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West Ford Hundred, near the Mary land line, was laughing in the field,in a place generally covered with water, and where a heap of brush has been lying for years, when his horse sunk in a grove, and on digging, he found a blue painted chest, about three feet long,and in it the bones of a man.— The news flew like wild fire, and peo ple from many miles around,visited the place, among whom it was universally agreed that a negro trader from Geor gia, named Bell or Miller, or perhaps both,had been murdered, by Fahneen and his gang, about 10 or 12 years ago, and that the bones now discovered were those of one of them, as the man or men had been missed about that time, and the horse’ on which one of them rode was found at Patty Can non’s, Who laid claim to the animal,un til a person from Maryland, who had lent the horse, came forward claim ed his property; and she alleged, at the time, that Bell or Miller had sailed a short time previous, with a cargo of negroes for the south. _ Since that time he has not been heard of, and it is said that a few days before he was missed, he was heard to say that he had with him fifteen thou sand dollars with which he proposed to purchase negroes. The supposition ,now is that the knowledge of his hav ing this money in his possession, form ed the inducement to take his life, and that to conceal the body it had been deposited in the place where the bones have been found. The excitement produced by this discovery,as may naturally be suppos ed, was very great in the neighbor hood; and on the 2nd instant, one of Johnson’s gang, named Cyrus James, who has resided in Maryland, was caught in this state,and brought before a justice of the peace at Seaford, and on examinnation stated that Joseph Johnson, Ebenezer F. Johnson and old Patty Cannon had shot the man while at supper in her house, and that he saw them all engaged in carrying him to the chest and burying him; and stat ed, moreover, that many others also had been killed, that he could show where they had been buried. The of ficers and citizens accordingly accom panied him to the places which he pointed out, and made the necessary search, [n one place in a garden they dug and found the body of a young child, the mother of which, he stated, was a negro woman belonging to Patty Cannon, which, being a mulatto, she had killed for the reason that she sup posed its father to be one of her own family, another place,a few feet distant was then pointed out, when upon dig ging, two oak boxes were found, each of which contained human bones Those in one of them had been those of a person about seven years of age, which James said he saw Patty Can non knock in the head with a billet of wood, and the other contained those of one whow he said they considered had property, by which, it is supposed was meant, that he was free. As there was at the time much stir about the chil dren, and there was no convenient op portunity to send them away, they were murdered to prevent discovery on eoaginning the scull bone of the lar gest child, it was discovered to have been broken as described by James. This fellow, James, was raised by Patty Cannon, having been bound to her at the age of seven years, and is said to to have done much mischief in his time for her and Johnson. Another witness by the name of But ler had already been secured, and it is thought that some others will be thro’t forward why are acquainted with the bloody deeds of patty and Joe.—This woman is now between 60 70 years of age, and looks more like a man than a woman; but old as she is, she is be lieved to be asreedless as the most a bandoned wretch that breathes. As stated by us on Friday last, Pat y Cannon has been ludged in the jail t Georgetown.—danes anh Butler were also placed there at the same time, and it is highly probable that ere this the trial has taken place, and the result of it will soon be known. James stated that he had not shown all the places where murdered bodies had been buried, and at the time of writing, our correspondent informs us the people were still digging. _ Joe Johnson, who is said to be re siding, at this time, in Alabama, is stat ed to have been seen in this state in December or January last; and the pro bability is that his Kuamese there was to do something at his old business of kidnapping. He was convicted of this crime some years since at Georgetown, and suffered the punishment of the cash and the pillory on account of it. He is a man of some celebrity, having, for many years, carried on the traffic of stealing and selling negroes, wm which he was aided and instructed by the old hag, Patty Cannon, whose daugh ter he married, after she had lost a for mer husband on the gallows. He con tinued to reside near his tutoress until within a few years when a reward of $590 was offered by Mr.Watson, May or, of Philadelphia, when having ob tained information of the fact before any others in his neighborhood he sud denly decamped, and has since been very cautious in suffering himself to be seen in that part of the country. The former husband of Joe’s wife was hung for the murder of a negro trader, the plan for which is said to have been arranged at her mother’s house. From the circumstances which have already taken place, it would appear probable that such developements may be expected to take place as will pre sent the wretched actors in the scenes of blood which have taken place on the border of our state in Sussex coun ty, as successful rivals in depravity of the infamous Burke, whose bloody deeds recent execution in Scotland have occupied so large a portion of the public prints. Del. Gaz.
Newspaper Details
Warren Gazette
Warren, Pennsylvania, US
Thu, May 07, 1829
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Tanisha C.
USA 13 Jul 2026
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