Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Isaac Morehouse and Clara Winters Court Documents consist of complaints, court fees, and warrants relating to two court cases initiated by Mary Morehouse of Silverbow County, Montana, against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, for committing adultery in January 1888.

The Isaac Morehouse and Clara Winters Court Documents consist of complaints, court fees, and warrants relating to two court cases initiated by Mary Morehouse of Silverbow County, Montana, against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, for committing adultery in January 1888.

Mary Morehouse provided two complaints, one against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and another against Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, swearing that they committed adultery and "the offense of fornication by . . . having carnal sexual intercourse" on January 10 and 24, 1888, in Silverbow County, Montana. The complaints attest that the adultery "is contrary to the form of the statutes of the United States and against the peace and dignity of the people of the United States of America." Caleb E. Irvine, U.S. Commissioner for the 2nd Judicial District of Montana Territory, signed both complaints and provided two accounts for the costs of issuing warrants for arrest and for hearing and deciding the cases. The arrest warrant for Clara Winters is also present, with certification that U.S. Marshal R. Kelley received and served the warrant.

The Isaac Morehouse and Clara Winters Court Documents consist of complaints, court fees, and warrants relating to two court cases initiated by Mary Morehouse of Silverbow County, Montana, against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, for committing adultery in January 1888.

The Isaac Morehouse and Clara Winters Court Documents consist of complaints, court fees, and warrants relating to two court cases initiated by Mary Morehouse of Silverbow County, Montana, against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, for committing adultery in January 1888.

Mary Morehouse provided two complaints, one against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and another against Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, swearing that they committed adultery and "the offense of fornication by . . . having carnal sexual intercourse" on January 10 and 24, 1888, in Silverbow County, Montana. The complaints attest that the adultery "is contrary to the form of the statutes of the United States and against the peace and dignity of the people of the United States of America." Caleb E. Irvine, U.S. Commissioner for the 2nd Judicial District of Montana Territory, signed both complaints and provided two accounts for the costs of issuing warrants for arrest and for hearing and deciding the cases. The arrest warrant for Clara Winters is also present, with certification that U.S. Marshal R. Kelley received and served the warrant.

This collection contains depositions from the trial of John Link, who was accused of murdering his stepfather, Samuel Pavey, and stepbrother, Taylor Pavey, in Leesburg, Ohio, in May 1879.

This collection (5 items) contains depositions from the murder trial of John Link, who was accused of murdering his stepfather, Samuel Pavey, and stepbrother, Taylor Pavey, in Leesburg, Ohio, in May 1879.

Martha Pavey, Jennie Pavey, and John Link provided their accounts of the day of the murder and discussed the families' history. According to the testimonies, on the day of the incident, Taylor Pavey had accused his stepmother, Martha Pavey, of slander, and had threatened to whip her and cause her other bodily harm. After Taylor retired to bed, Martha noticed her son John Link walking toward her home. While telling Link of the incident with her stepson, Pavey emerged from the household, leading to a physical altercation between the two men. Samuel Pavey later joined the fray, which ended when John Link fired several shots at Samuel and Taylor Pavey, killing them both. The three witnesses responded to questions from both the prosecution and defense.

• Mrs. Martha S. Pavey's examination (morning session)
• Mrs. Martha S. Pavey's examination (afternoon session)
• Jennie Pavey's examination
• Testimony of John Link (2 items, with some duplicated testimony)

This collection is made up of briefs, arguments, lists of precedents, manuscript form affidavits, and other documents related to the trial of William S. Bergin for the murder of Thomas J. McBride, barkeeper and proprietor of the Bergin House hotel in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on June 15, 1877. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (i.e. he was intoxicated when committing the murder), but the jury convicted him and he was sentenced to death. These papers appear to have been compiled by Bergin's defense counsel during the process of seeking a retrial in August 1877.

This collection is made up of briefs, arguments, lists of precedents, manuscript form affidavits, and other documents related to the trial of William S. Bergin for the murder of barkeeper and proprietor of the Bergin House hotel in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on June 15, 1877. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (i.e. he was intoxicated when committing the murder), but the jury convicted him and he was sentenced to death. These papers appear to have been compiled by Bergin's defense counsel during the process of seeking a retrial in August 1877.

The collection includes two briefs; witnesses' statements about the language used in the confrontation, a 14-page document with statutes on first degree murder and evidence in the Bergin case; a 9-page argument; a list of points made by the plaintiff; and an organized list of precedent cases for drunkenness, homicidal impulse, homicidal mania, insanity with apparent sanity, hereditary insanity, sane today--insane tomorrow, murder in the 2nd degree, and the number of the insane in Ohio.

The collection's 18 affidavits appear to be manuscript forms for Bergin's defense to use in arguing for a retrial. They include several different handwritten forms produced by a clerk. With only three exceptions, the affidavits do not identify a particular individual, leaving blanks for their name and for the date of the sworn statement. Despite their incomplete state, some of these were still signed and stamped by a notary. The incomplete forms include duplicate text focused on different arguments for a retrial. For example, six of the affidavits discredit Sarah Rose as a witness; several of them are sworn statements by jurors that they had already formed their opinions of the case before the trial; and others claim the jurors were allowed to separate into their own boarding houses or mingle with crowds of people without police supervision.