The Hangman's Ropemaker: The Ropemaker's Widow

"Mrs. Bopp was the widow of Jacob Bopp, an Allegheny rope manufacturer, who for many years made the ropes used at legal executions in the county."

~"Mrs. Carolynne Bupp," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 16 July 1905, page 2

*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*

Jacob Bupp died in 1899, but his widow, Caroline Huy Bupp, lived for several years after his passing.  This is a blog post about her.

Caroline Huy Bupp - circa 1890.
Photograph was found in the belongings of Caroline's great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Pfeiffer Wood, who was the grandmother of the author of this blog.  
Photo posted 28 April 2023

As stated in a previous post, Caroline Huy's parentage is still undetermined, though she may be related to a John and Catherine Huy, who were said to have been born in Germany according to the 1850 United States Federal Census (where the couple is enumerated with the surname of May).  This couple was living in the same dwelling as Jacob and Caroline on the census enumeration, along with their children.  However, there isn't much information to go on, but the couple was old enough to be her parents.

There also was a John Huy, born c. 1821 in France, who lived nearby in Reserve Township.  His age makes his old enough to be an elder brother to Caroline, and he was a ropemaker in 1850, so it is likely that he is related to her.  But until information is uncovered that links the two, this is all pure speculation.

What is known about Caroline is she likely was French or German, likely from the Rhine region, possibly even Alsatian (another blog post was written on Alsace back in March of 2019 that goes into detail about that).  Documentation over the years reflects this as she is listed as being born in both Germany and France and maybe even having spoken both languages as a child. She immigrated likely as a child, as the 1900 census states she came over in 1833, although the ship on which she immigrated has not yet been located.... it is possible that the manifest may not have been digitized or was lost to history.  It is also possible that research has not cast a wide-enough net to locate her immigration records yet.

Caroline birthed nine children, though by 1900, five were still alive, according to the 1900 census.  This number is supported by a number of sources, as Charles and John had both passed away as young children, and it is likely that both Alice and Ella died as children as well

When Jacob moved into the Soldier's Home at Dayton in 1898, Caroline appears to have left their residence at 325 Shady Avenue in Allegheny City and moved into the home of her daughter Mary Ann Bupp Wasson, which was just a few houses down Shady Avenue at number 319.  In 1900, she was enumerated on the census living here, along with Mary Ann and her husband George Wishert Wasson, their six children, George's niece Isabella, and George's mother, Isabella Wishert Wasson.  Son William continued to live at 325 Shady Avenue.

Just a week after her husband's death, Caroline began the process of applying for the widow's pension, with George Wasson, her son in law, having been one of the witnesses to the petition.    Several witnesses sent in affidavits for her claim attesting to her identity, and a proof of marriage was also submitted.  In March 1899, she was awarded a widow's pension of $8 a month (about $243 dollars a month in 2018 according to one inflation calculator).  She continued to receive this pension until her death.

1902 was the last of the Pittsburgh Area directories of which Caroline appeared, living at 319 Shady Avenue.  It is assumed that this was about when the Wassons moved to Bellevue, and Caroline went with them to their new home at 107 Hallett Street.

On 15 July 1905, Caroline, accompanied by an unknown niece, made the trip by train north to Butler, possibly to visit friends.  While traveling, she became ill, and was sent back to Bellevue by train upon arrival at Butler.  She made it home from the train station in Allegheny City by ambulance, where she suffered what newspapers called a paralyzing attack, and passed away at the Wasson home. It is very likely that her cause of death was a sudden stroke.

Pensioner Dropped, Certificate No 476930, Widow Caroline Bupp of soldier Jacob Bupp, Pvt., G 6 Pa H.A. filed March 22, 1906; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp

Unfortunately, due to the sporadic nature of death registrations in the final year of county records (The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took over death certificates in 1906), Caroline's death wasn't registered in Allegheny County.

Incidentally, in her death notice that appeared in two different Pittsburgh newspapers, she is listed as the widow of Jack Bupp instead of Jacob.  This was most likely a typo.

Caroline's funeral was on 18 July 1905 at the Wasson home in Bellevue.  She was then buried section E of Highwood Cemetery in Pittsburgh, near her husband

Upon her death, she left many survivors, including the remaining five children, William Henry Bupp, Emma Sarah Bupp McClurg, Elizabeth H. Bupp Farley, Catherine Bupp Hallstein, and Mary Ann Bupp Wasson.

Sources Used and Referenced
"1870 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp and family, Year: 1870, Census Place: McClure Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: M593_1294, Page: 131A, Image: 337018, and Family History Library Film: 552793; citing 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

"1900 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 August 2016), Entry for George Wasson and household, Year: 1900, Census Place: Allegheny Ward 11 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 1357, Page: 1B, Enumeration District: 0089, and FHL microfilm: 1241357; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

Affidavit of Marriage Record for Jacob Bupp and Caroline Huy from First German Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church filed 15 April 1898; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Ancestry.com, "1850 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2016), Entry for Jacob and Caroline Bupp (indexed as Buss), Year: 1850, Census Place: Reserve Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: M432_744, Page: 277B, and Image: 561; citing Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Ancestry.com, "1850 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 November 2019), Entry for John Huy and household, Year: 1850, Census Place: Reserve Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: M432_744, Page: 276A, and Image: 558; citing Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Ancestry.com, "1860 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp and household, Year: 1860, Census Place: Ross Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: M653_1064, Page: 653, Image: 194, and Family History Library Film: 805064; citing 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "1880 United States Federal Census," database online with images, Ancestry.com Operation, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp and family, Year: 1880, Census Place: Allegheny Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 1088, Family History Film: 1255088, Page: 82D, Enumeration District: 027, and Image: 0162; citing Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Declaration for Widow's Pension and Widow's claim for Caroline Bupp, widow of Jacob Bupp, co. G, 6th Pa H.A filed 28 February 1899; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp.

"Died," death notices, Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 16 July 1905, page 5, entry for Carolina Bupp; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 August 2016).

Find A Grave, database with images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 August 2016), memorial page for Caroline Bupp, Find A Grave Memorial # 110912534, citing Highwood Cemetery (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), memorial created by Rob and Debi Felten, photograph by Rob and Debi Felten.

General Affidavit of Caroline Bupp, Additional Evidence in the Claim of Widow of Jaob Bupp, Co. G., 6th Pa H.A, filed 21 March 1899; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp.

