William John Hamilton married Melina/Milsena Taylor abt. 1848-1849. William and Melina Hamilton had a son, William J. Hamilton, Jr.
Note: I'm not sure if William was buried in this Cemetery or on the Hamilton farm land?
The Murder of William Hamilton and Execution of William Kendall (1851, Marion County, Oregon Territory)
1851 , , Marion, Oregon, USA
The first official hanging in Oregon Territory took place in Salem on April 18, 1851. William Kendall was executed for the murder of William Hamilton on January 7, 1851.
Background to the murder:
William Kendall and William Hamilton were said to have been feuding for several months before the murder. Hamilton was leasing land from Kendall, but they were arguing over hogs and some acres of land. Hamilton had leased the property in the Waldo Hills area from Kendall in January of 1850 for two years. Hamilton wanted to leave the lease, but sources say that he wanted to turn it over to his sister Melissa and her husband William Taylor to live on until the lease expired. Kendall just wanted Hamilton to give up the lease. Kendall apparently also believed that Hamilton was stealing his hogs.
[The statement that William Hamilton had a sister named Melissa married to William Taylor has its problems. There is no evidence that Hamilton had a sister named Melissa. And William Taylor was married to a woman named Mary Almira Smith. However, William Taylor was Hamilton's brother-in-law (which may account for the confusion is describing the relationship) since he was the brother of Hamilton's wife, Melsina Taylor]
Events of January 7, 1851:
Morning:
William Kendall was hog butchering at the Henry Smith farm about six miles from Salem in Marion County on the morning of January 7. John Hamilton, brother of William Hamilton, shows up with a message from William that he wanted to meet with Kendall the next day and settle their issues. Kendall is said to have refused and the two men nearly wind up in a fight before Henry Smith can separate the two. Other sources say that John was demanding that Kendall come immediately to the Matt farm.
John leaves and goes to the farm of Mary Ann Mott [apparently Mary Ann Matt] to see his brother William and tell him what Kendall had said. William Hamilton is said to be the administrator of the estate of Mary Ann's dead husband and the guardian of the children. Mary Ann Matt is described as a 30 year old widow with seven children. She was the widow of Charles P. Matt who was believed to have died in June 1850 in California, killed by Indians near Johnson's Ranch on the Bear River [now in Yuba County]. Hamilton had been named as administrator and guardian since the Territorial law did not allow women to be guardians of their children nor manage the finances of their inheritances.
[Mary Ann Matt is another in-law of William Hamilton since she is the sister of his wife, Melsina Taylor. Mary Ann Taylor will marry three times]
3:30 PM
William Kendall came to the farm of Hiram and Sarah Taylor looking for William Hamilton. Hiram was the brother of Mary Ann Matt. Hiram and Sarah testified later that they suggested he might be at Mary Ann's place and that Kendall walked away. They also testified that Kendall had been at their place five days earlier [Jan. 2] and had made threats against William Hamilton's life.
[Hiram Taylor is another of William Hamilton's brothers-in-law. Hiram is brother to Melsina Hamilton, Mary Ann Matt, and William Taylor]
about 4:30 PM
Hiram Taylor testifies at the trial that he saw Kendall take out his gun, fire a round, reload his gun, and then walk toward Mary Ann's home. Twenty minutes later he heard a shot and then people screaming "Murder" Hiram was working in his field at the time. The field was located between his home, Mary Ann's home, and Kendall's home.
5 PM
John Hamilton and Mary Ann Matt were walking down the road and William Hamilton got on a horse and left in the opposite direction. John and Mary then heard a single shot and ran back finding William Hamilton dead.
10 PM
Kendal was found that night at the home of Jesse and Ruby Looney where he had ate dinner and was arrested by the county coroner, William Gilham, and another man, Joshua McKinley
Trial of William Kendall (April 2, 1851):
Kendall was tried on April 2, 1851 in Salem. He had pled not guilty when arraigned on March 29 and asked for a change of venue alleging that prejudice against him would prevent a fair trial. The judge ruled against a change of venue, but it took two days to select a jury. The trial started at 2 PM. Prosecution witnesses included John Hamilton, Mary Ann Matt, Hiram and Sarah Taylor, a worker at Henry Smith's farm, and a boarder at the Taylor farm, as well as the cornoner and sheriff. Hiram's testimony was apparently the most damning since there was no witness to the actual shooting of Hamilton. There were only three defense witnesses, one being a John Roe who was working on the Taylor farm. They tried to place Kendall too far away to have been able to be Hamilton's killer.
