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Lavinia FISHER
Classification: Murderer?
Characteristics: Member of a large gang of highwaymen - Convicted of
highway robbery -a capital offense at the time- not murder
- Historians have begun to question the veracity of
the traditional legend and some assert that Lavinia Fisher never
killed anyone
Number of victims: 0 +
Date of murder: 1818 - 1819
Date of arrest: February 1819
Date of birth: 1793
Victims profile: ????
Method of murder: Some historians believe she would kill her
victims by crushing their heads between her legs
Location: Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, USA
Status: Executed by hanging on February 18, 1820
On February 18, 1820 – 27 year old Lavinia Fisher was hanged in
South Carolina for murder, alongside her husband. She wore her white
wedding dress for her execution. They were executed for the robbery
murders of guests at their inn, known as the Six Mile House, at
Charlestown.
Lavinia Fisher (1793 – February 18, 1820)
is reported by some legends to have been the first female serial
killer in the United States of America. Her origins are unknown;
however, Fisher resided in the United States for much of her life.
She was married to John Fisher, and both were convicted of highway
robbery—a capital offense at the time—not murder.
Historians have begun to question the veracity of
the traditional legend and some assert that Lavinia Fisher never
killed anyone. Some, however, believe she would kill her victims by
crushing their heads between her legs. She was however an active
member of a large gang of highwaymen who operated out of two houses
in the backcountry near Charleston, the Five Mile House and the Six
Mile House. It is not clear whether the Six Mile House was a hotel,
but it did serve as a hideout for a number of outlaws.
Residence
Fisher and her husband resided in Charleston, South
Carolina for most of their lives. Together, they owned a hotel, the
Six Mile Wayfarer House, which they managed in the early 19th century.
The hotel was located six miles north of Charleston, South Carolina,
hence the name. After a short period, many reports were made to the
local sheriff's department about guests disappearing. Due to lack of
evidence, and the popularity of the couple with many locals, these
complaints came to nothing.
Alleged crimes
Lavinia Fisher would always invite men to dinner
and ask many questions about their occupation, trying to find out if
they had money or not. She would send them up to their rooms with a
cup of tea that was actually poisoned. Once the men would drink their
tea and go to bed, her husband would go to the room to make sure they
were dead by stabbing them.
Another version of the legend was that the tea
would only put the men to sleep for a few hours. Then, when they were
almost asleep, Lavinia would pull a lever and the bed would collapse
and drop the victim into a pit. Some believe that there were spikes
waiting at the bottom of the pit.
Much of what actually occurred in the alleged
murders at the hands of John and Lavinia Fisher has become wildly
exaggerated through time, so factual details are hard to find.
However, contemporary news accounts in the Charleston Post and
Courier, claimed that a vigilante gang went to the Fishers'
neighborhood in February 1819 to stop the purported 'gang activities'
that were occurring there. Satisfied that they had accomplished their
task, the group returned to Charleston, but left a young man by the
name of David Ross to stand watch in the area.
Early the next day, Ross was attacked by two men
and dragged before the gang that had terrorized the region. Among them
was Lavinia Fisher, to whom he looked for help. However, rather than
help him, she choked him and then smashed his head through a window.
Ross managed to escape and immediately alerted authorities.
Immediately following this incident, another
traveler named John Peeples asked if there were any vacancies; Lavinia
replied that there was unfortunately no room, but he was welcome to
come inside and rest and have some tea. John happened to hate tea, and
not wanting to seem rude, he dumped it when she wasn't looking. She
interrogated him for hours and eventually said she discovered that in
fact, they did have a room. He then went to bed. He had felt
suspicious about the interrogation and was worried about being robbed,
so he decided to sleep in the wooden chair by the door. In the middle
of the night, he awoke to the loud sound of the bed collapsing and
discovered the Fishers' plan. He jumped out the window and rode to
Charleston to alert the authorities.
