Sweltering heat blanketed New England on July 10, 1881. In the Longyard section of Southwick, Massachusetts, an unmistakable stench filled the air, leading to a grim discovery. High above the ground—more than thirty feet—the partly decomposed body of a middle-aged man hung from a tree, suspended by a single foot wedged between the branches. The head had long since rotted away, rolling some distance from the tree, and around the discolored neck was a blue silk handkerchief , tied tightly—a grim, silent witness to the man’s final act. Investigators believed they could reconstruct what had occurred. Weeks earlier, the man had apparently climbed into the tree, fashioned a noose from the handkerchief, and ended his own life. Over time, the weight of the body caused the upper knot to gradually slip. When the body fell, one foot became trapped among the branches, leaving him suspended in the air until someone discovered the scene. The question remained: Who was this desperate soul who had cho...

The Spring family of Southwick, Massachusetts, carried a burden few families could bear—two generations marked by sudden, violent death involving firearms, separated by half a century but forever linked by tragedy. Sunset - Ashland, Massachusetts Before the Storm On August 28, 1852, eighteen-year-old William Spring died instantly when his brother Henry accidentally shot him through the heart. For Henry Spring, the weight of that accidental shot would follow him through the decades. He would marry, build a life, and raise a family in Southwick, but the memory of that August day surely haunted him until his final breath. A Son's Promise Henry's son, Milo Spring, was born in Southwick and grew into a man of apparent stability and success. By 1898, Milo and his wife had made their home in Ashland, Massachusetts, where opportunity beckoned.  In 1901, his reputation earned him an appointment as resident manager of the sprawling Charles H. Tilton estate—a position of considerable resp...