4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL FEBRUARY 7, 2018
O PINION
Offbeat Oregon History: Was Joe Drake a murderer?
good friends with Mary Swartz,
had absolutely no use for her
husband. So it’s understandable
that Joseph Drake would feel
fairly well protected from any
kind of trouble David Swartz
might make for him.
Understandable — and dead
wrong.
The trouble started on May
3, 1884. On that evening, while
Emma Henry and mother Delin-
da were cooking dinner, William
went out to bring the cows in,
and Joseph came with him, hop-
ing to do some hunting. When
they returned, Mary Swartz
The city of Salem as it appeared looking west from the dome of the capitol
was at the house with her son
building in the late 1800s. (Image: Salem Public Library)
George, and everyone had sup-
By Finn JD John
per together.
For The Sentinel
It’s what happened after supper that’s in dis-
pute.
n April 1, 1884, an event occurred that
According to Joseph, he passed the evening
probably should have tipped 25-year- quietly, going outside to smoke his pipe and relax.
old woodcutter Joseph Drake off that Presently young George ran to fetch him inside,
bad things were coming his way:
where Mary Swartz asked him if he could take
His neighbor, David Swartz, fi led for divorce some eggs into town for her. He agreed, and then
from his wife, Mary, and listed Joseph as the pri- she and George left, and Joseph went off to bed.
mary cause. Specifi cally, David claimed Mary
But according to all three of the Henrys, that’s
had committed adultery with Joseph on March not what happened at all.
21, 1884.
Delinda and Emma both testifi ed that Joseph
With most frontier Oregonians, this would Drake and Mary Swartz had an “intimate conver-
have been cause for some discomfort, whether it sation” in a quiet corner of their house, then left
was true or not. But for Joseph Drake, it probably together for the Swartz house, having learned that
should have been his cue to slip out of town in the David Swartz had gone to the mill for a load of
middle of the night. That’s because Joseph was lumber and would not be home until very late.
African-American, one of a tiny handful of black Both the Henry women testifi ed that Joseph and
people living in Salem and the surrounding coun- Mary were having an affair, and both testifi ed
tryside — and the Civil War had ended less than that they had heard Joseph threaten to kill David
20 years before.
Swartz, and that the next morning he was openly
Joseph apparently felt safe enough, though. He boasting about having done the job.
was boarding with the Swartzes’ neighbors, Wil-
And William? William testifi ed that he and
liam and Emma Henry, and Delinda Henry, Wil- Joseph went out that night and waylaid David
liam’s mother. The Henrys, although they were Swartz as he was coming back home with his load
O
of lumber. William had stepped out to stop David,
and then Joseph had shot David from ambush,
badly wounding him; then, William said, he had
run up and snatched William’s pistol away from
him and, as David writhed on the ground, shot
him in the neck to fi nish the job.
So, was it true? Was young Joseph Drake a
cold-blooded killer — ready and willing, with no
particularly strong motive, to murder his alleged
lover’s ex-husband after fi lling the ears of three
witnesses with the details of his plan and letting
one of them witness it directly? And after having
done this, did he calmly go home, climb into bed,
and carry on with his ordinary life, waiting for the
sheriff to come slap the cuffs on him?
Yes, the jury decided; that’s exactly what hap-
pened.
It’s hard not to see the taint of post-Recon-
struction racism at work here, both in the Henry
family’s willingness to throw Joseph under the
bus and in the jury’s willingness to swallow that
whopper. It’s also hard not to look at the details of
the case and spin out other possible sequences of
events: an angry exchange between David Swartz
and William Henry leading to a gunshot, then an-
other one; a hasty retreat to the Henry house to
huddle with Emma and Delinda, hashing out a
plan to save William Henry from the gallows by
pinning the murder on the black guy now peace-
fully sleeping off a long hard workday; and, the
following morning, the betrayal.
Delinda nearly blew the whole game, because
she couldn’t keep her story straight; she testifi ed
at the preliminary hearing that Emma was sick
and she was up all night taking care of her, and
then testifi ed at the trial that she went to bed early.
But the jury was, it seems, in a forgiving mood,
so to speak.
Perhaps to his surprise, William Henry found
himself in almost as much trouble as Joseph. If he
did make up the whole story, he rather overdid it
by placing himself at the scene of the murder and
giving himself a minor role in the actual killing.
Hauled into court for his role in the ambush that
he’d essentially confessed to in open court, he
was sentenced to life in the Oregon State Peniten-
tiary, and had it not been for Governor Sylvester
Pennoyer pardoning him out in 1893 after he’d
served nine years, he’d have passed the rest of his
life behind bars.
As for Joseph Drake, he went to his fate with
bravery and stoicism, if with some obvious trepi-
dation. Although most of Salem had by that time
come to believe either that he was innocent or at
least that he was not guilty enough to merit hang-
ing, a huge crowd gathered to watch the deed
done, and to hopefully hear him fi nally confess
to his crime, now that the scaffold was nigh and
eternity near.
