American Historical Ephemera & Photography, Featuring Property from the James Milgram, M.D., Collection of Broadsides, Ephemeral Americana & Historical Documents

Visible 10 3/4 x 14 3/4 in. printed broadside (minor toning, early folds); matted and framed to 15 3/4 x 20 in. (not examined out of frame). Signed in type by the Sheriff of Washington County, MO John T. Clark.

A reward broadside for the "apprehension and delivery" of Charles Jolly and John Armstrong who were accused of murdering 5 members of the Lapine family on 19 November 1870. The devastating murders by the men, identified as miners by the St. Joseph Saturday Herald (3 Decemb er 1870), caused a sensation across the state. They were apparently apprehended not long after the issuance of this reward broadside and while held in custody in Washington county, "infuriated citizens...attempted to lynch them on the 27th." (St. Joseph Herald, 3 December 1870). For their own protection, they were taken to St. Louis the next day where they were tried, and "after an absence of only three minutes, the jury returned a verdict of murder." (Buffalo Reflex [Buffalo, MO], 28 January 1871). They were duly hanged on 27 January 1871. (Kansas City Journal, 29 January 1871).