Benton, George M. & Akester, Hanna Family
PARENTS
Source: 95.0066 Year of b. m. or d.: 1918 Event: Burial Surname: Akester Given: Hannah Spouse:Benton, late George Residence: Roxham, Parish of Lacolle, County of St. Johns Death date: 1918-10-14 Burial date: 1918-10-16 Witnesses: Benton, George(x): Clark, B.H.
Church: Hemmingford Church of England Minister: A.B. Caldwell
CHILDREN
MASKED MEN SHOOT AND ROB FARMER
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Two Whitehall Youths Under Arrest
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VICTIM OF SHOOTING AT LOCAL HOSPITAL
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George Benton of Roxham, Canada, Near Perry's Mills, Suffering from Wounds; Loses $150
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Two Whitehall young men were arrested early Thursday morning by Sheriff S. A. Day on suspicion of having shot up and robbed George
Benton, 40 years old, of Roxham, Canada, a farmer living just over the line from Perry's Mills. Benton is at the Physician Hospital, very weak from the loss of blood due to gunshot wounds in the legs and arm.Charles and Francis Aiken of 187 Main street, Whitehall, the prisoners arrested, denied all charges and claimed they had spent the entire day in Chazy hunting.
Sheriff Day took the two young Whitehall men up to the hospital at 1:30 this morning and Benton said they were about the same build as those who had attacked him, but he was unable to make positive identification as his assailants had worn masks.
Benton claimed he lost about $150. The Sheriff found $116 on the prisoners and believes the rest may have been spent on the way for a new tire and five gallon can of gasoline.
Benton's story was that he was out milking at about 10 o'clock, when two strangers, masked, walked up to the door with a gun in their hands and demanded his money or his life. He threw down his lantern and ran across lots for his life. Then he stumbled into the line fence and fell. There he was shot, assaulted and robbed.
A neighbor, Goldie Clark, heard him and ran to his assistance. Dr. Allen of Champlain was summoned. He applied tourniquets to Benton's wounds and directed Clark to bring the wounded man to Plattsburgh to the hospital.
On his way down, Dr. Allen saw a Ford truck in Patnode's garage in Chazy, resembling the one in which the robbers made their escape. He passed the word along to Sheriff Day on his arrival in town.
The Sheriff immediately got busy saw the truck coming down River street and nabbed the two young men in Gloisa's Garage on Charlotte street. In their truck was a shot gun with one barrel recently discharged, according to Officer Elmer Gray of the local police force, who examined it.
Mr. Clark said several neighbors saw a Ford truck standing in the road near the scene of the shooting and expects they will be able to identify it as the one in which the Aiken boys were riding.
Brothers Confess
At an early hour Thursday morning Francis Aiken admitted shooting Benton, after a grilling examination by Sheriff Day. Both brothers said they used handkerchiefs for masks. The sheriff found additional money in their pockets making the total found $153.62. The brothers claim to be 16 and 15 years old respectively but look older.
Source: The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Friday, May 9, 1924, Page 2.
Transcribed: 14 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 30 November 2006.
VICTIM OF BANDITS DIES IN HOSPITAL
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Whitehall Youths Held For Examination
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CANADIAN SHOT AND ROBBED NEAR FARM
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Aiken Boys Alleged to Have Confessed; Extradition Will Be Fought
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George Benton, farmer of Roxam, Canada, who was shot and robbed of $150 by two masked men last Wednesday night, died Saturday morning in the Physicians' hospital from loss of blood agravated by blood poisoning in his leg wounds, according to Drs. C. D. Silver and E. S. McDowell.------------
Whitehall Youths Held For Examination
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CANADIAN SHOT AND ROBBED NEAR FARM
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Aiken Boys Alleged to Have Confessed; Extradition Will Be Fought
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Francis and Charles Aiken, the two Whitehall youths alleged to have confessed to the crime, were arrested later in the day on a warrant issued by R. S. Commissioner , W. L. Pattisson following information received from Sheriff S. A. Day. When arraigned Saturday night, they were held without bail by the commissioner for an examination Friday morning in the grand jury room at the court house.
Attorney J. W. Davern, appearing for the Aikens, moved for dismissal of the case on the ground the warrant was not justified. District Attorney Harold A. Jerry, representing the Canadian government, opposed this and the motion was denied.
Attorney Davern announded any effort to extradite the boys would be fought to the limit. He will base his case on the fact that the crime may have been committed on this side of the line and therefore the boys should face trial in the New York state courts. Benton's house where he lived alone, was very close to the line.
Mr. Davern stated also that there is a trace of hereditary insanity in the family, and a plea of mental incapacity will be entered if he has to fight the case in the Canadian courts.
Crown Prosecutor Calder and Chief of Detectives Lorraine from Montreal where in the city yesterday and will be on hand Friday to aid District Attorney Jerry in presenting the government's side of the case.
In the information furnished to the commissioner Sheriff Day stated the Aikens had been confined to the Clinton County jail, since they were picked up early Thursday morning on instructions from Chief Lorraine that warrants were on the way from Canada. The sheriff stated also the lads admitted the shooting.
