Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Joseph Ferres

Male 1818 - 1848  (~ 30 years)


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Generation: 1

  1. 1.  Joseph Ferres was born CA 1818, of, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 26 Jun 1848, Guelph City, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada.

    Other Events:

    • Crime: murder
    • Interesting: murder, story
    • Eby ID Number: Waterloo-40080

    Notes:

    At the June assizes Joseph and Thomas Ferris were tried for the murder of Henry Wilson, in Wellesley, in March. A dispute had arisen respecting the ownership of a strip of land, and Wilson had obtained a writ of ejectment, and upon going to serve it, Joseph Ferris knocked him down and strangled him with his scarf, the other prisoner looking on while it was done. They were both sentenced to be hanged, when they made a full confession, and their sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life. At the Quarter Sessions in July, Judge Powell had the gratifying duty to inform the Grand Jury that, for the third time, there were no prisoners for trial, and only one case was brought before the magistrates in Guelph during the whole year.


    The annals of the town of Guelph, 1827-1877 By Charles Acton Burrows pg. 60

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    MURDERS IN WATERLOO COUNTY

    The old, well-known school-teacher, Mr. Benjamin Burkholder brought to our attention that the article which appeared in the "Journal" under the above title was not complete, if one also counted in the murders which occurred in this area before the establishment of the County of Waterloo.

    In August 1828, Michael Vincent of Wilmot was hanged in Hamilton for the murder of his wife. A certain Ferres in Guelph, also met the same fate in 1846, for the murder of a constable in Wellesley.

    From our own memory, and information from Mr. John Kressler, former post-master in Heidelberg, we can add that, in 1847, during the construction of a building in Wellesley, a certain Kress, attacked a young man by the name of Pfeffer so fiercely that the latter died during the night following. Kress was tried in Guelph and condemned to 10 years in prison for murder.

    During the hay-cutting in 1849, Michael Huber in Wellesley got into a fight with his mother-in-law and threw a piece of wood at her head, which caused her immediate demise. Huber had to spend 10 years in prison because of his bad temper.

    In 1850, the inn-keeper, Bordon, died in Heidelberg (Wellesley township) under suspicious circumstances. A coroner's inquest was held and it was proven that he had been poisoned. Suspicion of having done the deed fell on his wife. She was arrested and imprisoned and the case was investigated at the fall assizes in Guelph. The investigation ended, however, with the accused women being found not guilty.

    BERLINER JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 4, 1895 PAGE 4 COLUMN 4