JOSHUA S[OULE] DUDLEY, SR.[1]




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Name JOSHUA S[OULE] DUDLEY, SR. Suffix SR. Born 1803 OHIO/PENNSYLVANIA - MAY HAVE BEEN PENNSYVANIA ACCORDING TO THE 1850
MORTALITY SCHEDULES FOR ILLINOIS. HE COULD HAVE
BEEN BORN LATER IN 1803 IF JOSHUA IS PETER AND
RUBY SOULE DUDLEY'S CHILD.
Gender Male Died Jun 1849 NATCHEZ TRAIL - CHOLERA.
Age 46 years Buried Jun 1849 NATCHEZ TRAIL Headstones Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID I379 Caudle Descendants Last Modified 29 Dec 2004
Father PETER DUDLEY, b. 1777, d. 1819, MAINVILLE, OHIO Age: 42 years
Mother RUBY SOULE, b. 1 Oct 1776, AVON, FRANKLIN, MAINE
, d. Feb 1844 Age: 67 years
Married Bef 1803 PENNSYLVANIA(?) Family ID F3408 Group Sheet
Family BARBERY E. CLARK 2x , b. 7 Jun 1806, KENTUCKY
, d. 13 Jan 1868, SUMNER, LAWRENCE, ILLINOIS
Age: 61 years
Married 30 Oct 1822 LAWRENCE COUNTY, ILLINOIS [2]
Married 30 Oct 1822 LAWRENCE COUNTY, ILLINOIS [2]
- BARBERY E. CLARK WAS MARRIED TWICE: (1) JOSHUA S.
DUDLEY, AND (2) OWEN DONAHOO
Children 1. GEORGE W. DUDLEY, b. Abt 1829, INDIANA , d. Yes, date unknown
2. RHODA ANN DUDLEY 2x , b. 8 Jan 1830, SUMNER, LAWRENCE, ILLINOIS
, d. 15 Mar 1868, SUMNER, LAWRENCE, ILLINOIS
Age: 38 years
3. JAMES MCLEAN DUDLEY, b. 30 Sep 1832, LAWRENCE COUNTY, ILLINOIS , d. 19 Jun 1862, CAIRO, PULASKI, ILLINOIS
Age: 29 years
4. WILLIAM ANDERSON DUDLEY, b. Abt 1838, LAWRENCE COUNTY, ILLINOIS , d. Yes, date unknown
5. ISAAC DUDLEY, b. Abt 1839, OHIO , d. Yes, date unknown
6. ABIGAIL ANN DUDLEY, b. Abt 1840, d. Yes, date unknown 7. SARAH J[ANE] DUDLEY 2x , b. 17 Jun 1842, LAWRENCE COUNTY ILLINOIS
, d. 14 Aug 1885, MT. VERNON, JEFFERSON, ILLINOIS
Age: 43 years
8. JOSHUA S. DUDLEY, JR., b. Abt 1844, LAWRENCE COUNTY, ILLINOIS , d. Yes, date unknown
9. JULIA A. DUDLEY, b. Abt 1849, LAWRENCE COUNTY, ILLINOIS , d. Yes, date unknown
Family ID F138 Group Sheet
- MAY HAVE BEEN PENNSYVANIA ACCORDING TO THE 1850
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Pin Legend : Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
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Notes - BYRON R. LEWIS AT BRIDGEPORT SAID THAT JOSHUA DUDLEY WAS A FARMER AND HE
TOOK HIS CROPS TO NEW ORLEANS BY FLAT BOAT AND RETURNED ON THE NATCHEZ
TRAIL. HE DIED ON HIS WAY BACK TO ILLINOIS AFTER SELLING HIS CROPS.
