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Letter from William Henderson taken by rail to the
Procurator Fiscal on March 30th 1866, after the discovery of Janet's body:
NORTH BRITISH RAILWAY COMPANY - MEMORANDUM
Bridge of Earn Station
Date - March 30 1866
Dear Sir,
Please come out here as soon as possible as my sister has been murdered today while
I was in Perth.
Your obdt servt,
Wm Henderson
Address: Wm Henderson
Mount Stewart
Bridge of Earn
Autopsy report after Janet's body was examined at Mount Stewart
on March 31st 1866:
We, the undersigned, do hereby certify on soul and conscience, that, by virtue
of a warrant granted by Hugh Barclay, Esquire, Sheriff-Substitute of Perthshire, we, this day, within the Farm House of Mount
Stewart, in the Paris of Forgandenny, and County of Perth, examined the dead body of Janet Henderson or Rogers, aged fifty
or thereby.
Externally, on examination, we found the face and head besmeared with blood,
with ecchymosis of the left eye and temple. On the extended ear, on the right side, there was a contused wound of irregular
shape, which divided the cartilages, and immediately behind the ear another contused wound an inch in length, which penetrated
to the temporal bone. On removing the hair, which was matted with coagula, seven wounds wer found on the upper part of the
scalp; one in the very centre of the head, five inches in length, stretching in the antero-posterior direction. An inch and
a half to the left of this wound were another two running parallel to it, one three inches and the other one inch in length.
On the right side of the central wound, opposite its middle, at the distance of one and a half inches, and also parallel to
it, another one inch and a half in length; and at the posterior extremity of the same central wound, and passing it in a line
transversely across the right side of the scalp, three smaller wounds, only separated from one another by slight bands of
internements. These wounds were all filled with coagulated blood,and the scalp was separated to a considerable extent from
the skull.
On removing the scalp a fracture was observed passing transversely across
the anterior portions of the parletal bones; there was also sangtaneous infeltration of the cellular tissue in the form of
large irregular patches all over the head. Ont he right temple and right side of the occiput there were severe contusions
of the scalp, with laceration of the soft parts underneath.
On removing the skull cap and the membranes of the brain, a large quantity
of extravasated blood was found on the surface,a nd filling up the spaces between the convolutions of the brain. On lifting
up the exterior portion of the brain a tumour the size of a hazelnut was found embedded in its substance, as if in a mould,
and adherent to the dura mater, at a point corresponding with the outer extremity of the lesser wing of the spehoid bone.
On removing the brain the porous portion of the of the right temporal bone was found fractured and driven in; the fracture
extending across the base of the skull, and joining that already described as passing through the parietal bones, completed
the cuircumference of the cranium.
The brain was healthy.
The lungs and heart were also in a healthy condition, and the latter organ
was entirely empty. The stomach, liver, kidneys, large and small intestines, presented a healthy appearance. The gall bladder
was distended, and contained twenty eight gallstones, varying in size from a barley pickle to that of an ordinary sized marble.
We are of opinion that death was caused by the injuries above decribed.
James Laing M.D. Geo. Absolon M. D.
Bridge of Earn, 31st March 1866
Hand Bill, posted April 2nd 1866
NOTICE
If any person can give information as to a Man
seen on
SATURDAY last, in the Neighbourhood of BRIDGE
of EARN,
answering to the annexed decription, or
if any Person finds
a Large DOOR KEY in that Neighbourhood, they are
requested
immediately to inform the PROCURATOR FISCAL at
PERTH.
Fiscal's Office, Perth
2nd April 1866
DESCRIPTION
A Man between 40 and 50 years of age
About 5 feet 9 inches in height
Slender make. Thin in figure
Long face. Brown Hair.
DRESS
Dirty Darkish Dress
Wore a Cap.
Dark Frcok-Tailed Coat.
Longish Greyish Coloured Trousers.
Shabby Genteel Appearance
Did not look like a Working Man, neither did
he resemble a Hawker or Vagrant.
PRINTED AT THE PERTHSHIRE JOURNAL OFFICE.
_________________________________
The Scotsman - Monday, April 2nd 1866 p.3
"SHOCKING AND MYSTERIOUS MURDER AT MOUNT-STEWART
FARM, BRIDGE OF EARN"
At a late hour on Friday night, the inhabitants of the village
of the Bridge of Earn and surrounding districts were thrown into a state of the greatest excitement by a report that an atrocious
murder had been committed at Mount Stewart Farmhouse, which is situated about two miles and a half to the west of the Bridge
of Earn, and near to the Forgandenny and Dunning Road. The report proved to be but too true, for its was very soon ascertained
that Janet Rogers, a married woman, fifty years of age, and a sister of Mr William Henderson, farmer, Mount Stewart, parish
of Forgandenny, had been found lying in a pool of blood, with marks upon her which indicate she had been foully murdered.
The facts connected with this distressing and mysterious
case, so far as they have yet come to light, are as follows:- Mr Henderson left Mount Stewart on Friday forenoon, at about
ten oclock, with a horse and cart, for Perth, where he had some business to do. On his way home, in the evening, he stopped
at the Bridge of Earn, shortly after six oclock, and had some conversation with M John Geddes, slater, as to some work to
be performed on his (Mr Hendersons) house and steading. Mr Henderson wished Mr Geddes to go to Mount Stewart on Saturday,
but the latter could not do so, and promised to go to-day (Monday). Mr Henderson left the Bridge of Earn about seven oclock,
and reached home about a quarter to eight. On going to the front door, he found it locked. He knocked but receiving no reply,
he went round to the kitchen door, which he also found locked. He then effected an entrance to the house by means of a window,
and on proceeding to the kitchen he discovered his sister lying on the floor in a pool of blood, and quite dead. Mr Henderson
immediately ran to his nearest neighbour, Mr James Barlas, mason, and told him what had happened. The parties afterwards went
together to the Bridge of Earn, which they reached about nine oclock, and informed the police constable of the terrible discovery
that had been made. Dr Laing, Bridge of Earn, accompanied Mr Henderson and Mr Barlas back to Mount Stewart. Mr Henderson previously
wrote a letter to Mr McLean, Procurator-Fiscal, Perth, informing him of the murder. Dr Laing, on reaching Mount Stewart House,
found the deceased lying on her side with her hand raised a little, and on the back part of her head were several long marks
or gashes, as if inflicted by a heavy blunt instrument. On the floor, not far from the murdered woman, was found a hatchet
covered with blood. Dr Laing, on examining the body, found that the poor woman must have died about two or three oclock in
the afternoon.
Early on Saturday morning, Mr Young, assistant Procurator-Fiscal;
Dr Absolon, Perth; Mr Gordon, chief constable; Mr McDonald, superintendent; Sergeant Ross, and several police constables,
reached Mount Stewart, and proceeded to make the necessary investigation into the matter. The police found that several drawers
had been opened, and their contents displaced. In the course of Saturday forenoon, Sheriff Barclay, Mr McLean, Procurator-Fiscal,
and Dr Absolon, visited the scene of the murder. The latter gentleman made a post-mortem examination of the body, but
the report has not yet been made public. The deceased had only gone to reside at Mount Stewart on Wednesday last. Her husbands
name is James Rogers, and he is a labourer residing at Airntully, parish of Auchtergaven. She has left a large family.
Mount Stewart House is situated upon an eminence about 600
yards from the Forgandenny Road. Between the road and the house there is a narrow belt of plantation, and the view to the
south is bounded by the northern slope of the Ochil Hills, which are scarcely a mile distant. According to a statement made
by one of the residenters at Carmichael Cottages, only three persons - one man and two women - apparently hawkers, were see
to go in the direction of Mount Stewart Farmhouse on Friday. There is only one ploughman engaged on the farm.
The Glasgow Daily Herald - Monday, April 2nd
1866 p.4
"SHOCKING MURDER NEAR PERTH"
Circumstances were brought to light on Friday evening which
showed that a horrible murder had been committed at the farm of Mount Stewart situated about midway between the villages of
Bridge of Earn and Forgandenny. The facts, so far as they have yet been made known are briefly that - Shortly before eleven
oclock on Friday evening a messenger arrived in Perth with a letter from Robert Henderson (sic), the tenant of Mount Stewart,
addressed to the Procurator-Fiscal. The letter stated that on Mr Hendersons arrival home from Perth market on Friday evening
he found his house locked up, and was obliged to enter the premises by a window. Having gained access to the house, he went
into the kitchen, where he found the dead body of his sister lying in the midst of a pool of blood. Immediately on the receipt
of the letter, Mr Young, assistant procurator-fiscal for the county hired a conveyance, and accompanied by seven police officers,
proceeded to Mount Stewart. There a horrible spectacle met their view. On the floor of the kitchen lay the dead body of Hendersons
sister, her head, which was almost cleft in two, lying in a pool of blood. The walls and roof of the apartment, as well as
the articles of furniture, were all be-spattered with blood, and close by the body, an axe, such as is commonly used for rough
work about farm steadings, was found, with the handle and head also covered with blood. Henderson, on being questioned by
the fiscal, said that on his return home from Perth market on Friday afternoon, about six oclock, he found his sister dead
on the kitchen floor; but on the other hand, it has been stated that when the Fiscal reached Mount Stewart, a little before
midnight, the body of the deceased was still warm, which could not have been the case if she had she been dead six hours before,
as alleged by her brother. This circumstance, coupled with the fact that Henderson was the only inmate of the house besides
the deceased, caused the Fiscal to order him to be watched by the police, and at the same time the premises were taken possession
of by them. On Saturday morning, Mr McLean, Procurator Fiscal for the county, accompanied by Sheriff Barclay, Dr Absolon,
Chief Constable Gordon, Mr Smart, architect, and other officials visited the scene of the murder, for the purpose of collecting
information and holding a post-mortem examination of the body. Of course, the result of their inquiry has not transpired;
but meanwhile Henderson is under surveillance of the police, as there is scarcely a doubt that a most foul and cold-blooded
murder has been perpetrated. The deceased, who was about 50 years of age, usually resided in the neighbourhood of Stanley,
and was only living with her brother for a few days to assist him in some particular work about his farm. She has left a husband
and a large family of children to mourn their sad bereavement. Henderson is about 60 years of age, and unmarried. He is of
most penurious disposition, and of strictly temperate habits. Various rumours are afloat as to the motive for the crime, but
as they are not as yet verified by evidence, we refrain in the meantime from giving them publicly.
North British Daily Mail - Monday, April 2nd
1866
"HORRIBLE AND MYSTERIOUS MURDER NEAR PERTH"
A horrible murder was committed on the afternoon or evening
of Friday at a place called Mount Stewart, about six miles from Perth, and situated about midway between the village of Bridge
of Earn and Forgandenny. The victim is a woman named Janet Henderson, or Rodger, wife of James Rodger, labourer, residing
at Airntully, near Stanley. So far as has yet transpired, the facts appear to be as follow: Mrs Rodger left left her home
on Wednesday last, on which day she arrived at Mount Stewart, the residence of her brother, Mr William Henderson, farmer,
for the avowed purpose of taking in charge some cows about to calve. On Friday morning, her brother, Mr Henderson, left, as
usual, to attend the Perth market, and having done so returned by way of the Bridge of Earn. At this place he is said to have
stopped with his horse and cart, for the purpose of taking home some slates. He left shortly after eight o clock, and proceeded
direct on his way home, distant about two miles. On arriving at his own house he found the doors locked. He however soon effected
an entrance into the kitchen, where he found his sister lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Greatly alarmed he immediately
ran to his nearest neighbour, and informed him of what had taken place, and afterwards to the Bridge of Earn, and informed
the police constable stationed there. Dr Laing was informed of the horrible occurrence, and proceeded to the house. Whilst
at the Bridge Mr Henderson wrote the following letter, which he sent by special messenger to the Procurator Fiscal for the
county:- "Bridge of Earn, March 30.-Dear Sir,-Please come out here immediately as my sister has been murdered here today,
while I was in Perth.-Your obedient servant, Wm. Henderson."- The letter, in the absence of the fiscal at Killiecrankie,
was delivered to Mr Young, assistant procurator-fiscal, who, along with Superintendent MacDonald, &c, at once proceeded
to Mount Stewart. On entering the house they found the dead body of Mrs Rodger lying in the kitchen, with the feet towards
the fire and the head in a line with the door. The body was lying in blood, and the furniture in the kitchen was all besmeared
with blood. By the side of the body was a common house hatchet, all covered with blood, and some blankets were thrown over
the murdered woman. The interior of the house presented a somewhat disordered apprearance, as if the furniture had been ransacked
through in search of plunder, but strange to say there did not appear to have been any robbery committed. On seeing the state
of matters, the assistant procurator-fiscal, Mr Young, deemed it his duty to put the house and Mr Henderson under arrest,
after which he came to Perth and telegraphed for the fiscal, who, accompanied by the sheriff, visited the scene of the murder
on the forenoon of Saturday. The post-mortem examination, which was held by Dr Absolon, Perth, and Dr Laing, Bridge
of Earn, was made in the forenoon, and the conclusion come to by these gentlemen was that a murder had been committed. The
right side of the head presented a frightful appearance and the skull was broken. The Chief-Constable, Superintendent MacDonald,
&c., returned to Perth about five oclock on Saturday afternoon, bringing with them the clothes of the murdered woman,
blankets, hatchet, &c., but we regret to say having no direct trace of who the guilty party or parties may be. The murdered
woman is said to have been rather good-looking, of strong muscular frame, and about 32 years of age.
