Charlotte Jones

Case overview

Charlotte Jones was executed by hanging in Pittsburgh on February 12, 1858. She was convicted with Henry Fife for murdering her uncle and aunt, George Wilson and Elizabeth McMasters, in 1857. The murders occurred in an old log cabin located near what is now Harrison street alongside a run at the foot of the hill below the present “Red Row.” Charlotte Jones and Henry Fife killed the couple, brother and sister, in order to get enough money with which to be married.

Timeline

• February 12, 1858 — Charlotte Jones was hanged in Pittsburgh alongside Henry Fife.
• May 13, 1857 — Charlotte Jones was reported to have been arrested and implicated other persons after the double murder of George Wilson and Elizabeth McMasters.
• May 18, 2008 — Eyewitness material about the double-murder case was published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• May 20, 1857 — A report discussed evidence and the state of the Washington County investigation relating to Charlotte Jones, William Stewart, and Henry Fife.
• July 22, 1857 — Three murderers, Henry Fife, Monroe Stewart, and Charlotte Jones, were reported convicted.
• June 19, 1880 — A New York Times story discussed the discovery of buried coins on the banks of the Youghiogheny River and related it to the killings.
• July 25 — Charlotte Jones, Henry Fife and Monroe Stewart were sentenced to be hung.
• August 5, 1857 — A report stated the murderers were sentenced to day to be hung.

The offence

George Wilson, an elderly man, and his sister, Elizabeth McMasters, were murdered in their log house on “Gamble’s place,” near the river. On Friday morning they were found in the house brutally murdered. George Wilson was stabbed about half-dozen times in the abdomen and breast. Elizabeth McMaster’s skull was crushed in with a club or other heavy weapon, and her brains were scattered about the room. It was stated that the money in the house, supposed to be from six to twelve hundred dollars, was taken by robbers, and that the murders were carried out to get enough money with which to be married. It was also stated that Wilson was stabbed and his sister was beaten to death with a poker.

Investigation

After the first news of the murder was brought to McKeesport, many persons went up to the house. It was stated that Charlotte Jones, a niece of the murdered persons, came there early in the morning in a skiff and said she had visited the house and seen the bodies. Charlotte Jones left the city after, on the steamer Bayard, getting off at Port Perry and then going up the river to Monongahela city within an hour on the steamer Luzerne. It was said that her travels and sudden flight rendered it important she should be secured, especially as it was believed the murder was committed by the same gang who recently murdered Mr. Samuel H. White in Washington County under circumstances so similar. It was stated that Charlotte Jones had since been arrested and implicated other persons and made some two or three confessions. It was further stated that in her last asseverates emphatically that her brother was the murderer in both cases.

The material also reported that two of the party implicated, Henry Fife and Monroe Stewart, had a hearing before Mayor Weaver, and that a Mr. Wolff, proprietor of the McKeesport Hotel, corroborated evidence from Charlotte Jones in almost every point. It also described a competing theory regarding the White murder, including that Levi Baldwin was arrested near the residence of Judge McKeever, discharged after authorities found no grounds sufficient to hold him in custody, and later was taken into custody again after blood-stained clothing was found under a stump.

A further report stated that Charlotte Jones, Henry Fife and Monroe Stewart charged with the murder of the Wilsons had a final hearing on Thursday afternoon. Five witnesses were examined, but it stated that nothing new or important was elicited, and the parties were committed for trial.

Arrest and custody

Charlotte Jones was reported to have been arrested after the double murder of George Wilson and Elizabeth McMasters. She was stated to have been in the Pittsburgh jail at the time the investigation into the murder of their uncle and aunt was ongoing. She was held to stand trial along with Henry Fife and Monroe Stewart.

Trial

Three persons—Henry Fife, Monroe Stewart, and Charlotte Jones—were convicted of the offence. During the conviction report, it was stated that Fife and Stewart did not move a muscle while Charlotte did not even change color. After the prisoners were returned to their cells, it was stated that Fife asserted frankly that the jury had done no more than their duty. It stated that Stewart seemed restless and dissatisfied and solemnly protested his innocence of the crime for which he stood convicted. It stated that Charlotte was somewhat depressed and gave vent to her feelings in tears.

Sentencing

Charlotte Jones, Henry Fife and Monroe Stewart, recently convicted of murder at McKeesport, were sentenced to be hung. A report stated the sentencing as “sentenced to day to be hung,” and it specified “Pittsburg, Saturday, July 25” in that sentencing report.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided material.

