Madison County, IL Newspaper Data

A murder was commited in 1823 between the forks of Wood River which caused great excitement in the county. A man by the name of Eliphalet Green, who was working at Abel Moore's distillery has a quarrel with anouther and shot him. Green was arrested, tried, convicted and excuted. The circumstances seem to have been nearly as follows:

Green, who supposed to have some mental defect not amounting to idiocy, became very much enraged, having been violently abused, ran into the distillery got his guna nd fired at his opponent, who was retreating or retiring from the building. He fled to the AMerican Bottom but returned and gave himself up to William Ogle, who accompanied him the next day to Edwardsville, and surrendered him to authorities. He was tried before Judge Reynolds at Edwardsville, found guilty and executed, though some seem to have entertained a doubt whether his crime was anything more than man-slaughter.

Jury in the Case:

James Mason, James Pearce, Ambrose Nix, David Roah, David Nix, Joseph Barlett, John Vicking, Gershom Flagg, William H Hopkins, William Hoxsey, RC Gillham and Jesse Bell.

Also related to this case, in Gov Ford's History in ILL. He quotes Judge Reynolds as telling Mr Green.  Well Mr Green the jury in their verdict found you to be guilty of murder, and the law says you are to be hanged. Now I want you and your friends down on Wood River to understand that it is not I, that condemns you, but the Jury and the law. Now I wish to aloow you all the time you want to prepare, so the court wanta to know at what time you would prefer to be hanged.

....From A Gazetter of Madison Co, ILL 1866

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