Manslaughter or Murder
Updated 06/14/2023
Manslaughter is the crime of killing an individual without intent or forethought but through negligence or disregard for their well-being. Murder is the crime of killing somebody intentionally and/or with prior consideration. For example, if a person shoots an intruder who poses a reasonable risk to their safety, the action is not a criminal act. If the same persons shoots an innocent party who they mistook for an intruder, the action could be considered as the crime of manslaughter. If a person deliberately lures an individual into their home with the intent to kill that person, the action is the crime of murder. This webpage is focused upon those individuals who were killed by a criminal act of another individual, whether the act was intentional or unintentional.
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Auburn-Area Victims of Manslaughter or Murder
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Kershner, Emil (12/1865 - circa 01/1896) -
"Found Dead in His Cabin with a Bullet in His Breast - - His Fellow Boatman Taken into Custody. - Auburn: The funeral of Emil Kershner took place from the residence of Geo. Mease. Deceased was 31 years and 4 days old, was engaged in boating on the Schuylkill (River) and made a trip to Reading (PA) and New Jersey. It is said he had considerable money just then. He was not seen about his boat and an investigation followed. He was found dead in his cabin with a bullet hole in his right breast and a revolver lying on the floor. It is suspected that his comrade performed the deed. He was taken into custody at that place...Interment in the old cemetery." - The Reading Eagle, Reading, PA Saturday, January 4, 1896 page 4.
(Note: The "old cemetery" would be the original Auburn Cemetery located adjacent to Mill Street, Auburn, Schuylkill County, PA; however, there is no physical evidence, nor burial or church records, nor listing on the website findagrave.com to support this information. Additionally, a thorough review of Internet search engines failed to produce further information on Emil Kershner.)
"Found Dead in His Cabin with a Bullet in His Breast - - His Fellow Boatman Taken into Custody. - Auburn: The funeral of Emil Kershner took place from the residence of Geo. Mease. Deceased was 31 years and 4 days old, was engaged in boating on the Schuylkill (River) and made a trip to Reading (PA) and New Jersey. It is said he had considerable money just then. He was not seen about his boat and an investigation followed. He was found dead in his cabin with a bullet hole in his right breast and a revolver lying on the floor. It is suspected that his comrade performed the deed. He was taken into custody at that place...Interment in the old cemetery." - The Reading Eagle, Reading, PA Saturday, January 4, 1896 page 4.
(Note: The "old cemetery" would be the original Auburn Cemetery located adjacent to Mill Street, Auburn, Schuylkill County, PA; however, there is no physical evidence, nor burial or church records, nor listing on the website findagrave.com to support this information. Additionally, a thorough review of Internet search engines failed to produce further information on Emil Kershner.)
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Kramer (or Kremer), Annetta Machmer -
Kramer (or Kremer), Daniel S. -
"On Monday night, a farmer named Daniel Kramer living near Auburn, Schuylkill Co. was brutally murdered and his wife nearly so. Kramer was found dead at some distance from the house, and Mrs. Kramer lay in the house with her skull fractured. The murder was committed with a heavy club, which was found. $800 or $1000 in gold was stolen and the house was ransacked. Two men, Joseph Brown and Isaac Hammel (Hummel or Hummell?), have been arrested for the murder and are in jail at Pottsvillle." (The Columbian newspaper, March 1, 1872)
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"About the Kramer Murder and the Supposed Murderers. PHILADELPHIA, March 2d. Isaac Hummell, Emanuel Ashenback and William Kramer were arrested at Pottsville on suspicion of being concerned in the murder of Daniel Kramer, and the probably fatal wounding of his wife. They were released today. Joseph Brown, the alleged murderer, was committed to answer the charge at the April term of the Criminal Court. Mrs. Kramer has returned to consciousness and is still living, though in a precarious condition." (The Marysville Daily Appeal newspaper, Vol. XXV, Number 53, 3 March 1872.)
NOTE: A subsequent article stated the wife was "fatally wounded". She died from her injuries less than a week after her husband was killed. Both victims were buried at the St. Paul's Church cemetery, Summer Hill Road, South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, PA.
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Some of the actual case law and testimony can be found on the Internet or within the publication titled "Criminal Law Reports: Being Reports of Cases Determined in the Federal and State Courts of the United States...; Vol. 2; Hurd & Houghton, 1879". Under the case study "Brown v. The Commonwealth (of Pennsylvania); 73 Pennsylvania State R. 321. Supreme Court, 1873", pages 511-519, the text is somewhat tedious but several key details of the horrific crime can be learned.
