Saturday, November 9, 1805, about the middle of the afternoon on a cloudy day, a horse was noticed grazing in a mowing lot of John Bliss, the grandson of Abel Bliss. The house can be seen today and is located at 182 Mountain Road along with the mowing lot at the rear of 142 Mountain Road.
At about 3:00 PM a neighbor notified John that his horse was supposedly at large with saddle and bridle on. John advised his neighbor that the horse couldn't be his. He then sent a boy to bring the horse to the house, where it was tied in hopes that the owner would return. One thought was that a local doctor who was then in the neighborhood, it being his practice usual to leave his horse untied, to feed, while he visited a friend or patient, and consequently strayed.
As nightfall came no owner appeared and the horse was turned out. That night some information was gained and that the horse was ridden by a stranger to the east on Boston Post Road, about two hours before the horse was first discovered in the mowing lot of John Bliss. Suspicion now began to arise that the horse was stolen, and the person had abandoned it to make their escape, but this suspicion appeared not altogether consistent.
On Sunday, the next day, sometime in the afternoon, it was proposed to examine the saddle bags, etc. if possible to get something that might lead to the discovery of the truth, and upon doing so some plain articles of apparel, a pair of shoes, etc. were found, together with more than a half a dozen letters, directed to gentlemen in Monson, Palmer, Woodstock CT, and penned by a man named Marcus Lyon. Upon further investigation, one of the letters was open and it was found to be dated at Cazenovia, in the state of New York on November 4, 1805. The people now believed that Marcus Lyon, a 23-year-old from Woodstock CT, was the man who owned and rode that horse. Once again suspicions arose but with foul play this time in the young man’s disappearance.
A search was made on Sunday in the late afternoon, on the shore of the Chicopee River, in the adjoining woods, and in such places as were thought likely to conceal the remains of the unfortunate sufferer, but no discovery was made of anything.
About this time a boy, age 13, named Laertes Fuller, son of Abraham Fuller, communicates a very important circumstance, which he saw on Saturday, a little after noon, he supposed. At that time was driving some swine to “shack” on the mountain and saw two men (one of whom he unhesitatingly recognized after their arrest) leading a horse west from within that area of the stone bridge that crosses a small brook (Spear Brook). Laertes also stated, that before they discovered him, they appeared to be engaged in low, hasty conversation; but immediately one stepped up behind the horse and touched it up with a bludgeon, while the other held the bridle. They quickly passed from the main road onto the high road (1732 Old Bay Path) that leads to where the horse was found, hastening with a quick step up the mountain. Laertes conceived their conduct to be quite particular, and curiosity led him to follow up the hill several yards; the men then halted and passed a few low words together, looking at him; one of them then mounted the horse and rode full speed up the mountain and out of sight, while the other stayed behind, leaning against a stone wall, beside the road, closely eyeing the boy. Laertes passed the wall to an apple tree, took some apples, and then went home, eyed by the stranger until he was out of sight.
Laertes previously saw these same two men on foot passing from the eastward towards this place about fifteen minutes prior, and about 160 yards from where he saw the men with the horse.
By this time, it was evening and dark; but the search continued with the help of torches and lanterns, but nothing was found. At this point, a decision was made to call off the search until morning. But another alarming circumstance came to light, made several eager to look once more. The thing alluded to was this. A young man, passing on Sunday, had picked up a guard of a pistol broken off and a pistol ramrod a few feet west of where the two men were first seen with the horse. It was then proposed to make a thorough search thereabouts, in the bushes, and in the river; being almost fully convinced of finding the remains of a man not far from the place where the parts of the pistol were found.
It was now supposed the deadly deed was perpetrated, and within a few feet of where a hat, supposed to be Marcus Lyon’s, was afterward found under a stone bridge for a small stream, to cross the turnpike road.
Between the hours of eight and nine this same night, several gentlemen, with lights, went to the place where the broken parts of the pistol were said to be found; the bushes were again examined to no purpose; then the shore of the river was attended to, but where it was first viewed was a little above where it was thought most likely the murder was committed and the water was very shallow, not sufficient to cover the corpse of a man. It was then proposed to go downstream a few feet, where the shore is bowled and sometimes used as a bathing place.
