Post-Report Notes:
List of the Boys Involved in the Shooting Incident
Including their approximate age at the time of the incident:
- · William T. Lukens, Age 18 (killed), 408 Maryland Avenue. Wilmington.
- · John Skelley, Age 17 (injured), 925 Chestnut Street. Wilmington.
- · Edward Speakman, Age 17 (uninjured), 7 Jackson St. Wilmington.
- · William T. Green, Age 15 (uninjured), Wilmington
- · James P. Coyle, Age 16 (uninjured), “West Wilmington”.
- · Walter McElvay, Age 17 (uninjured), 108 Logan St. Wilmington (address doesn’t exist. Could be Linden St?)
Location of the Wooward Farm:
I’ve tried to determine exactly which property Aaron K Woodward’s was farming in 1874. I haven’t found an exact answer as none of the maps I’ve seen call it out directly. I believe I’ve got the general area given the many clues presented in the articles and in testimony during the trial. The annotated map (from 1868) shows some clues I’ve used. It comes from the David Rumsey Map Collection referenced in [6] below. Here are the color codes:
Blue = the road on which Aaron Woodward’s farm was located, at the time known as the road from Wilmington to Brandywine Springs. Today, this is DuPont Road which turns into Faulkland Road as DuPont Road heads off towards Elsmere. Remember that DE-2 from Wilmington to the Greenbank area was not constructed until 1881 so getting from Wilmington to Brandywine Springs was not as easy as today’s drive down Kirkwood Highway.
Green = A rough path of the segment of the train tracks near where they cross Faulkland Rd. (Wilmington and Reading in 1874, later the Wilmington and Northern. Today, a branch of the East Penn Railroad). The Woodward farm either bordered the tracks, straddled them, or was very close to them.
Red Circles:location of the properties of each of the individuals below who I could locate on the map. These help provide a general location only.
White Outline: My best guess as to the location of the Woodward Farm in 1874.
Here are the clues I have:
- Mr. Woodward lives “just beyond the Wilmington and Reading Railroad on the public road between this city (Wilmington) and Brandywine Springs”. (reported in The News Journal , 07 Oct 1874, Wed, Page 3)
- Ezra C. Lukens stated that the farm was “three quarter of a mile from where the Reading road crosses the old springs road”. (I believe this may be an error as this puts the farm at almost exactly the corner of Centre Road and Faulkland Rd. If the farm were at this intersection, I would expect it to be noted in respect to its distance from Centre Rd, rather than its distance from the railroad. But every reference of the farm’s location either references the property by its distance from Wilmington or its distance from the railroad crossing with no mention of Centre Rd that I can find)
- Sallie Stidham stated in her testimony that she lived on Lancaster Pike only ½ mile from her sister (Aaron’s wife Mary Ann Woodward) and walked to her house every day. I’m not 100% sure of where she lived along the Lancaster Pike but if you start on the Lancaster Pike and follow it up DuPont Rd / Faulkland Rd ½ mile towards Brandywine Springs, it puts you almost exactly where the railroad crosses Faulkland Road.
- Farmer John R. Tatum (see red circle) testified that his farm adjoined Woodward’s. On the 1868 map, there is a John “B.” Tatum set back from Lancaster Pike and east of DuPont Road. I’m assuming this is the same John Tatum.?
- Farmer Henry White (see red circle) testified that his farm was ½ mile from Woodward.
- Farmer James Brown (see red circle) stated that “Mr. Woodward lives a mile from me”.
- Thomas Brown stated that he lives “3/4 of a mile from Woodward”.
- David M. Price (Assume this is the DM Price shown at Price’s corner in the 1868 map of Christiana Hundred?.. see red circle) stated that he lives “about a mile from Woodward”.
- James H. Hoffecker (see red circle) stated that he lived “one half mile from Woodward”.
- The many mentions of the railroad tracks (Wilmington and Reading) in testimony and in newspaper articles lead me to believe that the Woodward farm bordered (or straddled?) the tracks or was very close to them.
My best guess is that Aaron and family were living on, and farming, the property labeled in the 1868 Beers Map as “G.P. Stidham”. Gilpin Penrose Stidham was Mary Ann’s father and Aaron’s father-in-law. While I’ve not found a property record conveying the property to Aaron and/or Mary Ann, it makes sense that they would reside on or near this property. In fact, this property, also shown on the map as “Hedge Grove” is Mary Ann’s birthplace (see [2]). Whether it was this actual farm, a portion of the farm, or a nearby property, I’ve not been able to determine. In both the 1870 and 1880 census, Mr. Stidham lived with his wife Edith and daughter Sallie, who we know lived along Lancaster Pike so Gilpin apparently lived somewhere other than the Hedge Grove farm. Unfortunately, the censuses do not give actual addresses in rural areas other than the name of the hundred and sometimes the post office. The Hedge Grove farm appears to have been located on the land occupied by the Oak Hill subdivision today.
