Interrupted: A Breakfast Gone Cold
— A Southwick Time Machine Original True Crime Reconstruction
Westfield, Massachusetts — Winter 1857
For more than a week, the house on School Street stood silent.
It was a modest tenement dwelling, just six rods from the village green—close enough to the center of Westfield that its stillness should have drawn notice sooner. No smoke rose from the family's chimney. No light flickered in their windows.
The last confirmed activity in the household had occurred on the morning of Tuesday, December 15, 1857.
At first, neighbors thought little of it. Winter was a season of illness and travel. Families went visiting. Absences were easily explained away. But as the days passed, the quiet grew harder to dismiss.
An Uneasy Silence
Albert J. Stoub, his young wife Mary, and their two small children occupied the basement and first floor on the west side of the tenement house owned by Stephen Spelman. The building was shared with other tenants. In the other half of the house lived the Murdock family. Above the Stoubs, in an upper room, lived a student named Sherman E. Adams, who attended the local Normal School. Access to the Stoub residence was gained by a stairway and piazza.
The student came and went as usual, sleeping each night only feet above the rooms below—unaware of what lay beneath him.
No footsteps sounded on the stairs. No fire was lit.
By the morning of Wednesday, December 23, the unease that had settled over the house could no longer be ignored. Something was wrong, and the Murdock family resolved to look inside.
When repeated knocks went unanswered, they procured a ladder and a lantern and climbed to a bedroom window.
What they saw stopped them cold.
Lying on the bed was the lifeless, nude body of a small child, covered in blood.
The alarm spread instantly. Neighbors gathered. Finding the front door locked, it was broken down, and by lantern light, townspeople entered the silent house.
The scene inside revealed a violence so extreme it defied comprehension.
The breakfast table remained set, the coffee pot removed from the stove and sitting cold and untouched.On the floor, partially beneath a table with a mirror hanging above it, lay Mary Stoub, about twenty-three years old. Her throat had been cut from ear to ear, so deeply that she had bled to death where she fell. A long gash across one hand showed a desperate attempt to defend herself.
Resting upon her chest was an empty razor case. Beneath her body lay an open razor, stained dark with blood.
On a nearby table sat a butter or broad knife, also marked with blood, believed to be the weapon she seized in her final moments.
Close by lay a small pile of men’s clothing, stiff and darkened with dried blood.
Albert Stoub’s cigar-making bench stood exactly as he had left it, shut up like a table, with his knife still resting in the paste box.
The family had begun an ordinary morning—and never lived to see it end.
In the bedroom, the horror deepened.
On the bed lay two-year-old Mary Emma "Emily" Stoub. Her naked body was covered in blood. Her throat had been cut so deeply that her head was nearly severed from her body.
Next to the bed, in a crib, lay the naked body of five-year-old Charles Stoub. His throat had been cut twice, from ear to ear, the wounds running along his spinal column.
The discovery so disturbed Sherman Adams that he insisted on leaving the house at once and changing his quarters immediately.
Within ten minutes, hundreds of people, mostly women,
had gathered outside the house. Drawn by shock and morbid curiosity,
they came to see what had been done. Those who looked inside would carry
the horrific sight with them for the rest of their lives.
Albert J. Stoub was nowhere to be found.
He had last been seen on the morning of December 15, leaving home for work at J. & T. Kneil’s cigar factory, where he was employed as a cigarmaker. A Swiss immigrant in his mid-thirties, Stoub was known as a steady worker who earned good wages—about eighteen dollars per week. He was described as intelligent, sober, professedly religious, and fond of his wife and children.
After that morning, he vanished.
Suspicion fell upon him immediately.
Those who knew Albert remarked that he was kind to his family and had frequently hired a horse and carriage to take them on pleasure drives.
 |
| A digitally altered photograph of the house on School Street believed to be the Stoub murder house, adjusted to reflect its mid-19th-century appearance. |
A House Examined
A coroner’s jury entered the house and conducted a thorough examination.
