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Birchall, Reginald
1866 - 1890
Reginald Birchall was born May 25, 1866 and was the son of Rev. Joseph Birchall, late rector of Church-Kirk, near Accrigton, Lancashire, England. As a young man at Oxford College, England, Reginald Birchall was often swindled by money lenders (also known as money sharks) who would prey on students who needed money and lend it to them at a high interest rate. After his schooling he was swindled by the Farm Pupils Industry, an industry of young Englishmen of education and culture whose fathers paid substantial sums of money to farmers in other countries to have their sons taught the art of farming. He traveled to Ontario to help at a farm and, after observing the poor quality of the farm, he soon realized that he had been swindled. In the spring of 1889, Birchall and his wife suddenly left Woodstock to return to England. He needed to make money quickly and decided to send his own ad to the Farm Pupil Industry. He received a response from Frederick C. Benwell. He told the Benwells that he had two farms in Canada, one near Niagara Falls and the other near Woodstock. Benwell met with Birchall and they visited the farm near Woodstock. That evening, Birchall returned, alone, claiming that Benwell had decided against the Woodstock farm and to continue on his own. This seemed like a valid story until the newspaper article appeared claiming that a man had been found murdered in the Blenheim Swamp. Birchall was hung in the Woodstock Jail Yard on November 14, 1890. Although many people believe that Birchall was the murderer, there was never any solid evidence or a guilty plea to accuse him justly.
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