During Saturday various rumours were afloat as to who was
the murderer, but on these no credance could be placed.
Letter from Chief Constable George Gordon to
the editor of the Police Gazette, April 3rd 1866
N. D. Barclay Esq, Editor, Police Court, Bow St., London, N. E.
Murder of Janet Henderson or Rodger, Perth 3rd April 1866
Sir,
I beg to send herewith information regarding the murder of the above
named person and I shall esteem it a favour if you will have the goodness to insert it in the Police Gazette, and I remain
your &c &c
Geo. Gordon C. C.
Perthshire Courier - Tuesday, April 3rd, 1866
"HORRIBLE AND MYSTERIOUS MURDER NEAR PERTH"
A horrible murder was committed on the afternoon or evening of Friday at a place called Mount Stuart, about six miles
from Perth, and situated about midway between the village of Bridge of Earn and Forgandenny. The victim is a woman called
Janet Henderson or Rodger, wife of James Rodger, labourer, residing at Airntully, near Stanley. So far as has yet transpired,
the facts appear to be as follows:
Mrs Rodgers left her home on Wednesday last, on which day she arrived on a visit
at Mount Stuart, the residence of her brother, Mr William Henderson, farmer. On Friday morning, her brother, Mr Henderson,
left, as usual, to attend the Perth market, and having done so returned by way of the Bridge of Earn. At this place he is
said to have stopped with his horse and cart, for the purpose of taking home some slates. He left shortly after eight o'clock,
and proceeded direct on his way home, distance about two miles. On arriving at his own house he found the door locked. He
however soon effected an entrance into the kitchen, where he found his sister lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Greatly
alarmed, he immediately ran to his nearest neighbour, and informed him of what had taken place, and afterwards to the Bridge
of Earn, and informed the police constable stationed there. Dr Laing was informed of the horrible occurrence, and proceeded
to the house.
Whilst at the Bridge of Earn, we were informed that Mr Henderson wrote to the authorities informing
them of what had taken place. In the absence of the fiscal at Killiecrankie, the assistant procurator-fiscal, along with Superintendent
M'Donald &c, at once proceeded to Mount Stuart. On entering the house they found the dead body of Mrs Rodger lying in
the kitchen, with the feet towards the fire and the head in a line with the door. The body was lying in blood, and the furniture
in the kitchen was all besmeared with blood. By the side of the body was a common house hatchet, all covered with blood, and
some blanke's were thrown over the murdered woman. The interior of the house presented a somewhat disordered appearance, as
if the furniture had been ransacked. On seeing the state of matters, the procurator-fiscal for the county was telegraphed
for, and on his arrival, accompanied by the sheriff, visited the scene of the murder on the forenoon of Saturday.
The
post mortem examination, which was held by Dr Absolom, Perth, and Dr Laing, Bridge of Earn, was made in the forenoon, and
the conclusion came to by these gentlemen was that a murder had been committed. The right side of the head presented a frightful
appearance and the skull was broken. The Chief Constable, Superintendent MacDonald &c, returned to Perth about five o'clock
on Saturday afternoon, bringing with them the clothes of the murdered woman, blankets, hatchet &c, but we regret to say
having no direct trace of who the guilty party or parties may be. The murdered woman is said to have been rather good-looking,
of strong muscular frame, and about 50 years of age.
This horrid murder, up to last night, remains shrowded in mystery.
It was reported yesterday that a woman belonging to Perth, named Riley, an itinerant vendor of earthen ware, went early on
the afternoon of Friday to the door of the house at Mount Stuart, and there she met and offered to sell to Mrs Rodger some
of her wares, and on leaving, she states that she saw a man loittering near by, whom she describes as being like a tramp,
she also adds, that she thinks she could identify the man referred to.
The police, from Captain Gordon downwards,
are using every endeavour to trace the murderer, and we feel sure their every effort will be backed up by the community.
The Scotsman - Tuesday, April 3rd 1866 p.2
"THE MOUNT STEWART FARM MURDER"
This shocking murder remains shrouded in as great mystery
as when first discovered, and it cannot be said that the authorities, who are unremitting in their investigation, have got
anything like a clue to the perpetrator. On Saturday evening, an itinerant vendor of earthenware, named Mrs Riley, belonging
to Perth, was examined by the authorities, and it is understood gave evidence to the effect that she was at Mount Stewart
farm house early in the afternoon of Friday last, and saw Mrs Rogers, the murdered woman, with a shovel in her hand, and that
there was a man having the appearance of a tramp speaking to Mrs Rogers. Of course, the police are in quest of this man, but
they had not, up to yesterday afternoon, got upon his track. The woman Riley is confident she could identify the man she saw
at Mount Stewart farm. On Friday afternoon, too, a tramp, with a walking stick in his hand, and a bundle under his arm, called
at Hills Inn, Bridge of Earn, and asked the road to Abernethy, which Mr Hill showed him. Where the man has gone to has not
been ascertained. Yesterday forenoon, Sheriff Barclay, Mr McLean, Procurator Fiscal of the county, Mr Gordon, Chief Constable,
and Mr Smart, architect, Perth, made a thorough search of Mount Stewart farm-house, but could discover no marks of blood in
any place excepting the kitchen, the walls of which were much besprinkled. They found, however, that all the lockfast places
in the house had been forced open, and a pair of scissors were found which had apparently been used for that purpose - making
it evident that the murderer had been in search of plunder. At the same time, it does not appear that any of the household
effects are missing. On Sunday, and yesterday, the police constables were visiting various parts of the county, in search
of the man, a description of whom was given by woman Riley. Yesterday forenoon the remains of Mrs Rogers were conveyed to
Airntully, to her husbands house; and we understabnd they are to be interred at Auchtergaven Churchyard on Thursday.
Dundee Advertiser - Tuesday, April 3rd 1866
"MYSTERIOUS MURDER OF A WOMAN NEAR BRIDGE OF EARN"
It is our painful duty to record one of the most atrocious
and mysterious murders that has ever come within the range of criminal jurisprudence. The scene of the tragedy is so peaceful,
the motives that prompted it so inscrutable, and the victim so amiable and respected that a feeling of intense interest cannot
but be awakened by the narration of the circumstances that followed the discovery of the crime which we proceed to give -
At half past ten oclock on Friday night, Mr John Young, Assistant
Procurator-Fiscal for Perthshire, had delivered to him, at his house in Perth, a note in the following terms:-
Bridge of Earn, 30th March 1866 - Dear Sir, Please come out
here immediately as my sister has been murdered whilst I was in Perth - Your obedient servant (signed) William Henderson -
To the Procurator Fiscal for the County of Perth
Mr Young, who was preparing to retire to rest when he received
this communication, immediately thereafter called on Superintendent McDonald, of the County Police, along with whom he posted
to Bridge of Earn, accompanied also by a constable. On arriving at that village - which is situated three and a half miles
south from Perth - the officers of the law learned that the spot that demanded their presence was Mount Stewart farmhouse,
about two miles west from Bridge of Earn. Thither they at once proceeded, where a terrible spectacle presented itself. The
sister of the writer of the note given above lay on her back on the kitchen floor, a murdered corpse. A fearful contusion
of the right ear, and a large wound on the top of the head by which the skull had been crushed in, and a heavy axe close by,
showed too clearly how the foul act had been perpetrated. The head of the body weltered in blood, and lay towards the door,
while the feet were extended in the direction of the fire. A great portion of the floor was covered with blood, which also
bespattered many articles around. The house had a confused and disordered appearance as if it had been ransacked for plunder.
Attempts had been made to open some of the drawers, but, as far as could then or afterwards be ascertained, nothing had been
taken away. On the arrival of the officials those in the house were, according to the usual practice, put under surveillance,
with the exception of Dr Laing, Bridge of Earn, who had previously been sent for in his professional capacity, and the constables
from the district, who had been called in. The persons so treated were Mr Wm Henderson, brother of the murdered woman, and
tenant of Mount Stewart farm; his foreman named Crichton; and Mr James Barlas, mason. After making as full an investigation
into the affair as was then possible, Mr Young returned to Perth in the early morning, leaving Superintendent McDonald and
the constables in charge of the house. At Perth he telegraphed for the Procurator Fiscal, Mr McLean, who was in the neighbourhood
of Pitlochry at the time, and had a consultation with Sheriff Barclay, after which he returned to the scene of the murder,
along with Chief Constable Gordon, Dr Absolon, and a couple of constables. Here Drs Absolon and Laing examined the body, and
several of the policemen were despatched to scour the country in search of any parties likely to be involved in the horrid
crime. At a later hour in the morning, Sheriff Barclay, the Procurator-Fiscal, and Mr Smart, architect, left Perth and proceeded
to the spot, where the latter made a minute and careful plan of the house. About same time Drs Absolon and Laing made a post-mortem
examination of the body, the result of which showed that either of the two wounds on the head was sufficient to have caused
instantaneous death and that these had been inflicted by the back or blunt end of the axe. Regarding the time to which the
murder might be referred, no definite conclusion could be arrived at, but on touching this point it may be of some importance
to know that the body was ascertained to be still warm at one oclock on Saturday morning. The bloody axe, it may be mentioned
, belonged to the house, and was used for chopping wood. The murder first became known shortly before eight oclock on Friday
evening by the brother of the victim communicating the fact to Mr Barlas, mason, who occupies one of two small cottages about
250 yards from Mount Stewart, the other of which is possessed by the foreman or ploughman on the farm. At Mr Hendersons request,
Mr Barlas accompanied him to Bridge of Earn, where they communicated the intelligence to Dr Laing and the village constable,
and where the communication to the Procurator-Fiscal was penned, and despatched by the North British Railway Companys 9.20pm
train. Dr Laing and the constable returned with their informants to the farm, but in the interval that elapsed between such
return and the arrival of the officials from Perth, the doctor made no examination of the body further than to ascertain that
life was extinct. The farm house of Mount Stewart is on the state of Freeland, and parish of Forgandenny, and stands on a
somewhat commanding height at the foot of the Ochils, about 700 yards from the road leading from Forgandenny to Bridge of
Earn, and one and two and a half miles from these places respectively. It is situated in a rather thinly populated district,
and somewhat shut out from public observation by a small wood. Pitkeithly Wells, however, are within a distance of a mile
and besides the cottage above mentioned, there is a row of houses called Carmichael Cottages, about a quarter of a mile off.
For a considerable time back Mr Henderson has lived alone without any servant or attendant, but on Wednesday last his sister,
the wife of James Rodger, labourer, Airntully, took up her residence with him at his request, for the purpose of cleaning
his house and attending a cow that was daily expected to calve. On the forenoon of the day in question, Mr Henderson states
that he left home for Perth with a horse and cart at eleven oclock leaving his sister alive and well. On his return home,
between six and seven in the evening, he was surprised to find both the back and front doors of the house locked and the shutters
of the windows secured. Having knocked in vain for admittance, he had recourse to entering the house by a ladder at one of
the windows of the second storey, when he was horrified to find that his sister had been finally deprived of life during his
absence. This statement, it is of consequence to mention, has received material corroboration. It has been proved beyond all
doubt that Mr Henderson was in Perth in the course of Friday, and also, that on his way home, he made business calls on two
tradesmen at Bridge of Earn between six and seven in the evening. So far as can be ascertained, no one saw the deceased during
her brothers absence in Perth. The man Crichton was ploughing in the neighbourhood at the time, but can give no information
on the subject. As yet no one has been taken into custody charged with being concerned in the affair. It has, however, come
to light that a man, apparently about fifty years of age, was prowling about the farm during the forenoon; and to apprehend
this character the police were Sunday making great exertions. It may be stated that Mr Henderson, as well as those who were
with him when the officials from Perth arrived, have been released from all surveillance.
