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Full-Text Articles in History
The Trial Of Moses Adams, High-Sheriff Of The County Of Hancock, Before The Supreme Judicial Court Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, On An Indictment For The Murder Of His Wife From Minutes Taken At The Trial By John Bulfinch, John Bulfinch
Maine Bicentennial
Moses Adams of Ellsworth, Maine, was charged with: "not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil, on the twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, with force and arms, at Ellsworth ... in and upon one Mary Adams, the wife of the said Moses Adams, in the peace of the said Commonwealth, then and there being, feloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought, did make an assault ... with a certain deadly weapon called an axe, of the value …
Horrid Murder., Peter Edes
Horrid Murder., Peter Edes
Maine Bicentennial
Broadside publishing news sensationalizing the mass murder of the Purrinton family, including a 14-stanza poem about the crime. Events summarized in the broadside were later published in greater detail in a pamphlet by Peter Edes.
Horrid Massacre !! : Sketches Of The Life Of Captain James Purrinton, Who On The Night Of The Eighth Of July, 1806, Murdered His Wife, Six Children, And Himself : With A Particular Account Of That Shocking Catastrophe : To Which Are Subjoined, Remarks On The Fatal Tendency Of Erroneous Principles, And Motives For Receiving And Obeying The Pure And Salutary Precepts Of The Gospel, Peter Edes
Maine Bicentennial
The account of Maine's first case of domestic violence mass murder as reported by outspoken printer and newspaper man, Peter Edes. On July 8, 1806, Betsy (Clifford) Purrinton and her children Polly, age 19; Benjamin, age 12; Anna, age 10; Nathaniel, age 8; Nathan, age 6; and Louisa, age 18 months, were murdered by James Purrinton during an alleged fit of religious fervor before he committed suicide. Fifteen-year-old Martha Purrinton was severely wounded during the attack but survived for three weeks, testifying as a witness against her father. She died July 30. The eldest Purrinton son, James, age 17, survived …