This 1937 aerial photo of the area shows a farm in the same location as the one marked “Hedge Grove” in the 1868 map. Of course, this aerial map was almost 70 years later than the incident and the chestnut tree in question and its descendants were probably already dead from chestnut blight.
1937 view of the area in question. Silverbrook Cemetery can be seen with the railroad tracks wrapping around the west and north of the property.
A little more about Aaron Klair Woodward:
Aaron Klair Woodward served on the 2nd DE Cavalry, also known as Milligan’s Independent Cavalry in July 1864. He brought his own horse and served a 30-day tour. This is the same company in which Josiah G. Hulett served, mentioned at
http://mchhistory.blogspot.com/2011/08/josiah-g-hulett.html. As mentioned in the same Mill Creek History Blog post, the company saw no combat, but did patrol a wide area, ranging from Wilmington, to Baltimore, to Westminster, MD.
Jury List from the Aaron K. Woodward Trial
I have attempted to locate the members of the jury, their addresses, and occupations around the trial timeframe of 1874. I did this because I found an article stating that the jury had been stacked with farmers, making the “not guilty” verdict a foregone conclusion. I have not found that to be the case. As you can see, I didn’t locate everyone and some of the information may be inaccurate as of 1874 or completely inaccurate (if I got the wrong George White, for example). But here’s my best effort given the time I had.
- · Grubb Talley. 12th St. Wilmington
- · John M. Appleton – 919 Lovering Ave. Wilmington
- · Jackson Whiteman (not located)
- · Peter Massey (not located)
- · Isaac Frazer – Pencader Hundred - Farmer
- · William Wilson – E third street. Wilmington - Grocer
- · James C. Morrison - Laborer
- · Isaac Fred - Butcher
- · J. Poulsen Chandler (not located)
- · Joseph S. Forman.. Christiana Hundred.. manufacturer
- · George White – New Castle Hundred…Farm Laborer
- · Jonathan E. George - Wilmington
Bibliography
[1] The News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware, 07 Oct 1874, Wed (Second and Third editions) • Page 3
Mary A. Stidham, b. 12, 24, 1844, at "Hedge Grove," near that place [Wilmington]; a dau. of Gilpin P. Stidham (farmer), b. there, and Elizabeth Grove, b. in Mill Creek Hundred : both in New Castle Co.
[3] The News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware, 05 Jan 1875, Tue • Page 2, A Matter in which City and Country are Both Interested
[4] “Ferris School for Boys,” by Raymond L. Townsend, 1949, p. 9.
Listing of all (known) Articles About the Incident
“The Shooting Case”, The News Journal, Tue, Oct 6, 1874 – Page 4
“Yesterday’s Murder!”, The News Journal, Wed, Oct 7, 1874 – Page 3
“The Homicide in Christiana Hundred”, The News Journal, Thu, Oct 8, 1874 – Page 2
“The Boy Murder”, The News Journal, Thu, Oct 8, 1874 – Page 3
Untitled Article, The News Journal, Fri, Oct 16, 1874 – Page 4, column 2
“The Recent Shooting Case”, The News Journal, Sat, Oct 10, 1874 – Page 4
Untitled Article, The News Journal, Mon, Oct 19, 1874 – Page 3, column 5
“Indicted for Murder”, The News Journal, Tue, Nov 17, 1874 – Page 4
“Woodward and Taylor”, The News Journal, Wed, Nov 18, 1874 – Page 3
“The Woodward Trial”, The News Journal, Fri, Nov 27, 1874 – Page 3
“Woodward’s Trial”, The News Journal, Sat, Nov 28, 1874 – Page 3
“The Woodward Trial”, The News Journal, Mon, Nov 30, 1874 – Page 1
Untitled Article, The News Journal, Mon, Nov 30, 1874 – Page 3, column 5
“The Woodward Trial”, The News Journal, Tue, Dec 1, 1874 – Page 3
“The Woodward Trial”, The News Journal, Wed, Dec 2, 1874 – Page 1
“The Acquittal of Woodward”, The News Journal, Thu, Dec 3, 1874 – Page 4
“A Matter in Which City and Country are Both Interested”, The News Journal, Tue, Jan 5, 1875 – Page 2
Untitled Article, The News Journal, Thu, May 13, 1875 – Page 3