Show MILES FAWCETT the account of the hanging of josiah and elizabeth potts at elko 1 nevada evada published in the NEWS on june brought to residents in this city information which they have been seeking for a long time but have been unable to obtain this information was 4 s to te the whereabouts of miles fawcett who was waa last in utah in 1883 having previously been to california where he had purchased some property mr fawcett was the man murdered by mr and mrs potts on the of january 1888 at carlin nevada ile he was the uncle of robert and miles aveson of this thia city being their mothers mother brother the dispatch regarding the execution of the merely gave the tiame pame of the victim but the california papers give his age occupation and sufficient of his previous history to place the matter beyond all doubt he lived for so some time in wisconsin where the potte pott family also resided but sol sold out his farm there and tame ame westen in his trade as carpenter regarding his uncle mr B R aveson says ile he first visited salt bait lake city from Wis wisconsin conin in 1873 bayed six months then went to los angeles in 1875 his son SOD was drowned in wisconsin while crossing on oil some ice A few weeks afterward mr Fawcet fawcette ts wife died through the shock of her sons death for several weeks I 1 tried to obtain information of the whereabouts of my uncle but failed until the spring of that year when he wrote to me from born los angeles he then went to wisconsin sold his farm and married again went west aud and then returned to wisconsin got a divorce from his wife started west again and bought several acres of land somewhere wherein in california he cameto came to salt lake city nov 9 1883 and stayed two days here he saw his sister ar ann n whom he had not seen since he was a boy he went to connecticut to tys brother wm win P F stayed there until the spring of 1884 and then came west again we last heard from him in new mexico following is an account of the circumstances cum stances connected with the murder josih josiah potts his wife elizabeth and two children cn ildren resided in carlin elko county nevada two years potts was employed as a machinist in the central pacific railroad shops at that place miles fawcett a carpenter boarded with the family for several months and in 1887 he purchased a ranch seven miles from Car carlati liti known as the hot springs ranch alter after he removed to his ranch mrs potts baked his bread and did his washing for him which made it necessary for fawcett to visit carlin frequently on Janu january aryl 1 1888 fawcett informed a arlend that potts and his wife owed him some money and he was about to visit their residence to col lect elect it fawcett further stated that he knew enough of the past life of mrs potts to compel her to settle with him through dread of having the unpleasant details of tier her former career revealed at the time fawcett went to collect the debt due him from the potts family he had above in coin on his person fawcett and his friend linebarger an elko business man visited the potts residence and mrs potts invited fawcett to t spend spena the night at her residence fawcett accepted but linebarger departed after seeing Fawcet fawcette ts horses put in the stable at the potts residence th this is was the last time fawcett was seen alive his sudden and unaccountable disappearance wae a subject of comm comment eDt and an attempt to fathom the mystery resulted in josiah potts showing a bill of sale from fawcett of all of his bis effects potts and his wife stating that fawcett had bad been suddenly called east QU ou business the following summer the potts family removed to rock springs wyoming and a family named brewer rented the potts residence in carlin on oil january 16 1889 george brewer the he head of the family discovered in the cellar of the premises acuti a mutilated body which was identified as fawcette Fawcet ts sheriff barnard of elko telegraphed to rock springs wyoming to have josiah and elizabeth potts placed under arrest and they were viere brought to elko and indicted for murder in the first degree by the grand jury they were tried before judge bigelow and convicted on that charge and sentenced to suffer the death penalty june 20 1890 an appeal was taken to the supreme court which affirmed the decision of the lower tribunal subsequently the state board of pardons was petitioned to commute the sentence to life imprisonment without avail elizab th potts was a native of england 42 years of age she was of large physique with a ruddy complexion COMpleX iOD light blue eyes and weighed probably pounds her maiden name was atherton prom from the time of her arrest at rock bock springs wyoming and during the trial for murder she maintained a stolid indifference at the trial she testified that she discovered fawcett in an attempt to assault her little daughter a long time before his disappearance and that fawcett had threatened to kill her if she exposed his attempt soon afterward she said she wrote a letter to the constable at carlin informing him of Fawcet fawcette ts attempt and demanding his arrest this letter she claims was discovered by her husband and when fawcett visited her residence a violent scene occurred between fawcett and her husband and to settle the matter fawcett offered her husband a bill of sale of his team and ranch this her husband refused and threatened to have fawcett lynched but as her husband was leaving the house to carry out his threat she said that fawcett in a fit of depe ration drew a pistol and shot himself dead and fearful of being accused of his murder she and her husband hid Fawcet fawcette ts dead body in the cellar of the premises the saddest feature of the affair is that children are left to bear their parents shame charley the eldest is 17 years old and lives in the state of washington the second child a girl of 13 lives in utah while the youngest edith only 6 years old has been adopted by an elko county resident |