Anna George and the Murder of George Saxton | Morbid | Podcast

On the evening of October 6, 1898, forty-eight-year-old George Saxton, brother of First Lady Ida McKinley, was riding his bike to the home of his lady friend Eva Althouse when an assailant dressed in black emerged from the shadows and fired two shots. Wounded, George crawled towards Eva’s house and had just reached the front steps when the shooter approached and fired two more shots, killing him almost instantly.
Within hours of Saxton’s death, his former mistress, Anna George, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. For more than a decade, Saxton and George had been carrying on a scandalous relationship that began as an illicit affair until Saxton successfully convinced George to divorce her husband, supposedly with promises to marry her. However, once she was a single woman again, Saxton’s enthusiasm for marriage had cooled and over time his interest in Anna waned.
Anna George’s sensational arrest and trial dominated headlines for months and, as Saxton was extremely unpopular, many people sympathized with the accused woman and even reveled in Saxton’s death. After an intense and closely watched three-week trial, Anna George was acquitted of the murder and soon after she faded out of the spotlight, leaving the murder of George Saxton officially unsolved to this day.
Thank you to the glorious David White, of the Bring Me The Axe Podcast, for research!
References
Akron Beacon Journal. 1906. "Former Akron man suicided in Ravenna." Akron Beacon Journal, July 23: 8.
Bellamy, John Stark. 2011. A Woman Scorned: The Murder of George Saxton. Cleveland, OH: Independent.
Boston Daily Globe. 1899. "Mintz on Saxton." Boston Daily Globe, April 23: 2.
-. 1898. "Public sympathy with Mrs. George." Boston Daily Globe, October 9: 1.
Cincinnati Post. 1898. "Before bar of justice." Cincinnati Post, October 10: 1.
-. 1898. "Charged with murder of G.D. Saxton." Cincinnati Post, October 11: 1.
Clinton County Democrat. 1898. "The good people of Canton rejoice that he has been removed." Clinton County Democrat, November 10: 1.
Coe, Jonathan. 2012. Canton's Great Tragedy the Murder of George D. Saxton, Together with a History of the Arrest and Trial of Annie E. George Charged with the Murder. Detroit, MI: Gale.
Dayton Daily News. 1899. "Loved to the hour of death." Dayton Daily News, April 8: 1.
Dayton Herald. 1899. "Relations of Mrs. George and Saxton are told to the jury." Dayton Herald, April 8: 1.
-. 1899. "Youth claims to have seen the killing of Saxton." Dayton Herald, July 25: 1.
New York Times. 1899. "Belated evidence heard at Chicago against Mrs. George." New York Times, July 25: 4.
Scripps-McRae Telegram. 1898. "Out of court noted alienation case was settled." Cincinnati Post, October 5: 7.
Stark County Democrat. 1899. "Sterling were the remarks of the attorney by the same name." Stark County Democrat, April 27: 1.
-. 1899. "Testimony being heard at a rapid and exceedingly gratifying pace." Stark County Democvrat, April 13: 1.
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[@danabailey6174]

Weird… I WAS ACTUALLY QUILTING, during this episode!

[@Peppermint_Winter]

When I was in military tech school, there was a guy named Sample in our school. He was in the Navy. His title was Seaman Sample. Hand to God, this actually happened.

[@linzhatterxx]

I’m listening to this on my break at work and I need you to understand I’d made me choke on my lunch a little bit lol

[@Peppermint_Winter]

@@linzhatterxx I hope I don't catch you at dinner and tell you there was also a Private Parts in our school.

[@linzhatterxx]

@@Peppermint_Winter I am absolutely screaming you have to be fucking with me lmao

[@Peppermint_Winter]

@@linzhatterxx Gurl, I went to school with a Seaman Sample, a Seaman Stain, a Private Parts, and a Pettyofficer Officer. Like, the last one isn't dirty, but we thought it was pretty funny.

[@cathymeckley4195]

😊llllpllppplpppp]]

[@Peppermint_Winter]

I think you guys are throwing this in a frivolous light by looking at it through a modern lens. Promises and vows used to be taken seriously. I mean you don't sell weed in Singapore and be shocked when they sentence you to death. You knew that was a consequence of your actions. Today we can look at this case and say Oh Annie, just move on! I don't think you fully understand how completely she threw her life away for this man. She was a marked, dishonorable woman for the rest of her life-even if George had married her- but to get tossed aside after sacrificing everything? And this jerk had done it three times before and was working on numbers 5 and 6? No wonder no one cared that he was murdered. In the culture of the time, he played with fire and he got burned.

[@lindsaybeadle8478]

💯

[@Jamiesonlindley]

I'm thinking of that clip from Brooklyn 99 "cool motive, still murder"

[@PreziesLover327]

James Saxton was a respected banker, a pillar of his community with 2 daughters, including one who became First Lady, and a son. His son was his 3rd and last child who would have helped his dad in the bank if he was born before his sisters. Mr. Saxton gave his eldest child Ida important responsibilities in his bank, and his 2nd child Pina was also well-educated and blessed with a successful family with husband Marshall Barber and 7 children. And poor George, the last of the Saxton sibs, could not measure up to his father's standards, so he fooled around too much. It could be that their mother Kate Saxton, whose early death not only shattered Ida but also the son George. Pina fared the best of the siblings, and Mr. Saxton was proud of her.

[@laquitalangley1833]

Girl bootie Bungalow lol love it lol

[@saragorostieta-groves9166]

MY oldest daughter loves to point out all the time that my younger kids were sick all the time. I get triggered when anyone says that cause I think well they are babies and I take care of them. What are people implying by feeling the need to say this.

[@michalecoriell5840]

Women were thought of (and still are, to some extent) as mentally and emotionally weak without the stabilizing guidance of men. It is actually not surprising that Anna was found not guilty. The extreme sexism at that time was pervasive in every aspect of life. Women were not considered strong enough to withstand mistreatment (such as that influcted by Mr. Sexton), and therefore not responsibile for their actions.

[@socaldeb]

46:38 I think in those days, elite marriage was frequently not about love. His promise was a contract that offered many amenities, socially, financially, etc. She is acting crazy, but likely because his breach, ended the life she believed she was "promised". Either way, violence and/or psychological abuse is never the answer. To say it in a vulgar way, she likely didn't care what he did with his hot dog, but give her the (above noted) things she wanted. To bad, so sad, she should have moved on.

[@saragorostieta-groves9166]

NOT Guilty!!!!!

[@joxerj9938]

Tom Petty?