Collection: Directories and Documents > Nevada County News & Advertisments

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Title: 1857 Collection Type: Directories and Documents Collection Name: Nevada County News & Advertisments # of Pages: 283 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2024-07-14 06:12:32 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:07:04 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:07:04

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

Page: of 283  

NEVADA DEMOCRAT APRIL 15, 1857 71 between Sheppard and Blanc, in our last issue, we stated that Sheppard had been held to bail. Such was not the case; he was discharged by the Justice before whom the examination was held. MARRIED. On Wednesday April 15th at the residence of A. G. Pier in this city, by Rev. MR. SHUCK, MR. J. C. SPENCER to Miss MARY A. HOBBIE, all of Sacramento. On the 9th inst at the Methodist parsonage, Nevada, by the Rev. Mr. Morrow, Mr. DANIEL D. HARPER, of Texas Flat, to Mrs. ELLA HILL, of this city. FATAL ACCIDENT.—Mr. David A. Edwards was killed at Columbia Hill, in this county, on Wednesday last, by the caving of a bank while at work in his diggings. He was standing in the cut, and a tree which came down with the bank struck him on the back of the head, killing him instantly. Mr. Edwards was an old resident of San Francisco, and had a wife and family living there. He owned an interest in the diggings at Columbia Hill, and has been working there the past winter. He was buried the day after the accident, but on Saturday the body was disinterred, placed in a metallic coffin, and taken to San Francisco for burial. INCENDIARIES.—About two o’clock, on Friday morning, Mr. Webb, a private watchman, discovered fire in an unoccupied house on the south side of Broad street, above Pine. After giving the alarm, he burst open the door and entered the house. The cloth ceiling and curtains were then in a blaze. On kicking over a bunch of something which was burning on the floor, he plainly smelt camphene. In a few seconds a crowd had collected, and the flames were extinguished. The cloth lining, and some curtains which divided the house into rooms, were entirely consumed; none of the wood work in the house was burned. There can be no doubt that the fire was the work of an incendiary. The house had been vacant for several days, and no fire had been used about it. A man named John Meyers was suspected of being the incendiary, and he was arrested and lodged in the city prison. He was examined the next day before Justice Anderson and held to bail in the sum of three hundred dollars, to await the action of the next grand jury. He gave bail and was discharged. The circumstances against him are rather suspicious. He had formerly been in partnership with a woman who keeps a dance house in an adjoining building, but in consequence of some difficulty they had dissolved, the woman retaining possession of the house. Meyers told her that he had paid the rent, license &c., that the house was his, and he would have her out of it in less than two days. He slept near the house, and the woman states that he went to bed before ten o’clock. Another witness, named Sweat, swears that he saw Meyers walking from the house that was fired to his own room, a few minutes previous to the alarm was given. He was then some distance off, however, a high picket fence was between them, and it is possible he was mistaken in the man. A report was circulated the morning of the fire, that Meyers had threatened to burn the house; but there was no evidence before the Court of his having made any threats. The Justice evidently did not consider the evidence against him very strong, or he would not have let him off on so light bail. Meyers left town on Monday morning. A trap has been set to get a confession from him, and Marshal Plumer is on his track, and will arrest him if he considers it necessary. We understand he has already confessed to having committed other offences, and if he really was the person who attempted to burn the place, it is thought he can be induced to acknowledge it. —Since the above was in type, a dispatch was received from Mr. Plumer, dated at Folsom, stating that he had arrested Meyers, and that he had confessed to having set the building on fire. He was expected to be up with the stage last evening.