NEWS: Cambria Freeman; 21 Dec 1906; Ebensburg, Cambria Cnty., PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Patty Millich Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cambria/ _________________________________________ Cambria Freeman Ebensburg, Pa. Friday, 21 Dec 1906 Volume 40, Number 51 Items Local and Personal Mrs. J. F. McKenrick, wife of Attorney McKenrick of this place is visiting her daughters, Mrs. Carl Dick and Miss Elsie McKenrick in Baltimore. Attorney McKenrick will also leave for Baltimore the last of the week and with his wife will remain there over Christmas. Blandburg is threatened with a diphtheria epidemic. Five cases of the dangerous disease have already developed, four of which are in the family of Frank Dontridge, and one in the home of Samuel McMillen. It is likely that action will be taken by the school board of Reade township to prevent a spread of the disease. Leo F. McKenrick and Edward Burns have purchased the meat market of A. Skelly in this place and at Carrolltown. Mr. McKenrick will continue his grocery business and Mr. Burns who is a practicable butcher will have charge of the shops. J. G. Lloyd will go to Johnstown tomorrow where he will sit as one of the board of viewers under the mastership of Hon. R. S. Murphy in near testimony in proceedings looking to the condemnation of the Valley Pike company's lower road. A daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lon Rodgers of the West Ward is confined to the house with a mild attack of diphtheria. This is the only case of the disease in town and is so mild in form that no apprehension is felt by the attending physician. Mr. and Mrs. Winfield Evans of Johnstown spent Sunday with Mr. Evan's mother and sister in this place. Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Tate left on Thursday for a visit with relatives in Pittsburg and Little Washington. Henry Conway, postmaster at Elstie and Assessor of Gallitzin Township, was a welcome visitor in town Thursday. Mrs. John Baker and children of Latrobe are visiting Mr. and Mrs. James Scanlan. Late News of County A little three-year-old daughter of Prof. C. B. DeLancey, while playing with matches Wednesday of last week in an upstairs bedroom set some papers on fire, which rapidly communicated to the other articles, and in a few minutes had created quite a blaze. The little girl went down stairs and told her mother, who, [part of sentence missing] upon reaching much headway as to threaten the destruction of the house. Fortunately some neighbors, hearing the alarm, hastened to her assistance and with difficulty confined the flames to one room but almost everything contained therein was practically destroyed. Charles Stuart and A. T. Strittmatter of Hastings have, it is understood, by an agreement recently made with the Springfield Syndicate Lands Company, secured a lease on about 1000 acres of coal lands located in Blacklick township. The tract was originally known as the Mary Evans property and adjoining the Ivy Hill coal lands. The Messrs. Stuart and Strittmatter will, it is stated, sink a shaft and begin to mine coal as soon as possible. John S. Killin of Barnesboro returned the other day from Philadelphia where he had been attending the Philadelphia Training School of Embalming. After a course of six weeks he successfully passed the required examination and was given a certificate to that effect. Grant George of Lilly while engaged in his work dumping coal on the tipple of W. H. Piper & Co., the other day, was accidentally caught between two loaded mine wagons and had his leg so severely squeezed as to lay him off from work for four of five days. Frank Deveraux of Cambria township, after being confined to the Altoona Hospital for several weeks, returned home Saturday. Mr. Deveraux had his left hand amputated on account of having the member lacerated in a corn shredder. The engine house that sheltered the dinkey used by the Leahey Coal Mining company at their Benscreek plant burned down the other day. The cause of the fire is unknown. John A. Gunn of Patton has been suffering a severe attack of gastric fever for several weeks. Wife is Missing with Cash Dr. D. B. Lewis' Wife Decamped with About $150.00 On Wednesday afternoon Dr. D. B. Lewis, whose office is in the Barker tenement building on High street, suddenly discovered that his wife was missing without a leave of absence. A little further investigation disclosed the lamentable fact that not only had his wife, Mary, disappeared but with her about $150 in cash which the doctor had intended for a rainy day. Mrs. Lewis pulled up stakes and