectable seminary … That she should shrink from it, therefore, was natural—was excusable”: TLC, p. 177.

199  “return to your own domestic circle, to your own firesides … And thereby give them to understand how frail and feeble is the tenure of human happiness—human character—and human life”: TLC, p. 180.

199  “Powerful”: Philadelphia National Gazette, Feb. 28, 1832.

199  “fame for energy and eloquence”: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, March 3, 1832.

199  Mary Ross: Yerkes, “John Ross and the Ross Family,” p. 385.

200  “the ground upon which you stand is holy; the moment you passed the threshold of this sanctuary of justice … every passion or feeling of excitement which you may have heretofore imbibed”: TLC, p. 182.

201  “any woman who would compel [her husband] to make the bed … of a savage or a demon”: TLC, p. 192.

201  “the wife who can defile … taking the life of that husband”: TLC, p. 194.

201  “gained a niche in the temple of infamy,” and “She has inscribed her name upon the darkest page of guilt … until oblivion shall have wiped her name from the scroll of time”: TLC, p. 206.

202  Thomas Ross’s singularity and his career: see Yerkes, “John Ross and the Ross Family,” p. 385.

202  “persevering zeal”: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, March 3, 1832.

202  “able”: Philadelphia National Gazette, Feb. 28, 1832.

202  “masculine intelligence and habits”: TLC, p. 117.

203  Judge Fox’s charges: According to the Philadelphia National Gazette, Feb. 28, 1832, Fox’s charges seemed to lean decidedly against Lucretia.

203  “Not guilty”: TLC, p. 213.

204  Lucretia’s triumphal departure from Doylestown: DPB, vol. 2, p. 440.

204  “The Creator who, in his infinite wisdom, foresaw that gold would be the cause of many evils to man … prime mover of all the horrid circumstances which followed”: CEM, p. 36.

CHAPTER 11 “YESTERDAY I WAS A WONDER”

207  “My father, my parents, all will reward and favor you and take you away from your mother and you will be in the bosom of my family as a daughter”: Jan. 13, 1832, letter, Mina (Doylestown Jail) to “My Dear Mari,” M-CMCP.

207  He hadn’t mailed the letter: After his conviction, Lino entrusted the letter to Thomas Ross and asked him to have it delivered to Mary. Ross refused to do so until after the execution, saying that he “feared it would be believed and would contribute to his release.” This information is contained in a paragraph of writing in a different hand from Lino’s at the top of his letter to “My Dear Mari,” cited in the note above.

208  “flower that would have bloomed in the genial rays of the morning sun of love”; “fall”; and “scorching”: CEM, p. 29.

208  “succeed in overcoming her scruples of delicacy”: CEM, p. 31.

208  “That very evening, Miss Wilson was sacrificed at the shrine of pleasure”: CEM, p. 31.

209  “not Miss Wilson, but Mrs. Lucretia Chapman” and “at a place called Andalusia about thirteen miles from Philadelphia”: CEM, p. 33.

209  “another person of my own age”: STMC, p. 11.

209  “chère amie in Philadelphia”: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, May 5, 1832. The Bulletin’s reporter states that Lino told him this story “previous to his conviction.”

210  The hanging in Lancaster: Philadelphia National Gazette, April 24, 1832.

210  Lino’s nonchalance and his picking his teeth: Germantown Telegraph, May 9, 1832.

210  “Yes. It is a proper question and I will allow it to be asked”; “Am I to understand your Honor to say that you have decided contrary to the opinion you gave in the former trial?” and “Yes, contrary to my own opinion”: Germantown Telegraph, May 9, 1832.

211  “The death of Mr. Chapman was caused by a most deadly poison that the day before he was taken ill the individual at the bar purchased in Philadelphia”: Germantown Telegraph, May 9, 1832.

212  “Any declaration a man makes that is drawn from him by the offer of favor or by threats cannot be given in evidence. But the question is, did you actually promise the defendant favor”: See STMC, p. 2. For purposes of clarity, I’ve adapted this quotation from the Court’s original statement, which was, “Any declaration a man makes that is drawn from him by the offer of favor or by threats cannot be given in evidence.… The question therefore now is whether this promise of Mr. Blayney comes within the rule of law.”

212  “The defendant’s confession cannot be given in evidence” and “It is a statement made by Mina with a view of shielding himself. There was no admission of his having participated in the murder”: STMC, p. 3.

212  “That was not a promise of favorable treatment”: See STMC, p. 3. The quotation is slightly adapted from the original, “this was not a confession drawn from the prisoner upon promise of favor.”

212  “You must tell us what he said”: Du Bois reports simply the court’s ruling, and follows the ruling with Blayney’s testimony. For dramatic purpose, I’ve given Fox a directive to Blayney, one which prompts the testimony that follows.

