Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net
Copyright 2009 by Rory Raven
All rights reserved
First published 2009
e-book edition 2012
ISBN 978.1.61423.483.8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Raven, Rory.
Wicked conduct : the minister, the mill girl and the murder that captivated old Rhode Island / Rory Raven.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
print ISBN 978-1-59629-802-6
1. Cornell, Sarah Maria, 1802-1832. 2. Murder--Rhode Island--Case studies. 3. Clergy--Sexual behavior--Rhode Island--Case studies. 4. Rhode Island--History--19th century. I. Title.
HV6533.R4R38 2009
364.1523092--dc22
2009042700
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
No one writes a book on their own. The following were all of assistance in either tangible or ineffable ways:
As always, my wife Judith, who puts up with a lot; Neville Bedford and Daniel Ciora, my legal team; the staff of the Bristol and Tiverton Town Clerks Offices, who exhibited a professionalism and helpfulness I have rarely experienced among municipal clerks; the staff of the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society; David Brussat, for fearlessly balancing on a recycling bin; Allison Bundy and Rosemary Cullen of Brown University, for putting up with endless Oh, yeah, one more thing requests; Ken Carlson of the Rhode Island State Archives; Jen Coleman-Hall, for sorting out the vagaries of nineteenth-century female dress; Megan Delaney of the Newport Historical Societyif you need anything there, shes the one to talk to; Lawrence DePetrillo, who has a picture of everything; Betty Fitzgerald of the Providence Public Library; Jill Jann, for her patient encouragement; Dr. Omar Meer, for medical advice; Connie Mendes of the Fall River Historical Society; Deborah Newton, my personal cartographer, and Paul Di Filippo, just for being Paul Di Filippo; Dale Peterson of the United Methodist Archives, for help in image wrangling; the lovely Saunders Robinson at The History Press; Ian Rowland, an endless source of inspiration and encouragement; Will Schaff, for his help with images and for just being a good friend; Andy Smith of the Rhode Island Judicial Archives; Nancy Smith, Kennedy Parks manager/director, for showing me the scene of the crime; Elizabeth Wayland-Seal, for coming up with ninepence when I needed it; and to you, for being someone who reads thank-yous.
CHAPTER 1
I DISCOVERED HER TO BE DEAD
Tiverton, Rhode Island, is a small town in an eastern corner of the state, looking out over the waters of Mount Hope Bay. In 1832, it was a rural village of some three thousand souls, mostly farmers raising cattle and working the thin, rocky New England soil. Its only claims to fame might have been the views offered from atop its rolling hills or that it sheltered refugees driven out of nearby Newport by the invading Redcoats in 1776.
The main road running north crossed the state line and led into the burgeoning factory town of Fall River, Massachusetts, loud with the sounds of industry. Mills identified Fall River in the same way that fields identified Tiverton.
John Durfee was a middle-aged Tiverton town councilman who also held the office of overseer of the poor. He lived on the family farm on the main road, half a mile from the Massachusetts border. He had no idea that he was about to make a macabre discovery that would catapult his sleepy little town into national headlines.
On the morning of Friday, December 21, 1832, Durfee opened the barn door and drove his small herd of cattlehis creatures, as he called themout into the cold. Yesterday had been milder, but today winter had returned, and his breath misted in the air and the fogthe dry, icy grasssnapped and crunched beneath his feet.
Looking out over the fields that sloped down to meet the bay, something strange caught his eye. There, in a stone-walled field enclosing a number of haystacks, a heavy, dark shape moved slightly, swaying in the stiff breeze coming off the water.
Contemporary view of Durfees stack yard, from Catherine Williamss Fall River: An Authentic Narrative. Courtesy Brown University.
Leaving his cattle for a moment, he went for a closer look.
There among the haystacks, hanging from a fence post, was the frozen body of a petite young woman, her disheveled dark hair hiding her face. Carefully parting the frowzled hair, Durfee discovered that she was a stranger. If he shivered, it wasnt just from the cold.
Her right cheek lay against the wooden stake from which she hung by the neck. Her eyes were closed and her tongue pushed slightly through her teeth. A bloody froth flecked her very red lips. Her legs were bent back under her, her knees within six inches of the ground, placing the body in a grotesque, almost kneeling position.
She wore a long cloak, fastened up nearly its entire length, save for the second or third hook down from the throat, and a calasha kind of large, fancy bonnet. She was barefoot, her shoes placed carefully off to her right. On the ground to her left was a large red handkerchief or bandana. There was no sign of a struggle and, as he glanced around, no sign of anyone having been in the stack yard at all.
Durfee called out for help, and three men came running: his father, Richard Durfee, and two laborers from nearby farms.
Cut her down, Richard Durfee commanded, and one laborer produced a knife. Cutting the cord a few inches from where it was tied around her neck, John Durfee and the others carefully laid the body down on the ground.
Durfee ran to summon Elihu Hicks, Tivertons elderly coroner. By the time the old man reached the scene, word that a woman had hanged herself in Durfees stack yard had spread up the road to Fall River, and a number of others had come to see for themselves, and a small and curious crowd had gathered.
Pushing through the little crowd, Hicks made a quick examination of the body. He noticed that the cord around the neck cut into the flesh and that, strangely, the ribbons of the calash were under the cord. Turning to those gathered, Hicks selected a jury of six men for an inquest on the body. Richard Durfee was elected foreman.
Does anyone know her? one of the men asked.
She is well dressed, someone else said. I think she must be someone respectable.
Among the crowd of onlookers were several who would play important roles as the story unfolded. A number of them remain indistinct figurespeople who left behind little evidence and few records of their time here. Among these significant yet hazy figures is the Reverend Ira M. Bidwell. He seems to have been middle aged, married with children and at the time was the minister of Fall Rivers Methodist congregation.
