The following Dearborn County, Indiana court notices were published in Indiana newspapers in 1820. Dearborn County suffered a courthouse fire on 6 March 1826 that destroyed all records. See Dearborn County Reconstructed Records for more details.
Vincennes Indiana Centinel – 25 Mar 1820 – Page 2, Column 2
From the Indiana Oracle.
Trial for Murder!
The Circuit Court for Dearborn county closed on Saturday last—the whole of the term was consumed by the trial of Amasa Fuller, on an indictment for the murder of Palmer Warren. Few trials have excited more general interest, as well from the character and appearance of the prisoner, as from the circumstances which led to the atrocious deed. The circumstances were briefly these:–Fuller had, for some considerable time prior to the murder of Warren, been attentive to a young lady who was residing with her uncle in Lawrenceburgh; about the last of Nov. 1819, Fuller left this place for Brookville; while there, the unfortunate deceased commenced an intimacy with the young lady to whom Fuller had been before attached; their intimacy resulted in an engagement of marriage, which was to have been consummated on the fatal 10th Jan. 1820. It appeared in evidence, that about the middle or last of Dec. Fuller, then at Brookville, received a letter in the handwriting of Warren, & signed by the young lady, enclosing a ring, in which she renounced all feelings of attachment towards him, and returned him the ring in pledge; that after the receipt of this letter, Fuller appeared gloomy and melancholy, and on Friday, 7th January, he left Brookville on foot, and arrived at Lawrenceburgh in the evening of that day; after changing his wet clothes (having rained) he went into the house of the young lady’s uncle, next to Mr. Coburn’s hotel, where he put up, and was there frequently between the time of his arrival from Brookville and the day of the murder, meeting Warren at the house; he several times attempted to quarrel with him, which Warren as often declined; on Saturday, 8th Jan. it appeared that Fuller borrowed a pair of pistols with the avowed design of shooting at a mark, in which amusement he requested several young men to participate; on the afternoon of that day he asked a Mr. Hitchcock if he would go out and hunt with him, he replied that he would and would go for his gun, Fuller answered I do not hunt with guns, but with pistols. On Sunday, 9th Jan. Fuller seemed cool and collected, talking on various subjects with his fellow boarders, & declared he had no pretentions to the young lady in question. On Monday morning, 10th Jan. he asked Mr. Hitchcock, when up in his room at the hotel, what was the best way to load a pistol and the surest way to kill? and observed I am afraid that this pistol has not enough powder in it, how shall I shoot it off so as not to be heard? (It must be observed that Warren’s office is under the same roof with Coburn’s hotel.) Fuller went downstairs, and shortly after came up saying, I have shot it off, and no person heard me. Fuller then loaded the pistols with powder and four slugs each—Hitchcock told him he hoped he had no evil designs—Fuller replied, “I have not, but I will shew you some fun.” Fuller then put on a great coat which he had borrowed from Mr. Coburn, and feeling if it had pockets, he put one pistol in each pocket of the coat, and walked downstairs, having previously asked Hitchcock if he could discover that he had pistols. It appeared further in evidence, that Fuller left the house, came back and went out again; he was seen by Mr. Farrar, who was standing in the door of his house, next but one to Warren’s Office, to come out of Coburn’s bar room about a yard behind Warren, who unlocked the door of his office and entered followed by Fuller; in about 3 4’s of a minute Mr. Farrar heard the report of a pistol in Warren’s Office, instantly ran there, and attempting to open the door, it was stopped by something, and looking down he discovered the body of Warren lying crosswise the door and upon entering the office discovered Fuller standing beside the body, and the room filled with smoke and the smell of the powder; Warren was not yet dead, but struggling in the last agonies. Mr. Farrar seized hold of Fuller exclaimed, “good heavens, Fuller, is it possible you have done this?” Fuller replied, “I am a man and have acted the part of a man! I have been ridding the earth of a vile reptile! I glory in the deed!!!” The pistols were found lying on the counter in the office, one discharged of its contents, the other still charged, a writing was found on the floor, the substance of which was, that Warren, in the presence of Almighty God, swore to renounce all pretentions to the young lady, and acknowledge himself to be a base liar and a scoundrel! Fuller said, after his arrival, that he had presented this paper to Warren, desired him to sign it: he refused—he then offered him a pistol, bidding him defend himself like a man: this Warren also refused—and that he then shot the cowardly rascal. The body of Warren was pierced with a wound just below the pap of the left breast. It does not appear that Warren had even taken any undue advantage of Fuller, or even spoke a disrespectful word of him to the young lady, or any other person.
