Report of the case of John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of George Parkman, before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts : including the hearing on the petition for a writ of error, the prisoner's confessional statements and application for a commutation of sentence, and an appendix containing several interesting matters never before published / by George Bemis.

  • Webster, John White, 1793-1850.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the case of John W. Webster, indicted for the murder of George Parkman, before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts : including the hearing on the petition for a writ of error, the prisoner's confessional statements and application for a commutation of sentence, and an appendix containing several interesting matters never before published / by George Bemis. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    out more than half of the contents, I found pieces of cinder and bone fused together, of considerable size, sticking to the bricks on the side of the furnace, and with a crooked piece of iron I broke them off. The Court, at this point, at ten minutes past two, P. M., adjourned to half-past three, P. M. Wednesday, P. M., March 20th. The Court came in at half-past three o'clock. Jabez Pratt, resumes.—Down towards the bottom of the furnace, I found something that looked like a,piece of a jaw, with mineral teeth in it, and other single teeth near it. The piece was about an inch long. I cannot say, whether it was an entire block, originally, or not. It was all in one piece. I afterwards handed the same piece to Dr. Winslow Lewis, Jr, I should think it was found two-thirds of the depth of the furnace down from the top. Two or three separate mineral teeth were afterwards found. The bones were picked out from the ashes, and put into a paper by themselves. The ashes remained there at that time. I gave directions, that the contents of the furnace should be passed into the hands of the chemists and medical men, to make what examination of them they saw fit. A number of these gentlemen saw them ; some, on Saturday, some, on Sunday. On Sunday, I sent for Dr. Jeffries Wyman, of Cambridge, to aid in the examination. I do not know what portion, he, or the others, took ; they settled that, among themselves. I did not take charge of anything, but the bones, and the remains. I think some of the bones were set into the privy, in a box, with the other parts of the body, Saturday night, and the door nailed up, as being the safest place to keep them. The contents of the furnace, I now recollect, were taken out, about nine or ten o'clock in the morning, and the jury met in the afternoon. I cannot undertake to say, what, the portions of bone found, were. The doctors were there in the afternoon; think, Dr. Martin Gay was there in the morning. I do n't remember all of the officers who were left in charge of the College that night. The bunch of teeth fell through the grate when I was clearing out the furnace, and officer Trenholm picked them up on the hearth. I have in my cus- tody a tin box, which I received from Mr. Waterman, by Mr. Parker's, (the county attorney's,) direction. [Box produced, and exhibited to the jury. A more partic- ular description of it, will be found under Mr. Waterman's, (the maker's,) testimony.]