The deceased was, as has been mentioned, a married woman.
She was about thirty years of age, and was of a strong and firm build. She was much respected by all of her aquaintances;
and as may be readily imagined, her husband and children have been thrown into a state of the profoundest grief by the stroke
that has deprived them of wife and mother.
Hand bill posted April 4th 1866
MURDER.
DURING the day time on Friday, the 30th March last, JANET
HENDERSON or ROGERS, was barbarously MURDERED
in the Kitchen of the FARM HOUSE of MOUNT STEWART, in
the Parish of Forgandenny, and County of Perth, by some
person or persons at present unknown.
From the appearance of the Body and Furniture, in said
House, their (sic) is every reason to believe that the party
or parties
who committed the said Crime, must have been considerably
covered with blood.
With the exception of a LARGE OUTER-DOOR KEY, nothing
has been missed from said house which can again be identified.
About Noon on said day, a man of the following description,
supposed to be the Murderer, was seen at the Kitchen door of
said house:-
Between 40 and 50 years of age. About 5 feet 9 inches in height.
Brown Hair, and Small Dark Whiskers. Long Face. Slender
make, and thin in figure. Dressed in a dirty darkish Cap., Dark
Frock-tailed Coat, rather long; Grayish coloured Trousers.
Rather Seedy appearance. Did not look like a working man.
He is supposed to have had a small dog, of a dark or grayish
colour, along with him.
It is earnestly requested that any information relative to
the matter, may be immediately communicated to the Procu-
rator Fiscal, or Chief Constable of County Police, at Perth,
or
to any Police Constable.
County Police Office,
PERTH, 4th April, 1866.
C.G.SIDEY, PRINTER, PERTH.
___________________
William Henderson witness statement (4/4/1866)
Mount Stewart 4th April 1866
William Henderson, Farmer at Mount Stewart in the parish
of Forgandenny and shire of Perth, aged forty eight years, Declares I have been twenty one years tenant of this place. I am
not married. I have no family living with me, and my establishment consists of only one female servant.
Since the time of Martinmas last I have had four or five
regularly engaged servants who have left me, but I was not at leud with any of them. The last servant that was with me remained
only two weeks and left me I think on Thursday was a a week. On Mnday week thereafter I went to Airntully near Stanley where
my sister lived in order to get one of her daughters to come and take charge of my house till I could get a servant. My sister
had several daughters one of whom is married. The unmarried daughter who is about twenty years of age is at home, but my sister
volunteered to come herself. My sister whose name is Janet Henderson, and whose husband is James Rodgers, Labourer at Murthly
and resident at Airntully in the parish of Kinclaven and shire of Perth came here on the following Wednesday, we having arranged
that she was to remain for a fortnight or three weeks.
When I have a servant she sleeps in the kitchen in which
there is a bed. It is a box bed and near to the fire. My sister, however, occupied a bedroom upstairs looking to the East.
The window is in three compartments one of which opens on hinges, and may be fastened by a sneck in the inside.
I left home about ten o clock on the forenoon of Friday last,
the 30th March 1866, with a horse and cart in order to go to Perth for Guano. I had previously breakfasted with my sister
in the kitchen, and just as I was starting she handed me a bag in which there had been whitening, and asked me to get some
more for cleaning the house. I reached Perth about twelve o clock and put up my horse and cart at the Logiealmond Tavern.
I then went to the Auction Mart and bought a pig. I also bought some nitrite of soda from Mr Low and on my way home I got
the whitening at the Bridge of Earn. I did not purchase Guano because of my having the pig in the cart. I had no drink at
all excepting a little ginger cordial at the inn where I put up my horse.
I think I would be at the Bridge of Earn between five and
six o clock and having called on Geddes the slater it would be about seven o clock when I reached home.
When I got home I found that my servant James Crichton had
given up work and was suffering up his horses. I called him and he came and assisted me to take the pig out of the cart, and
also to put up the horse. He locked the barn door and took the key down to the house. I heard him at the kitchen door, but
he came back, bringing the barn key with him, and hung it on the stable door key. He did not say to me that he could not get
into the kitchen. I took possession of the keys and went down to the house, and tried to open the kitchen or back door which
is the one at which we generally go in and out, but it was locked. I knocked upon it and called upon my sister by her name
but received no answer. It did not occur to em to look through the keyhole so as to ascertain whether the key was in the lock
from the inside or not. I laid down the keys which I had on the sill of the Milkhouse window which is close by and then went
off to the ploughmans cottage, which is in a hollow of some distance, and asked him if he knew what had become of my sister.
I told him that the door was locked and that I could not get in, and I then enquired whether he had seen her go about during
the day, or if he had seen her go about during the day, or if he had seen her get any letters, which might call her away,
but he said that he had not seen her at all, except shortly after I left, when he had seen a man in dark clothes speaking
to her at the kitchen door. It was the ploughmans wife who answered the door, and she might have heard all that passed.
I immediately came back, and as I could get no answer to
my rapping I took a ladder from the mill shed, and set it up against the wall underneath the window of the room where my sister
slept. I knew that this window was not fastened, while all the others were. I got in at this window and on coming down stairs,
I first went to my own bedroom thinking that perhaps my sister had become unwell, and lain down upon my bed, but she was not
there. I found that the shutters on the window were closed. This appeared to me as if my sister had left the premisies altogether,
as they were open when I went away, and are hardly ever closed, except when I am going from home for a time. I then went to
the passage to the back of the kitchen door to see whether the key was away,a nd I found that it was so and the door locked.
The kitchen door is immediately opposite to the back door, and I pushed it open and went in. I observed a heap of bed clothes
lying on the middle of the floor. I called out my sisters name, several times and then went forwards and lifted part of the
clothes, and on putting down my hand I felt the head as of a dead body, and I immediately went out of the house by the front
door, and ran down to the house of James Barlas, the mason who lives next door to my ploughman.
I did not take particular notice of what bed clothes were
over the body, but it appeared to me that the bed clothes had been brought out in a mess and thrown over the body. It was
lying with the feet to the fire, and the head to the middle of the room. It was getting dark at this time and I did not observe
any blood on the floor, but I thought I saw some on the part of the head I touched. I dont think I got any upon my hand. There
is a white screen on the kitchen window, but there are no shutters. Barlas and his wife came up and he and I went into the
kitchen, and having got a light we lifted up the bedclothes and found that it was my sisters body, and that she had been killed,
her head being smashed, and driven in. I did not at that time see the axe, as I immediately went off to the Bridge of Earn
to get the Doctor and the Constable. I called in upon James Wilkinson and he went along with me.
The Doctor was not at home but was expected by the train
which was nearly due. I waited its arrival, and having seen the Doctor, I came away home, he having picked me up on the road.
In the interim I had written a note to the Fiscal at Perth, and also given information at the Police Station. When Dr. Laing
and I came here I suggested that he would take upon himself the responsibility of examining the body, which he did. After
removing the bed clothes from off it, we saw that she had been killed by a blow on the head and we then noticed that the axe
which is used in the kicthen for chopping the wood and breaking down the coals was leaning against the wall at the fireside.
The head of it was smeared with blood and there were various marks of blood upon the handle. All the clothes were on the body,
just as I had left my sister in the morning. Dr Laing felt the body and said that he thought she hd been killed about dinner
time, or between one and two o clock.
I afterwards observed that there were several splashes of
blood upon the walls all round the kitchen and even upon the ceiling, but there was not the slightest appearance of blood
in the lobbies or rooms or door steps or anywhere else except the kitchen.
Immediately after examining the body and on going into my
owm bedroom which is to the front of the house I observed that a chest which stood there had been broken open by some instrument
having been inserted under the lid of the lock, and that the lid had been forced up from the keeper. There were about two
shillings in coppers lying in the locker of the chest when I went away in the morning, but these were gone. I had seen them
that morning. I had a pocket book also in the same locker and I found it lying on the top of the chest. There is a chest of
drawers in the same room and a press on the top of it. The press was forced open, as was also the middle small drawer of the
chest of drawers. Both of these fractures were done by the same instrument which was evidently a pair of scissors which lay
upon my dressing table, and which was afterwards found in the room with one of the points broken off, and I think that Mr
Gordon the Chief Constable found the scissors and the broken point, and shewed the to me during the night. I missed about
a dozen of eggs out of the press, and we found a quantity of egg shells in the kicthen floor and dresser, and one egg amongst
the ashes on the kitchen fire. There was an old silver watch lying in the locker of the chest, but it was not taken away,
and I think I took it from the chest, and put it in one of the open drawers, where it was afterwards seen by the police.
The front door is generally kept locked and the key is left
in the lock inside. We go out and in by the kitchen door, and the key always stood in the lock in the inside. The party who
committed the murder must have gone out at the kitchen door taking the key with him, and locking the door on the outside,
and carried off the key. My sister was about 51 years of age.
William Henderson
The Scotsman - Wednesday, April 4th 1866
"THE BRIDGE OF EARN MURDER - APPREHENSION OF THE
SUSPECTED MURDERER"
Description of the man who was seen about Mount Stewart farm
on the afternoon of Friday, and on whom suspicion of the murder chiefly rests, having been forwarded to the various police
stations in Fifeshire and the neighbouring counties, the police constable who has charge of the ferry station at Burntisland
apprehended a person yesterday, who, in his opinion, answered in some respects the information he had received. The Chief
Constable of the county was immediately communicated with by telegram, and his deputy arrived at Burntisland in the course
of the day. On examination, the mans appearance was found to answer in every every particular to that of the tramp seen at
the house. He was conveyed to Perth by the train leaving Burntisland at 7.45.
Perthshire Journal and Constitutional - Thurs,
5th April, 1866
"MYSTERIOUS MURDER NEAR BRIDGE OF EARN"
A most revolting and cold-blooded murder has been committed near Bridge of Earn, under circumstances of so mysterious
a kind as that all attempts on the part of the authorities to discover any traces of the murderer have as yet proved unsuccessful.
The unfortunate victim was the sister of the man in whose house the deed was committed, and was named Janet Henderson or Roger.
She was about fifty years of age - a few years younger than her brother - and her husband, a labourer, resides at Airntully,
near Stanley. The murder took place in the farm-house of Mount Stewart, occupied by Mr Robert Henderson (sic), who is unmarried,
and resides alone. The farm is small, and is situated about two miles from the Bridge of Earn, and south of Forgandenny Road.
The house and steading, which are very lonely, are about eight hundred yards from the turnpike road, and about 600 or 700
yards distant from any house, the nearest being occupied by the foreman, who, we understand, is the only person employed on
the farm. The farmhouse is a very old building, and consists of two storeys, and one half of it seems to have been lately
renewed. It is surrounded by a small garden, but both for a considerable time seem to have been almost entirely strangers
both to housemaid and gardener. Indeed, for a long time previous to the arrival of the deceased, no housemaid or female servant
had been employed on the farm. At this season of the year, when dairy work is on the increase, the assistance of a domestic
servant was found to be absolutely essentail , and to perform the the necessary duties for some days Mr Henderson's sister
arrived at the farm on Wednesday. She was then in her usual health. On Friday morning, Mr Henderson left the farm to attend
the market at Perth, leaving his sister in charge of the house. Nothing unusual took place until his return in the evening,
about seven o'clock, when he entered the hosue of his foreman, and inquired if he had seen his sister, remarking that, according
to expectations, she might have got a letter from the "Doctor" (Dr Henderson of Perth), and gone away to Perth, and left the
key with him. The foreman replied that he had not seen her, nor was the key in his possession,. Without saying anything further,
Mr Henderson turned about, and, it is supposed, went back again to the farm-house. So far as we can learn, he next made his
appearance about eight o'clock at the Bridge of Earn, where he called to the hosue of Dr Laing, and informed him that on entering
his house some time previously, which he did by one of the upper room windows after procuring a ladder from the steading,
the door of the house being locked, he found his sister lying dead in the kitchen in a pool of blood. It would appear that
he had then left Dr Laing's and gone to the Railway Station, where he asked on the platform if any passenger was going to
Perth, and having found a woman who was going in that direction, gave her a letter addressed to the Procurator-Fiscal in Perth,
which she promised to deliver. This letter was delivered to the Assistant Procurator-Fiscal in Perth about half past ten o'clock
on the same evening. The letter stated in effect that on Mr Henderson's arrival home from Perth market on Friday evening he
found his house locked up, and was obliged to enter the premises by a window. Having gained access to the house, he went into
the kitchen, where he found the dead body of his sister lying in the midst of a pool of blood.
|
|
| The old kitchen floor, where Janet's body was discovered by William |
Immediately on receiving the above information, Mr Young
proceeded to Stewart Mount, and in a few minutes thereafter he and Mr McDonald, the Superintendent of the County Police, accompanied
by several constables, were on their way to the spot to investigate into the truth of the statement contained in the letter.
