The Only Legal Execution in Sandusky

On a day in May 1840, the peaceful life in Sandusky was shattered by an unprovoked, unmotivated murder in the heart of downtown. Four months later, the murderer paid for his crime in a field on the east side of the city. 

John Ritter, a veteran of the War of 1812, operated a grocery store and saloon in an alley that ran east of the Lucas Beecher house, bisecting the block west of Columbus Avenue from Washington Row to Market Street. He had a large family, and was well-liked in the neighborhood. Fewer than two thousand people lived in Sandusky at this time.

Next to Ritter's shop was a tailor shop. The owner of the shop had an assistant with long experience in tailoring, but who had been in Sandusky less than a few weeks. 

Although the alley where Ritter's shop was no longer appears to exist in this 1875 photo, it was on this block that the murder occurred in 1840

John Evans never stayed in one place for very long. Born in Newfoundland in 1811, his childhood was marked by frequent changes of address and the loss of both parents before he reached his teens. He spent the remainder of his youth in bound servitude, first in farming -- where he lost a leg -- then as a tailor. It was as a tailor that he spent the remainder of his working life, when he worked at all. From his youth, he lived an itinerant life, traveling from New England to the South, up and down the Mississippi, and eventually to Ohio. Finally, in late April 1840, he arrived in Sandusky to try his luck here. Being addicted to alcohol, and with a violent temper, he needed some luck, and some self-control, but he lost at both.

On May 5, 1840, John Evans lost control of his life and ended the life of John Ritter. By Evans' own account:

Having been in the place only eight or ten days, I got into a "spree," spending my money freely, offered my bundle of clothing for twenty-five cents, attempted to burn, and finally did burn it, when my employer becoming alarmed with my threats, called in an officer to arrest me.

Ritter went into the alley to see what was the commotion, and was confronted by Evans, who stabbed him in the heart "with a Spanish knife" (possibly a folding-blade "Navaja" style knife). Other reports claim that Evans had demanded liquor from Ritter, who refused to serve him. Evans was quickly apprehended and placed on trial for the murder.

Evans was convicted by a jury on July 5, and on July 12 was sentenced by the court to be executed by hanging on September 30. Before the date of his execution, he composed his "confession," describing the tragic circumstances of his life and his plea for forgiveness from Mrs. Ritter. This confession was published as a pamphlet and is now in the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. (The first page is above. You can read the full text of the confession in our online archives catalog.)

The execution of John Evans was probably conducted in the unoccupied block to the left of the railroad tracks.

On the day of the execution, sometime between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Evans was brought to an open plot of land south of Jefferson Street and east of the railroad tracks on Warren Street. (Today, this is the block within Jefferson, Perry, Madison, and Warren Streets. Some reports have said that the execution was actually at the nearby Huron Park.) He was then hanged in front of a crowd of onlookers. A Sandusky Register article from 1885 claimed that Evans "was buried near the railroad and probably soon carried off by the body snatchers."

1874 Sandusky City Directory

The 1874 Sandusky City Directory was published by I. F. Mack & Brother. The introductory remarks state that Sandusky “has become about as much a point of interest to summer travelers in search of health and recreation as Niagara Falls, the Mountains of New England, or the Adirondacks of New York.”

Included in this directory are twenty pages of historical sketches. City founders Zalmon Wildman and Isaac Mills are discussed in a paragraph about “Ogontz Place,” which was an early name for Sandusky. Several “firsts” are mentioned, including the first frame building, the first frame dwelling, the first stone dwelling, first jewelers, first tavern keepers, first bakers, and first butcher. The first doctor was Dr. George Anderson and the first lawyer was Eleutheros Cooke.

On page 14 of the 1874 Directory is a listing of the householders in 1829. This information is helpful for persons researching early area residents. Erie County was not formed until 1838, so these residents were living in what was then a part of Huron County.

An article about the first Sandusky newspapers appears on page 17. David Campbell, who settled in Sandusky about 1821, was associated with several early newspapers with varying names. The tombstone of David Campbell, at Oakland Cemetery, is pictured below.

On page 18 is an interesting article about homicides in Sandusky. Lester Cone was murdered in 1835. A tailor named Evans shot Mr. Ritter, a saloon keeper, in 1840. Azo Philo was killed in 1848, by a man named Gilchrist. Mr. Gilchrist committed suicide shortly after being sentenced to the penitentiary.

Many interesting items can be found in early city directories. The following acrostic poem also appears in this directory:

S andusky City- in Ohio State -


A history claimeth but of modern date:


N obler by far – she ever strove to rise


D ependent on her peoples’ enterprise-


U ntil she now stands forth a city made,


S econd to few, so young in build and trade


K eenly alive her interests to defend,


Y ears yet to dawn shall see her high ascend.

1895 Plan to Rob Milan Bank was Hatched at Sandusky

On Sunday, February 3, 1895, Louis Stoughton hired a team of horses and a surrey from the Herb & Hocke Livery in Sandusky, Ohio. Charles Hocke did not think it unusual for Mr. Stoughton to make this request, as he was a well known customer.
August Reuter, proprietor of Reuter’s Hotel, had seen Louis Stoughton and four other men at his establishment during the first weekend of February in 1895. Mr. Stoughton and the others had been playing cards and drinking at the barroom. Reuter noticed that the men were seen going in and out of the hotel frequently.
According to the Ohio Democrat, about 4 a.m. on February 4, a terrific explosion was heard at the Lockwood Bank in Milan, Ohio. The safe had been cracked and about $30,000 was taken by five masked men. (Later reports indicated the sum was $18,000.) An alarm was heard all over the village of Milan. L.L. Stoddard, a cashier at the bank, saw five men leave the bank building. He fired several shots at them, but they got away.

On February 5, a telegram from Sandusky stated that two Sandusky residents, Edward (also known as Louis) Stoughton and Sol Hirshberger (sometimes spelled Hershberg) had been arrested. A preliminary hearing was held in Mayor Buerkle’s court room in Sandusky on Thursday, February 7. Attorneys Mills and Starbird represented the two in question. Louis Stoughton and Solly Hershberg maintained their innocence. Charles Cramer said that four suspicious looking individuals were acting nervously at his restaurant on Water Street on Sunday night. After the robbery, Mr. Dougherty, an agent with the Nickel Plate Railroad found three empty canvas money bags. It was assumed that the robbers divided the money before three of the robbers got away. There were twenty witnesses involved in the hearing which was well covered by the Sandusky Register.

Louis Stoughton was found guilty on circumstantial evidence, and was sentenced to the penitentiary for one year. After serving a few months, Stoughton was released on parole. At the time of the 1895 trial, it was determined that Stoughton had secured the rig, and drove the robbers to Milan. Sol Hershberg was held as an accessory to the robbery.

Mayor Philip Buerkle’s court was the scene of the hearing for Louis Stoughton and Sol Hershberg in 1895. On February 16, 1911, a front page article in the Sandusky Register, reported the death of Louis N. Stoughton. He died in a sanitarium at Massillon, Ohio on February 14, 1911, after having been in ill health for some time. While in Sandusky, Stoughton was considered “a very clever and bright man. He was a friend of the fellow who was down and out.” Stoughton often remarked that if he had the money that he had given to friends in Sandusky who “happened to be broke for a day or two,” he could have lived in ease for the rest of his life. The article continued that in Sandusky Stoughton was known as “Kid” Stoughton, the “king of them all.”