Wicked Conduct:: The Minister, the Mill Girl and the Murder that Captivated Old Rhode Island

by Rory Raven

Overview

This scribbled note belonged to Sarah M. Cornell, written the day her body was found hanged in a rural pasture in Tiverton, Rhode Island. An unmarried young woman of limited means, Sarah was four months pregnant, and a married Methodist minister stood accused as the father. Local authorities grew skeptical of Sarah's apparent suicide as Reverend Avery's conduct appeared increasingly suspect, and eventually the extensive evidence of their tortured relationship set off a groundswell of public interest and media attention never before seen in 1830s New England. This tragic crime left the nation clamoring for justice and became one of early America's most sensational murder trials.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596298026
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	11/13/2009
Series:	True Crime
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	1,065,865
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Rory Raven is a mentalist who performs at colleges, clubs, corporations and private events throughout the United States. He offers fantastic mind-reading shows and lectures on esoteric subjects. When not on the road, he conducts the Providence Ghost Walk, the original ghosts and graveyards walking tour through the haunted history of Providence, Rhode Island, where he makes his home with his wife and various animals. He is the author of two previous books: Haunted Providence: Strange Tales from the Smallest State and Wicked Conduct: The Minister, the Mill Girl and the Murder that Captivated Old Rhode Island, both available from The History Press. For more information, visit www.roryraven.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Chapter 1 "I Discovered Her to Be Dead" 11

Chapter 2 "The Narrative of This Unfortunate Female" 23

Chapter 3 "Such a Perfect Consciousness of Innocency" 29

Chapter 4 "From Strong Circumstantial Evidence" 34

Chapter 5 "Don't Ruin Me Here" 40

Chapter 6 "Attended by the Most Aggravated Circumstances" 45

Chapter 7 "Such a Distinct and Perfect Chain of Testimony" 49

Chapter 8 "Absconded from Bristol" 66

Chapter 9 "Say Nothing to No One" 70

Chapter 10 "God Send You a Good Deliverance" 78

Chapter 11 "All This Looks Like Design-Like Conspiracy" 89

Chapter 12 "Beyond All Reasonable Doubt" 93

Chapter 13 "What Say You, Mr. Foreman?" 105

Chapter 14 "What's to Be Done with Public Opinion?" 109

Chapter 15 "Remember the Stack-Yard!" 117

Closing Arguments 121

Bibliography 125

About the Author 127