Last Hanging
Within these walls of the Bucks County Prison, just inside the Main Gate, lived the sheriffs of Bucks County who maintained order and supervised punishment including death. On July 19, 1914 James Linzi was the last of two men hanged here and in Bucks County. Sheriff Charles M. Meredith, a Quaker opposed to capital punishment, was praised in newspaper accounts for efficiency though he turned his back as his deputy sprung the trap. Linzi had confessed to murdering his pregnant wife, was convicted by a jury and sentenced to death by Judge Wm. Ryan in spite of the efforts to spare his life of his court appointed lawyers, Webster Grim and his assistant, Arthur M. Eastburn, who both attended the hanging. Sheriff Meredith began a newspaper dynasty and the lawyers' law firms, two oldest in the county, both legal dynasties, continue. The sheriff's publisher son, Charles M. Meredith, Jr., became president of the Bucks County Historical Society and Mercer Museum where the gallows may be seen today across the street.
This tablet is a 2017 gift of Charles M. Meredith III, grandson of the Sheriff, newspaperman and former County Commissioner and of his friends J. Lawrence Grim, Jr. and son Gregory E. Grim, grand & great-grand nephews and law firm members of the lawyer Webster Grim and a former trustee & a trustee of the James A. Michener
this page online
Erected 2017 by Charles M. Meredith III, J. Lawrence Grim, Jr., Gregory E. Grim, and Others.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Events. A significant historical date for this entry is July 19, 1914.
Location. 40° 18.483′ N, 75° 7.583′ W. Marker is in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. Marker is on the grounds of the James A. Michener Art Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown PA 18901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Bucks County Jail (a few steps from this marker); The Site (within shouting distance of this marker); The Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); The Expansion (within shouting distance of this marker); Corporate Business Partner Entrance Courtyard and W.B.U.X. Sculpture Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); The Mercer Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); Thinking Green (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Doylestown Agricultural Works (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Doylestown.
Also see . . . Uncovering an invitation to a hanging in Doylestown in 1914 (The Intelligencer, 2016). (Submitted on March 3, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 3, 2018. It was originally submitted on March 3, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 543 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 3, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
