Roxy Druse & the Murders of Herkimer County - Paperback

by Michael Cooney (Author)

In the winter of 1885 William Druse disappeared from his run-down farm near the tiny village of Jordanville, New York. It took a month for the suspicions of his neighbors to lead the local sheriff to arrest Druse

Author Biography

Roxy Druse & The Murders of Herkimer County is the story of the last woman hung in New York State. In 1884 she was charged with the murder and dismemberment of her husband in a case which became the center of attention for newly sensationalized national press. Despite a vigorous campaign by early feminists, she was condemned to death and executed at the Herkimer County jail in 1887. The novel is closely based on these events, as seen through the eyes of a journalist who interviewed Roxy. Also included is the history of the county's murders written by that same journalist, W. H. Tippetts. The story of the accused axe murderess is one of fourth in an ongoing series on forgotten figures from the history of upstate New York. The first book in the series, Neither Rebel Nor Tory explores the role of a supposed fool and madman, Hanyost Schuyler, who saved the lives of hundreds of patriots besieged at Fort Stanwix in 1777. The River That Flows Both Ways is based on the life of the early Dutch explorer and physician Harmen van den Bogaert who was the first European to reach the Mohawk villages, and who was later condemned by his countrymen for violating the sexual mores of the time. The Red Nurse is the story of the 1912 textile strike in Little Falls, New York as told by one of its leaders, Helen Schloss, who later disappeared while organizing medical care in the Russian Civil War. When male leaders of the IWW at Little Falls were jailed, Helen and another organizer, Matilda Rabinowitz, stepped forward to lead the strikers to victory in early 1913. In an era of bitter labor battles and repression, the two women used peaceful methods, won public support, and convinced state political leaders to impose a settlement on the unwilling mill owners. The author is a student of colonial, industrial and social history and has taught on the secondary and college levels before turning to full time writing.