McGregor, William: 1896
William McGregor was murdered on January 22, 1896, by his twelve-year-old granddaughter, Minnie Swanger. She poisoned him by mixing poison in his coffee. Also poisoned but recovered were Mary McGregor (William’s mother), Carrie Sill (Minnie’s aunt) and Mrs. Martha Johnson, a visit to the home. All of them took ill suddenly while eating dinner at the McGregor house. Coroner Foust ruled homicide by arsenic poisoning.
***ADD:Washington Post 3/8/96 Minnie Swanger, the twelve-year-old Altoona girl who placed a dose of “Rough on Rats” in a coffee pot, thus causing the death of her uncle, William McGregor, and the serious illness of her grandmother and two other members of the family, was brought into the Blair County court from the jail for a habeas corpus hearing this afternoon.
Swanger pleaded guilty to second degree murder about March 12, 1896, and was sent to a house of correction by Judge Bell.
Sources: Washington Post Jan 23, 1896; March 8, 1896; NY Times Mar 12, 1896; Altoona Mirror, Jan 1, 1897
***ADD Poisoned by a Girl.
Altoona, Pa., Jan. 22 – William McGregor of 1914 Eighth avenue lies dead at his home, the victim of poison, which he drank in his coffee at dinner today. Minnie Swanger, a girl thirteen years old, is under arrest, charged with causing his death and with attempting to kill Mrs. Mary McGregor, the dead man’s mother; Mrs. Martha Johnston and Carrie Sill, a six-year-old daughter of Mrs. McGregor.
Yesterday Mrs. McGregor, who is 79 years of age, prepared the dinner. Besides herself there were four others who partook of the meal.
Miss Swanger is a school girl. She returned home from school about noon and asked her grandmother if the coffee was ready. Mrs. McGregor replied that it was and went to the back yard for some purpose.
When she returned Mrs. McGregor who had the dinner served on the table poured out the coffee. All of those mentioned were there and none of them noticed any indication of sickness until after drinking the coffee. Mrs. Johnson first noticed a burning in her stomach, but for a time she made no remark, thinking, as she remarked to one of the others, that there had been too much pepper on the beefsteak. In a short time the others noticed similar symptoms, which soon developed into violent nausea. Mr. McGregor became so ill that he ran to the rear porch and began vomiting. Mrs. McGregor, Mrs. Johnson and the children also quickly became ill and were seized with vomiting. A neighbor, noticing their distress, ran and brought Dr. E. S. Miller, who at once diagnosed the trouble as a case of poisoning.
The victim of the poisoner was born at Sarah Furnace, Bedford county, 52 years ago. He had been a resident of Altoona for the past thirty years. Hasting Trib, 1896