Based on these two accounts, the assailants were
finally identified by name, something that law enforcement had
previously lacked. Police were immediately dispatched to the location
and during the ensuing investigation Lavinia and John were located,
along with two other gang members. John Fisher surrendered the group
in an effort to protect his wife and shield her from possible gunfire.
Later, during interrogation, he again attempted to protect Lavinia by
giving the identities of all involved in the gang.
Trial and execution
Lavinia Fisher was held at the Charleston, South
Carolina Jail before her hanging. She had concocted a plan in her mind
to make sure that she would not be executed. At the time in South
Carolina you could not execute a woman who was married. When Lavinia
mentioned this at her trial the judge told her that they would kill
her husband first, so that she would be widowed.
Lavinia Fisher made another plan and decided to be
executed in a wedding dress. She was a woman of legendary beauty and
hoped that with a priest present, she could seduce a man into marrying
her. When this failed to happen and Lavinia realized that she was
running out of time, before the executioner could tighten the noose,
she said to the crowd "If anyone has a message for the devil, give it
to me-- I'll deliver it.", or "If any of you has a message for the
devil, tell me now-- for I will be seeing him in a moment" then she
jumped off of the gallows and committed suicide herself much rather
than having someone execute her.
Legend says she was actually swinging on the noose,
screaming an kicking, and still alive for 15 minutes until she finally
died. Much of what actually occurred in the alleged murders at the
hands of John and Lavinia Fisher has become wildly exaggerated through
time, so factual details are hard to find. However, it is known based
on news accounts in the Charleston Post and Courier, that a vigilante
gang went to the Fishers' neighborhood in February 1819 to stop the
purported 'gang activities' that were occurring there. Satisfied that
they had accomplished their task, the group returned to Charleston,
but left a young man by the name of David Ross to stand watch in the
area.
Early the next day, Ross was attacked by two men
and dragged before the gang that had terrorized the region. Among them
was Lavinia Fisher, to whom he looked for help. However, rather than
help him, she choked him and then smashed his head through a window.
Ross managed to escape and immediately alerted authorities.
Immediately following this incident, another
traveler, named John Peeples, stopping in at the Fisher’s Six Mile
House for Wayfarers was also assaulted, but he likewise was able to
escape and went to the authorities. Based on these two accounts, names
and identities of the assailants were given, something that law
enforcement had previously lacked. Police were immediately dispatched
to the location and during the ensuing investigation Lavinia and John
were discovered, along with two other gang members. John Fisher
surrendered the group in an effort to protect his wife and shield her
from the possibility of gunfire. Later, during interrogation, he would
again attempt to protect Lavinia by giving the identities of all
involved in the gang.
Nearly a full year lapsed between the time of their
arrest and their execution. At their arraignment the Fishers pleaded
not guilty but were ordered to be held in jail until their trial which
would take place in May while their co-conspirators were released on
bail. The jury at their trial rejected their pleas of innocence and
found them guilty of highway robbery. However, the judge allowed an
appeal and they were given a reprieve until the January session of the
court.
During this time the Fishers occupied themselves
with plans to escape, as they were housed together in a 6x8 cell and
not heavily guarded. On September 13 they put their plans into action
and began their escape. Things did not go as planned as the rope they
had made from prison linens broke, leaving Lavinia trapped in the cell
and John set free. He was unwilling to continue the escape plan and
was recaptured. The two were then kept under much tighter security.
The Constitutional court rejected their appeal and
both were sentenced to be hanged on February 4, 1820. Awaiting
execution, John accepted the counsel of the Reverend Richard Furman, a
local minister, but Lavinia became even more vitriolic. Preceding
their execution, the clergyman read a letter composed by John Fisher,
stating that since he had become a Christian he could not be executed
with a lie held to his account. Therefore he insisted on his innocence
and asked mercy on those who had done him wrong in the judicial
process. After the minister read the letter, Fisher then began to
plead his case before the gathered crowd of some 2,000. He then
seemingly contradicted himself by asking for their forgiveness.
