A new article has been added at Newspaper Abstracts > United States > California > San Joaquin http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/index.php?action=displaycat&catid=592 Direct link to article: http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/link.php?id=34852 Submitted by: deesar Article Title: Stockton Daily Independent Article Date: March 1862 Article Description: March 24-31, 1862 Article Text: >>Monday, 24 Mar 1862>Tuesday, 25 Mar 1862>Wednesday, 26 Mar 1862>Thursday, 27 Mar 1862>Friday, 28 Mar 1862Boston and New York papers please copy.] DIED -- at the Insane Asylum, March 27th, Mary BURKE, committed in 1856, age and nativity unknown; cause, consumption. DIED -- at the Insane Asylum, March 27th, Lucas GRAGEDA, committed from Contra Costa county in March, 1862, age and nativity unknown; cause, consumption. PROBATE COURT -- -Estate of H.T. HUGGINS, deceased -- order to sell separate personal estate of deceased, except such as had been set apart, by the order of the Court, for the use of the widow. -Estate of J.J. CRIMM, deceased -- confirmation of sale of real estate, consisting of Old Race Track, to John GIOVINESSI, for $36 per acre. SENTENCED -- Judge CREANER, presiding in the District Court of Tuolumne county, on Saturday last sentenced Alexander FLOWERS, convicted of murder in the 2nd degree, to 12 years in the State Prison. Francisco DEGRAL, convicted of manslaughter, was sentenced to 5 years in the same institution. DEGRAL was anxious to be hung, but the Court couldn’t gratify his wishes in this request. ------------------------------------------------- EXAMINATION of J.C. SHEPPARD for MURDER -- The examination of J.C. SHEPPARD upon the charge of the murder of Thomas ROMAINS was concluded before Justices Brush and Potter yesterday, occupying the greater part of the day. The Court overruled the objections made by the District Attorney to the admission of certain evidence offered by the counsel for the defense on the day previous, whereupon the latter introduced the following testimony. We suppress such portions of it as are unfit for publication: T.B. CHALMERS -- I know the defendant; have known ROMAINS by sight, although I have seldom seen him; SHEPPARD lived beyond French Camp, about 16 miles from Stockton; I lived about 2 ½ miles from him; SHEPPARD is married, has 1 child and follows the occupation of ranching; have heard ROMAINS speak often of SHEPPARD and his family; on 1 occasion heard him state that he was in difficulty with SHEPPARD about a note; at MUNSEY’s he was talking about the matter and said he would like, if he had a friend, to go to SHEPPARD with a stick and wear it out upon him for not paying him; he at first intimated that a secret was existing between himself and Mrs. SHEPPARD, but declined telling me what it was; said nothing, at that time, derogatory to the character of Mrs. S.; at one time he handed me a letter and desired me to give it to Mrs. S.; I handed the letter to my wife and she gave it to Mrs. S.; he subsequently came to the field, took me aside, and in the course of the conversatio! n I told him he was a man to be dreaded and also told SHEPPARD to order him away from his house; told me that Mrs. S. had sat in his lap and talked with him until 10 or 11 o’clock at night, telling him she only married SHEPPARD for his money, that she never loved him, &c.; he told me that SHEPPARD was about to prosecute him for threatening to cut the throat of Mrs. S., and, at the same time he denied making any threat of the kind; said he had never made any new * * * he said to me, subsequently, “CHALMERS, I am going down to SHEPPARD’s and with this 6-shooter (exhibiting the weapon) I will make him listen to what I have to say about this matter; this occurred about 2 months ago; on another occasion he said to me: “Suppose I were to kill SHEPPARD what would they do with me? I replied, “d--n you, they would hang you, and you had better let that thing alone;” another letter for Mrs. SHEPPARD was handed me by ROMAINS, and that was the last I have seen of him; he req! uested me to give it to Mrs. S.; but it never reached her, as its cont ents were unfit for a lady to see, and I therefore put it in the stove and burned it; told me he had had illicit intercourse with Mrs. S. and repeated the assertion whenever I saw him; said he knew she never had loved SHEPPARD and that she never could; [Here the counsel for the defense informed the witness that he need