BYRON INDICATED THAT (1) JOSHUA MAY HAVE BEEN SICK AND DIED AND WHOEVER
FOUND HIM MAY HAVE STOLEN THE MONEY HE WAS CARRYING, OR (2) SOMEONE HE
WAS TRAVELING WITH MAY HAVE MURDERED HIM TO STEEL THE MONEY HE WAS
CARRYING, OR (3) THE TRAVELING COMPANION MAY HAVE STOLEN THE MONEY AFTER
JOSHUA DIED. BYRON LEWIS SAID THAT JOSHUA WAS CARRYING A CONSIDERABLE
AMOUNT OF MONEY. BYRON DID NOT KNOW IF ANYONE EVER KNEW WHERE JOSHUA WAS
BURIED. BYRON DID SAY THAT SOMEONE NOTIFIED COUNTY OFFICIALS OR THE
DUDLEYS THAT JOSHUA WAS DEAD. THE PROBATE RECORDS AT THE COURTHOUSE TELL
ONLY HOW HIS ESTATE WAS SETTLED.
ACCORDING TO THE COMBINED HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH
COUNTIES, IN ILLINOIS, A REPRODUCTION BY UNIGRAPHIC, INC., 4400
JACKSON AVENUE, EVANSVILLE, INDIANA 47715, 1973 FROM THAT PUBLISHED BY J.
L. McDONOUGH & CO., PHILADELPHIA, 1883:
PAGE 68, 69 - "THE RECORDS SHOW THE FOLLOWING MARRIAGES SOLEMNIZED IN
THE [LAWRENCE] COUNTY DURING THE FIRST YEARS OF ITS EXISTENSE. A NUMBER OF
LICENSES ISSUED AT THAT TIME SEEM TO HAVE BEEN WASTED, INASMUCH AS THERE
IS NO EVIDENCE OF THE PROPER BINDING OF THE NUPTIAL KNOTS IN MANY
INSTANCES: JOSHUA DUDLEY AND BARBERY CLARK, OCTOBER 19, [1822] BY
SAME" [SQUIRE ANDERSON MARRIED THE COUPLE PRECEEDING THEM].
PAGE 109 - "THE ONLY ENFORCEMENT OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE COUNTY
WAS THAT OF ELIZABETH REED. SHE WAS HOWEVER NOT A RESIDENT OF LAWRENCE
COUNTY, AND HER CASE WAS TRIED HERE ON A CHANGE OF VENUE FROM CRAWFORD
COUNTY. SHE WAS TRIED AT THE APRIL TERM, 1845, HELD BY HON. WILLIAM
WILSON, JUDGE, WHO HAD AGAIN PRESIDED OVER THE SESSIONS OF THE CIRCUIT
COURT SINCE APRIL, 1841. ELIZABETH REED HAD KILLED LEONARD REED, HER
HUSBAND, ON THE 15TH DAY OF AUGUST, 1844, BY ADMINISTERING POISON IN HIS
FOOD. SHE WAS INDICTED BY THE GRAND JURY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY AT THE
SEPTEMBER TERM, 1844. THIS GRAND JURY WAS PRESIDED OVER BY D. HILL,
FOREMAN, AND THE INDICTMENT WAS BASED UPON THE TESTIMONY OF JAMES M.
LOGAN, JOHN WYNN, HARRISON PRICE, EVELINE DEAL, JOHN HERRIMAN, H. G.
BURR, N. T. STEELE AND LEVI SHOEMAKER."
"THE PROSECUTION WAS CONDUCTED BY AARON SHAW (ATTORNEY OF STATE
SINCE 1842) AND S. S. S. HAYES, AND THE DEFENSE BY MESSRS. FRENCH
AND LINDER."
"THE JURY, BEFORE WHICH THE CASE WAS TRIED, WAS COMPOSED OF HENRY
SHERADDIN, EDWARD FYFFE, JOSHUA DUDLEY, J. M. MORRIS, JAMES V.
ROBINSON, JOHN L. BASS, W. R. JACKMAN, ELIJAH GADDY, EMSLEY
WRIGHT, WILLIAM COLLINS, JAMES W. CORRIE AND SILAS MOORE."
"THE JURY FOUND THE DEFENDANT GUILTY AND THE COURT SENTENCED HER
TO BE HUNG ON THE 23D OF MAY, 1845."