Jordan, John W.  Genealogical and personal history of western Pennsylvania, Volume 3 (New York, New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915), 1661; online image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/genealogicalpers03jord : accessed 16 November 2017).

"Mrs. Carolynne Bupp," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 16 July 1905, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 August 2016).

"Mrs. Carolyne Bopp," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 16 July 1905, page 15; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 November 2019).

"Obituary," The Butler Citizen (Butler, Pennsylvania), 20 July 1905, page 2, entry for Carolynne Bopp; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

Pensioner Dropped, Certificate No 476930, Widow Caroline Bupp of soldier Jacob Bupp, Pvt., G 6 Pa H.A. filed March 22, 1906; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp.

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1900 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1900), 246, "Bupp Caroline, wid Jacob, 319 Shady av, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 19 August 2016).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1902 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1902), 289, "Bupp Caroline wid Jacob 319 Shady av Allegheny"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 19 August 2016).

"To-Day's Pension Roll," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 21 April 1899, 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 6 November 2019).

Widow Pension Claimant File Jacket Cover Page for Caroline Bupp, widow of Jacob Bupp, Company G, 6th PA H A, claim number 693169, filed 1 March 1899; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp.

Widow's Pension Claim #693169 for Caroline Bupp, widow of soldier Jacob Bupp, private, Company G, 6th Pa. Vol. Hy. Arty. approved 4 April 1899; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp.

The Hangman's Ropemaker: Obituaries

"Jacob Bupp, the famous maker of hangman's ropes, is dead."

~Line from a syndicated newspaper article that ran in several newspapers 

*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*

In my last blog post, I wrote about Jacob Bupp's death at the Soldier's home in Dayton, Ohio on 21 February 1899.  I also mentioned that several versions of obituaries made their rounds throughout the world.

There were two major versions of notices of the death of Jacob Bupp that were printed in newspapers around the world (including newspapers in Australia, France, and Spain).  These two notices often went through minor changes depending on the newspaper that printed it, but the bulk of the notice stayed the same.  What makes them different is that Jacob's place of death is vastly different in the two.

Homewood Version

One of the versions of his newsworthy obituary erroneously lists his place of death as Homewood, Pennsylvania.  This obituary was the first such one, which came from Pittsburgh (and was, coincidentally, the first obituary that I ever found on Jacob Bupp, so you can imagine my confusion when I found out that even in the 1890s, reliable news-reporting wasn't always the case *wink*):

Jacob Bupp's Obituary as it appeared on page 4 of the 24 February 1899 edition of the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette 
(Now Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  Found on Google News Archives 

It is unclear how this version of the obituary made its rounds.  Jacob Bupp did spend some time living with his daughter Emma in Homewood, but he had moved back to Allegheny City and then on to Dayton, where he resided in the Soldier's Home until his death.  Perhaps some of the family from Homewood had visited Jacob just before his death and reported back to the family and the message was mixed up in the reporting to newspapers?

To cover bases in research, a search was done of Beaver County Registration of deaths from 1893-1907 for Jacob Bupp, but it was a negative search.

A shortened version of this obituary appeared elsewhere in later months:

"General Entertainment," syndicated news column, The Bradford Star (Towanda, Pennsylvania), 11 May 1899, page 4

This version ran in several newspapers worldwide.

Dayton Version

Untitled article that ran in syndication.  This version was found in Catoctin Clarion (Mechanicsburg, Maryland), 9 March 1899, page 2, located on Chronicling America

The Dayton version of Jacob's obituary/death notice also went worldwide, and was more correct in its reporting, as Jacob did die at the Soldier's Home.  Several newspapers printed their own version of this article, so there are minor variations depending on the newspaper... usually in which cases they chose to highlight as Jacob making ropes for.

Over thirty obituaries and death notice write-ups have been located for Jacob Bupp, the Hangman's ropemaker, and had it not been for them, this blog series may not have had been conceived, as many of those who hangings Jacob made rope for were listed in a number of the accounts, which lead to the research that became this blog series.

Up next is the final blog post for the series, the post on what happened to Jacob's widow, Caroline.

Sources Used and Referenced:
"Annual Memorial Service: Lieut. James M. Lysle Post No. 128 Remembered Its Dead," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 11 December 1899, 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 March 2019).

"Around the County," syndicated news column, The Central News (Perkasie, Pennsylvania), 2 March 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume 2: B8-B12, negative search for death record of Jacob Bupp; FHL microfilm 7619706 item 2.

"British and Foreign Mems," Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (Albury, New South Wales, Australia), 4 August 1899, page 33; online images, Trove (trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 18 November 2019), Newspapers; citing National Library of Australia.

"Bupp's Ropes Famous," The Iola Daily Record (Iola, Kansas), 10 June 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 September 2019).

"Bupp's Ropes Famous," The Saint Paul Globe (Saint Paul, Minnesota), 7 May 1899, page 7; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Died," death notices, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 25 February 1899, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

"Died," death notices, The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1899, Page 13; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Échos Et Nouvelles," Le Petit Parisien (Paris, France), 8 June 1899, page 2; online images, Gallica (http://gallica.bnf.fr/accueil/ : accessed 21 September 2017).

"Famous Rope Maker Dead," Altoona Mirror (Altoona, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

"He Made Hangman's Ropes," The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California), 13 March 1899, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 June 2019).

"General Entertainment," The Bradford Star (Towanda, Pennsylvania), 11 May 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

"Jacob Bupp," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Jacob Bupp," Le Stéphanois (Saint-Étienne, France), 10 June 1899, page 1; online images, Lectura Plus (http://www.lectura.plus/Presse/ : accessed 21 September 2017).

"Jacob Bupp's Death: Friends of the Deceased Will Have AN Investigation Made," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 8; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Made Hangmen's Ropes," The Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland), 3 March 1899, page 14; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 September 2017).

"Made the Rope That Hanged Guiteau," The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 25 February 1899, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 September 2017).

"Random Comment," Cleveland Leader (Cleveland, Ohio), 4 April 1899, page 4; online images, Genealogy Bank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 21 September 2017), Newspaper Archive.

"Stadt und Umgegend (City and Surroundings)," Der Freiheits-Freund (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 1; online images, Google Newspapers (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2hszv8GT5-sC&dat=18770713&b_mode=2&hl=en : accessed 20 January 2018), Google Newspaper Archives.