The jury was out for a half hour before finding him guilty.
The judge sentenced Kendall to death on April 4, 1851 with the hanging scheduled fourteen days later.
Execution (April 18, 1851):
William Kendall was hung on a gallows in Salem at what is now the corner of Church and Trade streets. It was the first legal execution in Oregon. Kendall claimed to be innocent right up to his hanging.
The Taylor Family:
Many of the parties involved were connected by family and marriage, particularly the Taylor family. John Taylor (1792-1870) and his wife Elizabeth Murphy (1790-1874) were emigrants to the Oregon Country from Franklin County, Missouri in 1847. It seems that many of their grown children and their families came along with them
Hiram Zachary Taylor (1814-1882) and his wife Sarah Elizabeth Thompson (1814-1894): prosecution witnesses against William Kendall; Hiram is a brother-in-law of William Hamilton
Mary Ann (Taylor) Matt (1822-1895): prosectuion witness against William Kendall; sister of Hiram Taylor; sister-in-law of William Hamilton; she had been married and widowed twice by 1851, first to John Maupin and second to Charles P. Matt; she will marry again in 1853 to Jehiel Stearns Kendall [unclear at this point if he was related to Willaim Kendall]
Melcina (Taylor) Hamilton: wife of William Hamilton; sister of Hiram and Mary Ann
William Tayor (1819-1897): brother of Hiram Taylor, Mary Ann (Taylor) Matt, and Melsina (Taylor) Hamilton
William Hamilton: born in Ireland; married to Melcina Taylor; Hiram and William Taylor were his brothers-in-law and Mary Ann was his sister-in-law.
Sources: Information above came from the book,
Necktie parties : a history of legal executions in Oregon, 1851-1905, by Diane L. Goeres-Gardner (Caxton Press, 2005), p. 1-6.(Which I have now.)
Legal executions in the western territories, 1847-1911, by R. Michael Wilson (McFarland, 2010), p. 152-153
Salem's Criminals (Salem Online History, http://www.salemhistory.net/people/criminals.htm, viewed January 16, 2011)
Note: This came from The ancestery family file of,
Richard Cramer originally submitted this to Richard and Agnes Townsend of Bucklebury (circa 1566) on 16 Jan 2011
Note: William Hamilton was shot from off his horse, with two balls, while near his house, returning towards home, at Waldo's Hill, near Salem, Marion County on the afternoon of the 7th, inst. The murderer is supposed to be William Kendall. A p.s. was added that since the above was set in type, word had been received that the murderer had been apprehended. [Western Star, 16 Jan 1851]
Deaths reported in early Oregon Newspapers
Note: I'm not sure if William was buried in this Cemetery or on the Hamilton farm land?
The Murder of William Hamilton and Execution of William Kendall (1851, Marion County, Oregon Territory)
1851 , , Marion, Oregon, USA
The first official hanging in Oregon Territory took place in Salem on April 18, 1851. William Kendall was executed for the murder of William Hamilton on January 7, 1851.
Background to the murder:
William Kendall and William Hamilton were said to have been feuding for several months before the murder. Hamilton was leasing land from Kendall, but they were arguing over hogs and some acres of land. Hamilton had leased the property in the Waldo Hills area from Kendall in January of 1850 for two years. Hamilton wanted to leave the lease, but sources say that he wanted to turn it over to his sister Melissa and her husband William Taylor to live on until the lease expired. Kendall just wanted Hamilton to give up the lease. Kendall apparently also believed that Hamilton was stealing his hogs.
