Abel Clemmons

Abel Clemmons (1772 - 1806) (also referred to as Abel Clemmens in sources) was an American murderer, known for killing his entire family in late 1805.

On or about November 8, 1805, in Clarksburg, West Virginia (then Virginia), Clemmons murdered his pregnant wife and eight children with an axe. The story was published by Joseph Campbell of the Monongalia Gazette which became an early "horror classic."[1][2] After committing the murders, he hid in a cliff of rocks on the north side of the town, but surrendered after a few days.

Clemmons pleaded not guilty. After being found guilty at a trial held in Morgantown, he was hanged from a locust tree near Decker's Creek in the town. A 1910 local history book opined that Clemmons was likely insane, but that was not a valid defense at the time.[3][4]

References

Rice, Otis K. The Allegheny Frontier: West Virginia Beginnings, 1730--1830, pp. 184-85 (1970)
(30 November 1805). Horrible Murder near Clarksburgh, Virginia, Virginia Argus
"History of Harrison County, West Virginia : from the early days of Northwestern Virginia to the present". archive.org. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
"Homicidal compulsion and the conditions of freedom: the social and psychological origins of familicide in America's early republic". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 29 January 2015.

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[ref1-1] Rice, Otis K. The Allegheny Frontier: West Virginia Beginnings, 1730--1830, pp. 184-85 (1970)

[ref2-2] (30 November 1805). Horrible Murder near Clarksburgh, Virginia, Virginia Argus

[ref3-3] "History of Harrison County, West Virginia : from the early days of Northwestern Virginia to the present". archive.org. Retrieved 29 January 2015.

[4] "Homicidal compulsion and the conditions of freedom: the social and psychological origins of familicide in America's early republic". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 29 January 2015.