— A Southwick Time Machine Original   On a Tuesday, April 30, 1844, a grim discovery was made in the Connecticut River at Suffield. A body had been found floating in the river. Authorities believed the deceased was a man around fifty years old. He wore black pantaloons and a vest, but no coat. There was little to immediately identify him, though the contents of his pockets offered several clues. Among his possessions were a pocketbook marked "E. F. P. Jeffreys'," a three-bladed knife bearing the name Perkins, a pair of silver-bowed spectacles, a half-dollar piece, and a vial labeled "Moore's Essence of Life," a popular patent medicine of the era.   A bottle labeled "Essence of Life"   As was customary, a jury of inquest was assembled to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death. After examining the body and evidence, the jurors returned a verdict of accidental drowning. The body appeared to have been in the river for several weeks. Beyo...

— A Southwick Time Machine Original | Biographical Reconstruction   Frederick Lovatus Noble was born in Southwick, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1822. Known by his middle name, Lovatus, he grew up in a wealthy and highly respected Southwick family. He later married Julia Ann Sarah Warner of Suffield, Connecticut, on April 23, 1851. The newlyweds settled in the Long Yard section of Southwick.   The Noble Homestead in the Longyard Their first son, Frederick “Freddie” Lovatus Noble, was born on March 12, 1854. Two years later, on May 12, 1856, they welcomed another son, Frank Wilbur Noble. Lovatus was a man of exemplary character. He earned his living peddling whips for a manufacturer in Westfield, Massachusetts. In November 1857, he was returning home from a business trip when he stopped at the Granby, Connecticut, home of Jeremiah “Jeremy” H. Holcomb, an acquaintance with whom he had arranged to spend the Sabbath. Lovatus stayed at the Holcomb residence for a day or two. On the ...

What follows is drawn from historical records and contains descriptions that, even by the standards of the day, shocked all who heard of it. — A Southwick Time Machine Original | True Crime       A False Promise   In the spring of 1870, David Scott of the Feeding Hills section of Agawam, Massachusetts, began courting an Irish girl from Suffield, Connecticut. Townspeople later described the young woman as prepossessing in appearance and said that she had a good reputation.   The relationship soon turned serious. Before long, the pair became engaged.   Scott proposed that they travel to Springfield, Massachusetts, where a Catholic priest would solemnize the rites of marriage. The couple made the trip together, but after meeting with the priest, Scott informed the girl that the ceremony would have to be delayed by one day. He persuaded her that a single day would make no difference and suggested that they spend the night at a first-class hotel.   When th...