Review, opinions, &c., of Dr. Charles A. Lee and others : of the testimony of Drs. Salisbury and Swinburne, on the trial of John Hendrickson, Jr., for the murder of his wife, by poisoning.

  • Hendrickson, John, 1832-1854.
Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Review, opinions, &c., of Dr. Charles A. Lee and others : of the testimony of Drs. Salisbury and Swinburne, on the trial of John Hendrickson, Jr., for the murder of his wife, by poisoning. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    DEDICATION. Hon. SAMUEL L. SELDEN, JUDGE OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK. Sir: I dedicate to you in the following pages, a collection embracing the voluntary opinions, views and criticisms, of many and the most leading emi- nent Chemists and Physicians in the country, upon the medical and chemical testimony of Drs. Swinburne and Salisbury, on the trial of my son, John Hendricksou, Jr. My object in doing so, is to present to the world in a body, all the information obtained on the subject connected with the science of medicine, in a form that will perpetuate it in history, and be useful here- after in the administration of justice, when the excitement of the times shall have passed away. It is not my purpose to express any opinion, whatever, as to who are right or who are wrong on the questions of science involved in this case. The duty of passing judgment I shall cheerfully leave to the impartial reader, whose mind, free from popular prejudice and personal re- sentment, will be the more competent to the discharge of this task, in accord- ance with the dictates of humanity and justice. If you shall find that it contains serious reflections upon the administration of justice, be assured that they are in no wise intended to apply to you, as I have every reason to be- lieve your character for private purity, exalted integrity, and judicial learn- ing, is free from reproach, and that popular prejudice or personal favor have not'as yet, warped your understanding or perverted your judgment from the path of honesty and justice, in passing upon the rights of the citizen, affecting life, liberty, and property. Whatever may be the sorrows for the untimely and premature deaths of a son and husband, the latter resulting from the former, I shall not attempt to express them here. That you may long enjoy the blessings of life and health, with increasing honors, and walk in the ways of justice and mercy, is my sin- CGTG WISH CATHARINE HENDRICKSON.