Early American Crime

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In May 1744, Elizabeth Robinson was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London to transportation to the American colonies for her involvement in the theft of 104 China oranges from a warehouse. She was loaded onto the Justitia that same month and eventually landed in Virginia. She ended up in Maryland, where she reportedly continued her criminal ways and met a young boy named Joseph Cooper, whom she seduced.

Cooper later moved north to Philadelphia, where in 1750 he learned that Robinson was being held in a prison workhouse in the same city and went to visit her. Apparently, his affections for her continued to run strong, because she convinced him to help her pay her fines so that she could get out of prison. Not having enough money, Cooper sold himself into servitude for a three-year term in order to raise the sum needed to free Robinson.

Robinson appreciated what Cooper did for her, so she proposed a plan to help him raise enough money to purchase his freedom. She introduced him to a gang of burglars and convinced him that if he joined them that he could easily raise the money he needed. Cooper went along with Robinson’s scheme and in due course met Francis McCoy and his wife Mary, John Crow, and John Morrison, the mastermind of the gang.

One of the Gang

Cooper joined Morrison in committing a string of burglaries. He started out small by first accompanying Morrison in stealing some fowls, turkey, and ducks, which they took to the McCoy’s. The two then went on to rob Mr. S—h’s house on Walnut Street, where they took some clothing, two silver spoons, and silver tea-tongs. They brought the items to John Crow, who was a servant at Mr. N—l’s brewhouse, and Crow agreed to stash the goods for them there.

The following night the gang gathered at the McCoy’s to plan their next hit. They proposed robbing Mrs. P—w’s store after learning that it held plenty of valuable goods, ripe for the taking. Mary McCoy served Cooper some rum to help give him courage, and she furnished him and Morrison with a bag in which to carry away any stolen loot.

The two arrived at Mrs. P—w’s at two in the morning, lit a candle, and got to work targeting the best items in the store. They not only completely filled the bag they brought with them, but also filled another bag they found in the shop and two handkerchiefs. They then took some silver, paper money, and pennies from the shop’s till and proceeded to rob the house, where they took some silver spoons, silver and gold buttons, two pistols, and other sundry items. They took the haul to John Crow, who hid the valuables in Mr. N—l’s hay loft, and then went back to the McCoy’s to divide the money. By the time they parted, the sun was just beginning to break over the horizon.

Crime Wave

Around the time that Cooper joined the Morrison gang, Philadelphia was up in arms over a string of robberies, thefts, and burglaries that seemed to come one on top of another. A great quantity of valuable goods was taken from Mr. S—rs’s store. Mr. C—m’s house was broken into and robbed of plate and money. And someone broke into Mr. F—n’s house in the night and took clothing and a gold bead necklace.

All of the burglaries showed a similar skill in execution, which led the authorities to believe that they were carried out by the same person or group. The citizens of Philadelphia began to keep a watchful eye and organized a nightly watch, but these steps proved fruitless. The city had never before experienced such a crime wave.

A break in the case of the serial burglaries finally came in the middle of January when Mrs. P—w’s shop was robbed. Soon after the burglary, Mr. N—l the brewer came to the Chief Justice to tell him that his servant, John Crow, suddenly came into possession of several items of considerable value. When the brewer confronted Crow over how he obtained the items, Crow claimed that he bought them at such a low price that the brewer became suspicious that the goods were stolen.

Crow was brought in for questioning, and indeed the goods were identified as belonging to Mrs. P—w. Crow said that he purchased the pilfered goods from Elizabeth Robinson and identified John Morrison as being present when the transaction took place. The authorities decided to speak with Morrison to find out what he knew about the burglary and learned that he was at the home of Francis McCoy. When an officer arrived at the McCoy house, Morrison ran out the back door, but McCoy falsely told the officer that Joseph Cooper was the one who had slipped away. This lie turned out to be a big mistake.

Interrogations

McCoy and his wife were both brought in for questioning, and since they had named Cooper, he was rounded up as well. All three steadfastly maintained their innocence in the affair, especially McCoy, who continually cried out that he hoped the authorities would find the guilty party. However, when McCoy was being placed in irons, a stolen necklace was found hidden in one of his shoes, which cast an even darker cloud over his claim of innocence.