Sykes, Edward C. "I Remember," Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 20 July 1936, 27; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 November 2019).

"Un Cordier Yankee," La Presse (Paris, France), 10 June 1899, p 2; online images, Gallica (http://gallica.bnf.fr/accueil/ : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Untitled," The Black Hills Union (Rapid City, South Dakota), 27 July 1900, page 7; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Untitled," Beaumont Enterprise (Beaumont, Texas), 11 March 1899, 4; online images, GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 18 November 2019).

"Untitled," Catoctin Clarion (Mechanicsburg, Maryland), 9 March 1899, page 2; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Untitled," The Columbus Journal (Columbus, Nebraska), 10 May 1899, page 4; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017)

"Untitled," The Leavenworth Weekly Times (Leavenworth, Kansas), 9 March 1899, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 September 2017).

"Untitled," The McCook Tribune (McCook, Nebraska), 5 May 1899, page 7; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017), 

"Untitled," Le Mémorial Artésien (Saint-Omer, France), 15 June 1899, page 2; online images, Bibliothèque Numérique (http://bibliotheque-numerique.bibliotheque-agglo-stomer.fr/ : accessed 21 September 2017), Presse.

"Untitled," Tyrone Daily Herald (Tyrone, Pennsylvania), 2 March 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 September 2017).

"Untitled," Xenia Daily Gazette (Xenia, Ohio), 27 February 1899, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 September 2017).

The Hangman's Ropemaker: The Soldier's Home at Dayton and the Death of the Ropemaker

"Jacob Bupp, of Allegheny, who died Tuesday night in the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, claimed the distinction of having made more ropes with which to hang murderers than any other man in this country."

~"Made the Rope That Hanged Guiteau," The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 25 February 1899, page 6

*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*

Aside from the time spent in other states during the Civil War, and a possible stint in Illinois that has not yet been proven or disproven, Jacob Bupp spent most of his life living in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  However, the last seven months of his earthly life, he resided in the state of Ohio.  He was sent to live at the Soldier's Home in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. 

A Little History on the Soldier's Home at Dayton First
The United States Sanitary Commission, a group that took care of wounded veterans from the Civil War, lobbied hard to have the homes opened as a place for veterans to go. The act that established the National Home for Disabled Veterans was created by Congress and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in March of 1865.

The home in Dayton, Ohio was the second of the homes established and was opened in the fall of 1867.  The first one was opened in Togus Springs, Maine the previous year.  The homes were originally called the National Asylums for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, but the name was changed by Congress in 1873 to the Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers  The Dayton home was the Central Branch of these homes and had housed more than 7000 veterans by the time Jacob Bupp arrived in 1898.

Each home had a guardhouse where guards stopped and checked each coming and going of visitors and inmates.  The Dayton branch also boasted a conservatory with fountains and aquatic gardens, a menagerie, several barracks, over six miles of roadway and a 250 acre farm that produced much of the food the veterans ate.   The Central Branch had one of the best hospitals in the nation at the time.  Built in 1870, the hospital had steam operated elevators, a steam boiler system for heat, and indoor plumbing and was considered a innovative and progressive marvel at the time it was created.

Those veterans who were able were encouraged and even required to help around the home. Visitors were welcomed and encouraged to visit, as the mission was to create a home-like atmosphere for the veterans that lived there.  Because it was close to the railroad in the city of Dayton, many people could easily ride the train into the city and then come to the home.  It became a popular attraction that upwards of 150,000 people came to visit each year.

The Soldier's Home at Dayton in 1902, taken by Underwood and Underwood
Source: Library of Congress, Stereograph Cards, digital id cph 3b41068, photo in the public domain

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a wonderful virtual tour of the facility that takes one back to 1885 for those who are interested.  It helped give some sense of what the home was like in the time Jacob lived there.

Today the home is part of the VA Hospital system and is known as the Dayton VA Medical Center.

Jacob Bupp's Time at the Soldier's Home
At the time that he entered the soldier's home, Jacob Bupp was getting $12 per month in pension from the government for his service in the Civil War.

Paperwork found in his pension file stated that Jacob Bupp admitted to the home for defective vision and also for senility.  He was treated at the home beginning on 19 July 1898 for defective vision, senility and chronic rheumatism.  Glasses did not improve his vision, due to the fact that he had cataracts, and it appeared his hearing was also going.

Jacob Bupp's Medical history
Source: Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp

Little is known about his time at the hospital, or if any of his family visited him while he resided there.  The travel by train from Allegheny City to Dayton apparently took the better part of two days, so it is plausible that family made the trip if they were able.

On 21 February 1899, at 245 pm, Jacob Bupp died in the hospital at the Soldier's Home.  His cause of death was given as cardiac dilation with senectus, which would be diagnosed today as dilated cardiomyopathy (or an enlarged heart) due to old age, and the doctor who signed his death certificate was D. C. Huffman.

His body was sent back to his widow Caroline at their daughter Mary Anne Wasson's home at 319 Shady Avenue in Allegheny City the next day, arriving in Allegheny City late on the 23rd. According to one newspaper account of the body's arrival:

"The body bears a number of fresh looking wounds and the family intend investigating the cause of his death.  Bupp has been an inmate of the Soldiers' home for some time and was reported in excellent health early in the week.  The news of his death caused great surprise and the family fear he met with rough treatment." (Source: "Jacob Bupp's Death: Friends of the Deceased Will Have an Investigation Made," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 8).

However, as of the date of this blog post, a search for information on whether or not this investigation actually happened yielded no results.

EDIT HERE 4 June 2020: New evidence was discovered in the form of a newspaper article in the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette:

Source: Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennylvania), 25 February 1899, page 12; online images, see online at Google News Archives

Interestingly enough, one the physicians who examined him for one of his pension claims was William J. Langfitt, who also examined John D. Wood in 1889.  Jacob Bupp was the alderman who notarized that affidavit.

Jacob Bupp was buried on 26 February 1899, but it is not known which of the many cemeteries in Allegheny County was chosen for his final resting place.  It is quite possible he is buried in Highwood Cemetery, as Caroline later was buried there. EDIT HERE:  An inquiry into the records at Highwood Cemetery did in fact reveal that he was buried there in the same plot as Caroline.

