Relic on the Lethe

If you're just joining us on this long and twisting tale, you can catch up with Part One , Part Two , and Part Three . Today's entry should be our final entry into the saga of the Little family, and it will not have any detailed medical testimony (just in case you're squeamish). To quickly recap where we left off, the first trial for Lycurgus Little was held over two weeks in October of 1873 in Berryville, with Judge Turner presiding. At the end, Lycurgus was deemed guilty of second degree murder. Lycurgus' Sentencing The sentence was proclaimed on the following Saturday, around 3 PM. Lycurgus was said to be pale but composed, "though a few tears were shed." According to the Winchester News : Judge Turner then proceeded to pronounce the sentence of the court, in conformity with the decision of the jury. When the Judge mentioned the term of imprisonment, the prisoner interrupted him by asking. “How long, Judge?" “Fourteen years,” replied the Judge; “bu...

If you're just joining us for the first time, you can catch up on Part One and Part Two before diving in. Since it's been about a month since our last post, let's quickly recap where we are in this story. After initially being on board with a punishment for Oscar and Lycurgus in the death of Clinton, the other Little family members, seemingly spearheaded by Columbus' press tour in Washington D.C., wanted to back off and drop the case. However, the indictment was deemed a "true bill" at the July court session, and the trial was scheduled for the October term. Columbus' press tour caused some feuds between the Richmond Enquirer and the Winchester and Clarke papers, but by the end of the summer, it seemed the press had largely come to acknowledge that the original statement and reporting in the Winchester papers was accurate. The state and the prisoners both secured all-star law teams.  As this section of the story is heavy on medical testimony from the doc...

When last we left the Little Family in Clarke County, Clinton Little had been murdered, his mother had been wounded, Oscar and Lycurgus were in jail in Berryville awaiting their trial, and Columbus claimed it was all a giant accident of boyhood exuberance ( Staunton Vindicator , Shepherdstown Register ). The postmortem and coroner's inquest determined Clinton's death was a case of premeditated homicide.  Medical Updates Reports on the seriousness of the mother's injury varied, ranging from minor since no bone was broken and no artery was severed, though several sources reported that she developed erysipelas , or a bacterial infection in the skin, which was seen as potentially serious ( Shepherdstown Register , Staunton Vindicator , Virginia Herald ). It appears this was successfully resolved, however, and she came to no lasting harm. Columbus and Gilbert were allegedly hit on the head with a pistol during the struggle in the dining room but suffered no more than bruises fr...

While looking for mentions of the Ancient Order of Hibernians for the previous Saint Patrick's Day post, I saw mention of a murder trial for Oscar Little in Winchester. I had not come across a mention of this person or case before, and it turned out to be quite the deep and twisting rabbit hole.  While I will be quoting liberally from some primary source material, I know at least one of my readers is squeamish about medical content. Be advised that if you click the links to read the full articles, there will be possibly more details on the case than you might want to read. (A number of testimonies from the trial describing the wounds are covered in some detail, as you'd likely expect in a murder case.) This first entry in a multi-part story will set the stage for the trials to come. Let's get started. Setting the Stage The tragedy occurred in the Little family home, involving the parents Franklin and Mrs. (Margaret or Mary Jane) Little, their six adult sons and one daughter...