by Jan Alpert, NGS President
Some gems of information take a little tracking, but that makes the discovery all the dearer. Here is one that recently rewarded my efforts:
MURDER
On Saturday evening last, in Painted Post, Steuben co, a Mr. Birst [Borst] killed a Mr. Wagon [Wygant], by literally beating out his brains. Wagon kept a tavern and had been drinking freely as also had Birst. A scuffle commenced, during which both parties became much exasperated. The women interfered and Birst was put out doors, where he remained nearly an hour, using the most provoking language. Wagon finally tore away from his family — Birst retreated a few rods— the scuffle was renewed, and Wagon was soon taken up nearly lifeless. His skull trepanned but he died the next day. Birst is in custody. We have these particulars from a gentleman direct from the scene, and they are a striking commentary on the folly of intemperance.
Finding a copy of this newspaper article has been on my research list since last November, when I was at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. There I found reference to a murder in Painted Post, New York in an
Index to the Newspapers Published in Geneva, New York edited by Gary B. Thompson in 1981. Today I found a wonderful website,
http://library.hws.edu/archives/newspapers with a copy of the article from
The Geneva Palladium, 1826, Ja 4, 3:3. At that time I noted the source as
The Geneva Palladium, Vol. 10, January 4, 1826 (every Wednesday morning) Geneva, NY (Ontario Co.) p. 3 column 3 (from the
Geneva Gazette), showing that the item was originally published in the
Geneva Gazette.
The names in the article are both spelled incorrectly, so I enclosed the correct spellings in braces. This spelling variation added a sleuthing challenge, but it is understandable because the article is being reported in another town that is not familiar with the families mentioned. Henry Borst is my ancestor, and I first learned about the murder on page 307 in the
Historical Gazetteer of Steuben County, New York by Millard F. Roberts, Syracuse, NY 1891. John Wygant had designed a replica of the “Painted Post” about 1824. The Steuben County history reports, “He was killed some years after in a broil with Henry Borst, who fractured Wygant’s skull with a stone, for which Borst suffered legal punishment.”
Only a family historian can tell you what was omitted from both articles, that Henry Borst’s daughter, Polly, was married to George Wygant, the victim’s son. This missing fact helps explain why “the women interfered” and tried to break up the fight. I imagine the family felt the effects from the devastating murder for several generations. However, the family and descendants lived in the community for at least another fifty years, and this story was not passed down in family folklore.
A few years ago I found a copy of the badly decayed court documents in Steuben County, New York, but they did not include details of Borst’s conviction or sentencing. Although not online, the same newspaper archive listed above has the following entry in the index: “Steuben County—Courts, H. Bust [yet another spelling] sentenced for manslaughter, Geneva Gazette, 1826, Je 28, 3:2.” I have just written to the Geneva Public Library for a copy of the article.
The Warren Hunting Smith Library at The Hobart and William Smith Colleges has a subject index found at http://library.hws.edu/archives/newspapers covering the surviving issues of the two Geneva newspapers, the Geneva Gazette and the Geneva Palladium, between 1806 and 1839. Not all of the issues are available online. If you have ancestors in western New York during this time period, it is worth a look. Note that the names of the individuals were not indexed; however, I found the entries under “Murder” and “Steuben County—Courts.” If you find any nuggets, feel free to post them to the UpFront blog.