have no delicacy in stating *all* the facts, to which the witness replied: “I’m not troubled with delicacy -- I’ve been in California too long for that!]; hear ROMAINS speak of narrow escapes from detection in his intimacy with Mrs. S.; she laced nails over the window sashes, and bars on the back door to keep her husband from entering the house; * * he stated to me that if SHEPPARD ever come at him he would know what he was coming for and the fight would be commenced right there; it was a uniform custom with him to relate his intimacy with the wife of SHEPPARD, and go on with his braggadocio afterwards never heard him say anything against Mrs. S., but he! has told me he loved her dearer than his own soul; said he knew SHEPPARD was armed -- they were antagonists 8 or 9 months; said “if SHEPPARD should come near me, I would open the fire.” CROSS-EXAMINED -- ROMAINS told me Mrs. S. had said to him, while sitting in his lap and reading novels, he was the only man whom she ever truly loved, except one other, and he not her husband; he represented that Mrs. S. had led him on and encouraged him in this intimacy; never saw the parties together but once; ROMAINS was illiterate, and his letters to Mrs. S. were written by others; think Mrs. S. is about 30 years of age. JOHN GANN -- Never heard ROMAINS say anything concerning SHEPPARD or his wife; “Tom” was about 26 years of age, my first sight of him being about 2 months since. PATRICK BRANNON -- ROMAINS was discharged from SHEPPARD’s employ about 3 months since; saw him on 1 occasion with a cane in his hand which he shook at me, remarking at the same time that he was going to ruin SHEPPARD’s family; ROMAINS was so in the habit of talking about Mrs. S. that I disliked to hear him refer to the subject; have a family of my own; when ROMAINS entered upon the subject of SHEPPARD’s family I left him; never gave him an opportunity to relate to me the story of his intimacy with Mrs. S., which had become common talk. ROBERT KELLER -- Have talked very often with ROMAINS about the affair; while engaged in plowing last December, he came to me for the loan of a pistol; asked him what he wished to do with it, to which he replied that SHEPPARD was seeking to kill him and he only desired the means of defense; ROMAINS then branched off upon the subject he usually talked upon -- that of Mrs. S. in particular; * * * * I told him repeatedly to go away from me whenever he attempted to introduce a conversation upon this subject; * * * * think I have heard him speak of ruining SHEPPARD’s family; the shooting on Sunday morning last took place at about 8 ½ o’clock. JOHN J. JONES -- Saw the body of ROMAINS taken to the school house after it was dead; deceased made no mention to me of SHEPPARD or his family; saw the wounds -- those in the head and shoulder apparently being caused by shots from behind the deceased. JABEZ DAGGETT -- Saw ROMAINS nearly a year since, but had no acquaintance with him; knew that he held a note against SHEPPARD and that he worked for him; he stated that unless he received his pay from SHEPPARD he would kill him; he said hard things against SHEPPARD, and referred to Mrs. S., when I told him he could not speak disrespectfully of her in my presence; Mrs. S. came here in 1857; nothing that ROMAINS could say would injure the family; he was a great liar and I would believe nothing he might say; he went back in the neighborhood of SHEPPARD in the latter part of October or first of November, and said he would get him a ranch and try and do better; when he came to my place he intimated there were some things about Mrs. S. not exactly right, and I told him to stop; he attached some property and obtained his pay from SHEPPARD; was very ignorant -- could barely write his name; have not seen him since the commencement of the flood. RICHARD JONES -- Knew ROMAINS very well; has been past my house right smart one time and another; he has commenced to talk of SHEPPARD’s wife in my presence, and I have advised him to “dry up” as I did not wish to hear him allude to anything about Mrs. S., knowing what he intended to say; know of nothing very good or bad about him; he has been lurking around the settlement at times; knew him when a boy in Missouri; knew nothing dangerous about him -- kind of a gassy man; had hear others relate the scandal concerning Mrs. S., which ROMAINS had put in circulation in the neighborhood. JAMES F. GOSLING [s in Gosling is iffy] -- Have known ROMAINS 