The farm-house was reached about twelve o'clock. Mr Henderson was walking about the garden, and on their coming up to him
he asked what they wanted. They informed him of the nature of their visit, and he said that he had sent the letter which they
had received. Finding that the information regarding the murder was only too true, orders were given to the police to watch
Mr Henderson. This was at once done by two constables, who conveyed him to one of the rooms, and remained with him until the
necessary investigations had been completed, when he was liberated. On entering the kitchen, which bore unmistakeable signs
of a desperate struggle having taken place, a scene of a horrifying description was presented. The murdered woman was lying
on her back in a literal pool of blood, with her arms outstretched and her hands covered with gore; the floor was covered
with bloody foot-marks; the furniture lay about in indescribable confusion; and the walls near the part of the room where
the foul deed had evidently been committed were as thickly spotted with blood as though they had been sprinkled with a brush.
The woman's head lay within a few feet of the door, and the her feet at the fire-place. The bed-clothes had apparently been
pulled out of the bed and thrown above her after the murder, as, with the exception of the sheet near her body, all the other
clothes were free from any stains of blood. There is nothing whatever to favour the supposition that the deed had been committed
in the bed, as not a single spot of blood was to be found about it; while, on the contrary, from the condition of the room,
there is every reason to suppose that the woman had been brutally butchered while fulfilling her domestic duties. The murder
had evidently been committed five or six hours previous to the arrival of the police, for the body was found by them to be
quite warm, though the extremities were cold. No scratch or injury of any kind was found upon the body; but the back part
of the head, which was covered with two woollen caps, was dreadfully smashed, and a large irregular hole of considerable depth
was found beneath the right ear. The injuries had evidently been inflicted with the kitchen axe, which was lying unconcealed
near the body covered with gore, and portions of hair were sticking to it. Whether the helpless woman had been struck down
with the axe it is impossible to say, but there is little doubt from the examination which was made, that after the woman
had fallen down or been knocked down, her murderer had struck her on the head with it two or three times - dealing one blow
behind the right ear, and one more on the middle of the back part of the head. The house was carefully searched with the view
of obtaining a clue to the murderer, but, we understand, without much success. That the woman had been murdered by robbers
with the view of their more effectually plundering the house did not appear to the police to be the case, as, with the exception
of the furniture in the kitchen, everything remained undisturbed, and no article seemed to have been taken away. Having finished
their work, Mr Young and Superintendent McDonald placed two or three of the constables around the house to guard it, and then
drove off to Perth. On Saturday forenoon Sheriff Barclay and Mr McLean, the Procurator-Fiscal, visited the farm to make further
investigations. We believe they also took possession of the axe, the wearing apparel of the deceased, and several other articles;
but as yet no person has been apprehended on a charge of the murder. The case is one of considerable mystery, and has created
the greatest excitement in Bridge of Earn and in Perth. A post-mortem examination of the body was made on Saturday by Dr Absolom
of Perth, and Dr Laing, of Bridge of Earn, and the latter, we understand, was also present during the first visit of the police
officials.
Mr Henderson denies all knowledge of the affair; but affirms that the house had been entered by robbers,
who had carried off some money, and who, he supposes, in order to effect a perfect exploration of the house, had first murdered
his sister. From the loneliness of the place, it is perfectly possible that such a thing may have occurred without its being
detected. Mr Henderson's foreman was working on the farm all day, at a small distance from the house, and until he dropped
work - about five or six o'clock - he heard no unusual noise about the house, nor had he seen his master's sister for a considerable
time before that. No strangers were seen by him near the place during the day; and it is altogether a mystery how this horrible
crime has been committed.
LATEST PARTICULARS
Since Saturday morning the authorities have
been busily engaged in making investigations into this mysterious murder. As the inquiries proceed, circumstances seem to
point towards the innocence of Henderson, the brother of the deceased, who, at the first blush, was very generally supposed
to have some connection with the murder. Henderson, it appears, was in Bridge of Earn on his homeward journey from Perth market
a little before seven o'clock on Friday evening. Mount Stewart is nearly two miles from Bridge of Earn, so that it must have
been fully half-past seven ere that was reached. Some time would be occupied in unyoking and stabling the horse; and then
the house, which was locked up, required to be entered by the window with a ladder. This would take up the time till after
8 o'clock, shortly after which Henderson raised the alarm that his sister had been murdered, and accompanied by a neighbour,
proceeded to Bridge of Earn, and appraised Dr Laing of the circumstance, and before leaving that village despatched a note
to the Procurator-Fiscal by the train which leaves Bridge of Earn for Perth at 9.10 PM. Taking all these circumstances into
account, it appears pretty clear that Henderson is not the guilty person. A most important witness has turned up in the person
of Mrs Riley, a travelling dealer in stoneware, residing in Meal Vennel, Perth. Mrs Riley states that early on Friday afternoon
(it must have been, however, several hours after Henderson left for Perth), she went to Mount Stewart in the way of her calling,
and on reaching the door, she found the now murdered Mrs Rodger engaged in conversation with a man having the appearance of
a tramp. Mrs Riley, after exchanging a few words with Mrs Rodger, left her and the man together. A motive for the commission
of the murder has also been made apparent from the fact that all the lockfast places at all likely to have contained money
or other valuable property were broken open, and the implement with which this had evidently been accomplished, a pair of
strong scissors, has been found. The scissors, which have now been taken possession of by the police, are covered with blood.
It was generally believed that Henderson kept a large sum of money in the house, and it was, no doubt, to get possession of
this that the murderer, whoever he may be, perpetrated the horrid crime. The police are endeavouring to get on the track of
the man seen at Mount Stewart by Mrs Riley, and it is earnestly to be hoped that they may succeed. The body of the murdered
woman was on Monday removed from the scene of the murder to Airntully, the residence of her husband, and the funeral is to
take place in Auchtergaven churchyard to-day.
APPREHENSION OF A SUSPECTED PERSON
Descriptions
of the man who was seen about Mount Stewart farm on the afternoon of Friday, and on whom suspicion of the murder chiefly rests,
having been forwarded to the various police-stations in Fifeshire and the neighbouring counties, the police constable who
has charge of the Ferry station at Burntisland apprehended a person on Tuesday, who, in his opinion, answered in some respects
the information he had received. The Chief Constable of the county was immediately communicated with by telegram, and his
deputy arrived at Burntisland in the course of the day. On examination, the man's appearance was found to answer in some particulars
to that of the tramp seen at the house. He was conveyed to Perth by the train leaving Burntisland at 7.45. On the man being
confronted with Mrs Riley, she at once positively stated that he was not the person she had seen at Mount Stewart on the day
of the murder, and he was liberated from custody on Wednesday morning.
The Perthshire Advertiser - Thurs, April 5th, 1866
"DREADFUL MURDER AT MOUNT STEWART FARM"
On Friday last, an atrocious murder was perpetrated in the old farm house of Mount Stewart, two miles to the westward
of the Bridge of Earn - a tragedy as bloody in its denouement, and as closely shrouded in mystery, as the cold-blooded massacres
of Road or Sandyford. We doubt if so revolting a crime has been enacted in the quiet rural Strath of Earn within the memory
of the oldest living inhabitant. Mysterious as yet in its details and horrible in its nature, a full and correct narrative
is scarcely possible or desirable; but the following facts, gleaned from reliable sources, may give the reader a pretty clear
idea of the circumstances. A few words first as to the
SCENE OF THE MURDER
Mount Stewart
farm house, or The Floors, as it used to be called till very recently, is situated about a half a mile to the west of Pitkeathly
Wells. The road to Forgandenny and Dunning from the Bridge of Earn runs for some distance almost parallel with the Ochil range
of hills, the intervening space being about a quarter of a mile in breadth. On a rising knoll, between this road and the Ochils,
at a point about equidistant from Forgandenny and Bridge of Earn, stands Mount Stewart farm. The house is a very old irregular
building of two storeys; but one part of it appears to have been lately renewed. The steading is close to the house, on the
north side, but divided from the latter by a low stone wall, which encloses also a small garden. The kitchen, where the murder
was committed, is on the ground floor, and occupies the north-east corner of the house. The farm itself is sixty-three Scotch
acres in extent, and is worked by one man, named James Crichton, who resides near to the house. The tenant of Mount Stewart
is Mr William Henderson, who is well known in Perth, and to farmers who attend the weekly market. It ought to be stated, as
a point of some little interest, that the farm house is not seen from the main road, owing to a belting of trees that run
along for some distance. Excepting two small houses, the nearest dwelling to Mount Stewart is fully five minutes walk.
THE
MURDER
The following is a statement of the facts in connection with this heartrending affair, so far as these
can as yet be ascertained: - On Friday morning, about eleven o'clock, Mr Henderson left his house in his cart for Perth market.
He returned in the evening a little after seven, having stopped on the way to transact some farming and domestic business.
About half past seven he enetered the house of his ploughman, Crichton, stating that his house door was locked, and inquiring
if he had seen his sister, remarking, that, according to expectation, she might have got a letter from the "Doctor" and gone
away to Perth, and therefore left the key with him. The man replied, that he had not seen her, nor was the key in his possession.
Without saying anything further, Mr Henderson left the house. About eight o'clock, Mr Henderson called on Mr Barlas, a mason,
who lives in a small house adjoining Crichton's, and told him that he had found his sister in the house murdered. At Mr Henderson's
request, Mr Barlas immediately accompanied him to Bridge of Earn, where they communicated the intelligence to Dr Laing and
to the village constable. Mr Henderson at the same time wrote a communication to the Procurator-Fiscal of Perth asking him
to come to his farm. The note was given by Mr Henderson himself to a woman at the Bridge of Earn station, with a request that
she should deliver it immediately on her arrival. Meantime, Mr Henderson and Mr Barlas (accompanied by Dr Laing and the constable)
returned to Mount Stewart. About half past ten the letter was delivered to Mr John Young, assistant Procurator-Fiscal, at
his residence. It may here be stated, that Mr McLean, Procurator-Fiscal, was at Pitlochry at the time, investigating a case
of a somewhat similar nature - one of suspected murder.
Mr Young lost no time in making arrangements for the journey,
and left Perth, accompanied by Captain Gordon, Superntendent MacDonald of the County Police, and several constables. A little
after twelve the party reached Mount Stewart, and at once proceeded to make investiagation. It was seen that Mr Henderson,
on finding the doors locked, had entered his house through a window in the upper storey, by means of a ladder. On entering
the kitchen, which bore unmistakable signs of a desperate struggle having taken place, a scene of a horrifying description
was presented. The murdered woman was lying on her side in a large pool of blood; the floor was covered with bloody foot-marks;
the furniture lay about in indescribable confusion; and the walls and furniture were spotted with blood. The woman's head
lay towards the door, and her feet at the fireplace. The bedclothes had apparently been pulled out of the bed, and thrown
above her after the murder, as, with the exception of the sheet next her body, all the other clothes were free from any stains
of blood. There is nothing whatever to favour the supposition that the deed had been committed in the bed, a sno blood was
found about it. From the condition of the room, there is every reason to suppose that the woman had been brutally butchered
while fulfilling her domestic duties. On the back part of her head were two large gashes, as if inflicted by a heavy blunt
instrument. On the floor, not far from the murdered woman, was found an axe covered with blood. The police found that several
drawers had been opened, and their contents displaced; but nothing appears to have been stolen from the house. In point of
fact, almost all the lockfast places in the house at all likely to have contained money, or other valuable property, were
broken open, and the implement with which this had evidently been accomplished (a pair of strong scissors) was also found.
The scissors, which were taken possession of by the police, were covered with blood. During the night, Dr Absolon, Perth,
visited the scene of the murder; and again on Saturday forenoon, Mr Sheriff Barclay, Mr McLean (Procurator-Fiscal), and Dr
Absolon visited Mount Stewart. The latter gentleman, with Dr Laing of the Bridge of Earn, made a post mortem examination of
the body, but, of course, the report has not yet been made public.