The three were held in prison for only a short time before Cooper finally broke and agreed to tell the authorities all he knew about the string of burglaries. Cooper disclosed his relationship with Elizabeth Robinson, how she encouraged him to join the Morrison gang, and all of the burglaries he carried out with Morrison.

After Cooper spilled the beans, a great search went out to find Morrison, and a reward of fifty pounds was offered for catching him. The prisoners insinuated that Morrison frequented Jack Stinson’s tavern on Water Street, and, sure enough, the authorities discovered him in a room of the tavern lying in bed pretending to be sick.

Stinson denied knowing Morrison, even though evidence clearly showed the contrary, so he also was taken into custody. While being held, Stinson finally admitted that Morrison was living with him, but he claimed that he did not know Morrison well and had no idea that he was suspected of breaking into houses.

John Crow was the next to crack and added his confession to Cooper’s. He admitted participating with Morrison in the theft of 5 shirts from a hedge and to receiving and concealing various stolen goods from Morrison. He also related how he often saw Morrison and Elizabeth Robinson together and how Morrison commended Robinson for being worth the equivalent of two men in his gang with her ability to go up and down chimneys with great dexterity.

With so much evidence mounted against him, Morrison decided that he could no longer maintain his innocence. He gave detailed confessions for 17 separate crimes that he had committed either alone or with the help of his associates who were all being held in jail. During his last robbery, he entered Mr. R—s’s kitchen and took some venison, ham, and bacon. Spotting a barrel of flour, he took off his shirt, tied up the sleeves, and filled it with as much flour as he could. His biographer noted that even though he was in possession of a great quantity of money, plate, and valuable goods at this point, Morrison continued to steal petty items, “so strong was his Propensity to Thieving!”

Punishment

While being held in jail, the prisoners attempted to execute an escape, but their plan was thwarted when a boy was found trying to enter the prison with files and other tools meant to help them break out. Morrison then pretended to be a Quaker and requested that some preachers be brought in to speak with him, but they soon found out that he had never been a Quaker and that he was only trying to use them to help his case.

At their trial, Morrison pleaded guilty of burglarizing Mrs. P—w’s. Elizabeth Robinson, Francis McCoy, Mary McCoy, John Crow, and John Stinson all pleaded not guilty. The jury, however, disagreed and quickly found all of them guilty of being accessories to the burglaries, with the sole exception of Mary, who the jury assumed was coerced by her husband. The next day, Morrison, Robinson, McCoy, and Crow all received a death sentence, and Stinson was burned in the hand for his role in harboring Morrison.

Before their execution, more information about the backgrounds of the gang members began to emerge. John Morrison was 24 years old at the time of the trial. He was born in Ireland and came to America as an indentured servant at age 14. Stinson apparently had bought Morrison when he first arrived, but Morrison was so badly behaved that Stinson sold him to someone else in the country. When Morrison eventually returned to Philadelphia, he sold limes and onions from house to house and used this trade to examine how windows and doors were fastened. If he knocked at a door with no answer, he used the opportunity to steal whatever he could find in the entryway.

In addition to her time in the prison workhouse, Elizabeth Robinson had been prosecuted once before in Philadelphia for shoplifting and stealing and had received a whipping as punishment. Francis McCoy and his wife were both born in Ireland and had lived in Philadelphia for a long time with several children. They supported themselves and their family by stealing for many years.

On Wednesday, February 13, the four gang members who were sentenced to death were carried in two carts along with their coffins to their place of execution. They said little along the way, as they were engrossed in reading and praying. A great number of people showed up to witness the drama, and they weren’t disappointed. As Robinson was being tied to the gallows, the rope attached to her accidentally fell down. For a brief moment, she believed that she had received a pardon, but her hope was dashed as the rope was taken up and retied. At the last moment, a reprieve arrived for Crow, so he was returned to the prison, where he shed tears and thanked God and the Governor for their mercy in sparing his life.

Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for arrived, and the cart drove away, leaving the three gang members hanging. Robinson died immediately, but McCoy struggled for a long time before finally passing on.

Joseph Cooper was never brought to trial for his role in the burglaries. He received immunity as a reward for serving as a witness.

Sources

• An Account of the Robberies Committed by John Morrison, and His Accomplices, In and Near Philadelphia, 1750. Philadelphia, 1750-1. Database: Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans (1639-1800), Readex/Newsbank.
• “Feb. 5.” The New-York Gazette. February 11, 1751. No. 421, p. 2. Database: America’s Historical Newspapers, Readex/Newsbank
• Marietta, Jack D. and G. S. Rowe. Troubled Experiment: Crime and Justice in Pennsylvania, 1682-1800
  . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.
• Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, 18 January 2010) May 1744, trial of Elizabeth Robinson and Mary Davies (t17440510-40).

Read more about burglary in Early American Crime.

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All of you who read these Lines may see
The sad and dire Effects of Sin:
Therefore if Sinners still you’l be,
Leave off to read ere you begin. (from A Few Lines)

These lines form the opening of A Few Lines upon the Awful Execution of John Ormesby & Matthew Cushing, one of two poems written and sold about the execution of these two criminals in 1734. Ormsby was convicted of murder for beating a man to death with a quart pot, and Cushing was found guilty of burglary.

Cushing’s burglary and trial created a sensation at the time. Rev. Cooper, who counseled Cushing up until his execution, noted that people could not stop talking about the circumstances of his crime and the result of his trial. Indeed, Cushing’s case created so much interest that in addition to the two poems published about him and Ormsby, Cushing’s own confession was printed and sold at the time of his execution. A sermon given by Rev. John Webb on the day of the execution, which also contained an appendix written by Rev. Cooper about Cushing’s behavior and state of mind while he was held in prison, also appeared around this time. This kind of attention in the press was normal for criminals back in England, but Cushing’s case was one of the first to receive such treatment in America.

Youth

Oh! May the Fate of this young Man
scarce turn’d of Twenty Three,
A Warning prove to all our Youth,
of high and low Degree. (from A Mournful Poem)

Matthew Cushing was born around December 25, 1712 in Limerick, Ireland to Roman Catholic parents, although Rev. Cooper maintained that Cushing received little religious instruction. Cushing apparently did not receive much, if any, formal schooling either, for he was illiterate at the time of his execution.

Cushing was head-strong and rebellious from an early age, and his parents could barely control him. He left home at 16 and traveled to Dublin, where he landed a position as a servant at the country house of Lord Carbury. After serving two and a half years in this position, he returned to Dublin and lived for six months on whatever money he had managed to save. Once his money ran out, he went back to his parents.

After spending an unproductive year at home, Cushing’s grandfather died and left him a small estate. However, his father refused to allow him to take his inheritance until he came of age, so Cushing left home for good and traveled to Cork, where he sold himself into indentured servitude to a Captain Cox who was bound for Boston.

Once Cushing arrived in America, he decided instead to serve five years at sea, rather than the four on land for which he was originally contracted. Captain Cox sold him to a Man of War, where Cushing served for seven months until he was accused of stealing a watch. Cushing claimed to be innocent of the act up until his death, although he admitted that there were circumstances that made it appear that he was guilty.

Downfall

He thought (no doubt) the darksome Night
would have conceal’d his Crime,
But it was brought to open Light
within a little Time. (from A Mournful Poem)

After being discharged from the ship, Cushing spent his time on shore “in Drinking, Swearing, Whoring, and almost all other Vices.” He later confessed that he “was much addicted to lewd Women, and found many of them here to suit my mind; from whence I was led on to Stealing.”

One night in August 1734, Cushing broke into the house of Joseph Cook, a shoemaker. He stole some clothing and two gowns belonging to Cook’s wife. Cushing was soon caught and tried at the Superior Court in Boston, and since burglary was a capital offense, he received the death penalty. He was 22 at the time.

Why Cushing’s case created such a sensation isn’t exactly clear. He was not the first burglar to be sentenced to death in Massachusetts, and the circumstances of the burglary were hardly noteworthy.

