The Middlemarch Mystery

Chapter LXII - Memoires of the Great Detective, p. 369

A clump of timber near Middlemarch, three miles from St. Thomas, in the county of Elgin, became known throughout all Canada in 1895. For years it had stood on the county maps as Wardell's woods. It was good for squirrels and firewood and that was about all. But in the closing days of 1894 came a tragedy that caused people to travel for miles simply to tramp through this fragment of a forest and gape at the scene of blood. The crime has passed into the records as The Middlemarch Mystery, although its mystery long since was solved.

Murray telling story
William Henry Hendershott, a name which its owner always wrote or pronounced in full, as if he were proud of its extent and its euphony, was a young man, unmarried, well known among his neighbours, and a skilled hand about a farm. He boarded with his uncle, John Hendershott, a farmer. A fellow-boarder was young William David Welter, who was engaged to Mary Hendershott, the pretty daughter of John Hendershott. On the morning of Friday, December 14th, 1894, John Hendershott and his daughter Mary drove away to Eden, forty miles from home, leaving his nephew and Welter on the farm. About three o'clock that afternoon Welter went to the house of his cousin, Charles Welter, who lived near the Hendershotts, and told his cousin that a tree had fallen on William Henry Hendershott, while they were chopping in Wardell's woods and had killed him. The uncle was notified by telegraph at Eden, and the next day he drove home, and after a post- mortem, the body of William Henry Hendershott was buried on Monday, December 17th. Welter told at the inquest how the tree had fallen and crushed his companion to death. I was telegraphed for the next day and I arrived on Tuesday night.
I got Drs. Gustin, Lawrence, Fulton, McCarty, and Wilson, and drove to Fingal cemetery and exhumed the body of William Henry Hendershott and looked at the wounds. The only marks were on the head. There was not a scratch on the remainder of the body. Clearly, if a tree fell on him it must have fallen on the head alone. Moreover, there were various wounds on the head. Instead of a complete crushing it showed numerous contusions, so that the tree would have to bounce up and down on the head to make them. They looked to me as if they had been made by many heavy blows instead of by the single smash of a falling tree. I had the head taken off and requested the doctors to preserve it.

Murray Tricks Welter
We then drove to the scene of the tragedy in Wardell's woods. I had a constable bring Welter to the place. Welter came striding through the woods, a massive fellow, over six feet tall, deep-chested, broad-shouldered, powerful. We were waiting for him by the fallen tree.

Murray Show me the exact spot where William Henry Hendershott stood, and where you stood, and show me precisely where you were when the tree fell."
Welter walked over by the stump of the tree.

Welter I stood here. Hendershott had left his vest with his watch in it over there on the ground, and when he saw the tree falling that way he ran to get the vest out of the way, and the tree killed him."

Murray Show me where the vest lay.
Welter walked out along the fallen tree to a spot about forty feet from the stump.

Welter Here it was, and here he was killed.
At this point on the tree trunk was a large knot, the shape of a cocoanut and bigger than a half-bushel basket. When the tree fell this knot had been buried in the springy soil. The buoyancy of the limbs had raised it up, leaving a hole in the ground beneath the knot.
I found Hendershott lying dead in the ground beneath this knot.
Murray Get down on the ground and place yourself exactly as he was lying when you found him.
Welter demurred, but finally sprawled flat, face down, his head in the hole beneath the knot.
Stay there now.
I called the doctors to take careful notice. I had Welter, lying on the ground, explain it all again. Then I bade Welter step back.

Murray to doctors

Would there not be a smashed head and a great deal of blood asked the doctors.
Doctors There certainly would.
The doctors examined the soil, a rich loam. There was no blood. One by one the doctors made sure of this. I then took samples of the earth. Blood was on the knot. But it had been smeared on and had not splattered at all. The doctors examined it and said it had been rubbed on the knot. On the top of the tree as it lay, I found a large quantity of blood.

Murray to Welter How do you account for that ?

Welter I don't know.

Murray Uncovers Where William Henery Had Been Killed
I began to circle the tree in ever widening circles, and one hundred and ninety feet from the stump I came upon a little pool of water. Around it were spots of blood, and a zigzag trail of blood drips led to a place fifty feet from the stump, and there I found a lot of blood. Hendershott had been killed there, then put under the top of the tree, and then removed to where the knot was. The murderer had washed his hands, and perchance his weapon, in the little pool. Thus I accounted for the various crimson stains. I believed the weapon used was the axe that chopped the tree.

The Killing Instrument is Found
I searched the woods thrice and could not find it, but at last it was revealed. It had been shoved in between the bark and the log of an old tree trunk. It never would have been dis- covered if one of the searchers had not stumbled on the log and smashed the bark off so that the axe fell out. It had been partially washed, but there were tell-tale traces on it. John Hendershott had given me previously an old axe, saying it was the one used to chop the tree. It was not.

Welter Has Accomplices Not Charged
When I again came to the woods I found a lot more blood splattered about in confusing quantities. I investigated and found an old dead horse in a field near by. During the night some of Welter's friends had drawn blood from this carcass and sprinkled it around in Wardell's woods. They were too late. I already had taken my samples of the stained soil.

