The Life and Death of Mrs. Maria Bickford: A beautiful female, who was inhumanly murdered, in the moral and religious city of Boston, on the night of the 27th of October, 1845, by Albert J. Tirrell, her paramour, arrested on board the Ship Sultana, off New Orleans, December 6thClergyman of Brunswick, Me.
History
The Life and Death of Mrs. Maria Bickford: A beautiful female, who was inhumanly murdered, in the moral and religious city of Boston, on the night of the 27th of October, 1845, by Albert J. Tirrell, her paramour, arrested on board the Ship Sultana, off New Orleans, December 6th
Clergyman of Brunswick, Me.
Bickford, Mary Ann, 1824-1845; Murder -- Massachusetts -- Boston; Tirrell, Albert John, 1824-1880
Immured within the walls of a dungeon, for the only time during his
previous and hitherto crimeless life, he threw his lank form upon a
flea-infected couch and gave vent to an insupportable grief. When this
subsided, he began to review the matter stoically. A thought struck him,
that the only relief from the horrors of his present situation lay in a
full and frank explanation of all the circumstances connected with the
affair, demonstrating most clearly his innocence of any intention to
commit a fraud; winding up with an affecting appeal to public sympathy;
and publishing the document in the penny papers of the following
morning. This he did; and the device was successful. The city folks,
after learning the facts, laughed at the singularity of the project, and
freely bestowed their sympathy upon the dupe of Tirrell. More than
twenty thousand individuals on that morning gathered around the “Tombs”
and demanded the liberation of Estabrook. Justice P. trembled in his
ermine when he looked upon that mob. In former times he had been a
raving politician, and a desciple of the mob spirit; he now thought it
prudent to grant the demand of that funny populace, by stipulating a
trifling bail for the release of the prisoner. This was instantly given,
and Estabrook soon made his appearance amidst thunders of applause. He
stood on the massive granite steps of the “Tombs,” and, after gracefully
bowing to the multitude, made a thrilling harangue about the magic
influence of the pennypress, and on human rights in general. When he
concluded the multitude gave him three times three.
These occurrences so wrought upon the curiosity of the people of that
city, that they were now even more eager to obtain the Unexpected
Letter than had been to suppress it the day previous. It was thrown
into the hands of a gallant band of newsboys, who cried it by its name
for a week, when the edition became exhausted, and Estabrook had
“bettered his fortunes” very materially.
Tirrell returned to Boston about five thousand dollars poorer than he
left it a month before. If he ever visited the city of New York after
this, it was in disguise.
POSTSCRIPT.
_ARREST OF TIRRELL THE MURDERER!_
ON BOARD THE SHIP SULTANA.
Off New Orleans, December 6th, 1845.
[Illustration]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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