The bodies of the Kramers (Kreamers or Kremers) were discovered by their son, Daniel M. Kramer, before 7:00 a.m. on 02/25/1872. Daniel first discovered his mother Annetta "lying in bed insensible", in her "day clothes", "with her head beaten badly" to the point that "she was covered in blood so that her face could not be seen". He then discovered his father, also named Daniel, approximately 300 yards from the house, lying in a lane, fatally beaten. Family and neighbors were summoned. Annetta's sister, Sophia Fehr, heard a dying declaration from Annetta about the crime, although the specifics of the declaration were not detailed in this publication.
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Annetta Machmer Kremer (also spelled Kramer and Kreamer) was born on 05/03/1820. She was the daughter of Johannes Machmer and Magdalena Machmer. She was a sister of David Machmer and Elizabeth Machmer Hittel.
In 1839, Annetta married Daniel S. Kremer (also spelled Kramer or Kreamer). They had two children: Daniel M. Kremer (pictured below) and Jonathan M. Kremer.
Annetta was brutally assaulted during the course of a robbery on 02/25/1872, and died of her injuries on 03/03/1872 (based on her grave marker) or 03/04/1872 (based on certain Internet reports).
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Daniel S. Kremer (also spelled Kramer and Kreamer) was born on 03/02/1809. He married Annetta Machmer Kremer (also spelled Kramer and Kreamer) in 1839. Daniel was brutally assaulted during the course of a robbery on 02/25/1872, and subsequently died that same day from his injuries.
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Many thanks to LaVon C. Campbell, who contributed an article to the website USGenWeb that provides many additional insights into the convicted murderer, Joseph Brown. That document is too lengthy to post its entire content on this webpage, so the following information has been summarized from that article. Anything in quotations is verbatim from Lavon C. Campbell's article.
Joseph Brown was born in Washington Township on 03/25/1854. By the time he committed the murders on 02/25/1872, he already had a "record of malice and petty thefts". He was living with his 82-year old father when he perpetrated the crime. Interestingly enough, Joseph is believed to have attended Summer Hill Church that day.
Daniel S. Kramer (Kremer) was locally known to have hidden gold and silver coins in his house. Brown was believed to have arrived at the house early that morning without a weapon but procured a "club" from a wood pile nearby. Under some pretense, Brown convinced Mr. Kramer to accompany him to "Brown's Mill". When the two of them were approximately 300-400 yards from the house, Brown clubbed Kramer in the head numerous times but left him lying in the lane, still alive but mortally injured. Mr. Kramer died of his injuries yet that day.
Brown then returned to the house where he assaulted Mrs. Kramer, repeatedly striking her with the club. He then took an ax (presumably from the wood pile) and broke into a locked desk drawer, stealing a small bag filled with coins. He left the house even though Mrs. Kramer was still alive though badly beaten. Upstairs, Mr. Kramer's mother, who was 93 years old, was present but she was in such a condition that she heard little and saw nothing of the horrific crimes being committed. She reported hearing "some noise" but had thought nothing of it. Ironically, Brown missed a loot of several hundred dollars concealed within an old fashion clock inside the farm house. As he left the property, he took a piece of wood and struck the fallen Mr. Kramer several more times.
Brown then took a train at Moyer's Station to Pottsville, Schuylkill County, with his loot of approximately $100; however, he was foolish and attempted to sell the gold in Pottsville at several locations, making him and his sales attempts memorable to the people he approached.
When apprehended, Joseph protested his innocence, stating he was "too good a friend of (Daniel) Kramer to hit him" and reminded people that he was related to Mrs. Kramer. He then tried to wrongfully implicate some acquaintances of his for the crime. Those people were briefly incarcerated, but released when Mrs. Kramer's dying declarations were known, which included her stating that Brown was the only one present during the crime.
Brown's defense tried to have the case thrown from court, but the Commonwealth argued that Joseph confessed to the crime three times...first when arrested, then in the magistrate's office, and finally to another prisoner while in jail. Also, the prosecution argued that Mrs. Kramer's dying declarations implicated Brown for the crimes. A jury found him guilty of murder in the first degree. Joseph Brown was reported to be "composed" when the verdict was issued.
Brown's conviction was appealed to the Supreme Court over procedural prosecutorial errors. As a result, the Supreme Court over-turned the 1873 judgment and a second trial was held. At one point, a fire-alarm disrupted the proceedings, but the alarm was discovered to be a false one. After the trial, the jury deliberated approximately two-and-one-quarter hours before returning with a verdict of murder in the first degree with the death penalty. The verdict was again appealed to the Supreme Court; however, this time the verdict was upheld.
