James William Lumbert and Betsy Austin

The story of the Lumbert family is one of Gothic tragedy. The story of the Lumbert family is one of Gothic tragedy. William and Betsy Lumbert lived lives of poverty marked by disorderly relationships, but despite their troubles and their chaotic relationships, the members of the Lumbert family cared for one another and stood by each other in times of difficulty.

James William Lumbert was born in Vermont c. 1820. His exact birth year is sketchy, varying significantly from census to census, but falls roughly in the 1818-1824 range. Vermont consistently appears as the place of birth. [1] He went by the name of William Lumbert, but newspaper reports at the time of his death in February 1891 gave his full name as James William Lumbert. [2]

The first record of William is found in the 1850 census, which shows him living in the town of Springport, Cayuga County, NY. His occupation is given as "laborer." Also in his household is his wife Mary, born c. 1828 in Canada. Her maiden name was probably Dennis, as Stephen Dennis, born c. 1784, also in Canada, also resided in the Lumbert household. [3] William may have been working in one of the quarries in the town of Springport, where gypsum, sandstone, and limestone were all important products. The limestone, in particular, was used for the Erie Canal and railroads. [4] A newspaper article at the time of his death in 1891 indicated that his original trade had been as a stonecutter. [5]

Mary was dead by 1860, when William appeared in the census, now married to Betsy Austin. Betsy Austin was born in Cayuga County, New York, the daughter of Isaac Austin and Roxey Webster. Her death certificate gives her date of birth as 14 February 1824, [6] but this year is improbable given her mother's birth year of c. 1812 or 1818 suggested by the 1850 and 1860 census returns. [7] Her mother would then have been either six or twelve when Betsy was born. More likely is a birth year of c. 1831, which would correspond with the ages given in the 1850, 1860, and 1880 census records. This would also make her mother a more probable 19 at her birth, if one uses the c. 1812 birth year for Roxa implied by the 1860 census. [8] Betsy first married Benjamin Scriber, born c. 1827 in New York, who was employed as a boatman on the Erie Canal when he died in Springport in January 1850 of unknown causes after an illness of two days. [9] The 1850 census shows her living with Mortimer Austin, probably her brother, and her mother Roxy Austin, in Springport. Her newborn daughter Luella is also listed with her. [10] Betsy and Benjamin probably had another daughter, as the mortality schedule for 1850 shows that Julia A. Scriber, born in New York c. 1848, died in Springport in February of unknown causes after an illness of 11 days. Julia and Benjamin's names are listed together, and if Benjamin died at the end of January and Julia at the beginning of February, they may have been ill at the same time. No other Scribers are found in the census for Springport. The identification of Julia as the child of Benjamin and Betsy would suggest that they married c. 1847, when Betsy would have been about 16 years of age and Benjamin about 20. [11]

William and Betsy probably married about 1852. The Lumbert and Austin families appear on the same page of the 1850 census, suggesting that they were near neighbors, and Betsy would likely have been eager to move out of her brother's home and find a new father for her baby. Their first child, Benjamin, was born c. 1853. They had several children in Cayuga County; Mary Jane was the last one known to be born in there [12] before the family moved to Savannah in Wayne County, where they appeared in the 1860 census. William continued to work as a laborer. He owned no land, and had only $100 in personal property. Both he and Betsy were literate. [13] They were still in Wayne County in 1865, [14] and listed in Rose in 1870. William was a laborer, with no real or personal property. [15] The family's situation had changed little by 1880, which found them still in Rose. William was a day laborer, probably working in agriculture, as he was unemployed four months out of the past year. [16]

In the fateful year of 1891 they were living in Rose, in Wayne County, in a desolate area on the aptly-named Swamp Road. The family resided in a two-room shanty heated with a wood-burning stove. William was grey-haired and aging, but spry enough to chop wood in the winter and do farm work in the summer. Betsy was a frugal housekeeper and kept their small home tidy. Most of the children had married and moved out; only 27-year-old George remained.

Two years before, George had returned from an ill-fated trip to the pineries of Michigan where he and his brother had sought work. Instead, George had found failure, whiskey, and dissolute women, returning with a "loathsome disease." In order to obtain treatment for his illness, [17] he had himself enrolled in the county poorhouse. [18]

According to family members and neighbors, George had never been the same since he returned from Michigan. He had left a sociable, well-dressed, and hard-working young man. He returned a paranoid and idle individual who often frightened his family and neighbors with his eccentric behavior. He walked back and forth for hours in front of the Lumbert home and sometimes spoke nonsense. He threw the furniture out of his room, and asked his his sister Mary if the top of his head had been blown off, and if his face was black. He asked another sister if he might not use a razor to cut her throat, or if she would cut his. When his sisters confiscated his razor and revolver, he demanded them back, saying that he intended "to raise hell with them." He also make accusations to neighbors that his family was "putting up a job on him." [19] The situation in the Lumbert house had become violent, with George and his parents often in intense arguments over his failure to find work, fights that sometimes became physical. Betsy Lumbert sometimes went to stay with son Charles, who lived nearby, to escape. [20]

On 16 February, the situation reached boiling point. According to George, he and his father were arguing bitterly when his father began punching him. His father than grabbed a hot stove lid and attempted to throw it at George, but when it slipped from his hand, George struck him senseless with a stick of firewood. George then dragged his father's body out into the snowy yard and struck his head numerous times with an axe. He promptly fled the scene.

Charles found the body the next day when he dropped by the home to find out how his father and George were getting along. No one had any doubts as to the culprit, and George was quickly apprehended when he returned to the home wearing a blood-stained shirt. He first tried to deny the crime, but soon confessed. [21]

The bloody case of patricide made for a sensational crime story in western New York. George's family and neighbors did their best to bolster the defense's argument that George, insane from the effects of syphilis, was not responsible for his actions. The prosecution produced expert witnesses, to testify that his illness, if it were syphilis, was not severe enough to prevent him from distinguishing right from wrong, the definition of legal insanity. [22] The press, and ultimately the jury, had little sympathy for one responsible for such a horrific crime, and George was sentenced to life in prison. [23]

Was George insane? It is unlikely that he suffered from a case of syphilis-induced insanity. Syphilis, untreated, takes many years to produce symptoms of insanity in its victims, and George had only contracted his illness a few years before. His symptoms -- erratic behavior, nonsensical conversation, paranoid delusions -- are more consistent with schizophrenia. His age and experiences also suggest such a diagnosis. Schizophrenia typically begins in young adulthood, and is brought on by stress. George's experiences in Michigan, of indigence, wild living and irregular ways, and ultimately coming home in failure, must have been very stressful for him.

When the 1892 census was taken in February, the trial was still on going, and the enumeration showed Betsy living with her son William. [24] Since he was married, it is possible that he was staying with her temporarily as a support during the trial. Her children continued to look after her. In 1900, she was living with daughter Luella and her family in nearby Lyons in Wayne County. [25] In 1910, she was living with son Charles and his family in Groton, Tompkins County. She died on 15 March 1812 in Groton at the age of 88 of a stroke. She is buried in the Groton Rural Cemetery. [26]

Benjamin Scriber and Betsy Austin had the following children:

James William Lumbert and Betsy Austin had the following children:

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Last updated on 21 July 2014.

This web site created by Janice Sebring.