Crimes in Herstory (Blog Series) -- Ghost of the Cellar: The Couple Who Murdered & the Spiral of Memory in 19th Century Nevada
WC Blogpost by: Weenie and Ruckus
Her Villainess Origin Story
Elizabeth Potts and her husband Josiah were initially from England. The family– consisting of Elizabeth, Josiah, and their three kids- moved to Carlin, Elko County, Nevada around 1886. The husband was a machinist in Carlin, and although Josiah was rumored to be simply a trustworthy and quiet man, Elizabeth had a supposedly lousy reputation for drinking and fighting with her neighbors.1 Miles Fawcett was also an immigrant from England and became a local carpenter seven miles away from Carlin.2 It is important to note that, purportedly, Fawcett and the Potts couple had an established relationship before the situation took a turn for the violent. Miles often paid visits to the Potts' household because Elizabeth baked bread for him and washed his clothes.
Entangled Interests - The Lead-Up to the Murder of Miles Fawcett
The situation further evolved when a couple of years later on January 1, 1888, Miles Fawcett visited the Potts' residence to obtain some money he needed to collect from the couple, even going so far as to share that he knew he could get Elizabeth to pay him because he had information about her past. Miles and his friend, Linebarger, went to see the Potts, and while Linebarger went on his merry way later that day, Miles received an invitation from the Potts to spend the night at their house and his horses were stabled at the Potts household. Miles Fawcett was never seen again.4
A Disturbing Discovery
Miles’ disappearance did not go unnoticed. Recognizing emerging concerns about Miles, Josiah claimed that Miles rushed away for business and proceeded to sell everything he possessed to the Potts, even pulling out a bill of sale as proof. However, the community remained highly suspicious, especially after seeing Josiah riding Miles’ horses during the evening of January 1st, 1988, and the community set up a search party to search for Miles, albeit to no avail.5 After the disappearance of Miles Fawcett, Elizabeth and her family moved to Wyoming in the summer of 1888. The Brewer family moved in afterward and noticed some unsettling characteristics about the house. The house was rumored to be haunted in the town, and the Brewers’ experiences did not contradict this belief. The Brewer couple said that they heard tapping, footsteps, and other weird noises in the cellar for weeks, and Mrs. Brewer even went so far as to publish these observations in the Elko Free Press.6
Untangling the Web – Uncovering the Truth & the Prosecution of the Potts
On January 19, 1889, the couple found the dead body buried in their cellar. Miles was found cut up into small pieces with his head fleshless and burnt. The one or two small pieces found of the remains were the only ways in which Miles was identified. Evidence shown at the trial proved that because of money, Elizabeth hit Miles on the head with an ax and crushed his skull. Elizabeth and Josiah tried to boil the body. Because of the stench, they tried to feed them to their farm animals instead. When feeding the animals did not work, they proceeded to bury the remains in the cellar. The Potts were placed under arrest and brought back to Elko County; however. Josiah and Elizabeth both shared stories that removed Miles’ death from their hands. For example, on the journey from Wyoming, Josiah explained that while he had cut up Miles’ body, he only did so because Miles had committed suicide in the Potts’ residence, and he was afraid that the sequence of events would result in a murder accusation against him.
At trial, Elizabeth claimed that Fawcett attempted to assault her young daughter, and that, upon Elizabeth making this discovery, Miles had choked her until she agreed to not speak of his transgression.7 Elizabeth wrote a letter that she planned to send to the constable. However, it was never sent, and Josiah discovered the letter on the night of Miles’ death. Elizabeth stated that Miles offered her husband all of his possessions and his ranch when he visited their abode on January 1st, which led to the signing of the bill of sale. Instead, Josiah threatened to expose him and have him killed. Elizabeth also claimed that Miles subsequently shot himself, knowing that his death would be viewed as a murder, so Elizabeth and Josiah had to bury him in case of accusations of murder. However, rumors were also circulating that Miles was in love with Elizabeth and married her in 1887, leading Elizabeth to murder him for her guilty past.8 Further increasing the intrigue of the trial, both the defense and prosecution had witnesses who testified about the situation.9 The prosecution called Linebarger, the Brewer couple, and the police deputy, while the Potts couple’s defense called the Potts’ son, Elizabeth, and Josiah. Josiah confirmed Elizabeth’s story, and Charley, the couple’s son, similarly testified that he watched Miles commit suicide. Both Josiah and Elizabeth were convicted and sentenced to execution for murder in the first degree.10
In the days leading up to their execution date, Elizabeth was said to be screaming and crying hysterically, and she even attempted to commit suicide. Meanwhile, Josiah was in his cell playing solitaire amidst her hysterics.11
Josiah and Elizabeth were hanged on June 20, 1890, and it was a gruesome event.12
Tinged with religion by accounts of prayer readings and invocations of Christ, the execution also involved Josiah and Elizabeth being barefoot, having their arms and legs secured, and having their heads covered with caps. The harshness of the execution continued on into the act itself, with Elizabeth bleeding onto her white dress in a state of near decapitation and Josiah contorting for minutes on end due to being strangled. In a stark juxtaposition to this brutal execution, the couple had a moment of embrace and kissed right before their death.13
Reflecting on the Case of Elizabeth Potts
During our meticulous investigation into the Potts saga, we discerned the profound drama and heightened intensity that permeated the narrative. It became evident that a prevailing consensus among newspaper articles and online sources painted Elizabeth as a figure marred by hysteria and an aura of malevolence. The portrayal of a female criminal, unfortunately, carried with it weighty connotations of impropriety and delusion. These descriptions of Elizabeth, while may have some basis in historical accounts, underscored the multifaceted nature of her role in the unfolding drama. This bias ultimately shapes the historical stories we read and our interpretations. We will never know the truth about Elizabeth’s personality or her decision to kill Miles Fawcett, leaving us to read perhaps biased articles as the truth.
