The Parkman murder : trial of Prof. John W. Webster, for the murder of Dr. George Parkman, November 23, 1849 : before the Supreme Judicial Court, in the City of Boston with numerious accurate illustrations.
- John White Webster
- Date:
- 1850
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The Parkman murder : trial of Prof. John W. Webster, for the murder of Dr. George Parkman, November 23, 1849 : before the Supreme Judicial Court, in the City of Boston with numerious accurate illustrations. 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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![e I recollect at the time. I left them together, and went on searching through the houses. On Fritlav, the day of the arrest, T was passing by the Medical College, at 3 1-2 or 4 o'clock, when I met Mr l.ittlefield, who told me he had commenced digging through the wall; he had suspicions of Dr Webster; he said he had told the officers he had searched every [)lace but that; he was going to dig through the wall and satisfy himself and the public whether there was any thing there or not. He took me into the dissecting room entry, and by his direc- tions I put my hands upon the laboratory wall; we went round to the front part of the building, and while talking Trof W. came up, and it was then he asked about the $20 bill. I told him I had not heard any thing about it. He then said an Irishman came to the bridge and offered a $20 bill to pay one cent toll. The toll keeper thought it strange that the Irishman should have a $20 bill, and asked him where he got it. He replied, from Dr Webster.— He then said the Marshal had the bill, and sent to him to know if he could identify it. Said he, I told him I could not swear to it. He then bid me good night, and went off. Mr Littlefleld wanted me to come back m twenty minutes or half or an hour, when he thought he should get through the wall.— I then went away and was gone twenty or thirty minutes when I returned. When I came back I met Mr Littlefield's wife, and asked her if he had come up from under the building. She said he had and had gone down to see Dr Bigelow. She asked me if I was afraid to go down there. I told her I was not. She then went with me and showed me the way to get down. I do not remember that any door was locked. I took a light and crawled out to the place where he dug through. I put my head and shoulders through, and saw the parts of the body found which were afterwards shown to Coro- ner Pratt. I then came up and waited until Mr Littlefleld returned with the Marshal, Dr Bigelow, and Mr Clanp. I aided in taking out the parts. We all went do^vli, and Mr Littlefleld and I saw the re- mains removed. I held the lamp while Mr L passed the parts up. They were under the wall. I do not recollect of any thing being done about going into the laboratory before DrWebster was brought down. The remains were left there until the party re- turned, and I was left in charge of the building by the Marshal. It was near 11 o'clock when the party came down with Prof. W. Mr Littlefleld came down and said Prof. W. had been brought down. I went with Mr Littlefleld, and we forced the door of the laboratory so that the party could get in. S^me one called for the key of the privy door, whei. Mr Littlefleld said the doctor had the key, and always kept it himself. The doctor then pointed to a hook er nail, and said it was hanging up there. I think Mr Starkweather took down the key and handed it to Mr Littlefleld. Mr L. and I then went down to the laboratory, tried the key and found it would not unlock the door. We went back up stairs and told Prof. W. that it was not the key. The door was then broken open. While in the back room, I noticed that Prof. W. was confnsed; while in the laboratory he was more so; he called for water, and appeared to bite at it. 1 remember an inquiry was made by some one about the furnace. This was while the doctor was in the room. Mr Adams, Rice, and myself, remained in charge of the laboratory that night. I remained thereun- til Sunday. I left only a few minutes. The place was, during that time, in custody of the police. I do not recollect that any instructions were given in relation to Mr Littlefleld. The place was properly and seecurely guarded. No oversight was exercised towards Mr Littlefleld, to my knowledge. There was an inquiry about a hatchet, when Dr. W. said it was down stairs in the sink. 1 believe Mr Little- field found the hatchet. Some search had previous- ly been made in the room for the hatchet. I was present on Saturday or Sunday morning, when a key was tried to the lock of the privy. Mr Clapp had the lock, which had been forced off. Cross Examined. 1 had not heard of any $20 bill until Dr Webster spoke to me about it. I was a little acquainted with Dr Webster. I think I saw Mr Littlefleld on Sunday; I saw him on Saturday, was present when he had a conversation with Mr Kingsley; Mr L. said to Mr K. he had not seen Dr Parkman for three or four days. Mr Littlefleld did enjoin secrecy in relation to his making a discovery. Mr Littlefleld on Saturday evening went up to the Marshal's oilice while I was there, and corrected the statement that he had not seen Dr Parkman for three or four days. [This statement of the correc- tion was objected to by defence as inadmissible.]— This interview was but a few minutes. There was a key on the nail in the private room, which the Dr said belonged to the privy. The lock siibsequenMy fell off, or was taken off. The privy was nailed ip that night by driving a nail in by the side of the dc NATHANIEL D. SAWIN called and sworn. I run an express from Cambridge to Boston. I know Prof. Webster; have been in the habit of carrying articles for him; about the time of the disappear- ance of Dr Parkman, I recollect bringing packa- ges; on the 26th of November, Monday, I brought in two bundles of faggots, or grape vines from his house; I also brought in a box of the shape of a soap box and a bag of tan. I brought them from Dr. Webster's house in Cambridge, and left them in Mr Littlefield's cellar. He gave me directions to leave them there, saying he would take them into his room, himself. I never received similar instruc- tions before, although I had often carried articles for him. In the course of three years, I suppose 1 had been there two hundred times. My custom usually was to carry them either into the upper or lower laboratory; I generally took the keys from Mr Littlefleld's kitchen. On the Monday in question I tried the doors, and looked for the keys. I thought I would set the things into the la- boratory, and-therefore tried the door; then I went to look for the key, thinking I might have misun- derstood the Dr. I always went into the store room door. [The door was pointed out on the model.]— I always went in this way. I went there again on Wednesday, Nov. 28, and carried two boxes; one was about two feet and a half long, a foot deep, and about ten inches wide; the other was a foot and a half square. The large one was empty; the smaller one had something in it. A piece of the cover being split off, I noticed a piece of a buivdle handkerchief in it. I carried the things in, and seeing the others in there I did not stop to try the door. I saw the grape vines and box, but did not then notice the bag of tan; 1 went to the College after the arrest of Prof. Webster, to see these boxes, but did not see the large one, neith.. er the one I carried on Monday. This was on Sat- urday or Monday. Cross examined. I have been in the habit of car- rying boxes to the College. When I had business, I was always in the habit of going in and out the lower laboratory; never saw any tan there; Prof. W. did not tell me that the door was locked when he sent in the articles spoken of. The knife exhib- ited to me [the one found in the tea chest,] I saw first in Prof. Webster's garden, on the 18th Novem- ber. He was using the knife in trimming his grape vines; I noticed the knife, from its being a peculiar one. DERASTUS CLAPP called and sworn. I have been connected with the police since 1828. [The two mortgage notes found among the papeis of Dr Webster, with one other paper, were now submitted to Mr Clapp.] On the 5th of December I was directed by th« city marshal to go to Cambridge, and get a Cam- bridge othcer and search the house of Dr Webster. I took officer Hopkins with me, and went to Cam- bridge and took ofilcer Saunderson. We went to the house of Dr Webster; the other officers went up stairs while I remained below. This was the sec- ond search. I went in pursuit of papers. I asked Mrs Webster if she had in her possession a bmidle](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21083617_0034.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
