DID YOU KNOW: The 1856 Presidential Election was a particularly contentious one, with slavery at the center of the debate. The Democrats nominated James Buchanan, the Republicans nominated John C. Frémont, and the American Know-Nothings nominated former U.S. President Millard Fillmore as someone who could act as a moderator between the two parties in D.C. Other parties in the running included the North American Party (former members of the Know Nothings who opposed Fillmores acceptance of slavery), the Whig Party (once one of the strongest parties, it was now dying off), and the North American Seceders Party (former members of the North American Party who had seceded from the Know Nothings due to Fillmores acceptance of slavery, and then seceded from the North Americans due to their willingness to work with Republicans). Buchanan won with 45% of the vote. Bloody Kansas was raging to the west, and to the east southern Democrats from the House of Representatives charged the Senate floor and savagely beat the abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner unconscious. Ohio was torn, filled with both abolitionists and sympathizers, and just like the rest of the country the town was likely swept up in those emotions on the night of the election. John Whitney, a worthy and highly-esteemed citizen [of Loudonville] was beaten on his way home that night. The Ashland Union, November 5, 1856 reports: It becomes our painful duty to record the commission of a second brutal murder within the limits of our county. Mr. John Whitney, one of the oldest and most respectable citizens of Loudonville, while on his way home, after nightfall, on Tuesday night, was waylaid by some inhuman wretch, knocked down, and robbed of the few dollars he happened to have about his person, within forty rods of his own house! Mr. Whitney finally recovered sufficiently to make his way to his dwelling, but was unable to utter a word after he reached home. His skull was fractured, and his mouth badly bruised. The blood having flowed freely from his wounds, the exact spot where the murder was committed is thereby pointed out. Mr. Whitney died about six oclock this morning. Who the fiend was who committed the bloody deed remains a profound mystery. The deceased leaves a wife and several children to mourn his unhappy end. We hope no effort will be spared to ferret out the author of this deed. The fair fame of our county hand the safety of all is at stake. The murder was never solved. Was it a simple mugging, or were there political motives behind the savage attack? The high profile murder mystery stayed in the public consciousness for years, even being described in full detail eight years later when H.S. Knapp published his A History of the Pioneer and Modern Times of Ashland County, noting Although several years have no elapsed, no trace of the guilty parties has yet been discovered.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 15:52:21 +0000
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