John Rollin Langhern Desha

John Rollin Langhern Desha

This is from Isaac Bledsoe Desha From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia right at the end of the piece, which is also posted with John Rollin Langherne Desha profile.

"He was buried in San Felipe de Austin. After his death, a legend arose that he had not actually died, that his funeral was staged, and that he had travelled to Hawaii, married one of the natives there, and fathered several more children. Andrew Forest Muir, writing in the Filson Club History Quarterly, points out that the first Deshas in Hawaii arrived almost two decades after Isaac Desha's death and that the progenitor of the Hawaiian Deshas had been only four years old at the time of Francis Baker's murder. That progenitor was actually John R. Langherne Desha, a grandson of Governor Joseph Desha and nephew of Isaac B. Desha, who helped establish Queen's Hospital in Honolulu and worked there until his death."

There is a suggestion here that John Desha was the nephew of Isaac Bledsoe Desha who somehow escaped death in Austin and made his way to Hawaii. Another relatives says it could be that Isaac was John's father and left his son back in Boone, Kentucky and perhaps Isaac's brother, the doctor, had the boy as his apprentice and that is where he would learn to be an Apothocary, the trade he took up in Hawaii when he arrived there in 1847. Perhaps he joined his Uncle/Father there.

There seems to be some scandal that the family has covered up. There seems to be no John Rollin Langherne Desha born in Boone County, Kentucky in 1820 and John himself did not call himself Desha until sometime after he arrived in Hawaii arriving as John Rollin Langherne.

I guess we need to find out more about Isaac Bledsoe Desha who helped to establish Queen's Hospital in Honolulu.

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/193864/person/6035254746/mediax/1?pg...
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Isaac B. Desha

Born Isaac Bledsoe Desha Unknown Maysville, Kentucky

Died August 13, 1828 San Felipe de Austin, Texas

Cause Fever

Alias(es) John Parker

Motive Robbery

Charge(s) Murder

Conviction(s) Murder (January 31, 1825; new trial granted) Murder (February 1826; overturned)

Penalty Execution by hanging (pardoned)

Status Died in incarceration

Occupation Tanner

Spouse Cornelia Pickett

Parents Joseph Holmes and Margaret Desha (Bledsoe)

Children 1 child

Isaac Bledsoe Desha was a 19th century American tanner who was convicted of murdering one man in Kentucky, and confessed to murdering another in Texas. He was the son of Kentucky Governor Joseph Desha. Shortly after his father's election as governor in 1824, Desha was accused of robbing and killing a man named Francis Baker, who was passing through Kentucky on his way to New Jersey. Several of Desha's belongings were found near Baker's body, and shortly after the murder was alleged to have taken place, Desha was found in possession of Baker's horse. Desha maintained that he had accepted the horse as payment from a man who owed him money, and friends of Governor Desha claimed that his political enemies had framed his son in order to tarnish the governor's image. Governor Desha's allies in the legislature arranged a favorable change of venue for the trial, and the governor used his appointment power to ensure that sympathetic judges would hear the case. Isaac Desha was twice convicted, but both times, the judge in the case set aside the verdict on procedural grounds. While awaiting a third trial, Desha attempted suicide by slitting his throat, but doctors saved his life by reconnecting his severed windpipe with a silver tube. Shortly after the suicide attempt, Governor Desha issued a pardon for his son.

After being pardoned, Isaac Desha left Kentucky and assumed an alias, eventually arriving in New Orleans. From there, he traveled with a man named Thomas Early to Texas. When Early went missing as he and Desha traveled to San Antonio, Desha fell under suspicion. A former Kentuckian living in Texas recognized Desha by his resemblance to other members of his family and the silver tube that connected his windpipe. He was arrested soon after Early's body was found, and after a second former Kentuckian in the area also recognized him, he confessed to the murder. A day before his trial was set to begin, Desha died of a fever. Shortly after his death, a legend arose that he had faked his own death and fled to Hawaii, where he married a native woman and fathered several children, but later historians have debunked that myth.

