The blog of In My Footsteps Podcast host and author Christopher Setterlund. It contains a buffet of topics. The wackiness of daily life with Initial Impressions 2.0. There is a link to the weekly In My Footsteps Podcast. Poetry collections, life topics, some history, and more. There is something for everyone here much like with the podcast.
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Saturday, October 16, 2021
In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Unsolved Murder of Clarence Parker
He was a lifelong Cape Codder. He was a war hero. He was a hard working and well respected member of the community. So why was he brutally gunned down on his front lawn? More importantly, why has this case remained unsolved for nearly a century? This is the story, as it is known, of the unsolved murder of Falmouth’s Clarence Parker.
Clarence A. Parker was born in Falmouth on January 15, 1893 to Willoughby and Lillian Parker. He was educated through the Falmouth school district before taking up work at H.V. Lawrence’s greenhouses in town. Parker from a young age was a handsome, jovial, and popular man. The type of person that the community was proud to call one of their own.
When World War I broke out Parker was drafted into the Army. He was assigned to Fort Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. Before leaving to go to war Parker married Janet Howitt. Their ceremony was pushed up to September 19, 1917. The couple would go on to have a daughter Alis and a son Gordon, while living at 62 Walker Street close to Clarence’s parents.
Parker returned to Cape Cod in July 1919 after serving as Private at Camp Baranquine in France. He spent much of the 1920’s building on his positive reputation, holding town offices such as deputy clerk. The biggest break for Parker came in March 1927 when the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) opened its second Cape Cod store. The first had been in Hyannis but the second was on Main Street in Falmouth and the grocery store chain wanted Parker as their manager.
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| How A&P Looked in the late 1920's. |
A loving husband and father, a main member of the American Legion Auxiliary and a popular respected manager of the local A&P, Clarence Parker didn’t have any shortage of friends. That was why what happened in the early morning hours of September 7, 1930 so shocking.
Shortly after midnight on Sunday morning September 7, 1930 Parker closed up the A&P. He had brought a leg of lamb wrapped in brown paper home with him. After pulling his car into the garage Parker walked across his lawn. It was at about 12:20am that a single shot rang out. Janet heard the shot from inside and opened the front door to find Clarence face down only a few feet from the door. He was dead.
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| The scene of the crime. Parker's former house on Walker Street on the left. (Google Maps) |
The unknown assailant took the leg of lamb and ran off through the backyard leaving their revolver behind. The theory was that it was robbery. The assailant thought that Parker had brought the store’s money home to be deposited when in fact he had done that the day before. This was cemented when the leg of lamb was found in a nearby field opened, likely dumped when it was proven to not be money.
Ann Richardson, owner of the Elm Arch Inn, could only describe a ‘hatless’ man running across her property after the shooting. The assailant was believed to have escaped in a car parked on Shore Street.
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| Shore Street where the getaway car might have been located. (Sturgis Library) |
A beloved member of the Falmouth community had been coldly killed steps from his front door. The rage from the townspeople was palpable. In total $4,000($65,700 in 2021) worth of rewards were offered including $2,500 from A&P. It was seen as an example of how highly regarded Parker was. Another example was the overflowing services at Parker’s funeral. It was hoped, and expected, that the Falmouth Police would solve the heinous crime quickly. What came was a series of leads that would be debunked.
The first was only a few weeks later. An abandoned Chrysler car was found near Silver Lake in Kingston. It had suspicious markings on a story about the murder from the New Bedford Standard Times. However it was confirmed by State Police that the car had been stolen from Stedman Buttrick of Concord, Massachusetts after the murder would have taken place. In addition the car was out of gas and the battery was dead when found.
Next came a salacious editorial piece from the Brockton Enterprise. It said that Parker’s murder was connected to illegal rum running. Going further by surmising that Parker had knowledge of rum gangs activities but after refusing to join them was murdered to keep him quiet. Falmouth Police Chief Herbert Lawrence dismissed the rumors.
By the end of 1930 there had been no arrests. The reorganization and enlargement of the Falmouth Police Department was demanded and expected due to the perceived failure. Chief Lawrence resigned at the end of 1930 citing poor health.
The investigation remained ongoing throughout 1931. Lt. Joseph Ferrari of the homicide bureau of the State Police said they were still investigating but it was baffling the lack of clues as to the killer’s identity.
In August 1932 convicted Mashpee murderer Sylvester Fernandes, before his death in the electric chair, purportedly gave the name of Parker’s killer to District Attorney William Crossley, he then tried to substantiate it but it was fruitless. For two years there had been little in the way of progress or even clues in the murder of Clarence Parker.
