Horrid Murder! The James Purrington Family Massacre

Horrid Murder! The James Purrington Family Massacre

The chilling Story Behind the Purrington Family Massacre of 1806

"The whole house seemed covered in blood."⁠

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On the evening of July 8, 1806, the family of well-respected Maine farmer and Revolutionary War vet James Purrington was preparing for bed while he set about sharpening his axe. After his wife Betsy and eight children went to sleep, he stayed up to read the Bible — then, in the early morning hours, a blood-curdling noise suddenly echoed through the house. It was about 2 a.m. when Purrington's 17-year-old son awoke to the sound of his mother screaming. He quickly leaped out of bed and ran into the next room, where he saw his father holding a blood-soaked axe. James Purrington then struck his son's shoulder, though the boy managed to flee the house — but the rest of his family wasn't so lucky. ⁠

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After the boy alerted the neighbors, they ventured inside and came upon the horrifying scene. Betsy lay dead in her bedroom, her head nearly severed from her body, and at her feet lay 10-year-old Anna. The corpse of Polly, the oldest Purrington daughter, was found near the dead body of the family's 18-month-old infant. Brothers Nathaniel and Nathan, ages 8 and 6, had their throats slit, while their 12-year-old brother Benjamin lay dead in front of the hearth. Only 15-year-old Martha, who was found with her head resting on the corpse of the 18-month-old, lived through the night before soon dying from her wounds. And James Purrington himself, after successfully slaughtering his family, had used a razor to cut his own throat.⁠

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Read the chilling full story of the Purrington Massacre by following the link in our profile.⁠

Augusta, Maine. 1806.

The year 1806 is unlike anything we know today. An era when America was in its infancy, having recently won the Revolutionary War, separating from England. This was a time when men would leave their families to subdue mother nature and settle new land in the dense wooded wilderness of this wild territory called Maine, whose land was still 14 years from official statehood in New England. A time when a man with a nothing but an axe to chop lumber and a dream to stoke his spirits, would clear acres of woods by hand, and through sustained effort over many years, might carve out a modest existence in the American frontier. 

 This was a time of go to church every Sunday and say prayers before every meal. This was a time where missing church was tantamount to heresy—a time where religion cast a shadow on every aspect of life - from weather to sickness, from good fortune to bad luck.

Captain James Scale Purrington

Captain James Scales Purrington and his wife, Elizabeth “Betsey” Purrington, and their 8 children were living together in their new home in Augusta, Maine and for a year they made their way, getting to know their community and vice versa, establishing a reputation of self-sufficiency and respectability.

Captain Purrington was described as “an independent farmer with a handsome estate; of steady, correct, and industrious habits; of good character and fair reputation; and strongly attached to his family”. Despite the difficulty of a move and the extraordinary challenge of caring for 8 children, he and his wife, Betsey were succeeding.

But in the 11th month of this new chapter of their life, in July of 1806, in the heart of summer, they ran into hard times. A drought had set in, and their entire crop was threatened. Crops were withering and disease was setting in. New growth had sputtered to a halt. Their cattle were growing hungry. James was despondent.

James had penned a letter to his brother, expressing thoughts of suicide. And perhaps if his daughter Polly hadn’t of caught him and told her mother, James Purrington would have been the only victim in the Purrington family.

The axe can carve out dreams from wood, but the axe can also take them away

After seeing the devastation and the impact a potential suicide would have had on his family, James changed his plan. And on the night of July 8th, 1806, he took and axe and a straight razor, and made his way through every room in the house, taking out almost his entire family before killing himself.

But there were two survivors, who were able to give the horrifying details of what happened the night James Purrington murdered his family. What kind of man would slaughter his wife and children?

The news of this tragedy traveled like wildfire. On around Saturday, July 12th, the fourth day after the massacre, a special one-page news bulletin, called a ‘broadside’ today by historians, was printed by a local publisher, Peter Edes. Today you can view this in the Library of Congress on online. This broadside would be published and copied all around the world.

Due to renewed interest in the 1990’s from the PBS documentary A Midwife’s Tale, based on Martha Ballard’s first hand account diary, this story isn’t forgotten. Because of it, we’re able to take a peek into the past, during the founding years of this country, and learn about this important (but horrifying) event in New England history.

What lead James Purrington down this dark path? Was this the act of a religious fanatic with a premonition to fulfill? A moment of passion or insanity? Was there mental illness at play? Or was James Purrington simply a cold blooded killer?

Tune into the story of the Purrington Family Massacre on Murder, She Told wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Sacred to the memory of the victims of the Purrington tragedy. Betsey, Polly, Benjamin, Anna, Nathaniel, Nathan, Louisa, Martha, and baby Purrington.  

The original publications from 1806 spell the Captain and family’s name as Purrinton, and I’ve also seen it spelled as Purinton. In a more modern context, such as the memorial from the city of Augusta, the name is spelled as Purrington. Based on my research, I do believe that the original spelling was indeed Purrinton, but have chosen to spell it in the modern context for the writing and title of this podcast episode.

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