Among the bloodied clothing was a man’s shirt described as unusual in its construction. It opened fully down the front and was worn like a coat. Witnesses stated they knew of only one person who wore such shirts—Albert Stoub.
In a paper box, officials found eighteen dollars in cash, two silver watches, and several notes for small sums owed by others, suggesting the family was not in immediate financial distress. Letters were discovered from Albert and others addressed to Mary, as well as correspondence sent to Albert from friends in America. Letters from friends abroad, however, were missing.
The Westfield postmaster confirmed that Albert had received a letter from Berne, Switzerland, on the Saturday night preceding the murders. It was believed the letter may have contained money intended to help him return to Europe, though not enough for his family to accompany him.
One earlier letter written by Albert to Mary read, in part:
“I kiss you and my children, if I had you all with me I should be very happy; this separation is a hard thing, and shall no more be hereafter; may our Lord watch over you in my absence and bless you for all our Savior’s sake.”
Investigators noted the care of his handwriting, his accurate spelling, and the few grammatical errors in his correspondence.
 |
| Key: w = windows, a & d = doors, sd = doorway to basement |
In a small closet, they discovered a large collection of biblical manuscripts and Second Advent charts, some dating to May 1854. The space was nearly filled with detailed maps of time, ages, and eras—documents reflecting immense labor and devotion. While meaningful to followers of the Second Advent faith, the writings appeared incomprehensible to others.
On December 24, 1857, the jury of inquest rendered its verdict: Mary Stoub and her two children had been murdered by Albert J. Stoub, husband and father.
Dr. George G. Tucker performed an autopsy on Mary Stoub. He reported that three inches below her chin, her neck had been cut five inches across, from left to right. Her jugular veins and carotid arteries on both sides were completely severed, as were her esophagus and larynx. On her right hand, the tendon extending to the little finger had been cut off.
The funeral for Mary, Charles, and Emily took place on Christmas Eve, while Albert Stoub remained at large.
The three victims were placed in handsome silver-mounted coffins and displayed in the porch of the church. By noon, a large crowd—mostly women—had gathered at the church doors. When the doors opened, the nave of the church filled to capacity by 1:10. As mourners filed past the coffins, the town was forced to confront the full weight of the crime.
A thick gloom settled over Westfield at a time that should have been one of good cheer.
The burial brought solemnity, but not peace.
Bound by statute, Westfield selectmen offered the maximum reward of $200 for Albert Stoub’s capture. The Governor of Massachusetts soon escalated the search, posting a $1,000 reward for anyone who could “apprehend, secure, and deliver” the fugitive.
Sightings poured in from across New England and beyond—from New York to Maine to Chicago—but each collapsed under scrutiny. Months passed. It began to seem as though Albert Stoub had vanished entirely.
On March 30, 1858, the mystery ended.
James Liswell, a whip maker and amateur fisherman, was walking along Little River, about a mile west of Westfield center near Cowles’s mill dam (known today as Crane Pond), when he noticed something on the bank near a favorite fishing hole. Pushing through thick brush, he came upon the head of a man, pale and decayed, resting just above the waterline.
Coroner Dr. James Holland was summoned at once. The body was recovered from the river, lying on a shelf of the bank. It was so badly decomposed that flesh fell from the hands as it was lifted. News spread rapidly, drawing crowds to the difficult-to-reach site.
 |
| A period sitting room similar to the one described in this account. |
Workers from the cigar factory recognized Albert Stoub’s coat and vest. His shirt—made in the unusual style that opened fully down the front—matched those he had specially commissioned. B. F. Lewis, a local bootmaker, identified the boots as ones he had made for Stoub months earlier in a distinctive fashion. A scar on the face and a soft spot on the head further confirmed the identification.
There was no doubt.
Albert J. Stoub was dead.
An inquest concluded that he had entered the river at some distance above where his body was found. His remains were carried to the town tomb and later buried quietly, without ceremony.
