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PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, March 14, 2000 - 11 Sketches of Scugog by Paul Arculus Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star each month. XACTLY 119 YEARS AGO this week, in March of 1881, a bizarre set of events in the tiny hamlet of Prince Albert, had the communities of this part of Ontario gripped in suspense. The events became major stories in the Toronto newspapers. Port Perry's North Ontario Observer reported the event without mentioning any names. It didn't even mention the names of the doctor and the coroner involved. The reason not to mention names may have resulted from the newspaper's desire to be sensitive to the citizens involved. The Toronto newspapers had no such motives. All the people involved were clearly named in their ban- ner articles covering the events. At eleven o'clock on the morning of March 6th, 1881, Doctor J. E. Ware, the resident physician of Prince Albert, was called upon to visit the home of a widow, Mrs. Mina Eddy, on the east side of Queen Street just above King Street. Upon arriv- ing, Dr Ware was told by Mrs Eddy that her daugh- - ter Mary was ill. In the court proceedings which followed two weeks later, Dr. Ware reported that he had found the daughter in the final stages of labour and assisted in the delivery of a baby boy. He report- ed under oath that the delivery was normal and that the baby was a plump and healthy child. He instructed the grandmother to get sugar and water to feed the child until Mary was ready to breast feed. The doctor commented on the fact that, as the grandmother was feeding the child, he had stated again to her how healthy the child was. He attended the mother and child for about half an hour after the birth. The doctor began to be concerned when he enquired about the father of the child and was unable to obtain any information. He knew that Mary was not married. His concerns became heightened as he was leaving when the grandmoth- er insisted that he "... retire by the back door lest people should talk." He instructed the grandmoth- er that he should be called if anything went wrong with the child. The following Monday, the doctor returned to check up on the child. He reported that the child was now extremely healthy and appropriately clothed. His earlier suspicions were recalled, when, as he was leaving, the grandmother told him ".. don't call here any more." Again he reminded her, "If anything goes wrong with the child, call me Mother charged with murder of baby boy immediately." On Saturday, March 12, he was approached by someone in the village who had said "Doctor, there must be something wrong up there, you had better look out." In his court statement Dr. Ware declared: "I went straight to the house and arrived there about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. | was greeted by the grandmother but did not go further than the hall. | asked how the child was and she replied that the baby was dead and that it had died that morn- " ing. Mrs Eddy gave no reply when Dr. Ware had asked what had caused the child's death. He expressed his con- cern and remind- ed the grandmoth- er that she had promised to let him know if any- thing was wrong. He informed her that the matter would have to be DR. RICHARD JONES investigated and Coroner went to his office to summon the coroner. In his note to the coroner, Dr. Richard Jones in Port Perry, he suggested that an inquest should be held. Dr. Ware then returned to the Eddy home and asked to see the dead child. He examined the infant and reported that he "saw no marks of vio- lence upon it, but the child looked quite gaunt." He examined the mother at that time and reported that she looked well and that her pulse was normal, although she was crying. He then prepared to leave and informed the grandmother and the mother that there would be an investigation and that no-one must disturb the body until they received further orders and told them that the coroner had been sent for. The house of the Coroner, Dr. Richard Jones at the north east corner of Queen and Bigelow. Dr Jones and his wife Lucinda Mallory on porch. Roof of Presbyterian Church in Photo courtesy of Irv. Gibson who owned the home from 1973 to 1988. o'clock in the evening. A vote background. AN The Coroner, Doctor Richard Jones, arrived at Doctor Ware's house on the south side of King Street in Prince Albert at 7:30 in the evening. As was appropriate, he immediately summoned a jury of local residents and called in the constable and the two Justices of the Peace, John Nott and Reuben Crandell. Once the jury was assembled, Dr. Jones asked the constable to notify the Eddy family that the jury was on its way to carry out its duty. The constable returned and reported that he was unable to obtain access to the house. By this time it was || was taken as to whether they should pursue the matter at that late hour or postpone their investiga- tion until Monday morning since they could not carry out the investigation on Sunday. The jury decided to go immediately to the house with the Coroner and demand to see the corpse and try to arrive at a verdict. The constable led the way and rang the bell. A young man name Thompson, a boarder, opened an upper storey window and asked what they want- ed. The constable explained the mission but the man told them to go away as they were all in bed and then shut the window. After a ten minute wait, the constable again rang the bell but obtained no reply. After some time, the constable, the coroner and the jury decided to leave. At that point the jury was dismissed. On Monday morning a new jury was sworn in and, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, made their way to the Eddy house led by the constable and the coroner, Dr. Jones. This time, after explaining their mission again, they were admitted into the house by the mother and grandmother. The constable explained that they had to see the body of the dead child in order to determine the cause of death. The grandmother said that she had not seen the child's body after the doctor had left on Saturday and knew nothing about it. The Toronto Globe reported, "In reply to the query as to where they would find the body, Mrs Eddy said that she knew nothing about the matter. Miss Eddy, on being questioned, replied that she too knew nothing about it." At that point the coroner and jury could proceed no further and were again dismissed. The entire case was reported to County Attorney Farewell who in turn reported the events to the Provincial Attorney General. Meanwhile Port Perry constables Jewett and Balfour spent a day and a half questioning Mrs Eddy and her daughter Mary and searching for evidence of the child. Their efforts were completely without success. The Toronto Globe reported, " On Thursday, the 17th, Government detective Murray was instructed to look into the case and accordingly went to Prince Albert. In company with local con- stables, he made a diligent search throughout the house, even to digging up the clay in the cellar, but found no trace of the child. The search was extend- ed to every part of the premises but without result. Detective Murray then arrested Mrs Eddy and her daughter on a charge of murder as stated above." On Tuesday March 22, the event had made the front pages of major Toronto newspapers. The Globe's headline declared A CURIOUS CASE. The Mail simply stated ALLEGED MURDER. The Globe's front page article expressed con- cern over the fact that it had taken ten days for the case to be reported - "Not the least remarkable circumstance in connection with the matter is its having been kept so quiet as there appears to have been no previous mention of it in the press." JOHN NOTT Justice of the Peace Next Week: The conclusion of this bizarre event.