[edit] Early life Isaac Bledsoe Desha was one of thirteen children born to Joseph and Margaret (Bledsoe) Desha.[1] He was named for his maternal grandfather.[1] He was educated in the local (Maysville, Kentucky) schools, but for a time attended a school run by a man named Mr. Bailey and boarded with Bailey's father.[2] In October 1817, he was apprenticed to Archibald Logan, a tanner.[2] He lived and studied with Logan until May 1821.[2] In November 1823, he married Cornelia Pickett.[2] Desha's sister Ellen had previously married Pickett's brother James.[2]

Desha's father, Joseph, was elected governor of Kentucky in August 1824.[1] The primary issue in the campaign was relief for the state's large debtor class, still reeling from the Panic of 1819.[3] The state's voters split into those who proposed laws favorable to debtors – called the Relief Party – and those supporting laws that protected creditors – called the Anti-Relief Party.[3] Shortly before Desha's election, the Kentucky Court of Appeals had struck down some legislation favored by the Relief Party as unconstitutional.[4] After the election of Desha, the Relief Party candidate, as governor, Relief legislators, who held majorities in both houses of the General Assembly attempted to remove the offending judges from office.[5] After failing in this attempt, the legislature passed an act abolishing the entire Court of Appeals and replacing it with a new court, which Desha promptly stocked with relief-minded justices.[6] The original court considered the law invalid and continued to claim authority as the court of last resort in the state; during what became known as the Old Court-New Court controversy, both courts operated simultaneously, with both claiming legitimacy.[7] It was against this politically tumultuous backdrop for his father that Isaac Desha's crimes would occur.

[edit] Murder of Francis Baker Desha attended a celebration at a neighbor's house on the night of November 1, 1824.[2] After leaving the party, he stayed the night at Doggate's Tavern in the town of Fairview just over the county line in Fleming County, Kentucky.[8] The next morning, he ate breakfast at the tavern.[9] Eight other men joined him at the breakfast table, including Francis Baker, editor of the Mississippian newspaper in Natchez, Mississippi.[8] Baker was traveling from Natchez to his birthplace – Trenton, New Jersey – to marry a young woman there.[8] Over breakfast, Baker mentioned that he would like to visit his friend, Captain John Bickley, who lived in the area.[9] Desha remarked that he knew where Bickley lived and intended to ride in that direction, asking if Baker would like to join him.[9] Baker accepted Desha's invitation, and the two men left at approximately 8 o'clock toward Maysville, Kentucky – Desha on his bay mare and Baker on his gray mare, an animal that had attracted much attention along his journey through Kentucky.[10]

About 10 o'clock, one of Desha's neighbors encountered the gray mare with a saddle and bridle, but no rider.[9] He caught the horse and rode it back up the road, shortly finding Desha's horse (which he recognized) with a saddle but no bridle and no rider.[9] He noticed blood on the neck and withers of Desha's horse.[9] A little further down the road, the neighbor met Desha, on foot and carrying two saddlebags.[9] Desha told the neighbor that he had just accepted the gray mare as payment from a man who owed him money.[9] He declined to say how the two horses had escaped his control, but mounted the gray mare and returned home.[8] Later that day, friends at Desha's tannery noticed that he was not as jovial as usual and repeatedly asked him what was wrong.[11] He attributed his disposition to the fact that he had been kicked by a horse and severely cut his finger in separate incidents the previous day.[11] The unusual behavior continued to the point that Desha's wife, who was pregnant, moved out of the house and refused to return.[11]

Over the next few days, neighbors began to discover items along the route Desha and Baker had taken from Doggate's Tavern to Maysville.[11] The items included a bloody glove, a pair of saddlebags with their bottoms cut out, and Desha's missing horse bridle.[11] On November 8, three men discovered a man's body – its upper half covered by a log – about 50 yards (46 m) off the road on the Fleming County side.[11] The men did not move the body, but reported it to local authorities, who returned to recover it.[11] The victim had four or five bludgeon wounds to the head, stab wounds in the chest and shoulder, and his throat had been slit, severing his windpipe.[12] The victim wore a shirt, waistcoat, socks, and a single glove; a search of the area yielded pantaloons and a coat.[12] Authorities brought the body to town, where Captain John Bickley – whom Baker had been on his way to visit – identified it as Francis Baker.[12] Investigators examined the body for several days before finally burying it on November 11 in a local church cemetery.[12] Returning to search the area again, authorities found several changes of clothes and other accoutrements, all with marks identifying the owner cut out.[13] Also located were several pieces of paper – one with the name "Baker" written on it – a hat, a pocketbook similar to the one Desha was known to carry, and lead and a cap from a riding whip, which Desha was also known for carrying.[13]