Jacob Bupp's interment order from the Highwood Cemetery Association.

Interestingly enough, there were several versions of obituaries that made their way across the world with news of his death, though none of them mentioned a cemetery.  Click here for the next blog post, which discusses those versions.

Sources Used and Referenced:
Burns, Carolyn Johnson. Soldiers Home of Dayton, Ohio: Information about the Central Branch of the National Military Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers known today as the Dayton VA Medical Center (http://www.carolynjburns.com/soldiers/ : accessed 6 November 2019).

Central Branch, National Home for D. V. S., Certification of death of Jacob Bupp, died 21 February 1899; filed 1 March 1899 by D. C. Huffman; located in the pension file application of wife Caroline Bupp; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Central Branch, National Home for Disabled Veterans; Medical History for Jacob Bupp, late of G Co, 6th Regiment, Penn H. Art.Volunteers. Dated 13 March 1899, filed 23 May 1899 ; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C., "Died February 21st 1899, from Cardiac Dilation with Senectus."

Death Notification to the Honorable Commissioner of Pensions from Central Branch National Home for D.V. S.; Notification of death of Jacob Bupp, died 21 Feb 1899, pension certificate 752533, co G, 6th regiment Pa H.A. filed 1 March 1899; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Died From Natural Causes: Physicians Found No Marks of Violence on the Body of Jacob Bupp," Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennylvania), 25 February 1899, page 12; online images, Google News Archives (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 4 June 2020).

Gasbarro, Norman. "Old Soldiers' Homes," Civil War Blog: A Project of PA Historian, 9 May 2012 (http://civilwar.gratzpa.org/ : accessed 6 November 2019).

"Jacob Bupp's Death : Friends of the Deceased Will Have an Investigation Made," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 8; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Made the Rope That Hanged Guiteau," The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 25 February 1899, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 September 2017).

"Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001," online database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 17 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp, 21 Feb 1899; citing Death, Montgomery, Ohio, United States, source ID v 4 p 22, C; FHL microfilm 1,030,827. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6VF-YN1.

Plante, Trevor K. "The National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers," Prologue Magazine, Spring 2004; online, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue : accessed 11 November 2019).

Powell, Lisa. "Dayton’s soldiers’ home was among the country’s first to care for veterans," Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), 24 May 2019, information on the history of the Dayton Home; online archives (https://www.daytondailynews.com/ : accessed 6 November 2019).

"U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp; born 1823; Admitted 1898; citing Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1749, 282 rolls); Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Virtual Museum," webpage, U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, Dayton VA Medical Center, Ohio (https://www.dayton.va.gov/museum/index.asp: accessed 6 November 2019), information on the Dayton Soldier's Home.

The Hangman's Ropemaker: Patrick Fitzpatrick, the Last Hanging

"The County Controller yesterday issued a warrant for $25 to Alderman Jacob Bopp. It was in payment for the rope made with which to hang Patrick Fitzpatrick, the condemned murderer, who was to have been executed March 1. The Sheriff has not yet received official notice of the respite for 90 days granted Fitzpatrick."

~"Court Proceedings Condensed," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1892, page 8

*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*

For the past five months, I have been researching every single hanging that Jacob Bupp was purported to have made the ropes for.  My research has taken me all over the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and even to Chicago and Washington, D.C. (figuratively).  I have spent hours pouring over news accounts and legal documents from various trials, and read countless stories about how murder affected the lives of so many in the nineteenth century.  This is the final hanging that Jacob Bupp made as a hangman's ropemaker.  (Don't worry though, there's still more blog posts to come, as he was alive until 1899 and still did a few things after this!)

A Fight Started It All

Samuel Early was a fifty year old roller employed at one of Carnegie's steel mills in Homestead. He had come into Pittsburgh and had spent the day of 2 September 1891 at  James Mulvihill's bar at the Phoenix Hotel on Eleventh Street in Downtown.  That night he had a quarrel with a man by the name of Patrick Fitzpatrick that he had never met before.  Witness could not say why the fight started, but it ended with the powerfully built native Englishman striking Fitzpatrick with his fist.  Fitzpatrick was escorted out of the bar by a couple of other patrons, and Early was handed his hat and ordered to leave by the barkeeper.  When he left the bar, Fitzpatrick was waiting in ambush and stabbed him in the groin with a knife.  The knife severed the femoral artery, which caused Early to bleed out in less than three minutes.

Patrick Fitzpatrick's likeness, as it appeared in the account of his hanging on the first page of the 24 May 1892 edition of  The Pittsburgh Press, found on Google News Archives

Fitzpatrick was immediately arrested.  He tried to assert it was self defense at first, but witnesses to the fight and aftermath later compelled him to admit that the self-defense story was a lie.  While Fitzpatrick had been drinking, police determined he was in full use of his senses.  He was described in papers as a medium sized Irishman of about 38 years old at the time of the incident and a known tramp.

His trial took place on 28 September 1891.  Eyewitnesses testified that they were present for the fight, and one saw Fitzpatrick strike Early but could not see the knife from his vantage point. Fitzpatrick's only defense was that he was too drunk to remember what had happened, but this was refuted by several eyewitnesses who stated he had his wits about him when he was apprehended.  Testimony was done by the end of the day and all that was left when court adjourned that night was for the jury to make their verdict, which they did the next morning.  Fitzpatrick was found guilty of second degree murder.

A motion for a new trial was made that day, but was overruled on 24 October 1891 and he was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of Samuel Early.  On 4 January 1892, Governor Pattison signed the death warrant for Patrick Fitzpatrick, fixing the hanging date on 1 March 1892.

In early February 1892, Jacob Bupp was given the contact to make the rope for the hanging.  Even though he was no longer Alderman for the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City, he was listed as such in an article giving details of Fitzpatrick's fate:

"The rope is being made by Alderman Bupp, of McClure avenue, Allegheny, who has been awarded contracts of the kind for many years, and is an adept in the manufacture of the hangman's rope." ("Fitzpatrick's Fate," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 18 February 1892, page 1)

Patrick Fitzpatrick's lawyers did not give up on the defense that he was too intoxicated to have committed first degree murder, so they appealed to the Pardon Board.  As a result, he was given a respite of ninety days so that the Pardon Board could have a hearing on the matter on 23 Feb 1892.  Even though he was respited, Allegheny County continued to make the arrangements for his hanging, and paid the $25 owed to Jacob for the rope.  It was his scaffold that was being erected that led the three Hungarian men, Andrew Toth, Michael Sabol and George Rusnock, to freak out while in jail in February 1892, thinking they were being hanged even as their sentences were being commuted.

