Black Sheep Sunday - The Hanging of Felix Munshower

When I began my journey through my family history about 7 years ago, the only thing I knew about my great great grandmother Norris was written in the family Bible.  "Alice Norris died in 1888".  For a long time, I didn't know anything more.  Since I had so many other names to work with in different branches of my family tree, the Norris side languished for a while until I finally "buckled down" and got my "Google" on!

Starting with census records, (always a great place to start!) I found my great grandfather, Harry,  living with his family in Frederick County, Maryland.  It was here that I discovered not only his sister, Effa, but also his brother, Vincent, about whom I have written previously.  I then began to do some newspaper searching.  Luckily for me there are many Frederick County, Maryland newspapers available on various genealogical websites.  On one of these sites, I found Effa's obituary and for the first time I discovered my great great grandmother's maiden name, "Munshower".  But, finding which Munshower family Alice belonged to was more of a challenge.  Seeking the help of the Emmitsburg Historical Society, we determined that she was most probably Sarah Alice Munshower, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Munshower of Emmitsburg.

Once again, the search was on, only this time the results I discovered included a murder and a family tragedy.

According to the 1870 United States Census, Jacob and Elizabeth "Munshour" were living in Emmitsburg, Maryland with their 6 children.  Alice was 12, her younger brother, Felix was 10.  But, ten years later, in 1880, I found Felix is listed as a "prisoner" in the Frederick County jail.

This required further research.

Now I was searching on the name "Felix Munshower" specifically and I discovered a wealth of information about his crime. According to all accounts, he had murdered his own cousin, James Wetzel, apparently only for his money.  The best account of the murder came from the Emmitsburg Historical Society and was written by Michael Hillman. In his story, Michael tells of how the murder occured on 5 August, 1879 when Felix followed his cousin into the woods, shot him in the back of the head, stole his money purse, and buried his body in the woods. The investigation into the murder eventually led the sheriff to examine bootprints found in the woods next to the body and the heels of Felix' boots were a perfect match.  After his first trial ended in a mistrial because some of the jurors left deliberation to get haircuts, Felix was declared guilty of murder at 11:10 am on Wednesday, 28 January, 1880.  On 4 January, 1881, it was announced by the judge, "The sentence of the court is that you be taken in charge by the sheriff of Frederick County, and conveyed to the jail of Frederick County until such time as the Governer of Maryland shall appoint for your execution, and there and then be hanged by your neck until you are dead, and may God have mercy on your soul."

There were several appeals and delays of the sentencing, but on November 11, 1881, Felix Munshower was hanged for the murder of James Wetzel.

Tragically, on 16 January, 1881, Elizabeth Munshower, the mother of Felix and my 3rd great grandmother, died after suffering a heart attack at the home of her daughter, Amy.  Surely, the stress of the trial had weighed heavily upon her.  She did not live to see her son executed. Her daughter, my great great grandmother, Alice, lived only 7 years longer.  I don't know to what her death was attributed, but I wonder how much the actions and the death of her closest sibling affected her health.

It is amazing where one shred of information can lead you. One name in a census lead me to one of the family "Black Sheep".  I wonder where my journey will take me next?

Madness Monday - Joshua Hammond Norris

Searching for information about my great great grandfather, Joshua Hammond Norris and his first wife, Sarah Alice Munshower Norris, has certainly fallen into the category of adding to my "madness" many times. So, I felt it appropriate for today's "Madness Monday" prompt to tell a little of my trials and tribulations relating to the search for Joshua.

7 years ago, all I knew of Joshua was this photograph and a page in the Norris family Bible that stated that Joshua H. Norris married Alice C. Norris. Then, are sorting through some papers at my mother's I found a letter sent to my great aunt Grace from her cousin in Maryland detailing the Norris family ancestry. Jackpot! Wow, this is just what I needed. I wouldn't even have to work that hard now that I had all the names. I could just "plug" these into Ancestry.com and I was home free. Yeah....

At first, it seemed liked that was true. The information I had on those papers seemed to match Ancestry pretty closely. I did have a few problems though. Joshua's wife wasn't included on the papers. They began with Joshua's father, Amon and his wife, Mary Ann Miller Rouzer. But, that didn't stop me from printing out ancestry reports for all of my mother's family, detailing our Norris family history. However, a few months later, I began studying the Maryland Archives, looking through court records online. It was while I was doing this that I discovered a court case regarding my 5th great grandmother and it wasn't the lady I had named in my ancestry report! It was quite a detailed court case though, listing the name of my great great grandfather, Amon Norris, his father, and his mother, and his grandmother whose name was Hannah Hammond. When I read it, it made sense why Joshua's middle name was "Hammond".

Oh no! Amend that branch of the tree....quickly.

I don't know how the previous researchers got it so wrong, but it seems that there was quite a bit of "following the leader" going on because many people had the incorrect name.

Then, I set about researching Joshua and Alice's immediate family. I knew, again from the family Bible, that "Alice Norris died in 1888". I found Joshua, Alice, Harry (my great grandfather), Effa, and Vincent in the 1880 census, living in Creagerstown, Frederick County, Maryland. Prior to 1880, the only census information I can find on Joshua is the 1850 census when he is 11 years old and living with his parents, Amon and Mary. From 1850 to 1880, I can find no record of Joshua. Maddening is the fact that there is another Joshua Norris living in Frederick County during that same time period. That Joshua married a Catherine McBride and they seem to appear just about everywhere with regularity. I have no idea what Joshua did between 1850 and the time he appears again in 1880, other than marrying Alice. I don't know when or where they were married, which is frustrating as well.

Alice herself is another story entirely. She appears in the 1880 as "Alice" and on the gravesite of their daughter, Flarance, as "Alice", but everywhere else she is known as "Sarah A. Norris". I'm not sure where the "Alice C" in the family Bible came from, but the cemetery and census records are what I chose to ascribe to. From their daughter, Effa Norris Rowe's obituary, I learned that Sarah's maiden name was Munshower. I haven't found anything yet to confirm this, but I believe she is the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Munshower.

Sometime after Alice died in 1888 (at only 40 years of age), Joshua married Amelia Cahill. After his death on 3 January, 1908, he was buried with Alice in Mt. Tabor Cemetery. I have found a great deal more information about Joshua than I knew a few years ago, but there is so much more to know....and sometimes it does drive me a little mad!