Beauchamp-Sharpe Tragedy of 1825

Summary

Detailed Summary of "Beauchamp-Sharpe Tragedy of 1825" Episode of "Stuff You Missed in History Class"

In the "Beauchamp-Sharpe Tragedy of 1825" episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class, hosts Holly Fry and Tracy V. Wilson unravel a dramatic true crime story set against the backdrop of early 19th-century Kentucky. This episode delves deep into a narrative filled with political intrigue, personal scandal, and a consequential murder that has puzzled historians for nearly two centuries.

---

Introduction to the Tragedy

Holly Fry [03:07]:

"Today we are talking about a piece of historical true crime that reads like a telenovela."

The story centers around three main figures: Solomon P. Sharp, a prominent politician and lawyer; Ann Cook, a woman entangled in personal and political scandal; and Jeroboam Beecham, who becomes the central figure in a fatal confrontation.

---

Background of the Main Players

Solomon P. Sharp

Tracy V. Wilson [05:07]:

"Solomon P. Sharp, born on August 22, 1787, in Virginia, moved to Kentucky where he built a successful career as a lawyer in Bowling Green."

Sharp's ascent in politics was swift. By his early twenties, he was already practicing law and quickly transitioned into land speculation, amassing considerable wealth. His political career saw him elected to the Kentucky state legislature in 1809 and subsequently to Congress, serving two terms before resuming his law practice.

In 1818, Sharp married Eliza Scott, a union that not only enhanced his social standing but also connected him to influential circles within Kentucky society.

Ann Cook

Holly Fry [06:54]:

"Ann Cook, born around 1786 in Virginia, moved to Warren County, Kentucky, following her father's death."

Ann Cook's life was marked by personal tragedy, including the deaths of several siblings. She became romantically involved with Solomon Sharp, leading to rumors and allegations that would later taint Sharp's reputation. In 1819, Ann became pregnant, and the following year, she gave birth to a child reported as stillborn or dying shortly after birth. As an unmarried woman, Ann's claims of Sharp being the father of her child became a point of contention.

Jeroboam Beecham

Tracy V. Wilson [08:04]:

"Jeroboam Beecham, born in September 1802, was the youngest of the trio by over a decade."

Beecham, hailing from a Kentucky farming family with political connections, began studying law in 1820. His interactions with Ann Cook led to their courtship and eventual marriage in 1824. Their union was seen as advantageous, further intertwining the personal and political narratives surrounding Sharp.

---

Political Climate and Resurfacing Allegations

As Sharp's political ambitions reignited, seeking a state legislator position in 1825, old allegations about his relationship with Ann Cook resurfaced. These accusations were leveraged by his political opponents to discredit him, compounded by claims of land fraud. However, with the offer of the state Attorney General position from Governor John Adair, Sharp managed to navigate through these tumultuous accusations, ultimately being confirmed after a Senate committee found no wrongdoing.

---

The Murder of Solomon P. Sharp

Holly Fry [17:37]:

"On November 7, 1825, around 2:00 AM, a man claiming to be a lodger entered the Sharp household."

The assassin identified himself as John A. Covington and approached Sharp, delivering a fatal stab wound before fleeing the scene. The only clue left behind was a bloody handkerchief. The Kentucky community was shocked, and a manhunt ensued with substantial rewards for the capture of the murderer.

---

Jeroboam Beecham: Suspicion and Arrest

Despite limited physical evidence, Jeroboam Beecham became the prime suspect due to his unusual behavior post-murder and past threats towards Sharp. On November 15, Beecham was apprehended and brought back to Frankfort. The primary evidence against him was Eliza Sharp's identification of his voice as the attacker's, though skeptics noted the lack of direct physical linkage between the knife he possessed and Sharp's wound.

---

The Trial of Jeroboam Beecham

Holly Fry [28:08]:

"During the grand jury hearing... the trial was set for May of the following year."

The trial commenced on May 8, 1826, with Beecham pleading not guilty. The prosecution's case was largely circumstantial, hinging on personal testimonies and the emotional climate surrounding Sharp's murder. Patrick H. Darby, a figure accused of stirring Beecham's intent to murder Sharp, provided conflicting testimonies that cast doubt on Beecham's narrative.

Tracy V. Wilson [28:37]:

"The trial, conviction, and confession of Jeroboam O. Beecham for the murder and suicide of Ann Beacham..."

Ultimately, after two weeks of deliberation filled with contradictory testimonies and dubious evidence, the jury found Beecham guilty on May 19, 1826. The verdict led to his sentencing to death.

---

Confession and Execution

Post-conviction, Beecham's wife, Ann, accompanied him as they awaited execution. The couple attempted suicide with laudanum, which initially failed, leading to another attempt on the scheduled day, July 7, where Ann tragically died from stab wounds, and Beecham was executed by hanging.