[The statement that William Hamilton had a sister named Melissa married to William Taylor has its problems. There is no evidence that Hamilton had a sister named Melissa. And William Taylor was married to a woman named Mary Almira Smith. However, William Taylor was Hamilton's brother-in-law (which may account for the confusion is describing the relationship) since he was the brother of Hamilton's wife, Melsina Taylor]
Events of January 7, 1851:
Morning:
William Kendall was hog butchering at the Henry Smith farm about six miles from Salem in Marion County on the morning of January 7. John Hamilton, brother of William Hamilton, shows up with a message from William that he wanted to meet with Kendall the next day and settle their issues. Kendall is said to have refused and the two men nearly wind up in a fight before Henry Smith can separate the two. Other sources say that John was demanding that Kendall come immediately to the Matt farm.
John leaves and goes to the farm of Mary Ann Mott [apparently Mary Ann Matt] to see his brother William and tell him what Kendall had said. William Hamilton is said to be the administrator of the estate of Mary Ann's dead husband and the guardian of the children. Mary Ann Matt is described as a 30 year old widow with seven children. She was the widow of Charles P. Matt who was believed to have died in June 1850 in California, killed by Indians near Johnson's Ranch on the Bear River [now in Yuba County]. Hamilton had been named as administrator and guardian since the Territorial law did not allow women to be guardians of their children nor manage the finances of their inheritances.
[Mary Ann Matt is another in-law of William Hamilton since she is the sister of his wife, Melsina Taylor. Mary Ann Taylor will marry three times]
3:30 PM
William Kendall came to the farm of Hiram and Sarah Taylor looking for William Hamilton. Hiram was the brother of Mary Ann Matt. Hiram and Sarah testified later that they suggested he might be at Mary Ann's place and that Kendall walked away. They also testified that Kendall had been at their place five days earlier [Jan. 2] and had made threats against William Hamilton's life.
[Hiram Taylor is another of William Hamilton's brothers-in-law. Hiram is brother to Melsina Hamilton, Mary Ann Matt, and William Taylor]
about 4:30 PM
Hiram Taylor testifies at the trial that he saw Kendall take out his gun, fire a round, reload his gun, and then walk toward Mary Ann's home. Twenty minutes later he heard a shot and then people screaming "Murder" Hiram was working in his field at the time. The field was located between his home, Mary Ann's home, and Kendall's home.
5 PM
John Hamilton and Mary Ann Matt were walking down the road and William Hamilton got on a horse and left in the opposite direction. John and Mary then heard a single shot and ran back finding William Hamilton dead.
10 PM
Kendal was found that night at the home of Jesse and Ruby Looney where he had ate dinner and was arrested by the county coroner, William Gilham, and another man, Joshua McKinley
Trial of William Kendall (April 2, 1851):
Kendall was tried on April 2, 1851 in Salem. He had pled not guilty when arraigned on March 29 and asked for a change of venue alleging that prejudice against him would prevent a fair trial. The judge ruled against a change of venue, but it took two days to select a jury. The trial started at 2 PM. Prosecution witnesses included John Hamilton, Mary Ann Matt, Hiram and Sarah Taylor, a worker at Henry Smith's farm, and a boarder at the Taylor farm, as well as the cornoner and sheriff. Hiram's testimony was apparently the most damning since there was no witness to the actual shooting of Hamilton. There were only three defense witnesses, one being a John Roe who was working on the Taylor farm. They tried to place Kendall too far away to have been able to be Hamilton's killer.
The jury was out for a half hour before finding him guilty.
The judge sentenced Kendall to death on April 4, 1851 with the hanging scheduled fourteen days later.
Execution (April 18, 1851):
William Kendall was hung on a gallows in Salem at what is now the corner of Church and Trade streets. It was the first legal execution in Oregon. Kendall claimed to be innocent right up to his hanging.