Lavinia argued to the judge that they could not hang a married woman,
so they hanged John a day before. It is believed that Mary Surratt was
the first woman to be hanged in the United States, however Lavinia was
hanged 40 years prior.
Burial
Following her execution, Lavinia was buried in a
Potter's Field near to the place of execution which was outside the
Old City Jail . Reports of her burial at 150 Meeting Street (The
Circular Congregational Church) or at 4 Archdale Street (The Unitarian
Church) appear to have been promoted by tour guides.
Wikipedia.org
Lavinia Fisher - First Female American Serial
Killer
Widely recognized as the first female serial killer
in the United States, Lavinia Fisher was born in 1793, but, the
location of her birth, her maiden name, or any information about her
childhood, is unknown.
However, she grew up to marry a man named John
Fisher and the couple lived near Charleston, South Carolina. The pair
made their living operating a hotel called the Six Mile Wayfarer
House, which they managed in the early 1800's. Mysteriously, men who
were visiting Charleston began to disappear. As more and more reports
were filed with the authorities regarding these missing men, it was
determined that they were last seen at the Six Mile Wayfarer House,
which was called such because it was six miles outside of Charleston.
Though the local authorities began an
investigation, there was no evidence that the Fishers were involved.
This, coupled with their popularity in the town, led to the
investigation being dropped.
Lavinia was a very beautiful and charming woman,
adding to her popularity in the community and to the business of the
hotel. However, it would later be learned that she utilized those
characteristics to help her husband rob and kill many male travelers.
And, as more and more men went missing, the rumor mill began to do its
work.
The locals soon gathered up a group of vigilantes
who went to the Fishers in February, 1819 to stop the activities that
were occurring there. Though it is unknown what they may have said or
done, they were obviously satisfied with their task and returned to
Charleston, leaving one man by the name of David Ross to stand watch
in the area.
Early the next morning, David Ross was attacked by
two men and dragged before a group of men along with Lavinia Fisher.
He looked to her for help, but instead, she choked him and smashed his
head through a window. Somehow, Ross was able to escape and alerted
authorities.
At nearly the same time, a man named John Peeples
was traveling from Georgia to Charleston and tired from his long trip,
stopped at The Six Mile House to see if they had a room. He was warmly
greeted by the beautiful Lavinia who informed him they didn’t have a
room available but invited him in for tea and a meal.
Her company was so pleasant that he ignored
Lavinia’s husband’s odd glances at him and chatted with her, answering
her every question. When she excused herself from the table for a
moment, she returned with tea and good news. A room had suddenly
become available if John still wanted it. He accepted and Lavinia
poured him a cup of tea.
But, John didn’t like tea, but didn't want to seem
impolite. So, instead of refusing it or leaving it untouched, he
poured it out when she wasn't looking. Afterwards, she showed him to
his room. He then began to wonder why she had asked him so many
questions. Why was her husband staring at him all evening?
Suddenly, he felt uncomfortable with all the
information that he had provided and worried if he might become a
target for robbery. Feeling safer in the chair by the door than in the
bed, he dozed until he was awakened by a loud noise. Looking around,
he realized that the bed he should have been sleeping in had
disappeared into a deep hole beneath the floor. John quickly jumped
out the window, got on his horse and fled to authorities in
Charleston.
Police then arrested John and Lavinia Fisher, as
well as two men they had been operating with.
The Six Mile Wayfarer House was thoroughly searched
and the grounds dug up. Filled with hidden passages, the Sheriff
reportedly found items that could be traced to dozens of travelers, a
tea laced with an herb that could put someone to sleep for hours, a
mechanism that could be triggered to open the floorboards beneath the
bed, and in the basement, as many as a hundred sets of remains.
