Grace Elizabeth Cassidy

Grace married (Male) Wadsworth. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Census: 1870 1880

Notes:

Attended civil war orphans school in Jumonville, Wharton Twp, Fayette Co, Pennsylvania.

Notes:

Transcription of text
The Murder Trial
The trial of George Cassidy, for the murder of William Hoar, was the only one of general interest at Court last week, and lasted buy one day.
District Attorney J. M. Oglevee, for the Commonwealth, was assisted by C. E. Boyle and R. H. Lindsey, Esqs. The counsel for the prisoner were D. Kaine, W. H. Playford, and W. A. McDowell, Esqs.
The facts of the case as elicited upon the trial, seem to be as follows:
George Cassidy and his two brothers, William Hoar and his brother, Jacob, Isaac and Solomon Boyd, Elijah Hawk, Henry Moody, Stephen Stewart, and others from the mountain, had been in Uniontown, April 8th, and all met at the eastern end of town on their way home. It was proposed by some that they should have some whiskey.? George Cassidy furnished the money and he and William Hoar went back to town for the liquor. They drank together a couple of times in town, rejoined their companions, and all drank several times on the road home. The following was the position of the different members of the party a short distance above Ritenour's mill: The two Boyds were ahead; George Cassidy and William Hoar next; Elijah Hawk and William Cassidy about forty yards further behind; Stewart and J. Cassidy, A. Moody and Jacob Hoar, about twenty to thirty yards in the rear. Cassidy and Hoar were heard quarrelling about some old boards which both of them claimed. Presently Cassidy struck Hoar, knocking him down. Jacob Hoar picked up a stone, and ran towards them, when Cassidy again struck William Hoar as he was in the act of raising up, knocking him down a second time. J. Hoar then pulled Cassidy away. Cassidy turned on him, but was taken off by H. Moody or William Cassidy. William Hoar died in ten or fifteen minutes after he had been struck the second time.
Dr. Walker of Uniontown, made examination of the body next day; thinks the blows, producing concussion at the base of the brain, were the cause of his death. Messrs. Hogsett, Ewing, Murphy, McLaughlin and Piper testified to the inoffensive character of the prisoner, and considered him a good laboring hand.
The case, on the part of the prisoner was then submitted to the jury in an able and eloquent address by Mr. Playford, followed on the part of the Commonwealth by Mr. Boyle.
The counsel for the defendant insisted upon the following point, and asked the Court, to charge the jury accordingly.
That the good character of the prisoner is an element which if proved, the jury must take into consideration in making up their estimate of the prisoner, and good character of itself may sometimes generate a doubt, where, without evidence of good character, no doubt would arise in the case from the other evidence.
The jury after being out for about five hours returned a verdict of "guilty of voluntary manslaughter". The prisoner was sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of two years.

Genius of Liberty, Uniontown, PA, Thursday, June 15, 1871, Vol. IV, No. 23, page 3, column 3
Detail
The Murder Trial
Date
15 June 1871

George married Margaret Hawk. Margaret (daughter of Peter Hawk and Jane (Unknown)) was born about 1836 in Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Census: 1870

Notes:

http://www.pagenweb.org/~fayette-obits/obits/d33.htm
The Murder Trial
The trial of George Cassidy, for the murder of William Hoar, was the only one of general interest at Court last week, and lasted buy one day.
District Attorney J. M. Oglevee, for the Commonwealth, was assisted by C. E. Boyle and R. H. Lindsey, Esqs. The counsel for the prisoner were D. Kaine, W. H. Playford, and W. A. McDowell, Esqs.
The facts of the case as elicited upon the trial, seem to be as follows:
George Cassidy and his two brothers, William Hoar and his brother, Jacob, Isaac and Solomon Boyd, Elijah Hawk, Henry Moody, Stephen Stewart, and others from the mountain, had been in Uniontown, April 8th, and all met at the eastern end of town on their way home. It was proposed by some that they should have some whiskey.? George Cassidy furnished the money and he and William Hoar went back to town for the liquor. They drank together a couple of times in town, rejoined their companions, and all drank several times on the road home. The following was the position of the different members of the party a short distance above Ritenour's mill: The two Boyds were ahead; George Cassidy and William Hoar next; Elijah Hawk and William Cassidy about forty yards further behind; Stewart and J. Cassidy, A. Moody and Jacob Hoar, about twenty to thirty yards in the rear. Cassidy and Hoar were heard quarrelling about some old boards which both of them claimed. Presently Cassidy struck Hoar, knocking him down. Jacob Hoar picked up a stone, and ran towards them, when Cassidy again struck William Hoar as he was in the act of raising up, knocking him down a second time. J. Hoar then pulled Cassidy away. Cassidy turned on him, but was taken off by H. Moody or William Cassidy. William Hoar died in ten or fifteen minutes after he had been struck the second time.
Dr. Walker of Uniontown, made examination of the body next day; thinks the blows, producing concussion at the base of the brain, were the cause of his death. Messrs. Hogsett, Ewing, Murphy, McLaughlin and Piper testified to the inoffensive character of the prisoner, and considered him a good laboring hand.
The case, on the part of the prisoner was then submitted to the jury in an able and eloquent address by Mr. Playford, followed on the part of the Commonwealth by Mr. Boyle.
The counsel for the defendant insisted upon the following point, and asked the Court, to charge the jury accordingly.
That the good character of the prisoner is an element which if proved, the jury must take into consideration in making up their estimate of the prisoner, and good character of itself may sometimes generate a doubt, where, without evidence of good character, no doubt would arise in the case from the other evidence.
The jury after being out for about five hours returned a verdict of "guilty of voluntary manslaughter". The prisoner was sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of two years.

Genius of Liberty, Uniontown, PA, Thursday, June 15, 1871, Vol. IV, No. 23, page 3, column 3
Detail
The Murder Trial
Date
15 June 1871

William married Sophia Hawk. Sophia (daughter of Peter Hawk and Jane (Unknown)) was born about 1833 in Pennsylvania, USA; died in in . [Group Sheet]

Peter married Jane (Unknown). Jane was born about 1793 in Pennsylvania, USA; died after 1869. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Possibly Elizabeth Jane

Living with her daughter sophia in the 1870 census.

Other Events:

• Census: 1850 1870

Notes:

The 1850 census gives his bithplace as New York or New Hampshire
The 1870 census gives his birthplace as Pennsylvania.

1850 Census- Wharton Twp, Fayette Co, Pennsylvania
James Horr, 49, New York or New Hampshire
Jane Horr, 36 [she should be abt age 46 in this census], Pa
Charlotte Horr, 26, PA
William Horr, 19, Pa
Isaac Horr, 17, Pa
Sarah Horr, 10, Pa
David Horr, 8, Pa
Eliza Horr, 5, Pa
Jacob Horr, 2, Pa

Is this him?
1860 Census - Wharton Twp, Fayette Co, Pennsylvania
Jas Horrer, 60, Pa
Susan Horrer, 57, Pa
David Horrer, 16, Pa
Eliza Horrer, 14, Pa
Jacob Horrer, 12, Pa
Robert Horrer, 10, Pa

Death date from U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules for Wharton, Fayette Co, Pennsylvania, 1880
He died age 78 of Heart Disease.

The following article was printed in these newspapers:
Middletown Daily Argus (Middletown, New York) Published Nov 16, 1894
The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Published Nov 20, 1894
The Marion Daily Star ( Marion, Ohio) Published Nov 20, 1894
Newark Daily Advocate (Newark, Ohio) Published Nov 21, 1894
The Sundusky Register (Sundusky, Ohio) Published Nov. 30, 1894
Democratic Standard (Coshocton, Ohio) Published Dec 21, 1894
The Evening Democrat (Warren, Pennsylvania) Published Jan 24, 1895

A Romantic Life Ended:
The Story of James Hoar and Jane "Jennie" Bronson.
Jennie Hoar passes away at her mountain home. She nurtured a cultured
stranger back to life and health and he made her his wife - A lost
daughter saddens their humble home - Two remarkable lives. The death of
Mrs. Jennie Hoar which occurred at her Mountain cottage back of
Jumonville on Thursday, October 11, 1894 removes from the stage of life
one of the most romantic characters that ever dwelt in the mountains of
Fayette County. Though she passed a life as full of sorrow and trouble
as it was interwoven with romance, her end was peaceful and she died at
the ripe age of 93 in the midst of those she loved so well and in the
very neighborhood where she first saw the light and where she spent her
entire life. She fell into a deep sleep on Tuesday afternoon. Mrs.
Hoar's early life was mixed with a love romance which is sufficiently
interesting to be reproduced.