M.K. Bartlett and P. Bliss went to a spot that was a few feet lower down the river than the place directly against where the pistol guard and ramrod were found. By the light of torches, Mr. Bartlett saw something in the water that caught his eye, and while he was looking, before he had time to conclude and speak, Mr. Bliss picked up a pistol close to Mr. Bartlett’s feet, which was broken, with blood and hair on it, and said, “the man is not far from here”, and the object of Mr. Bartlett’s attention was soon known to be the body of a man.
The alarm was instantly given and those that were out on the search, soon drew near, they saw the body, lying on its face, with the feet out from the shore, and the head close to the land, in the depth of water but a few inches more than sufficient to cover it, the greatcoat on the body was gathered in a careless fold, and laid on the back side of the head, with a stone placed thereon, partly out of water. There was the appearance of a body being dragged from the road to this place through mud, grass, etc. After proper deliberation it was agreed to move the body from the water to some convenient place without much delay, it appearing more proper than to let it remain in its shocking situation till the Coroner’s Inquest, which could not be until sometime the next day. A wagon was procured for the purpose and the presence of sufficient evidence, the mangled remains of a fellow citizen, lifted from the watery grave and conveyed to Sykes Tavern (northwest corner of Maple and Chapel Street), and occupied by Mr. Asa Caulkins.
There were two large wounds on the forehead and the back of the head was bruised and broken horrifyingly, and it was afterward discovered that he was a shot in the right side, the ball not passing to any great depth, it being prevented by hitting a rib, and was found loose in the clothes. There was no other discovery of violence, and all was so quickly done that most likely the last struggle of life was underwater.
Soon after a messenger departed for Springfield with great speed, and after proper arrangements, the murderers were effectually pursued. Witnesses stated two men dressed as sailors were seen leaving Wilbraham at a quick pace. These same two men were seen traveling behind Marcus Lyon on the Turnpike Road in Wilbraham.
Marcus Lyon was found to be a native of Woodstock, Connecticut, and another messenger was dispatched with the mournful news to his family and friends. Marcus Lyon was unmarried and had a mother, sister, and brother, all living in Woodstock.
Marcus had been absent from his friends and family through the summer, to work at Cazenovia, and was from November 4th, returning home. It has since been concluded that he had but a small sum of money with him, which the “greedy ruffians” possessed themselves.
A Jury was called upon Monday morning at Sykes Tavern. The body was examined by Dr. Samuel F. Merrick and decently laid out; the evidence was collected, and the verdict was agreed on and brought in, which was WILFUL MURDER.
The remains of Mr. Lyon on Tuesday were taken to the place of his home in Woodstock CT, where the funeral rites of Christian burial were attended by as large a collection of people as ever was known to follow the remains of a friend to the grave in any interior part of New England. Marcus Lyon is buried in Bungay Cemetery in West Woodstock, Connecticut.
The inscription of Marcus Lyon's gravestone is as follows:
Here lies buried the bo- dy of Mr Marcus Lyon, who was murder'd in Wil- breham Novr-9th-1805 in the 23d year of his age. My soul is gone to worlds unknown. Reader: I speak to thee Prepare for death while you have breath, Prepare to follow me, By bloody men brought to my end, No warning did I have, I've bid adieu to all below, Lodg'd in this silent grave.
On Wednesday, a gentleman viewing the place where it is supposed the murder was perpetrated, discovered in the bushes at a little distance, the second pistol much in the situation of the former one, which appeared to be a mate of the first.
The men that were pursued were from Boston. Then they started for New York; they lodged in Western (Warren) on the night of November 8th. On the forenoon of the next day, they arrived at a store in Palmer near the meeting house and took some spirits in a canister; about two miles from this towards Wilbraham, they were seen to come out of a wooden area, with bludgeons, which to appearances, they had newly taken. They soon arrived at a tavern and drank. They were observed by many people as they passed onward; and within a little distance from the fatal spot, they met a gentleman of the neighborhood and made inquiries such as the distance and way to Springfield, the nature of the road, etc.