Benton told Clark, a neighbor who picked him up faint from loss of blood and rushed to him to Plattsburgh, that he was leaving his milk house when two masked men appeared and demanded his money or his life. He dashed his lantern to the ground and ran for it until shot down and robbed.
The Aiken admitted the shooting, it is alleged, but said it was accidental. Francis told the sheriff the authorities assert, that he tripped and pulled the trigger without intending to do so.
Sheriff Day, warned of the suspicious actions of two men in a Ford truck at Chazy, sighted the truck on river street, gave chase, and caught Francis and charles Aiklen in a garage where they had stopped to change a tire. In the truck was a shot gun with one barrel discharged.
Parents of the two boys held in jail here, run a store and woodyard in Whitehall.
Source: The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Tuesday, 13 May, 1924, Page 3.
Transcribed: 18 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 15 October 2007.
CANADIAN WITNESSES INTERVIEWED
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Jerry Visits Scene of Benton Shooting
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DECLARES SPOT IS ½ MILE FROM LINE
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Neighbor Met Two Youths Answering Aikens' Description, Three Minutes After Shooting
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District Attorney Harold A. Jerry, quoting for the Canadian government, yesterday received information definitely placing two young men answering the descriptions of Charles and Frances Aiken of Whitehall, who are being hld for the Canadian authorities, near the spot where George Benton of Roxham, Canada receiver gun shot wounds in the legs from which he later died in the Physicians hospital.------------
Jerry Visits Scene of Benton Shooting
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DECLARES SPOT IS ½ MILE FROM LINE
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Neighbor Met Two Youths Answering Aikens' Description, Three Minutes After Shooting
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Mr. Jerry spent the greater part of yesterday interviewing witnesses living near the scend of the crime. He asserted last night that the spot where Benton was shot was in Canada, about a half mile over the line.
The witness who will be used by the government to try and place the Aiken boys at the scend of the shooting last Wednesday night is Phillip Coupal, a Canadian, living abut three miles north of the farm where Benton had his bachelor quarters. He told Mr. Jerry that about three minutes after Benton was shot he met two young fellows walking the road with a shotgun. They answered the description of Francis and Charles Aiken, he told Mr. Jerry.
A Montreal doctor, sent down by Crown Prosecutor Calder, took samples of blood from the road where Benton crawled to shout for help. These will be analyzed for use later by the prosecution.
Another witness interviewed by Mr. Jerry was Goldie Clark, Bentons next-door neighbor. Clark told him he was with Benton until about 9 o'clock the night of the shooting, when Benton left him to go to the barn and heed his horses
Clark told the prosecutor he was seated in his house later when he heard a yell, then a shot. He ran about a quarter of a mile and found Benton lying in the road, bleeding profusely.
Source: The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Tuesday, 13 May, 1924, Page 3.
Transcribed: 18 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 15 October 2007.
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Whitehall Youths, Held for Murder, Told Attorney They Would Get the Money
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It is understood that the local attorney was representing the owner of the Hudson car which was confiscated by the government and which was being operated by one of the Aiken boys on a bootleg jaunt when seized south of Whitehall a few months ago. The youths agreed to settle for $250 cash, it is understood, and it was in the robbery and fatal shooting that they intended to get the settlement money, it is thought.
Attorney Edward H. Lockwood of New York, representing the British Consul General's office, was in Plattsburgh yesterday to confer with District Attorney Jerry regarding the case of Charles and Francis Aiken of Whitehall, who are being held at the Clinton County jail, charged with the murder of George Benton, farmer of Roxam, Canada. Quebec officials are securing extradition papers.
Source:The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Friday, 16 May, 1924, Page 5.
Transcribed: 14 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 30 September 2007.
PERRYS MILLS
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Several from here attended the funeral of Geo. Benton, Monday afternoon in the Episcopal Church at Roxham, P. Q., Rev. King, of Hemmingford, officiated, assisted by Rev. C. V. Winch of Dannemora. Benton was shot and robbed by highwaymen and later died in the Physicians Hospital at Plattsburgh. He will be greatly missed by his many friends in this community.------------
Source: The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Friday, 16 May, 1924, Page 6.
Transcribed: 18 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 15 October 2007.
PAL OF THE AIKEN BROTHERS ARRESTED
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Edward Gordon, 20, of Whitehall, who is alleged to have confessed that he was with the Aiken brothers of Wheitehall, now being held in the local jail, when they broke into the store of Simon Coutin at Elizabethtown last October 21, was placed under arrest by Troopers Fox and Howard at Port Henry Sunday. The Aiken youths are waiting trial here for the murder of George Benton. It was said that they stole the goods to start bootlegging operations.------------
Source: The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Tuesday, 10 June, 1924, Page 2.
Transcribed: 18 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 15 October 2007.
AIKENS' FATE IN HANDS OF MURDER JURY
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Montreal Trial Ended Late Yesterday
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BROTHERS REMAIN COOL
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Judge Charges That Verdict Should be Either Murder or Acquittal
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Montreal Trial Ended Late Yesterday
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BROTHERS REMAIN COOL
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Judge Charges That Verdict Should be Either Murder or Acquittal
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(Special to the Press.)
