On January 2, 1835, Joseph J. Sager of Gardiner was hanged near this corner, having been convicted of poisoning his wife, Mrs. Joseph J. Sager (her given name is not noted), the previous October.  He was charged with putting a “substantial amount” of arsenic in a wine-egg-sugar drink he gave her for breakfast.  Mr. Sager’s mother sought to intercede through Governor Dunlap, but not in time.  Joseph was executed on a gallows erected on Winthrop Street near the jail.  It is reported that thousands, including many women, witnessed the execution.  Historical accounts note that the marriage was not a happy one and that Mrs. Sager was fifteen years older than her husband.  After the execution, Sager’s body was rushed to Hallowell, where attempts were made to bring him back to life.  The execution sparked debate about capital punishment, but the state did not abolish the practice until 1887.

 

Site #28.1 Source:

	North, James W. The History of Augusta Maine. Somesworth, NH: New England History Press, 1981. New forward by Edwin A. Churchill.  Originally published in 1870 by Clapp and North of Augusta, ME.
	Schriver, Edward O. and Stanley R. Howe. “The Republican Ascendancy.” In Maine The Pine Tree State, eds. R. W. Judd, E. A. Churchill, and J. W. Eastman, 370-390. Orono, ME: University of Maine Press, 1995.