Perhaps the unremarkable nature of his crime was one of the reasons it generated so much attention. Both poems written about Cushing and Ormsby note that the former’s crime was not that great, at least when compared with the latter’s. Yet both poems acknowledge that the law clearly states that anyone guilty of burglary must die. The execution of one criminal for a heinous murder, that in itself generated a great deal of interest, right next to another criminal for stealing a few articles of clothing perhaps created debate within New England society and brought added attention to Cushing’s case.

Confession

Avoid lewd Women, ever shun
Their Company, entangling Snares,
By them, poor Youths are oft undone,
The Truth of this Cushing declares. (from A Few Lines)

While being held in prison, Cushing was visited by Rev. Cooper to prepare him spiritually for his execution. Cooper reported that Cushing was receptive to his religious instruction, but he was also visited by friends, who got him drunk several times. These occasions caused Cushing to fall into “violent transports of passion, wherein the language of hell which he had so us’d himself to before, was utter’d by him in a most shocking manner, and under a kind of satanic impression.”

In his printed confession, Cushing attributed his disregard of his parent’s authority as the root cause that led him into associating with bad company and into crime, and he warned readers not to follow his example. He also carefully pointed out that he was not a transported convict, that he had never been put in jail until now, and that he had not committed an act of theft before coming to America.

Execution

An early map showing Boston Neck, which runs along present-day Washington Street.

They to the fatal Place must ride
Each Man his Coffin in the Cart,
With Guard of Soldiers on each side:
The Sight enough to pierce one’s Heart.

Then they arrive at th’ Gallows Tree,
While Spectators lament and cry;
Alas! how hard it is to see,
Much more to feel their Destiny. (from A Few Lines)

The execution of Cushing and Ormsby was scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 26, 1734, but the two received a reprieve from execution until October 17 from the Governor.

When their day of reckoning finally arrived, Cushing and Ormsby were led to the gallows at Boston Neck, a narrow strip of land that connected Boston to Roxbury and corresponds with Washington Street today. The press reported that they were accompanied by Rev. Cooper and that Cushing behaved with “much Courage and Resolution.” After he arrived at the gallows, Cushing made a speech where he confessed his crime, warned those in the crowd from committing the sins that led him to his fateful end, and asserted his faith in Jesus Christ. The two criminals were executed at 4 p.m.

Washington Street in Boston, the present-day site of Boston Neck.

Cushing’s printed confession and warning to his readers wasn’t his only lasting legacy. After Cushing’s execution, one newspaper reported that “Several of the Town Physicians are now Anatomizing his Body, for the Benefit and Use of the Students in Physick and Natural Philosophy.”

Sources

• “Boston, October 21.” The Weekly Rehearsal (Boston, MA). No. 160. Monday, October 21, 1734, p. 2. Database: America’s Historical Newspapers, Readex/Newsbank.
• Cushing, Matthew. The Declaration and Confession of Matthew Cushing. [Boston, 1734?]. Database: Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans (1639-1800), Readex/Newsbank.
• A Few Lines upon the Awful Execution of John Ormesby & Matthew Cushing, October 17th, 1734. Boston: Printing House in Queen-Street, [1734]. Database: Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans (1639-1800), Readex/Newsbank.
• A Mournful Poem on the Death of John Ormsby and Matthew Cushing . . . Appointed to be Executed on Boston Neck, the 17th of October, 1734. Boston: [Fleet, 1734]. Database: Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans (1639-1800), Readex/Newsbank.
• New England Weekly Journal (Boston, MA). September 30, 1734, p. 2. Database: America’s Historical Newspapers, Readex/Newsbank.
• Webb, John. The Greatness of Sin Improv’d by the Penitent as an Argument with GOD for a Pardon: A Sermon . . . Preach’d in the Hearing of John Ormesby and Matthew Cushing . . . on the Day of Their Execution. Boston: S. Kneeland and T. Green, 1734. Database: Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans (1639-1800), Readex/Newsbank.

Read more about burglary in Early American Crime.