MONTREAL, P. Q., June 4. ---
Charles and Francis Aiken of Whitehall, N. Y., on trial in court of King's Bench for the Murder of George Benton of Roxam, P. Q., will know their fate tomorrow morning.
Justice Wilson completed his charge late this afternoon and the jury retired at six o'clock. They filed into the court room an hour later, requested enlightenment on certain points and, at their own request, were locked up for the night.
In his charge to the jury Justice Wilson declared a verdict of murder or acquittal should be brought, that there were no elements of manslaughter in the case.
Both prisoners sat calm and pale during the proceedings. Their father, mother, brothers and sisters, with the Presbyterian minister at Whitehall, were also cool. Their eyes shifted from counsel to judge, with an occasional glance at each other.
In his summing up, Crown attorney Archambault mentioned the circumstantial evidence; the fact that the bothers had been seen going toward Benton's place and coming away again after the shooting; that one of them was carrying a gun and that between their coming and gong was heard a shot; that Dr. Allen of Champlain encountered them at Chazy; that pellets from Benton's wounds corresponded with pellets in a shell taken form the pockets of one of the accused.
For directd evidence he mentioned Francis Aiken's statement to Goldie Clark, admitting that shot Benton, also his statement to Philip Coupal that he was carrying a gun.
The Aiken brothers knew Benton, and if he had been shot by another the pair would have heard the report and gone to his aid, Mr. Archambault argued.
The motive of the crime was theft he said.
Mr. Creelman claimed various contradictions in the evidence given by Clark, Coupal and Akister. He said the brothers had not acted like participants in a crime. They carried the gun openly, went openly on the main road, and put the gun in their Ford truck where it was open to the view of anyone," he stated.
"The verdict should be either murder or acquittal," Justice Wilson said in his charge. He declared the facts showed the crime was not committed from passion, or from recklessness, negligence or provocation.
"It appears to me it was a willing act, done on purpose. The question of Benton's having been shot by Goldie Clark or of his being a suicide is illogical and absurd."
Source: The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Friday, 5 June, 1925, Page 4.
Transcribed: 22 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 15 October 2007.
Charles and Francis Aiken of Whitehall, N. Y., on trial in court of King's Bench for the Murder of George Benton of Roxam, P. Q., will know their fate tomorrow morning.
Justice Wilson completed his charge late this afternoon and the jury retired at six o'clock. They filed into the court room an hour later, requested enlightenment on certain points and, at their own request, were locked up for the night.
In his charge to the jury Justice Wilson declared a verdict of murder or acquittal should be brought, that there were no elements of manslaughter in the case.
Both prisoners sat calm and pale during the proceedings. Their father, mother, brothers and sisters, with the Presbyterian minister at Whitehall, were also cool. Their eyes shifted from counsel to judge, with an occasional glance at each other.
In his summing up, Crown attorney Archambault mentioned the circumstantial evidence; the fact that the bothers had been seen going toward Benton's place and coming away again after the shooting; that one of them was carrying a gun and that between their coming and gong was heard a shot; that Dr. Allen of Champlain encountered them at Chazy; that pellets from Benton's wounds corresponded with pellets in a shell taken form the pockets of one of the accused.
For directd evidence he mentioned Francis Aiken's statement to Goldie Clark, admitting that shot Benton, also his statement to Philip Coupal that he was carrying a gun.
The Aiken brothers knew Benton, and if he had been shot by another the pair would have heard the report and gone to his aid, Mr. Archambault argued.
The motive of the crime was theft he said.
Mr. Creelman claimed various contradictions in the evidence given by Clark, Coupal and Akister. He said the brothers had not acted like participants in a crime. They carried the gun openly, went openly on the main road, and put the gun in their Ford truck where it was open to the view of anyone," he stated.
"The verdict should be either murder or acquittal," Justice Wilson said in his charge. He declared the facts showed the crime was not committed from passion, or from recklessness, negligence or provocation.
"It appears to me it was a willing act, done on purpose. The question of Benton's having been shot by Goldie Clark or of his being a suicide is illogical and absurd."
Source: The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Friday, 5 June, 1925, Page 4.
Transcribed: 22 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 15 October 2007.
JUDGE COOPER RE-APPOINTS PATTISSON
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U.S. Commissioner Has Had Fine Record
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LANDED 1156 CASES
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Strict Stickler For The Law, But Noted For Fairness of Rulings
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--- The case which brought the most fame was that of Charles and Francis Aiken of Whitehall who were finally extradited to Canada and convicted of man slaughter in the killing of George Benton, Roxam, P. Q., farmer. They are now serving life sentences in Bordeaux jail, Montreal. ---------------
U.S. Commissioner Has Had Fine Record
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LANDED 1156 CASES
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Strict Stickler For The Law, But Noted For Fairness of Rulings
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Source: The Plattsburgh Sentinel, Friday, 29 January 1926, Page 5.
Transcribed: 22 OC 2007.
Researcher/Transcriber: C. G. Lamb, 15 October 2007.