While incarcerated and waiting for his death, Fitzpatrick suggested he was guilty of other crimes throughout the state. He also was reported to have stated that the fight started as a result of the old animosities between Ireland and England

On 14 May 1892, word was received by Fitzpatrick's lawyer that the Board of Pardons refused the application for commutation of the sentence, and an appeal was filed to the Supreme Court.  The Pittsburgh Dispatch reported that it was an "unusual move" since most cases appealed to the Supreme Court before the Board of Pardons.  The Supreme Court refused to intervene and the hanging was set for 24 May 1892.

Fitzpatrick was the first man to be hanged in the new city jail yard in Pittsburgh and the first man to be hanged in Allegheny County since Martin Weinberger eight years prior.  Very few people witnessed the execution, as Sheriff McCleary only issued about 45 passes. Fitzpatrick wore a suit of black, although he had requested a suit of Irish green, in honor of his native country.  At eleven in the morning he was escorted to the scaffold, and two priests prayed the litany of death for him.  It took eighteen minutes for Fitzpatrick to be pronounced dead.  He was buried afterwards in Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

This was Jacob Bupp's last hangman's rope, though he was listed as being occupied as a ropemaker in the 1893 directory for Pittsburgh and Allegheny City (which was beginning to be processed around the time of the hanging).  After Fitzpatrick's  hanging, Allegheny County decided to find a new ropemaker.  For the next hanging in the county, of Dennis Cloony in 1893,  they chose W. H. Robinson, the foreman for William Kerr's Sons, who constructed both the scaffold and the rope for the hanging.  In the same article that reported the new contract, this was stated:

"This is a departure from an old custom, 'Squire Jacob Bopp of Allegheny having made all the ropes for hanging people that have been used in this country for over 30 years. His last was that made for Patrick Fitzpatrick, who was hanged last summer. The change was made by Sheriff McCleary." ("Preparing the Scaffold," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 21 March 1893, page 2).

It was interesting to note that while hangings were still being used as a mode of execution as late as 1902 (keep in mind electrocution was beginning to come into use), the material used in them was changed from hemp to linen.  As The Pittsburgh Press reported in 1902 while discussing the hangings of Henry Taylor and Charles Davis:

"In this connection it is interesting to know that the ropes used in executions are not made of hemp. The old expression, "stretching hemp," is no longer literally correct. The old handspun hempen ropes are no longer manufactured in Allegheny county, and when Jacob Bopp, of McClure avenue, Allegheny, died, the use of that kind of ropes was done away with. Bopp was formerly a well known character. He made all the ropes used for executions in this and all other counties in Western Pennsylvania." ("Two Murderers Will Soon Hang," 22 June 1902, page 12)

Jacob Bupp's retirement marked an end of an era in ropemaking, and began a new chapter in his life.  Stay tuned for that!

Sources Used and Referenced
"A Murderous Knife," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 3 September 1891, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 August 2019).

"Another Hope Gone," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 15 May 1892, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 August 2019).

"Court Proceedings Condensed," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1892, page 8; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 9 October 2017).

"Fitzpatrick Guilty," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 30 September 1891, page 10; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 August 2019).

"Fitzpatrick Respited," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1892, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 August 2019).

"Fitzpatrick's Fate," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 18 February 1892, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"Fixed for March," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 5 January 1892, 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 August 2019).

"Four Very Happy Murderers," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1892, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : 28 october 2017 ).

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1893/1894 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher & Thurston, 1893), 190, "Bupp Jacob, rope mkr, Shady ay, 11th wd, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

"Life for a Life," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 May 1892, page 1; online images, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 2 August 2019).

Loftquist, Bill. "Patrick Fitzpatrick," State Killings in the Steel City: The History of the Death Penalty in Pittsburgh, 12 January 2018 (https://state-killings-in-the-steel-city.org/ : accessed 2 August 2019).

"Murder by a Tramp," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 29 September 1891, page 8; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 August 2019).

"Murderer Sentences," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 October 1891, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 August 1892).

"Preparing the Scaffold," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 21 March 1893, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 9 October 2017).

"Two Murderers Will Soon Hang," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 22 June 1902, page 12; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

The Hangman's Ropemaker: Alexander Killen and the Three Hungarians Who All Cheated the Hangman

"Alderman Jacob Bupp yesterday received an order from Sheriff McCleary for the rope to kill Kilrain on July 23. The rope is to be finished on Friday. Mr. Bupp made the ropes with which the Nicely boys were hung. These two made the even 100 which he has manufactured. He is also to make the ropes for the three Hungarians and business is becoming so brisk he said he would make ten ropes at once and keep them in stock."

~"Business for the Hangman," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 July 1891, page 2

 *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*

After the success of the Nicely Brothers' hanging, Jacob Bupp was vindicated a bit (after all, William West's hanging did put a damper on his business).  In July of 1891, while in the final days of his alderman career, he was busy making the ropes for four hangings in Allegheny County.  Yet, very much like the three men the previous year who were not hanged, these ropes were never used either.

The four men were Alexander Killian, Andrew Toth, Michael Sabol, and George Rusnok/Rusnock.  All four were implicated in murders they never committed.

Alexander Killain
Paul and Mary Ann Rudert were the owners of a jewelry store along the riverfront in Tarentum, a borough about 22 miles up the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh.  On the evening of 23 December 1889, they were closing up shop after some last minute Christmas shopping when they heard the sound of breaking glass from the front of the store.  Mary went to see what was going on while her husband went in search for a weapon.  Three men had broken the front window and were scooping out as much as they could reach from outside of the building, and Mary interrupted them.  She was shot in the head, killing her instantly.

Police detectives on loan from Pittsburgh believed they uncovered the identities of the three men; Peter Griffin, Thomas Conroy and a third man known only as "New York Shine."  However, these men were never caught in connection to the murder.


