The following record was received along with other records about the Henderson Family buried at Monument Cemetery. Of significance in the highlight segmented were two surnames: "Hill" and "Wertz", names given to three of Joseph and Catharine's children as middle names.

In researching Samuel Hill, it was discovered that he married his wife, probably a widow, who had a daughter Camilla "Sawyer" -- Camilla as a young woman especially was very beautiful, and attracted many men during her younger days. Reports of the time suggest she was at one time married to a man named Martin. Whether that marriage terminated officially or not, she later married her second husband, George S. Twitchell, Jr. in 1864. That marriage record appears below, although the name "Sawyer" is as yet unexplained.

In November 1868, Mary E. Hill was murdered in her home, and her daughter and son-in-law were arrested for the murder. The murder and subsequent trial were newsworth across the Northeast, and our Joseph, as Mary Hill's agent, testified for the prosecution. Details of the trial of George Twitchell and the testimony can be found in in American State Trials Volume 6.

Various of the news articles of the time can be found using the links below:

News of the Murder: The New York Herald and The Boston Herald

The Arrest and Coroner's Investigation - The Philadelphia Public Ledger and The New York Herald

The Testimony: The Philadelphia Public Ledger narrates the trial testimony ending the day with the testimony of Joseph Henderson.

Character Sketches of Mary Hill and Her Daughter Camilla: Very suprising histories of the two women from The Patriot.

Camilla Twitchell was tried separately from her husband, and was found Not Guilty. George Twitchell was found Guilty and sentenced to be hanged. Appeals were made, and at one point, Twitchell attempted to blame his wife for the murder of her mother. In the very early morning of his scheduled execution, April 8, 1869, he committed suicide by taking strychnine.