The Taylor Family:
Many of the parties involved were connected by family and marriage, particularly the Taylor family. John Taylor (1792-1870) and his wife Elizabeth Murphy (1790-1874) were emigrants to the Oregon Country from Franklin County, Missouri in 1847. It seems that many of their grown children and their families came along with them
Hiram Zachary Taylor (1814-1882) and his wife Sarah Elizabeth Thompson (1814-1894): prosecution witnesses against William Kendall; Hiram is a brother-in-law of William Hamilton
Mary Ann (Taylor) Matt (1822-1895): prosectuion witness against William Kendall; sister of Hiram Taylor; sister-in-law of William Hamilton; she had been married and widowed twice by 1851, first to John Maupin and second to Charles P. Matt; she will marry again in 1853 to Jehiel Stearns Kendall [unclear at this point if he was related to Willaim Kendall]
Melcina (Taylor) Hamilton: wife of William Hamilton; sister of Hiram and Mary Ann
William Tayor (1819-1897): brother of Hiram Taylor, Mary Ann (Taylor) Matt, and Melsina (Taylor) Hamilton
William Hamilton: born in Ireland; married to Melcina Taylor; Hiram and William Taylor were his brothers-in-law and Mary Ann was his sister-in-law.
Sources: Information above came from the book,
Necktie parties : a history of legal executions in Oregon, 1851-1905, by Diane L. Goeres-Gardner (Caxton Press, 2005), p. 1-6.(Which I have now.)
Legal executions in the western territories, 1847-1911, by R. Michael Wilson (McFarland, 2010), p. 152-153
Salem's Criminals (Salem Online History, http://www.salemhistory.net/people/criminals.htm, viewed January 16, 2011)
Note: This came from The ancestery family file of,
Richard Cramer originally submitted this to Richard and Agnes Townsend of Bucklebury (circa 1566) on 16 Jan 2011
Note: William Hamilton was shot from off his horse, with two balls, while near his house, returning towards home, at Waldo's Hill, near Salem, Marion County on the afternoon of the 7th, inst. The murderer is supposed to be William Kendall. A p.s. was added that since the above was set in type, word had been received that the murderer had been apprehended. [Western Star, 16 Jan 1851]
Deaths reported in early Oregon Newspapers
William John Hamilton married Melina/Milsena Taylor abt. 1848-1849. William and Melina Hamilton had a son, William J. Hamilton, Jr.
Note: I'm not sure if William was buried in this Cemetery or on the Hamilton farm land?
The Murder of William Hamilton and Execution of William Kendall (1851, Marion County, Oregon Territory)
1851 , , Marion, Oregon, USA
The first official hanging in Oregon Territory took place in Salem on April 18, 1851. William Kendall was executed for the murder of William Hamilton on January 7, 1851.
Background to the murder:
William Kendall and William Hamilton were said to have been feuding for several months before the murder. Hamilton was leasing land from Kendall, but they were arguing over hogs and some acres of land. Hamilton had leased the property in the Waldo Hills area from Kendall in January of 1850 for two years. Hamilton wanted to leave the lease, but sources say that he wanted to turn it over to his sister Melissa and her husband William Taylor to live on until the lease expired. Kendall just wanted Hamilton to give up the lease. Kendall apparently also believed that Hamilton was stealing his hogs.
[The statement that William Hamilton had a sister named Melissa married to William Taylor has its problems. There is no evidence that Hamilton had a sister named Melissa. And William Taylor was married to a woman named Mary Almira Smith. However, William Taylor was Hamilton's brother-in-law (which may account for the confusion is describing the relationship) since he was the brother of Hamilton's wife, Melsina Taylor]
Events of January 7, 1851:
Morning:
William Kendall was hog butchering at the Henry Smith farm about six miles from Salem in Marion County on the morning of January 7. John Hamilton, brother of William Hamilton, shows up with a message from William that he wanted to meet with Kendall the next day and settle their issues. Kendall is said to have refused and the two men nearly wind up in a fight before Henry Smith can separate the two. Other sources say that John was demanding that Kendall come immediately to the Matt farm.
John leaves and goes to the farm of Mary Ann Mott [apparently Mary Ann Matt] to see his brother William and tell him what Kendall had said. William Hamilton is said to be the administrator of the estate of Mary Ann's dead husband and the guardian of the children. Mary Ann Matt is described as a 30 year old widow with seven children. She was the widow of Charles P. Matt who was believed to have died in June 1850 in California, killed by Indians near Johnson's Ranch on the Bear River [now in Yuba County]. Hamilton had been named as administrator and guardian since the Territorial law did not allow women to be guardians of their children nor manage the finances of their inheritances.