"THE WRETCHED WOMAN ENDED HER LIFE AS SENTENCED, AND THE PAINFUL
DUTY OF BECOMING HER EXECUTIONER DEVOLVED ON A MOST KIND HEARTED
MAN, SAMUEL THORN, THE SHERIFF."
PAGES BEFORE THE TITLE PAGE AFTER THE LAWRENCE COUNTY HISTORICAL
SOCIETY INTRODUCTION:
PRINCIPALS IN THE TRIAL OF ELIZABETH REED*
*TAKEN FROM LAWRENCE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT RECORDS
STATES ATTORNEY, CRAWFORD COUNTY STATES ATTORNEY, LAWRENCE COUNTY
A. KITCHEL AARON SHAW
CONSTABLE OF CRAWFORD COUNTY SHERIFF, LAWRENCE COUNTY
STEPHEN GAINES SAM THORN
JUSTICES OF THE PEASE, CRAWFORD CLERK, LAWRENCE COUNTY
COUNTY
ELI ADAMS E. Z. RYAN
HIRAM JOHNSON
GRAND JURORS, CRAWFORD COUNTY DEPUTY CLERK, LAWRENCE COUNTY
BENJAMIN PAINTER JOHN SEED
WILFORD HIGHSMITH
CARTER FUNK JUDGE, LAWRENCE COUNTY
S. McCARTER WILLIAM WILSON
I. CUSHMAN
ELIAS BRASHEAR DEFENSE ATTORNEYS
I. LANEY W. F. LINDER (LATER PROMINENT
I. LUKE IN CHICAGO LAW CIRCLES)
P. HAMILTON AUGUST C. FRENCH (LATER BECAME
L. G. McCARTER GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS IN 1946)
MARTIN FULLER
I. MADDOX JURORS, LAWRENCE COUNTY
HENRY SHERADDEN
EDWARD P. FYFFE
JOSHUA DUDLY
JACK M. MORRIS
JAMES V. ROBINSON
JOHN L. BASS
WILLIAM R. JACKMAN
ELIJAH GADDY
EMSLEY WRIGHT
WILLIAM COLLINS
JAMES W. CORRIE
SILAS MOORE
FOREMAN OF THE JURY
DR. HILL
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS VS ELIZABETH REED (OF CRAWFORD COUNTY)
CRIME COMMITTED IN CRAWFORD COUNTY IN VICINITY OF PALESTINE AUGUST 15, 1844
TRIAL HELD AT LAWRENCEVILLE, LAWRENCE COUNTY, APRIL 26, 27, 28, 1845
EXECUTION DATE MAY 23RD, 1845 AT LAWRENCEVILLE, ILLINOIS
REV. JOHN SEED, METHODIST MINISTER, DELIVERED THE SERMON PRIOR TO THE
EXECUTION
AN EARLY DAY HANGING
THAT OF ELIZABETH REED, THE FIRST (AND ONLY
WOMAN EXECUTED IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
FORTY YEARS AGO PEOPLE OF ALL SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND A LARGE PART OF
THAT PORTION KNOWN AS THE "POCKET" TOGETHER WITH MANY OF THOSE IN KENTUCKY
(WESTERN), BEGAN TO TRAVEL, DRAWN BY ONE MOVING FORCE, UNTIL THEY WERE
MASSED IN ONE IMMENSE BODY ON THE EASTERN OUTSKIRTS OF LAWRENCEVILLE,
ILLINOIS. THE WARM SUNLIGHT OF THE 28TH (23) DAY OF MAY, 1845, SHONE
DOWN ON A WOMAN CLOTHED IN WHITE, WHO LOOKED INTO THE FACES OF 20,000
PEOPLE WHERE SHE HEARD HER ONLY FUNERAL PREACHED FOR OVER AN HOUR. HER
POINT OF VANTAGE WAS A GRIM SCAFFOLD BUILT ON THE POINT OF PURGATORY, A
PIECE OF LOW LAND, SO CALLED BECAUSE ITS MUD WAS SO HARD TO GET THROUGH.
