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Was Patrick McGuire a Murderer?

A widely circulated story in January 1885 was that Patrick McGuire, of Big Mine Run, near Ashland, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, had struck his wife on the head with a chair and the blow had caused her death. Or was it his sister-in-law who was struck? And, was the sister-in-law pregnant and did the child die also?

Here’s the story as it appeared in several newspapers:

From The Harrisburg Patriot, January 12, 1885, with a similar story in the Philadelphia Times of the same date.:

KILLED HIS WIFE WITH A CHAIR

Ashland, January 12 [1885] — At a family quarrel at Big Mine Run near here five days ago, Patrick McGuire struck his wife with a chair, inflicting injuries from which she died last night.  An inquest will be held tomorrow.  McGuire has been arrested.

From the Philadelphia Times, January 15, 1885, noting that it was Mrs. Christopher Callery who died, not Mrs. McGuire:

AN ALLEGED HOMICIDE ADMITTED TO BAIL

Special Dispatch to the Times

POTTSVILLE, January 14 [1885] — Patrick McGuire, charged with causing the death of Mrs. Christopher Callery, at Big Mine Run, a few days ago, was discharged from jail today upon $500 bail, with the consent of the District Attorney and without a habeas corpus hearing.

The story, as picked up by the West Chester Daily Village Record, January 1885, noted the death of a child as well as Mrs. Callery’s death:

On January 17, 1885, the Pottsville Republican repeated a story that appeared in the Ashland Local, hoping to clarify what happened:

BIG MINE RUN. – The Ashland Local says:  Every paper, both daily and weekly, that you picked up gave full particulars of a shocking murder that occurred at Big Mine Run last week.  This is precisely like all other exaggerated reports written up by some correspondent.  We were present at the time of holding the post-mortem and paid especial attention to the testimony given by witnesses and the attending physicians, which showed conclusively that death was from natural causes, although the verdict was that  “death resulted from a complication of diseases, and might have been hastened by a blow received on the head.  Patrick McGuire, who struck the blow, was taken to Pottsville jail on Monday morning and released on Wednesday morning on a bond of $500.  The size of the bond does not look much like murder.

Finally, on March 10, 1885, the Pottsville Republican noted that a Grand Jury had failed to bring a true bill against Patrick McGuire, thus freeing him from any charges in the matter:

The case of the Commonwealth against Patrick McGuire was ignored by the Grand Jury.

Was a crime was actually committed? It’s impossible to tell from the limited information found in these brief articles. Perhaps further research will reveal the truth.

__________________________________________

News articles from Newspapers.com.

Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.

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November 1, 2024 Norman Gasbarro

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