Evidence pointed them also in the direction of a man by the name of Alexander Killian (also Killen), who had a shady history of robbery and burglary.  He owned the boat by which the murderers were able to get to the store and then later escape, and he was compensated with two pieces of jewelry, jewels which were later found to have been from the robbery. Killian admitted to loaning the boat to the men under threats from Griffin, but claimed he had no idea that they were going to use it to commit a crime, let alone murder.  He was charged as an accessory to the crime.

His trial happened in October 1890 and he was convicted of first degree murder.  The key piece of evidence in his conviction was the eyewitness account of Paul Rudert, who insisted he saw Killian at the store that night.  He was sentenced to death by hanging.  

In May of 1891, Killian's death warrant was signed and his hanging was fixed for 23 July 1891.  Allegheny County Sheriff McCleary ordered a rope for the hanging from Jacob Bupp in July.   The scaffold was also erected, but was taken down when Killian was granted a reprieve.  The rope was never used for the hanging.

The board of pardons recommended clemency to Alexander Killian on 2 October 1890, as evidence that was used to convict him was discovered by the detectives who collected it to be erroneous in theory, as guilt lay with the three men who did commit the murder and robbery and not with Killian.  It was also determined that Paul Rudert, possibly under duress from having witnessed his wife's murder, identified more that one man as the killer of Mary Ann, and while his identification of Alexander was taken as correct at the time of the trial, evidence later came to light that it was a false identification.  Killian's death sentence was commuted to life in prison on 29 October 1891 and he was sent to Western Penitentiary to serve out his sentence. 

Side note here: It was around this time that his name went from being spelled as Killian to Killen.  I am not sure which spelling is absolutely correct,. so both are used in the article

There were many prominent people who thought he was innocent, and began to campaign for his release, especially when word got out that Paul Rudert did indeed make a false accusation and testified to such.  In 1908, his case was brought up in front of the Pardon Board and on 24 April 1909 he was released from prison.  He wrote about his entire experience and it was published in The Pittsburgh Press.

Clipping of Alexander Killen's Story from The Pittsburgh Press on 16 May 1909 (page 46).  Found on Google News Archive Search.

Alexander Killian died from heart disease and asthma on 25 January 1925 in Pittsburgh City Hospital in Mayview, Pennsylvania.  The hospital was part of a series of homes and hospitals for indigent people.

The Three Hungarians
Edgar Thomson Works, a steel plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania was one of Andrew Carnegie's finest plants, but it had the same ethnic and class tensions as his Carnegie Steel Plant in Homestead, where the Homestead Strike of 1892 happened.

The Hungarian men who typically worked at the Thomson Works were angry.  They had been forced to work on Christmas Day 1890, which was typically a time for rest and family.  They also were being told they were to work on New Year's Day 1891 and they refused, calling for a strike.

So Irishmen were brought in to stoke the fires at the steel furnaces that day. When the men heard this, they rioted against the strikebreakers.

For almost a full hour, there was a huge fight at the Thomson Works, where over 200 strikers armed with clubs, picks, shovels and other weapons fought against the strikebreakers.  When the police hired to work the mill couldn't quell the uprising, the Allegheny County Sheriff and his entire posse of over 200 men were called in to quell the fighting.  More than fifty men were arrested for the riot.

However, an Irish furnace supervisor by the name of Michael Quinn was badly wounded in the riot (as were three others, and more than a dozen were injured), and when he died on 5 Jan 1891, the press and the public demanded justice.  Like the Haymarket Riots, there were mass arrests following the riots and the death, as newspapers cheered on any attempt to quell the uprisings by the workers.

Three men were ultimately charged with Quinn's murder; Andrew Toth, Michael Sabol, and George Rusnock.  All three were Hungarian immigrants and steelworkers.  All were present at the riot and had been arrested for fighting.  All three were identified by an Irishman by Peter Mullin as having beaten Michael Quinn.  Mullin stated he watched a man by the name of Toth strike Quinn over the head with a shovel, causing the fatal blow.

Andrew Toth, Michael Sabol, and George Rusnock were indicted 15 January 1891 and their trial happened in February 1891.  There was conflicting testimony about what had happened, as several eyewitnesses testified they saw the men there, but that not all of them were present at the beating.  The key eyewitness against Toth was  Mullin, who testified he saw Toth deliver the final blow.  However, he also stated that a man by the name of Steve Toth (no relation to Andy Toth) was the one present, not Andrew Toth, and he was at an entirely different furnace than the one Quinn had been working, making it difficult to have viewed the beating.  Despite this conflict in testimony, the three men were convicted on 7 February 1891, just one month after Quinn's death, and they were sentenced to die by hanging on 8 April 1891.

Defense appealed a new trial on a couple of grounds, one being that a few of the jurors in the murder trial had just the week prior served as jurors in the trials of the rioters, and that the charge of murder in the first was unwarranted because the murder was not premeditated but arose out of a riot and should have been a manslaughter charge. The Supreme Court denied the appeal and affirmed the first-degree murder convictions on 5 June 1891.

In July of 1891, Jacob Bupp was asked to make the ropes for the hangings.  It is not known whether or not he actually got the chance to finish the ropes, given the circumstances of the motions for appeals and pardons.

On the same day that Alexander Killian's case was recommended to be commuted to life in prison, the cases of the three men were held under advisement.  The three men were still in the Allegheny County Jail in February 1892, when the scaffold was erected the first time for the hanging of Patrick Fitzbpatrick.  They were alarmed when they heard of the scaffold, for they thought it was meant for them.

But there was hope yet. The outcome of the trial and the expediency with which the men were tried caused some alarm amongst the citizens of the great Pittsburgh area, including a minister by the name of T.N. Boyle, who started a petition to save the men from hanging.  Under pressure by several prominent people in Allegheny County, including Andrew Carnegie (who owned the mill) and his right hand man Charles Schwab (who ran the mill), Governor Pattison commuted their sentences to life imprisonment by 25 Feb 1892.  The three men were taken to the Western Penitentiary to serve out their sentences.

In March of 1895, word was received that Michael Sabol was dying from tuberculosis, having contracted it in prison shortly after being confined there.  Several prominent ministers and lawyers traveled to Harrisburg to ask the Board of Pardons for a full pardon for Sabol, and armed themselves with a petition of over 1000 names pf prominent citizens.  The petition worked, and Michael Sabol was released from prison on 30 March 1895.  He died 8 April 1895, leaving a wife in Hungary..