However, it is also interesting to consider this portrayal of Elizabeth in contrast with the fact that her testimony rested on Josiah threatening Miles to the point of him committing suicide. Elizabeth was painted in an extremely negative light despite her husband, and potentially Miles, inciting violence as well, which is further evidence of the potential bias present across the retellings of her story as Elizabeth was, in a way, scapegoated over other actors in the narrative of this murder. In general, many stories we found had many inconsistencies. Among them, there were varying descriptions of the Brewers, including one that identified Mrs. Brewer as a psychic, different spellings of names (including Fawcett), a range of detail provided overall, and discrepancies between the numbers of children had by the Potts couple. While these inconsistencies have implications for our own understanding with regard to the case of Elizabeth Potts, there is also a broader significance that we would be remiss to omit from this reflection. A number of these details are important to the historical record: the spelling of the name of the purported murder victim, the number of children of the prosecuted family, and more. The fact that such key details are already seen to vary across different sources goes to show that the Potts murder case may rest in a sect of herstory that has been erased or obscured, emphasizing the importance of diving deep into multiple sources when learning about the situation in order to ascertain the truth. Additionally, the obscurity of these important details is a demonstration of the necessity of taking the time to learn about this side of history and herstory, as there was clearly a gap in diligence in ensuring the truth of this story was passed along to future learners, and our analysis now is an effort to bring the story of Elizabeth Potts more centrally into the narrative. Beyond the immediate knowledge that can be gained from diving into the story of Elizabeth Potts, another important outcome of this exploration of herstory is a lesson in always thinking analytically about source material and being on the lookout for bias in reporting, whether it be in a centuries-old newspaper clip, a modern rehashing of a past event, or something completely different. In exploring the events that have shaped society today, it is absolutely necessary to take a critical eye to the information we are consuming in order to ensure that it is the truth that we are collecting, not harmful biases and falsehoods disguised as fact. The lessons learned in this herstorical exploration are key tools that can and should be carried forth into future analyses of important events that have not been given appropriate acknowledgment and thought in the modern historical record.
Endnotes
1. Segrave, “6: 1890s Elizabeth Potts.”
2. “Executed! Josiah and Elizabeth Potts Pay the Penalty.” Reno Gazette-Journal 20 Jun 1890, p. 3.
3. Segrave, “6: 1890s Elizabeth Potts.”
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. Ibid
7. “The Ghost Cries Murder.”
8. Ibid.
9. “Another Chapter of the Potts Murder Case.” Reno Gazette-Journal 01 Aug 1890, p. 17.
10. “The Ghost Cries Murder.”
11. “Women at a Hanging.” The Centralia Enterprise and Tribune, 28 Jun 1890, p. 17.
12. Chicago Tribune, 21 Jun 1890, Page 5.”
13. Segrave, “6: 1890s Elizabeth Potts.”
* * * *
Bibliography
Chicago Tribune, 21 Jun 1890, Page 5.
“Executed! Josiah and Elizabeth Potts Pay the Penalty" Reno Gazette-Journal 20 Jun 1890, Page 3.”
Reno Gazette-Journal 01 Aug 1890, Page Page 1.
Segrave, Kerry. “6: 1890s Elizabeth Potts.” Women and Capital Punishment in America, 1840-1899: Death Sentences and Execution in the United States and Canada, MacFarland & Company, Inc.
The Centralia Enterprise and Tribune 28 June 1890, Page Page 17.
The Ghost Cries Murder. https://www.gbcnv.edu/howh/potts.html
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