Betty's Critters - & History Views

 On Saturday, June 27, 1885, the local county newspaper, The Peninsula Enterprise , produced the local report of Jennie Hill's murder and Tom Freeman's suicide from Accomac (which was known as Drummondtown until 1892).  That article is in my first installation of this blog about  the Hill family tragedy.    On that same Saturday, The Inquirer  of Lancaster Pennsylvania, ran the article first printed on 22 June in The Atlanta Constitution , with a different headline, sub-headline, and their own final paragraph tacked on.  This is the article that tells of how Timothy Hill found the boy "William T. Freeman" on Broadway in New York, and took him to the island 12 (which this paper changes to 10) years ago.  How Jennie and "Bill" grew up together, and Jennie was sent off to school, returning at the age of 18, etc.  The new headline for the Lancaster paper's front page was:  "A CRAZED LOVER"S CRIME.  -  A Former Street Gamin of New York Shooting His

A week after Jennie Hill's shooting, on 25 June,   The Carlisle Weekly Herald  of Pennsylvania printed the following on page 2:       "TRIPLE TRAGEDY IN VIRGINIA.    A dispatch from Chincoteague to the Philadelphia Times  gives the following particulars of a tragedy enacted near that place Thursday morning last:    "W. T. Freeman, an orphan employe [ sic ] of Timothy Hill, an oyster planter, shot and probably fatally injured Mrs. Hill and her daughter Jennie, aged 14 years, Thursday morning, about two miles from Chincoteague postoffice, at a place called Deep Hole.  A few minutes later he shot himself in the forehead, inflicting a fatal wound.  For some time past Freeman has been employed as a laborer on Mr. Hill's farm.    The young man fell in love with Mr. Hill's pretty daughter, who did not reciprocate his affection, but permitted him to visit her occasionally, though discouraged by her parents.  Freeman grew moody and sullen at this treatment, and threatened

 The fourth article article mentioned here states in the first sentence that Chincoteague is in Maryland, then, in the body of the article, taken from a Georgia paper, states that Chincoteague is along the "rock-clad" coast of Virginia....  I've been on a lot of boats around the island and between Ocean City and Wallops, but, other than some rip-rap, I don't remember a "rock-clad" coast.      The Chicago Tribune , on Tuesday, 23 June, has two separate articles printed under the headline "Driven To Death By Love."  The first article is about a young couple in Norristown, New Jersey.  We are interested in the second sub-headline:  "A Baltimore Case.    BALTIMORE, Md., June 22.  -  [Special.]  -  Two funerals wended their way to the little cemetery on Chincoteague Island yesterday afternoon.  In one grave were laid the remains of Jennie Hill.  In another part of the cemetery was buried Thomas Freeman, her former lover, who, after killing her, com

    Emma Virginia "Jennie" Hill was not quite 13 years and 3 months old when she died after receiving two gunshot wounds on Chincoteague Island on the morning of June 18, 1885.  She was on her way to visit the dressmaker with her mother when a farm hand, 20-year-old Thomas W. Freeman, stopped them both.   He had asked to marry Jennie several times and was denied by her parents with each proffer.  Tom asked Mrs. Hill that morning if she had changed her mind, and she replied, "No."  He pulled a pistol from his pocket, shot Mrs. Hill twice, shot Jennie twice, and, as they ran staggering for aid, he shot himself in the forehead.  Jennie died from her wounds at 11 p.m. that night.  Her mother recovered after 2 weeks of unconsciousness and fever.    Following is the first news article that appeared in newspapers, appearing in the morning edition of The Philadelphia Times  on Saturday, June 20, 1885, on the front page in column 2:    "FREEMAN'S VICTIMS DEAD. Mrs.

    First, a few facts:  Emma Virginia "Jennie" Hill was the youngest child of Timothy Hill, Jr. and Zipporah Sharpley.  Jennie was born on February 25, 1872, and died from her wounds on June 18, 1885; she was not quite 13 years and 3 months of age.  She attended one of the four schools on Chincoteague, and was considered very bright and a good pianist.  Her father Timothy Hill was mainly an oysterman, but he also farmed several acres around his home in Deep Hole.  Zipporah Sharpley Hill was just shy of her 57th birthday when she and Jennie were shot.  It wasn't known if Zipporah would recover from her wounds, but she did. (Many news stories reported her death.)  She provided the funds for a window in the old Methodist Church that was dedicated to Jennie's memory a few years after the shooting; and she died in 1892, at the age of 64.  Timothy Hill, father and husband, died in 1900 at the age of 74. -  And the Hill family was already well known to heartbreak: in the su

