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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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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