Jereboam Orville Beauchamp
USA- Early Life and Education
- Teaching Career and Legal Aspirations
- Disillusionment and Revenge
- Anna Cooke and the Tragedy
- Premeditated Murder and Death
- Apprehension and Execution
- Aftermath and Legacy
Early Life and Education
Jeroboam Beauchamp was born in present-day Simpson County, Kentucky, in 1802, to Thomas and Sally Beauchamp. His notable parents instilled in him religious values, and he was named after his father's brother, a Kentucky state senator. Young Beauchamp attended a local boys' academy until the age of 16 when financial struggles forced him to seek employment.
Teaching Career and Legal Aspirations
Despite the need to contribute to his family's income, Beauchamp continued his education. Thanks to the recommendation of his academy principal, he became a tutor at a local school. With the funds he saved, he returned to the academy and eventually secured a position as assistant teacher. By the age of 18, Beauchamp had completed his education and set his sights on becoming a lawyer.
Disillusionment and Revenge
Among Beauchamp's role models was Solomon P. Sharp, a distinguished lawyer in his early 30s. However, Beauchamp's admiration turned to disappointment when rumors emerged that Sharp had fathered an illegitimate child with a local woman named Anna Cooke. The child was stillborn, but the scandal tarnished Sharp's reputation, despite his denials.
Anna Cooke and the Tragedy
In 1824, Beauchamp married Anna Cooke. A year later, when Sharp ran for a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives, the child scandal resurfaced. Sharp's opponents published a purported statement in his handwriting claiming the child was a mulatto and that he was not the father, attributing it to a black slave. Whether Sharp made such a statement is unclear, but Beauchamp perceived it as an insult to his wife's honor and vowed revenge.
Premeditated Murder and Death
Beauchamp meticulously planned Sharp's murder, procuring a black mask and a poisoned knife. He lay in wait outside Sharp's house and, in the early morning hours of November 7, knocked on his door. After convincing Sharp to open it, Beauchamp plunged the blade into his heart.
Apprehension and Execution
Beauchamp was arrested shortly after Sharp's death. With no other suspects, he was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. On the morning of his execution, Beauchamp's wife smuggled a knife into his prison cell, and they attempted a double suicide. Their previous attempt with laudanum had failed, and guards had increased their surveillance. However, they overlooked the knife. While Anna succeeded, Beauchamp was hanged before he could succumb to blood loss. Before his death, he requested to see his wife but was informed that she had not inflicted serious wounds and was being treated in the infirmary.
Aftermath and Legacy
The Beauchamp-Sharp case became a sensational story that inspired Edgar Allan Poe's unfinished work "Politian" and Robert Penn Warren's novel "World Enough and Time." The couple's bodies were buried together, as per their wishes, in a single coffin.