departed for parts unknown on the 1:52 train the same day. The doctor went to Squire A. J. Waters and swore out a warrant charging his better half with larceny. Mrs. Lewis took the precaution to purchase no ticket at Ebensburg and paid her fare to the conductor. The telephone wires were kept hot between Ebensburg and Cresson in a futile effort to get Constable W. J. Brolley to apprehend her but Brolley could not be reached and Mrs. Lewis took the 3:47 train west from Cresson. She was followed as far as East Liberty when the Doctor lost the trail and now Mary and the $150 are supposed to be in the same company, somewhere in the East. At East Liberty the woman took a train for the east. Mrs. Lewis is a lady about 60 years of age and only recently came here to live with her husband. There was no discord in the family but the Doctor's friends are consoling him with the suggestion that after finding the $150, Mrs. Lewis suddenly remembered that our mountain winters were injurious to her health. Piper and Knee Chosen Former as Sheriff's Active Deputy, Latter to Have Charge of the County Jail While not officially announced it is understood that Sheriff-elect Webster Griffith has practically settled upon his appointees. As already announced in THE FREEMAN, Ed Knee, the present County Detective, will reside in the jail and have charge of that institution. For active Deputy, Will Piper of Johnstown is likely to be appointed. Mr. Piper was deputy when Elmer E. Davis was Sheriff. Capt. John M. Jones Post New Officers The veterans of Capt. John M. Jones Post 556 met Friday at Ebensburg and elected the following officers for next year. Commander Thomas J. Hughes; Senior Vice Commander David G. Griffith; Junior Vice Commander Thomas R. Williams; Quartermaster Edward Owens; Surgeon T. J. Davidson; Chaplain Milton Jones; Officer of the Day W. H. Davis; Officer of the Guard J. A. Myers; Representative to Department Encampment T. D. Davis; Alternate Hosea Evans. Altoona Fire Altoona, Pa., Dec. 19 Leaving her three children in the house, Mrs. Anna Bombay went to the store and the children ignited papers with matches and set fire to the house. Women rescued the children and saved the house. Typhoid Fever Pittsburg, Dec. 19 With 40 new cases of typhoid fever reported to the board of health for the last 24 hours, Dr. Booth of the health bureau made the statement that next spring will find Pittsburg in the throes of one of the greatest typhoid fever epidemics in its history. Gray Fired the Gun "We, the jury, find that Lewis Haney, came to his death from gunshot wounds, the weapon being in the hand of Ira Gray." This was the verdict returned Monday evening by the coroner's jury which took place in Johnstown inquiring into the death of Lewis Haney of Portage who was shot some days ago at Spangler. Ten of twelve witnesses, including the mother and sister of the young man who is charged with murder were examined at the hearing. Letters Lately Issued Estate of Thompson Skyles, late of Gallitzin. Will probated and no letters issued. Estate of Eliza Ann McDonald, late of Ebensburg. Will probated and letters issued to Michael McDonald Kittell. Estate of Patrick McGreehan, late of Johnstown. Will probated and letters issued to Elizabeth McGreehan. Estate of Silas Burk, late of Croyle Township. Will probated and letters issued to Vincent J. Burk and Helen H. Burk Hoyer. Cann's Fate was Proven Members of Gypsy Tribe Found guilty of Murder in the Second Degree Horrible Details of Crime The last two days of court were taken up with the trial of the homicide case in which the Commonwealth charged Tony, Emma and Tillie Matee with the murder of John Cann at Barnesboro on July 16th last. As shown by a summary of the testimony printed below this was doubtless the most revolting case of homicide ever aired in the Cambia county courts and after hearing the horrible history of the case and the confession made some time ago by the defendants, the jury returned a verdict finding Tony and Tillie Matee, guilty of murder in the second degree and acquitted Emma Matee, the wife of Tony Matee. [snip] The selection of the jury began at 9:25 and was not completed until 11:07. The defense used thirteen challenges and the prosecution ten, the panel being exactly exhausted when the following 12 were finally agree upon: Rinehart Rhoades, Jr., clerk, Dunlo; Peter McAvoy, manager, Blacklick Township; Joseph H. Skelly, laborer, Summerhill borough; Charles A. Eger, farmer, Cresson township; Isaac T. Miller, pattern maker, Sixth Ward, Johnstown; John R. Edwards, laborer, Second ward, Johnstown; J. H. Cramer, farmer, Summerhill