COUNTRYSIDE YARNS
The Sparling Murders, Part 5
by Janis Stein

Join in the conclusion as the jury arrives at their unanimous vote. Will the good doctor be found guilty…or was he innocent after all? Do not miss the aftermath of the trial…what happens next is unbelievable. It’s no wonder folks in Ubly are still hashing over the verdict!

Bad Axe came alive as reporters and country folk, who hadn’t dared return back home lest they miss the verdict, herded back into the makeshift courtroom on the second floor of the Tribune Hall. Anticipation of the verdict silenced the courtroom, and attendees listened to every drop of rain as it struck the building.

Robert Bowman, foreman of the jury, rose to give Judge Watson Beach their verdict: “We find Dr. Robert A. MacGregor guilty as charged of murder in the first degree; of murdering Scyrel Sparling by arsenical poisoning.”

While the courtroom erupted, Dr. MacGregor sat expressionless and strangely quiet.

Judge Beach sentenced Dr. MacGregor to life imprisonment; he would serve his time at Michigan’s state prison in Jackson.

Nine weeks had passed since the beginning of jury selection. The Sparling murder case was finally over…or was it?

The Aftermath

A mob had all but gathered at the Bad Axe depot expecting to see Dr. MacGregor off to prison. Sheriff McAulay anticipated as much, and made prior plans to transport the prisoner to Elkton, expecting to avoid a riot. To his surprise, word had spread to all corners of Huron County and an even bigger crowd had gathered at the Elkton depot than the one that patiently waited to catch a glimpse of the not-so-good doctor at the depot in Bad Axe. Sheriff McAulay, to his credit, safely escorted the prisoner to his new home in Jackson.

By July, word came back to Huron County that Dr. MacGregor had gained employment within the prison confines, serving as an assistant to the prison physician. He continued to profess his innocence and vowed to work toward redeeming his freedom.

In December of 1912, Dr. MacGregor’s attorney requested a new trial. New evidence supposedly came to light in the form of a written statement by a Mr. J.W. Douglas of Bingham. In the statement, Douglas alleged Scyrel had consumed dangerous amounts of patent tonics. Douglas saw a bottle fall from Scyrel’s coat pocket – the bottle filled with an arsenic concoction.

In addition, the defense claimed the jurors had not been sufficiently contained at the Steadman Hotel. Jurors must be completely isolated, and the defense alleged letters and mail were handed to jurors on the street. Further, the defense claimed jurors had been seen talking to various parties on the street numerous times.

Judge Beach considered the information presented before him. January came and went. During the last week in February, the judge announced his decision: He denied Dr. MacGregor a new trial.

MacGregor did not lie down. His attorney pressed the matter, and took an appeal to the Supreme Court in Michigan. The Court upheld the lower court’s conviction.

Still the good doctor professed his innocence from his confines in the Jackson prison. He would not give up on his freedom, for he was, he claimed, an innocent man.

Meanwhile at the prison, Dr. MacGregor moved up from his position as assistant to that of physician. He took good care of his clientele, and his patients thought him to be a fine doctor.

Years later, Dr. MacGregor continued to fight the good fight. At his insistence, the physician’s attorney wrote a letter to the governor, imploring his help and requesting his involvement. Governor Woodbridge N. Ferris noted the prisoner had served four years of his life sentence, when Governor Ferris decided to launch his own investigation. Had Dr. MacGregor murdered his patient? Maybe it was time to give the matter another look…

After extensive interviews in Ubly and Bad Axe, Governor Ferris called the Jackson prison, requesting inmate Robert MacGregor to report to his office – without an escort. In 1916, Governor Ferris granted Dr. MacGregor a full pardon.

Why had Governor Ferris ignored the verdict of a jury of MacGregor’s peers? Why, too, had the governor ignored the opinion of Michigan’s highest court? When pressed as to the reason why, Governor Ferris refused to reveal the evidence on which the pardon was granted.