Beecham left behind a confession, citing political motives and personal vendettas, suggesting that ulterior motives may have influenced his actions and the subsequent trial.

---

Legacy and Historical Interpretations

The "Beauchamp-Sharpe Tragedy" remains a subject of fascination and debate. Historical markers and literary references, including mentions by authors like Edgar Allan Poe, have romanticized the event, portraying it as a tale of love, honor, and revenge. However, historians like Dixon D. Bruce, Jr. argue that the cultural context of Kentucky's strict honor codes and political machinations likely played significant roles in the unfolding and interpretation of events.

Matthew Schoenbachler's Murder and the Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy [42:12]:

"Most of what we do know about the Kentucky Tragedy comes from three remarkable documents..."

These conflicting accounts leave historians to ponder whether the tragedy was a straightforward act of personal vengeance or a complex interplay of political strategies and societal pressures.

---

Notable Quotes from the Episode

• Beecham's Confession [34:14]:

  "I am this day condemned to die by my country's laws... it's about keeping it long term."

• Ann's Last Words [37:00]:

  "Oh, my husband. I die for my husband."

• Leander Sharp [41:40]:

  "He worked diligently to collect evidence, suggesting political conspiracies may have influenced the trial."

---

Conclusion

The "Beauchamp-Sharpe Tragedy of 1825" episode provides a comprehensive exploration of a historic event marred by personal vendetta and political intrigue. Through meticulous examination of the individuals involved, the socio-political landscape of Kentucky, and the ensuing legal battle, Holly Fry and Tracy V. Wilson present a narrative that challenges listeners to consider the multifaceted nature of justice and the enduring mysteries that history often leaves behind.

---

This detailed summary encapsulates the key elements, discussions, and insights presented in the episode, providing a comprehensive overview for those unfamiliar with the original podcast content.

Transcript

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is an I Heart podcast.

[Holly Fry]

Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the old gays are pulling back the curtain with their new podcast, Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. Hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jesse serve their lifetime of wisdom when it comes to love, sex, community and whatever else they've got on the gay agenda. So check out Silver Linings with the old gays on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Narrator]

In 2012, 16 year old Brian Herrera was gunned down in broad daylight on his way to do homework. No suspects, no witnesses, no justice.

[Holly Fry]

I would ask my husband, do you want me to stop? He was like, no, keep fighting.

[Narrator]

After nearly a decade, a breakthrough changed everything. This is Cold Case Files Miami. Stories of families who never stopped fighting. Listen to Cold Case Files Miami on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Robert Evans]

I'm Robert Evans and on my show behind the Bastards this week we have one of our worst subjects ever. David Berg, founder of the Children of God cult, who we'll be talking about with special guest Ed Helms. He's not just like a weird religious cult leader. He was like fusing a bunch of hippie ideology in with this kind of like evangelical Christianity, Pentecostal preaching in the mid century. He's a very weird guy. But yeah, I'll just get into it.

[Narrator]

Like nothing you just said makes sense.

[Holly Fry]

That doesn't sound right.

[Narrator]

But that's the beauty of cults.

[Robert Evans]

Listen to behind the bastards on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Fry]

Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

[Holly Fry]

Today we are talking about a piece of, I guess you would call it historical true crime that reads like a telenovela. We're also going to hit the 200 year anniversary of this particular drama, which involves a politician, a lawyer, and a woman perhaps connected to both of them. And it unfolds as a story of sexual scandal and political intrigue and ultimately leads to murder. The details of the Beacham Sharp tragedy cannot all be verified. There remain a lot of questions regarding accusations made among the three and beyond, and even questions about testimony in a subsequent court case. So a note on pronunciation. The way Beecham is spelled looks French. It looks like it would be pronounced Beauchamp. It is B, E, A, U, C, H, A, M, P. I have heard it pronounced Beauchamp, but in a version of the story that was told in audio format by the Kentucky Historical Society, they use the pronunciation Beecham. It sort of pains me to shorten a beautiful French name in that way, but we're gonna do it. That's my own bias. I couldn't find a definitive source for that pronunciation, but I'm gonna presume that the Kentucky Historical Society has more knowledge of it, and so I'm happy to defer to them. This also made typing the name very difficult for me.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Sure, I see that C slash. Hear that pronunciation a lot. Like among English speakers. Specifically for Beecham, when it looks like it should be Beauchamp.

[Holly Fry]

Ugh, I want it to be Beauchamp. Again, my own bias. But that is the story that we are gonna tell today. To set the scene, we will start with a very brief biography of each of the three main players in the story.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

So, first main player in the story, Solomon P. Sharp, who was born on August 22, 1787 in Washington County, Virginia. He grew up in a log cabin in Kentucky after his parents, Thomas and Gene Sharp, moved there a few years after Solomon was born. This was a time when this area Was still pretty rugged. Life was challenging there.

