The Markleville Quadruple Murders of 1870

 

On December 13, 1870, Sheriff Jeremiah Rinehart of Perry County arrested the man accused of murdering four members of the Boyer family in their beds at Markleville. As fate would have it, the accused killer was the man who had served under him for three years as deputy sheriff. This is the sad, but true, story of the most shocking tragedy in the history of Juniata Township.

Thomas J. Boyer, a 30-year-old resident of New Bloomfield, traveled to the home of his father on Wednesday, November 30, to help him cut timber at his farm along Buffalo Creek. It was a long, arduous task, so Thomas chose to stay a few days, taking an unoccupied room on the second floor of the farmhouse. After chopping wood all day on Thursday, Thomas and his father, John P. Boyer, went to Gaylor's tannery on Friday morning and then Thomas spent the rest of the afternoon helping his mother with chores.

Before going to bed, Jane Boyer asked her son to put some wood in the oven to dry and to fill up the oil lamp. The Boyer's nine-year-old daughter, Mary "Bessie" Elizabeth, wasn't feeling well and her mother wanted to leave a dim light for Bessie in case she needed to get up in the middle of the night. Thomas was happy to oblige. He then went upstairs to bed. The next time anyone saw him, in the early hours of December 3, Thomas would be pounding on the door of a neighbor, screaming "Fire!"

The Markleville Horror

James Lesh, a neighbor of the Boyers and Thomas' brother-in-law, had difficulty sleeping on the night of December 2. He had just returned home from the Boyer farm, where he had gone to return a rifle he had borrowed, but found that his neighbors had already gone to bed. It was around three o'clock when James finally fell asleep, but his slumber was interrupted by a frantic pounding on the door a half hour later. It was Thomas Boyer, and he was shouting that his father's house was on fire. The two men ran to toward the inferno and James smashed one of the east-facing bedroom windows with the palm of his hand. He attempted to enter the house but was driven back by the smoke. He picked up a rock and smashed another window, but only succeeded in releasing an angry tongue of flames.

"It's over," cried Lesh. "It's too late to save them."

 James Blain, who lived in the house east of the Boyers, had been awaked by the screams. Running out onto his porch, Blain saw flames coming out the window of the Boyer bedroom. His first thoughts were of his own property, but after determining there was no immediate danger to his barn he raced to the scene and found James Lesh trying to enter the burning structure, while Thomas Boyer, overcome by smoke, was lying in the gutter along the highway.

"Where's John?" asked Blain. "Where's Jane?"

"They're in the house," cried Lesh. 

"Where are the children?" asked Blain.

"My God!" cried Lesh. "They are all burned!"

George Reamer, who lived a half mile below the Boyers, had a good view of the fire from his home. He, too, had been awakened by the screams. After getting dressed he ran toward the Boyer house and encountered Thomas, who begged him to save his family. George looked at the fire, which was now raging on three sides of the farmhouse. He shook his head. "It's too late, Thomas," he muttered. "It's impossible." Reamer then encountered Lesh and Blain, who were throwing buckets of water from a nearby spring onto the fire. Other neighbors soon arrived and did the same.

Philip Myers and Jesse Lupfer, along with James Latchford and Benjamin Bealor, entered the smoldering ruins to recover the bodies of John and Jane Boyer and their two children, nine-year-old Bessie and eleven-year-old John Leahmon. Much to their surprise, they discovered that the bodies were still in their beds, as if they had slept soundly through the blaze. They concluded that the victims were either already dead when the fire broke out, or had been rendered unconscious-- perhaps by smoke, or perhaps by poison.

On December 4, over one thousand people attended the Boyer funeral at the Bealor Church Burying Ground (now known as the Saint John's Church Cemetery) in Markleville. The service was officiated by Rev. Hedges. Only two coffins were lowered into the ground that morning, one containing the remains of the parents, the other containing the remains of the children. 

The grave of John and Jane Boyer (photo by Dennis Burkheimer)

 

A Missing Bottle of Chloroform

Coroner Cyrus M. Clemson held an inquest on December 8. Thomas Boyer related his account of the tragedy, claiming that he had survived by leaping from a second story window. He was stunned by the drop and his clothing had been badly burned; he laid there several moments before recovering and running to the home of James Lesh. While Thomas gave a believable account of events, the next two witnesses called gave testimony that pointed the finger of blame directly at the former deputy sheriff.
Dr. William Ard, who lived across the street from Thomas Boyer in New Bloomfield, was one of two physicians who examined the remains. "I should think, to the best of my judgment, that it would be impossible for death to be produced by smoke or fire without a change of position of a mighty struggle," he testified. But what the 25-year-old physician said next would lead to Boyer's arrest.