Whether Albert Stoub took his own life, drowned while attempting escape, or met his end in some other manner was never definitively established. Some authorities believed that he took his own life shortly after committing the murders.
What remained was the silence he left behind—and the memory of a house on School Street that had stood quietly, concealing a gruesome scene of violence so horrifying that it shocked the community.
— A historical true crime account researched and preserved by the Southwick Time Machine.
Albert J. Stoub: abt. 1822 – disappeared December 15, 1857.
(body recovered March 30, 1858)
Mary E. (Mott) Stoub: abt. 1834 – December 15, 1857.
Charles Stoub: abt. 1852 – December 15, 1857.
Mary Emma "Emily" Stoub: abt. 1855 – December 15, 1857.
Southwick Time Machine stories are living documents. Research is
ongoing, and this account may evolve as new information comes to light.
This article is based on original primary-source research, including but
not limited to census data, immigration records, period newspapers, and death certificates.
 |
This story is shared freely. Researching, telling, and preserving history like this takes time and care—
reader support makes it possible.
Edited Out / Author’s Additional Research Notes
- Period sources vary in the spelling of the surname. The same inconsistency appears in the “Supplemental Contemporary Case: Mistaken Identity” section below.
- The identification of the murder house as today’s 55 School Street is based on later historical interpretation rather than original street numbering.
- The murder house was built about 1830.
- 55 School Street appears to have stayed in the Spelman family until it was sold in 2011.
- School Street in Westfield, Massachusetts, was reportedly named for Westfield Academy.
- Some contemporary commentary speculated on Albert Stoub’s mental state; no medical or legal determination was recorded.
- While financial hardship was suggested as a motive, evidence found in the home contradicted claims of immediate poverty.
- A friend of Albert said he saw him on the 14th. He told investigators that Albert asked him how long the hard times would last.
- Mary Stoub provided the Spelman family with milk. Mrs. Spelman told investigators that she last saw Mary on the 14th. When Mary didn't show up on the 15th with milk, Mrs. Spelman went to the Stoub home and found it locked.
- The murdered victims were buried in a plot owned by Mr. Murdock.
- The precise circumstances of Albert Stoub’s death were never conclusively established beyond the coroner’s findings.
- Letters to Albert from his friends abroad were missing. It was known that Albert regularly received letters, but he never shared the contents with his wife.
- The message during the funeral of Mrs. Stoub and her children was the uncertainty of life, and being ready for Death's arrival.
- Sherman Erastus Adams was born in Southwick, Massachusetts.
- Sherman Adams moved to back to Southwick, Massachusetts, reportedly due to the impact of what he had witnessed. He became a teacher and a printer before becoming the editor of a local paper, the Westfield Advertiser. He later went to Florida and started a magazine called Orangeland Quarterly. He was also a contributor for various publications and a postmaster, the latter earned him $1 per week.
- Sherman Adams ran into financial difficultly after falling ill in 1895.
- Stephen Spelman married three times. His first two wives died.
- Stephen Spelman patented a washing machine in 1866.
- Stephen Spelman was a successful businessman. He died a wealthy man.
- In 1858, while Sherman Adams was a student of the Normal School, he founded that school's library. It became officially known as Adams Library.
- The $200 reward was more so to motivate police rather than citizens in the region to actively find the murderer.
- One of Westfield's selectmen traveled to Boston to ask the governor to increase the reward. There are source conflicts if the reward was raised from $200 to $1,000 or if the new reward was $1,200.
- Period sources differ on the children’s ages and sleeping arrangements. Charles is believed to have been the older child, though some accounts reverse the ages. Contemporary descriptions also conflict on which child was found in the crib and which on the bed, with some sources placing the younger child in the crib. Based on the weight of available period descriptions, this narrative follows accounts indicating the older child was found in the crib. No contemporary explanation for the arrangement was recorded.
- A butter knife is a type of broad knife; some accounts incorrectly describe the weapon Mary used to defend herself as a butcher knife.
 |
| Representation of a broad knife. |
- Mary Stoub's legs were partially under the table.