[Holly Fry]

By the time he was 20, Solomon was already a practicing lawyer. He started his career as a lawyer in Russellville, Kentucky. But he soon moved about 26 miles east to Bowling Green, Kentucky. That's in Warren County. He quickly built a successful law career there and he further grew his fortune by investing in land speculation. In 1809, he was elected to the state legislature as a county representative. He was re elected the next year.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

His legislative career was interrupted by the War of 1812. Sharp served in the Kentucky Mounted Militia, but that service was brief. He only served for six weeks. And then he went right back to politics and was elected to congress in late 1812. He was a two term congressman. And then he went back to his law practice in bowling green.

[Holly Fry]

In 1818, Sharp married a woman named Eliza Scott. Eliza was from a very good family. She's sometimes described as like a debutante. And this was considered a very advantageous marriage for Sharp. He had accomplished a great deal already by what was in his early 30s. He owned a lot of land, he was an enslaver, he owned a lot of people. And he had a pretty impressive legal and political career. But marrying Eliza gave him connections to society.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The next major player in this story was Ann Cook. Her name is spelled a number of ways, depending on the source. Sometimes it's just a N N other times Ann with an E on the end or even Anna ending in an A. Her exact date of birth is not known. She was born in Virginia sometime in the mid-1780s. Estimates put it around 1786. Her parents were Giles and Alicia Cook. Ann was their first daughter. They already had four sons when she was born and they had at least one additional son and daughter after Giles died in the early 1800s. And at that point, Alicia moved along with Ann and her siblings to Warren County, Kentucky. By that point, some of Ann's brothers were adults. They had their own young families. They all moved together. The reason the whole family moved to Warren county was that Giles had also been a land speculator and he had purchased lavish estate property, complete with an enslaved workforce in Kentucky before his death. So the whole family moved there.

[Holly Fry]

The third person in this story is Jeroboam Beecham. He was born to a Kentucky farm family in September 1802. So he was the youngest of the three people involved here by more than a decade. Though his father, Thomas Beecham, was a farmer, Jeroboam had relatives in politics and he started studying law in 1820.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Sometime in the 18 teens in Bowling Green, Ann crossed paths with Colonel Sharp. Anne's life had included a lot of tragedy in the years after she moved to Kentucky. While things had initially gone pretty well, three of her brothers had died in less than three years, and she met the Sharps through some mutual acquaintances. While those sad events were playing out, apparently she had some degree of friendship with Eliza Sharp. She visited her at home on several occasions.

[Holly Fry]

Ann got pregnant in the autumn of 1819. She gave birth in May or June of 1820. That baby is usually reported as having been stillborn, although there are some accounts that suggest that it died shortly after it was born. At the time, Anne, who was unmarried and not romantically tied to anyone, claimed that the father was Solomon Sharp. Ann did not really follow up on this claim, though, or seek any acknowledgment of it on Sharp's part.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In June of 1821, Colonel Sharp decided to run for public office again. This time he was running for a state Senate seat, and his political opponents chose to bring up this allegation that could Cook had raised in an effort to discredit him. He was also accused of land fraud. During the campaign, these two accusations were often bundled together in criticism of Sharpe. But then fate intervened and seemed to offer a way for Sharpe to sidestep all of this. He was offered the state Attorney General position by Governor John Adair after the governor's first choice for that role declined. That, though, meant that Sharpe had to go through confirmation. And of course, these same accusations again came up during that confirmation. But after a Senate committee investigation, they found no wrongdoing and Sharp was confirmed as Attorney General.

[Holly Fry]

Meanwhile, in 1821, Jeroboam Beacham finished his law degree and moved home to his father's house for a little break while he prepared for the bar. And he soon met a nearby neighbor. That was Ann Cook, who had moved to the rural area with her mother. Ann and Jeroboam started a courtship, and soon Jeroboam proposed. The pair waited until he passed the state bar exam in 1823 to move forward with their wedding plans. In 1824, they were married. Jeroboam moved to the farmhouse that Anne shared with her mother.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We'll pause here for a sponsor break and when we come back, we'll talk about how all of this unraveled.

