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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![view, and by appoiiitnient he called at my resi- dence. He stated tliat he was hard pressed for money, and expected the Sheriff would be in his house if lie did not raise a certain sum of money immedfately; he then proposed to sell me a cabi- net of minerals. I replied that I did not want them. He pressed nie very hard; spoke of his family, and his position in colle^^e as dependent on obtaim'ng tlM money, and offered to dispose of the minerals for SilSUO, stating that they had cost him much more. He finally worked on my feelings and I consented to the purchase. He wanted $Gt;0 for immediate relief; said I had i!ot got the money, but if he could get my note on three months dis- counted, would give it to him. Next day he called, and I gave him the note, which 1 think he got dis- counted at the Charles River Bank. [The note was dated 20th of April, 1843, and was for $600, running three months. It was read and put into the case by Mr. Clifford.] Witness. Soon afterwards Prof. W. brought me a bill of sale of the minerals with a catalogue em- bracing 5000 specimens. On the 6th .June he called on me, and I paid him 8200 more on account; on the — of August he called again, and 1 paid him the balance of $100. Sometime afterwards when I was walking with Dr. Parkmau, we met Prof. Webster in the street, and bowed to him. i asked Dr. P. what salary Prof. Webster got at the College. He said $1200 a year. I replied that it seemed rather small, aud that he seemed hard pressed for money, remarking that he had applied to me, and I had pur- t^hased his cabinet of minerals. He said: They were not his to sell! and told me that he had a mortgage upon them. I was very much surprised, and went home with Dr. Farkm?Ji, who showed me his mortgage. He said: it is a downright piece of dishonesty on the part of Dr. vVebster, and he ought to be punished! [The mortgage held by Dr Farkman was here read to the court by Mr Bemis. It was dated 22d Jan. 1847, and for t5ie consideration of $2400 made t)ver to Dr Parkman all the personal property of Webster including his minerals, etc., made payable in four years from date. It was recorded at the Probate office in Cambridge in Feb. 1847.] Witness continued—At a subsequent period, a subscription was brought to me to raise money to redeem the minerals, it Ijeing stated that in th-e event of their redemprion. Prof. Webster would give them to the college. I consented to subscribe $500 on pa- per, to be deducted from the amount I had ad- vanced to Prof. Webster, to g-o for liis arelief. Some time afterward-s I was paid the balance of $700. Dr Parkman's claim \-'as not paid from the money raised for Prof Webster; lie said so to me; I have no other knowledge; Dr Parkman had a wife and two childran, son and daughter; the daughter was in ill health about the time he was missing, and he did not expect she would recover; he was always seeking for delicacies for those of his friends in ill health; the doctor was more than punctual in busi- ness matters, and seldom left home but for short periods. Cross examined by Sohier. He was a remarka- bly punctual man in all matters; when lie left home he always stated at what hour he might be expect- ed to return; if I had not known that Dr Parkman was missing, I should not have supposed the body at the College to be his; tlie teeth, the general out- line of the limbs, and ir hair on the breast, are the marks by which I idenuiied it. By Mr Bemis. The mcrtgage for §2400 was in possession of the Coroner's jury and was given up to me by permission of Mrs Parkman. [The mort- gage it will be remembered v/as found among Prof. Webster's papers, after his arrest.] The hour of 7 having arrived, the Court adjourn ed till 9 o'clock to-morrow morning. Wednesiiay, March 20. , • SECOND DAY. The visit of the jury lo the Medical College this morning was continued beyond the hour to which the Court adjourned, and it was a quarter to 10 o'clock when the Court came in. The pi'isoner, who was conducted to his seat at about 8 o'clock, conversed occasionally with such of his friends as came along, and otherwise appeared to take his troubles with much philosophy. The Court room was very much crowded. The flrst proceeding was to exhibit to the Court a plan of the premises at the College, wh«re the mur der of Dr. Parkman is alleged to have been commit- ted. The drawing was shown by Mr Bemis for the prosecution City Marshal FRANCIS TUKEY called and sworn. 1 have partial direction of the. police de- partment. We commienced the search for Doctor Parkman on Sattirday, 24th Nov. in the forenoon; Mr Binke called on me, and I went to his office; met Mr Robert G. Shaw and others there*. I notifled the officers employed at the west part of the city to commence a search in the houses belonging to Dr. P.'s estate. At 2 o'clock that afternoon, 1 was re- quested by Mr Shaw to inform the whole police force that the Dr. was missing. ' Advertisements were put in the papers on Saturn- day afternoon; I think it impossible to have made a greater or mor* thorough search than was made for Dr. P. during that day and the following week; 28,000 handbills were issued, and men were des-- patched in every direction for fifty miles around the- city; I drew up the handbills, aud submitted theini to Messrs Shaw, Francis Parkman and Blake. The ■ first handbill offered a reward of -SIOOO; the secoBd' $2000, and subsequently a reward of $100 was- ofiered for Dr. P.'s watch. 1 think the rsmains were discovered in one week from the day he was - missing. In consequence of information, I went to Mr. Shaw's house in Summer street,,(the younger' Mr. Shaw,) and from thence to the College. Dr. Bigelow (the younger) went with r.ie; I went into- Mr. Littleffeld's apartments and found officer.s - Trenholm and Clapp; Littlefield, Trenholm, Dr. Bigelow, Clapp and myself entered beneath the College, into the cellar through a trap draor. We passed through an open space I should think of 60 or 70 feet to the far corner, where we saw a hole about IS inches square broken through the - brick wall; the hole had the appearance of being recently made, brick and mortar laying along side of it. [A very perfect model of the Medical College building was here exhibited to the Court and Jury. The model was so constructed as to be taken in pieces, thus showing the internal arrangement of the various rooms, the laboratory, vault, &c., to the best advantage.] Witness continued. We entered the trap door on the south side of the building; on reaching the hole I took a lamp and looked in; saw what I took to be pieces of flesh; the water was coming through the outside wall. Mr Trenholm went in and passed out the pieces to Mr Clapp; there w-ere three pieces, a thigh, part of the body, and leg; Dr Bigelow said that was no place for dissected subjects. I asked Littlefield if there was any wuy to get into the vault except the communication from Dr Webster's pri vy; he said there was not. We heard some over head which we thought was Dr Vv'ebster; we as- cended to the laboratory by the door, and I passed in, while the oflicers.looked for the person we heard walking about in the lecture room; they did not find'](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21083617_0017.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