1 year and SHEPPARD 3 or 4 years; ROMAINS, some time last fall, told me Mrs. SHEPPARD’s character was in his hands, and he knew that which could ruin SHEPPARD and his family; saw him at a shooting-match where he stated to me that his life was threatened, and he was practicing at a mark with a pistol. JOHN LIZZY -- ROMAINS on 1 occasion introduced the subject of SHEPPARD’s character, but I ordered him to leave my house, and if he refused I would kick him out; since that time he has not talked to me of SHEPPARD or his family; said he intended to ruin SHEPPARD’s character down to the last point. JAMES MUNSEY -- Know the prisoner at the bar as also ROMAINS; the latter has spoken to me of Mrs. S. and his intimacy with her; stated that she had betrayed him; I told him if such was the case SHEPPARD would kill him, to which he replied that he did not anticipate any danger from the fact that SHEPPARD was too big a coward; saw Mrs. SHEPPARD and ROMAINS together at my house; they came in a wagon and left for church; saw no sign of endearment between them; Mrs. S. has remarked that ROMAINS was a “very accommodating young man around the house, helped her cook,” &c.; never saw ROMAINS alone with Mrs. S. J.H. BRANNON -- Saw ROMAINS for the 1st time on the 4th inst., at Mr. WILSON’s; he address his conversation to WILSON -- a part of which I overheard; he spoke of his criminal intimacy with SHEPPARD’s wife, and the manner in which he avoided being detected by SHEPPARD. This kind of talk was the burden of his conversation, to which I paid no further attention than as it was forced upon my hearing; WILSON lives about a mile from the Zinc House, and 20 miles from Stockton; ROMAINS had a bad reputation among my acquaintances; the story of his relations with Mrs. S. was the scandal of the community, the subject of every-day conversation, and everybody seemed speaking of it; have resided in the neighborhood for some time. J.M. NORTH -- SHEPPARD came to me in an excited state of mind and said he desired to talk with me, and referring to the reports concerning his family asked for advice what to do; told him it was a matter upon which I was not competent to advise him; know ROMAINS, who is a strong, able-bodied man; SHEPPARD stated that he had befriended ROMAINS and (alluding to the relation existing between ROMAINS and his wife) “that is the way I have got paid for it;” SHEPPARD said when he and ROMAINS met, one or the other would be killed; he asked me what I thought, under the circumstances, would be the result of it, if he killed ROMAINS; he did not say he was going to shoot ROMAINS, or anything to lead me to believe he would; ROMAINS had proclaimed publicly at the store what he had done. E. PARKER -- ROMAINS has told me he has held criminal intercourse with Mrs. S. at various times, but did not apprehend any danger from SHEPPARD, except he was waylaid and shot; thought the chances were that it would be so; this statement he repeated to me a great many different times. * * WM. REDDY -- [The testimony of this witness was similar to that contained in the evidence of Mr. BRANNON, detailing, however, matters not proper to be published. The testimony of Joseph COBB was of a like character.] J.B. HOUSCHE -- Have known Mr. SHEPPARD 5 years; he and his wife were formerly engaged in business on Main street in this city; believe him to be an honorable and good citizen. [The father introduction of testimony to prove the good character of defendant, was objected to by the District Attorney, on the ground of character not being called in question, and the objection sustained.] THE EVIDENCE being closed the argument was made by Gen. S.A. BOOKER and H. AMYX, Esq., for the defense, and H.B. UNDERHILL, Esq., for the State; at the conclusion of which the Court held the defendant to answer to the crime of murder in the 1st degree, and he was accordingly committed. ------------------------------------------------- MAYFIELD the MURDERER -- The following is a description of William H. MAYFIELD, for whose arrest the Governor of Nevada Territory has offered a reward of $1000. It will be recollected that MAYFIELD was convicted some time since of the murder of Sheriff BLACKBURN: He is about 5 feet 10 inches high; light complexion; has a large gray eye; thin, firm lips; high forehead; is slightly pockmarked; has a small scar under the left eye; is about 32 years of age, and a stout, heavy built man. >>Saturday, 29 Mar 1862>Monday, 31 Mar 1862