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[Holly Fry]

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[Holly Fry]

So at the point we left off before the break, it kind of seemed like everyone's lives were pretty settled. Sharp had his Attorney General position and the newlywed Beachams were starting their life together. But then Sharp decided he wanted to run for a state legislator position in 1825. There is a whole story about how and why that decision was made, and we're going to give a super abbreviated version of it because this whole affair could be its own episode as well. It involves a lot of political arguing about legislation that had been passed as part of a relief effort to help farmers in the state of Kentucky who had faced economic hardship and potential foreclosures. And then that legislation was rejected on a legal appeal. Following that failed appeal, the sitting judges were all dismissed by the Kentucky General assembly and an entirely new court was appointed. At that point, lawmakers of Kentucky split pretty hard into two factions, the so called Old Court Party and the New Court Party. Sharpe was a member of the new Court party.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Sharpe had been right in the middle of that conflict, and he thought he could support his position better as a legislator than as an Attorney General. That position had been kind of a straddling of the fence on this issue. Once he entered the race, though, the allegations about his relationship with Ann Cook and the paternity of her child surfaced again. Sharpe vehemently denied these allegations, as he had when they circulated previously.

[Holly Fry]

Soon after these allegations came back up, a counter rumor began to spread that the deceased child had been of mixed race, suggesting that it could not possibly have been Sharp's and also insinuating that Ann had a sexual relationship with a black man. It was believed, though denied, that Sharp's camp had started that rumor regarding Anne's baby's race, though there were also claims that her midwife had provided the Sharp family with a sworn document backing that rumor. But despite all of this gossip and mudslinging, Solomon Sharp won his election.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The day the Legislative assembly was to begin, November 7, 1825, Solomon Sharp and his wife Eliza were awakened at approximately 2:00am by somebody knocking at their door. They were claiming to be somebody that the couple knew who was in need of lodging. When questioned through the door, this person said that all the local taverns were full and that he needed a bed for the night. Here is how things played out from there. According to the paper the Frankfort Argus quote, Colonel Sharp told him he should have a bed and opened the door. The assassin entered and passed with Colonel Sharp by the door of Mrs. Sharp's room. He then asked, Are you Colonel Sharp? The Colonel answered in the affirmative. The assassin then said, my name is John A. Covington. Colonel Sharp replied, I do not know you. The assassin said, damn you, you shall soon know me, and plunged the fatal weapon into his body.

[Holly Fry]

Colonel Sharp groaned and fell to the ground, and when Eliza heard that, she jumped out of bed and ran to him. Sharp's brother Leander, who also lived in the home, heard the noise as well and ran to see what it was. Sharp died from his stab wound just a few minutes after the attack without saying a word to his wife or brother. The only clue left at the scene was a bloody handkerchief. It was believed that it had been used first to conceal the knife and then to wipe the blade. After the stabbing, the assailant had run out through the same door that he entered. With neither of Sharp's surviving relatives having seen any detail of his face, they could only report that it had been a tall man wearing dark clothes.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

A manhunt began Immediately. And the trustees of Frankfort put up a thousand dollar reward quote for the purpose of apprehending the monster who committed this diabolical act. In addition to that, the state governor, with an authorization from the state legislature, offered another $3,000 quote for the apprehension of the murderer of Colonel Sharp. Although Sharp had just been part of a very polarized election cycle at a time when Kentucky was very much divided, the community galvanized over his murder and even his most intense rivals and detractors condemned the murder and called for justice.

[Holly Fry]

While suspicion had briefly fallen on one of Sharpe's political rivals. Eventually, Beacham was the person who came into focus. He was known to have been in Frankfurt the night before the murder. He had apparently left the lodgings where he was staying in the middle of the night and then he had left the following morning. News of the attack had already broken when he left. And while everyone else in town was aghast and discussing Sharp's death, Beacham was disinterested to the point that people thought it was odd. Additionally, he had threatened Sharp on several occasions when rumors about his seduction of Anne had circulated. As citizens of the area pieced these bits of information together, a group formed up and went to his and Anne's farm in the next county to apprehend him. He was brought back to Frankfurt on November 15 and formally arrested Once he arrived there.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

There was plenty of testimony at the ready regarding Jeroboam Beacham, but physical evidence was a lot harder to come by. He did have a knife when he was taken in, but that knife could not be conclusively tied to the murder. The knife wound on Sharp's body was a lot wider than the blade of Beecham's knife. Furthermore, it was not the least bit odd at this time and place for a man to be carrying a knife. The handkerchief that had been found at the scene had been picked up by the posse that followed Beecham home, but then it had been lost on the journey. So the strongest piece of evidence against Beecham was Eliza Sharp, who identified his voice as that of the attacker.

