The Murder of Charles Ross, 1881

New Jersey Mirror Dec 7 1881
Our report of the Williams-Ross murder case closed last week with the testimony of Mary Cromwell. The case was resumed on Wednesday morning.

John Thompson, white, testified that he was at the party; saw no difficulty between Williams and Ross, but heard Williams say he was the best man in the house and would kill the first person who laid hands on him; afterwards heard him say he was going to kill the man who tore his coat.

Thomas Joy and John Griffin both white, testified to being at the party but their testimony developed nothing important, except that Griffin heard Williams say he would kill the first person who laid hands on him.

Wm. Johnson and John McCloe swore to threats by Williams at different times to kill Ross.

James Howard testified to being present when Moss carried Ross out doors; Moss and Ross both fell; Ross lay on his back with his arms stretched out and witness stood at the left of him; saw Williams on the right side kicking Ross in the head; heard no sound from Ross; witness said "for the Lord's sake stop kicking him"; Williams replied, "hush, don't give me away"; Moss did nothing, but got up as soon as he could and went into the house; witness did nothing to Ross; had no razor or other weapon that night; was in the next cell to Williams at the Town House after the murder; Moss said to Williams, when I come think I saw you make two swipes at Ross; Williams replied, "Charlie, you don't want to put it on to me, do you ?" heard Williams last Summer threaten to kill Ross if he got to fighting with him again. William Stout and Frank Jacques were in the yard when Ross was carried out. Franklin Jacques recognized the razor found in the potato barrel after the murder as the one he saw in Moss' little trunk before; Moss had no razor; when some one said Ross was cut, witness said "God knows who did it, we'll all know the day of judgment"; Williams said "that's so." Williams and Ross often met in the room up stairs where he did shaving, and they laughed and talked and joked together.

Sarah Steele was at the party; witnessed some of the disturbance; saw the carrying out of Ross; after Moss came back heard somebody say to Moss, who had blood on his clothes, "Charlie, you're cut," when Williams remarked, "No, Charlie, you're not cut, he's bit you"; when Moss wanted to go out again to Ross, Williams said, "Don't, Charlie, he's alright, let him alone."

Sarah E. Perry and Elizabeth Riley testified to hearing Williams threaten to kill Ross last August; Sarah told him he would be hung; he replied, "did you ever know a Mason to be hung;"

George Cromwell testified to serving as a waiter at the party; had a razor in his hand, when Williams asked him to lend it to him; Williams took the razor but returned it to witness before the cutting and his wife took it home.

On Thursday Anna Smith testified to seeing Ross carried out; heard Williams say he was going to kill somebody that night, but didn't think he intended to kill any one; Williams and Ross had often visited her house together.

Charles Bowker, a private watchman, testified to being called to the house after the murder; saw Ross' body lying on the floor; Heny(sic.) Williams was standing near by; Moss called witness up stairs and showed him to his bloody clothes.
Coroner Carman here produced the clothes of the murdered man, all saturated with blood. After Moss had been recalled to identify Jacques' razor, the State rested its case.

