The ‘Justice’ that Freed the Murderer of Margaret Sheridan
A woman was divorcing her husband for abandoning her after the civil war, and in revenge he shot her in front of her children.
Warped Justice for Maggie Sheridan
Maggie Sheridan was divorcing her husband for abandoning her after the civil war, and he shot her in front of her children. Later, his supporters banded together to help him receive their idea of justice in saying that Margaret Sheridan’s behavior made his actions justified…. Below you will find detail around the ‘Sheridan Tragedy’ from 1870’s New York.
This story begins a generation before the U.S. Civil War swept the nation and New York City. Thomas O’Brien was born in County Meath, Ireland around 1805 and there he married his wife, Ann. They immigrated to the United States and eventually bought 50 acres of farmland in Yonkers which at that time was rural coastal crabbing town. They had one daughter, Margaret, who attended Catholic College at Mount St. Vincent until she turned 16, fell in love with Thomas Sheridan, and became pregnant. They married on Sept 25, 1853. Thomas Sheridan worked as a laborer until he found work along side his brother Matthew as a ‘pickler’. He and Margaret had their first three children at the Yonkers…
