Today in Wheeling History: March 24–Thomas D. Carr, notorious thief, arsonist, murderer, and self-confessed serial killer of 14 men, who grew up in Woods’ Run, Fulton, Centre Wheeling, and North Wheeling, was executed by hanging in St. Clairsville, Ohio for the murder of 13-year-old Louiza Fox (1870).
Thomas David Carr, born on March 6, 1846, in Sugar Hill, Virginia, was a notorious thief, arsonist, murderer, and self-confessed serial killer who spent part of his life in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). Carr’s family moved frequently around Virginia (and what is now West Virginia), living in areas such as Woods’ Run, Fulton, Centre Wheeling, and North Wheeling. His troubled childhood, marked by an abusive father and frequent fights, set the stage for his later criminal activities. Carr enlisted in the military at 16, serving in the 16th and 18th Ohio Infantry during the Civil War. His military career was marred by misconduct, leading to multiple arrests and even a death sentence, which was later pardoned by President Abraham Lincoln.
Carr’s criminal activities escalated after the war, culminating in the murder of 13-year-old Louiza Fox in Belmont County, Ohio. Louiza was employed as a house worker at the home of Alexander Hunter, a local coal mine owner who also employed Carr. Carr became infatuated with Louiza and proposed marriage, but her family retracted the engagement upon learning of his violent tendencies. On January 21, 1869, Carr waited for Louiza behind a fence on her route home from work. When she approached, he spoke to her, kissed her, and then brutally murdered her by slitting her throat with a razor and stabbing her multiple times. Her younger brother, Willy, witnessed the murder from a distance. Carr was apprehended the next day after a failed suicide attempt. He confessed to murdering 14 men, including a famous 1867 murder in West Virginia involving a German traveler named Aloys Ulrich. Carr, along with his accomplice Joseph Eisele, attacked Ulrich while traveling along the Hempfield Railroad. Eisele struck Ulrich with a hatchet, and Carr, fearing for his own life, hit Ulrich with a rock. Eisele then finished Ulrich off with the hatchet. Carr was executed by hanging on March 24, 1870, in St. Clairsville, Ohio. His life and crimes remain a dark chapter in the history of Wheeling and the surrounding areas.
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/37epjp4e), Penn State University (https://tinyurl.com/3xbwr5a9), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/39jwpvye), The Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/35pmmjfz), The Ohio Project (https://tinyurl.com/4a876myf), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/2sc23e4w) (https://tinyurl.com/2sc23e4w), Murderpedia (https://tinyurl.com/9u292yfk), DBpedia (https://tinyurl.com/yc7uutvn)
Photo credits: Find a Grave, Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Library of Congress Find a Grave
Thomas David Carr, born on March 6, 1846, in Sugar Hill, Virginia, was a notorious thief, arsonist, murderer, and self-confessed serial killer who spent part of his life in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). Carr’s family moved frequently around Virginia (and what is now West Virginia), living in areas such as Woods’ Run, Fulton, Centre Wheeling, and North Wheeling. His troubled childhood, marked by an abusive father and frequent fights, set the stage for his later criminal activities. Carr enlisted in the military at 16, serving in the 16th and 18th Ohio Infantry during the Civil War. His military career was marred by misconduct, leading to multiple arrests and even a death sentence, which was later pardoned by President Abraham Lincoln.
Carr’s criminal activities escalated after the war, culminating in the murder of 13-year-old Louiza Fox in Belmont County, Ohio. Louiza was employed as a house worker at the home of Alexander Hunter, a local coal mine owner who also employed Carr. Carr became infatuated with Louiza and proposed marriage, but her family retracted the engagement upon learning of his violent tendencies. On January 21, 1869, Carr waited for Louiza behind a fence on her route home from work. When she approached, he spoke to her, kissed her, and then brutally murdered her by slitting her throat with a razor and stabbing her multiple times. Her younger brother, Willy, witnessed the murder from a distance. Carr was apprehended the next day after a failed suicide attempt. He confessed to murdering 14 men, including a famous 1867 murder in West Virginia involving a German traveler named Aloys Ulrich. Carr, along with his accomplice Joseph Eisele, attacked Ulrich while traveling along the Hempfield Railroad. Eisele struck Ulrich with a hatchet, and Carr, fearing for his own life, hit Ulrich with a rock. Eisele then finished Ulrich off with the hatchet. Carr was executed by hanging on March 24, 1870, in St. Clairsville, Ohio. His life and crimes remain a dark chapter in the history of Wheeling and the surrounding areas.
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/37epjp4e), Penn State University (https://tinyurl.com/3xbwr5a9), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/39jwpvye), The Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/35pmmjfz), The Ohio Project (https://tinyurl.com/4a876myf), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/2sc23e4w) (https://tinyurl.com/2sc23e4w), Murderpedia (https://tinyurl.com/9u292yfk), DBpedia (https://tinyurl.com/yc7uutvn)
Photo credits: Find a Grave, Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Library of Congress Find a Grave
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