Eliphaz Dow: Difference between revisions
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Ahgilbertson (talk | contribs) →Trial and execution: Add a little more about the alleged discovery of his bones. |
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The exact location of the [[gallows]] has been debated for some time. Some accounts have descriptions of the corner of South and Sagamore Streets. Some historic accounts have the location of Ward's Corner. He was hung for about three hours, between the time of twelve noon until three in the afternoon. His body was buried in the road a few rods from the gallows, just at the declivity of the hill. |
The exact location of the [[gallows]] has been debated for some time. Some accounts have descriptions of the corner of South and Sagamore Streets. Some historic accounts have the location of Ward's Corner. He was hung for about three hours, between the time of twelve noon until three in the afternoon. His body was buried in the road a few rods from the gallows, just at the declivity of the hill. |
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An account in the ''New Hampshire Gazette'', August 24, 1847, states that bones discovered near the site were "doubtless" his. |
An account in the ''New Hampshire Gazette'', August 24, 1847, states that bones discovered near the site were "doubtless" his. The bones were only three or four feet under ground, and "together with the bones, were found pieces of bark and leather." This was thought to indicate that he was buried with his shoes on. |
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Contemporary accounts have his name as Eliphaz Dow. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 23:13, 3 September 2015
Eliphaz Dow (1705 – May 8, 1755)[1] of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire was the first male executed in New Hampshire. He was convicted of the murder of Peter Clough, also from Hampton Falls. It appeared, upon evidence, that a feud had subsisted between them for quite some time. On 12 December 1754, they accidentally met at the house of Eliphaz' brother Noah Dow. They began to threaten each other, then Clough challenged Dow to go out of the house to fight. Clough went outside and Dow followed. Dow picked up his brother's hoe and struck Clough with a massive blow on the side of the head which instantly killed him.
Trial and execution
Dow was arrested on the same day of the crime. He went before the Honorable Judge Meshech Weare. He was committed to the prison in Portsmouth. "At the February term of Superior Court, he was indicted, tried & convicted: and sentence was pronounced upon him that he should be hanged by the neck until he should be dead." His sentence was ordered to be executed on March 20, 1755. Dow had two reprieves that were allowed until May 8, 1755. Eliphaz pleaded "strictly self defense" at his trial. He was the first male to be executed in New Hampshire. Many people came out to see the public execution.
The exact location of the gallows has been debated for some time. Some accounts have descriptions of the corner of South and Sagamore Streets. Some historic accounts have the location of Ward's Corner. He was hung for about three hours, between the time of twelve noon until three in the afternoon. His body was buried in the road a few rods from the gallows, just at the declivity of the hill.
An account in the New Hampshire Gazette, August 24, 1847, states that bones discovered near the site were "doubtless" his. The bones were only three or four feet under ground, and "together with the bones, were found pieces of bark and leather." This was thought to indicate that he was buried with his shoes on.
See also
References
- Nathaniel Adams (1825). Annals of Portsmouth. p. 194.
- Robert P. Dow (1929). The Book of Dow. p. 178-179.
- 1705 births
- 1755 deaths
- American people convicted of murder
- People executed for murder
- People from New Hampshire executed by hanging
- People executed by the Province of New Hampshire
- People convicted of murder by New Hampshire
- People executed by the Thirteen Colonies by hanging
- People executed by New Hampshire by hanging
- 18th-century executions of American people by hanging