Two hangings occurred at the Rotary Jail in Crawfordsville. John Coffee was hung in 1885 for murdering James and Mary McMullen. The second hanging, that of John Henning, occurred only six months later. The same scaffolding was used in both hanging.
John C. Henning was born on December 22, 1830 in Virginia. Henning, who moved to Illinois with his parents around 1848, later lived in Vermillion and Parke Counties (Indiana). He married Joanna Hunter in 1852, and had five sons and one daughter. His first wife died in 1863. He remarried and had three more sons and another daughter. He and his second wife divorced. Henning, sometimes known as “Jack the Tinker,” repaired clocks and did other odd jobs.
Henning had known Charlotte, “Lottie,” Vollmer for several years. Mrs. Vollmer was widowed when her husband, George, was shot and killed in 1883. The couple had two children together, as well as a step-child, Anna Vollmer. Mrs. Vollmer may have ran a boarding house and a restaurant in Rockville, as it appears that there were at least two boarders living in her home in 1885: Emma Oliver and John Henning.
Henning moved into the Vollmer home in August 1885 and shortly after asked Charlotte to marry him. She agreed, at least according to Henning. On October 12, 1885, Henning bought a new pair of pants and got the marriage license. When he returned to the home to get Charlotte, she refused to marry him because he was drunk. Henning spent the next few days making various statements to people around Rockville that he intended to retaliate against Charlotte for her refusal to marry him. He stole a revolver and purchased ten cartridges. On October 24, 1885, he returned to the Vollmer home and found Charlotte and Emma Oliver there. He asked to speak with Charlotte alone and when she refused, he began shooting. Both women fled from the house. Emma escaped with a gunshot wound to the wrist. Charlotte, however, was shot in the back three time and died later that evening.
Henning ran from house and hid nearby for an hour. He was found and may have tried to commit suicide, but he was placed in the Rockville jail. Henning was transported to Brazil the next day out of fear for his safety and was later transferred to Terre Haute. In court at Rockville on December 4, a change of venue was granted, and Henning was transported to rotary jail at Crawfordsville for the impending trial.
The trial in Montgomery County opened on February 1, 1886. Henning was represented by John R. Courtney, who had previously represented Buck Stout in a murder trial. The prosecution had multiple witnesses who swore that Henning had told them he would kill Charlotte for her refusal to marry him. Emma Oliver also testified as an eyewitness to the crime. The prosecution used the fact that Henning purchased gun cartridges the same day as the murder as premeditation. Henning later took the stand and told his story up to the point of the murder, which he did not remember. He claimed he was temporarily insane until he awoke in jail the morning following the shooting. On February 5, the jury gave a guilty verdict after only one and a half hours of deliberation. Henning’s lawyer filed for a new trial, which was dismissed on Monday, February 8. Henning was sentenced to be hanged on May 27.
Tickets to the hanging were in demand. According to the Saturday Evening Journal, tickets ranged from two to five dollars. Newspaper reporters had trouble getting tickets to cover the event. Attendees traveled from Rockville and Lafayette.
![]() |
The “eye” or “staple” for the rope that was used in both hangings is on display at the Rotary Jail Museum |
At least 350 people attended the hanging. Many waited for hours to gain entrance into the yard outside the sheriff’s residence. Henning ate breakfast and met with a minister. Henning decided to be hanged at one o’clock. Henning was led to the scaffold and stopped to shake hands with people in the crowd. The Evening Journal reported that he was smiling. Henning spoke to the crowd for twenty-two minutes. He told the crowd his side of events, blamed witnesses at the trial of committing perjury, and reminded the crowd to read the 10th and 24th chapter of Ezekiel. His last words were “Beware of evil women and men, and a lying tongue.” He was hung at 1:41 from the same scaffold that John Coffee was hung only six months before. His pulse was checked multiple times, he was cut down at 1:59. His remains were sent to Rockville. His remains were later sent to Montezuma, where Henning desired to be buried.
-Saturday Evening Journal May 23, May 29, and June 5, 1886.
~Erin/Curator
Very Interesting! I could not imagine being one of the attendees to the hanging for free so I would never buy a ticket to go observe the death of someone.
ReplyDeleteWhile doing some research on The Ghost Club of Crawfordsville I came across this newspaper article which I queried from the NY Times. here is an excerpt of the article which states that there where 4 hangings at the jail and list John Henning as one of them, can you tell me if any of this article is true. I am currently working on a research project and would like to get your opinions on whether there is any evidence to back up this article.
ReplyDeletePublished: January 15, 1893, The New York Times
Excerpt from article: Curiosities in Clubs - Some Organizations Formed On Unique Principles
"Also claiming as its birthplace the City of Crawfordsville (Indiana) is the famous ghost club, or, to use the name with which it is dignified by it's members " The Society for the Advancement of the Belief in Ghosts". this unique organization has no parallel in the country. It is radically different from the Spiritualistic bands which can be found in any city, although it is true that several of it's members are confirmed Spiritualists. It was formedupon All Halloween in 1887. The qualification essential for membership is a personal experience on the part of the candidate with a spook. Mere belief is not sufficient. the Ghost Lodge, or clubroom is a weird spot. It is a room about 20 x 40 feet, in the fourth story of one of the principle business blocks. Its windows on the north overlook Oak Hill Cemetery, while those on the west look directly down into the jailyard, where four murderers have been hanged in as many years. In the room itself occurred a murder, many years ago, upon the very night that it was dedicated as a dance hall and the ghost of the promising young man then slain is said frequently to revisit the scene of his untimely taking off. From the scaffold of the same building a painter fell some years later and was dashed to death on the stones below while still later an old lady dropped dead from heart disease while searching for an erring son who was playing poker in the hall which was then a gambling hall.
These terrible associations had much to do with the selection of the room and it was fitted up with ghastly decorations. It is hung entirely in white. white cheesevloth drapes the walls and ceiling. White canvas covers the floor and even the window glass is painted white. On the other hand, every article of furniture is as black as midnight, except such paraphernalia as the skeletons. In each corner of the room stands one of these and each has a duty to perform. For in every skull there is a small lamp with a red glass chimney and these lamps furnish the only light for the hall. The table at which the President and Secretary sit is an old dissecting table bought long ago from the Indiana Medical College. The President calls the meeting to order by ringing a large dinner bell suspending from the ceiling above him. this bell was obtained from the ruins of a farmhouse in the conflagration of which an infant perished and in order to ring it the President pulls the identical rope with which John Henning was hanged not 300 yards away, in 1887 for the murder of his sweetheart. The seats in the room were all made from the timbers of the scaffold on which Henning and three others were hanged. There is a library of about 300 books in the hall, all of which treat of ghosts and ghost life and a museum of ghastly and curious things. "