Murder on the Mountain : Crime, Passion, and Punishment in Gilded Age New Jersey

Preface • xiii questions. Why, I wondered, was Margaret Meierhofer the last woman executed by the state of New Jersey? How could two people have been put to death for the same crime when no witnesses came forward and the case depended purely on circumstantial evidence? Did the trial "prove" that Margaret Meierhofer and Frank Lammens conspired to murder the unfortunate farmer? Had the jurors made a correct decision in finding both guilty? When we discussed the project with friends and neighbors, they all wanted to know our opinion about whether Margaret really committed the murder or not. Did she do it? At the distance of 140 years, most of these issues appear impossible to resolve without excessive speculation. Other more significant questions, however, soon took precedence. Why did the trial receive such widespread local and national attention? What does that fact say about the structure of information, entertainment, and the legal profession in late nineteenth-century America? How did issues concerning family, gender, class, justice, community, immigration, and democracy play out in this Victorian drama? The overriding question became not why Margaret Meierhofer became the last woman executed by the state of New Jersey but rather why social and cultural factors in the late 1870s led to her conviction and hanging at that particular historical moment. Although it has become something of a historical cliché to argue that any era under examination seems to be a time of "crisis" and "transition, " those terms aptly apply to post-Civil War America. The Meierhofer trial appeared to open a revealing window on the nature of ordinary life and death at a time that seems both inexplicably foreign and disturbingly familiar. Hopefully readers will learn how we grappled with that tension in the pages that follow. The research and writing for this book proved to be rewarding on many levels. Family, friends, dental assistants, hairstylists, and gravediggers expressed considerable interest in-or at least remained tolerant of-our relating the latest research finds and obstacles. Neighbors exhibited shock and surprise that this infamous nineteenth-century murder occurred in their quiet little corner of the universe. We spent many pleasant hours sitting on our backyard deck during the summer and autumn months enjoying dinner while staring out at the wooded area next door where the Meierhofers worked their farm on the top of First Mountain. The landscape, an often underrated element in historical scholarship, helped place the entire episode in context. Physical proximity to the crime scene made everything appear much more vital and current. Our speculations and theories owed as xiv • Preface much to these leisurely conversational evenings as to the days that we spent immersed in archival research. Archivists and librarians proved extremely helpful along the way, as they inevitably do with historical scholarship, and we would like to thank the following people: Bette Epstein and Don Cornelius at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton; Fernanda "Murder on the Mountain tells the story of Margaret Meierhofer, the last woman executed by the State of New Jersey, who was hung - along with a farmhand drifter named Frank Lammens -- in Newark at the Essex County Jail in January 1881 for murdering her husband John. In September 1879, a Dutch immigrant named Frank Lammens who described himself as a "professional tramp" arrived at the Meierhofer farmhouse. Margaret hired him and, on October 9, her husband was found dead in the basement with a pistol shot wound in the back of the head. Margaret and Frank each blamed the other for killing John, and the subsequent trial became front-page news throughout the nation. The trial proved especially sensational, and at one point the judge discouraged women from attending owing to the salacious testimony surrounding Margaret's supposed affairs. Neither Margaret nor Frank ever confessed to the crime, and both protested their innocence as they went to the gallows. Governor George McClellan, a fellow West Orange resident, refused to commute their sentences to life imprisonment despite the fact that they were convicted on purely circumstantial evidence. Their story opens an interesting window on issues concerning immigration, family tensions, gender roles, class, capital punishment, incarceration, and community life during the depression decade of the 1870s. This book embeds the story within this larger social context, seeking to both relate a fascinating story and to tease out the larger implications of the murder and execution"-- Provided by publisher Margaret Klem and John Meierhofer were Bavarian immigrants who arrived in New Jersey in the 1850s, got married, and started a small farm in West Orange. When John returned from the Civil War, he was a changed man, neglecting his work and beating his wife. Margaret was left to manage the farm and endure the suspicion of neighbors, who gossiped about her alleged affairs. Then one day in 1879, John turned up dead with a bullet in the back of his head. Margaret and her farmhand, Dutch immigrant Frank Lammens, were accused of the crime, and both went to the gallows, making Margaret the last woman to be executed by the state of New Jersey. Was Margaret the calculating murderess and adulteress portrayed by the press? Or was she a battered wife pushed to the edge? Or was she, as she claimed to the end, innocent? Murder on the Mountain considers all sides of this fascinating and mysterious true crime story. In turn, it examines why this murder trial became front-page news, as it resonated with public discussions about capital punishment, mental health, anti-immigrant sentiment, domestic violence, and women’s independence. This is a gripping and thought-provoking study of a murder that shocked the nation. Margaret Klem and John Meierhofer were Bavarian immigrants whoarrived in New Jersey in the 1850s, got married, and started asmall farm in West Orange. When John returned from the Civil War,he was a changed man, neglecting his work and beating his wife.Margaret was left to manage the farm and endure the suspicion ofneighbors, who gossiped about her alleged affairs. Then one day in1879, John turned up dead with a bullet in the back of his head.Margaret and her farmhand, Dutch immigrant Frank Lammens, wereaccused of the crime, and both went to the gallows, making Margaretthe last woman to be executed by the state of New Jersey. WasMargaret the calculating murderess and adulteress portrayed by thepress? Or was she a battered wife pushed to the edge? Or was she,as she claimed to the end, innocent? Murder on theMountain considers all sides of this fascinating andmysterious true crime story. In turn, it examines why this murdertrial became front-page news, as it resonated with publicdiscussions about capital punishment, mental health, anti-immigrantsentiment, domestic violence, and women's independence. This is agripping and thought-provoking study of a murder that shocked thenation Charged with murdering her husband in 1879, Margaret Meierhofer became the last woman executed by the state of New Jersey. Murder on the Mountain considers all sides of this fascinating and mysterious true crime story, investigating how the case's sensational details about domestic violence and female sexuality gripped the nation. Contents Preface 1. The Gallows 2. Communities 3. Murder 4. Trial 5. Prison 6 Memory Notes Index