What they heard may have made them pretty
uncomfortable, because even now, with nothing
to gain by dissembling, Drake was not only fi rmly
and quietly insistent on his innocence, but surpris-
ingly gracious toward the people who had appar-
ently played the Judas Iscariot with his young life.
“I am going to be hanged for the company I
keep and not for the crime I committed,” he told
them. “I have not much to say. I am going to be ex-
ecuted for a crime I know nothing about. ... I lived
with William Henry some time and did not think
him a very bad man. Henry surely did the work if
he knew anything about it. I think it is pretty hard
that I have to lay down my life like this. I can’t
say who did the work, for I was not there. I know
I have been rudely dealt with. I thank the people
who have tried to help me for their kindness. ...
(Marion County Sheriff) Mr. Minto’s folks have
done a good part by me and I thank them for it.
They treated me kindly and given me all the priv-
ileges possible under the circumstances.”
Joseph Drake was hanged at 1:48 p.m. on
March 27, 1885. His was the fi rst legal execution
of an African-American in Oregon history.
It would be interesting to know what became
of the Henry family after the hanging, but I have
been unable to learn anything further about them.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Parent on retirement
There are so many of you
that I want to thank for all your
love and support through this
truly diffi cult time. You know
who you are. My unwillingness
to speak publically about my
personal life has contributed to
some very one-sided reporting
of the events. Many of the details
reported have been inaccurate,
or in some cases, completely
left out. I believe my 33 years
of service to South Lane School
District and my 24 years as the
Assistant Superintendent or
Superintendent speaks for itself.
There is a reason the average
Oh what a crying shame
tenure of a superintendent in
one district is a little less than
three years. The work is hard
and challenging, the hours it
takes to do the job well are
almost inhumane, and the
constant criticism you get for
decisions you make eats at your
soul. There are times when
you have to correct employee
performance, tell people “no”,
and occasionally even let people
go. It makes you the prime
target for constant attacks and
criticism.
Being a good superintendent
takes a toll on your family and
C ottage G rove
S entinel
(541) 942-3325
loved ones. I let this job destroy
my family, especially all the
time it took away from my
children. I spent, on average,
65-70 hours per week doing this
work. For at least the 24 years
that I worked at the district level
I was often the fi rst to arrive at
work in the morning and the
last to leave at night. I spent
many weekends in the offi ce,
catching up and planning future
activities, meetings and events.
Other than time I spent sleeping,
I spent more time at work than I
did at home.
I have made mistakes both
personally and professionally.
That is the nature of being
human. One indisputable fact is
that I gave it my all every single
day and will continue to do so
until I leave the district on June
30th.
In 2018 it is still diffi cult to
be a woman in a leadership
role. My personal life should
be nobody’s business. When
compared to men who hold the
same professional positions,
women are often held to a much
different standard in terms of job
performance and the scrutiny of
their personal lives.
I have worked to help kids
be successful and to help build
this district and community
over a long period of time. I will
continue to give this work 110%
until June 30th when I leave
South Lane School District. I
choose to focus on the many
great people in this district and
community and the successes of
decades of kids.
Sincerely,
Dr. Krista Parent
Yes, what a shame that our
town could not have a "cel-
ebration" for our awesome
Lions football team, state
champs!
Yes, the city council had a
recognition for the team three
days after the game which
few community members
were even aware of. They de-
serve a parade, or a celebra-
tion in our renovated commu-
nity armory or a celebration
for all at the high school.
My wife and I are Cottage
Grove graduates. We attend-
ed their games and were
amazed. Yes, these Lions
in the mighty jungle didn't
sleep-they roared!
Bruce and Cheryl Woods
(not related to Jacob but
would be honored to adopt
him)
Cottage Grove
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James Rand, Regional Publisher
IN BRIEF FEB. 7-FEB. 18
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•
The Cottage Grove Genealogical Society is hosting an open house at the CG Community Center in the Activity Room on
February 14, 1 to 3 p.m. The event is in celebration of the 43rd anniversary of the group. Call (541) 942-9570 for more
information.
•
AARP free tax help is available on Wednesdays at the Cottage Grove Community Center through April.
•
Sunday February 11 at 2 -3:30 p.m. at Crescent Moon Yoga 819 E. Main Cottage Grove. Partner Yoga. Donations for
children scholarships at Story Book Theatre and Opal.
Jana Stelle, Marketing Specialist .............................................. Ext. 203
jsteele@cgsentinel.com
Editorial
Caitlyn May, Editor. ................................................................. Ext. 212
cmay@cgsentinel.com
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szilva@cgsentinel.com
Customer Service
Mandi Jacobs, Offi ce Manager ................................................ Ext. 200
Legals, Classifi eds .......................................... Ext. 200
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• It’s free to fi sh, crab or clam on the Saturday and Sunday of President’s Day Weekend, Feb. 17-18, so take a friend!
During these two days, no fi shing licenses or tags (including a Combined Angling Tag and a Columbia River Basin Endorsement)
are required to fi sh, crab or clam anywhere in Oregon.
Production
Ron Annis, Production Supervisor ............................................. Ext.215
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