W. W. Cleary to Beriah Magoffin

KYR-0001-020-2015.xml

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Accession Number

KYR-0001-020-2015

Document Genre

Correspondence

Repository

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Collection

Office of the Governor, Beriah Magoffin: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons and Remissions, 1859-1862

Item Location

MG24-13 to MG24-14

Date of Creation

17 June 1862

Dates Mentioned

1862-06-17

W. W. Cleary to Beriah Magoffin, 17 June 1862, Office of the Governor, Beriah Magoffin: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons and Remissions, 1859-1862, MG24-13 to MG24-14, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, KY. Accessed via the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition, discovery.civilwargovernors.org/document/KYR-0001-020-2015, (accessed May 10, 2025).

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To his Excellency the Govenor of Ky,

More than a year ago, I was appointed at the [ ] Term of the Harrison Circuit Court, Commonwealths Attorney pro tem, in the absence of W^m Mathew the Regular atty for the Commonwealth, as such I attended to the prosecution in the case of Commonwealth against Sam'l Craig for passing Counterfeit Money, He was convicted and sentenced to the Penitentiary for two years, where he now is having served considerably more than half his time, The conviction was had upon the testimony of one witness one Noah Eddleman -- and though he swore positively, that he had seen Craig offer to pass the Counterfeit bill, yet his statement was so
indistinct and confused upon every other circumstance connected with the matter, that I was surprised at the time, that the Jury found a verdict against Craig -- Since the trial I am satisfied, that Craig ought not to have been convicted -- that his brother one James Craig, was the really guilty party -- and that Eddleman the witness must have been mistaken in saying that he saw ^said^ Craig in possession of the Counterfeit Bill -- Other witnesses were introducted beside Eddleman, but their testimony ^alone^ would have been insufficient, James Craig has fled the Country, to avoid prosecution for passing the same bill, and attempting to pass it, having tried it, several times before he put it on Saml,
I make this statement at the
request of Sam'l Craig, who desires a pardon from your Excellency, I have no sort of hesitation, in saying, that I think he ought to be pardoned, I have heard a number of persons in Harrison County speak of the case, who think he ought to be pardoned

Very Respectfully &c
W. W. Cleary

June 17^th 1862

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