Rusnock was pardoned in October 1897 and release from prison 13 October 1897.  It was reported that he too had consumption and was not expected to live much longer.  Later news accounts stated he died shortly thereafter, but no exact date has been located.

In 1910, Stephen Toth, who had fled to Hungary after killing Michael Quinn, made a confession to local authorities while dying from typhoid fever.  The story made its way to Allegheny County (with a little help from Andrew Toth's sons, who wanted to see their father freed), where prominent people again made a push to pardon Toth.  On 15 March 1911, the Board of Pardons made a recommendation for pardon. Their best argument for pardoning him (besides the fact that his compatriots had already been pardoned) was that:

 "The trial occurred within about six weeks after the riot, and at a time the public mind was under the influence of the excitement naturally arising from the tumultuous events of the day, which in fact furnishes an explanation of the failure to advance this theory in defense of the applicant on his trial in court." (Letter of the Board of Pardons to Gov. John K. Tener, 15 March 1911, page 184 of Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania For the Session Begun at Harrisburg on the Seventh Day of January 1913 found on Google Books)

Headline from the 18 March 1911 edition of The Pittsburgh Press found on Google News Archive

Andrew Toth left prison on 18 March 1911, having spent more than 20 years wrongfully convicted of murder.  He harbored no ill will against anyone associated with the trial, including Mullen,  and was happy to be free.  Toth was granted a $40 a month pension by Andrew Carnegie when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refused to compensate him for having sent him to prison for most of his life.  He returned to Hungary and reunited with his wife and four sons after having been separated for over 26 years.  According to some of the sources, he lived a good long life afterwards on the pension he received.

His case prompted some to push for compensation for the wrongfully accused who had been imprisoned.  California started the process in 1914, and other states followed suit.

Sources Used and Referenced
"Building the Scaffold," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 17 May 1892, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 30 July 2019).

"Business for the Hangman," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 July 1891, Page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 September 2017).

"Commonwealth v. Andrew Toth et. al." Pennsylvania State Report Containing Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Volume 145 (New York: Banks and Brothers, 1892), 308-317; online images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books : accessed 31 July 2019). 

"Died Last Night," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 6 January 1891, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"Fitzpatrick's Fate," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 18 February 1892, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"Four Very Happy Murderers," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1892, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : 28 october 2017 ).

"Freedom Near for Little Praying Andy," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 16 March 1911, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

Gordon, Gertrude. "Andy Toth is Released," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 18 March 1911, pages 1-2; online images, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 31 July 2019). 

"Hungarians in a Riot," The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 2 January 1891, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"The Hungarians Saved," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1892, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"In Behalf of Sabol," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 March 1895, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"In the First Degree," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 February 1891, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Session Begun at Harrisburg on the 3d Day of January 1893, Issue 1 (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Edwin K. Meyers, 1893), 166-171; online images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=38lKAQAAMAAJ : accessed 30 July 2019).

Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania For the Session Begun at Harrisburg on the Seventh Day of January 1913, Part I (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Telegraph Printing Company, 1914), 183-185; online images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=gHtDAQAAMAAJ : accessed 31 July 2019).

"Killain's Hanging Day," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 July 1891, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 October 2017).

Killen, Alexander. "Nineteen Years In Prison," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 16 May 1909, page 46; online images, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 30 July 2019).

"Killen Will Not Hang," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 3 October 1891, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 30 July 2019).

"Killian's Death Warrant Here," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 21 May 1891, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 30 July 2019).

Krajicek, David J. "Andrew Carnegie's iron grip of greed - the saga of 'Praying Andy' Toth," Daily News (New York, New York), 5 September 2010; online archive (www.nydailynews.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"Little Local Items," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 27 May 1891, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 October 2017).

Loftquist, Bill. "Alexander Killen," State Killings in the Steel City: The History of the Death Penalty in Pittsburgh, 9 February 2018 (https://state-killings-in-the-steel-city.org/ : accessed 30 July 2019).

Loftquist, Bill. "Andrew Toth, Michael Sabol, and George Rusnock," State Killings in the Steel City: The History of the Death Penalty in Pittsburgh, 9 February 2018 (https://state-killings-in-the-steel-city.org/ : accessed 30 July 2019).

"Michael Sabol Dead," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 9 April 1895, page 9; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 July 2019), Entry for Alexander Killen, died 25 Jan 1925, certificate number 8904; citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

"Rusnock Free," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 14 October 1897, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

"Three Huns to Be Hanged," The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 3 April 1891, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 October 2017).

"Under the Gallows," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 20 October 1890, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 15 July 2019).

Warden, Rob. "Andrew Toth," article, The National Registry of Exonerations (https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetailpre1989.aspx?caseid=334 : accessed 31 July 2019).

The Hangman's Ropemaker: The Nicely Brothers

"Sheriff Isaiah Good, of Somerset county, yesterday gave Alderman Bupp, of Wood's Run, an order for two ropes, to be used at the execution of the Nicely brothers on April 2. The ropes will be shipped next Monday. Alderman Bupp will also be present at the execution."

~"Ropes Ordered for the Nicely Boys," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 March 1891, page 9

*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*

27 February 1889 was a deary, rainy day in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  Snow had fallen previously in the week, but was only evidenced by a few remaining drifts. Two miles north of the borough of Jennertown sat the farm of Herman Umberger.  The elderly farmer lived on his farm on the Somerset Pike with his wife, great-granddaughter Nannie Horner and a domestic by the name of Ella Stern.

Herman Umberger's likeness, from page 11 of The Umberger Tragedy: With a Criminal History of Somerset County, Pa. by Edward H. Werner, published in 1890.  Found on The Internet Archive.

On that cold, rainy night, two men knocked on the door while the family sat around the stove of the sitting room, trying to keep warm in the late winter evening.  The two men, who had covered their faces to shield their identities, asked to come in and get warm.  They then claimed they were constables from Bedford who had a search warrant and said they were looking for jewels that had been stolen from a peddler.  Herman Umberger gave them permission to search the house, and in the process of that search, his pocketbooks were discovered.  Since Umberger didn't trust banks, he had kept his life savings on his person in his pocketbooks, and there was an estimated fifteen to twenty thousand dollars within them.  Umberger put them into the pocket of his vest.  The "constables" demanded the pocketbooks be handed over, and when Umberger refused, he was shot several times and left to die.