According to Dr. Ard, on the afternoon of November 30, he noticed that an eight ounce bottle of chloroform was missing from his office. He searched in vain for the bottle, but admitted that he had a habit of leaving the door to his office unlocked. "I had a conversation with Thomas Boyer at my office on Wednesday the 30th of November, about eight o'clock in the morning," he stated, adding that seven and a half ounces of chloroform was still left in the bottle. If poured into a room, he said, it would render every occupant senseless.

The next witness called was Dr. J.E. Van Camp of Markleville, who helped recover the bodies from the Boyer home. The bodies were burned so badly that he could not tell which ones were male or female. "It is my impression that the bodies were in the same position in the bed," he stated, "except for one, which seemed to lie towards the foot of the bed."

Adam B. Clouser, a dry goods merchant of New Bloomfield, also testified that morning, and stated that he had seen Thomas Boyer leave his lodgings at the McClintock House on Main Street enter the office of Dr. Ard on the morning of November 30. Other witnesses called to testify included James Lesh, James and Mary Blain, George Reamer, Philip Myers, Samuel and Jesse Lupfer, James Latchford and Benjamin Bealor. After a short deliberation, jury foreman John W. Smith presented the following verdict: That John P. Boyer, Jane Ann Boyer, Elizabeth Boyer and John Boyer came to their death by having chloroform or some other poisonous substance administered to them, and then the house set on fire to consume the bodies, by some person or persons unknown.

The Arrest of Thomas Boyer

On the morning of December 13, Boyer was arrested by Sheriff Rinehart on a warrant issued by justice of the peace John Shuler, charging him with the murder of his parents and two siblings. District Attorney McIntyre's investigation also uncovered evidence of serious financial crimes, which may have been the motive for his alleged actions. In addition to being charged with four counts of murder, Boyer was also charged with forging the name of his father-in-law, Wilson Darlington, to a note for $45, payable to Andrew Whitekettle, and forging the name of his father to two notes to a Perry County bank totaling $300. Boyer was also charged with forging his father's name on a note given to Wilson Darlington and Adam Clauser for $125.

Boyer, once a well-respected member of the community, now found himself locked up in the county jail with public sentiment turned against him. It was recalled that, several months earlier, Deputy Sheriff Boyer claimed to have been attacked and robbed by highwaymen, who made off with a large sum of money which belonged to the county. Though never proven, it was whispered that Boyer had fabricated the story and had stolen the money to pay off his debts. Even his own wife seemed to turn against him; he had recently married the youngest daughter of Wilson Darlington, Isabella, who was aghast to discover that her husband had forged her father's signature to cover his own personal debts.

Grave of John Leahmon and Mary Elizabeth Boyer (photo by Robert Pennington)

 

 The Murder Trial

The murder trial of Thomas Boyer opened on January 4, 1871, with Judge Graham presiding. Boyer, who had plead not guilty, was represented by attorney B.F. Junkin. During Dr. Ard's testimony, he told the court that he had paid a visit to Boyer at the county prison on December 28, and that Boyer had offered to pay him $100 if he would replace the missing chloroform bottle. "That is the only thing that will save me," Boyer allegedly told the doctor, who refused to participate in the scheme. Other witnesses for the commonwealth presented Boyer's debts, which amounted to $1,932.68.

The defense produced expert witnesses in the form of Professor F.F. Maury and Dr. Howard Rand of Philadelphia. Professor Maury told that court that since chloroform is heavier than air, pouring it on the floor would not have rendered the victims unconscious. The proper way to administer chloroform, stated the professor, was to douse a napkin and hold it over someone's nose, and it was doubtful that a farmer's son would know this detail. The next witness, Dr. Rand, testified that carbon monoxide gas (presumably from the coal oil lamp which Mrs. Boyer had left burning) could have knocked out and immobilized the victims, thereby explaining why they hadn't attempted to flee the burning house.

After three and half hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Thomas Boyer. However, there was still the matter of forgery. Judge Graham ordered that the defendant be returned to jail and set bail in the amount of $700, which Boyer posted the following Tuesday. He was convicted on the forgery charges in May and sentenced to two years imprisonment at Eastern Penitentiary.

Boyer in the Wild West

Upon his release from prison, Boyer found himself with a tarnished reputation. His wife had abandoned him and his prospects for the future looked bleak. Like many men of that era facing similar circumstances, he decided to go west and build a new life for himself. He first settled in Helena, Montana, which, at the time, had a population of just three thousand, before buying a ranch near Billings. Though he would return to Markleville every few years to visit, he chose to remain in Montana until his death on July 1, 1899. As for his former wife, Isabella Darlington, she married Henry Sheaffer in 1878 and lived in New Bloomfield until her death in 1921.




Sources:

Perry County Democrat, Dec. 7, 1870.
Perry County Democrat, Dec. 14, 1870.
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, Dec. 16, 1870.
Perry County Democrat, Jan. 11, 1871.
Newport News, May 18, 1871.
Perry County Democrat, Sept. 13, 1899.