Joseph Brown "went to the scaffold in the Pottsville prison" on 03/24/1875...one day before his twenty-first birthday, and over three years after committing the brutal murders of Annetta Machmer Kramer (Kremer) and Daniel S. Kramer (Kremer). The morning trains transported curious crowds of observers for the proceedings. Not only was the prison yard filled with spectators, but others were situated in nearby trees...so many that there were serious concerns the branches might break. Some estimates had the crowd at over 4,000 people. "Representatives of the New York Herald, World, and Sun, Reading Eagle, Philadelphia Evening Telegraph and Chicago Times and Tribune were at the hanging".
"Mr. Green, reporter of the New York Sun, took a dim view of Pottsville...He found in Pottsville a "fearful consumption of bad whiskey and subsequent disorder"...And visitors to the place experience a sense of relief on escaping from the town with their lives and their valuables."
At 5'5" and 135 pounds, Joseph Brown mounted the gallows. His last statements were seeking divine forgiveness from Jesus. He was hanged at 11:52 a.m., and a Dr. Carpenter pronounced him dead at 12:09 p.m. Brown was interred within the northwest corner of the jail yard without a funeral service or minister to issue final thought and prayers. Brown was the only known executed criminal to have been buried within the prison yard. Presently, it is uncertain as to whether or not Brown's remains are still interred within the prison yard or if they had been re-interred elsewhere at some point in the past. The website findagrave.com has no record of Joseph Brown having been interred anywhere else in the United States.
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Kramer (or Kremer), Daniel S. -
"On Monday night, a farmer named Daniel Kramer living near Auburn, Schuylkill Co. was brutally murdered and his wife nearly so. Kramer was found dead at some distance from the house, and Mrs. Kramer lay in the house with her skull fractured. The murder was committed with a heavy club, which was found. $800 or $1000 in gold was stolen and the house was ransacked. Two men, Joseph Brown and Isaac Hammel (Hummel or Hummell?), have been arrested for the murder and are in jail at Pottsvillle." (The Columbian newspaper, March 1, 1872)
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"About the Kramer Murder and the Supposed Murderers. PHILADELPHIA, March 2d. Isaac Hummell, Emanuel Ashenback and William Kramer were arrested at Pottsville on suspicion of being concerned in the murder of Daniel Kramer, and the probably fatal wounding of his wife. They were released today. Joseph Brown, the alleged murderer, was committed to answer the charge at the April term of the Criminal Court. Mrs. Kramer has returned to consciousness and is still living, though in a precarious condition." (The Marysville Daily Appeal newspaper, Vol. XXV, Number 53, 3 March 1872.)
NOTE: A subsequent article stated the wife was "fatally wounded". She died from her injuries less than a week after her husband was killed. Both victims were buried at the St. Paul's Church cemetery, Summer Hill Road, South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, PA.
******************************************************************************
Some of the actual case law and testimony can be found on the Internet or within the publication titled "Criminal Law Reports: Being Reports of Cases Determined in the Federal and State Courts of the United States...; Vol. 2; Hurd & Houghton, 1879". Under the case study "Brown v. The Commonwealth (of Pennsylvania); 73 Pennsylvania State R. 321. Supreme Court, 1873", pages 511-519, the text is somewhat tedious but several key details of the horrific crime can be learned.
The bodies of the Kramers (Kreamers or Kremers) were discovered by their son, Daniel M. Kramer, before 7:00 a.m. on 02/25/1872. Daniel first discovered his mother Annetta "lying in bed insensible", in her "day clothes", "with her head beaten badly" to the point that "she was covered in blood so that her face could not be seen". He then discovered his father, also named Daniel, approximately 300 yards from the house, lying in a lane, fatally beaten. Family and neighbors were summoned. Annetta's sister, Sophia Fehr, heard a dying declaration from Annetta about the crime, although the specifics of the declaration were not detailed in this publication.
******************************************************************************
Annetta Machmer Kremer (also spelled Kramer and Kreamer) was born on 05/03/1820. She was the daughter of Johannes Machmer and Magdalena Machmer. She was a sister of David Machmer and Elizabeth Machmer Hittel.
In 1839, Annetta married Daniel S. Kremer (also spelled Kramer or Kreamer). They had two children: Daniel M. Kremer (pictured below) and Jonathan M. Kremer.
Annetta was brutally assaulted during the course of a robbery on 02/25/1872, and died of her injuries on 03/03/1872 (based on her grave marker) or 03/04/1872 (based on certain Internet reports).
