July 29, 2022

The Downfall of Oliver Watkins

This Musings from Main takes a look at the life of the last man to be publicly hanged in Connecticut.  If you enjoy this Musing, let our Archivist, Leith Johnson, take you on a journey through South Windsor’s most mysterious and truly macabre events with our online program, A Series of Macabre Events.

Oliver Watkins  

Oliver Watkins was born in October 1793, and died on Tuesday, August 2, 1831. His life appears to have begun without fanfare, 10 years after the conclusion of the American Revolution.  He lived until the age of 11, with his father in Ashford, CT.  They then moved around a bit before landing in Pennsylvania, where, at the age of 20, Oliver struck out on his own.  He purchased a tract of land on which to build his farm, and being a young man of "robust constitution" took on jobs such as chopping and digging wells to help make ends meet. This did not go as well as planned.

Around 1816, Oliver met his future wife, Roxana Adams, while she was visiting Pennsylvania with her brother.  They were soon married, and a year or two later Oliver, Roxana, and their baby found themselves back in Connecticut after Oliver and his brother-in-law decided to swap farms and furniture.

There was nothing unusual in Oliver's behavior upon his moving to Sterling, CT.  He farmed and tended to his saw-mill.  There were some debts and demands for collections that followed him back from Pennsylvania, and these caused him some embarrassment, but by most accounts he was an honest, kind and helpful neighbor.

The Other Woman: Waity (Preston) Burgess

Waity Preston was born in 1790, not far from Sterling, in Foster, Rhode Island, and by all accounts, she was a handful. Her mother professed she was "born under an unlucky planet", and her father declared she was "more trouble to manage than all the rest of the family." (p. 6)

By her 14th year, Waity showed a "strong passion for the other sex" and by the end of her 15th, she had a child.  A couple of rowdy years later, she made the acquaintance of, and married, Welcome Burgess.

A few years later, in 1826, their unhappy marriage came to an abrupt end when Welcome died of a fever, leaving Waity widowed with little to no property,  and their five children to look after.  Waity lived for several raucous and riotous months on her own in Chestnut Hill, CT, before the Town Council took matters into their own hands and "had to warn her out of town." (p.8)

Her father took her in with the promise that she would behave herself, and for a few months it seems she did, becoming known as the best person in the neighborhood to call for help with your housework.

The Fateful Encounter

This is where Oliver Watkins' life trajectory seems to have taken a dramatic turn. Waity's father lived about a quarter mile from Oliver and his family, and Waity made an agreement with Oliver that he should take her teenage son to "bring up".

"This opened an acquaintance with Watkins that will not be forgotten by his generation." (p.8)

Oliver began visiting Waity frequently, too frequently for her father's conscience, and he kicked her out of his house stating that "he expected that she would bring down his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave." (p. 10)  

By May 1828 with Oliver's help, Waity was living in the upper part of a house in close proximity to Oliver's. Theirs was a well known and tumultuous relationship, with Oliver visiting Waity at her house several times a day. He was supporting her,  buying her trinkets, and neglecting his business and family. Oliver's creditors became concerned when rumors of him and Waity running off together began to circulate, and he was forced to mortgage his farm.

The Crime

On the night of March 22, 1829, Oliver strangled his wife Roxana in their bed while she slept.

The Trial(s)

Although, Oliver denied any involvement in his wife's death he was arrested, tried, and found guilty (twice) of her murder.  After the guilty verdict of the second trial, the judge sentenced Oliver to be executed on the first Tuesday of August, 1831.  His lawyers again appealed his conviction, but this time the Connecticut Supreme Court denied him a new trial.

The Execution

On the day of his execution, Oliver was taken from the prison at 8 a.m. by the sheriff and seated on his coffin, in a carriage, with a military guard.  He was then conveyed to the gallows.  Clergymen offered prayers and a sermon, and a final statement from Oliver was read on his behalf.  In the statement Oliver still professed his innocence, but admitted that his imprudent and unbecoming conduct had brought him to this misery.  After the statement was read, Divine grace was invoked and the drop fell.

The Aftermath

As was customary for the times, thousands of people traveled to see the execution. Single men, and whole families traveled from all over Windham County as well as surrounding states arriving by foot, carriage and wagon. In anticipation of the multitudes, liquor sellers had stocked up and had even hired their own guards the night before, to watch over Oliver so that he could not escape or commit suicide before the designated day.

Public hangings were supposed to act as a deterrent to other potential criminals, however they commonly devolved in to drunken spectacles. Oliver's hanging was no different.  Although some in the crowd took the opportunity to "turn away from sin", many more saw it as an opportunity for a drunken celebration.  According to the History of Windham County , one eye witness gave testimony

"that there were never half so many drunk at any one time and place in this county; "that the throng was so vast that long before night not a mouthful could be procured in the village either to eat or drink except water, and there were reports of conduct which ought " to make a  Feejee (sic) Islander  blush."(p.132)

It was with the understanding that public executions did little to deter other criminals, and the changing ideas of the times about human rights, and the nature of criminality, that Connecticut began to change its penal codes, and Oliver Watkins gained the dubious distinction of being the last person to be publicly hung in Connecticut.

Read all the details of Oliver Watkins' downfall as published in 1831.

Sources used for this Musing are listed below.

*Bayles, Richard, ed. “Public Charities and Corrections.” In History of Windham County, Connecticut. New York, NY: W. W. Preston & Company, 1889.

*Connecticut Draws the Curtain on Public Executions, August 15, 2021, Connecticut History.org, accessed 28 July 2022. 

*Mangan,Gregg, On This Day in Connecticut History, The History Press, March 2, 2015, p. 180.

*Watkins, Oliver. A sketch of the life, trial, and execution of Oliver Watkins, who was hung at Brooklyn, (Conn.) on the 2d day of August 1831, for the murder of his wife ... Norwich, 1831, Harvard Law School Library, Harvard University, 28 July 2022.