Thompson, Andrew 'Andy' died 1901
THOMPSON, HAGERTY
Posted By: S. Ferrall - IAGenWeb Volunteer
Date: 8/27/2014 at 18:10:09
Death of a Noted Convict
At 11:30 last Tuesday night, Andy Thompson breathed his last in the prison hospital. He has been here ten years, having been transferred from the Fort Madison prison, to which he was committed on a life sentence April 29, 1871, from Fayette county.The particulars of Thompson's crime are given in the following account:
His record is recalled by many citizens of Fayette county who were living when his crime was committed thirty years ago. He was then a man of 46 years of age, living quietly on a farm in Fayette county. Suddenly he became known to the whole state of Iowa through a horrible crime, the murder of a woman about his own age, and her daughter.Thompson had had illicit relations with his two victims, it was claimed, and desired to get rid of them for some reason. He therefore decoyed them from their home in the dead of winter, took them in a sleigh out of Fayette county, across the boundaries of Clayton county to a point on the Mississippi river, where he killed them, cut a hole in the ice and put their dead bodies therein.
The crime was fastened upon Thompson by the most glaring evidence. When the case went against him and he was given a life sentence his attorneys thought of appealing it on the ground that the women were killed and placed in the river nearer the Illinois than the Iowa side. This was not don, however, for fear the case would get the advantage of capital punishment, which he could not in Iowa. This chance not being taken, Thompson was sent to Fort Madison penitentiary, and later transferred to the hospital for the insane.
He has never been in very good health, and for years has been feeble. He was 76 years old when he died. Thompson was a Scotchman by birth and refused to talk of his crime to the day of his death.
The 'Prison Press' gives these further particulars:
He has been an occupant of Ward Six since his arrival here. Of late years he suffered from cataract of the eyes, and a few days before his death a severe spell of hiccoughs came on which indicated to Physician Druet that the old fellow's end was near. He was justly sensible of his sinful life, for when asked how old he was he answered, "76, too old for a man who has done so little good in the world as I have."Andy was one of the few prisoners who possessed worldly goods of sufficient value to justify him in making a will. His property consisted of some real estate, and a small sum of money on deposit with the clerk; all of which goes to his family.
~Anamosa Eureka, Oct. 10, 1901
~Note the reader of this obit should also consult a compilation of newspaper articles written at the time of the murders and in the years after. A good many of the statements in this obit are in conflict with the known facts of the case.
Follow the link (at bottom) to read the articles.__________________
Added by Joy Moore 4/5/2020:
Source: Decorah Republican Oct. 17, 1901 P 2 C 2
Andrew Thompson died in the penitentiary at Anamosa, Ia., on the 5th inst. This death calls to mind the gravest crime ever committed in northeastern Iowa. It was charged, and proven, that he murdered a grass widow with whom he had borne illigitimate relations, and her three children. This was done in December, 1869. The bodies were taken from their home near McGregor, across the Misissippi{sic} on the ice and thrown into an air hole to a slough below Cassville, Wis., and their effects burned by Thompson. The bodies were found in the spring, and being recognized, the crime was traced back to Thompson. He was arrested, indicted and tried in the following June, and after nine days convicted and sentenced to be hanged. A flaw in the indictment gave opportunity for a new trial. The alternative of a life sentence was given him, and he chose it rather than risk a retrial. For over thirty years he has been buried in the penitentiary, and at the age of 76 years, he secures a final release, common to all, good or bad alike. Milo McGlathery was trial judge. C. T, Granger was prosecuting attorney, with Judge Sam Murdock and John T. Stoneman assisting him. Reuben Noble, Thos. Updegraff, L. L, Ainsworth and R. Odell defended Thompson.
The Hagerty Family Murders
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