The Fishers plead not guilty, but were ordered to
stay in jail until their trial. In the meantime, their co-conspirators
were released on bail. At their trial in May, the jury didn’t agree
with their innocent plea, found them guilty of multiple robberies and
murders, and they were sentenced to hang. However, they were given
time to appeal the conviction.
During the wait, they occupied themselves making a
plan to escape. Housed together in a jail that was not heavily
guarded, they began making a rope from jail linens. On September 13,
they put their plan in place and used the rope to drop down to the
ground. John made it out but the rope broke, leaving Lavinia trapped
in the cell. Not willing to go without his wife, he returned to the
jail and the two were afterwards, kept under much tighter security.
In February, 1820, the Constitutional Court
rejected their appeal and their execution was scheduled for later that
month.
A local minister named Reverend Richard Furman was
sent in to counsel the pair if they so wished. John freely talked to
Furman and is said to have begged the priest to save his soul if not
his life. However, the cruel Lavinia would have nothing to do with
him.
On the morning of February 18, 1820 the Fishers
were taken from the Charleston Jail to be hanged on the gallows behind
the building. John Fisher went quietly praying with the minister, whom
he had asked to read a letter. Before a crowd of some 2,000 people,
the letter insisted on his innocence and asked for mercy for those who
had done him wrong in the judicial process. He then began to verbally
plead his case before the gathered crowd, but before he was hanged,
asked for their forgiveness.
Lavinia did not go so quietly. She had requested to
wear her wedding dress and refusing to walk to the gallows, had to be
picked up and carried as she ranted and raved. Before the crowd, she
continued to scream, pointedly at the Charleston socialites, who she
blamed for encouraging a conviction. Before her executioners could
tighten the noose around her neck, she yelled into the crowd, “If you
have a message you want to send to hell, give it to me – I’ll carry
it.” Then, before they could finish the job, she jumped off the
scaffold herself. Not quite reaching the ground, she dangled down into
the crowd. Later, onlookers would say they had never seen such a
wicked stare or chilling sneer as that which was on 27 year-old
Lavinia’s face.
Though many sources say that the Fishers were buried in the Unitarian
Church Graveyard located between King and Archdale Streets in
Charleston, this is highly unlikely. There was a Potter's Field
Cemetery next to the jail at the time, where most criminals were
buried if their bodies weren't claimed by family members.
Additionally, church records have been searched, indicating no
evidence that she was buried there. This tale has likely been
perpetuated by tour guides.
LegendsofAmerica.com
The Top 10 Lies Told About Charleston’s Lavinia Fisher
Jamesbcaskey.com
October 17, 2014
Many of you are already familiar with the grisly legend of Lavinia
Fisher (along with her husband, John). The tale of their crimes,
trial, and subsequent execution in 1820 is one of the most popular
stories in Charleston’s history. However, this oft-repeated tale of
Charleston’s most notorious woman is usually full of half-truths and
outright fabrications. I go into this story in much more detail in my
book, Charleston’s Ghosts: Hauntings in the Holy City. But I’ve
assembled some of the most common misconceptions and outrageous lies
told about Lavinia and John Fisher in an effort to shed some light on
this wicked pair:
Lavinia Fisher was America’s first female serial killer. This is a
complete fabrication, no matter how many times Zak Bagans said it on
that Charleston episode of Ghost Adventures. There is only
circumstantial evidence that the Six Mile House Gang (the band of
thieves to which John and Lavinia belonged) ever killed anyone. Only
two human bodies were found, a male and a female skeleton, and their
identities were (and are) unknown. Lavinia Fisher was never accused or
convicted of any serial murders. It is widely acknowledged that Jane
Toppan was the first recognized serial killer in the United States.
Lavinia and John Fisher killed close to a hundred people. Absolutely
not true. To put this absurd claim into perspective, consider that the
most prolific serial killer in U.S history was Gary Ridgway, aka the
Green River Killer. Ridgway claimed to have killed 71 people, but
authorities were only able to prove that he murdered 49 victims.
