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From: "Cathy Joynt Labath" <>
Subject: [IA-IRISH] First Murder in Iowa (continued)
Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 16:24:22 -0600

The Trial and Execution of Patrick O'Conner at the Dubuque Mines in the
Summer of 1834

THE PALIMPSEST
EDITED BY JOHN C. PARISH
Vol. I AUGUST 1920 No. 2
© 1920 BY THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA


...Accordingly O'Conner was taken up to Dubuque. And on the 12th of May,
1834, the first trial for murder, in what is now known as the State of Iowa,
was held in the open air, beneath the wide-spreading branches of a large elm
tree, directly in front of the dwelling then occupied by Samuel Clifton. A
large concourse of people had assembled and stood quietly gazing upon the
prisoner, when upon the motion of some person, Captain White was appointed
prosecuting attorney, or counsel in behalf of the people. O'Conner being
directed to choose from among the bystanders some person to act as his
counsel, observed: " Faith, and I'll tend to my own business ", and appeared
perfectly indifferent about the matter. At length he selected Capt. Bates of
Galena, who happened to be present, and in whose employ O'Conner had
formerly been engaged. The two counsel then summoned from among the
bystanders twenty-four persons, who were requested to stand up in a line;
when Capt. White directed O'Conner to choose among those persons twelve
jurors. He accordingly chose the following persons, calling each by name:
Woodbury Massey, Hosea L. Camp, John McKensie, Milo H. Prentice, James
Smith, Jesse M. Harrison, Thomas McCabe, Nicholas Carrol, John S. Smith and
Antoine Loire. The names of the other two jurors, who were traveling
strangers, cannot after a period of thirty years be discovered. It was
known, however, at the time of the trial, that six of the jurors were
Americans, three of them Irishmen, one Englishman, one Scotchman and one
Frenchman. The jury being seated upon some house logs Capt. White observed
to O'Conner, "Are you satisfied with that jury?" O'Conner replied, "I have
no objection to any of them; ye have no laws in the country, and ye cannot
try me. "
Capt. White continued, "you, Patrick O 'Conner, are charged with the
murder of George O'Keaf, do you plead guilty or not guilty?"
O 'Conner replied, "I'll not deny that I shot him, but ye have no laws
in the country, and cannot try me."
Three or four witnesses were then examined; when Capt. White addressed
the jury for a few minutes and was followed by Capt. Bates, who endeavored
to urge upon the jury to send the criminal to the State of Illinois, and
there have him tried by a legal tribunal. Capt. White replied that offenders
had been sent to Illinois for that purpose, and had been released upon "
Habeas Corpus, " that state having no jurisdiction over offenses committed
upon the west side of the Mississippi River. After this, the jury retired,
and having deliberated for an hour, I returned to their seats, upon the
logs, with Woodbury Massey as their foreman, who read from a paper the
following verdict and sentence: "We the undersigned, residents of the
Dubuque Lead Mines, being chosen by Patrick O'Conner,
and impaneled as a Jury to try the matter wherein Patrick O'Conner is
charged with the murder of George O'Keaf, do find that the said Patrick
O'Conner is guilty of murder in the first degree, and ought to be, and is by
us sentenced to be hung by the neck until he is dead; which sentence shall
take Tuesday the 20th day of June, 1834, at one P. M." Signed by all the
jurors, each in his own hand writing. There was a unanimous expression of
all the bystanders in favor of the decision of the jury. No dissenting voice
was heard, until a short time before the execution, when the Rev. Mr.
Fitzmaurice, a Catholic priest from Galena, visited O'Conner and inveighed
against the act of the people, denouncing it as being illegal and unjust.
Immediately the Catholic portion of the Irish people became cool upon the
subject, and it was evident that they intended to take no further part in
the matter.
Up to this time we did not believe that O 'Conner would be executed. It
was in the power of the Rev. Mr. Fitzmaurice to save him, and he was anxious
to do so. Had he appealed to the people in a courteous manner, and solicited
his pardon upon the condition that he would leave the country, we
confidently believe that they would have granted it; but he imprudently
sought to alienate the feelings of the Irish people from the support of an
act of public justice, which they, in common with the people of the mines,
had been endeavoring to consummate. This had the effect of closing the
avenues to any pardon that the people might hare previously been willing to
grant. They, however, up to this time, would have recognized a pardon from
the Governor of Missouri or the President of the United States. Application
was made to the Governor of Missouri to pardon him; but he replied that he
had no jurisdiction over the country, and referred the applicants to the
President of the United States. President Jackson replied to an application
made to him, that the laws of the United States had not been extended over
the newly acquired purchase, and that he had no authority to act in the
matter; and observed, that as this was an extraordinary case, he thought the
pardoning power was invested in the power that condemned.
A few days before the execution, a rumor got afloat that a body of two
hundred Irishmen were on their way from Mineral Point, intending to rescue
O'Conner on the day of execution. Although this report proved not to be
founded in truth, it had the effect of placing the fate of O 'Conner beyond
the pardoning control of any power but force. Runners were immediately
dispatched to the mines to summon the people to arms; and on the morning of
the 20th of June, 1834, one hundred and sixty-three men, with loaded rifles
formed into line on Main street in front of the old "Bell Tavern," where