The next of them being seen, was by Laertes Fuller, or within a few minutes, by the unsuspicious Mr. Lyon. It appears most probably they fired on him, and then beat him to death with the pistols, leaving him in the water as related above.
The first of them being seen after this was by L. Fuller again, the boy mentioned above, with the horse, which beyond all doubt, they turned into a lot of John Bliss. This boy that followed the “ruffians” would have been in imminent danger of being so dealt with by him that sat on the wall, while the other rode up the mountain, to forever foreclose his testimony; and most likely the thing which saved his life was his appearing not to know or mistrust any villainy.
The men were seen, within about ½ mile west of the dreadful place, to pass with uncommon speed, on their way west past the Glover Blacksmith Shop, which was located at 43 Maple Street as it is called today. It was there that Thomas Glover and Jeremy Bliss witnessed the two men. They were seen at several other places, on the road to Springfield traveling in great haste, and when they came into the Town of Springfield, they appeared in a high degree of perspiration. They then directed their course to the lower ferry and were in uncommon uneasiness to expedite their passage.
They traveled in company with a gentleman who crossed the Connecticut River with them, some way toward Suffield CT. They arrived at a tavern in the upper part of Suffield CT early in the evening, for some quick refreshment, and again were soon on their way. They pushed on to Pickett’s Tavern in Windsor CT, where they called for entertainment; and here their behavior was observed to be peculiar.
While their supper was being prepared, they were aside from the light, sometimes in a dark room and sometimes walking out the door. They settled overnight under the pretense of starting early in the morning. On Sunday they were in Hartford CT and took breakfast without much delay and hurried along. They were witnessed on the road traveling with much speed and on Tuesday morning they were in Greenwich CT and at Cos Cob Harbor, thirty miles from New York by water, to sail shortly. While they were here, the pursuers, Deputy Sheriff Josiah Bardwell of Springfield and Jeremy Bliss of Wilbraham, the one who witnessed these gentlemen pass by the blacksmith shop in great haste, came up to apprehend both men for the crime of murder in the North Parish of the Town of Wilbraham.
It appears they had no understanding of being pursued before they were apprehended and when they were taken they made no kind of resistance but professed innocence and willingness to be searched and brought back to Massachusetts for trial. They had with them the canister before mentioned a few cut shot, and somewhat less than twenty-two dollars, together with a few articles of little worth. There was found in the inner side of their greatcoats, to each one a "slightly" pocket, proper for carrying such pistols as were found near the body of Mr. Lyon.
Their names were Dominic Daly, 34, and James Halligan, 27, both Irishmen of foreign birth. Halligan originally lived in Hartford and was a young man of great report there. Daly was older and appeared like a subtle man. He had been in this country a short time and had a wife and other family members in the eastern part of Massachusetts.
They had left Boston one week previous to their arrest and pursued the the main road from there to where they were apprehended. They were from Tuesday to Saturday on their way from Boston to Wilbraham, which is the distance of about 80 miles, which makes their rate of travel less than 20 miles per day, and from the afternoon of Saturday to the forenoon of Tuesday, when they were taken, they traveled from Wilbraham to Greenwich, a distance of nearly 130 miles, which made their rate of journeying nearly 50 miles per day – quite an essential difference in their travel, which is natural to suppose was prompted by guilt and fear.
They were brought back to Springfield and on Friday witnesses were examined in the Town House of that place, while the prisoners were ordered to be committed for trial before a session of court competent, therefore. They were
then taken to Northampton, the seat of Hampshire County, where Wilbraham was located at that time.
April 24, 1806, in the morning the important trial commenced in the meetinghouse in Northampton, which was insufficient to hold the crowd that had gathered. The Hon. Judges SEDGWITCH and SEWALL composed the court with the other characters adequate to the cause. In its order, again the witnesses were examined.