Mr. Voorhees for the defence, briefly detailed the testimony to be offered. He said no positive evidence had been produced against the defendant, no weapon seen in his possession, no mark of blood upon his clothing; the only testimony connecting him with the cutting was purely circumstantial and many of the statements of the State's witnesses would be contradicted.
The first witness, John J. Maxwell, testified that he was on the Coroner's jury, that James S. Smith swore before the jury that he saw Williams go out behind Moss and Ross; think he made no reference to the position of Williams' hands, and did not at that time say he saw Williams make two hacks at Ross.
Elijah Davis testified to having seen Williams and Ross walking and talking together; saw them the day preceding the murder, they seemed friendly; had often heard defendant use threats against the persons with whom he was upon the best of terms. Sarah Steele, recalled for defence, testified that she saw the carrying out of Ross; Williams pushed by her and she saw the hand next to her, it was open, down by his side, and nothing in it; had his other hand been in front of him she could have seen it; his hands were not up in front of him as testified by Smith; he was erect also, and not bent over as sworn to by Smith and Moss.
Levi Wilson and Clarkson Layton testified to the intimacy and apparent good feeling between Williams and Ross.
On Friday, Wm. F. Powell testified that James S. Smith told him Williams hands were together at the carrying out of Ross; said he saw nothing in them, and that if he had had anything in them witness could have seen it.
S. N. Rockhill testified to intimacy of Ross and Williams.
Robert Milo testified to being present at the affray, but nothing additional of importance was developed by his evidence, farther than that Williams helped to carry Ross' body in.
Henry Williams, the defendant was then placed upon the stand. He had lived in Bordentown some eight years; had known Ross all that time; went to their work together; had a good time with him election day; next met him at Moss' party; pitched quoits together half a day at a time; no difficulty with him in five years; had a clinch with him before that time for striking his mother-in-law; did not speak for a week after that, then made up and went to work together on shares; from that time they had never had a fuss; went to Moss' party with Cornelius Dillon; went early and staid only five minutes; went back about 11 o'clock; took nobody with us, but there were some parties ahead of us; first danced with Mrs. Cromwell; then walked around; was up stairs at the time of the fuss; was in the front room; heard the noise and stepped to the door; Ross came up to me and took hold of my back and bit my coat and tore it; he was mad; Geo. Cromwell loaned me his razor; Ross was a great man to bite; Cromwell came out and said see how he has torn my coat; I replied he has torn mine too; Cromwell then handed me his razor; asked him what he gave it to me for, and told him to take it, I didn't want it; do not know what he did with it after I gave it back to him; Ross had gone down stairs; saw Moss throw Edith Ross on the bed; he was going to throw her out of the window; she was fighting with Melvina Cawley; didn't say to any one that if I had got my razor out soon enough I would have fixed Ross; was not alone with Edith at any time during the evening; had no other razor in my hand that night; when I went down stairs said in a joke that I was going home to fix myself and would kill the first man that laid hands on me; didn't go home; have not been home since that afternoon; did not clinch with Ross that night; have not damned Ross since the time we fough(sic.) did not see Moss and Ross clinch that night; did not say to Ross that I had not forgotten him, nor did he say to me; when I went out went to Mrs. Bailey's with Dillon; staid there 15 or 20 minutes; went to get my overcoat fixed; did not get any weapons there; came back from there to the party; danced with Anna Wooldey; did not finish the set, as there was noise in the kitchen; all went into the kitchen and I picked up a knife from the table and held it in my hand; took it to cut a piece of cake; Thomas Joy said here you don't want that, and I said there is no chance to get a piece of cake here and threw the knife down; don't know what become of it; Ross was in the room at the time; he was bawling; Moss told him he would hurt him if he didn't stop; saw him start with Ross in his arms; he had him around the legs; the crowd was so thick I couldn't see much; Ross' head was above Moss' shoulders; I went with the crowd and as they got to the door I saw the stoppage and being in the crowd was pushed out the door; was not in a stooping position as I went out; there was no chance to stoop; do not know where my hands were, but they were not extended in front as alleged; had no other weapon than an old knife which I gave to the Marshal; did not make two hacks at anybody as I went to the door; didn't strike or cut Ross; was not within three persons of him; out doors I was on the right side of Ross, looked at him and then went back into the house; I left Moss outside; it was a short space of time before Moss came in; when he came in somebody said he had blood on him; he then wanted to go out again; Bob and I caught hold of him prevented his going out; Moss then caught me by the throat and choked me; I let go of him and went and sat on the table: Jim Smith was looking for Aunt Sally's watch, and when he opened the door he said "this man is cut" or "this man is dead"--am not sure which; it was then that Moss went by me and went up stairs; told him to go for a doctor; the night watchman came and then the Mayor; I helped to bring the body in; laid it on the floor; the doctor then examined it; didn't see Moss' clothing when I went up stairs; was arrested while up stairs; there was no blood on my clothes or hands; do not own a razor; razor shown him he had never seen before; denied threatening to kill Ross as testified to by Johnson; denied threatening to kill Ross and saying Masons were never hung as swore to by Mrs. Perry; denied having told Smith and Howard that if he ever got into a fuss with Ross he would kill him; Ross was considered harmless; one in the habit of using strong language and making threats, but always did it good humoredly; having used such expression when the threatened parties were not present, but do not remember making any against Ross; told Ross once when we were playing quoits that I would kill him if he cheated; never mean nothing by such language; had no ill-feeling against Ross.

The cross-examination failed to change materially the defendant's statement.
Wm. Bunting, one of the Coroner's Jury, testified that James S. Smith swore before the jury that Williams was the first man out, and neither Smith nor Moss said that Williams went out in a stooping position;
James Howard said he saw Williams kick Ross, but didn't say that Williams said, hush, do not give me away.
Joseph Stead testified to the bad character of James Smith for truth and veracity.
The defence here rested their case.
On Saturday the State offered in rebuttal John Gibson, Charles Giles, Mayor Hudson, Lydia Cawley, Abm. Cawley, George Ashton, John McClow, Elizabeth Riley, Coroner Carman and Dr. Shipps; and the defence Cornelius Dillon; but their evidence involved contradictions of individual statements principally and not the more important facts elicited. His Honor complimented the counsel on both sides for their courteous conduct of the case--not even an exception was taken during the trial--and then adjourned the Court until Monday.