[Holly Fry]

But Beacham declared his innocence from the moment he was taken in. He was adamant that he had never threatened Sharpe and he wrote to a number of people hoping for help in the matter. One of those people has come up on the show before. That was lawyer and politician George M. Bibb, whose family we covered in July of 2022. Beacham told Bibb, who had been a close friend of Sharp's, that he was being framed.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I have penciled that Bib episode in as a Saturday Classic forthcoming for people who are interested, that might sound far fetched. Not the Saturday Classic. What Holly just said, Tracy, Really? But there were people who believed it, and with pretty good reason. In the middle of all the tumult that had been going on in Kentucky politics, there had been instances of violence, like, basically fisticuffs, and some of Sharp's friends and allies in the legislature thought it was possible that his political enemies could have taken things farther in an effort to eradicate a powerful opponent to their agendas. One of Sharp's friends, named Amos Kendall, who would eventually become Postmaster General of the United States, ran the Argus of Western America, and he used his platform to accuse Sharp's rivals of goading Beacham on by making sure those rumors about Sharpe and Ann stayed circulating. He even accused specific politicians of going directly to Beecham to talk about these rumors. There were implications that some of these men had been near Sharp's house in the early morning of November 7, insinuating that they had urged Beachum to take action.

[Holly Fry]

We are going to get to Beecham's trial, but before we do, we will hear from the sponsors that keep Stuff youf Missed in History Class going.

[Zoe Saldana]

Hi Zoe Saldana. Welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us.

[Narrator]

Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in.

[Zoe Saldana]

You don't need to trade in. When you switch to T Mobile, we'll give you a new iPhone 16 Pro. Plus we'll help you pay off your old Phone up to 800 bucks and you still get to keep.

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There's always a trade in.

[Zoe Saldana]

Not right now. @ T Mobile.

[Narrator]

I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma.

[Zoe Saldana]

That's okay.

[Narrator]

I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.

[Zoe Saldana]

I'm good.

[Narrator]

Seriously, Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.

[Zoe Saldana]

Really, I'm fine.

[Narrator]

Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.

[Holly Fry]

It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile. Get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence diligence on us. No trade in needed. We'll even pay off your phone up to 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line 100 plus a month on experience beyond Finance Agreement 999.99 and qualify imported for well qualified plus tax and ten dollar connection charge payout via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days credits and imbalance due if you pay off earlier.

[Narrator]

Cancel CT mobile.com this July 4th celebrate freedom from spills, stains and overpriced furniture with Annabe, the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly pricing. Sofas start at just $699, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Annabe's pet friendly stain resistant and interchangeable slipcovers are made with high performance fabric that's built for real life. You'll love the cloud like comfort of hypoallergenic high resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time with modular pieces you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your Life. Now through July 4th get up to 60% off site [e-mail] Every order comes with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees. Every penny back. Declare independence from dirty, outdated furniture. Shop [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Holly Fry]

Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the old gays pull back the curtain on their brand new podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. With over 300 years of experience between them, hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jesse serve four lifetimes of wisdom when it comes to love, sex, community and whatever else they've got on the gay agenda. Listen in to these fabulous friends swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how pride ages like fine wine, available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Robert Evans]

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[Holly Fry]

During the grand jury hearing, which found cause to move forward with a trial but not enough evidence to suggest that anyone other than Beacham be charged, Jeroboam's attorney John Pope asked if they could postpone the trial for a while so they would have time to put together their case. That was honored and this trial was set for May the following year when it began on May 8, 1826. Jeroboam Beacham pled not guilty during the.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Trial, which was prosecuted by Charles Bibb. Just to keep the Bibb family in the mix, one of the interesting pieces of testimony came from Patrick H. Darby. Darby was one of the men who had been accused of stirring up Jeroboam and inciting him to murder. His testimony indicated that he had met with Beacham, but that he hadn't known who the defendant was when they met. Darby claimed that while the two men both happened to have stopped at the same roadside well while traveling, Beecham broached the subject of the purported sexual relationship between Sharp and Ann told Darby that Sharp had basically offered him a bribe, with that being money, an enslaved girl and property if they would just drop it and leave him alone. But he had never delivered on the promised items, and Jeroboam was hoping to enlist Darby to help him get what he was owed. Darby testified that he refused to do this and that at that point Beacham said he would kill Colonel Sharp. In cross examination, defense attorney Pope pointed out that Beecham's conviction would help Darby and his political allies get out of hot water, so his testimony should be considered questionable. Darby also brought another witness into the case, that was Ann and Jeroboam's neighbor named Lowe. The neighbor stated that when Jeroboam had returned to his farm from Frankfurt. He had been waving a red flag and claiming victory, but he had not discussed with the defendant what that actually meant. Lowe also stated that he had letters from Beecham that incriminated him. These letters were not missives that included a plan to murder Sharp. They had been written after Beacham was arrested. They were incriminating because they included detailed directives on the story that Jeroboam would like Lowe to tell in court, including that Ann had not been the one to introduce the rumor of the affair with Sharp, but that it had been concocted by one of his political rivals, John Waring.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah, Pope really tried to have this letter struck, and it did not hold up because it obviously made the defendant look very bad. Had. Throughout this trial, which went on for two weeks, every aspect of the case was, of course, addressed and debated in detail. Witness testimony, though, was largely contradictory, with just about anything introduced by the prosecution countered with an opposite account from a defense witness. Everything from the issue of the size of the knife to the disappearing bloody handkerchief was discussed. And there, too, in those pieces of physical evidence, or lack thereof, the expert testimony from each side contradicted the other. There was no physical evidence of the actual crime. It was all circumstantial. And the only sticking point remained Eliza Sharp's insistence that Jeroboam's voice was the one she had heard at their door the night her husband was murdered. This case went to the jury at 5pm on Friday, May 19. At about 6pm just an hour later, the verdict was read. Guilty.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