The substance of their testimony is systemically arranged in this order: 1. MARCUS LYON left Cazenovia in the state of New York on the fourth of November 1805 in good health for his native place in Woodstock, Connecticut. 2. He died on the ninth of November in WILBRAHAM. 3. He was MURDERED by violence done to him by a pair of horse pistols and put into the Chicopee River where his body was found. 4. DOMINIC DALY and JAMES HALLIGAN were so traveling on the day of Lyon’s death was naturally meeting him at the time and place of his fall. 5. DOMINIC DALY, with a comrade of his, was discovered near the body of the deceased with the well-known horse of MARCUS LYON evidently on the hour of his death.
There was no evidence on the part of the witnesses to counteract the forgoing testimony of the Government. Their attorney F. Blake, Esq. of Worcester indeed made a lengthy, learned, and elegant Plea on their behalf. It was agreed to by him that Marcus Lyon was indeed murdered, but not on the ninth of November. It was granted that Daly and Halligan journeyed according to evidence without seeing Lyon. It was
argued that it was next to impossible for the prisoners to walk about 160 yards and complete the murder in fifteen minutes, in which time it must have been done, admitting the evidence of the boy, L. Fuller. (Though by the way, it is natural to suppose it was executed in that time or less) It was not denied that if the evidence of the boy was good, the prisoners must be condemned, therefore the testimony of the boy relating to the fifteen minutes from the time two men were seen by him within 160 yards of the murder till when he saw the men with the horse, was introduced to invalidate his evidence. Much was said about the boy knowing Daly only by the features of his face, as though it was impossible he should truly recognize the prisoner in this manner. Much time was taken up to create reasonable doubts in the minds of the jury concerning this witness; concluding if this could be accomplished, the evidence would be spoiled and the cause obtained in favor of the defendants. Likewise, pleaded words were multiplied to disparage the circumstances that should appear to support the testimony of this witness and establish its validity. On all points it appeared that so much was said as could be argued from the nature of things and the prisoners surely had keen attention paid to their cause, being afforded counsel composed of able lawyers.
The concluding Plea was made by the Attorney General, which was so calculated, as to meet in full, with irresistible force, the arguments raised by counsel for the prisoners at the bar. It was pleaded upon evidence on behalf of the government that Marcus Lyon was murdered on the 9th of November 1805 in Wilbraham, as related above. And that the prisoners at the bar were the murderers; which were supported from the testimony of L. Fuller, in connection with the many other consistent and agreeing circumstances. He proceeded to show what a degree of presumption, more or less, is in all evidence; that the most positive testimony can only be admitted by presuming the witness testifies the truth, which no jury can certainly know, which must be attended with a measure of uncertainty or doubt, is not unreasonable, and that the doubt, in this case, cannot exceed in magnitude doubts that must arise in the clearest evidence; therefore the testimony must be considered as sufficient for conviction.
The Plea for Government pleaded, and with forcibility; and so directly to the purpose as to leave the cause in the clearest point of view. The Honorable Judges in their charge to the Jury appeared to take them by their understanding and lead them to the clearest view of their painful duty, carefully stating all necessary points for their consideration. The cause was submitted to the Jury by the Court, between the hours of 10 and 11, in the evening, when the Court adjourned for an hour. And, the Jury fully agreed, with little delay, they delivered their verdict, guilty. The scene that opened was truly distressing; there were the Wife, Mother, and Brother of Daly, who were frantic with grief.
The Attorney General moved on behalf of the Commonwealth, that sentence of death is pronounced against Dominic Daly, and James Halligan, the prisoners at the bar. The Hon. Sedgwick, the presiding Justice, then rose, and after stating in a solemn, impressive, and affecting manner, the nature and enormity of their crime, said, “You Dominic Daly and James Halligan, have been favored with Counsel of your own choice, and a full jury of your own challenging, and are awarded guilty! Therefore, I have the painful task to inform you, that for the murder of Marcus Lyon, according to the laws of our land, you must D I E. You are to be remanded back to prison, there to remain till the time appointed; thence to be conducted to the place of execution, then to be Hanged by the neck, until you are DEAD, and then, your bodies to be anatomized!” Their bodies were dissected in the Dickinson house on Maple Street then the flesh was boiled from the bones in the slaughterhouse near South Street Bridge.