On Monday Prosecutor Hendrickson summed up the evidence on the part of the State. He was followed in turn by Messrs. Sooy and Voorhees for the defence. Col. Cannon closed the argument on behalf of the prosecution, at 7 P. M. His Honor then gave the jury choice between hearing the charge of the Court that evening or waiting until morning. The jury preferring the latter, Court was adjourned till 8 A. M. Tuesday.

Promptly at the appointed hour next morning the charge was delivered, occupying something over an hour. His Honor first referred to the humble origin and lack of education of the defendant, but said that he was tried by the same laws and the same rules of evidence and was entitled to the same careful consideration at the hands of the jury as any other citizen, high or low, rich or poor, white or colored. The evidence was reviewed at length, the testimony bearing upon vital points grouped and stated and the questions to be answered by the jury clearly presented, while carefully avoiding the expression of any opinions of the Court as to the facts on the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The defendant should be given the benefit of all reasonable doubt. The legal definition of murder was stated and the grades or degrees of homicide, under which the jury had to reach a decision as to their finding if they first found that the cutting had been done by the defendant. Calling upon Providence to guide them in reaching a just verdict His Honor gave the case to the jury.

Before the jury retired Mr. Voorhees asked that the jury be charged that if from the evidence the jury thought that other parties had equal facilities for doing the cutting and might have committed the offence and the circumstances pointed as strongly to them as to the defendant, then the defendant should be acquitted. His Honor said he thought he had covered that point, but he would say to the jury that under such a view of the evidence a verdict of acquittal would be proper.

The Courts were then adjourned until the ringing of the bell.
Justice Parker proceeded to Camden at 10:17 A. M. to open Court there, subject to recall by telegraph.
His Honor returned in the 2 P. M. train, but the jury had not yet agreed. About 4 P. M. the bell sounded, and a crowd rushed to the Court House under the impression that the jury were ready to render a verdict and felt sold when it was learned that the bell was rung preliminary to the reopening of the Courts for proceeding with the Appeal List.
About an hour later the bell was again rung, and this time it was a notification that the jury had agreed. The jury was brought into Court, and upon being called by the Clerk the foreman at first said, "We find the defendant not guilty"--. At this point the defendant, thinking himself acquitted, broke out in a shout of exultation, clapping his hands, &c. Then the foreman added that he had been misunderstood, that the jury found the defendant not guilty of murder in the first degree, but of murder in the second degree.
The defendant at this turn of affairs at once realized the change of situation and gave vent to painful demonstrations of grief.
The jury was then discharged with the thanks of the Court, and the prisoner was remanded for sentence or pending any action his counsel may conclude to take, if any, in arrest of judgment. The verdict is understood to be a compromise, a portion of the jurors at first favoring a verdict of murder in the first degree. Monday, at 10 A. M., was fixed for the sentencing of the defendant.

The limit of imprisonment is twenty years.

Jan 19 1881
On Monday morning Henry Williams, indicted for the murder of Charles Ross, at Bordentown, was brought in for sentence. Judge Parker asked prisoner if he had anything to say. Mr. Voorhees, of counsel for defence, said that he considered the verdict not entirely warranted by the evidence, and asked for a lenient sentence. His Honor was then about to proceed when Williams asked for a word. Permission granted, he said: "I have been convicted of a crime of which I am innocent. God knows and I know that I never cut that man. Good-bye, if I never see you again, and may we meet at the judgment seat, whe all will be made clear." Judge Parker, in passing sentence, said: "Henry Williams, you have been indicted for the murder of Charles Ross. You have been represented by able counsel and fairly tried by an impartial jury, who, after giving you the benefit of all doubts, rendered a verdict of murder of the second degree. The practice of using deadly weapons calls for a severe sentence. The Court doth adjudge that you be confined at hard labor in the State Prison for twenty years, and thence till the costs of prosecution are paid."
On being removed from the room the prisoner turned to Prosecutor Hendrickson, and said to him: "Prepare to meet your God; I will meet you at the judgment seat to convict you." The Circuit and Oyer and Terminer Courts were then adjourned for the term.