by Shannon Butler If you read the newspapers from 1848 you might start to believe that there was something in the water in Pleasant Valley that year. Or, at the very least, people were on edge for some strange reason. As we saw last week, a man named Wesley Pine shot Elizabeth Russell in the chest, rather abruptly. Well, not long after that, another murder took place where once again, a man shot someone (this time in the head) rather abruptly! Only this time, the court had a hard time deciding the verdict. On the morning of May 25th, 1848, Richard Wall and several other men were employed by John Newcomb of Pleasant Valley to build a stone wall on his property. His next door neighbor, Dr. Joel Divine did not seem to approve of the location. Witnesses claimed that Dr. Divine was angry of the placement of the wall, that it blocked a road that Divine had access to. Dr. Divine had gone out to speak to the workers several times the day before and informed them that if they knew what was good for them, they would stop building the wall. Divine’s own workers were out in the field [...]

by Shannon Butler In the Local History collection there is a document box marked ‘Miscellaneous Murder Cases in Dutchess County.’ You have to admit, it does sound kind of interesting (any Cold Case Files fans out there?) Well, within the box are a few documents which tell the story of a murder, a trial, and a sentence which all took place within a few months in the winter/spring of 1848. The murder took place in Pleasant Valley in January, the trial began on April 12th 1848 in the courthouse on Market Street in Poughkeepsie, and by May 26th the prisoner would pay for his crime! Mr. Wesley Pine was rumored to have been a man with some problems. At least that is what the defense would claim. While on the other hand, he may have been a jealous man who wanted money, or love, it's somewhat hard to say. On January 9th, 1848, Mrs. Elizabeth Russell was at her home, just north of Pleasant Valley, while her husband and sister went off to church. Mr. Wesley Pine entered her home and claimed that she owed him $200. She professed to be unaware of any money that she or her husband may [...]