The closest lead, and likeliest scenario, came to light in November 1932. Boston District Attorney William Foley got new lead from arrested Boston gangster Morris Cohen of Dorchester. Cohen said that a young man named Murton Millen was a running with a well known liquor racketeer. It was while they were attending a liquor meeting in Falmouth that Millen purportedly went to rob Parker.
He lurked in the shrubs of Parker’s home on Walker Street and waited. Cohen said that Millen then shot him a few feet from his door with cold-blooded precision. Parker died almost instantly. However the robbery was a failure due to it being lamb and not money in the brown paper. It seemed to tie in with previous theories of a failed robbery and an out-of-town killer made sense as Parker was exceedingly popular. This theory had doubt cast on it by Lt. Joseph Ferrari as he saw Millen as too young to run with liquor gangs. With cold water thrown on the latest lead the case went cold for several years.
Clarence Parker's grave in Falmouth.
New leads came to light in September 1936 almost 400 miles north in Montreal, Canada. Several members of local law enforcement went north to interrogate someone who was in Falmouth at the time of the murder. This led to seven more people being interviewed in Hyannis as a part of these new developments. Sadly despite all of the bluster nothing came from the interrogations. The case went cold and Clarence Parker became just a name on a headstone in Oak Grove Cemetery.
It has been 91 years since Clarence Parker was coldly gunned down on his own front lawn. It has also been 85 years since any meaningful leads were investigated. The case has gone cold and will likely remain unsolved. Whether it was a young rum runner and a botched robbery, or something not yet explored, the bottom line is that a young husband and father, and popular member of the community, was killed and the murderer has never been identified.
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Thursday, October 14, 2021
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Monday, October 4, 2021
In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Charles Freeman, the Man Who Sacrificed His Daughter For God
Insane, or not insane, that is the question. In the case of one of Cape Cod’s most horrific and heartbreaking crimes this question was at the forefront. The village of Pocasset in Bourne was the backdrop for the sacrifice murder of a 4-year old little girl by her father while her mother watched. Her father said God had told him to do it. Despite never shying away from the deed years later he was living a free life. This is the confusing and somber story of how a man’s religious fanaticism led to him murdering his own child. This is the story of Charles Freeman.
Charles F. Freeman was born in Highgate, Vermont on February 17, 1846. He lived a quiet life as a cordwainer (shoemaker) until enlisting in the Union Army at age sixteen in 1862. After the Civil War ended Freeman moved to Natick and Lynn, Massachusetts meeting Hattie Ellis. The couple married in 1869 with Hattie giving birth to their first child, a daughter named Lillian, born in September 1870.
Lillian died before her first birthday. Charles and Hattie had two more daughters Bessie in 1872 and Edith in 1874. Shortly after Edith’s birth the entire family moved from Lynn to the small village of Pocasset. The family settled in a small farmhouse in an area of the village known as Putts Hollow. It was after moving to the quiet village after spending years near the bustling city of Boston that Freeman found himself restless. He found his way back to religion.
Freeman dabbled in religion after returning from war but quickly fell out of it. When he moved to Pocasset Freeman began teaching the Methodist Sunday School. It was during this time that he became enthralled with an offshoot of the Methodist religion, a group called the Second Adventists. Freeman rapidly became an outspoken member of the group, so much so that he eventually became self-appointed leader.
During the winter of 1877-78 somewhere between 25-30 members of the Methodist church left to form the Second Adventist group. They had been banned from speaking at Methodist events due to how frantically they would speak about the second coming. Charles Freeman’s enthusiasm became fanaticism as he wrapped himself in the Second Adventist beliefs.
In April 1879 Freeman’s religious fervor continued to grow. He began to feel as if he should become an evangelist of the group and go forth spreading the word of the Lord. When it came to these desires it was said that Freeman’s wife Hattie was completely subservient and under the thumb of her husband.
The reckless fanaticism continued to spiral unchecked. At one point during April 1879 Freeman converted Hattie’s sister to the Second Adventist church while her husband was at sea. This angered his brother-in-law so much that he wished to shoot Freeman. This greatly shook Freeman.
It all came to a head at the end of April. Charles Freeman had not been eating for several days. He began speaking of hearing voices and seeing visions. It was during this time that Freeman would later claim that God came to him. He told Freeman he would need to sacrifice a member of his family to ‘rudely awaken the world from its present condition.’ Freeman waited for the word on who the target had to be.
On the evening of April 30, 1879 he got his answer. Freeman said that God revealed that it was his youngest daughter Edith who would be the victim. After putting Bessie and Edith to bed he told Hattie of what he had to do. She tried to dissuade him from doing the deed, however she was a subservient wife above all else and eventually relented.
