Murder Most Foul: Massacre in Warren County

By Robert L. Drake

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 5, 2009
• ISBN: 9781465324412

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Copyright © 2009 by Robert L. Drake.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

List Of Exhibits

Preface

Introduction

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Appendices

Appendix I

Appendix II

The History of Warren County, Ohio

The Civil War

Endnotes

List Of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – The Roosa House

Exhibit 2 – Photo of the Dayton Lunatic Asylum

Exhibit 3 – Original Kirkbride Plan

Exhibit 4 – Railroad Map of Southeastern Ohio

Exhibit 5 – Gravestone of Malinda Brant Roosa

Preface

The old man¹ was tired and frustrated. A frugal man, he was searching his bureau drawer for some material to mend his trousers. His lack of sartorial concern was reflected in a letter a couple of years later from his sister to urging son Charles to have his father buy a new suit, since the one he was wearing on a recent visit to her was the same one he had been seeking to mend earlier. In the same letter she asked Charles to ask his dad not to continue to send her money every month.² Apparently Joe’s frugality extended only to himself. He was a kind and generous manIt was during his search for mending material that he came across an envelope originally sent by:

Rev. J.B. Holloway

1272 Henkle Drive

Cincinnati, Ohio

It was dated May 10, 1939, and addressed to:

Charles Lewis

Lebanon, Ohio

Both addresses were inked out and the envelope was readdressed to

Prof. Joe Drake

903 Lincoln Avenue Ann Arbor, Michigan

When Joe later opened the envelope he found a lengthy newspaper article with the headline:

Did Warren County Hang An Innocent Man?³

Joe’s fatigue and frustration diminished sharply. The old man’s curiosity was piqued. As we shall see, the trials and conviction of Samuel Coovert, who was eventually executed for the crime, were based on some questionable evidence. Moreover, there was a witness, one Jesse Butterworth, who could have given testimony which could have implicated John Roosa, husband and father of the victims. Butterworth never gave this testimony because he told his attending physician at the time of his death that he feared the notoriety that might fall to him if he did. Fearing that the doctor might have violated doctor-patient relationship, Joe did not pursue the matter at that time.

Joe later went to Lebanon and interviewed the Butterworth’s daughter⁴, but was rebuffed and did not pursue the matter further⁵. However he did include a lengthy newspaper article in his memoir which suggests that he saw the story as important.

* * *

In 2003, I was in Lebanon where my great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather and many other family members had been born, lived, and died. Joe Drake was one of the few who emigrated—in his case to a professorship at the University of Michigan. I was there on a lark partly to see the old hometown, and partly to poke around in the archives of the Warren County Historical Society to find out more about my roots.

Somewhat to my surprise I found an abundance of material on The Roosa Murders, as the tale had become known. I had of course read Joe Drake’s memoirs and was aware of the tragedy, but the more I read, the more I found. My search expanded to the court records of the case, a number of newspaper articles and to local lore from descendents of some of the principals. However, I must say that there is precious little of that, partly, because Lebanon now presents itself to the world as a quaint picture of the past, and a mass murder does not quite fit the image. Partly too, 144 years is a long time and does not fit well in our historically illiterate culture.

Still, I believe that this story needs to be told. Partly as a reminder that human institutions can be fallible. It is also important for the reputation of old