[edit] Arrest and trials With evidence strongly pointing to Desha as the murderer, General William Reed summoned Desha to his house on November 9 and ordered him to remain there until an examining trial could be held.[13] Desha willingly complied, showed no emotion when viewing Baker's body, and did not attempt to flee despite the fact that he was left unguarded in the house.[13] The examining trial resulted in Desha's formal arrest, and he was imprisoned in Flemingsburg, Kentucky.[14] Relief partisans maintained that Desha was innocent and that his arrest was engineered by the Anti-Relief Party to embarrass Governor Desha and weaken him politically.[4]

On November 24, State Representative John Rowan – a Relief partisan – introduced legislation in the Kentucky General Assembly ordering the Fleming Circuit Court to convene a special session in December for Desha's trial and that at the trial, Desha would be given the option of a change of venue from Fleming County, where he lived and where the murder was committed, to Harrison County, where Desha's father lived.[15] Governor Desha personally appeared before the committee to which Rowan's bill was sent to advocate its passage.[15] The bill was reported favorably by the committee, passed by both houses of the General Assembly, and signed by the governor on December 4, 1824.[15] On December 20, 1824, the Fleming Circuit Court returned an indictment against Desha for the murder of Francis Baker.[14] At that time, Desha requested the provided change of venue.[15]

Judge John Trimble was the circuit court judge in Harrison County and was to have presided over the case, but Governor Desha appointed him to a seat on the "New" Court of Appeals before the trial commenced.[16] Trimble personally selected Judge George Shannon of Lexington to preside in his stead.[16] Desha's trial commenced January 17, 1825, in Cynthiana, Kentucky.[14] William K. Wall, Commonwealth's Attorney for Harrison County, was the prosecutor, assisted by Fleming County Commonwealth's Attorney (and future Congressman) John Chambers and Martin P. Marshall.[17] Rowan, who had just been elected to the U.S. Senate, was Desha's primary defense counsel, assisted by Governor Desha's Secretary of State (and later U.S. Senator) William T. Barry, former Congressman William Brown, T. P. Taul, and James Crawford.[14][18] It took two days to empanel a jury.[17] Witness testimony consumed the next week, and Governor Desha was in attendance during each day of the trial.[19] Several more days were consumed by the closing statements of Rowan and Barry, both known as outstanding orators, and those of Chambers, who ultimately spoke last.[20] The defense maintained that the evidence against Desha was largely circumstantial.[21] They claimed that Desha's personal items could easily have been planted where they were found.[21] They also pointed out that, despite the stab wounds on Baker's body, no blood was found on the ground near the road or on the path along which the murderer had dragged the body to conceal it.[21] Finally, they contended that, although the days had been unusually warm and wild boars were known to inhabit the area, Baker's body showed no obvious signs of decomposition or disturbance by animals, as might have been expected had it been there for six days, as the prosecution had charged.[21]

On January 31, 1825, Desha was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.[22][23] The next day, Rowan filed a motion for a new trial, citing jury tampering, and Judge Shannon sustained Rowan's motion.[22] Throughout the court's March and June terms, a jury was unable to be empaneled due to the extreme publicity the case received.[24] During the September term, a jury was finally selected, and the trial consumed the rest of the term.[24] Much of the same evidence was presented, and another guilty verdict was rendered.[21] The date for Desha's execution was set for July 14, 1826.[21] Harry O. Brown, the judge in the case, had been temporarily appointed by Governor Desha to fill a vacancy.[5] He again set aside the verdict because the prosecution had failed to prove that the murder occurred in Fleming County, as charged in the indictment.[25] The prosecution unsuccessfully argued that because a change of venue had already been granted, the place of the murder was immaterial.[5]