IN FRONT OF HER ROSE A HILL COVERED WITH HUMAN BEINGS DRAWN, SOME OF
THEM, A HUNDRED MILES TO SEE A WOMAN HANGED. IN THAT THRONG WERE MEN,
WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN EQUAL PROPORTION, YET IN THE QUIET INCLINE OF
FACES, THERE WAS NOT ONE THAT HAD FOR HER A WORD OF SYMPATHY. KENTUCKY
CHIVALRY, FRONTIER GALLANTRY AND WOMANLY PITY WERE ALL OVERCOME BY THE
CRIME.
THE GREEN EYED MONSTER
ELIZABETH REED LIVED WITH HER HUSBAND NEAR PALESTINE, CRAWFORD COUNTY
(ILLINOIS). AT FORTY SHE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A WOMAN CAPABLE OF ALMOST
ANYTHING. SHE LIVED AND LOVED WITH AN INTENSITY WHICH WAS PERHAPS NOT
PROPERLY APPRECIATED IN THE EGYPT OF THOSE DAYS. SHE BECAME JEALOUS.
WHETHER HER JEALOSY WAS WELL FOUNDED NO ONE KNOWS. SHE MIXED ARSENIC
WITH HER HUSBANDS FOOD, SMILED TENDERLY AS SHE NURSED HIM, WEPT AT HIS
FUNERAL, WAS SUSPECTED, INDICTED, ARRESTED AND PUT INTO JAIL - ALL WITHIN
A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. AT THE TRIAL IT WAS PROVED THAT THE MURDER WAS
LONG PREMEDITATED AND COOLLY PLANNED. SHE WAS A WOMAN OF ENERGY, AND SHE
PROMPTLY SET FIRE TO THE CRAWFORD COUNTY JAIL; BUT SHE FAILED EITHER TO
ESCAPE OR DIE, AND WAS TAKEN TO LAWRENCEVILLE AND CONFINED IN THE BRICK
JAIL WHICH STILL HOLDS PRISONERS - UNTIL A FEW DAYS BEFORE COURT CONVENED.
A CHANGE OF VIEW TOOK HER TRIAL TO LAWRENCEVILLE, TOO, AND THE ELITE
OF THE BAR OF ILLINOIS WITNESSED HER PLEA OF NOT GUILTY AND HER CONVICTION
OF MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE. THE JUDGE, WILLIAM WILSON, THE FIRST IN
LAWRENCE COUNTY, AFTERWARDS SAT UPON THE SUPREME BENCH. THE PROSECUTING
ATTORNEY, AARON SHAW, REPRESENTED THIS DISTRICT IN THE LAST CONGRESS.
ONE OF HER ATTORNEYS AFTERWARD BECAME GOVERNOR WRIGHT; THE OTHER W. F.
LINDER BECAME WELL KNOWN AT THE CHICAGO BAR. THE JURY WAS COMPOSED OF
THE MOST SOLID MEN OF THE COUNTY, ONE OF WHOM WAS AFTERWARD MURDERED
MYSTERIOUSLY [JOSHUA DUDLEY]. THE TRIAL LASTED THREE DAYS AND THE COURT
ROOM WAS JAMMED WITH A SILENT AUDIENCE. APRIL 28, 1845, THE JURY BROUGHT
A VERDICT OF GUILTY, AND THE JUDGE SAID: "THE JUDGMENT OF THE LAW AND
COURT IS THAT YOU, ELIZABETH REED, BE TAKEN FROM HENCE TO THE PLACE OF
YOUR CONFINEMENT, AND THAT THE 23RD DAY OF MAY NEXT YOU BE TAKEN FROM
THENCE TO SOME CONVENIENT PLACE WITHIN ONE MILE OF THIS COURT HOUSE, AND
THERE BE HANGED BY THE NECK UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD; AND THAT THE SHERIFF
EXECUTE THIS SENTENCE; AND MAY THE LORD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL."