Lavinia and John Fisher were arrested for murder. Two bodies were
found on their property, but the evidence for murder was shaky at
best. Instead, the authorities charged them with offenses that they
could easily prove, namely highway robbery, which was still a hanging
offense. Again, just because they say it on Ghost Adventures…
The authorities who searched the inn run by the Fishers discovered a
trap door bed and a body-strewn basement. This is a storyteller’s
invention, and not fact-based at all. Besides, if you’ve smelled even
one dead human body before (and yes, I have), then you’ll understand
why this story is ridiculous.
Lavinia Fisher was the first woman executed in America. Wrong.
Bathsheba Spooner was executed in Worchester, Massachusetts in 1778.
Lavinia and John Fisher were hanged in the yard outside of The Old
Charleston Jail on Magazine Street. Newspapers of the day clearly
state that the hanging of John and Lavinia Fisher took place “without
the lines, on the Meeting Street Road,” meaning present-day Line
Street (close to where Interstate 26 meets U.S. 17 today). Remember
what I said about Ghost Adventures? Nearly everything they said about
Lavinia Fisher was completely wrong.
Lavinia Fisher wore a white wedding dress to her execution because she
believed that she was about to be married to the devil himself, in
Hell, immediately following her hanging. Don’t you think that
newspapers or people’s diaries would record such a spectacular claim
or belief by a condemned prisoner? Well, none of them did.
Okay, well, Lavinia Fisher wore a wedding dress to her execution in
order to entice any men in the crowd to marry her, because married
women could not be executed. There is no evidence to support this
claim at all. Why would lawmakers grant such an absurd exemption in
the first place? If someone was sentenced to death, be they male or
female, allowing a woman to simply marry in order to escape their
sentence makes zero sense.
But she did wear a wedding dress to the gallows, right? No. Both
Lavinia and John Fisher wore the traditional garb of the condemned:
white robes. Somewhere along the line, a storyteller heard of Lavinia
wearing white to her execution and somehow (intentionally?) altered
the narrative to mean that she was wearing a wedding dress. There is
simply no truth to it, though.
Lavinia Fisher cheated the hangman by leaping off the scaffold herself
before the lever could be thrown. Nope, that’s absolutely made-up.
From the Charleston Courier, February 19th, 1820:
THE EXECUTION of John and Lavinia Fisher, for Highway Robbery, took
place yesterday, in the suburbs of the city, agreeably to their
sentences. They were taken from the jail about a quarter before 1
o’clock, in a carriage in which, besides the prisoners was the Rev.
Dr. Furman, and an officer of the police. They were guarded by the
Sheriff of the District, with his assistants, and a small detachment
of cavalry. Arrived at the fatal spot, some time was spent in
conversation and prayer.–Fisher protested his innocence of the crime
for which he was to die to the last, but admitted that he had lived a
wicked and abandoned life. He met his fate with great firmness: and
expressed his obligations to the new Sheriff for his kindness and
humanity. His wife did not display so much of fortitude or
resignation–She appeared to be impressed with a belief, to the last
moment, that she would be pardoned. A little past 2 o’clock the
husband and wife embraced each other upon the platform, for the last
time in this world, when the fatal signal was given–the drop fell–and
they were launched into eternity. She died without a struggle or a
groan; but it was some minutes before he expired and ceased to
struggle. After hanging the usual time, their bodies were taken down
and conveyed to Potter’s Field, where they were interred. The
concourse that attended the execution was immense. May the awful
example strike deep into their hearts; and may it have the effect
intended, by deterring others from pursuing those vicious paths which
ended in infamy and death.
Lavinia Fisher was a memorable Charleston villain. She was most
notable for the chilling line she uttered as she was about to be
hanged (“If anyone has a message for Hell, give it to me, and I’ll
carry it!”). It is a deep irony that she is now more famous for
murders she likely didn’t commit, and for wedding dresses she didn’t
wear. The evil perpetrated by her and her husband is worth
remembering, but the real Lavinia is sadly becoming obscured by the
erroneous legends.
