Tim,
The best source of information for this case is going to be newspapers, as it was heavily reported in Baltimore, Annapolis, and Calvert County papers. I even case across mentions of it in out of state newspapers available in ancestry.com. I have located docket entries, but very little else.
Thomas C. Hance was accused of murdering his wife, Annie E. Hance (also known as Lizzie Ray, Katie Le Roy, and Annie Ray). Annie was found shot in the head in a bedroom at either 23 or 25 (the exact house number seems to vary) South Spring Street in Baltimore City on September 27, 1885. The home belonged to Annie E. Herbert, and was alleged to be a brothel (The Sun, 28 September 1885). Annie Jackson, an African American domestic servant in the house claimed that she heard the gunshot before seeing Thomas come down the stairs to the first floor. She asked him what happened and he replied "She's dead and I killed her" (The Sun, 28 September 1885).
The couple were married in Baltimore on January 12, 1884, at which time she had a young daughter. (BALTIMORE CITY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS (Marriage Index, Male) [MSA CM 205-8, CR 1670]). Baltimore City birth records indicate that Elizabeth/Lizzie Ray gave birth to a female baby at 23 S. Spring Street on April 5, 1880. Father's name is unknown. (BALTIMORE CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Birth Record) Certificate No. 38438 [MSA CM1135-10, CR 48,427]).
Thomas Hance, a captain, was arrested about his pungy, Florence, the same night Annie's body was discovered. He told police that Annie initially drew the gun on him, but then shot herself in the head. A pistol was found in a drawer in the bedroom, but it was of a very small calibre and there were no indications it had recently been fired (The Sun, 28 September 1885). The bullets removed during autopsy were of 38 calibre. A revolver of this calibre was located during the search of the home of an acquaintance of Hance's. The police searched the home upon the testimony of the pungy's cook, who had delivered the weapon there. The autopsy also indicated that Annie could not have shot herself, as the wound was made from a gun fired more than 18 inches away from her (The Sun, 29 September 1885). Men, women, and children of all races attending Annie's funeral. "a constant stream of visitors from lanes and alleys passed in and out to view the dead woman...The mixture of blacks and whites in the assemblage, and the broad contrast in extremes of fashionable dress by the few and the ragged famine of the many made up a strange scene" (The Sun, 29 September 1885).
Per the defendant's request, the case was moved from Baltimore City and tried in the Anne Arundel County Courthouse. Hance's defense team consisted of U.S. Senator Daniel Voorhees ( http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=V000116), former Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Daniel Randall Magruder, James T. Briscoe ( http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/012900/012949/html/msa12949.html), James Revell, and S. Thomas McCullough. The State was represented by Anne Arundel County State's Attorney James M. Munroe (possibly: http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/013800/013867/html/msa13867.html), who was adied by Baltimore Deputy State's Attorney Edgar H. Gans ( http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/014300/014341/html/msa14341.html). The jury foeman was Dennis Claude (I believe the son of Dr. Abram Claude, http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/013600/013688/html/msa13688.html). The prosecution sought a conviction of first degree murder.
Newspapers report that Senator Voorhees, known as the "tall Sycamore of the Wabash", had almost as much appeal as the defendant. Spectators crowded the Courthouse in anticipation of his closing arguments in the case; "one enthusiastic colored man who is anxious to hear Senator Voorhees brought his dinner with him, declaring that he was 'fixed for de [sic] occasion.' When it was learned that Mr. Voorhees would not speak to-day, the colored man 'went for' his grub, and said he would repeat the performance again to-morrow" (The Evening Capital, 18 November 1885). I have not been able to determine how/why a U.S. Senator from Indiana became involved in such a case.
The nine day trial commenced on November 10, 1885, and received daily coverage in The Sun and The Evening Capital. Weekly papers, such as The Calvert Gazette, as published long accounts. The State issued warrants for nine witnesses, while the defense called over 50. Many of the defense witnesses were called as character witnesses, including numerous state and county officials from Calvert County. Several doctors, including at least one who was an expert on mental illness, we also called, as the defense was arguing the Thomas Hance was innocent due to insanity. The defense sought to show "that there was in both branches of his family a hereditary trait of insanity, and that this has been transmitted to him and affected him at the time of her death" (The Sun, 11 November 1885).
Senator Voorhees spoke on the final day. "The speech of Senator Voorhees which occupied three hours in delivery, was extensively commented upon as a masterly argument. After he had concluded, it was freely admitted that his speech was a grand effort which would have much effect in disposing on the case" (The Evening Capital, 19 November 1885). During his speech, "Every available space was occupied from door to windows. No day during the trial has there been so much interest manifested by the crowd as was to-day" (The Evening Capital, 19 November 1885).
The case was given to the jury on November 19th. They deliberated for under four and half hours, and returned a not guilty verdict later the same day. Thomas Hance was released from prison and returned home to Calvert County. An editorial published in The Sun following the verdict noted that Hance's guilt was proven and not disputed, and that "the only mania under which he suffered, or under which he was likely to suffer, was that which impelled him to kill this one woman." It also stated that "His counsel would have most strenuously resisted any attempt to confine him to a mad-house, which it would seem would have been the logical result of a verdict of not guilty" (The Sun, 21 November 1885). In the same issue, the paper also quoted a letter from a Baltimore lawyer which said, "'The acquittal of Thos. C. Hance at Annapolis may suggest to our legislators.... the propriety of passing an act similar to enactments that obtain in New York and other States,... providing that in all cases of acquittal of murder on the ground of insanity the accused shall be confined in some asylum for the insane until he recovers (if that be possible) from his murderous propensities'' (The Sun, 21 November 1885).
Thomas Chesley Hance died on July 26, 1928, in Calvert County, at the age of 70. His obituary notes that he was survived by his wife and two children, a daughter and a son.
The records I have identified for this case are as follows:
BALTIMORE CITY CRIMINAL COURT (Docket) 1885, page 160, Indictment No. 957 [MSA C 1849-93, 3/30/3/10]
I have asked the warehouse staff to retrieve the original indictment from the HF warehouse, however, it is likely that it may have been sent to Annapolis when the venue was changed.
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Docket) Volume 7/1885-10/1885 pages 256-257 [MSA C65-68, 1/2/9/29]
I looked through a box of court papers from Anne Arundel County which covered 1884-1887 and did not find many items from the October 1885 term. I searched Box 13 of MSA T391-15.
The law Mary is referring to is 1886 Chapter 71:
http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000425/html/am425--100.html
Jen
origins of inquiry:
To: tbaker@mdsa.net,
kswanson@mdsa.net
Subject: Question
X-Mailer: Lotus Notes Release 7.0 August 18, 2005
From: Mary.Hutchins@mdcourts.gov
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 14:11:08 -0400
X-MIMETrack: Serialize by Router on JISMail01/SRV/MDCOURTS(Release 6.5.4|March 27, 2005) at
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On a non-work related basis. My husbands family is trying to find this case: State of Maryland v. Thomas C. Hance.
and this is what I know
On March 25th, 1886 an act was approved to pay James M. Monroe and Edgar H. Gans for professional services in reference to the case. I would assume the case took place in 1885 or early 1886?
Is something this old even at the archives or is it gone forever? It would have been in Calvert County. How would I go about finding something like this?
Mary A. Hutchins - Security Administrator
Administrative Office of the Courts
Judicial Information Systems
v - 410-260-1031 f - 410-260-1098