A STOIC
THE FIRST WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ILLINOIS OR PERHAPS IN THE
NORTHWEST TERRITORY, RECEIVED HER DOOM LIKE A STOIC, NEVER CHANGING A
MUSCLE OF HER COUNTENANCE. SHE WAS GUARDED BY THE COURT HOUSE AFTER THE
COURT ADJOURNED, AND ONE WOMAN IN PARTICULAR - LABORED HARD FOR HER
SOUL'S SALVATION. AT LAST THE CONDEMNED SAID SHE WAS SAVED, AND FROM
THAT TIME TO THE MOMENT OF HER DEATH DISPLAYED A VERY EMOTIONAL RELIGIOUS
LIFE. SHE WAS BAPTISED IN THE EMBARRASS RIVER BY THE REV. JOHN SEED, A
PIONEER METHODIST MINISTER. PUBLIC SENTIMENT, HOWEVER, WAS ENTIRELY
AGAINST HER.
AS THE DAY OF EXECUTION APPROACHED, THE BIRDS SAW THE WHOLE
POPULATION WITHIN THE RADIUS OF A HUNDRED MILES MOVING TOWARDS
LAWRENCEVILLE. IN FARM WAGON, ON HORSEBACK, AFOOT, THE NEBULOUS
POPULATION GRADUALLY CONCENTRATED INTO ONE MASS. THE WOMEN CAME AND
BROUGHT THE CHILDREN TO BE HELD UPON THE SHOULDERS OF THE MEN. MEN, NOW
GRAY HAIRED, AFFIRM THAT THIS IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION TO SAY THAT THAT
23RD DAY OF MAY NOT A SOUL IN LAWRENCE COUNTY WAS AT HOME. SUCH A CROWD
HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN IN THIS PART OF THE STATE.
THE SCAFFOLD WAS BUILT OF ROUGH TIMBER AND WAS A SIMPLE AFFAIR. A
BRACED BEAM, PROJECTING FROM A SINGLE POST, HAD THE NOOSE DANGLING FROM
ITS END. THE TRAP WAS HELD UP BY A SMALLER ROPE WHICH RAN OVER A PULLEY
IN THE BRACES AND WAS FASTENED TO THE FLOOR BEHIND, WHERE THE SHERIFF CUT
IT WITH AN AXE.
DYING HAPPY
THE MOST "CONVENIENT PLACE" FOR THE EXECUTION WAS AT THE FOOT OF THE
HILL WHICH RUNS PARALLEL WITH THE RIVER HERE, AS ELSEWHERE THROUGHOUT THE
WABASH SYSTEM. MRS. REED RODE FROM THE JAIL TO THIS PLACE ON HER COFFIN,
AND BY HER SIDE SAT A WOMAN, STILL LIVING (1885), WHO HAD DEVOTED MUCH
TIME TO HER RELIGIOUS TRAINING SINCE HER SENTENCE. THE MURDERESS WAS
DRESSED IN A LONG WHITE ROBE, NOT UNLIKE THE ASCENSION ROBES OF THE
MILLERITES, WITH NOT A BIT OF COLOR TO RELIEVE THE PURITY. IN THE FACE
OF THE POPULACE WHICH FILLED THE NATURAL AMPHITHEATRE SHE MOUNTED THE
SCAFFOLD SINGING HYMNS AND CRYING OUT THAT SHE TRUSTED IN THE LORD. WITH
NOTHING BUT SICKENING CRIME IN HER PAST, SHE DIED AS THOUGH SHE HAD THE
STRENGTHENING SENSE OF A MISSION FULFILLED WHICH UPHELD JOAN OF ARC AND
CHARLOTTE CORDAY. WHILE THE METHODIST MINISTER PREACHED A LONG FUNERAL
DISCOURSE SHE ACTED LIKE SHE WAS IN THE AMEN CORNER OF A LOG CHURCH AND
ENDORSED ALL THE PREACHER SAID. HER FERVID RESPONSES ALONG DISTURBED THE
PERFECT QUIETUDE OF THE SCENE; THE MULTITUDE REMAINED PERFECTLY SILENT.
WHEN THE LONG CEREMONIES WERE FINISHED SHE FIRMLY STEPPED UPON THE TRAP,
A BLACK CAP DRAWN OVER HER HEAD, INTENSIFYING THE WHITENESS OF HER ROBES.