- Sherman Adams had to walk by the Stoub's sitting room door to access his part of the house.
- The home had no electricity. There were no lit candles or lanters in the sitting room. Sherman Adams recalled seeing a glow coming from the room around 5:00 a.m. When he returned, the glow was gone.
- B. F. Lewis (later B. F. Lewis & Co.) was a custom shoe and bootmaker in Westfield, known for high-quality calf-pegged boots.
- Some sources identify Albert as a Baptist, others as a Methodist. However, weighing witness testimony, Baptist is believed to be correct.
- Sherman Adams was born about 1835. He moved into the house about twelve weeks prior to the murders.
- Mary Mott was born in Granville, Massachusetts. Her father moved to Southwick. He was a very poor, laboring man.
- Charles Stoub is named after his mother's father.
- Albert Stoub was living in Suffield, Connecticut, at the time of his marriage to Mary Mott, who lived in Westfield.
- A marriage record dated December 15, 1851, was marked “rejected” by officials. The pair was actually married on December 4, 1851. The December 15 date is interesting as the murders occurred on December 15, 1857.
- Sherman Adams had a paralytic shock in 1874. His left side was paralyzed and he couldn't talk for two hours.
- An exchange saloon was a place where men would go to exchange community news, look for work, conduct rough-and-tumble business deals, socialize, etc.
- Albert owned only two suits; both were found in the house. One was covered in blood. It was speculated that stripped off his clothes after the murders and ran from the home naked.
- A resident of the Little River section of Westfield later reported seeing Albert running east shortly before sunrise on December 15, 1857.
- Authorities believed that while her back was turned, Albert killed his wife first, then went upstairs and killed his children.
- After the murders, a man told investigators that sometime around May 1854, Albert wanted to sell him his furniture at half price because he thought the world was coming to an end.
- Bonus Fact: In 1873, Sherman Adams bought what he believed was a mitering machine. A traveling salesman was persuasive—but it was actually a second-hand apple parer that Adams got stuck with.
Supplemental Contemporary Case: Mistaken Identity
On December 17, 1857, an Indiana farmer named Lauerman set out for Chicago with a wagon load of oats. The journey was routine. Along the way, he stopped at a tavern in Blue Island, secured his horses outside, and went in.
While there, he met a man who identified himself as Albert Staub. Staub asked Lauerman for permission to ride with him to Chicago, and Lauerman agreed.
The two men continued on together, sitting on the same seat of the wagon. About three miles into the journey—approximately sixteen miles from Chicago—Staub drew a revolver, placed it against the back of Lauerman’s head, and pulled the trigger, killing him instantly.
Staub dumped Lauerman’s body along the side of the road and continued on alone. He reached Chicago, where he sold the load of oats. From there, he drove the team on to Milwaukee.
Shortly after arriving in Milwaukee, Staub was arrested. His capture was the result of an alert policeman who had already become suspicious of him several days earlier.
Prior to the murder, Staub attempted to purchase the Exchange Saloon. One source places the price at $500, while another gives it as $600. Staub paid $80 to bind the deal—six ten-dollar gold pieces and one twenty-dollar gold piece—but did not have sufficient funds to complete the purchase. During that transaction, a policeman became wary of the young man and kept a close watch on him.
When Staub returned to Milwaukee after killing Lauerman, the same policeman noticed him again and began shadowing him. When confronted about his sudden possession of money, Staub confessed.
The case drew attention in Massachusetts because of the similarities between Albert Staub and Albert J. Stoub, the man wanted in Westfield for the murders on School Street. Staub was a native of Switzerland. He was educated and well-mannered—traits also attributed to Stoub.
Authorities considered the possibility that the two men were the same person. However, their ages did not match, and the theory was dismissed.
Albert Staub was sent to the gallows on April 20, 1858. Thousands gathered on that rainy day to watch the public hanging.
Amazon may pay the Southwick Time Machine a small commission for any purchases you make when you access your Amazon account through any of the Amazon links on this page.