WHO KILLED ANDREW BOGGS
A Horrid Murder
Spirit of the Times, Ironton, Ohio, 10 July 1855
(by John G. Wilson)
No. 45
The man’s body was found on the 25th of June, about 1½ miles below Burlington, floating on the Ohio River. An inquest was held over the body, and not being identified, he was buried. Some circumstances came to light that gave ground to the suspicion of murder. About a week previous, a colored person by the name of Andrew Boggs, living two miles from Burlington, left home to buy corn, taking with him $150 and had not been heard from.
This, with other suspicious circumstances, led to the belief that he had met with foul play, and the description of the body corresponding with the missing man, it was exhumed, and an inquest was held over the body by the Coroner of the county. Dr. Hall of Burlington examined the body and found that his skull had been fractured in five places, three in front and two back, and a knife cut on the back of his neck, indicating, without doubt, he had been murdered. – The relatives of Boggs identified the body as being his. No clue has yet been obtained about the perpetrators of the foul deed.
Ironton Register, Thursday, May 21, 1896
For the Register- About sixty years ago, there, moved to what is now called Macedonia, a colored man named Andrew Boggs, or Box, as the people called him. He came from North Carolina and had the blood of three races in his veins white, black, and red. His wife was almost white.
He was a man of enterprise, attended strictly to his own affairs, and soon succeeded in accumulating property, land, and chattel. He was noted for his good horses and cows, keeping them in the best order. He was very stern, speaking seldom and then only when his business relations demanded, all of which tended to make him enemies. His credit was good, and his word was his bond.
After he had lived here for several years and was well acquainted with the citizens of this township, he mysteriously disappeared. Nothing was thought of it for several days until his folks were questioned, and they could give no account of him. He was not wont to make anyone confident and went and came without the knowledge of any. They only knew that he was gone, but where they could not tell.
His Body Was Found
After a few weeks and just after a hard rain, his body was found lodged in the willows just below town. Burlington was the county seat then, so the Coroner was notified, and the body was hauled up to the Courthouse, where it was recognized by one of our merchants who was well acquainted with him and with whom he dealt. On examination, it was found that he had been murdered. His head bore the marks of a pick or mattock, and his skull had been broken by the same in many places.
The verdict of the Coroner’s jury was that he had been murdered by parties unknown. Warrants were issued for several of the family, as suspicion was aroused because they did not inquire about him. They were arrested and brought to town, and the trial began.
Witness Mentions Blood in Boggs Wagon
Armed men guarded the prisoners, and much excitement prevailed. I was quite a lad but remember that one witness, an old hunter testifying to the blood found on the bottom of his Bogg’s wagon. The hunter said that he had killed many deer and had skinned them on his cabin floor and that there was a very decided difference between animal and human blood; that the animal blood left a different stain from that of human blood and could be washed out, but that human blood could not be washed out; and that in his opinion the bloodstains in the wagon were made by human blood.
There were indications of the bottom of the wagon being washed to get rid of the stain, but like the stain on Macbeth’s hand, it would not be out. The examination also showed that the dead man’s clothing was covered with creek soil, indicating that he had been buried on the creek bank and washed out and into the Ohio river by the hard rain.
The prisoners, on examination, said that the stains in the wagon were made by hogs they had killed and hauled in the wagon, and as to the old man’s killing, they knew nothing about it. As it was before the war when this trial took place, the evidence of a colored person had very little weight, and some people were ready to convict on the slightest evidence. Still, fortunately for them, others were more reasonable, and they had a fair trial.
It could Be Tied to Counterfeiters.
It developed that there had been two strange white men in the neighborhood who were gamblers and very bad men, and they were trying to play a game on the man Boggs by offering to sell him counterfeit money that would pass. An old citizen who told me the circumstances said that Boggs informed him of their attempt to induce him to give them $150 for $300 and that he had met them by appointment and that he had his money ready, and that they had a small wooden box, the kind axes are shipped in. Still, he required them to open the box before he would part with his money.
Upon their refusal, he pulled a pistol and made one of them open the box, revealing a lot of scrap iron packed in sawdust as its contents. He thereupon threatened them and charged them with acting falsely. Soon after they disappeared, it was not long until he was missing, and nothing was heard of him until his body was found.
No evidence was offered of a convicting nature. The prisoners were released and who killed Andrew Boggs remains a mystery. My informant said that Boggs had mentioned to him about the men, and they wanted to exchange two dollars for one, and he was advised to draw them on to see what kind of money they had or whether it was a trick.
Some counterfeit money passed, and the authorities wanted a clue. When Boggs explored their trick, nothing more was thought of it until the body was found, when it was surmised that someone had killed him for his money as he carried it most all the time on his person; but time rolled on, and the mystery has never been cleared up. Most of those who were living there at the time have passed away. G.
Lawrence County, Ohio Deed Book 19, Page 171
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