About seventy years ago there came to the county from massachusetts a
young man upon whose brow was the mark of culture, he was tall and
angular and possessed of an air of refinement which stood out
prominently in his graceful carriage and easy conversation. His name
was James Hoar, a son of a prominent citizen of Boston, educated at one
of the leading eastern colleges. Beyond this nothing could be learned
of his life or the reason of his choosing this county as his future
home. A short time after his arrival here he secured work as a day
laborer at the old Wharton Furnace. This fact added to the mystery of
his life led knowing ones to suspect that he had left his home in
Massachusetts for a reason, which he did not care to divulge. It was
evident that he was not fitted for the work in which he was engaged,
and one day as he was handling a large piece of metal it fell upon his
leg, breaking it. He was borne to the home of Benjamin Bronson, an old
farmer who cultivated a few acres of ground near the foot of the
mountains. Bronson had a daughter named Jennie, a typical country
girl. When Hoar was taken to her home the routine work was increased
and her spare time was devoted to the care of the new arrival. Under
her treatment Hoar gradually grew stronger and his injured limb knitted
nicely. But during this time there had gradually sprung up between
nurse and patient a feeling of warmest friendship. Farmer Bronson saw
the shape of matters were assuming, but said nothing as he realized, as
he afterwards expressed it, that Hoar was a "likely feller." It was not
long until the patient was able to be about again. He continued his
attentions to Jennie, and a few months later a quiet country wedding was
solemnized, in which they were principals. They took up their abode in
a little log house about one mile east of Dunbar's camp. Years passed
and middle age was reached. A household of children came to bless the

fireside. James Hoar, unaccustomed to the axe and the privations of
pioneer life, was now a typical woodsman.

Around the fireside hearth his happiest hours were spent, rejoicing in
the comparisons of one who shared alike his joys and sorrows.
Throughout the mountains he was known as the honest woodsman," and many
stories of his prowess as an athlete are still green in the memory of
many of the younger generation who remember him in the full strength of
mature manhood.

The tranquility of the little mountain home was broken by the appearance
of a southern planter named La Clair. He was accompanied by his wife
and together they secured quarters at Hoar's cabin. The latter had a
daughter of one and twenty years. La Clair pretended to have become
enamored of the fair haired mountain girl. The secret of his pretended
love was kept from his wife and when the La Clairs were ready to leave
he luduced this girl to accompany them to their southern home. Months
and years passed away and not a word came to the anxious parents of
their absent daughter. What became of her is still a mystery and it is
believed that she was kidnapped by the Le Clair's and taken forth, for
what purpose none have ventured an opinion.

Many citizens remember James Hoar, a tall, gaunt figure, slightly bent
by age. His life went out at the age of 88 and the mountains buried him
in the old Bronson graveyard, now called Cassidy cemetery. In his later
years he often spoke of the friends of his youth and the days when he
was a buccaneer on the Massachusetts coast, and it is thought that his
connection with some of the Cape Cod pirates led him to leave his native
heath.

He was a cousin to Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, and when the latter
was crowned with political honors the woodsman sighed and thought of the
opportunities lost through his youthful indiscretion. Jennie Hoar made
a livelihood after the death of her husband by selling roots, herbs,
sassafras, etc. Having been born and bred in the mountains she knew
almost every herb that grew and from them made medicine which gained for
her quite a reputation.

James married Jane Bronson. Jane (daughter of Benjamin Bronson) was born about 1803 in Pennsylvania, USA; died on 11 Oct 1894 in Jumonville, Wharton Twp, Fayette Co, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried in Jumonville, Wharton Twp, Fayette Co, Pennsylvania, USA (Cassidy Cemetery). [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Census: 1870 1880