The Murder of a Stranger

I recently received a PDF file containing the scanned content of one of the many ``History of the County'' books that were in vogue all over the Old West during the late 19th century. I knew it contained the name of my great great grandfather and several other ancestors, but I had no idea what stories I would find. This is a slight twist on the usual cliché about genealogical research:

At this same term of the Circuit Court, the grand jury returned an indictment against Man 1, Man 2 and my great great grandfather, charging them with the murder of a stranger, by hanging him by the neck. The circumstances of the case were substantially these: Shortly previous to the sitting of the grand jury, two strange men, claiming to be from Louisville, Ky., got of the cars at the town of town named for my great grandmother's great uncle, and started to the country for the ostensible purpose of looking at some land one of them claimed to own, and proposed to sell to the other. They had not been long gone when one of them returned. Some time during the day, a lady and some children were attracted into a thick wood by the moans of a person, where they found the other stranger apparently in a dying condition. He had been beaten over the head with a club in a terrible manner, and he had also been stabbed a number of times. He was entirely insensible, and no hopes of recovery were entertained. He had been robbed of all his money and other valuables carried upon his person. The news of the supposed murder and robbery spread rapidly, and soon there were several hundred people on the ground. The man that had returned to town named for my great grandmother's great uncle was recognized as the person that had got off the train in company with the murdered man. He was promptly arrested, and admitted his crime. He was taken to the woods east of town named for my great grandmother's great uncle, and, in presence of a crowd of from five to seven hundred people, was hanged. The cause was not tried till the February term, 1867, and the defendants were admitted to bail in the sum of $5,000 each.

The February term of 1867, of the Circuit Court, which convened on the 18th day of February, was held by His Honor as Judge pro tempore. DA, who had been elected at the preceding October election, was Prosecuting Attorney. The case of the State of Indiana against Man 1, Man 2 and my great great grandfather was tried by a jury and the defendants were acquitted. Although it was claimed that over five hundred persons were present and witnessed the transaction, no witness was produced, although many were examined and testified that they were present and witnessed the hanging as previously stated, who were able to state who the parties were that hung the man. The excitement and confusion seemed to have been so great that one one knew how or by whom the hanging was done.

My great grandfather was 3 to 4 years old when all this transpired.