Captain Almon Mentor
1820-1866
Research done by Daryl Polley-the major source for this
article was several issues of the 1866 Cincinnati Daily Enquirer
Readers of the Cincinnati Daily Enquirer on June 6,
1866 were shocked to learn that Captain Almon Mentor, aged 45 had died after
being wounded in a struggle with a burglar. Almon was a popular band
leader and was remembered many years later as the "Wizard of the Bugle".
Almon Mentor was born in New York and was living in Troy in the 1850s. he
moved his family to Campbell County sometime after the birth of his youngest
daughter about 1852. He and his wife, Lucretia and children, Cynthia,
Edgar, Mariah and Martha were living in Jamestown and by 1866 had moved to
Newport.
Captain Mentor and his son Edgar, then about 21, went to a circus the evening of June 5th and returned to their Monmouth Street home between 1 and 2 am on June 6th to find the kitchen door ajar and a stranger standing near the dining room door. A struggle broke out between Almon and the stranger during which Almon was shot in the lower abdomen. Edgar grabbed the burglar's gun and shot the stranger in the hip. Edgar then grabbed a knife and kept stabbing the burglar until the blade broke.
The commotion awoke the other members of the household and they called for neighbors who helped Edgar hold the intruder until police came. The burglar was taker to the Campbell County jail where his wounds were treated and he was reported to be in serious condition. Captain Mentor was carried to his upstairs bedroom where he died several hours later.
Under questioning, the burglar identified himself as Walter H Watson, born in New York but living in Missouri when the Civil War broke out. Watson said he had served in the Fourth Missouri Infantry and that after the war he had traveled to St. Louis and then drifted to Northern Kentucky. Police found confederate money, a bund of small keys and a fake postal note in his possession. Numerous threats made against Watson prompted Newport's Mayor Robert McCracken to request 60 soldiers from the Newport Military Barracks to help guard the jail. Watson told a reporter that he was not a professional burglar and had not intended to hurt anyone. He indicated he wanted a speedy trial and would rather be hanged than spend his life in prison.
Things moved swiftly with Watson indicted for murder on June 8th and his trial beginning June 15 with Campbell County Judge Joseph Doniphan presiding and Commonwealth Attorney R B Carpenter prosecution. Appointed defense attorneys were James Russell Hallam, F M Webster and Samuel Geisler. Newspapers report that Mentor's daughters Martha and Maria testified that the kitchen door was locked when they went to bed. The defense offered no testimony and the case went to the jury that same day. After 35 minutes the jury reached a guilty verdict and recommended death. Sentencing was scheduled for the next day.
The judge gave Watson a chance to speak before sentencing and Watson stated "I don't know that I have much to say. I can not look upon myself as a murderer. I did not go to that home to kill Mr. Mentor, and did not shoot until I had been beaten, and was down on the floor, where I might have been killed myself. I am truly sorry for the occurrence, but have nobody to blame but myself. The witnesses all swore to the truth, and my lawyers did all they could for me. I wish to state one thing-I did not break into that house. The door was not fastened, and I opened it and walked in. I hope Mr. Mentor's family will have nothing against me. I never drew human blood before except in battle. I hope that my case will serve as a warning to others."
At this point, Watson was reported as being so overcome with emotion that he could not proceed. He eventually indicated he had nothing further to say. The judge then passed sentence stating Watson was to be confined in the County Jail until August 31 when he would be taken to a prepared place and "hung until you are dead, dead, dead and may God have mercy upon your soul". His attorneys petitioned the state Court of Appeals to reconsider the case, but the court refused.
As Watson prepared to die, the Sheriff apparently trusted Watson and gave him much freedom to receive visitors at the jail and do what he wanted. A regular visitor was Rev Henry Spilman of the Jamestown Baptist Church. Watson read the bible, prayed constantly and apparently spent much of his time attempting to convince other prisoners that they could be saved from his fate by accepting religion. Meanwhile, a scaffold used in a hanging eight years earlier was brought from Alexandria to Newport and repaired. The hanging was to take place on the commons in back of the city.
Suddenly Watson announced that his real name was Allen P Eggleston and that just about everything written about his background was a lie. Eggleston said he was born in Washington County, New York and lived for a while in Buffalo. He enlisted in May 1847 and served in the Mexican War. He said that his only service in the Civil War was when he enlisted in the Union Army in Peoria, Illinois in April 1865 and later deserted. He also denied a published report that he had seen one of Mentor's daughters hide a house key and that he watched Mentor at the circus before the murder.
One of Eggleston's attorney circulated a petition asking Gov Thomas E Bramlette to commute the sentence to life in prison. The day before the execution, Bramlette granted a temporary stay of execution but said he did not feel it was within his powers to commute the sentence. The new execution date was set for September 28th. Eggleston apparently had many supporters and spent his remaining days writing several letters including one to his church on September 26 thanking them for their support and stating that he believed God had pardoned him for his sins. Watson/Eggleston also detailed several other prisoners he had talked to regarding religion. He spent the 27th reading the Bible, singing and praying. he ate a hearty supper about 6 pm and went back to reading the Bible and praying until he went to bed about 11:30 pm.
Men, women and children began to assemble in Newport early on the morning of September 28. One report estimated 15 to 20 thousand people came to witness the execution. Eggleston awoke at 4:30, book a bath and put on clean clothes. He wasn't hungry but did drink a little wine offered by Sheriff John Schwartz. Eggleston was allowed to walk freely about the jail and talked to other prisoners. He was also allowed to briefly talk to people who came up to the jail window. There, he stated he was ready to meet his doom and was willing his body be given to advance medical science.
At noon, Sheriff Schwartz asked if the prisoner was ready to go. Eggleston requested a delay to allow his spiritual advisor, Rev Spillman to arrive. At 1 pm the sheriff granted time for Eggleston to pray with Rev Spillman. A little after 1 pm the prisoner came out of his cell and said goodbye to the jail and fellow prisoners. Eggleston, wearing a black suit and straw hat, was led from the jail and placed in a carriage surrounded by 100 citizen guards, and taken to present day 11th street where the scaffold awaited. Eggleston walked the 16 steps to the platform, prayed and then addressed the crowd in a firm voice saying he had led a bad life, discussing his religion and stating that he was sorry for the shooting. His hands and legs were then bound, a hood placed over his head with the noose placed over the hood. When the trap door was sprung, the noose slipped and Eggleston fell head first to the ground. People in the audience screamed.
Deputies hurried to pick up Eggleston who was confused and dazed and was bleeding from a rope cut on his neck. The scene was described as revolting. Four people carried the stunned Eggleston back to the stairway and helped him up to the platform. He was set down on a chair and given a drink of water as Sheriff Schwartz worked to retire the noose. Recovering from the shock, he said in a weak voice, "Gentlemen, please don't let it happen again." He then prayed until the noose was repaired. Eggleston was reported to have had an easy death on the second attempt after which the sheriff was noted to have exhibited much emotion.