township; Thomas Callan, wholesaler, Cresson borough; George W. Ribblett, farmer, West Taylor township; Edward Link, carpenter, Patton; Isaac A. Plummer, laborer, Conemaugh township; James Gallagher, railroader, Twelfth Ward, Johnstown. [snip] District Attorney Leech opened the case for the Commonwealth. George Cann, a man about 53 years of age had, he said, been separated from his wife and early in August moved his possessions to a stable near Garmantown where he kept "bachelor's hall." A band of Gypsies among whom were the three defendants were camping near the Cann's place and Tillie Matee and the dead man became very friendly. Cann used to come to the Matee tent in the evenings, Mr. Leech said, and drink beer, a circumstance which suggested the means of his death. The Matees secured some laudanum and "doped" the man one night as he sat drinking. Then they robbed him of about $60 which he carried in a little bag and waited his recovery. But the victim had taken too much poison and died. To hide their crime, Mr. Leech continued, the Matees buried the body in a shallow ditch near the camp. Then, fearing the odor of decomposition might betray them, determined to remove it. So late one night, they secured a buggy at Spangler, drove back to camp, tumbled the body in with the head swinging over the dashboard and the feet on the seat. Tony Matee sat at one side and drove; his wife sat at the other side, holding the baby and Tillie Matee sat on the dead man's feet to prevent the body falling out. The trio drove over ten miles that night, said the District Attorney and finally deposited their burden in the woods, about 150 yards from what is known as No. 9 Slope near Garmantown. The decomposed remains were found August 17th by Edward Holtz, a thirteen-year-old boy, who was attracted by the odor. In conclusion Mr. Leech said, he would later offer a number of admissions by the defendants themselves. The first witness was the Holtz boy who testified to finding the body and reporting to his mother, who alarmed the neighborhood. He was not cross examined. Lawrence Wyland of Spangler, who was one of the party which investigated the boy's story told of the finding of the decomposed remains and of their removal to Spangler. A. T. Wyland, the Spangler undertaker, told of the bringing of the body to his place. Then, at his direction, County Detective Knee opened a suitcase containing the complete skeleton of a man and identified by the witness as that of Cann. The jury was asked to look at this gruesome exhibit. Dr. Wheeling of Spangler identified portions of the hair and the empty money bag found on the body. All these witnesses said the dead man's pockets had been turned inside out. Stenographer F. C. Sharbaugh, refreshing his memory from time to time from notes of a statement imputed to Tillie Matee, one of the defendants, stated that the three Gypsies had not only fed George Cann, their victim, laudanum, but had actually buried him alive in a shallow ditch beside their tent. This they knew, according to the statement because when they later removed the body, they noted every evidence of a terrific struggle on the part of the entombed man to free himself from the loose earth, stones, beer kegs and other debris which had been piled over him. Mr. Sharbaugh's evidence also indicated that Tony Matee, the male defendant, had taken a fiendish glee in the premature burial of his alleged victim, shouting with murderous hilarity and jumping up and down on his alleged victim's abdomen as the dirt was being thrown in by the women. The Commonwealth rested its case at 11:20 Saturday morning. Counsel for the defense conferred for ten minutes, announcing then that they would present no evidence nor would they argue their case to the jury. Following the noon recess Judge Reed delivered the charge and the jury retired at 1:45 o'clock. Tillie Matee's Confession With the addition of the ghastly details mentioned, the alleged confession of Tillie Matee, adduced by Mr. Sharbaugh, corroborates in toto the evidence given Friday evening by 12-year-old Mary Matee, a daughter of Tony, who said she witnessed most of the tragedy. Attorneys Reed and Dill put up a desperate fight against the admission in evidence of the alleged confession, contending that it had been obtained by the District Attorney by "sweating" or other improper methods. To offset these objections the Commonwealth presented the testimony of County Detective Knee who swore that on numerous occasions when he had visited the jail, Tillie Matee had said she wanted to tell Mr. Leech the truth. The meeting was arranged