[Mary Ann Matt is another in-law of William Hamilton since she is the sister of his wife, Melsina Taylor. Mary Ann Taylor will marry three times]
3:30 PM
William Kendall came to the farm of Hiram and Sarah Taylor looking for William Hamilton. Hiram was the brother of Mary Ann Matt. Hiram and Sarah testified later that they suggested he might be at Mary Ann's place and that Kendall walked away. They also testified that Kendall had been at their place five days earlier [Jan. 2] and had made threats against William Hamilton's life.
[Hiram Taylor is another of William Hamilton's brothers-in-law. Hiram is brother to Melsina Hamilton, Mary Ann Matt, and William Taylor]
about 4:30 PM
Hiram Taylor testifies at the trial that he saw Kendall take out his gun, fire a round, reload his gun, and then walk toward Mary Ann's home. Twenty minutes later he heard a shot and then people screaming "Murder" Hiram was working in his field at the time. The field was located between his home, Mary Ann's home, and Kendall's home.
5 PM
John Hamilton and Mary Ann Matt were walking down the road and William Hamilton got on a horse and left in the opposite direction. John and Mary then heard a single shot and ran back finding William Hamilton dead.
10 PM
Kendal was found that night at the home of Jesse and Ruby Looney where he had ate dinner and was arrested by the county coroner, William Gilham, and another man, Joshua McKinley
Trial of William Kendall (April 2, 1851):
Kendall was tried on April 2, 1851 in Salem. He had pled not guilty when arraigned on March 29 and asked for a change of venue alleging that prejudice against him would prevent a fair trial. The judge ruled against a change of venue, but it took two days to select a jury. The trial started at 2 PM. Prosecution witnesses included John Hamilton, Mary Ann Matt, Hiram and Sarah Taylor, a worker at Henry Smith's farm, and a boarder at the Taylor farm, as well as the cornoner and sheriff. Hiram's testimony was apparently the most damning since there was no witness to the actual shooting of Hamilton. There were only three defense witnesses, one being a John Roe who was working on the Taylor farm. They tried to place Kendall too far away to have been able to be Hamilton's killer.
The jury was out for a half hour before finding him guilty.
The judge sentenced Kendall to death on April 4, 1851 with the hanging scheduled fourteen days later.
Execution (April 18, 1851):
William Kendall was hung on a gallows in Salem at what is now the corner of Church and Trade streets. It was the first legal execution in Oregon. Kendall claimed to be innocent right up to his hanging.
The Taylor Family:
Many of the parties involved were connected by family and marriage, particularly the Taylor family. John Taylor (1792-1870) and his wife Elizabeth Murphy (1790-1874) were emigrants to the Oregon Country from Franklin County, Missouri in 1847. It seems that many of their grown children and their families came along with them
Hiram Zachary Taylor (1814-1882) and his wife Sarah Elizabeth Thompson (1814-1894): prosecution witnesses against William Kendall; Hiram is a brother-in-law of William Hamilton
Mary Ann (Taylor) Matt (1822-1895): prosectuion witness against William Kendall; sister of Hiram Taylor; sister-in-law of William Hamilton; she had been married and widowed twice by 1851, first to John Maupin and second to Charles P. Matt; she will marry again in 1853 to Jehiel Stearns Kendall [unclear at this point if he was related to Willaim Kendall]
Melcina (Taylor) Hamilton: wife of William Hamilton; sister of Hiram and Mary Ann
William Tayor (1819-1897): brother of Hiram Taylor, Mary Ann (Taylor) Matt, and Melsina (Taylor) Hamilton
William Hamilton: born in Ireland; married to Melcina Taylor; Hiram and William Taylor were his brothers-in-law and Mary Ann was his sister-in-law.
Sources: Information above came from the book,
Necktie parties : a history of legal executions in Oregon, 1851-1905, by Diane L. Goeres-Gardner (Caxton Press, 2005), p. 1-6.(Which I have now.)