The Legend of Lavinia Fisher
Murderbygaslight.com
October 1, 2010
The legend of Lavinia Fisher has been told and retold since her
execution in Charleston, South Carolina in 1820 and with each telling
it has grown more extravagant and further from the truth. Today
tourist pamphlets and web sites will earnestly tell you that Lavinia
was America’s first female serial killer when, in fact, there is no
hard evidence that she ever killed anyone. We do know that she was a
violent and unrepentant outlaw, but she earned her fame by being a
tough woman with a bad attitude in a town known for its genteel
southern belles.
Date: February 1819
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Victim: ?
Cause of Death: ?
Accused: Lavinia Fisher
The Legend
The legend of Lavinia Fisher will vary from teller to teller but the
gist of the story told for the last 120 years goes something like
this. John and Lavinia Fisher owned an inn, the Six Mile House, on a
lonely road outside of Charleston, South Carolina. The building was
well maintained and was a welcome sight to weary travelers, but it was
rumored that sometimes guests checked in and did not check out. One
night a fur trader named John Peoples stopped at the inn and was
warmly greeted by the Fishers. The beautiful Lavinia Fisher was
especially friendly. Peoples thought the Fishers were being a little
too friendly and, suspicious of their intentions, he went to bed
early.
People’s suspicions grew and he could not sleep. He decided not to lie
in the bed but to sit in the corner facing the door so he could see if
anyone came in to attack him. His suspicions were confirmed when a
trapdoor sprung, dropping the bed into the cellar where John Fisher
was waiting with an axe. Peoples escaped and hurried back to
Charleston to tell the authorities. John and Lavinia were arrested and
their property searched. The human remains were found, including many
bodies in a lime pit in the cellar under the trap door. The Fishers
were convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.
The unrepentant, Lavinia Fisher went to the gallows in 1820 wearing
her wedding dress. John Fisher pinned all the blame on his wife, but
he was hanged along with her. Lavinia’s ghost now haunts the Old Jail
on Magazine Street in Charleston as well as the Unitarian Cemetery.
The Truth
At Murder by Gaslight we love a good legend, but we love the truth
even more. Lavinia Fisher was hanged in 1820 but the crime was highway
robbery— a capital offense at the time—not murder. She was a member of
a large gang of highwaymen who operated out of two houses in the
Backcountry outside of Charleston, the Five Mile House and the Six
Mile House. It is not clear whether or not the Six Mile House was a
hotel, but it did serve as hideout for a number of outlaws.
Wagon trade in and out of Charleston was a profitable business and an
important part of the city’s economy. In 1819 trade was disrupted by a
gang of highwaymen stopping wagons on the road and stealing goods and
money. Since the victims were unable to identify their assailants the
authorities were powerless to act. A group of Charleston citizens
decided to take matters into their own hands and if necessary invoke
“Lynch Law.” According to the Charleston News and Courier:
A gang of desperados have for some time past occupied certain houses
in the vicinity of Ashley Ferry; practicing every deception upon the
unwary and frequently committing robberies upon defenseless travelers.
As they could not be identified, and thereby brought to punishment, it
was determined, by a number of citizens, to break them up, and they
accordingly proceeded, in a cavalcade, on Thursday afternoon, to the
spot, having previously obtained permission of the owners of some
small houses, to which these desperados resorted, to proceed against
the premises in such manner as circumstances might require.
The cavalcade proceeded first to the Five Mile House where they gave
the occupants fifteen minutes to vacate the premises before they
burned it to the ground. At the Six Mile House they evicted the
occupants and left a man named Dave Ross behind to guard it. Believing
their work was finished, the cavalcade returned to Charleston.