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Daniel S. Kremer (also spelled Kramer and Kreamer) was born on 03/02/1809. He married Annetta Machmer Kremer (also spelled Kramer and Kreamer) in 1839. Daniel was brutally assaulted during the course of a robbery on 02/25/1872, and subsequently died that same day from his injuries.
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Many thanks to LaVon C. Campbell, who contributed an article to the website USGenWeb that provides many additional insights into the convicted murderer, Joseph Brown. That document is too lengthy to post its entire content on this webpage, so the following information has been summarized from that article. Anything in quotations is verbatim from Lavon C. Campbell's article.
Joseph Brown was born in Washington Township on 03/25/1854. By the time he committed the murders on 02/25/1872, he already had a "record of malice and petty thefts". He was living with his 82-year old father when he perpetrated the crime. Interestingly enough, Joseph is believed to have attended Summer Hill Church that day.
Daniel S. Kramer (Kremer) was locally known to have hidden gold and silver coins in his house. Brown was believed to have arrived at the house early that morning without a weapon but procured a "club" from a wood pile nearby. Under some pretense, Brown convinced Mr. Kramer to accompany him to "Brown's Mill". When the two of them were approximately 300-400 yards from the house, Brown clubbed Kramer in the head numerous times but left him lying in the lane, still alive but mortally injured. Mr. Kramer died of his injuries yet that day.
Brown then returned to the house where he assaulted Mrs. Kramer, repeatedly striking her with the club. He then took an ax (presumably from the wood pile) and broke into a locked desk drawer, stealing a small bag filled with coins. He left the house even though Mrs. Kramer was still alive though badly beaten. Upstairs, Mr. Kramer's mother, who was 93 years old, was present but she was in such a condition that she heard little and saw nothing of the horrific crimes being committed. She reported hearing "some noise" but had thought nothing of it. Ironically, Brown missed a loot of several hundred dollars concealed within an old fashion clock inside the farm house. As he left the property, he took a piece of wood and struck the fallen Mr. Kramer several more times.
Brown then took a train at Moyer's Station to Pottsville, Schuylkill County, with his loot of approximately $100; however, he was foolish and attempted to sell the gold in Pottsville at several locations, making him and his sales attempts memorable to the people he approached.
When apprehended, Joseph protested his innocence, stating he was "too good a friend of (Daniel) Kramer to hit him" and reminded people that he was related to Mrs. Kramer. He then tried to wrongfully implicate some acquaintances of his for the crime. Those people were briefly incarcerated, but released when Mrs. Kramer's dying declarations were known, which included her stating that Brown was the only one present during the crime.
Brown's defense tried to have the case thrown from court, but the Commonwealth argued that Joseph confessed to the crime three times...first when arrested, then in the magistrate's office, and finally to another prisoner while in jail. Also, the prosecution argued that Mrs. Kramer's dying declarations implicated Brown for the crimes. A jury found him guilty of murder in the first degree. Joseph Brown was reported to be "composed" when the verdict was issued.
Brown's conviction was appealed to the Supreme Court over procedural prosecutorial errors. As a result, the Supreme Court over-turned the 1873 judgment and a second trial was held. At one point, a fire-alarm disrupted the proceedings, but the alarm was discovered to be a false one. After the trial, the jury deliberated approximately two-and-one-quarter hours before returning with a verdict of murder in the first degree with the death penalty. The verdict was again appealed to the Supreme Court; however, this time the verdict was upheld.
Joseph Brown "went to the scaffold in the Pottsville prison" on 03/24/1875...one day before his twenty-first birthday, and over three years after committing the brutal murders of Annetta Machmer Kramer (Kremer) and Daniel S. Kramer (Kremer). The morning trains transported curious crowds of observers for the proceedings. Not only was the prison yard filled with spectators, but others were situated in nearby trees...so many that there were serious concerns the branches might break. Some estimates had the crowd at over 4,000 people. "Representatives of the New York Herald, World, and Sun, Reading Eagle, Philadelphia Evening Telegraph and Chicago Times and Tribune were at the hanging".
"Mr. Green, reporter of the New York Sun, took a dim view of Pottsville...He found in Pottsville a "fearful consumption of bad whiskey and subsequent disorder"...And visitors to the place experience a sense of relief on escaping from the town with their lives and their valuables."
At 5'5" and 135 pounds, Joseph Brown mounted the gallows. His last statements were seeking divine forgiveness from Jesus. He was hanged at 11:52 a.m., and a Dr. Carpenter pronounced him dead at 12:09 p.m. Brown was interred within the northwest corner of the jail yard without a funeral service or minister to issue final thought and prayers. Brown was the only known executed criminal to have been buried within the prison yard. Presently, it is uncertain as to whether or not Brown's remains are still interred within the prison yard or if they had been re-interred elsewhere at some point in the past. The website findagrave.com has no record of Joseph Brown having been interred anywhere else in the United States.
