On September 22, 1870, a news article published in the Delaware Tribune told of a “sensation in Milford” about John Norcross. The subtitle for the article was “a rumored tragedy – battle for a farm and a woman.”
John Norcross arrived in Milford in October 1869, accompanied by a widow, Cecilia V. Ladd, and his daughter, Anna Norcross, who was 17 at the time. It was reported that Norcross came to town after failing as a liquor dealer elsewhere. Ladd and Norcross moved into the Spencer Shoemaker farm near Milford where they seemed to live quietly.
The 1870 census shows that Norcross lived in Cedar Neck Hundred with C.V. Ladd, 23; Ann V. Norcross, 18, and Barney Henry, 24, who is listed as a farmhand. No information could be found on Anna’s mother.
Norcross tended the farm while his daughter and Ladd handled the housekeeping, which was common for that era. The report did state that if asked, Ladd claimed to own the farm and property.
The week of September 11, 1870, Harry Stevens arrived in Milford as a representative of R. Hance & Sons nurseries in New Jersey. He visited the Norcross/Ladd farm to sell trees and, although there is no evidence he was successful in the tree sale, Stevens was successful in drawing the attention of Miss Ladd.
“He made a bargain of much more important character,” the article read. “The widow was handsome, and Mr. Stevens was not disagreeable to look upon. They were suddenly smitten with mutual admiration.”
Stevens began to court the widow, and, within a few days, he led Miss Ladd to the alter of Christ Church where they were married by Rev. J. Leighton McKim. Immediately after the wedding, the new bride demanded that Norcross leave the farm.
It was fairly well known that Norcross was also smitten with the widow, so this dismissal did not sit well with him. He alleged that it was not her farm, but that it was purchased with his money. Because he was bankrupt when he arrived in town and likely had creditors where he was from before, he placed the property in a trust in her name. Norcross left the farm as requested, but he continued to brood about the situation. His daughter, however, was allowed to remain with the newlywed couple.
The newlyweds left town for a few days, likely for a honeymoon, taking the young girl with them. While they were gone, Norcross returned to the farm and took possession. When the Stevens and Anna returned to Milford, they hired a livery team to take them to the farm at around 8 PM. When they arrived, they were met by Norcross and an altercation ensued between Stevens and Norcross.
Norcross then drew a seven shooter and commenced to firing at Stevens, who “took to his heels.”
“Murder! Murder! Help, good folks! Help” the article continued, claiming that Stevens was shouting at the livery driver for assistance. Because the livery driver was unsure if he was going to be a victim or not, he lashed the horses in order to make a run back to Milford. Stevens frantically tried to stop him and managed to get back in the carriage, leaving his wife and Anna Norcross behind. The women ran across a field to a neighbor’s house and Norcross was left at the farm.
As soon as Stevens could catch his breath after arriving in Milford, he went before the magistrate and made affidavit to the facts of the incident. The livery driver joined him in front of the magistrate, reporting that both of them had “barely escaped with their lives and that the women they had left behind screaming had likely both been murdered.”
Excitement rose in town and Constable Vaughn gathered a posse of 25 or 30 men armed with clubs, sabers, revolvers, knives and other deadly weapons. The men headed to the farm, expecting to find tragedy and to arrest Norcross.
When they arrived, they found Norcross sitting quietly in the house and the women safe at the neighbor’s home. Norcross peacefully submitted to the arrest and, after arriving in Milford, gave bonds for $1,000, about $26,000 today, to keep the peace. When news of what had transpired between Norcross, the widow and Stevens, many prominent citizens of Milford felt that Norcross had been seriously aggrieved.
Townspeople felt that what transpired at the farm the night before had been greatly exaggerated by Stevens, and they felt they should bring about an amicable settlement. There was an offer that Norcross would receive his horse and carriage, along with other personal effects. Norcross agreed to the settlement.
Norcross left immediately for the north, but his daughter chose to remain with the widow as the new Mrs. Stevens had become a companion over the time Anna had lived with her. She remained at the farmhouse with the newly married couple while her father left town for parts unknown.
No further information could be found about Anna Norcross or for Harry and Cecilia Stevens.