The process of selecting a third jury consumed a year and a half.[25] During the delay, Desha attempted suicide by cutting his throat, severing his windpipe.[21] Doctors reconnected the windpipe using a silver tube, and Desha survived the attempt.[5] On the last day of the court's term in June 1827, the judge announced another continuance, since the court still had not empaneled a jury.[26] Governor Desha then stood and produced a pardon for his son.[26] Although legend holds that Governor Desha resigned immediately after issuing the pardon, records show that he served out the rest of his term.[21] The pardon did damage Desha's reputation and that of the Relief Party, which lost a number of legislative seats in the subsequent elections.[5]

[edit] Murder of Thomas Early After receiving his father's pardon, Desha left Kentucky and traveled down the Mississippi River.[21] According to legend, he attempted to rob a flatboat skipper near Vicksburg, Mississippi.[27] The skipper turned out to be an old acquaintance of Desha's named G. W. Crawford.[27] Crawford recognized Desha and asked why he would try to rob him.[27] Upon being confronted, Desha confessed to Crawford that he had been living as an outlaw since his father's pardon.[27] Crawford convinced Desha to abandon his illegal activities and bring no further shame to his family.[27] He offered to take Desha to New Orleans, Louisiana, as his guest.[27] Desha agreed, telling Crawford that he planned to travel to a far-away place, assume a new name, and seek a fresh start.[27] He did not share his new name or intended destination with Crawford, however.[27]

Upon arriving in New Orleans, Desha assumed the name John Parker.[27] He soon met an Ohio native named Thomas Early and learned that Early was carrying a substantial amount of money and was on his way to Texas to purchase some horses and mules.[28] Desha joined Early on his trip, traveling on a schooner dubbed the Rights of Man across the Gulf of Mexico into Galveston Bay.[27][28] In April 1828, Desha and Early disembarked at Rightors Point (now Morgan's Point, Texas), and from there, they traveled to San Felipe de Austin, arriving in early May.[27] After a brief stay, the two set out toward San Antonio, but by the time Desha reached Gonzales, Early was not with him.[28]

Desha continued on to San Antonio where he lost a substantial amount of money playing Monte Bank.[27] He then decided to return to San Felipe.[28] He found two Americans and a Mexican cigar maker who were travelling that way, and with their permission, he traveled with them.[28] After his return to San Felipe, the citizens began to suspect Desha of murdering Early.[28] A few days after Desha's arrival, Early's clothing was found in a nearby creek, and a search party located skeletal remains believed to be Early scattered nearby.[29] Thomas Duke Marshall, a nephew of Chief Justice John Marshall and former resident of Washington County, Kentucky, was then living in San Felipe and noticed that the man called John Parker bore a strong resemblance to the Desha family of Kentucky and that he breathed through a silver tube like the one that saved the life of Isaac Desha.[29] Marshall arrested Desha, and after another former Kentuckian in the area also stated his belief that Parker was actually Isaac Desha, Desha admitted his true identity and confessed to murdering Early.[29] He further admitted that he intended to rob the Americans who had traveled with him from San Antonio, but the Mexican cigar maker had watched him too closely.[28] Although there was no jail in the town, a local blacksmith was commissioned to construct irons in which to keep Desha until his trial.[29]

[edit] Death and legacy Desha's trial for Early's murder was set for August 14, 1828, but he died of a fever the day before the trial was to commence.[28] He was buried in San Felipe de Austin.[28] After his death, a legend arose that he had not actually died, that his funeral was staged, and that he had travelled to Hawaii, married one of the natives there, and fathered several more children.[30] Andrew Forest Muir, writing in the Filson Club History Quarterly, points out that the first Deshas in Hawaii arrived almost two decades after Isaac Desha's death and that the progenitor of the Hawaiian Deshas had been only four years old at the time of Francis Baker's murder.[31] That progenitor was actually John R. Langherne Desha, a grandson of Governor Joseph Desha and nephew of Isaac B. Desha, who helped establish Queen's Hospital in Honolulu and worked there until his death.[31]

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/193864/person/6035254746/mediax/2?pg...