In the early morning hours of May 1st Charles and Hattie prayed in their bedroom. Charles grabbed a large knife out of his shed while Hattie grabbed an oil lamp. She held the lamp above their sleeping daughter Edith. Charles quickly plunged the knife into Edith’s side right below her heart. She was purported to have cried ‘Oh, Papa.’ Hattie took Bessie into their bedroom while Charles wept and held onto Edith until she died.
The next day Freeman called a meeting of the Second Adventists at his farmhouse. It was there that he told the entire story of what had happened. They initially refused to believe what they had heard. Freeman concluded his half-hour speech by showing the contingent the body of Edith as proof of the sacrifice he had made. They in turn agreed to not alert the police. That remained the case until the 16-year old daughter of a Second Adventist told the story to a young Constable she was interested in named Seth Redding.
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| The Barnstable Patriot from May 6, 1879 |
The next morning Redding visited the Freeman homestead. Charles told the same story. He doubled-down though by stating that God said Edith would rise again after three days. Charles and Hattie Freeman were both arrested and brought to the Barnstable County Jail. Freeman had said his deed would awaken the world and he was half-right. The story went nationwide of a father murdering his four-year old daughter by decree of God. People were horrified and denounced the Freeman’s as wicked.
Dr. George Munsell from Harwich examined both Charles and Hattie declaring both to be in a ‘morbid mental state.’ Charles Freeman while in jail was joyous and carefree, holding on to his belief that he had done right by God. Hattie Freeman on the other hand was grief-stricken and prone to bouts of uncontrollable weeping.
Little Edith Freeman was buried May 4, 1879. Despite being asked not to speak at the funeral Second Adventist Alden Davis did anyway causing a near riot between the church members and village folk. This included Davis carrying Edith’s casket outside of the church after his speech was stopped. Only after Edith had been covered in earth did the battle end.
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| The Pocasset Cemetery where Edith Freeman is buried. |
Charles and Hattie Freeman would have to wait three years to know their fate. On May 5, 1880 Charles was sent to the Danvers State Hospital where he remained until his murder trial began in Barnstable Court on December 5, 1883. In the time since the death of little Edith Charles’ religious rantings had abated. Hattie Freeman took the stand during the trial now saying that she had seen through the delusions that had previously blinded her. Dr. Munsell believed that Charles was not of sound mind when he committed the heinous murder due to several reasons. He chalked it up to Freeman’s long service in the Military, being overworked for years, a rough bout of diphtheria, and finally the small town life of Pocasset leaving him in need of guidance which he found in the Second Adventists. Five other physicians corroborated Munsell’s theory. Charles Freeman was found not guilty by reason of insanity on December 6, 1883 after the jury deliberated for a mere ten minutes.
Freeman was returned to Danvers State Hospital. He remained there, appearing to be of sound mind the longer he got away from his time as a Second Adventist. On March 17, 1887 Charles Freeman was discharged from the hospital being classified as not insane. He did not return to Cape Cod after leaving Danvers opting to move his family to Chicago.
Charles F. Freeman died on November 4, 1928 at the age of 82 in Lawrence, Michigan. His wife Hattie died 2 years earlier in 1926 at the age of 79. Bessie Freeman, who was 6-years old when her father murdered her sister, lived until the age of 82, dying in 1954. The saddest part of this entire story is that of 4-year old Edith. Not only was she murdered by her father as a sacrifice to God, but today she is buried in Pocasset Cemetery on County Road in an unmarked grave. She is all but lost to history.
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Thursday, September 30, 2021
Monday, September 20, 2021
In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Cape Cod Community College
For sixty years Cape Cod Community College has been the go-to for locals wishing to seek higher education. In 2021 it includes 40 degree concentration options, more than 45 certificate programs, and serves more than 6,000 students annually. 4 C’s, as it’s commonly referred to, feels like it has been a part of the fabric of Cape Cod forever. While it has been, surprisingly the road from concept to the opening day took well over a decade. Through various roadblocks Cape Cod Community College managed to not only become a reality but thrive. Here is how 4 C’s came into existence.
The initial rumblings about a potential community college on Cape Cod began just after World War II. A catalyst for this college was the impending departure of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy from Hyannis.
The Massachusetts Maritime Academy was originally founded in 1891. First known as the Massachusetts Nautical Training School it resided on Rowes Wharf along Atlantic Avenue in Boston. In 1936 the entire school, now known as the familiar Massachusetts Maritime Academy, relocated to Hyannis. It took over the buildings on Main Street that formerly housed the Hyannis Normal School.