Legal executions in the western territories, 1847-1911, by R. Michael Wilson (McFarland, 2010), p. 152-153
Salem's Criminals (Salem Online History, http://www.salemhistory.net/people/criminals.htm, viewed January 16, 2011)
Note: This came from The ancestery family file of,
Richard Cramer originally submitted this to Richard and Agnes Townsend of Bucklebury (circa 1566) on 16 Jan 2011
Note: William Hamilton was shot from off his horse, with two balls, while near his house, returning towards home, at Waldo's Hill, near Salem, Marion County on the afternoon of the 7th, inst. The murderer is supposed to be William Kendall. A p.s. was added that since the above was set in type, word had been received that the murderer had been apprehended. [Western Star, 16 Jan 1851]
Deaths reported in early Oregon Newspapers
Note: I'm not sure if William was buried in this Cemetery or on the Hamilton farm land?
The Murder of William Hamilton and Execution of William Kendall (1851, Marion County, Oregon Territory)
1851 , , Marion, Oregon, USA
The first official hanging in Oregon Territory took place in Salem on April 18, 1851. William Kendall was executed for the murder of William Hamilton on January 7, 1851.
Background to the murder:
William Kendall and William Hamilton were said to have been feuding for several months before the murder. Hamilton was leasing land from Kendall, but they were arguing over hogs and some acres of land. Hamilton had leased the property in the Waldo Hills area from Kendall in January of 1850 for two years. Hamilton wanted to leave the lease, but sources say that he wanted to turn it over to his sister Melissa and her husband William Taylor to live on until the lease expired. Kendall just wanted Hamilton to give up the lease. Kendall apparently also believed that Hamilton was stealing his hogs.
[The statement that William Hamilton had a sister named Melissa married to William Taylor has its problems. There is no evidence that Hamilton had a sister named Melissa. And William Taylor was married to a woman named Mary Almira Smith. However, William Taylor was Hamilton's brother-in-law (which may account for the confusion is describing the relationship) since he was the brother of Hamilton's wife, Melsina Taylor]
Events of January 7, 1851:
Morning:
William Kendall was hog butchering at the Henry Smith farm about six miles from Salem in Marion County on the morning of January 7. John Hamilton, brother of William Hamilton, shows up with a message from William that he wanted to meet with Kendall the next day and settle their issues. Kendall is said to have refused and the two men nearly wind up in a fight before Henry Smith can separate the two. Other sources say that John was demanding that Kendall come immediately to the Matt farm.
John leaves and goes to the farm of Mary Ann Mott [apparently Mary Ann Matt] to see his brother William and tell him what Kendall had said. William Hamilton is said to be the administrator of the estate of Mary Ann's dead husband and the guardian of the children. Mary Ann Matt is described as a 30 year old widow with seven children. She was the widow of Charles P. Matt who was believed to have died in June 1850 in California, killed by Indians near Johnson's Ranch on the Bear River [now in Yuba County]. Hamilton had been named as administrator and guardian since the Territorial law did not allow women to be guardians of their children nor manage the finances of their inheritances.
[Mary Ann Matt is another in-law of William Hamilton since she is the sister of his wife, Melsina Taylor. Mary Ann Taylor will marry three times]
3:30 PM
William Kendall came to the farm of Hiram and Sarah Taylor looking for William Hamilton. Hiram was the brother of Mary Ann Matt. Hiram and Sarah testified later that they suggested he might be at Mary Ann's place and that Kendall walked away. They also testified that Kendall had been at their place five days earlier [Jan. 2] and had made threats against William Hamilton's life.
[Hiram Taylor is another of William Hamilton's brothers-in-law. Hiram is brother to Melsina Hamilton, Mary Ann Matt, and William Taylor]
about 4:30 PM
Hiram Taylor testifies at the trial that he saw Kendall take out his gun, fire a round, reload his gun, and then walk toward Mary Ann's home. Twenty minutes later he heard a shot and then people screaming "Murder" Hiram was working in his field at the time. The field was located between his home, Mary Ann's home, and Kendall's home.
5 PM
John Hamilton and Mary Ann Matt were walking down the road and William Hamilton got on a horse and left in the opposite direction. John and Mary then heard a single shot and ran back finding William Hamilton dead.
