The trial of Prof. John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of Dr. George Parkman, at the Medical college (North Grove street) on the 23d of November, 1849 : Supreme judicial court, before Chief Justice Shaw, and Associate Justices Wilde, Dewey, and Metcalf. Counsel for the government, Attorney General J.H. Clifford, and George Bemis, esq. Counsel for the defence, Hon. Pliny Merrick, and E.D. Sohier, esq. / Reported for Boston journal.
- Webster, John White, 1793-1850
- Date:
- 1850
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The trial of Prof. John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of Dr. George Parkman, at the Medical college (North Grove street) on the 23d of November, 1849 : Supreme judicial court, before Chief Justice Shaw, and Associate Justices Wilde, Dewey, and Metcalf. Counsel for the government, Attorney General J.H. Clifford, and George Bemis, esq. Counsel for the defence, Hon. Pliny Merrick, and E.D. Sohier, esq. / Reported for Boston journal. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
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![retired for the night; the person who went to the door came and told me it was he. 1 sent word that I could atrend him, and I did so as speedily as possible. He told liis trouble: I took the teeth and repaired iliem. !!e was present about half an hour. I had no nioi-e profes.-ion;)l intercourse witli him at all. The day before hisdisappear- iince Dr. Farkman called upon me toucbinfr a servant who liad lived with me. I inferred that he wished to emplov him. I went into the country to pass Tliaiiksjiivins:;, and returned the Monday sncceedinw. I had heard of the Doctor's disappearance before I left. On ray return on Monday, Dr. Levvis presented to me the.se portions or mineral teeth, (exhibiting them to the jury) saying that he was requested to In-ing; them to me for examination. On looking at them 1 recognised them to be the same teeth that I had made for Dr. Parkman. The most pen'ect portion wiiicli remained was that block wliich belonged to the left side of the lower jaw. ] recognised the sliape in the outlines as the same that I had laboied on, arid had lain in my memory. Several oflier portions had been mucli injured by exposure to fire. I proceeded to look for the model upon which the tefth were made, and tlie resemblance was so striking that I— (here the witness Imrst info tears, and was unalile for a moment to proceed). Tliere was sufficient left to deter- mine where the teeth belonged. This belongs to the riuht upper jaw, there is no mistake—this helonas to the left. This is the remains of the front block of the upper iaw: these nnike out tiie ruins of the upper jaw. The left lower block is nearly entire. That attached to it is presumed to be the right block of the lower jaw. Parts not identified are directly in front of the lower jaw—there is a piece here that maf or may not belong to the set. The platina pins remain attached to the blocks. To the Comi. The pins were soldered to the plate, and put in with wood or some metal into the artificial teeth, jiot quite through the teeth, however—they were more like a treenail than a rivet. [The v.'itness stood in front of the Jurj^ and fitted the left block to the plaster cast, which he had declared was the cast taken from the mouth of Dr. Parkman. So far as -spe could get a glance at the block and cast, there ap- peared to be a nice adjustment between the two.] Direct examination resumed.—I ground the inside of the teeih, and removed a portion of the pink color and of the enamel. ['I'he witness also explained this matter to the jury, and pointed out the manner in which he had done his work. The grinding with a small wheel had left a concave surface upon the inside of the bloclc, sufficient ]y deep, however, to mark the indentation to the eye.— He de,^ignated this indentation to the Court, also.] I tind imbedded more or less with the mineral teeth, portions of gold; also, minute portions of bone. That portion of bone is cancellated, being peculiar to the jaw bone, the bone consisting of cells. 1 don't think of anv thingelse I have to say especially. I saw the mineral teeth in tlie doctor's mouth the last time h» called on me. Isaw them as he talked. I did nottakethem out. Ishould have known if they had been out. The presumption is strong that the teeth were in the head or muffled when subjected to the tire. Artificial teeth soon absorb a minute quantity of water—when placed in the fire they are glazed over, and the water in them is converted into steam, and they hurst. If the teeth were in the head the teeth would be exposed gradu- ally, and the bursting might not take place. When new teeth are heated, time must be taken to heat gradually so as not to crack. If I throw a block of teeth suddenly into the tire, new or not, I should expect them to burst into a great many pieces. If mufHed in the head, or othei-vvise, they might not burst, as gradual heating would take place. Whenever spiral springs are taken out, the two jaws Hy apart and open as a box. So far as the two blocks are found together, this would go to show that the teeth were placed in the fire while in the head. Cross-examined. All the blocks were brought to me by Dr. Lewis at one time. I revolved in mv mind all ihe circumstances attending the manufacture of the teeth for Dr. Parkman at once, upon the presentation to me of the t'-'eth. I have not been burnishing up my memory since Dr. Lewis gave roe tlje teeth. I thought that Dr. Parkman was gone and we should see him no more. I knew the teeth as soon as I saw them. I got my moulds. The name of Dr. Parkman was put upon the mould at the time the teeth were made, 'i'he object in preserving the moulds is for repair. Dr. Park- man had had portions of teeth before. Had had the left block made before. At the time he wore the block ab- sorption of the gum took place. I heard that Dr. Parkman had disappeared at night, when 1 was in Harris & Stanwood's store, the night that his disappearance was advertised. Dr. Parkman had nosingle teeth—the smallest portion was in front of the lower jaw. Direct examinationresumed. On left .'ide of the lower jaw are two roots, then a tooth, then a vacancy,then three teeth in succession. I suppo.