for one afternoon in the jail parlor, Mr. Knee said, there being present in addition to the District Attorney, Warden Harry Blair, Mr. Sharbaugh and the witness. There and then and entirely without constraint, Tillie Matee denied a story she had previously told and related the horrid tale, which Mr. Sharbaugh had recorded. When Judge Reed had ruled that the statement had been properly secured and might be admitted, counsel for the defense objected to Mr. Sharbaugh's reading the statement from a transcript of his notes, holding that such testimony was incompetent. The Court upheld them in this and the witness was required to tell the story from memory, being permitted, however, to refresh his recollection from stenograph notes. Tillie Matee's story as rehearsed by the witness was in substance as follows: Horrible Details Given Tillie, who says she is the wife of a man name Couchic and George Cann, who boarded near the Gypsy camp became very friendly, the miner often coming over in the evenings to drink beer with the woman. Tillie learned that the man had about $80 and determined to get it. She sent little Mary Matee to a Barnesboro drug store for laudanum and that evening she, her brother and sister-in-law administered the stuff in turn in the victim's beer. When he failed to revive in the expected time, Emma Matee wanted to send for a doctor but the others wouldn't hear of it. Later as the man still failed to show signs of life, it was decided that he was dead. To hide the crime it was decided to bury the man in a shallow ditch near the camp and the warm limp body was accordingly dragged out and tumbled into the three foot ditch. Then, as the women began to throw in loose dirt and stones, Tony, enraged at the failure to secure but $30 jumped down upon the corpse and emitting frenzied yells, danced a hellish jig upon it. To still further hide the place of burial beer kegs were piled over the loose dirt of the grave. Struggled in Grave Three days later, according to the confession, when it was determined to remove the body, the three defendants were horrified to find upon the removable of the beer kegs that their victim had been buried alive. There was every evidence of a terrific struggle for freedom by the prematurely buried man. The legs had been kicked entirely free of the dirt and stones and the feet extended out over the side of the shallow grave. Escape had been impossible however, the head and upper parts of the body being weighted with heavy kegs. Horrible Night Ride When a buggy had been secured at Spangler, the body was tumbled in with the head swinging over the dashboard. A blanket was thrown over the head and upper part of the body and to hide the feet and legs, Tillie sat on them. Tony sat on the right side and drove. Emma sat on the left, holding the baby. It was the intention first to leave the little one at camp, but it was feared its cries might arouse suspicion. The story of the ride into the place where the body was left is contained in Mr. Leech's opening of Friday. The only new feature in this connection was the statement that Tony Matee had grabbed the legs, pulled the corpse from the buggy and dragged it himself to the place where it was found. Emma Denied Guilt Thomas Estep who testified Friday night was recalled Saturday morning. He said he knew the Matees by sight and that on the morning they were arrested saw them being taken into the jail at Ebensburg. He asked them what was the matter and Emma said they were charged with killing George Cann. She then told how Cann had lived near them and how Tillie had determined to get his money. Tony gave the laudanum and, she said, she, Emma, had nothing to do with the killing of the man. She had been forced into the rest of the work by her husband and Tillie. Witness said too that Emma told him of her instructions to little Mary, her daughter, to tell the whole truth. Little Mary on Stand The feature of Friday evening's session was the calling to the stand of Mary Matee, the 12-year-old daughter of Tony and Emma. In a clear, little voice and without great apparent emotion, the child recited the details of the crime, practically as given above. She was not cross examined. With the finding of Tony Matee and his sister, Tillie Matee, guilty of murder in the second degree, and Tony's wife Emma, not guilty, the trial came to a close after 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon. In some respects the findings of the jury was a surprise as the general public looked for a first-degree conviction inasmuch as a mass of damaging evidence had been introduced against the prisoners.