THE LAST DYING WORDS OF DOMINIC DALY AND JAMES HALLIGAN, Pronounced by Daly at the gallows and delivered by him in writing to General Mattoon on June 5, 1806. “At this awful moment of appearing before the tribunal of the almighty and knowing that telling a falsehood would be eternal perdition to our poor souls, We solemnly declare we are perfectly Innocent of the Crime for which we suffer, or any other Murder or Robbery; never saw, to our knowledge, Marcus Lyon in our lives; and as unaccountable as it may appear, the boy never saw one of us, looking at him, at, or near, a fence; or any of us either leading, driving, or riding a Horse; and we never went off the high road. We blame no one; we forgive everyone; we submit to our fate as being the will of the almighty; and beg him to be merciful to us, through the merits of his divine Son, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ. Our sincere thanks to the Rev. John Cheverus for his long and kind attention to us, as likewise every other friend that served us and comforted us during our long confinement.” In 1806 there were proximity 2,500 residents in Northampton. That day on June 5, 1806, 15,000 people assembled to watch the two men hang at the Gallows Plains (the old main entrance to the Northampton State Hospital).
Father Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus, of South Boston, brought great comfort to the condemned men before their execution. Daly wrote to Father Cheverus, once they were sentenced to death for Lyon's murder, and to give them their last rites. He did so in the Old Church with a crowd listening outside. The priest also gave a sermon before the execution, this being the first catholic mass in this area.
Father Cheverus, during his sermon, stated "Orators are usually flattered by having a numerous audience, but I am ashamed of the one now before me. Are there men to whom the death of their fellow beings is a spectacle of pleasure, an object of curiosity? But especially you women, what has induced you to come to this place? Is it to wipe away the cold damps of death? Is it to experience the painful emotions that this scene ought to inspire in every feeling heart? No, it is to behold the prisoner’s anguish, to look upon it with tearless, eager, and longing eyes. I blush for you, your eyes are full of murder. You boast of sensibility, and you say it is the highest virtue in a woman: but if the sufferings of others afford you pleasure, and the death of a man is entertainment for your curiosity, then I can no longer believe in your virtue. You forget your sex, you are a dishonor and reproach to it".
Father Cheverus, had to stay at the jail for a time before lodging was offered to him. This shows that there was a strong anti-Catholic sentiment in the area.
Many years later in 1836, an undocumented account states that Marcus Lyon’s real killer delivered a deathbed confession. The uncle of Laertes Fuller, the prosecutor’s 13-year-old key witness, was said to have succumbed to his guilt in the eleventh hour, just before his death.
There was never any mention of an appeal offered to Daly and Halligan, or a judicial review of their death sentence.
This murder occurred at a time when the country was undergoing many changes. It was at this time many new people especially non-Protestants came to this area of our country. These new Irish were poor, uneducated, and Catholic. So for this reason, these new immigrants were looked upon with fear, suspicion, and hatred. In this case, it appears that all evidence was circumstantial with no solid proof or witnesses to the actual crime but still the guilty verdict was given to these poor condemned men.
On St. Patrick’s Day 1984, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts issued a proclamation exonerating Daly and Halligan.
Two structures are still in existence in town that played a role in the murder trial. The first is the stone bridge that crosses a small brook. This structure was built in 1732 when the Bay Path was rerouted a bit north of its previous location. The bridge can still be found intact under the driveway of 2957 Boston Road. The stonework can be best viewed from the east side. For more information, you can read the Historical Tidbit story, The Old Stone Bridge, https://david-bourcier.wixsite.com/wilbraham-tidbits/post/the-old-stone-bridge on this website.
The second structure, an old blacksmith shop, can be found in front of 51 Mountain Road. Originally this structure was built around 1795 and was located on what would be 43 Maple Street, opposite Sykes Tavern in the day. This was the location in 1805 that was part of the evidence in the murder trial and it was operated by Thomas Glover. Around 1868 the blacksmith shop was moved to what would be 19 Maple Street. It was here that E. M. Barry operated the shop until 1871. The last final move took place around 1877 when it moved to 51 Mountain Road, its present location.
Comments