Outcome

On the gallows, Charlotte Jones kissed Henry before collapsing. It was stated that she had to be supported on the trap while final preparations were made. The other condemned prisoner was Henry Fife.

The material included a description of statements and events at the execution. It reported that Jones dictated a dying declaration about the reason for the killing, and that she was illiterate and her statement was read by Mr. Williamson, described as “an English gentleman who has taken a great interest in Fife ...”. It reported that during the proceedings a prayer was offered by the Rev. John Brown while Charlotte and Fife knelt and seemed to be repeating every word uttered by the minister. It reported that two glasses containing liquor were brought to the prisoners, that Fife drank all out of the glass given to him, and that Charlotte merely tasted hers and then handed it to Fife, who swallowed the remainder. It reported that Fife then kissed Charlotte affectionately. It reported that the last words of Fife were:

“Remember, gentlemen, I die game.” It reported that the last words of Charlotte were “a prayer to God for her salvation and a declaration of her love for Fife ...” and that Charlotte kissed Henry affectionately and then collapsed after kissing her sweetheart.

The execution drop was described: when Sheriff Patterson stepped upon a lever that activated the gallows, “the drop fell and the two unfortunate creatures were suspended in the air.” It also stated that it was not a clean execution, and when the bodies of the two were taken down 30 minutes later, doctors found that their necks hadn’t been broken by their initial falls, and meaning both had strangled.

It further described that Charlotte and Fife had confessed to murdering George Wilson and Elizabeth McMasters on April 30, 1857, and it described the location of the victims’ log cabin across the river from McKeesport.

The material also included a quote attributed to Fife about the killings, stating that he said:

“Maddened by a thirst for gold and stimulated by drink I gave them the fatal blow that robbed them of life and sent their souls, without warning, to the bar of God.” It also included a statement attributed to Jones about her motive: “The reason why I did this was the great love I have for Henry Fife, and in order to get money to go to housekeeping with him,” and stated it was called a dying declaration in the Pittsburgh Gazette. The material also reported that Jones and Fife swore a third suspect, Monroe Stewart, was innocent, and that in her gallows statement Jones said she had sought to implicate Stewart out of malice, because he had sought to persuade Fife to leave her.

Aftermath

It was reported that the execution site was a courtyard of the county’s second courthouse, and it added that the courthouse had been ruined by fire in 1882 and that it stood on the site of the current courthouse. It was also reported that witnesses were excluded and that there was disturbance about admission tickets. It stated that sheriff Rody Patterson had issued attendance cards to 24 witnesses—12 for each prisoner—to observe the execution. It also stated that county commissioners issued “a large number of tickets” admitting people to the Court House, where “many of the windows ... overlook the sides of the jailyard where the execution took place,” and that the tickets were refused at the avenues of entrance and considerable disturbance arose. It reported that deputy obtained an order from county Judge Charles Shaler confirming the sheriff’s decision to exclude gawkers. It quoted the Post describing the rejection:

“The Commissioners had no authority over the public grounds and premises on this occasion, and hence the tickets of that board were rejected and the holders of them excluded.” It also stated that the Post and the Gazette had accounts in their next-day editions.

The material further described a later twist from 22 years after the execution, citing a New York Times story published June 19, 1880. It stated that Wilson and McMasters had been killed for gold and silver coins they had kept at their cabin. It stated that two McKeesport youths found coins buried on the banks of the Youghiogheny River, and that the Times reported:

“the treasure uncovered by the two boys is believed to be a portion of the wealth the possession of which was so fatal” to the elderly owners. It stated that the boys did not benefit because they told police their newly found cache was taken from them by a menacing red-bearded, red-haired stranger, and that the Times said: “No trace of him has yet been found,”

Other details

The material included editorial and reporting details about the ongoing murder investigation, including that Williams was yet at large and nothing was known of his whereabouts in relation to the Washington County investigation. It stated that the Washington Reporter thought there could be but little doubt that there was sufficient evidence to convict Charlotte Jones, Wm. Stewart and Henry Fife of the murder of their uncle and aunt, and that it remained unclear whether sufficient evidence could be produced to convict William Jones of the murder of White. It stated that much material evidence against him was kept from the public and would be brought out at the proper time. It also stated that in the Pittsburg Union report, the prisoners were remanded into the custody of the Sheriff and left the dock with a seeming unconcern and carelessness that had characterized their conduct throughout the lengthy and remarkable trial, and it stated that every eye was riveted upon them and all seemed utterly amazed at their stoical indifference.