The twelve days' trial of Dr. John W. Webster for the murder of Dr. Parkman : comprising the addresses of the counsel engaged, the examination of the 121 witnesses, the prisoner's singular defence, and the chief justice's charge to the jury, and his sentence on the prisoner.
- John White Webster
- Date:
- 1850
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The twelve days' trial of Dr. John W. Webster for the murder of Dr. Parkman : comprising the addresses of the counsel engaged, the examination of the 121 witnesses, the prisoner's singular defence, and the chief justice's charge to the jury, and his sentence on the prisoner. 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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![spots were on the sides of the staircase. [Pieces cut from the staircase were shown to the jury.] Re-examined.—The ashes were partly of wood and charcoal. Richard Crossley (20th witness).—I was an assistant of Dr. Jackson, and have been a chemist for thirteen years. I made experiments on certain blood vessels, at the request of Dr. Martin Gay, to ascertain if they had been injected with arsenic acid, or chloride of zinc, and found no appearance of those substances. Dr. N. C. Keep (21st witness).—I am a dentist, and have been in practice for twenty years, and have given attention to mineral teeth. I knew Dr. George Parkman, as early as 1822. In 1825, he employed me as his family dentist, and ever since that time, so far as I know. I was shown a block of mineral teeth, by Dr. Winslow Lewis, Jun., on the Monday after Thanksgiving last. I recognised them as the teeth I had made for Dr. Parkman, in 1846 ; (a block found in the fur- nace, was exhibited to the witness), these are the same as shown by Dr. Lewis. Dr. Parkman's mouth was peculiar, in many respects—especially in the relation between the upper and lower jaws ; and thus the impression left on my mind was very distinct; I remember these peculiarities with great exactness. The circumstances under which the teeth were ordered were peculiar. Dr. Parkman asked how long it would take to make the teeth. He said he wanted to be present at the opening of the Medical College, and was expected to speak ; and he did not wish to order them unless they would be ready at that time, The time was rather short. The pecu- liarities of the mouth required as much skill as could be used in fitting the teeth. The great irregularity of the left side of the lower jaw occasioned much difficulty. The set was cut into three pieces before baking. These pieces are called blocks. The upper teeth of Dr. Parkman were in three blocks. The lower teeth were also in three blocks but not made whole, in consequence of the natural teeth which remained. There was an accident which injured one of the teeth, which rendered it necessary to make an additional block anew. This occupied me nearly all night; but they were finally finished thirty minutes before the opening of the Medical College. I did not feel entirely certain that they would be quite as I wished them, so I requested of the doctor that I might see him soon. When 1 next saw him, he remarked that room was wanting for his tongue. In order to obviate that difficulty, 1 ground the lower blocks, on the inside, to make more space, which at that time was not accomplished with much ease, and required a small wheel on account of the angle formed by the teeth and the plate. This grinding removed the colour of the gum, and also the enamel of the teeth. Two weeks before his disappearance, he called late in the evening, having broken the spring, which I repaired. The day before his disappearance, he called to inquire respecting a servant who had lived with me. Monday after Thanksgiving, Dr. Lewis presented to me the portions of mineral teeth, saying he was requested to bring them to me for examination. On looking at them, I recognised them to be the same teeth I had made for Dr. Parkman. The most perfect portion which remained was the block belonging to the left side of the lower jaw, I recognised the shape and outline to be the same with those which I had laboured on so long. Several of the other portions had been much injured by exposure to fire. I proceeded to look for the model by which those teeth were made. On comparing the most perfect block with the model, the resemblance was so striking that I had no doubt. This portion which I now hold in my hand belonged to the right upper jaw. The teeth were in the Doctor's head the last time I saw him—the day before he disappeared. The presumption is very strong that these teeth were consumed with the head, for when worn they absorb small portions of water, which, when heated rapidly, would explode them, and they would go into a multitude of pieces. If the teeth had been removed from the head, the spring by whicli they were opened would have thrown them apart, and they would not probably have been found fused together. I find fused in with these mineral teeth portions of the natural jaw. Dr. Lester Noble, (22nd witness).—I was an assistant of Dr. Keep in the](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21083630_0020.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