212  “I asked Mina whether he had a medicine chest,” and “He said he had, and had left it in the Boston jail … Mrs. Chapman then come and kiss and hug me and say, ‘Lino, I want you to marry me’”: STMC, p. 3.

213  “clear” and “powerful”: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, May 5, 1832.

214  “exciting interest”: TLC, p. 2.

214  “Take the prisoner back for the night,” and “Return him tomorrow for sentencing”: STMC, p. 7.

214  Lino’s flippancy: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, May 5, 1832.

214  “The Irishman was hanged and the American was not”: Trollope, Domestic Manners of the Americans, p. 222.

215  Judicial review: It was not until 1855 that Congress gave the Supreme Court discretionary ability to grant appeals, not until 1891 that appellate courts were created.

215  “My name is Carolino … before I am ordered to be executed”: STMC, P. 9.

216  “Is it necessary for the prisoner to be here as we present arguments as to why he should have a new trial” and “There is no such necessity, if you are willing to argue the motion in his absence”: STMC, p. 8.

216  “The High Constable made a compact with the prisoner. It was a promise of favor. It amounted to an offer of immunity from prosecution”: See STMC, p. 8. The quotation is adapted from the original, which is, “The compact or promise of secrecy between Blayney and the prisoner was insisted upon [by Rush] to be a promise of favor, inasmuch as it amounted to an immunity from prosecution.”

216  “We have not changed our opinion since the trial”; “We do not think that the statement or confession made by the prisoner to Blayney was obtained under any promise of favor whatever. It was at most a promise to keep secret a confession which Mina wished to make”; and “upon the condition that his declaration that he was neither a convict nor a pirate should turn out to be true”: STMC, p. 8.

216  “We still think we were right, and therefore the motion for a new trial is refused”: STMC, pp. 8–9.

217  “I move the prisoner be brought up for sentencing”; “Motion granted”; “Mr. Espos y Mina, do you have anything to say as to why the sentence of death should not be passed on you”; “The prisoner has drawn up a paper. We think it best if we read his words”; and “My name is Carolino. I was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. I have in the island of Cuba, a daughter four years old”: STMC, p. 9.

217  Fox’s agitation: It was noted both by the Germantown Telegraph, which reported on May 9, 1832, that “the presiding judge [was] in much agitation and distress,” and by Du Bois, who remarked that Fox shortly was to display “a difficulty of utterance which showed how largely he partook of the feeling which seemed to pervade the multitude,” STMC, p. 9.

217  “It is necessary before I die, that I should execute some legal papers, in order to secure some property to my daughter” and “I pray the Court to grant me at least a few months of existence, a few months before I am ordered to be executed”; “These matters will be laid before the Governor who will no doubt grant the request which you make”; and “Lino Amalia Espos y Mina … And may God have mercy upon your soul”: STMC, p. 9.

218  “Back out! Back out at once”: Germantown Telegraph, May 23, 1832.

218  Forced to scamper away: Germantown Telegraph, May 23, 1832.

219  She did it … slipping arsenic into his glass: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, May 5, 1832.

220  The artist from Philadelphia: His name was E. Wellmore.

220  “He is a native of Cuba … connections are respectable”: Philadelphia Saturday Courier, May 26, 1832.

220  “He is the illegitimate son of a very rich gentleman of Cuba”: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, May 26, 1832.

220  “Unnatural” child: According to the Gemantown Telgraph, June 20, 1832, Lino “complained bitterly of certain editors, whom he alleged had done him serious injury, in calling him an illegitimate son, or ‘unnatural’ as he expressed it.”

220  Robert De Silver’s background: See John Tebbel, A History of Book Publishing in the United States (New York & London, 1972), vol. 1, pp. 384–85. The titles of the books published by DeSilver were made known to me by Richard Layman of the Columbia, South Carolina, publishing firm of Bruccoli Clark Layman, Inc.

221  “the most delicate ear, to make it … of the community”: CEM, p. 26.

221  Never forgave injuries and delighted in revenge: TLC, p. 85.

221  “as freely as it pleased him in her presence, and when her punishment would be sufficient to abandon her and return to Cuba”: CEM, p. 38.

221  “Her body [was] lacerated and torn over its whole surface by the blows of her mother”: CEM, p. 39.

222  “purchased [a] phial of poison from a doctor in the vicinity and … a promise of secrecy on his part as to his having sold it”: CEM, p. 42.

222  “official” and “Mrs. Chapman called upon a physician in the city a short time previous to the illness of her husband and … gave the Physician a fee for the information which she obtained”: Germantown Telegraph, June 6, 1832.

223  “My children and I have suffered unparalleled affliction. If you would convey us on more moderate terms than the usual ones, it would be an act of holy charity”; “What’s your name”; “Lucretia Chapman,” “Mrs. Chapman”; “All the wealth in the world would not induce me to take you aboard”; and “The way of the transgressor is hard”: Germantown Telegraph, June 20, 1832.