For a while, it seemed like Ann might also be charged. Their neighbor Lowe had more to say about this. This was actually precipitated by Jeroboam's defense counsel, who introduced the possibility of Ann being a more active participant as a way to postpone the sentencing. Lowe told the judges that Ann had told him that she had helped plan this murder. And she detailed the various ways that had gone about learning the layout of the Sharp home, acquiring shoes and a knife that were different from her husband's personal items, things like that. Lowe also told the judges that Darby's testimony about a bribe to silence the Beachams was not correct and that no such deal had ever been offered. But although this was compelling and a dramatic development, it was determined that Ann had not been materially responsible for the murder, so she was not charged. That same day, Jeroboam was sentenced to death.

[Holly Fry]

Yes. So, so much of this trial hung on the testimony of their neighbor, Lo, who was a person that Darby had found and said, I think you know about this case. It's all so convoluted and dramatic and a lot of machinations.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

So much of it, I'm like, this seems like hearsay to me.

[Holly Fry]

Uh huh. The date of the execution was set for June 16, but Beacham asked for a postponement because he wanted to write something. Surprisingly, this request was honored, and the new date of execution was set for July 7. Jeroboam returned to his cell to write, and his wife Anne joined him. She stayed with him throughout the rest of his life while an appeal was attempted. It did not gain traction, and this.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Is where Beecham's story seems to have just changed abruptly. Almost from the moment that he was sentenced, people started reporting that he was telling people that he had in fact been the murderer. This information was relayed to the press, which just ran with it. Simultaneously, he started to write the thing that he had in mind, which opens as follows. Quote, I am this day condemned to die by my country's laws. My country has extended the limited time first fixed for my existence on earth in order that I might write an account of the causes which have led to my death, he goes on to.

[Holly Fry]

Confess in this document, but also to justify his actions in doing so. Quote, I die for pursuing what the dictates of my clearest and most deliberate judgment had determined it was at least justifiable in me to do, if not my duty to do, and for which no guilty pang of conscience has ever yet reproved me, or the certain prospect of death made me feel the least regret. And if my death teaches a respect for the laws of my country, my example will be not less serviceable in teaching a respect for those laws of honor to revenge the violation and outrage of which I so freely die.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The writing indicates that Jeroboam intended that for there to be a didactic outcome from the murder and the trial. Writing quote, the death of Colonel Sharp at my hands will teach two lessons not altogether uncalled for by the present moral and political state of society in Kentucky. It will teach a certain class of heroes who make their glory to consist in triumphs over the virtue and the happiness of worthy, unfortunate orphan females, to pause sometimes in their mad career and reflect that though the deluded victim of their villainy may have no father to protect or revenge her, yet some friendly arm may sooner or later be nerved by her to avenge her blighted prospects. The second lesson Beecham felt the Colonel's death might impart was this quote, my example, or rather that of Colonel Sharps will also teach the unprincipled politician in his career of ambition that if his dishonor has driven from society and buried in a living grave an unfortunate female who had fallen a victim to his villainy, it may be better to lie under the reproach of her seduction than to hazard adding further insult to so deep an injury. Slander and detraction to such an outrage upon every human feeling.

[Holly Fry]

One aspect of Beacham's sentence that fascinated the public at the time, and frankly, a lot of people since, was that Anne made no secret that she wished to have the same fate as her husband. Jeroboam also wrote about this in his confession, noting, quote, my wife is, I know, inflexible in her determination that as I die for her, she will die with me. I have no motive to conceal the part which she has acted the more especially, as she insists, to let the world know all the agency she has had in bringing about a revenge for the deep, indelible wrong which Colonel Sharp had done her and her family.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

On July 5, Anne administered what she thought would be a fatal dose of laudanum to both herself and to Jeroboam. She had snuck the laudanum into the cell, concealing it in her clothing. It was not a fatal dose, and she and Jeroboam were both put on suicide watch. But it doesn't appear that anybody searched her at that time because she still had more laudanum with her. She took that, but rather than killing her, it just caused her to vomit.

