04/10/2017
Murders @ John Gardiner’s Farm (1842)
On November 13, 1842, a grisly event occurred in the quiet farming community of what was then known as Old Fields. Prominent farmer, Alexander Smith and his wife, Rebecca were brutally murdered in the front polar of their home, apparently while enjoying their evening tea.
Alexander and Rebecca Smith had owned their prosperous farm for years. The couple was well respected in the community, and their only child, F***y, had married Joel Gardiner from another prominent family. The crime was unusually in many respects. Although murder was prevalent in large cities such as Manhattan, violent crimes were relatively unknown in the small farming communities that dotted the north shore of Long Island. That the attack was committed against a respected older affluent couple made the crime all the more shocking and horrifying.
The murders were discovered around sunrise of the following morning, November14, 1842 by George Weeks. Weeks, a nearby neightbor also worked at the farm. He immediately realized something was amiss when he noticed the family dog, who usually slept with Mr. Smith, locked in the woodshed. He also observed that the window located on the east end of the house was broken out. After proceeding to the front door, he noted that it was neither barred nor locked. Upon looking into the window, he observer Rebecca lying on the floor. Alarmed, Weeks ran home for help, and returned a few minutes later with his two neighbors, MR. Selleck and Mr. Curren. Upon finally opening the door, the bodies of the couple were immediate discovered. The Smiths appeared to have been left where they fell, and the position of the bodies suggested than Mr. Smith was struck first, while sitting in his customary chair in front of a large fireplace. He sustained several blows to the head, and fell into fireplace. Much of the lower part of his body caught fire, most likely after his death. Mrs. Smith was found in the center of the room, suggesting that she rose from her chair upon the attack. She, too, was stricken several times about the head and body by the blunt side of an axe.
It was believed that the motive for the terrible crime was theft. At the time of the murders, the only person also to have been in the house with the Smiths was Anton Geisler, a recent immigrant from German who had been working as a farmhand for the Smiths for two weeks prior to the occurance. Mr. Geisler was nowhere to be found. He was searched for and arrested, several days later in Port Jefferson. Despite his protestations of innocence, an inquest was held, and he was charged with the murder of the Smtihs. The trial ws originally scheduled to be held in May of 1843, but was postponed until the following September to allow Mr. Geisler to retain counsel. A lawyer was provided by the German Society in New York. The trial commenced on September 7, 1843 in Riverhead. After all the testimony was heard, Geisler was convicted of the double homicide. Even given the anti-immigrant sentiments of the day, there was some public debate