The authorities have, since Saturday morning, been
engaged in making careful investigation in the hope of discovering the murderer. At first (it may now be stated), strong suspicion
rested on Mr Henderson himself, from the fact of his having made the murder known, and entering his house alone. But, on second
thoughts, it was seen that Mr Henderson could not have perpetrated the crime. Leaving out of view the open, natural manner
in which he gave information regarding it, the time when he left Perth till he called on Mr Barlas - after which he was in
the company of others - can all be accounted for. Mr Henderson, it appears, was in Bridge of Earn, on his homeward journey
from Perth market, a little before seven o'clock on Friday afternoon. Mount Stewart is nearly two miles from Bridge of Earn,
so that it must have been about half past seven before that was reached. Some time would be occupied in unyoking and stabling
the horse, and then the house, which was locked up, required to be entered by means of a window. This would occupy the time
till eight o'clock shortly after which Henderson raised the alarm that his sister had been murdered, and, accompanied by his
neighbour, proceeded to Bridge of Earn, and apprised Dr Laing of the circumstance, and before leaving that village, despatched
a note to the Procurator-Fiscal by the train which leaves Brisge of Earn for Perth at 9.10 PM.
But it is satisfactory
to record that on Saturday a most important witness turned up in the person of Mrs Riley, a travelling dealer in stoneware,
residing in Meal Vennel, Perth. Riley was examined on SAturday evening, and, it is understood, gave evidence to the effect
that she was at Mount Stewart early on the afternoon of Friday, and saw Mrs Rogers, the murdered woman, standing at the kitchen
door, with a shovel in her hand, and that there was a man, having the appearance of a tramp, speaking to Mrs Rogers. Mrs Riley,
after exchanging a few words with Mrs Rogers, left her and the man together; and the witness is certain she could identify
the tramp.
This statement harmonises apparently with the hasty manner in which the murder was committed, and the disordered
state in which the house was found. It was generally believed that Henderson kept a large sum of money in the house, and it
was, no doubt, to get possession of this that the murderer, whoever he may be, perpetrated the horrid crime.
A general
description of the man seen by Mrs Riley at Mount Stewart was circulated by measn of small bills, and of course forwarded
to the various police stations in Scotland. Acting on this information, the police constable who has charge of the ferry station
at Burntisland apprehended a person on Tuesday. The chief-constable of Perthshire was immediately communicated with by telegram,
and a deputy arrived in Burntisland in the course of the day. The man was brought to Perth by the train arriving here at 9.30
PM. Yesterday, however, he was liberated, as the woman Riley stated he was not the man she saw speaking to Janet Henderson.
Up till last night no trace of the assassin had been discovered.
JANET HENDERSON
The deceased
was, as stated above, sister to Mr Henderson, of Mount Stewart, and was about fifty years of age. She had gone to reside with
her brother only on Wednesday, last week, to perform some necessary duties about the farm, and put the house in proper order,
there being no female servant at Mount Stewart. The deceased's husband's name is James Rogers, a foreman labourer, and he
resides at Airntully, near Stanley, parish of Auchtergaven. Deceased has left a large family, who are, however, pretty well
advanced in life. On Monday the remains of Mrs Rogers were conveyed to Airntully, and, we understand, the internment will
take place to-day in Auchtergaven churchyard.
North British Daily Mail - Thursday, April 5th
1866
"THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER. APPREHENSION OF THE SUSPECTED
MURDERER"
Descriptions of the man who was seen about Mount Stewart
farm on the afternoon of Friday, and on whom suspicion of the murder chiefly rests, having been forwarded to the various police
stations in Fifeshire and the neighbouring counties, the police constable who has charge of the ferry station at Burntisland
apprehended a person on Tuesday, who, in his opinion, answered in some respects the information he had received. The chief
constable of the county was immediately communicated with by telegram, and his deputy arrived at Burntisland in the course
of the day. On examination, the mans appearance was found to answer in every particular to that of the tramp seen at the house.
He was conveyed to Perth by the train leaving Burntisland at 7.45.
On Tuesday evening considerable excitement prevailed at Perth
owing to a report that the supposed murderer of Mrs Rodger had been taken into custody at Burntisland and would shortly arrive
in Perth. The report so far proved correct. A man was apprehended, brought to Perth, and lodged in the police office, and
confronted with Mrs Riley, the itinerant hawker, who, it will be remembered, stated that she saw a man loitering near to the
house, and whom she described and affirmed she could identify. She at once said the person in charge was nopt the man she
saw near Mount Stewart, and accordingly he was liberated yesterday. We learn that the person apprehended is a sort of travelling
writer, and had been in Perth on Thursday last, and called at some of the offices in town. He left for Dundee on Thursday
forenoon, but owing to the state of the roads was only able to reach Longforgan, where he slept all night. He reached Dundee
on the day on which the murder was committed, and remained there all that evening. The authorities continue to make the most
vigorous inquiries, and it is earnestly to be hoped that the perpetrator of so foul a crime will not long elude detection.
The Scotsman - Thursday, April 5th 1866
p.2
"THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER"
The authorities of Perthshire have not yet got any clues
to lead to the discovery of the murderer of Mrs Rogers, the sister of Mr William Henderson, farmer, Mount Stewart, parish
of Forgandenny. As stated in yesterdays Scotsman, a man was brought to Perth on Tuesday night, on suspicion of being the murderer;
but on his being confronted yesterday with the Perth hawker, the latter could not identify the man, and he was liberated.
Witness Statement - James Barlas (AD14/67/170)
Bridge of Earn 5 April 1866
James Barlas, mason, residing at
Linlea in the Parish of Forgandenny and shire of Perth, aged forty two, Declares
My house is near to the road which
leads from Mount Stewart to the Bridge
of Earn Road, and is about 400 yards from Mount Stewart.
The farm servant on Mount Stewart lives
on the same place, and the houses are attached to each other. I have lived there for about fifteen years past. Mr. Henderson
the farmer at Mount Stewart was here
when I. He is not married and, has no female relation residing with him. He generally has a female servant but she never stays
long and it is quite notorious in the country that this is because of his lubidious propensities.
On Friday the 30th of
March Mr. Henderson came down to my house shortly before eight o’clock at night,
and asked me to come to his house as his sister was either dead or had been murdered. I came along with him and when we reached
the house, I stopped at the corner and called to Mr. Henderson’s man Crichton to accompany us into the house. He did
not hear me, and did not come. Then we got round to the front door, I lighted a candle and Henderson
led the way into he kitchen. When we entered the kitchen I saw a heap of bedclothes lying on the floor and part of the arm
of a woman. Henderson lifted part of the clothes & saw the dead body of Mr.
Henderson’s sister lying with her feet towards the fire, and her head towards the middle of the floor. There was a great
pool of blood immediately beneath where her head was lying. When Henderson lifted
the blankets they were sticking to her head and face with the blood, and he said “that speaks for itself”. We
then left the kitchen and Henderson took me into the parlour, and lifted a bunch
of keys of his house. We then went into his bedroom and found three long drawers of the chest open, and his own chest with
the lid closed down but not locked. Henderson lifted the lid and took his pocket
book from the locker and examined it. I asked him if he had lost anything and he said not above a pound. He went forward to
shut the drawers and I said that he had better not do hat until some of the authorities came, and we then left the house.
And Henderson locked the door. We had a conversation on the way down to my house
as to the best way to proceed, and then Henderson went off to Bridge
of Earn for the doctor. I went home and remained there until I saw the gig that
had taken up Dr. Laing returning, when I again went up to MS with the Forgandenny policeman. When we came up I saw Henderson
and Dr. Laing standing at the corner & I heard Dr. Laing say that it was a decided murder. I saw that the walls of the
kitchen were bespattered with blood. There was a kettle on the kitchen fire and I saw Mr. Young and Superintendent McDonald
feeling it and saying that it was a little warm. I observed a number of chips of egg shells lying in front of he dresser near
to the window, which were examined, but I cannot give an opinion as to whether they were boiled or not. I saw a smashed egg
found in the fireplace and somebody said it was half eaten, but I did not examine it so as to see that.
I saw a packet of snuff lying open
on a small table near to the fireplace but there was no name on the paper. I did not see the axe at all. I saw no marks of
blood about the clothes of Henderson when he came to me, nor did I observe a single
mark of blood out of the kitchen, on the passages or floors or anywhere else.
James Barlas
Hand bill posted April 9th 1866
MURDER.
REVISED INFORMATION
DURING the day time on Friday, the 30th March last, JANET
HENDERSON or ROGERS, was barbarously MURDERED
in the Kitchen of the FARM HOUSE of MOUNT STEWART, in
the Parish of Forgandenny, and County of Perth, by some
person or persons at present unknown.
From the appearance of the Body and Furniture, in said
House, their (sic) is every reason to believe that the party
or parties
who committed the said Crime, must have been considerably
covered with blood.
In adition to the Large Outer-Door Key, mentioned in
fomer handbills, the following Articles are now missed
from
the said house, and are supposed to have been taken by the
murderer:-
A common plain Single-breasted Black Vest, with Collar and black
covered buttons, partly worn. A Grey coloured Cap made of
one piece, with peak of the same; the crown made of darker
cloth, new. A pair of darkish coloured worsted corded Trousers,
little worn; the property of William Henderson, Farmer at
Mount Stewart aforesaid, who is a stout made man, about 5 feet
11 inches in height. These clothes may now be worn by the
murderer.
About Noon on said day, before the Crime was committed, a
man of the following description, supposed to be the Murderer,
was seen at the Kitchen door of said house:-
Between 40 and 50 years of age. About 5 feet 9 inches in height.
Brown Hair, and Small Dark Whiskers. Long Face. Slender
make, and thin in figure. Dressed in a dirty darkish Cap., Dark
Frock-tailed Coat, rather long; Grayish coloured Trousers.
Rather Seedy appearance. Dd not look like a working man.
He is supposed to have had a small dog, of a dark or grayish
colour, along with him.
It is earnestly requested that any information relative to
the matter, may be immediately communicated to the Procu-
rator Fiscal, or Chief Constable of County Police, at Perth,
or
to any Police Constable.
County Police Office,
PERTH, 9th April, 1866.
C.G.SIDEY, PRINTER, PERTH.
________________________
Hand bill posted 10th April 1866
Perthshire Journal and Constitutional
- Thurs, 12th April, 1866
"THE BRIDGE OF EARN MURDER"
The
authorities are still busily engaged in investigating this mysterious case. On Tuesday, a man was apprehended in Dundee, on
suspicion of being concerned in the murder. He was brought to Perth in the evening, but, after being examined, the authorities
released him from ustody on Wednesday. We observe that a reward of 100 has been offered by Government to any person who will
give such information as shall lead to the conviction of the murderer.
The Perthshire Advertiser - Thurs, April 12th, 1866
"THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER"
This
cold-blooded murder is still wrapped in mystery, so far as the apprehension of the perpetrator is concerned, or indeed of
the sex, or class in society to which the murderer belongs. On Tuesday, a man was apprehended on suspicion in Dundee, but
on examination it was found he had nothing whatever to do with the affair, and so was liberated. It is reported that the authorities
in Dundee received information from Perth that a person was in town who was suspected of being concerned in this mysterious
affair. The police were made acquainted with the description of the person wanted, and in the course of the day succeeded
in apprehending a man. The intelligence was afterwards conveyed to Perth, and constables were sent ot Dundee, who took the
man back with them. It was alleged that the man's vest had blood marks upon it, but it is said he gave, as an explanation
of this, that he had been killing sheep in a small town in Perthshire on the previous day. Government has offered a reward
of 100 for "such information as will lead to the conviction of the murderer". During the past few days the wildest possible
rumours have been in circulation regarding the perpetration of murders. In a house near Perth a man, it was said, had been
poisoned by his wife. At Bridgend, a child was believed to have been killed by his father; and in Meal Vennel, no one knows
how many murders have been perpetrated within the past week. These ruumours are all the product of some over-heated brain,
or the wilful falsehoods of some lover of horrible tales. The cases in the hands of the police are numerous and shocking enough,
and quite mysterious enough to fully engage their attention and energies. In the meantime, they are very vigilant with the
work they have on hand, and we hope their efforts will end in the conviction of the guilty persons.
The Scotsman - Thursday, April 12th 1866, p.2
"THE MOUNT STEWART FARM MURDER"
On Tuesday, a man was apprehended in Dundee on suspicion
of being connected with the murder of Mrs Rogers at Mount Stewart farm-house, near the Bridge of Earn. He was brought to Perth
on Tuesday evening, and on giving a satisfactory account of himself was liberated yesterday forenoon by the Procurator-Fiscal.
A proclamation was yesterday issued, offering a reward of £100 by Government to any person who can give such information to
the Procurator-Fiscal of Perthshire or the Chief Constable of county police at Perth, as shall lead to the conviction of the
murderer of Mrs Rogers.