[Holly Fry]

Two days later, on the 7th, which was the date that Jeroboam was to be executed, the pair asked for some time alone. They were not supposed to be left unattended, but for some reason, the jailer agreed. Anne still determined that they should die together, and once again, with contraband in her possession that no one had managed to notice, pulled out a knife and stabbed herself in the chest. She also convinced Jeroboam to stab himself. He stabbed the knife into his abdomen, but apparently did not hit any vital organs. His wound was not fatal and hers was. She died an hour after the stabbing, with her husband by her side. She had been removed from the cell, but they allowed him to come to where they had her. When they realized she was about to expire. He reportedly stated as he watched her pass, quote, I wish Dr. Sharp was here. I wish he was here to behold this spectacle. Her last words, as reported in the local newspaper, were, oh, my husband. I die for my husband.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Beachum was taken to the gallows in the early afternoon he was composed. He asked for some water and for the attending band to play Bonaparte's Retreat from Moscow. And then he was hanged.

[Holly Fry]

After the execution, newspapers ran the story with an introductory paragraph that read, quote, the tragic scene has closed and the curtain has fallen over the murderer of Colonel Solomon P. Sharp. The trial, conviction and confession of guilt and execution of Jeroboam O. Beacham for the murder and suicide of Ann Beacham, formerly Ann Cook, who was privy to and instigated her husband to the murder of Sharp.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

It was also after the execution that Jeroboam's confession became public. In writing it, it appears that he was hoping the contents would lead to his sentence being commuted or even that he might be pardoned. He did not claim innocence in the murder, but he invoked Darby's involvement. And this confession also had some bombshells. A big one was that he said he had heard about the rumors regarding Sharpe and Cook and had subsequently orchestrated a way to meet her shortly after they had become acquainted. He said he had confronted Sharpe about it, but that Sharp had gotten away from him and that this had happened four years before the murder. And then he described how his desire to kill Sharp was a big part of the bond that he shared with Ann. He wrote that at one point he and Ann tried to lure Sharp to their house with a fake lead on a land claim, hoping that they could kill him there. But Sharp didn't come. What emerges is a tale of two people deeply intent on getting revenge.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah, his version of why they didn't get married until 1824 was that initially Anne told him he had to kill Sharp before she would marry him. Like, there's a whole wild what their relationship really was that plays out in this confession. But another version of the events was written down by Colonel Sharp's brother, Dr. Leander Sharp. This was titled Vindication of the Character of the Late Colonel Solomon P. Sharp. And the Leander account actually, like the other does, place the blame on Darby's shoulders. It strongly suggests that he was actually the one that started the rumors of Sharp and Ann Cook's affair. And it also reiterates the story that her deceased child had been of mixed race. One of the things that does give Leander Sharpe's account a bit more weight in the eyes of many historians is the fact that he worked pretty diligently to collect evidence. He collected accounts from various witnesses. He gained sworn testimonies. He actually ran down a lot of leads, and he included all of this in his work. But this version of Events was suppressed due to pressure from Darby, and it only came to light decades later when the manuscript was found in the Sharp home.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yet another publication did see public release in 1826, and it was the Letters of Ann Cook. This salacious collection of missives was popular with a public that wanted to condemn the behavior of everyone involved in this tragedy, but also wanted to learn all of the juicy details in private. This publication was almost certainly a fake, not real letters Ann had written, although it has been referenced a lot of times by people as though it were legitimate in the last two centuries.

[Holly Fry]

As noted in the book Murder and the Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy, which was written by Matthew Schoenbachler in 2009. Quote, Most of what we do know about the Kentucky Tragedy comes from three remarkable documents. The published proceedings of Beecham's murder trial, Beecham's confession, and A Vindication of Solomon Sharp, written by his devoted brother, Dr. Leander Sharp. Since the Sharp and Beecham writings contradict each other and the trial account likely contains testimony that was purposely false, we're kind of left to puzzle out for ourselves whether this was truly a crime of honor bound vengeance or just the result of political machinations.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In 1967, the Kentucky Historical Society had a marker placed at the grave of Jeroboam and Ann, which takes a pretty starry eyed stance. The front of that marker reads, Romantic 1825 tragedy. Jeroboam Beauchamp and wife Anna buried here in same coffin at own request. To avenge her alleged seduction by Colonel Solomon Sharp. Beecham murdered him at Sharp's Frankfurt home. 1825. Beauchamp and Anna were held in Frankfort jail. She was released, but joined her husband in his cell. Refusing to be separated even by force, he was sentenced to hang. The back of the marker reads, quote, on execution day they attempted suicide by stabbing themselves. Her wound was fatal, but he lived to be hanged that day. The first legal hanging in Kentucky. 1826. Colonel Sharp's political prominence caused case to have widespread newspaper publicity. Edgar Allan Poe and many other authors wrote of the tragedy inspired by Beecham's deep devotion and love.