-;e the roots on rightside those of the second small double tooth—of second bicuspid—the first bicuspid remained—only one root on the right side. A root of a natural tooth was found adhering to one of the blocks. [Witness identified the same.] Those teeth now adhering together all belone to the lower jaw, the left and right lower block. When I received the testh from Dr. Lewis Ih.ere was an upper block adhering to the two blocks, but it has sisice been broken off. The front teeth of the lower jaw appear more broken, and indicate that they were first exposed to the fire. Dr. LesterIS'OELfl called and sworn. I was an assistant of Dr. Keep. I entered his office in September, 1846, and remained there >uitil about the middle of last July. I am a student in the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. I recollect working upon a set ot teeth for Dr. Park- man, in the autumn of 1846. I recollect the writing m\ the plaster cast, Dr. Parkman, October, 1846, to be in my hand. I identify the teeth found in th.e ashes which were ex- hibited to me in the Attorney General's room, taken from a box which had been under seal. I recognised the block from its general configuration, as tlie same upon which I had wrought for Dr. Parkman. I find a hole i« the side at the siinie location that we have been accustomed to make them. I observe upon the inside of one of the blocks a sur- face which appears to have been ground. As soon as I saw the block 1 recollected that Dr. I'arkman's leeth had been ground, for I saw Dr. Keep grind them. The teeth are not ground down to the plate, but a slight margin is left. I recollect the teeth were so ground by Dr. Keep. I see good reason to believe that the teeth belonged fo Dr. Parkman, and no reason to believe that they did not. I have not the slisrhtest doubt that the blocks are one and the same upon which I wrought for Dr. Parkman. We were obliged to be very prompt, as the Doctor was so punctual to his engagements. The appointment when the teeth were to be finished, was upon the opening of the Medical College. I recol- lect an accident which occasioned delay, and that I was obliged, to work upon the teeth a large portion of the night. We finished the teeth just in time lor Dr. Park- man to go over to the College. 1 went to the College and sat where I could observe the Doctor, and see howliis teeth operated, if he should have occasion to speak. I think that the College was opened in Kovember. I do not recollect the precise day. The Doctor may have said a word or two when complimented by Gov. Everett upon his generosity ; my impression is that he did not, however. At this stage of the proceedings, at 2 o'clock, the Court adjourned to 3} P. M. AFTERNOON SITTING. The Court and .Jury came in at 3J P. M.. Dr. Lester. KoBLB—Diri-ct exmnination resumed.—I have the impression that the Medical College was opened in the early part of November. 1 commenced with Dr. Keep sometime in Seiitember. The first operation for a set ot teeth is to take the impression in wax. The plaster caste was taken shortly after the impression. I took the mould in the sand and made the hard metal cast. As there were several cases on hand at the same time, I could not tell how much time was occupied in the manufacture. I spent quite a number of days on the set of teeth. I have put blocks of teeth into the fire to see how readily they would crack; whenever suddrnly put in, I have never known them not to crack. They may be heated up gradually, and cooled with perfect safety. I coincide with Dr. Keep as to the great danger of placing suddenly teeth which have been used in the fire. At some period about a year after Dr. Parkman got the teeth, he came to Dr. Keep to have some damage repaired; and the evidence of such re- pair is plain upon the teeth. Dr. .Teffries Wvman, called and sworn.—I am Professor of Anatomy in Harvard University. I have been teacher of anatomy for the last eight years. Was called to ex- amine, with others, the remains found in the Medical College. AVent there on Saturday, the 1st day of Decem- ber. An arrangement was made to divide (he duties. My attention was called more particularly to the bones found in the furnace. I have made a catalogue, or detailed de- scription of these bones, which I have with me. I made one for the Coroner's inquest. I identify the fragments of bones here in Court, so far as I can judge from general observation. I think them thesame as those given to me. I saw the remains (fleshy) which were under examination by Dr. Lewis. [The witness explained a diagram to the jury, showing the relative position of the bones found in the furnace, to other parts ot the body.l The remains gave no indication of having been used for anatomical purposes. I was in Court when the other medi- cal men testified. I was impressed with the fact that the sternum and other parts were taken' outin the same man- ner as is usual on ordinary post mortem examinations. I was also struck with the mode of separation of the up- per part of the collar bone fiom the bieast bone. An ig- norant pei-sou would not separate the parts in the manner that was done. I thought that the separation of the thigh bone from the hips indicated a knowledge ol anatomy, inasmuch as the incision was made directly in the direction of the joint. My attention was not directed to the separation of](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21083629_0020.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