Excerpt from the minutes of the meeting of the Police Committtee of the
County of Perth, April 16th 1866 (A. K. Bell Library: CC1/1/2/2):
Notwithstanding the dimunition of crime I regret to report that an atrocious
murder took place in the kitchen of the farm house of Mount Stewart on Friday 30th March last. The particulars of which are
already known to your Honors: and although the most strenuous exertions have been made, no clue to lead to the discovery of
the murderer has as yet been made.
Letter from the Perth Chief Constable
to the Captain of Police at Aberdeen (A.K.Bell Library: POL 1/5/3 #432)
Perth 16th April 1866
To Capt of Police, Aberdeen
Unfortunately we have no person whom we can depend upon
to identify this Mount Stewart murderer. We have had a great many persons answering the descriptions. Would you kindly send
a description of Henderson and say exactly what account he gives of himself and where he was at the time of the murder so
that we can get the truth of this statement tested. I take the advantage of your officer being here to send this otherwise
I would have telegraphed.
The CC Henry McDonald, Supt.
The Perthshire Courier - Tuesday, April 17th, 1866
"THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER"
On Wednesday,
a proclamation was posted through town and county offering a Government reward of 100 to any person who shall forthwith give
such information to the Procurator Fiscal of Perthshire, or to the Chief Constable, as shall lead to the conviction of the
murderer. The vaguest rumours continue to prevail regarding this sad affair, and every priosner brought from the county is
followed by crowds, and under the supposition that he is the murderer of Mrs Rogers. The drover apprehended in Dundee, simply
because there were marks of blood on his clothes, and brought to Perth on Tuesday, was liberated next day.
Letter from Perth Chief Constable to Aberdeen Police
Superintendent (A.K.Bell Library ref: POL 1/5/3 #433)
Mount Stewart Murder Perth 18 April 1866
(To) Ian Duthie Esqr, Supt of Police, Aberdeen
(Re:) John Henderson
Dear Sir,
Our authorities here have detained the person above named
in the meantime on suspicion being implicated in the above case. They direct me to send you the enclosed pawn ticket and to
request that you will collect the articles therein mentioned to be taken from the pawn office and sent here to see if anyone
can identify them. Please section the pawn ticket also - if the clothes be kept here the workers will be paid - if not they
will be returned and the ticket given to Henderson. The parcel to be addressed to me - your attention to this will much help
(?) for yours truly.
Pro: George Gordon Chief Constable , Henry McDonald Supt.
Perthshire Journal and Constitutional - Thurs, 19th April, 1866
"THE BRIDGE OF EARN MURDER - ANOTHER APPREHENSION"
On Tuesday evening, a travelling hatter, named John Henderson, was brought to Perth in custody of an officer of the
Aberdeen police, on suspicion of having some connection with the Bridge of Earn murder. He was taken to the City Police Office,
where in the course of the evening he was confronted with Mrs Riley, who, it will be recollected gave the description of a
man she saw conversing with Mrs Roger at Mount Stewart on the afternoon of the murder. Mrs Riley failed to identify him in
gas light, but said she would like to see him during the day, and accordingly she again saw him yesterday, when she stated
that she believed him to be the man she had seen along with Mrs Roger. In the course of the afternoon Henderson was examined
before Sheriff Barclay, but the result has not transpired. It is, however, rumoured that the suspected man can prove that
he was not in the neighbourhood of Mount Stewart on the day of the murder.
The Perthshire Advertiser - Thurs, 19th April, 1866
"THE MOUNT STEWART
MURDER"
"Murder will out" says the proverb, but it is slow in coming in this case. It will be three weeks
tomorrow since the deed was done, and up to this time it is shrouded in utter darkness. Not that the authorities are asleep
or listless; on the contrary they are wide awake, and watching far and wide for the murderer. We reported last week that they
had brought a man from Dundee, confronted him with Mrs Riley, and then dismissed him. We also reported that a reward of 100
was offered for the detection of the murderer. A description of the man said to have been seen by Mrs Riley at Mount Stewart
farm-house on the day of the murder has been sent to all the police stations in the country; in consequence of which a telegram
from Aberdeen was sent to the Procurator-Fiscal here on Tuesday, intimating that a man of the name of Henderson, who appeared
to answer the description, had been arrested there, and would be sent to Perth by the evening train. He was sent on accordingly;
but, as it was late when he arrived, he was detained in the police cells till yesterday.
Mrs Riley, we believe, was
brought to see him on Tuesday evening, and, in the gas-light, said she thought he was like the man. The two were again confronted
yesterday afternoon, when the woman again said she thought he was like the man. The man himself, on his examination, denied
having been at Mount Stewart on the day in question; and further, denied having been hereabouts for two years. Singularly
enough, his name is Henderson, the maiden name of the murdered woman; and still more singular, his wife's name is Rogers,
the name of the husband of the victim at Mount Stewart. The result of yesterday's proceedings was, the committal of Henderson
for further examination.
The husband of the murdered woman, Mr James Rogers, Airntully, requests us to print the following
letter. We see no reason why we should refuse, and give it in full in its touching simplicity. Founding his claim to a hearing
on having been a reader of our paper for more than thirty years, he proceeds to describe what he justly calls a "heartrending
scene" as follows:-
Being in the woods
of Rohallion at my employment on the 31st of March, I was abruptly accosted by an affinity relation of my own, on horseback,
to leave all and come along with him. Judging within myself that something of importance had taken place, I demanded an explanation,
which he demurred in giving. Obstinate on my part to move without it, and being prepared for the worst, he told me that my
wife was dead, and that she had been brutally murdered in Mount Stewart kitchen. Hastening on with a bleeding heart to the
heartrending scene which was soon to present itself, I arrived at Mount Stewart about twelve o'clock, accompanied by a niece
of my wife's, likewise the niece's father. On entering the house (the door being opened by my brother-in-law), and on receiving
a light, I immediately entered the kitchen, found the dead body of my wife stretched lying on two tables, wound up in a sheet.
Uncovering her face, I found it looked pleasant, the eyes being shut. Examining her neck, I found no marks of violence, the
wound being made on the left side of the head behind the ear. Next examined the floor; found about two feet sqaure in a pool
of blood; the walls and all the kitchen furniture bespattered with blood. Dear me, I remarked to my brother, my wie is is
lying just as if she were in a slaughter-house; why was not the room cleaned up? He answered that the authorities would not
allow it to be touched until they were done of it. On finding two police in an adjacent room of the house, I was assured by
them that their work was done with regard to the body and room. So we commenced work, had the room washed, the body dressed
and coffined, ready to be transferred to the sorrowing family at Airntully.
Now for the murderer. What was his motive?
Evidently plunder, as lockfasts had been torn off, and all parts of the house rifled. Was there energy on the part of the
authorities to detect the murderer and thief, or was there a facility given for his escape? I have my doubts. It is evident
from what my brother-in-law tells me, that some months previous his house was broken into by a window, a silver watch and
two pounds of money carried of, besides a pair of trousers, the trousers being got some days after, lying in that belt of
wood running along the north side of the steading. The robbery was reported to the police of the district, the number of the
watch given, but no clue was ever found to this case. I have a strong impression on my mind that the depredator of the first
case has been the murderer in the second; had the first been found out, the second might have been prevented. Two police kept
a close watch over the house and its inmates till up to Sunday afternoon, until one of their supervisors arrived from Perth,
and sispersed them among the neighbourhood farm-steads and villages to seek for information. I evidently saw that their suspicion
up to this time related on the innocent. This suspicion, by using sound logic, might have been thrown to the wind at the first
stage of examination, which I can show. On examining the ploughman on Monday morning, he told me that he saw Mrs Rogers at
the kitchen door talking to a man through the course of the day. This shows that she was alive after her brother left for
Perth. He likewise told me that they unharnessed their horses both together at night, and he left his master in the stable.
Now, it was impossible that he could have committed such an unnatural, heartrending deed, and put the house in the state it
was found in, between that time and the time he gave the alarm. Besides, she was his favourite member of the family, one whom
he always opened his mind to. I will never forget his cries on Sunday morning. He took me aside from the house, and gave vent
to his grief in cries most pitiful. I can assure the public, who have been listening to many a wild rumour these two weeks
past, that there is not the least shadow of suspicion resting on my mind, or on the minds of any of Mr Henderson's friends,
concerning this foul deed.
JAMES ROGERS - Airntully, April 16, 1866.
The Scotsman - Thursday, April 19th 1866
p.3
"PERTH - THE MOUNT STEWART FARM MURDER"
On Tuesday, a man answering the description given by the
woman Mrs Riley of the person seen at Mount Stewart farm on the day of the murder of Janet Rogers, was apprehended in Aberdeen.
He was examined yesterday before Sheriff Barclay, and is still retained in custody.
The Scotsman - Monday, April 23rd 1866
p.2
"THE MOUNT STEWART FARM MURDER"
The man Henderson who was apprehended on Tuesday last in
connection with the above murder, was not liberated on Saturday, as was expected. We understand, however, that he is supposed
by the authorities not to have been near the Bridge of Earn on the day of the murder of Mrs Rogers.
The Perthshire Courier - Tuesday, 24th April, 1866
"THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER"
Three
weeks have now elapsed since the commission of this diabolical crime, and, as is well known, several parties have been apprehended
on the strength of the woman Riley's statement., brought to Perth, examined and liberated. None of these however, have been
so long detained in custody as John Henderson, the travelling hatter, who was apprehended in Aberdeen and brought to Perth
on Tuesday evening. On being confronted with the woman Riley, she more than once, we understand, affirmed in the strongest
terms that Henderson was the man she saw at Mount Stewart on the day of the murder. The authorities, after having made every
investigation, found that Henderson, at the date of the murder, was in Edinburgh. The Irishman brought from Dundee on the
morning of Thursday, in connection with this melancholy affair, was liberated on the afternoon of the same day. On inquiry
yesterday afternoon, we learned that Henderson, contrary to everybody's expectation, was still retained in custody. Inquiries,
however, are now being made in another direction.
Letter from Perth Chief Constable
to Superintendent of Police, Aberdeen (A.K.Bell Library ref: POL/1/5/3)
25 April 1866
(To) Ian Duthie Esqr, Supt of Police, Aberdeen
John Henderson
Dear Sir,
I return you per Rail today the coats vests and scarf
pawned by the person above named in Aberdeen and will thank you to restore them to the pawnbroker - Henderson was liberated
yesterday after it had been satisfactorily established that he was drunk in Edinburgh all the day of the murder at
Mount Stewart and therefore he could not have committed the crime. The murder I regret to say is yet involved in as much mystery
as it was at the outset and I have no confidence in the party who asserts she saw a man answering the (..?..) description
talking to the victim on the day of the tragedy. We must therefore have more circumstances than the mere description before
we apprehend any more persons on suspicion of being implicated in the crime.
(signed) George Gordon
The Perthshire Advertiser - Thursday, April 26th, 1866
"THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER"
No light,
but rather "darkness visible", has yet been shed upon this mysterious and very bad murder. The man Henderson, who, as we ststed
last week, was sent on from Aberdeen, on the supposition that he corresponded to the description given by the woman Riley,
was set at liberty on Tuesday, after a week's imprisonment. Mrs Riley, we understand, affirmed that he was the man she saw
at Mount Stewart on the 30th of March; but he satisfied the authorities that he was not in this quarter at that time; and,
accordingly, he was liberated on Tuesday, receiving sixteen shillings as compensation for his wrongous imprisonment. He thinks
that is not enough; and there is some reason in his so thinking. On Thursday, the Dundee authorities sent another man to Perth;
but he was set at liberty the same afternoon. Thus the murder stands at the end of the fourth week.
The Perthshire Courier - Tuesday, May 22nd, 1866
"THE MOUNT STUART MURDER" (sic)
The
county police still continue to investigate into this horrid crime, and are said to have picked up a great variety of circumstances,
although pointing to no one in particular, yet, conclusively going to prove that the woman Riley's statement as to the tramp
is entirely unfounded; while the murder evidently presents all the appearances of a thing that has been cautiously and regularly
planned, and therefore one not easily or readily found out. The opinion that the murderer or murderess is in the localilty
continues to grow and gather strength. It is hoped, and even looked for, that something will turn up shortly to unravel the
mystery.
The Perthshire Courier - Tuesday, May 29th, 1866
"THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER"
Various
paragraphs have been appearing in the papers, and various rumours have been passing from mouth to mouth in regard to some
clue being at last found to the perpetrator of the horrible murder. We are assured that there is no truth whatever in the
surmises and reports which are floating about. No suspicion is attached to anyone, and the case is as deeply involved in mystery
at this moment as ever.
