1901 WB Record Almanac, Capital Crimes in 1900

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There were seven murders in Luzerne County During the year 1900  

Feb 17--George DOONER was shot & killed by James COLLINS
at Hamtown, near Pittston.  Both young men were residents of 
Pittston. They had been in a saloon drinking & no one seemed to
know what was the cause of the shooting. During the trial in Sept.,
Collins plead guilty to manslaughter & was sentenced to eight
years in the penitentiary.

April 15 Louis TRESANKY of Sturmerville was knocked in the
head with a piece of lead pipe & died of his injuries on April 23.
Stories in regard to the affair are conflicting. The perpetrator of the
crime was never detected.

On Sept 16 Samuel LIZETTE OR LESECK of Smithville was stabbed
by on of his countrymen. Several had been drinking on Sunday night
in a saloon kept by a foreigner. On the way Lizette was stabbed in
the abdomen. He died the next day at the Pittston Hospital. Two
Lituanian suspects were tried & acquitted.

Sept 27 Archibald CAMPBELL was shot & killed at the Lehigh
Valley station in Wilkes-Barre by John O’DEA, both of East End.
Cambell was one of the mine strikers & was about to leave for the 
Bituminous regions where he had secured employment. His mother-
in-law Mrs WARK & some other people were there to see him off.
As they were standing in front of the train O”Dea walked behind 
Mrs Wark & fired at her, the bullet making a slight flesh wound in
one of her arms. She ran & he then fired at Campbell, the bullet
going through the liver & into the stomach. He died an hour later. 
As O’Dea was going after Mrs. Wark he was captured. O’Dea
claimed that Cambell & some relatives were trying to cheat him out
of property at East End. The case had not come to trial at the close
of the year.

On Oct 9 Samuel CHIRAZO & his wife, Italians living in Cork Lane
Pittston Township, were shot during a quarrel. They with two boarders
Guiseppi & Lewis ADAMO, had been at a neighbor’s house playing 
cards when the Quarrel began. The Chirazos & the Adamos  returned 
to the house of former & the quarrel was continued. It is alleged that 
the brother shot &  stabbed Chirazo & also shot his wife, who attempted
to help her husband. Chirazo died Oct 23, The Adamo brothers escaped.

Oct 29 at Sweet Valley Josiah WHITE shot & killed his nephew,
Joseph WHITE & seriously wounded another nephew, James WHITE.
The former had been living alone on a farm & his three nephews lived a
short distance away. There had been bad feeling among them & on
Oct 27 there was a lawsuit, which went against Josiah. On the morning
In question the three nephews went to Josiah’s house & wanted to leave
an old harrow there, it is stated. The quarrel was renewed & Josiah went
into the house & got a gun. The first shot killed Joseph & then James was 
wounded. The third nephew, Everett White was shot at but was not hit.
Josiah claims that he shot in self defense.

Typed by Dianne Corby,  November 3, 2003