Insurance Policies on William Henry Provide Motive for the Killings
I learned that Welter and John Hendershott had ne- gotiated $11,000 insurance on the life of the dead man. Several months before, they had taken out two policies, one for $6,000 in a Galesburg (Illinois) Company, and one for $5,000 in the Mutual Reserve of New York. Both policies were in the name of John Hendershott as the beneficiary.

Hendershott Had Made Previous Attempts at the Insurance Scam
I knew many of the people in that part of Canada, as it was my old headquarters when I was at St. Thomas with the rail- road. Among my acquaintances was a worthless fellow named Patrick Fitzpatrick, who was known as Paddy the Diver. He was the St. Thomas town drunkard. Paddy the Diver told me Welter and John Hendershott had spoken to him about insuring his life. I investigated among the insurance companies and found the two men had tried to insure Paddy the Diver, but the applications had been refused. Then they had taken Paddy the Diver to Aylmer before another doctor, and had changed his name slightly, and he passed the examination and the application was approved, but when it reached the insurance company's head office the trick was discovered, owing to the failure to make a greater change in the name, and the policy was cancelled. So they then effected the $11,000 insurance on Hendershott's nephew. This was done several months before the murder.
These circumstances left no doubt in my mind that John Hendershott, the uncle, was a party to the crime. I went to Eden, where John Hendershott had driven, with his pretty daughter, on the morning of the murder, and where he had stayed all night. I saw those who were with him when he heard of his nephew's death.

Hendershott and Welter Are Discovered to have Colluded in the Story for Police

John Hendershott when the telegram came stating his nephew was dead: It's just like that fool to leave his watch some place, and in going to get it he might get hurt.

This settled it. Welter had told us of the watch and had stated on the day of the murder the same version of how young Hendershott met his death. But, how did John Hendershott, forty miles away, happen to give the same version as Welter, although John Hendershott knew nothing of how it had occurred ? They had fixed up the story beforehand.

John Hendershott Carries Insurance Policies with Him and Shows them to those He is Visiting
John Hendershott, in Eden, also showed the insurance policies to friends. He had taken the policies with him when he drove away to Eden. Why ? When he heard his nephew was dead he produced the policies from his coat pocket.
Hendershott to Friends Will got killed, but I am not so badly off.

I re-opened the inquest. I arrested Welter and John Hendershott on December 21st, 1894. They were tried before Chief Justice Meredith. B. B. Osler prosecuted, ably assisted by D. J. Donahue ; and Norman MacDonald and John A. Robinson defended. Mr, Macdonald made a good fight in behalf of his clients. It was a long-drawn-out trial. We swore eighty-five or more witnesses for the Crown. On Friday, March 15th, 1895, botn Welter and John Hendershott were convicted. They were hanged on June 18th at St. Thomas. Welter was a heavy man on the gallows.