William Henderson witness statement (23/7/1866)
Perth 23rd July 1866
Declares further
While engaged cleaning out the small cess pool or sink hole
about noon of Saturday last, I brought up along with the mud a key which I recognised as the missing key of the kitchen door.
It was a hoe used in cleaning out the pool a hole, and at the same time as I brought up the key I also brought up a small
fork. I pitched them to a side along with the mud and allowed them to lie. The little girl Elizabeth Bell was present when
I so found the articles and she I understand lifted the key and gave it to her mother who hung it on a nail in the kitchen.
About eight of the same night I handed the key to Constable Cumming. On the Wednesday thereafter I gave him the lock of the
kicthen door which had been taken off for the want of the key, and I saw him fit the key I found into it, and it of course
put back and forward the bolt. He then returned me the lock and took away the key.
Letter from Perth Superintendent to Callander
Police Constable (A.K.Bell Library ref: POL 1/4/1)
14th November 1866
Mount Stewart Murder
P.C. Preston (Callender),
You will recollect this atrocious murder was committed
on Friday the 30th March last. From circumstances which have arisen suspicion is now attached to the person after described.
James Boyce or Robinson, Hawker, having no fixed place
of residence, age 32 years, height 5 ft 8ins, complexion dark, hair dark, eyes blue, said to be a native of Paisley, but supposed
to be an Irishman sometimes giving himself as a Phrenologist and sometimes partially insane. This man it appears lodged in
John Hopes Lodging Houses in Callander on the night of Saturday 31st March and Sunday 1st April last. It is very likely Mr
and Mrs Hope will know him or at all ends recollect something about him. It would be very important to learn if he was not
lodged in the said house on the night of Friday 30th March, and if so whether he came by the Railway also whether he had or
had not a small brown colored dog along with him, and any other particulars as to his dress, and manner, which either
Mr or Mrs Hope can recollect.
Tax your own recollections also, as to whether you saw
the person suspected about Callander at the time mentioned.
It would be very satisfactory if it could be ascertained
from what direction Boyce or Robinson went to Callander, and in particular if he was there on the Friday night as well
as Saturday and Sunday, and if not there on Friday night if it could be learned where he was. I am aware there may
be great difficulty, and it may be impossible at this distant date to collect all the particulars truthfully but it is a matter
of very great importance to get all that can be ascertained of the suspected persons movements, and conduct, on the Friday
and Saturday nights mentioned.
Make every conceivable enquiry immediately on receipt
and prepare the result. Robinson is at present in Inverness Prison, but he leaves it for Banf Prison on a serious charge of
assault on the 16th current. Leave off all other duty not urgent until you have every thing you can think upon in completing
this inquiry and reporting.
Pro George Gordon,
(Signed) Henry McDonald Supt.
Witness Statement - William Henderson (AD14/67/170)
Bridge of Earn 23 Novr 1866
William Henderson before designed,
declares further
My sister & I had no eggs at
breakfast on the day in question, so that the egg shells found must have been those of eggs cooked & eaten after I left
home. I do not know when my sister would dine on that day in question. Our usual hour was between 12 & 1 o’c. Nor
do I know what she would have for dinner. I never myself knew that my sister snuffed but I have since heard that she did. Since the date of my previous statement in precognition other articles of clothing
have been found to have been taken away. On the morning of my sister’s funeral on looking over my clothes I discovered
that a pair of dark corded worsted trowsers a black dress vest an a gray cloth cap had also been taken. At one time I had
two pair of trowsers of he same kind, the one pair was take on a previous occasion when my house was broken into the latter
on the occasion when my house was broken into the latter on the occasion of my sister’s murder.
I am almost sure, but would not
swear, that Crichton, when I left in he morning was dressed in darkish clothes but I am almost certain that he was. I noticed
that his clothes were white that night. I cannot say that here was much work
to be done outside to bring my sister out on the day in question. There was nothing that I am aware of to have taken Crighton
into the house. I think there would be about 30 yards of the fencing that Crighton had to remove on the Friday, all he had
to do take the posts in a cart from the distance of 300 yards from the farm buildings to them. Our cart was more than sufficient
to contain the whole posts and half an hour was ample time within which to remove them. It is perfectly impossible that he
could have taken an hour and a half to do so.
Besides the key of the back door
the key of Crighton’s house was found in the cesspool on the 21st July. I did not observe the latter key
myself but Constable Cumming found it among the mud which I had taken out of the cesspool. They key of Crighton’s house
has not lain so long as the other and. When Crighton was leaving my services at Whitsunday he sent the key of the house to
me and I laid it in a drawer of the dresser in the kitchen, where I know that it remained for a good while as I saw it. The
only way that I can account for this key being in the cesspool is that the girl Elizabeth Bell had dropped it into the cesspool
while playing with it.
I am certain that the key of Crighton’
house that of the back door could not have been together until they both lay in the cesspool., There is no chance of the kitchen
key having been in the dresser drawer.
I did not give my sister any special
directions to look after Crighton & I never knew of any ill will or spite between them.
The woman Reilly never came to my
house & I never spoke to her previous to that day.
When I left home in the morning
Crighton was ploughing on the top of the hill about 500 yards to the west of the farm buildings. He could only see the building
from that field when he came to the side of it which is next the buildings. He should have finished the work in that field
sometime before 12 o’c, and in the afternoon he would be working in a field quite within sight of the buildings.
Wm Henderson
Witness Statement - James Barlas (AD14/67/170)
Forgandenny 23 November 1866
James Barlas, before designed, Further
States
On the day of the murder I left
my house early in the morning and did not return till a little before 7 o’c in the evening, and so I had no opportunity
of observing the proceedings of Crighton, his wife, or H during any part of the day. Within a quarter of an hour of my return
I heard some of my family say that Henderson had gone up the road housewards.
To the best o my recollection less then an hour elapsed before Henderson returned,
and stated to me that his sister was dead or murdered. There was no blood or other marks upon his clothes, nor any unusual
appearance about him except that he was excited which I thought quite natural. I think that James Crighton exaggerated the
time which elapsed between Henderson’s return and the time he came to me.
My decided impression was at the time that the woman had been dead for some hours.
When I was formerly examined I stated
that on examining his chest Henderson lifted and took the pocket book from the
locker. I wish now to say that I am not certain whether the pocket book was in the locker but that it might have been on the
lid of the chest.
The first time I saw James Crighton
on the day in question was after Mr. Henderson came down & told me of his sister’s death or murder. I observed then
that his vest & trowsers were of a white color, or apparently clean, or not long worn. Next morning he seemed to have
the same clothes on & they were then quite clean. Next day also I observed lying on the green before his house bleaching
a pair of trowsers belonging to Crighton. There was nothing peculiar about the trowsers so that I cannot say when I had seen
Crighton wearing them before but I remember that the fact of seeing him with clean clothes on and seeing these trowsers bleaching
there struck me as being peculiar.
Shortly after the murder I had various
conversations with Crighton about it, and without directly accusing his master of being the guilty party, he clearly led me
to think that such was his idea.
I never went much about Crighton
and had no great acquaintance with him. I never had any quarrel with him. He is a distant silent man of a little hasty temper.
Previous to this term of Martinmas Crighton has wrought as a labourer to us for some months (Barlas & Cairns, builders).
We have had no conversations during that time as to the murder. Since he left Mount
Stewart till this time he resided within three miles of Mount
Stewart. I know that Crighton and Henderson were not on good terms, but Henderson
was rarely on good terms with his servants. I only once heard Crighton speak of Mrs Rogers the murdered woman. I remember
him saying that Henderson spoke of his sister to him as “that woman”
and not telling him that she was his sister. Crighton led me to believe that he thought that Henderson’s
object in this concealment was to put him off his guard, so that the sister might keep him accurately informed as to what
Crighton did.
I have heard it remarked that it
was surprising that Crighton’s suspicions were not aroused by his not having seen Mrs Rogers going about the premises
during the afternoon and I have heard Crighton say in answer to this that he was in the habit of keeping away from the house
& taking no concern in the household affairs and so never thought anything about the matter.
I have seen Crighton smoking but
I do not think he was in the habit of doing so much or regularly. I have seen him smoking in his own house, but whether shortly
before the murder I cannot say. I know that he snuffs & I have seen him smoking since the date of the murder.
I do not remember seeing a vest
bleaching or drying at the time I saw the trousers.
To the best of my recollections
the afternoon of the 29th of March the Cattle Plague Fast Day was dry. I do not myself know the woman Reilly. I
never heard any person allege before the murder that any illicit connection existed between her and Henderson, but I have
heard this rather wild rumour spoken of since.
I never believed from the first
that Reilly’s story about seeing a man when she passes Mount Stewart in the forenoon was true as it is next to impossible
that any such party could have left Mount Stewart in any direction without being seen. Although Mount
Stewart is a few hundred yards from any other house, there are houses and a large
population all around it.
Henderson himself neither smokes
or snuffs that I ever saw.
I do not know the piece of wire
fence that Crighton is said to have been working at on the afternoon of the murder, and cannot say how long it would take
him to remove it.
James Barlas
I never saw any symptoms of the
Crightons ever being ill off for money, but rather the reverse. I never heard of them owing any person anything. I did not
observe when Crighton came home from his work, but I do not think it possible that he was home previous to Henderson’s
return from Perth.
James Barlas
Witness Statement - William Henderson (AD14/67/170)
Perth 4th Dec 1866
Being re-examined he declares
A one pound note was taken out of
the pocket book which was lying in the chest as I have before spoken to. About two shillings in coppers were taken out of
the same place. All this money was in the pocket book when I left in the morning. I saw it here. Besides my own pound, my
late sister’s family told me that he had
a pound note & some shillings
in her pocket. These were also taken.
When I engaged Crighton I asked
him whether he smoked and he said that he did. I told him hat he would require to take care not to smoke about the premises
and this he promised to do. I have seen Crighton smoking often, bit I could not say now that I saw him smoking about the time
of the murder.
When I left Mount
Stewart in the morning the reticule bag, snuff and other articles were not on the
table where they were found that night. She must have brought them there after I left or at least some on must have done so.
Witness Statement - James Barlas (AD14/67/170)
Perth 11th
Decr 1866
James Barlas before designed, re-examined,
Declares
I remember that shortly after the
murder my wife told me that Crighton had taken home a hare that day which had been killed in the field. She did not see this
herself but was told so by Mrs Crighton. On being told this it recurred to my memory that this might have been something to
do with Crighton having clean clothes on, on the night of the murder, and my reason for so thinking was because if he carried
home the hare, some of the blood of it might have got upon his clothes. Neither Crighton nor his wife spoke to me about it
having dirtied his clothes, and I do not think they even said so to my wife, at least if they did so she did not tell me.
It was merely an impression of my own as to the hare having anything to do with the changing of Crighton’s clothes.
So far as I am aware there was no
idea in the district that Henderson kept considerable amounts of money in his
house. I remember however shortly after the murder of being told by someone that Henderson
had shortly before the murder received £30 for potatoes. I do not now recollect whether it was Crighton that told me this,
but I rather think it was not.
Truth
James Barlas
The Perthshire Journal and Constitutional - Thursday, 20th December
1866
THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER - APPREHENSION OF THE SUPPOSED MURDERER
At last some light appears to have been thrown upon the distardly and cold-blooded
murder which was perpetrated at Mount Stewart Farm, near Bridge of Earn, on the 30th of March, in the present year. It will
be remembered that on the evening of that day a woman, named Mrs Rogers, was found murdered in the house of her brother, Mr
Henderson, farmer, Mount Stewart, near Bridge of Earn. The tragedy and leading circumstances attending it were duly chronicled
in our columns; but it may not be out of place (as a man has just been apprehended on suspicion of being the murderer) to
repeat that Mrs Rogers was housekeeper to her brother, Mr Henderson, at Mount Stewart - not permanently, but in the interval
of a change of servants. On the morning of the 30th March (Friday, and the market day in Perth), Mr Henderson left his farm,
when all was well, and on returning in the evning found his house locked. On effecting an entrance he discovered his sister
lying on the kitchen floor, murdered. The case was a very mysterious one, but since the night of the murder the police authorities
have been unremitting in their endeavours to lay their hands on the assassin. All efforts, however, proved of no avail in
unravelling the mystery, till within a few days ago, when certain circumstances that were revealed - in course of one of those
examinations which have ever and anon taken place in connection with this sad affair - pointed to James Crichton, the ploughman
on Mount Stewart at the time of the murder, as the supposed guilty person. Accordingly, on Saturday morning, Superintendent
MacDonald, of the Perthshire Constabulary, left Perth with the object of apprehending Crichton, whom he took into custody
at Dunfermline on the same day. Crichton was brought to Perth by the last train on the evening of the day named. On Monday
he was examined before the Sheriff, and remanded for further examination. The examination was a very lengthy one, it having
lasted for nearly three hours. The purport of it is only known to the authorities, who, as is usual in such cases, refuse
to give any information on the subject.