The Hyannis Normal School c.1900(Maxwell Library/Bridgewater State University)
In 1946 Mass Maritime had acquired land at Taylors Point in Buzzards Bay with the plan to move the school there in the not too distant future. May 1948 saw the first mentions of constructing a community college on Cape Cod. The Massachusetts State Board of Education began discussions with newly elected Senator for the Cape Cod and Plymouth District Edward C. Stone. The discussions centered around the need for a college on the Cape. This led to Stone introducing a bill in the state Senate in December 1948. However introducing the bill, known as Bill 213, was the easy part.
Mass Maritime officially moved out of Hyannis in 1949 leaving the former campus empty. Interest was gauged in a potential community college with a questionnaire directed toward the graduating Class of 1949. Of the 683 high school seniors who responded 168 expressed interest in attending a possible college based out of Hyannis.
The potential interest sat at just under 25%. Despite the relatively low positive response there was hope from Senator Stone of ground breaking for a new college sometime by late 1950. The issue of having enough students to warrant such a large project was a sticking point though. Still early in 1950 various towns and organizations on Cape Cod gave their approval at meetings held by Stone to proceed with the community college project.
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| Sen. Edward Stone c.1953(Wikimedia) |
Stone recommended $100,000 for the funding of the school. Incredibly during the summer of 1950 the Senate rejected the bill, then reconsidered and voted yes. The bill’s nuts and bolts were then delayed to another session making the entire process quite confusing. As if in an attempt to remind Cape Codders of his efforts Senator Stone refiled the bill for the college on December 4, 1950.
The community college project sat in limbo for several years. It was dealt what could have been a death blow when on July 13, 1955 Stone’s bill was voted down in the Senate by a vote of 22-15. The opposed said that the community college was by this time ‘old news’ and that there was a greater need for a state medical school. The hopes of a Cape Cod based college were dashed.
The success of the Falmouth night school rekindled the desire for the college. It had opened in 1931 and had proven to be a worthwhile investment. In 1956 alone 260 adult students graduated the Falmouth establishment. By 1958 numbers such as these had reopened the possibility of a Cape Cod college.
Once again at the forefront was Senator Stone. He spoke at many events urging the creation of the community college. Stone said it should be a two-year school allowing Cape Cod students the chance to get a higher education while also not dealing with the exorbitant costs of room and board for living on a campus.
His desire to bring a community college to Cape Cod kept Senator Stone involved in local politics long past a traditional retirement age. At long last the project became reality in July 1960. The 82-year-old Stone was thrilled to announce that the plan was for Cape Cod Community College to open in September 1961.
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| The original campus on Main Street.(Sturgis Library) |
As was the original plan the college’s campus was to be the former Hyannis Normal School. The buildings were vacated by the current tenants in time for an October 1, 1960 deadline. From there Dr. Irving Bartlett was named the initial president of the college. Bartlett earned a PhD from Brown University.
The first person to enroll at the new Cape Cod Community College was 17-year-old Suzanne Kathleen Clowry of Dennis. A special ceremony was held on the college campus on February 16, 1961. Clowry was welcomed by Dr. Bartlett and Senator Stone. Her plan was to transfer to Boston University after two years and become a teacher.
In all 165 students enrolled for the first semester of college in the fall of 1961. The first Dean of Students was Dr. Elinor Hanna who came aboard after working as principal of Clifton Senior High School in Clifton, New Jersey. One by one the faculty was added with praise heaped upon each of them in the local newspapers.
Still it could not be smooth sailing for long. Sadly the budget for the college was cut leading to frustration from both Senator Stone and Dr. Bartlett. Leading up to registration day for students $250,000 of renovations were done on the buildings of the former Normal School. The interior was said to bear no resemblance to the old Mass Maritime Academy after the renovations.
The first day of official classes was September 22, 1961 with an orientation program for the 165 registered students. In keeping with the rocky road that led to the opening of Cape Cod Community College took place in the shadow of Hurricane Esther. Even though classes had begun the students helped out additionally moving equipment that was necessary. However despite the long scenic route Cape Cod finally had its community college.
Cape Cod Community College was a huge success. The first graduating class of 72 got their diplomas on June 9, 1963. Senator Edward Stone who fought so hard for the college lived long enough to see the first graduating class. He passed away at the age of 85 on June 6, 1964. The school rapidly outgrew its initial home on Main Street in Hyannis. In 1964 plans began for a new location for 4 C’s. It took until 1970 but a new 115-acre campus was opened just off of the Mid-Cape Highway where it still stands today. Its former campus on Main Street in Hyannis is now home to the Town Offices.
Six decades of service and thousands of graduates, Cape Cod Community College took the long road to creation. Thanks to the tireless hard work of Senator Edward Stone and the unrelenting support of the Cape Cod community the college became a reality despite countless roadblocks. Rather than coasting on legacy Cape Cod Community College continues to expand and enhance its experience. This dedication will keep 4 C’s a viable option for young and older students for decades to come.
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