223  “The governor writes a very good hand”: Doylestown Democrat, May 22, 1832, as cited on p. 28 of a handwritten document entitled, “The Chapman-Mina Murder Trial,” written by George MacReynolds and included among the papers in M—CMCP. MacReynolds, a former librarian of the Bucks County Historical Society, may have prepared the document for a lecture or publication.

223  “In what shape does the Evil One appear”; “In the shape of that cricket”; and “Be sure to call and see me again”: Germantown Telegraph, June 20, 1832.

224  Lino’s attempt to serve an arrest warrant on McDowell: Germantown Telegraph, June 20, 1832.

224  “My dear Thomas … stronger than any other pleasure”: May 16, 1832, letter from Mary Ross to Thomas Ross (Jenkinstown), M-CMCP.

225  “But I am entirely innocent of Mr. Chapman’s murder. I am innocent of everything except a love of mischief”: Germantown Telegraph, June 27, 1832.

225  “I am not even really married to Mrs. Chapman.… In order to get her money”: adapted from the Germantown Telegraph’s report on June 27, 1832, that Lino “boldly asserted that his marriage with Mrs. C. was a mere trick to obtain her money.”

226  Law office: The old Ross law office, which was next to the jail and courthouse, has been moved from its original site, but it is still intact and is now part of a private home in Doylestown.

226  “I hereby certify … United States of America”: TLC, p. 40. 228 Ross’s visits to Lino and to Onderdonk: My account is based on the Germantown Telegraph article of June 27, 1832.

228  Lino’s ballad: CEM, pp. 46–48.

229  Lino’s Soneto: CEM, p. 48.

229  “Robbed her of the inmost jewel of her soul”: CEM, p. 39.

229  Lino’s suicide attempts: See “An Account of the Execution and the Dying Declaration of Mina,” CEM, pp. 49–50; see also Germantown Telegraph, June 27, 1832.

230  The largest body of uniformed men … since the Revolution: Kenderdine, “The Chapman-Mina Tragedy,” p. 465.

230  The first hanging in Bucks County since 1693: Kenderdine, “The Chapman-Mina Tragedy,” p. 462.

230  Doylestown on the eve of Lino’s execution: Germantown Telegraph, June 27, 1832.

230  “I myself used to be a soldier … One in particular nearly proved fatal” and “My own reflections after the interview were by no means pleasant or agreeable … A similar instance, I believe, can scarcely be found on record”: Germantown Telegraph, June 27, 1832.

231  “I am innocent of murder … ready to die”: Germantown Telegraph, June 27, 1832.

231  “It’s cruel of you … like a soldier”: Germantown Telegraph, June 27, 1832.

232  The military men were lacking in spit and polish: Germantown Telegraph, June 27, 1832.

232  Morris serves as the hangman: “An Account of the Execution and the Dying Declaration of Mina,” CEM, p. 49.

232  Tuljeaux translates: “An Account of the Execution and the Dying Declaration of Mina”: CEM, p. 49.

233  “You thirst for my blood … I am strong and not feeble” and “Farewell, my friends … He die innocent”: Germantown Telegraph, June 27, 1832.

233  the penultimate prisoner to be publicly executed … in Pennsylvania: see Negley K. Teeters, “Public Executions in Pennsylvania 1682 to 1834,” Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, Spring 1960.

234  Organs and skeletons of executed prisoners: Thomas M. McDade, The Annals of Murder (Norman, Okla.), p. xxxiii.

234  The experiment on Lino’s body: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, June 30, 1832.

235  Lit out for the West … second career as an actress: Philadelphia Gazette and Universal Daily Advertiser, November 14, 1834.

EPILOGUE

237  “How she has fallen … the finger of scorn is pointed at her and she is greeted with hisses and general disaffection”: The Philadelphia man wrote these words on the flyleaf of a copy of Du Bois’s book which he gave to a brother as a gift. The inscribed copy is in the possession of the American Antiquarian Society.

238  One 1909 commentator: The commentator is Kenderdine. See his “Chapman-Mina Tragedy,” p. 461.

238  William, Jr.’s history: Kenderdine, “The Chapman-Mina Tragedy,” p. 461.

240  “Everybody knows that Maryland is a Slave State”: Magill, “When Men Were Sold,” p. 514.

240  “Everybody is nobody! Common report does not pass before a court of justice”: Magill, “When Men Were Sold,” p. 514.

241  “with human feelings [even] if he was a judge”: Magill, “When Men Were Sold,” p. 512.

241  Morris’s history: Kenderdine, “The Chapman-Mina Tragedy,” p. 464.

241  Du Bois’s history: American National Biography, p. 950.

241  “Mina Flood”: Lichtenwalner, Bensalem, p. 311.