Witness Statement - William Henderson (AD14/67/170)
Perth 21s Decr
1866
William Henderson before
designed, re-examined, states
When in Perth
on the Friday attending the market I was not in the habit of returning home sooner than between 6 and 7 as I usually dined
with my friend Dr Henderson in Perth at 4 o’c. On the Friday in question
I did not do so. My reason for this was that I had to call at the slater’s at Bridge
of Earn to get slates.
I have no recollection
whether Crighton had clean clothes or dirty ones on on the Thursday night nor can I speak to his dress on the Friday morning.
The back door was the
door generally used, and I never kept locked when there was a servant in the house. It was the front door that was kept locked.
When we were out of
the house the back door was locked from the outside & the key taken away. The door was never locked in the inside except
at night.
I neither snuff nor
smoke.
I had not sold potatoes
before the Friday but had sold grain, but I do not know that Crighton knew of my having my money in the house.
My sister did not smoke
and I saw no pipe in the house that morning.
The tongs found by the
Police in the kitchen were broken prior to the date of the murder.
I am quite certain that
I never saw the kitchen door key from the date of th murder till it was found in the cesspool.
I had not much opportunity
of seeing Crighton smoke, as I had specially told him when I engaged him that I did not like my servants to smoke about my
premises. I have seen him smoke however, but how often I cannot say.
Wm Henderson
Witness
Statement - James Barlas (AD14/67/170)
Bridge
of Earn 21 Dec 1866
Being re-examined, Declares
I do not recollect of
seeing Crighton at all on the Thursday night therefore cannot state how he was then dressed.
I am pretty positive
that I saw Crighton smoking before the date of the murder, and I am sure that I have seen him smoking since. He smoked occasionally
about meal times while in our employment which he entered about the beginning of August. I cannot at present recollect of
seeing old pipes either in his house or in the possession of his boys, although they might be. I was not in Crighton’s
house during the time Miller stayed with them & was not in the habit of speaking to her. I know nothing about Christine
Miller at all & can say nothing against her.
Crighton had two beds
in the kitchen & I think one in the other room. I do not recollect of seeing any pound notes in Mrs. Crighton’s
possession after the murder.
I do not know from whom
the Crightons generally purchased their provisions.
In any conversation
I had with Crighton I do not remember of either he or I alluding to the pipe.
When Mr. Henderson went
to Perth on the Friday he very rarely returned before 6 and sometimes was as late
as 9 o’c.
James Barlas
Witness Statement - James Rogers (AD14/67/170)
Perth
22nd December 1866
James Rogers, labourer,
residing at Airntully, in the parish of Kinclaven and shire of Perth, Declares
The deceased Janet Henderson
pr Rogers was my wife/. She left my house at Airntully on the morning of 28th
March last, to go to Mount Stewart, Forgandenny,
the residence of her brother William Henderson. She was to remain there for some time. I never heard whether she reached MS
until was informed on Saturday afternoon the 31st March that she had been murdered at MS.
When my wife left home
I gave her a
one pound Bank note
I cannot say whether
she had any other money, but it is more than likely she would take some silver money along with her. She also took with her
some clothing.
I proceeded to MS on
hearing of the murder, and there saw and identified the dead body of my wife.
I took possession of
the clothing she had taken with her, with the exception o those taken possession of by he Police. I have just heard read over
to me the articles belonging to my wife, taken possession of by the Police, and with those taken possession of by myself,
I believe them to be the whole my wife took along with her.
On searching the pocket
of her dress I found
A purse
Pocket handkerchief
and
A few lozenges,
belonging to her. On
examining the purse I found it empty. She had only taken two dresses away with her one of which she was wearing at the time
of her death, and the other was the one I searched as above. I cannot say whether any money was found on her person after
her death. The Police will be able to speak to this.
I was not aware that
my wife indulged in snuff, till after the murder. I was then informed by my daughter who lives with me, that she had done
so for about two years. I never saw her smoke and never heard of her doing so. I am not aware that my wife made any purchases
after leaving home, and I saw nothing at MS to account for the money. I believe she told my daughter however that she intended
making purchases coming home. My wife was 55 years of age.
Truth
James Rogers
Witness
Statement - James Rogers (AD14/67/170)
Airntully
27 December 1866
James Rogers before
designed declares further
While at Mount
Stewart on the Monday after the murder I had a conversation with the prisoner Crighton
about the murder. I said to him this is an awful job that has happened. He said it was. I said I was happy to find from a
conversation I had had with my brother in law that he (my brother in law) was innocent. Crighton replied I don’t know,
there is nothing too bad for him. I then said to him I believe you saw a man speaking to my wife at the back door about 11
o’c. He said h did. I then said your master was away to Perth an hour before
that, and he admitted he was. I then remarked he could not have done it on his return from Perth,
as he had not time, and I asked Crighton where he left his master when he went home. Crighton replied that he left his master
in the stable & that it was a long time before he, the master, came near him. I saw he was fully bent on blaming Mr. Henderson
& the conversation dropped.
James Rogers
The Perthshire Journal and Constitutional - Thursday, 27th
December 1866
THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER
Since the apprehension on Saturday week of James Crichton, on suspicion of being
the murderer of Mrs Rogers, a number of persons have been examined by the authorities, and it is rumoured that their statements
point to the guilt of Crichton. On Friday, Mr Henderson, the brother of the murdered woman, was examined, as was also Mrs
Riley, a hawker, who was at Mount Stewart on the day of the murder. The authorities refuse to give any information with regard
either to the declaration of the prisoner or the statements made by those examined. It would, however, appear that there are
strong grounds for suspicion against Crichton, as on Saturday he was committed to prison, charged with the wilful murder of
Mrs Rogers.
Ann Rogers witness statement (27/12/1866)
Airntully 27th December 1866
Ann Rogers, daughter of and residing with James Rogers, before designed,
declares the deceased, Janet Henderson, was my mother.
She left our house on the morning of Wednesday the 28th March last
in time to catch the train leaving Stanley for Perth at 10 o clock. Airntully is about two miles from Stanley.
She was to meet her brother William Henderson in Perth and go with
him to Mount Stewart, where she was to remain for some time.
When she left she took a one pound bank note and some silver money
with her. She shewed me the bank note before she left, and told me she was to take it with her as she was to purchase some
things on her way home from Mount Stewart with it. I cannot say how much silver money she had but she would have a few shillings
and she said she had as much without changing the pound note as pay her train and get a few things she required before going
to Mount Stewart I never saw her after she left.
I was aware that my mother snuffed. She did so for a sore nostril
but she was not heavy on it. It is about three years since I knew that she did so. She kept her snuff in a small cannister,
and carried a little round tin box in her breast.
For four years past I have had an inflammation in the brain and
eyes which rendered me almost blind so that I would not know my mothers cannister box altho I saw them, but I know she kept
her snuff in the cannister and carried the small box as above described. I have seen the boxes but from the deficient state
of my eyesight can say nothing further than that they were a cannister and small round box.
My mother did not smoke and I never saw her with a pipe. She was
very much against smoking.
I do not know where my mother purchased her snuff; but it would
likely be in Stanley Store, as it was there she purchased the Grocery foods for the house.
Truth,
Anne Rogers
The Perthshire Journal and Constitutional - Thursday,
10th January 1867
THE MOUNT STEWART MURDER
Christina Miller, the young woman who resided for some time at Mount Stewart about
the time of the murder, and whose statements, it is understood, brought about the apprehension of the ploughman Crichton,
has been lodged in prison, to ensure her appearance as a witness at the trial. It seems the authorities had reason to believe
that Christina was desirous of keeping out of the way, and thus deprive the public prosecutor of the weight of her evidence
on Crichton being called upon to answer the charge under which he at present lies in jail.
Witness Statement - William Henderson (AD14/67/170)
Perth 10th January 1867
Being re-examined, declares
The farm of Mount
Stewart is now occupied by Peter Stewart, Farmer, & he lives upon it. I have
now no interest into it.
Wm Henderson
Witness Statement - William Henderson (AD14/67/170)
Perth 14th Jan 1867
Declares further my present residence
is no. 135 Canal Crescent, Perth. I rent rooms of
my own there from James Robertson, printer, now residing there.
Wm Henderson
Witness Statement - William Henderson (AD14/67/170)
Perth 16th January 1867
William Henderson before designed,
further declares
That the Scissors found in my bedroom
by Mr. Gordon was my property. They had been in my house for a long time & generally lay in the kitchen.
Wm Henderson
Letter from the Minutes Book file (JC11/104 p.26r) (embossed with stamp “Advocates Library Edinburgh”):
Mount Stewart Murder
5 Feby 67
The moral character of Christian
Miller is stated to be bad – in what respects is it bad? Has she ever been convicted of any crime?
The PF will endeavour to ascertain
whether Miller was at Blackford on the day of the murder – whether she could not have been at M. Stewart. He will also
endeavour to obtain some further information about her chest. Had it been left in the farmhouse – viz to where? –
Did she carry it down to Crichton’s unassisted – or had he previously carried down as he states?
Henderson
will be piecefursand (?) about the robbery wh. he states had been previously committed in his house – this reason for
accusing Crichton of it.
Dr. Laing will be requested
to describe the appearances presented by the body from which he concluded that the murder could be it have been committed
as late as seven in the evening
TH (?)
Witness Statement - Witness Statement (AD14/67/170)
Perth 15 February 1867
William Henderson being re-examined
declares
About two months before sister was
murdered at MS, I got my house broken into. This was on the last Friday of January I think. I was in Perth
as usual that day. The prisoner Crighton accompanied me that day as I took in some grain. We left bout 8 o’c morning
I think. After disposing of the grain I sent him home with the horse and carts, and he should have arrived at MS at 12 o’c
noon. I returned home at the ‘gloamin’. On entering the house I went
to a bedroom downstairs for the purpose of laying past some money in a chest there. I found glass crackling under my feet
and on making an examination I discovered that two panes of glass were broken in the window as well as a part of the framework.
On examining my chest I discovered that it had been forced open. The kuper was sticking in the lock. In examining the locker
I missed a purse containing about a pound in silver money and also two pounds in silver money which I had rolled up in two
separate pieces of paper. I at once gave information to the Forgandenny Policeman of what had occurred & he made an investigation
of the affair early on the following morning. I had no servant at the time this occurred, and before I went to Perth
I properly secured the house & locked the doors. I saw the money in the chest
before I went to Perth that morning, and I then locked the chest & took the
key with me. Besides the money, I also missed from the chest
A silver watch
A silver albert chain
A pair of black worsted cord trousers
I cannot say hat I saw the trowsers
on the Friday morning, but I saw thr watch. On th Saturday morning I spoke to Crighton of what had occurred, and he said the
footmarks would be seen outside the window. We then went and examined the outside of the window, but there was no footmarks
to be seen. There was a flower pot in front of said window, and I noticed that there was a spot in front of the window where
the earth had been newly turned over as if with the hand. From seeing this and knowing that Crighton had plenty opportunity
to have broken into the house I suspected he was the delinquent, but I never accused him of it. On the Friday week after the
robbery I was informed that one of Crighton’s boys had found
a pair of trowsers
in the woods near my house. I went
to his house and saw them and identified them as my property to be those stolen as afore mentioned. It is scarcely possible
they could have been in the woods so long, as I had occasion to b almost daily with it, & Crighton himself passed through
it several times every day. The wood is only a small strike & I think some of us would have seen them. The spot where
the boy said he found them was within a few yards of where Crighton would pass and repass.
These are the only reasons I can give for suspecting Crighton. The people round about have also said to me that Crighton
blamed the by for breaking the window , that I said the money & watch was stolen merely to blame him. I never heard him
say this himself however.
Witness Statement - William Henderson (AD14/67/170)
Perth 18th February 1867
Being re-examined, Declared,
The witness Christina Miller was
in my service for about a fortnight. She left on the Thursday week before the murder. On that day the prisoner assisted her
to remove her chest to his house. I saw them take it away. I did not se her again till the Sunday after the murder. She came
into the house on the evening of that day and in my presence turned up the bed in the kitchen and then left without taking
anything with her that I saw. I asked her what she wanted when in the kitchen but she made no reply. I saw her afterwards
but never spoke to her.
CONTINUED...
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