THE NOOSE WAS ADJUSTED, AND A FEW MINUTES BEFORE 12 O'CLOCK SHERIFF
THORN WITH ONE BLOW CUT THE SMALL ROPE THAT SUSPENDED HER ABOVE THE
NEWLY-DUG GRAVE BELOW THE TRAP. SHE WHIRLED RAPIDLY AROUND A FEW TIMES,
BUT DID NOT STRUGGLE, AND IN A FEW MINUTES SHE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD.
THUS ENDED THE FIRST EXECUTION OF A WOMAN IN ILLINOIS - PROBABLY IN
THE WEST - BEFORE EMOTIONAL INSANITY WAS DISCOVERED IN THE DAY WHEN GOOD
OLD-FASHIONED, SOLID CITIZENS OR JURIES EXECUTED THE LAWS LIKE ROMANS.
HER ANTE-MORTEM CONFESSION WAS PUBLISHED IN PAMPHLET FORM AND SOLD
LARGELY, BUT NOT A COPY CAN NOW BE FOUND. SHE WAS BURIED BENEATH THE
SCAFFOLD. THERE WERE SEVERAL AMBITIOUS YOUNG DOCTORS IN TOWN, AND NO ONE
CARED WHAT BECAME OF HER BODY.
THIS NEWSPAPER CLIPPING WAS FOUND IN A SCRAPBOOK PURCHASED AT AN
AUCTION SALE OF THE LATE T. T. (DOC) JOHNSON AT PINKSTAFF, LAWRENCE
COUNTY, ILLINOIS. THE PAPER FROM WHICH IT WAS CLIPPED IS UNIDENTIFIED
BUT WAS WRITTEN IN 1885. IT IS NOW THE PROPERTY OF MR. SAM DELONG OF
LAWRENCEVILLE, ILLINOIS.
COPIED SEPTEMBER 19, 1966 BY ORAN S. CALVERT, LAWRENCEVILLE,
ILLINOIS."
PAGE 139 - "BELIEVING THAT IT WILL BE OF INTEREST TO OUR MANY
READERS, WE APPEND A LIST OF THE NAMES OF THE MEN WHO SERVED IN THE BLACK
HAWK WAR FROM THESE COUNTIES" [EDWARDS, LAWRENCE, & WABASH].
PAGE 140 - "CAPTIN ABNER GREER'S COMPANY, SPY BATTALION OF ILLINOIS
MOUNTED VOLUNTEERS, CALLED INTO THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES ON THE
REQUISITION OF GEN. ATKINSON, BY THE GOVERNOR'S PROCLAMATION, DATED
-----, 1832. MUSTERED OUT AUGUST 15, 1832."
"MEN FROM EDWARDS COUNTY, CAPTAIN-ABNER GREER, FIRST
LIEUTENANT-DAVID D. MARNEY, SECOND LIEUTENANT-AARON WELLS,
SERGENTS: EBENEZER Z. RYAN, WILLIAM R. JACKMAN, MASON JONES,
ALEXANDER H. GILMORE, CORPORALS: JAMES GADD, THOMAS B.
SPENCER, JEREMIAH CAWTHORN, THOMAS J. ENGLAND, PRIVATES:
... JOSHUA DUDLEY...."
RESEARCHED COURT RECORDS, PROPERTY RECORDS, PROBATE RECORDS, 1850
ILLINOIS MORTALITY SCHEDULE FOR LAWRENCE COUNTY (IT SHOWED JOSHUA'S BIRTH
PLACE AS PENNSYLVANIA), 1850 AND 1860 FEDERAL CENSUS RECORD AND VISITED
THE CITY CEMETARY IN SUMNER, LAWRENCE COUNTY, ILLINOIS WHERE HIS WIFE,
BARBERY CLARK DUDLEY, AND DAUGHTER, RHODA ANN DUDLEY JACKSON-CAUDLE, ARE
BURIED.
- BYRON R. LEWIS AT BRIDGEPORT SAID THAT JOSHUA DUDLEY WAS A FARMER AND HE
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