Almost as soon as the men left, Mrs Umberger sounded the alarm by ringing her dinner bell as loudly as she could and several men gathered at the Umberger home to try to catch the criminals.  A man named Collins Hamilton fell under suspicion after money and the wig one of the men wore were found in his home, but it was later determined both were planted to throw off suspicion.  Evidence soon came to light that caused Joseph and David Nicely to become the suspects and the two were arrested 6 March 1889.

The Nicely Brothers, from pages 18 and 26 of The Umberger Tragedy: With a Criminal History of Somerset County, Pa. by Edward H. Werner, published in 1890.  Found on The Internet Archive.

Joseph and David Nicely were two of the four sons of Anthony Nicely, a respected farmer that lived outside the town of Ligonier, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Joseph was the eldest son, and was married to a woman named Harriet.  The couple had seven children.  David was the youngest son, and was married to a woman named Elizabeth.  He had three children.  According to some news accounts the tow men were known criminals, but other newspapers painted them as industrious and well known and respected men.

The two were put on trial in June of 1889.  At the trial, testimony from Ella Stern and Nannie Horner was the only concrete evidence, although circumstantial evidence from other witnesses was also presented.  It came to light that Umberger had to have been shot with a center-fire revolver, and Joseph Nicely had purchased such a revolver the previous fall.  The overcoats that Ella and Nannie remembered the men wearing when Umberger was shot matched the two overcoats the men owned, and Umberger's distinct pocketbook was found empty at the home of Anthony Nicely.

The Nicelys' defense, led by two former Congressmen, called witnesses that testified to seeing the men elsewhere during the shooting, and tried every trick they could to dissuade the jury from finding the men guilty.  However, after a tumultuous trial, the jury came back with a verdict of guilty of first degree murder.

Due to some irregularities in the verdict however, the defense immediately motioned for a new trial, which was argued on the 13th and 14th of August 1890.  The motion however was overruled and a new trial was refused.  The men were sentenced to death by hanging.

The zealous defense appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, who agreed to hear the appeal in their October term.

However, during this appeal process, the Nicelys tried to take securing their liberty upon themselves.  The Nicelys quickly became the "lords of the jail" so to speak and became friendly with the other prisoners who were housed at the Somerset jail.  In August it was revealed that they tried to make an escape via bed sheets when another prisoner took to having a supposed fit of epilepsy.  Yet Joe Nicely refused to escape via the window, as he wanted to leave the jail by walking through the door.

On 16 September 1889, the two brothers made their second attempt to escape and dashed through the door of the jail.  They scuffled with the prison guards and in the scuffle Joe got his hands on a guard's pistol, firing it several times.  One guard was shot twice and nearly died  The two prisoners were quickly caught and a lynch mob almost did them in.  However, the mob was persuaded to return the men to jail to see through their sentence.

The Supreme Court did hear the arguments in their October term, and on 10 November 1889 the court handed down their decision that the verdict was upheld, as there were no errors in it.

On 29 November 1889, another escape was attempted, and this one was more successful for the brothers.  They escaped the jail with three other men, sliding down a rope with a drop of about fifty feet.  One of the prisoners died in the fall.  Dave Nicely was injured, breaking both a leg and an arm.  He was found a couple of days later, almost dead from exposure.  Joe Nicely was found hidden in a barn, complaining of a broken ankle.

Both men insisted they tried to escape the three times because they were innocent of the crime they were convicted.  The Nicelys' defense tried to argue the case in front of the Board of Pardons four different times, and each time the Board of Pardons denied to pardon the men.

Harry Marsh followed the Nicelys' fate very closely from his own jail cell in Cambria County.  In early January, after his death warrant was signed, he asked his jailers if theirs had been signed as well.  According to the article "Death Warrant Read to Harry Marsh the Murderer," in the 15 January 1891 edition of Pittsburgh Daily Post: "When told that the time for their execution had not yet been fixed he bitterly remarked that he was not like them, and had no money to appeal to the board of pardons" (page 3).

On 20 January 1891, just one day before his term expired, Governor James A. Beaver signed the death warrants for the Nicely brothers, setting their execution date at 2 April 1891.

About a month before the executions, Joe Nicely began to complain of headaches that were severe.  By the end of that week, he was acting like a crazy man, and was able to convince a doctor that he was insane. (Coincidentally, he "snapped out of it" the morning of the hanging, leading everyone to believe it had been faked, and wrote a letter to his wife Harriet dividing his belongings amongst all of his seven children)

Jacob Bupp made both of the ropes, having received the order for them in March of 1891 while still alderman of the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City.  He charged the county of Somerset his usual fee of $25 per rope, and mailed the ropes to Sheriff Isaiah Good, expecting his payment in cash on delivery.  However, Good refused to pay and sent the package to the County Commissioners' office.  The County Commissioners were reported as also dragging their feet in paying for the ropes, because it was not set in stone as of 19 March 1891 that the Nicelys would not be pardoned. 

According to an article in The Pittsburgh Press on 19 March 1891 (page 7), Jacob became angry when he heard of the commissioners trying to refuse to pay for the rope Good ordered.  He had this to say in an interview with a Press reporter:

"Every hangman's rope that I have ever made I received $25 for it, and any good rope maker in the country would charge the same price.  I have the order from Sheriff Good telling me to ship two ropes 15 feet in length for the Nicely brothers.  I sent two ropes which were 25 feet in length.  I will hold the sheriff responsible for the money, as he understood my charges before ordering the ropes."

Jacob  was finally paid for the ropes on 23 March 1891.  He expressed that perhaps the article that reported the Commissioners were refusing to pay for the ropes was a fake.  He was invited to attend the execution, and it was mentioned that he had already witnessed 65 executions (making this execution his 66th).

On 2 April 1891,  Joseph and David Nicely were hanged in the Somerset County Jail.  The gallows had been erected inside the Somerset Jail with the traps built into the floor.  While only thirty to forty people were actually admitted to witness the execution, the jail was surrounded by curious crowds of people waiting to hear of the execution.  The trap was sprung, it was reported, at 1:37 pm, and by 2 in the afternoon the men were pronounced dead.  Their bodies were taken by their families to be buried in Ligonier.

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