[Holly Fry]

It's such a romanticized version. Fascination with this case does seem to be never ending. Fiction has, as referenced in that marker drawn from it many times. Social and legal analysts have continued to break down the details of the case and examine it through various lenses over the years. One of the angles that I didn't see considered or talked about very often was put forth by Dixon D. Bruce, Jr. In his 2000 book the Kentucky Tragedy, a story of conflict and Change in Antebellum America. In the book, Bruce notes the cultural context of Beecham's crime. Kentucky could be a violent place in the 1820s. It was a place where people gave credence to a strict and bloody code of honor that, among other things, provided little room for despoiling a woman's character, as Sharpe is said to have done, and virtually demanded the kind of violent retribution Beecham exacted. Thus, to a great extent, the codes serve to frame how people understood the Beecham Sharp affair at the time and how they have continued to interpret its significance. Bruce also notes, as others have, that it's impossible to find any contemporary writings about the events involved that isn't biased. So the only truths that we could really hang on to are the few components that are consistent from account to account. Oh, we got a whole thing to talk about on Friday.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We sure do.

[Holly Fry]

About poems.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Okay. Do you have listener mail? I do.

[Holly Fry]

We have gotten a lot of emails about our Library of Congress episode and I want to read them all cause they're really good, but I really wanted to read this one in the hopes of wishing someone the best possible good fortune going forward. This is from our listener Katie, who says hello. Holly and Tracy, longtime listener, first time emailer. I'm writing to thank you for your episode on the Library of Congress and your acknowledgment of the unjust firing of Dr. Carla Hayden. I have been a librarian with the federal government for over 11 years and the last four months have been some of the hardest of my career. Sadly, I know I'm not unique in this regard. I have always appreciated your references to and use of various libraries and the vast resources they provide. Libraries of all types have always faced challenges. Shrinking budgets, book bans, finding ways to provide equitable access to all citizens, be it books, maker spaces, access to free wi fi, or a place to stay warm or cool. This is our passion and our calling. And as with many helping professions, we are not in it for the money as we face so much uncertainty in the world. Libraries have always been a safe space and I hope we survive the next four years. Thank you for all that you do. I'm obviously crying because I hope so too. But then Katie attaches pictures of her kitty, Blue as a pet. Tax Blue is a fluffy gray magical creature. Very near and dear to my heart is a gray cat. So I love these. Thank you for sharing them. I'm sorry I'm getting so choked up. I really want libraries to survive and thrive. That's all I'm wishing you well. If you would like to write to us and make me cry, you can do that@history podcastheartradio.com you can also subscribe on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Stuff youf Missed in History Class is a production of I iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Narrator]

In 2012, 16 year old Brian Herrera was gunned down in broad daylight on his way to do homework. No suspects, no witnesses, no justice.

[Holly Fry]

I would ask my husband, do you want me to stop? He was like, no, keep fighting.

[Narrator]

After nearly a decade, a breakthrough changed everything. This is Cold Case Files Miami. Stories of families who never stopped fighting. Listen to Cold Case Files Miami on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Robert Evans]

I'm Robert Evans and on my show behind the Bastards this week we have one of our worst subjects ever. David Byrd, founder of the Children of God cult we'll be talking about with special guest Ed Helms. He's not just like a weird religious cult leader. He was like fusing a bunch of hippie ideology in with this kind of like evangelical Christianity, Pentecostal preaching in the mid century. He's a very weird guy, but yeah, I'll just get into it here.

[Narrator]

Like nothing you just said makes sense.

[Holly Fry]

That doesn't sound right.

[Narrator]

But that's the beauty of cults.

[Robert Evans]

Listen to behind the bastards on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Holly Fry]

A body, a suspect, and a hundred years of silence. Buried Bones is a podcast about the forgotten crimes history tried to leave behind. A common misperception about serial predators is that every single time they commit a.

[Robert Evans]

Crime, they commit it the same way.

[Holly Fry]

The past is a way of talking if you know what to listen for. New episodes every Wednesday on the exactly Right network. Listen to Buried bones on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator]

In 2022, a group of divers were.

[Holly Fry]

Sucked into an oil pipe and trapped deep beneath the sea.

[Narrator]

They could have been saved, but they weren't. Following their story has led us to.

[Holly Fry]

Lucrative contracts, failing safety standards and secretive political relationships. As we ask, why were those men left to die? This is Pipeline. Episodes are released weekly. Search for pipeline on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This is an iHeart podcast.