The prosecution was conducted by Amos Lane and John Test, esquires; the prisoner was ably defended by Charles Dewey, Joseph S. Benham, Daniel J. Caswell, Wm. C. Drew, Samuel Q. Richardson, and Merrit S. Craig, esquires. The counsel for the prisoner moved to continue the trial, until the next term of this court, on an affidavit of the absence of two material witnesses. This motion was overruled by the court, because not stating the facts to be proved by those two witnesses. Another motion was then made for continuance by the counsel for the prisoner, on affidavit of the fact that popular prejudice ran so high that the prisoner could not have a fair trial. The opinion of the court was: That if the fact thus stated came to the knowledge of the prisoner subsequent to the former motion for a continuance, we would listen to it; but as it does not appear that it did, the motion is overruled. The defense set up on the trial was Insanity. It, however, appeared in evidence that the prisoner had been thought by those witnesses who had seen him, to be more gloomy and melancholy than usual; but nothing like insanity was made out. After a long and patient hearing of the testimony, which was very consistent and positive, and after an able defense by the prisoner’s counsel, the jury retired—and in about two hours returned into the court with a verdict of Guilty. On Saturday morning the sentence of the Court was passed, by his honor Judge Eggleston, that the prisoner at the bar be remanded to his place of confinement, and be thence conducted, on Friday, 31st of March inst. to the place of execution, and be there hanged by the neck until he be dead! Fuller preserved throughout the trial, and at the time the Judge pronounced to him his awful doom, that his days were numbered, a stern, inflexible countenance.
Vincennes Indiana Centinel – 22 Apr 1820 – Page 3, Column 2
LAWRENCEBURGH, April 1.
The Governor of this State has respited the execution of Amasa Fuller, at present confined in the jail of this county, and under sentence of death for the murder of Palmer Warren, until the 14th of August next.
Lawrenceburg Indiana Oracle – 15 Apr 1820 – Page 4, Column 2
STATE OF INDIANA, SUPREME COURT, November Term, 1819.
Thursday, November 2d, 1819.
Michael Cline vs. Robert Green/Creen} An error from Dearborn.
AND now, at this day, came the plaintiff by his counsel, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, that the defendant is not an inhabitant of this state, it is therefore ordered by the Court, that the defendant appear here on the first day of the next July term of this Court, and answer the plaintiffs errors filed herein. An it is further ordered, that a copy of this order by published in “The Indiana Oracle,” printed at Lawrenceburgh, for three weeks successively.
H. P. Coburn, Clerk Supreme Court.
Nov. 17.
Lawrenceburg Indiana Oracle – 1 May 1820 – Page 3, Column 4
Foreign Attachment.
WHEREAS a writ of foreign attachment hath issued from the office of the undersigned, on of the Justices of the Peace in and for the county of Dearborn, state of Indiana, against the goods and chattels, rights and credits, monies and effects, of Zachariah Renno, a non-resident of this state, at the suit of Elijah D. Renno, in a plea of debt, nine dollars—which attachment the constable hath returned executed by attaching fifteen dollars in the hands of George Weaver as the money and property of the defendant.
Notice is therefore hereby given, to the said Zachariah Renno, that unless he appear either by himself or his attorney, at my office, to give special bail to answer to the said suit on or before the 10th day of April next, judgment will then be entered against him by default, and the moneys thus attached applied to the payment of the said debt and cost.
John Porter, J. P.
April 18, 1820.