10 PM
Kendal was found that night at the home of Jesse and Ruby Looney where he had ate dinner and was arrested by the county coroner, William Gilham, and another man, Joshua McKinley
Trial of William Kendall (April 2, 1851):
Kendall was tried on April 2, 1851 in Salem. He had pled not guilty when arraigned on March 29 and asked for a change of venue alleging that prejudice against him would prevent a fair trial. The judge ruled against a change of venue, but it took two days to select a jury. The trial started at 2 PM. Prosecution witnesses included John Hamilton, Mary Ann Matt, Hiram and Sarah Taylor, a worker at Henry Smith's farm, and a boarder at the Taylor farm, as well as the cornoner and sheriff. Hiram's testimony was apparently the most damning since there was no witness to the actual shooting of Hamilton. There were only three defense witnesses, one being a John Roe who was working on the Taylor farm. They tried to place Kendall too far away to have been able to be Hamilton's killer.
The jury was out for a half hour before finding him guilty.
The judge sentenced Kendall to death on April 4, 1851 with the hanging scheduled fourteen days later.
Execution (April 18, 1851):
William Kendall was hung on a gallows in Salem at what is now the corner of Church and Trade streets. It was the first legal execution in Oregon. Kendall claimed to be innocent right up to his hanging.
The Taylor Family:
Many of the parties involved were connected by family and marriage, particularly the Taylor family. John Taylor (1792-1870) and his wife Elizabeth Murphy (1790-1874) were emigrants to the Oregon Country from Franklin County, Missouri in 1847. It seems that many of their grown children and their families came along with them
Hiram Zachary Taylor (1814-1882) and his wife Sarah Elizabeth Thompson (1814-1894): prosecution witnesses against William Kendall; Hiram is a brother-in-law of William Hamilton
Mary Ann (Taylor) Matt (1822-1895): prosectuion witness against William Kendall; sister of Hiram Taylor; sister-in-law of William Hamilton; she had been married and widowed twice by 1851, first to John Maupin and second to Charles P. Matt; she will marry again in 1853 to Jehiel Stearns Kendall [unclear at this point if he was related to Willaim Kendall]
Melcina (Taylor) Hamilton: wife of William Hamilton; sister of Hiram and Mary Ann
William Tayor (1819-1897): brother of Hiram Taylor, Mary Ann (Taylor) Matt, and Melsina (Taylor) Hamilton
William Hamilton: born in Ireland; married to Melcina Taylor; Hiram and William Taylor were his brothers-in-law and Mary Ann was his sister-in-law.
Sources: Information above came from the book,
Necktie parties : a history of legal executions in Oregon, 1851-1905, by Diane L. Goeres-Gardner (Caxton Press, 2005), p. 1-6.(Which I have now.)
Legal executions in the western territories, 1847-1911, by R. Michael Wilson (McFarland, 2010), p. 152-153
Salem's Criminals (Salem Online History, http://www.salemhistory.net/people/criminals.htm, viewed January 16, 2011)
Note: This came from The ancestery family file of,
Richard Cramer originally submitted this to Richard and Agnes Townsend of Bucklebury (circa 1566) on 16 Jan 2011
Note: William Hamilton was shot from off his horse, with two balls, while near his house, returning towards home, at Waldo's Hill, near Salem, Marion County on the afternoon of the 7th, inst. The murderer is supposed to be William Kendall. A p.s. was added that since the above was set in type, word had been received that the murderer had been apprehended. [Western Star, 16 Jan 1851]
Deaths reported in early Oregon Newspapers
Family Members
Siblings
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Eliza Jane Hamilton Jimeson
1812 – unknown
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John Hamilton
1815–1894
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![]()
Margaret Ann Hamilton Steel
1818–1900
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Joseph Elmer Alexander Hamilton
1819–1884
-
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Samuel "Sam" Hamilton
1822–1889
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James Hamilton
1825–1875
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Robert Golden Hamilton
1830–1892
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Martha Cordelia Hamilton Stannus
1833–1909
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David Hamilton
1834–1857
Children
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