 Five years ago, trainer Chad Brown brought owner Seth Klarman's colt, Cloud Computing, to the Preakness and won it.  Today, Chad Brown and Seth Klarman did it again - with Early Voting - on Klarman's birthday.  Early Voting, a bay son of Gun Runner, shadowed the leaders of the Preakness today, then took the lead on the turn for home and never looked back.  He became a little leg-weary at the end of the stretch and drifted a bit, but not enough to impede second-place finisher Epicenter.  This was the first Preakness win for Early Voting's jockey, Jose Ortiz, and he was in tears at the end of the race.    Early Voting finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Epicenter, the betting favorite, and took home a paycheck of $990,000.  Epicenter, 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Creative Minister, got paid $330,000.  Creative Minister was 2 3/4 lengths ahead of the filly Secret Oath, and had a pay day of $181,500.  Secret Oath took home $99,000, and fifth-place finisher Skippylongstocking received a

 Interstatedaydream, the bay daughter of Classic Empire, out of the mare Babcock, won the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes by 1 and 1/4 lengths over betting favorite Adare Manor.  The Ontario-bred filly took home $150,000 for her Grade 2 win.  Adare Manor took home $50,000, finishing 1 length ahead of Radio Days ($25,000), who was 2 and 3/4 lengths ahead of Divine Huntress ($15,000).  Favor earned $7,500 in fifth place and Morning Matcha, the longest shot on the board, was sixth, with a paycheck of $2,500.    The complete order of finish was: Interstatedaydream winning the 1 1/8 mile race in 1:48.73; Adare Manor; Radio Days; Divine Huntress; Favor; Morning Matcha; Miss Yearwood; Distinctlypossible; Midnight Stroll; Candy Light; Luna Belle; Beguine; and Missy Greer. Interstatedaydream finishes ahead of Adare Manor   Here are the track payouts for my usual $2 bet:  Interstatedaydream to win, $14.20; Adare Manor to place, $4.40; and Radio Days to show, $7.60.  A $2 Exacta bet paid $61.40; the Trif

 Saturday afternoon, the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes will take place at Pimlico Race Course - the second leg of the Triple Crown.  Rich Strike, the chestnut colt who won the Kentucky Derby, will not be racing, so there will be no Triple Crown winner this year.  Ritchie's trainer has been racing him every 5 to 6 weeks, and the colt has been a huge success with that length of time between races, so he'll be set up perfectly for the Belmont Stakes in June.  Un Ojo, who was considered a strong contender for the Derby, had canceled his appearance in the Derby due to a bruised foot, which is a recurring problem.  He again has a bruised foot and will not contest the Preakness, either.    There are only 9 entries in the Preakness on 21 May this year.  The listed purse is $1.5 million, the Gate time is 7:01 EDT (or 5:01 MDT), and the distance is 1 3/16 miles (9.5 furlongs).  Three colts who ran in the Derby will run in the Preakness: Epicenter, who finished second; Simplificat

 The 98th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes will take place Friday, May 20th, at "Old Hill Top" - Pimlico  Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.  This year, the venerable Black-Eyed Susan is a Grade 2 race, covering 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs), for a guaranteed purse of $250,000.  Thirteen fillies are entered in the girls' companion race to the Preakness.  Each filly is a three-year-old, and each will carry 118 pounds.  Gate time is set at 5:44 EDT, or 3:44 MDT.    Of the 13 entries, 10 are bays or dark browns, 2 are chestnut, and 1 is gray/roan.  Nine of the fillies were bred in Kentucky; Divine Huntress and Luna Belle were bred in Maryland, Morning Matcha was bred in Pennsylvania, and Interstatedaydream was bred in Ontario.  Of the 13 entries, there are 12 sires, with Gun Runner being represented by Beguine and Radio Days.  The morning line betting favorite is Adare Manor at 5 to 2. Adare Manor    Doing things a bit differently today ...     The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes 

 This information is current as of 1:00 a.m. MDT on 10 May 2022. Maryland Assateague Pony Ancestors This information was extrapolated from the Chincoteague Pony Pedigree Database; any errors are mine. Amanda Geci took all of the information available from both the National Park Service at the Assateague Island National Seashore, and from the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company (who own the ponies in Virginia that live on Assateague Island within the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge) regarding the bloodlines and pedigrees of all the ponies who live on Assateague Island and produced this database. The Chincoteague Pony Pedigree Database is accessible on the internet at: http://chincoteaguepedigrees.com/pedigree/pedigree.pedigree.php If you visit this page, there are several options on the second line – the last one is “Assateague Herds.” If you open this selection, it immediately goes to the Virginia Herd Members page; above this naming line is a menu selection with “State”