*Murray telling story* William Henry Hendershott, a name which its owner always wrote or pronounced in full, as if he were proud of its extent and its euphony, was a young man, unmarried, well known among his neighbours, and a skilled hand about a farm. He boarded with his uncle, John Hendershott, a farmer. A fellow-boarder was young William David Welter, who was engaged to Mary Hendershott, the pretty daughter of John Hendershott. On the morning of Friday, December 14th, 1894, John Hendershott and his daughter Mary drove away to Eden, forty miles from home, leaving his nephew and Welter on the farm. About three o'clock that afternoon Welter went to the house of his cousin, Charles Welter, who lived near the Hendershotts, and told his cousin that a tree had fallen on William Henry Hendershott, while they were chopping in Wardell's woods and had killed him. The uncle was notified by telegraph at Eden, and the next day he drove home, and after a post- mortem, the body of William Henry Hendershott was buried on Monday, December 17th. Welter told at the inquest how the tree had fallen and crushed his companion to death. I was telegraphed for the next day and I arrived on Tuesday night. I got Drs. Gustin, Lawrence, Fulton, McCarty, and Wilson, and drove to Fingal cemetery and exhumed the body of William Henry Hendershott and looked at the wounds. The only marks were on the head. There was not a scratch on the remainder of the body. Clearly, if a tree fell on him it must have fallen on the head alone. Moreover, there were various wounds on the head. Instead of a complete crushing it showed numerous contusions, so that the tree would have to bounce up and down on the head to make them. They looked to me as if they had been made by many heavy blows instead of by the single smash of a falling tree. I had the head taken off and requested the doctors to preserve it. Murray Tricks Welter We then drove to the scene of the tragedy in Wardell's woods. I had a constable bring Welter to the place. Welter came striding through the woods, a massive fellow, over six feet tall, deep-chested, broad-shouldered, powerful. We were waiting for him by the fallen tree.
Murray	Show me the exact spot where William Henry Hendershott stood, and where you stood, and show me precisely where you were when the tree fell." Welter walked over by the stump of the tree.
Welter	I stood here. Hendershott had left his vest with his watch in it over there on the ground, and when he saw the tree falling that way he ran to get the vest out of the way, and the tree killed him."
Murray	Show me where the vest lay. Welter walked out along the fallen tree to a spot about forty feet from the stump.
Welter	Here it was, and here he was killed. At this point on the tree trunk was a large knot, the shape of a cocoanut and bigger than a half-bushel basket. When the tree fell this knot had been buried in the springy soil. The buoyancy of the limbs had raised it up, leaving a hole in the ground beneath the knot. I found Hendershott lying dead in the ground beneath this knot.
Murray	Get down on the ground and place yourself exactly as he was lying when you found him. Welter demurred, but finally sprawled flat, face down, his head in the hole beneath the knot. Stay there now. I called the doctors to take careful notice. I had Welter, lying on the ground, explain it all again. Then I bade Welter step back.
Murray to doctors	Would there not be a smashed head and a great deal of blood asked the doctors.
Doctors	There certainly would. The doctors examined the soil, a rich loam. There was no blood. One by one the doctors made sure of this. I then took samples of the earth. Blood was on the knot. But it had been smeared on and had not splattered at all. The doctors examined it and said it had been rubbed on the knot. On the top of the tree as it lay, I found a large quantity of blood.
Murray to Welter	How do you account for that ?
Welter	I don't know.
Murray Uncovers Where William Henery Had Been Killed I began to circle the tree in ever widening circles, and one hundred and ninety feet from the stump I came upon a little pool of water. Around it were spots of blood, and a zigzag trail of blood drips led to a place fifty feet from the stump, and there I found a lot of blood. Hendershott had been killed there, then put under the top of the tree, and then removed to where the knot was. The murderer had washed his hands, and perchance his weapon, in the little pool. Thus I accounted for the various crimson stains. I believed the weapon used was the axe that chopped the tree. The Killing Instrument is Found I searched the woods thrice and could not find it, but at last it was revealed. It had been shoved in between the bark and the log of an old tree trunk. It never would have been dis- covered if one of the searchers had not stumbled on the log and smashed the bark off so that the axe fell out. It had been partially washed, but there were tell-tale traces on it. John Hendershott had given me previously an old axe, saying it was the one used to chop the tree. It was not. Welter Has Accomplices Not Charged When I again came to the woods I found a lot more blood splattered about in confusing quantities. I investigated and found an old dead horse in a field near by. During the night some of Welter's friends had drawn blood from this carcass and sprinkled it around in Wardell's woods. They were too late. I already had taken my samples of the stained soil. Insurance Policies on William Henry Provide Motive for the Killings I learned that Welter and John Hendershott had ne- gotiated $11,000 insurance on the life of the dead man. Several months before, they had taken out two policies, one for $6,000 in a Galesburg (Illinois) Company, and one for $5,000 in the Mutual Reserve of New York. Both policies were in the name of John Hendershott as the beneficiary. Hendershott Had Made Previous Attempts at the Insurance Scam I knew many of the people in that part of Canada, as it was my old headquarters when I was at St. Thomas with the rail- road. Among my acquaintances was a worthless fellow named Patrick Fitzpatrick, who was known as Paddy the Diver. He was the St. Thomas town drunkard. Paddy the Diver told me Welter and John Hendershott had spoken to him about insuring his life. I investigated among the insurance companies and found the two men had tried to insure Paddy the Diver, but the applications had been refused. Then they had taken Paddy the Diver to Aylmer before another doctor, and had changed his name slightly, and he passed the examination and the application was approved, but when it reached the insurance company's head office the trick was discovered, owing to the failure to make a greater change in the name, and the policy was cancelled. So they then effected the $11,000 insurance on Hendershott's nephew. This was done several months before the murder. These circumstances left no doubt in my mind that John Hendershott, the uncle, was a party to the crime. I went to Eden, where John Hendershott had driven, with his pretty daughter, on the morning of the murder, and where he had stayed all night. I saw those who were with him when he heard of his nephew's death. Hendershott and Welter Are Discovered to have Colluded in the Story for Police
John Hendershott	when the telegram came stating his nephew was dead: It's just like that fool to leave his watch some place, and in going to get it he might get hurt.
This settled it. Welter had told us of the watch and had stated on the day of the murder the same version of how young Hendershott met his death. But, how did John Hendershott, forty miles away, happen to give the same version as Welter, although John Hendershott knew nothing of how it had occurred ? They had fixed up the story beforehand. John Hendershott Carries Insurance Policies with Him and Shows them to those He is Visiting John Hendershott, in Eden, also showed the insurance policies to friends. He had taken the policies with him when he drove away to Eden. Why ? When he heard his nephew was dead he produced the policies from his coat pocket.
Hendershott to Friends	Will got killed, but I am not so badly off.
I re-opened the inquest. I arrested Welter and John Hendershott on December 21st, 1894. They were tried before Chief Justice Meredith. B. B. Osler prosecuted, ably assisted by D. J. Donahue ; and Norman MacDonald and John A. Robinson defended. Mr, Macdonald made a good fight in behalf of his clients. It was a long-drawn-out trial. We swore eighty-five or more witnesses for the Crown. On Friday, March 15th, 1895, botn Welter and John Hendershott were convicted. They were hanged on June 18th at St. Thomas. Welter was a heavy man on the gallows.