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Seigfried, Johanna L. Burke - "The body of a RD1 Auburn woman was discovered in the Schuylkill River in West Brunswick Township at 2:45 Monday afternoon (August 14, 1972) by crewman of the Penn Central Railroad.
Schuylkill Haven State Police, who later called the death suspicious, were contacted by the railroaders (and) said the woman was identified as Johanna L. Seigfried, 35. She was last seen alive Monday morning.
A wound in her right temple was from a .22 caliber bullet, Dr. R. E. Hobbs, pathologist at Pottsville Hospital, reported. He said the bullet had caused death.
According to police, the Penn Central train was traveling east on the track near the river when the crew noticed a body about 20 feet from the shore. Police brought it to the river bank. It was then taken to the Pottsville Hospital by the Geschwindt Funeral Home for a postmortem by Dr. Hobbs. Deputy Coroner Conrad Koch also was summoned in the death.
Police, who say a weapon has not been found, called the death suspicious. Investigation is continuing under Cpl. John Mazak. According to her brother, William Burke, Auburn, she was seen yesterday morning.
Mrs. Seigfried was born in Pottsville, daughter of the late William and Stella Browskie* Burke. Surviving are two daughters and a son, Karen, 10; Jacqueline, 9, Jason, 5, all of Shoemakersville, and a brother, William Burke, Auburn." -
(Pottsville Republican Newspaper, Tuesday, August 15, 1972).
*NOTE: The correct spelling of Estella "Stella" Burke's maiden name is believed to be "Borosky".
Johanna L. Burke Seigfried was born in Pennsylvania in 1937. She was the daughter of William Burke and Estella "Stella" Borosky Burke. She was a sister of William "Butch" R. Burke (who served as Auburn Mayor for a period of time).
Johanna married Jay Earlin Seigfried. They had the following children: Jacqueline Seigfried, Jason Seigfried and Karen Seigfried.
Johanna was killed by a single .22 caliber gun-shot to the head on either 08/13/1972 or 08/14/1972, with her body being found on 08/14/1972. The death was initially deemed "suspicious"; but no record could be found using Internet search engines to determine as to whether this death was eventually ruled accidental, a murder or a suicide. She was interred within the St. John's Church "new" cemetery, adjacent to Rt. 895, West Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, PA.
Schuylkill Haven State Police, who later called the death suspicious, were contacted by the railroaders (and) said the woman was identified as Johanna L. Seigfried, 35. She was last seen alive Monday morning.
A wound in her right temple was from a .22 caliber bullet, Dr. R. E. Hobbs, pathologist at Pottsville Hospital, reported. He said the bullet had caused death.
According to police, the Penn Central train was traveling east on the track near the river when the crew noticed a body about 20 feet from the shore. Police brought it to the river bank. It was then taken to the Pottsville Hospital by the Geschwindt Funeral Home for a postmortem by Dr. Hobbs. Deputy Coroner Conrad Koch also was summoned in the death.
Police, who say a weapon has not been found, called the death suspicious. Investigation is continuing under Cpl. John Mazak. According to her brother, William Burke, Auburn, she was seen yesterday morning.
Mrs. Seigfried was born in Pottsville, daughter of the late William and Stella Browskie* Burke. Surviving are two daughters and a son, Karen, 10; Jacqueline, 9, Jason, 5, all of Shoemakersville, and a brother, William Burke, Auburn." -
(Pottsville Republican Newspaper, Tuesday, August 15, 1972).
*NOTE: The correct spelling of Estella "Stella" Burke's maiden name is believed to be "Borosky".
Johanna L. Burke Seigfried was born in Pennsylvania in 1937. She was the daughter of William Burke and Estella "Stella" Borosky Burke. She was a sister of William "Butch" R. Burke (who served as Auburn Mayor for a period of time).
Johanna married Jay Earlin Seigfried. They had the following children: Jacqueline Seigfried, Jason Seigfried and Karen Seigfried.
Johanna was killed by a single .22 caliber gun-shot to the head on either 08/13/1972 or 08/14/1972, with her body being found on 08/14/1972. The death was initially deemed "suspicious"; but no record could be found using Internet search engines to determine as to whether this death was eventually ruled accidental, a murder or a suicide. She was interred within the St. John's Church "new" cemetery, adjacent to Rt. 895, West Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, PA.