A Quiet Life Broken: The 1909 Murder of Alice Parsons

The seemingly idyllic life of Alice and Lewis Parsons in New Philadelphia, Ohio was shattered by gunshots on a fall morning in 1909.

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Alice Hurrell (1870-1909), born in Pennsylvania, lived with her childless Uncle Stewart Hostler (1835-aft. 1910) and Aunt Margaret Hostler (1848-aft. 1910) in Dover, Ohio in 1880. The Hostlers were also from Pennsylvania, and would eventually return there later in life. By the time Alice met Pennsylvania-born Lewis J. Parsons (1871-1925) she took the surname Hostler for herself as well. Lewis and Alice married in February 1894 and established their household on South 7th Street in New Philadelphia, Ohio.

Lewis moved to Tuscarawas County, Ohio as a teenager and worked as a molder in nearby metal manufactories and occasionally found extra work as a house painter as well. By the time Lewis and Alice moved into a different home on West St. Clair Street they were well known in the neighborhood and, by all later accounts, well-liked. They appeared to be a fine and loving couple who, despite not having children of their own, often hosted nieces from family in Pennsylvania. This image of the couple was shattered by gunfire on the morning of October 1, 1909.

According to witness John Briggs (1849-1937), who boarded with the Parsons, after breakfast Lewis followed Alice into the living room. There he allegedly told her he would pack up his things and leave, and Alice then went upstairs. Lewis followed Alice upstairs and, when they arrived at the bedroom, he pulled out a .32 revolver and shot Alice once in the back of the head. Lewis then put the gun to his own chest and fired three more rounds, critically wounding himself. Alice was killed immediately while Lewis was taken to Union Hospital to be treated for his gunshot wounds.

The initial investigation, conducted as Lewis recovered from his near fatal gunshot wounds, uncovered that Alice confronted Lewis recently about the alleged fact that he had made advances, and possibly worse, towards Alice’s 14-year-old niece. During the confrontation, Alice refused to reconcile with him and threatened to leave Parsons. Law enforcement believed that this was Lewis’s motive for killing Alice. Once Lewis recovered, he was charged with first degree murder and transferred to the Tuscarawas County Jail to await trial.

Lewis’s defense attorneys worked to mitigate the first degree charge, arguing and finding witnesses who claimed that Lewis was not mentally well. They never claimed insanity, just that Lewis had not “been himself.” They attributed this to a claim, never proven in court but shared with the press, that Alice was having an affair. They also argued that the couple had struggled for the gun and that Lewis accidently shot Alice in the back of the head. Of course Alice, being dead, could not rebut any of these claims and the public character assassination of Alice had the desired effect. The judge in the case permitted Lewis Parsons to plead to the lesser charge of manslaughter, citing mitigating circumstances. He was sentenced to 10 years in the Ohio State Penitentiary.

Lewis served less than a year-and-a-half of his sentence and was released on parole in May 1911. After his release Lewis moved to Canton, Ohio where he remarried in November 1911, and asked that the marriage not appear in the local newspaper. The couple eventually moved to New Franklin, Ohio where Lewis worked as a house painter until his death from pneumonia in February 1925. Alice Parsons, murdered by her husband, was buried in East Avenue Cemetery in New Philadelphia, Ohio though no headstone has been found.

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© Noel B. Poirier, 2024.