Murdered by her husband Our reader discovered how a marital breakdown led to two horrific deaths

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amuel Lee Jennings was born in 1863 in Amherst County, Virginia, USA. The county is located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains and is filled with rich farmland. By 1913, Samuel had married and moved to Toledo, Ohio, where he killed his wife. Samuel’s ancestors came to the Colony of Virginia sometime before the Revolutionary War, though the details are shrouded in mystery. In 1798, William Jennings, or Jennens, died at the age of 97, with a large fortune and no heir or will. His death started a feeding frenzy among lawyers on several continents that lasted more than 100 years. As a result, many of the family’s records were lost or vandalised by unscrupulous professionals. Samuel’s 2x great-grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War; his greatgrandfather fought in the War of 1812; and his father fought in the Civil War. So how could a man with such a proud family tradition commit such a horrible crime? This question still haunts the family a century later.

Looking for answers

Through the research efforts of many extended relatives and a professional genealogist we know that Samuel left the family farm in Amherst County sometime after 1880. On 26 September 1895, he married a recent Danish émigré, Emma Hornwain. When the 1910 Census was enumerated, Samuel and his family were living in a rented home at 2242 Bakewell Street, Toledo, Ohio. By that time, Emma had had four children, but only two were still living – Della, 98

your family tree  December 2013

11, and Clifford, not yet two years old. Samuel was a labourer at a car factory and Emma worked at a boarding house. By 1913 Emma had moved out of their Bakewell Street home and was living at 320 Craig Street on the east side of Toledo. She had been separated from Samuel for some time. On 9 June, the Toledo Daily Blade published an article titled: “Stabs Wife and Self”, which told the story of how

stabbed in the left breast. Sam cut a gash four inches long and nearly two inches deep in his own throat and was “believed to have partially severed the jugular vein”. The newspaper reported: “Mrs Jennings said that her husband had threatened several times recently to kill her unless she consented to live with him again. According to the woman she was attacked by Jennings after

“Her husband had threatened several times recently to kill her unless she consented to live with him again” Samuel had attacked his wife “viciously” with a pocket knife. According to the newspaper, Emma Jennings was alone in her home at 320 Craig Street on Sunday afternoon. Samuel “entered and made a murderous assault on her with a pocket knife, inflicting injuries that are expected to prove fatal”. Samuel then cut his own throat with the same knife. They were both taken by police ambulance to St Vincents Hospital, but “little hope was expressed for their recovery”. Emma had a deep cut six inches long in her throat and was also

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she had told him she did not want anything to do with him.” Samuel Jennings died in the hospital two days later on 10 June. Emma died on 15 June. Her death certificate describes the cause of death as, “lobar pneumonia following a razor wound to the chest, homicidal.” Charles Jennings, Samuel’s brother was the informant listed on his death certificate and apparently came to Toledo to bring his body back to Virginia, where he was buried. Emma was buried in Oregon, Ohio. By 1920, their son, Clifford, was living at an orphanage in Virginia. He later married and died in 1971. We haven’t been able to find their daughter Della. n

By Schalene Jennings Dagutis Schalene got her love of genealogy from her father. She blogs about family history at http:// tangledrootsandtrees.blogspot.com.

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