The Hangman's Ropemaker: Michael Moore, In the Shadow of the Scaffold

"The preparation for the execution of Michael Moore on Wednesday next move on apace. The rope has been purchased by Sheriff Bottacker from Mr. Jacob Bopp, Wood's Run, near Pittsburgh, the price paid being, $20, and not $40, as heretofore reported. Mr. Bopp is the same gentleman who manufactured the ropes with which Buser and Howser were hanged in 1866, has been in eighteen years in the business."

~ "Shorts," The Indiana Democrat (Indiana, Pennsylvania), 28 November 1872, page 7

*This blog post is one in a series of blogs on my famous ancestor, Jacob Bupp, the Hangman's Ropemaker- click the page tab above labeled "The Hangman's Ropemaker" for more information and the blog series*

On 1 March 1872,  a woman's body was found in the woods near Mineral Point.   A man by the name of John Shiver, who was described at somewhat timid and squeamish to blood, had found some bloody hair and hair pins while out fox hunting that morning with his dog.  He ran to the nearby village, arousing the villagers who lived there, who returned to a gruesome scene.  The woman's body had been mutilated and partially burned in the woods.

Tracks that led to the gruesome scene seemed to suggest that a man and the woman were walking together, and not far from where the body was discovered was the scene of a struggle, so it was soon assumed that the woman was murdered not far from where the body was found.

Footsteps from the scene led to the home of Michael Moore, who was known as a notorious character in the vicinity.  Michael Moore was described as being a man of muscular build, with a forbidding countenance, and was no stranger to breaking the law, as he had been charged with assault and battery in 1850.  At the time of the incident he was between forty-five and fifty years of age.  Newspaper accounts stated he was of Irish descent.

The woman was identified as Ann E. "Annie" Boyle (or Doyle) Moore, who was about forty years of age at the time of her demise.  From the remains of the discarded articles of clothing and personal effects that were found with her body, the victim was determined to be a woman of tidy habits and demeanor.

Ann had been married to Michael Moore since October 1853, but within two years of the marriage she had deserted him because he was abusive and treated her ill.  According to newspaper accounts, she had fled to Philadelphia to live, working as a domestic under the name of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Stevenson, but had recently returned to Mineral Point with Moore under the guise of reconciliation with her husband, who had written her numerous letters that were found in a trunk in Altoona, Pennsylvania after the murders.

Moore apparently killed Ann because he had committed bigamy by marrying again, this time to a woman named McConnell, and he wanted to make that marriage legal.  He also apparently had not forgiven her for deserting him.  However, these reasons were just theories, as Moore never confessed or gave a motive for her murder.

After a trial that lasted the first two weeks of June 1872, the jury found him guilty of the charge of murder with only ten minutes of deliberation.  Moore and his lawyers A. Kopelin and J.P. Linton appealed to have the arrest of judgement and for a new trial on the grounds that the jury was contaminated.  Their appeal was rejected in September, and Michael Moore was sentenced to death by hanging..

Moore tried in vain to escape by digging his way through the stone floor and walls of his jail cell.  On  11 October 1872 his death warrant was issued and on the 29th of that same month, it was signed.  When Moore was told of his imminent death, he brandished a piece of iron pipe that he had dug from the wall of his cell.  The sheriff was forced to draw and fire his weapon in self defense, hitting Moore in the arm and leg.  While Moore recovered from the shooting, he was chained until his hanging as a precaution.

Jacob Bupp was listed as the man who made the rope that was used to hang Moore, and sold it to Sheriff Bonacker (or Bottacker) on 16 November 1872 for $20.  The rope was described as being twenty feet long and three-eighths of an inch thick.  It was made of hemp and was said to be strong and pliable.

Michael Moore was hanged on 27 November 18721 in the city jail yard at Ebensburg.  After being given last rites and prayer by a Catholic priest, Father Christy, Michael Moore was led to the gallows.  His only words before his death were a request of prayers and for the Lord to have mercy on his soul.  He died almost instantly.

The ghost of Michael Moore was said to still inhabit the jail of Ebensburg, according to a small blurb on page 2 of the 03 March 1881 edition of the The Altoona Tribune:

"The 'spook' of Michael Moore, hanged for wife murder in Ebensburg on November 22, 1872, is alleged to wander at odd times in the jail of that mountain town and the blood spot made on the stone floor of the prison by a trickling pistol shot wound, inflicted on said Moore by an arresting officer, becomes deeper as time flies, though sand paper and soap suds have been repeatedly used to exorcise it."

Sources Referenced

"A Bloody Deed!," The Cambria Freeman (Ebensburg, Pennsylvania), 9 March 1872, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 April 2019).

"A Wife Murderer Hanged," Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 28 November 1872, page 7; online images, Fold 3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 8 May 2019).

"Brevities," Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 1 August 1872, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 May 2019).

"Ebensburg: Execution of Michael Moore," Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania), 5 December 1872, page 3; online archives with images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 9 October 2017).

Geary, John W. Message of His Excellency J. W. Geary to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, January 8, 1873 (Harrisburg: Benjamin Singerly, 1873), 78.

"In the Shadow of the Scaffold," The Cambria Freeman (Ebensburg, Pennsylvania), 8 June 1872, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 April 2019).

"In the Shadow of the Scaffold," The Cambria Freeman (Ebensburg, Pennsylvania), 15 June 1872, pages 1-3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 May 2019).

"Michael Moore - His Death Warrant Signed," Huntingdon Journal (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania), 30 October 1872, page 3; online images, NewspaperArchive (https://huntingdondailynews.newspaperarchive.com/huntingdon-journal/1872-10-30/page-3/ : accessed 8 May 2019).

"Sentance of Michael Moore," Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania), 12 September 1872, page 3; online archives with images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 May 2019).

"Shorts," The Indiana Democrat (Indiana, Pennsylvania), 28 November 1872, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

"Untitled," Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania), 3 March 1881, page 2; online archives with images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 9 October 2017).