The next morning, two men from the outlaw gang broke into the house
and assaulted Dave Ross, driving him outside where he was surrounded
by a gang of nine or ten men and one woman, the beautiful Lavinia
Fisher. Ross looked to Lavinia for help, but she choked him and shoved
his head through a window. Two hours later, John Peoples was heading
out of Charleston in his wagon and stopped near the Six Mile House to
water his horse. He was accosted by the gang, including Lavinia
Fisher. They stole about forty dollars from him.
Peoples returned to Charleston and this time he was able to tell the
authorities the identities of his attackers. He did not know all of
their names but he had…
“just cause to believe that among them was William Hayward, John
Fisher and his wife Lavinia Fisher, Joseph Roberts, and John Andrews.”
This, along with Dave Ross’s story, forced the authorities to act.
Sheriff’s deputy Colonel Nathanial Green Cleary got a bench warrant
from Judge Charles Jones Colcock and set out for Six Mile House. John
and Lavinia Fisher, along with several members of the gang, gave up
without a fight and were taken to jail in Charleston. Over the next
several days many other gang members were arrested. John Peoples
identified them as the group who robbed him. John and Lavinia Fisher
were charged with highway robbery—a hanging offense at the time. While
they were awaiting trial, a grave containing the remains of two human
bodies, was found about 200 yards from Six Mile House. They were
believed to be the bodies of a white man and a black woman, dead for
at least two years. With so many people in and out of Six Mile House
during that time, it was impossible to identify their killers and no
one was ever charged with their murder. Only two bodies, no more, were
found at Six Mile House.
Trial: May 1819
The Fishers pleaded not guilty to the charge of highway robber, but
the jury thought otherwise.
Verdict: Guilty of highway robbery.
Aftermath:
John and Lavinia planned to appeal their conviction to the
Constitutional Court and while they awaited the hearing they were kept
in the Charleston jail. Because they were a married couple, John and
Lavinia were kept in the debtors’ quarters in the upper part of the
jail rather than the heavily guarded lower floor. On September 13 they
attempted to escape through a hole they made under the window of the
cell. John went first down a rope made of blankets but it broke before
he reached the ground. He could have escaped alone but chose to stay
behind with Lavinia.
Their motion for a retrial was rejected by the Constitutional Court
and the Fishers could do nothing now but wait for execution. The
Reverend Richard Furman would visit them often to help them make peace
with their maker. He appeared to make some headway with John, but
Lavinia was more likely to curse than pray.
On February 4, 1820 they were taken to a gallows erected on Meeting
Street just outside the city limits of Charleston. Each was wearing a
loose-fitting white robe over their clothes, possibly the source of
the “wedding dress” myth. It was a public execution and everyone,
including the fine ladies of Charleston, came out to see Lavinia
Fisher hang.
John mounted the gallows peacefully but Lavinia had to be physically
dragged to the platform where she beseeched the crowd to help her.
According to one historian:
“She stamped in rage and swore with all the vehemence of her amazing
vocabulary, calling down damnation on a governor who would let a woman
swing. The crowd stood shocked into silence, while she cut short one
curse with another and ended with a volley of shrieks.”
When Lavinia was quiet Reverend Furman read a letter from John Fisher
in which he thanked the reverend for “explaining the mysteries of our
Holy Religion.” John then told the crowd he was innocent and blamed
Colonel Cleary for coaching the witness who accused him.
The legend of Lavinia Fisher had probably already started but her
(true) last words to the crowd at her hanging guaranteed her
immortality:
“If you have a message you want to send to hell, give it to me—I’ll
carry it.”
Written stories of Lavinia Fisher are usually accompanied by a
painting—at the top of this post— alleged to be a portrait of Lavinia.
It begs the question, when did she pose for it? During her life as a
highwayman in the squalor of Six Mile House, or in the year she spent
in Charleston jail?
The Fishers were burried in a potter's field, not the Untiterian
Cementery Lavinia supposedly haunts.
Lavinia Fisher is included in Murder by Gaslight because of her legend
as a murderess. In fact, it is unlikely that she ever murdered anyone.