Dr. MacGregor was now a free man. Traveling to Ontario, he thought he’d pick up his life and start anew. Word had spread, though, from the little town of Ubly, all the way across the country’s border. Dr. MacGregor’s name preceeded him, and some folks didn’t look too kindly upon his past alleged actions.

After weighing his options, Dr. MacGregor decided prison hadn’t been so bad. After contacting the proper authorities and of his own volition, Dr. MacGregor resumed his position as the Jackson prison physician – only now he could come and go as he pleased.

Happily Ever After?

Dr. MacGregor continued to serve as the Jackson prison physician until he died of typhoid fever in 1928.

Mrs. MacGregor, though still committed to her husband, remained in Ubly for a time. Eventually she moved. In 1955, she passed away in a San Diego rest home.

Xenophen Boomhower served as a Circuit Judge for 24 years. He died in 1954. Attorney Snow, who assisted Boomhower in sending Dr. MacGregor up the river, later became Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Likewise, attorney for the defense, Joseph Walsh, later served as Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.

Back in 1912, Prosecutor Boomhower dropped the charges against Carrie Sparling, due to insufficient evidence. Mrs. Sparling and her son, Ray, moved to Port Huron to escape the never-ending speculation of her involvement in the deaths of her husband and three sons. Carrie Sparling died in 1933.

Final Thoughts

Though all the players are now dead and gone, folks in Ubly and the surrounding area still think about the Sparling murders from time to time. Questions still arise over cups of coffee shared among neighbors. What exactly did happen to the Sparling’s and who really was responsible for their deaths? Why did the governor grant a full pardon without offering evidence of his decision to the people?

Folks still speculate about young Ray Sparling, too. First, it had been the father, John Wesley. Peter, the next oldest male then died, followed by Albert who fell in line by age behind Peter. If the killer had been following a pattern by murdering the oldest male Sparling down to the youngest, Ray should have been next. Yet, he wasn’t. Scyrel, instead, met his Maker.

If Dr. MacGregor was indeed innocent and his only crime falling in love with Carrie Sparling, who then, had poisoned the Sparling men? Had the sheriff and the town and the prosecutor been so busy looking at Dr. MacGregor and Mrs. Sparling that they failed to look at someone, anyone, who had something to gain? What, if anything, could be gained? A farm, perhaps?

Little is mentioned of Ray Sparling in the 15 varying accounts compiled at the Sleeper Public Library in Ubly. No allegations have ever been made against Ray, the last surviving male Sparling, and this writer will make no allegations of her own.

It is interesting to note, however, a particular document on file at the Huron County courthouse. After Mrs. Carrie Sparling held the auction on November 10, 1911, to sell her house and farm wares, she deeded her Bingham Township property on December 18, 1911, to one, Ray Sparling. Following the paper trail, a deed dated March 21, 1917, shows Ray Sparling sold the 40-acre farm to Mr. William Elliot for the hefty sum of $4000. Not bad pocket change for the times. It’s no wonder tongues are still wagging in Ubly!

Sometimes varying accounts of the truth really are stranger than fiction. John Wesley Sparley’s tombstone still stands in the Tyre Cemetery. Special thanks to the Sleeper Public Library in Ubly for sharing their compilation of information regarding the Sparling murders. Information was garnered from the following previously published articles and books: The Huron County Tribune, April – June 1912; Master Detective, 1938; Ione Umphrey; The Detroit Free Press, 1943; The Man’s Magazine; Liberty; Ubly History Book, 1896-1976; The Detroit News, 1958; The Times Herald, 1972; The Grand Rapids Press, 1988; Butcher’s Dozen; Oh, Doctor; Murder in the Heartland; and a few miscellaneous articles within the library’s file.

Have a yarn you’d like to share? We’d be happy to spin it. You may write to Janis in care of The Lakeshore Guardian, P.O. Box 6, Harbor Beach, MI 48441, or give us a call at 866-479-3448 to share your story.

© 2008 Stein Expressions, LLC