they elected Loring Wheeler, Captain of the Company, and Ezra Madden,
Woodbury Massey, Thomas R. Brasher, John Smith and Milo H. Prentice,
Marshals of the day. The company being formed six-a-breast, marched slowly
by a circuitous route to the house where O 'Conner was confined, while the
fife breathed in lengthened strains the solemn air of the Dead March,
accompanied by the long roll of the muffled drum. The stores, shops and
groceries had closed up their doors and life no longer manifested itself
through the bustling hum of worldly pursuits. All was silent as a Sabbath
morn, save the mournful tolling of the village bell. Men whispered as they
passed each other, while every countenance denoted the solemnity and
importance of the occasion. Two steamers had arrived that morning from
Galena and Prairie Du Chien, with passengers to witness the execution. The
concourse of spectators could not have been less than one thousand persons.
The company having marched to the house occupied by O 'Conner, now
owned by Herman Chadwick halted and opened in the center, so as to admit
into the column the horse and cart containing the coffin. The horse was
driven by William Adams, who was seated upon the coffin, and was employed as
executioner. He had on black silk gloves, and a black silk handkerchief
secured over and fitted to his face by some adhesive substance, which gave
him the appearance of a negro. The Marshals soon came out of the house,
followed by O 'Conner and the Rev. Mr. Fitzmaurice. The two latter took a
position directly behind the cart, while the former mounted their horses and
rode to the front of the column, which now moved slowly to the smith-shop of
Thomas Brasher, where the irons were stricken from O'Conner by Henry Becket.
Our position in the column being in the front rank, following the priest and
O 'Conner, we were enabled to observe the bearing of the latter. He seemed
to have abandoned all idea of being released, and was much distressed,
wringing his hands and occasionally ejaculating detached parts of some
prayer, "Will the Lord forgive me!" he would frequently ask of Mr.
Fitzmaurice, who would reply, " Whosoever believeth in the Lord , Jesus
Christ shall be saved," together with other like scriptural expressions.
After he returned from the smith-shop, the Captain of the company desired
him to get into the cart, when the priest observed, 'No, I wish to talk to
him; let him walk." Capt. Wheeler replied that he had orders to place him in
the cart; but would go and state his request to the Marshal. Accordingly he
advanced to where Mr. Madden was sitting upon his horse, who observed in a
loud tone of voice, "No; if that gentleman wishes to talk with him, let him
ride upon the cart with the murderer. " This was spoken harshly and
contemptuously by Mr. Madden, who, we learned afterwards, was deeply
offended at some remarks previously made by Mr. Fitzmaurice concerning
himself, and imprudently took this opportunity to retaliate, which we have
reason to believe he afterwards regretted. The Captain of the company
delivered the message as he received it, though in a more pleasant tone of
voice, Fitzmaurice bowed respectfully to the message, but made no reply. O
'Conner being now seated upon the coffin, the column commenced moving
forward, to quarter minute taps of the drum, and arrived about twelve
o'clock at the gallows, which was erected on the top of a mound in the
vicinity of the present Court House. The company here formed into a hollow
square, the cart being driven under the arm of the gallows, at the foot of
which the grave was already dug. The Captain immediately ordered the company
to ground arms, and uncover. Even many of the spectators removed their hats,
while the priest offered up, in a clear and distinct tone of voice, a
fervent and lengthy prayer, parts of which were repeated by O 'Conner, who,
at the close of the prayer, addressed a few remarks to the people, saying
that he had killed O'Keaf, that he was sorry for it, and he hoped that all
would forgive him. Then pausing for a moment, he observed, "I wish Mr.
Lorimier and Gratiot to have my-" here he was interrupted by the priest, who
observed, "Do not mind your worldly affairs; in a few minutes you will be
launched into eternity; give your thoughts to your God." The hangman now
spoke to O'Conner and assisted him to reascend the cart, when he adjusted
around his person a white shroud; then securing his arms behind him at the
elbows, he drew the cap over his face, fixed the noose around his neck, and
lastly, he removed his leg of wood; then descended from the cart, and laid
hold of the bridle of his horse and waited for the signal, which was given
by one of the Marshals, who advanced into the open area, where he stood with
a watch in one hand and a handkerchief at arm's length in the other. As the
hand of the watch came around to the moment, the handkerchief fell, and the
cart started. There was a convulsive struggling of the limbs for a moment,
followed by a tremulous shuddering of the body, and life was extinct. The
body hung about thirty minutes, when Dr. Andros stepped forward, felt of his
pulse, and said, "He is dead." The body was then cut down and placed in the
coffin, together with his leg of wood, and deposited in the grave. The
company now marched in single file to the front of the Bell Tavern, where a
collection was taken up to defray the expenses, when the company was
disbanded. Immediately after this, many of the reckless and abandoned
outlaws, who had congregated at the Dubuque Mines, began to leave for
sunnier climes. The gleam of the Bowie knife was no longer seen in the
nightly brawls of the street, nor dripped upon the sidewalk the gore of man;
but the people began to feel more secure in the enjoyment of life and
property.


ELIPHALET PRICE

Cathy Joynt Labath
The Irish in Iowa
http://www.celticcousins.net/irishiniowa/index.htm

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• [IA-IRISH] First Murder in Iowa (continued) by "Cathy Joynt Labath" <>