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Biography

He was the son of Mark and Mary Fitzgerald, and had a younger brother, James Fitzgerald. He murdered his family in their sleep on August 29, 1855 and his case captured public attention while he was jailed at the Auburn prison. He was sentenced to die on March 28, 1856 and so many members of the public clamored for tickets to the execution that not all could be admitted.

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Citations

Biography and Citation Information:
Biography: 
He was the son of Mark and Mary Fitzgerald, and had a younger brother, James Fitzgerald. He murdered his family in their sleep on August 29, 1855 and his case captured public attention while he was jailed at the Auburn prison. He was sentenced to die on March 28, 1856 and so many members of the public clamored for tickets to the execution that not all could be admitted.
Citation Type: 
Book or Book Chapter
Book or Monograph Title: 
Murder, America: Homicide in the United States from the Revolution to the Present
Author(s) or Editor(s): 
Jay Robert Nash
Publisher Name: 
Rowman & Littlefield,
Year: 
1980
Start Page: 
342
End Page: 
343
Citation Notes: 
https://books.google.com/books?id=uTohCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA343&lpg=PA343&dq=john+fitzgerald+murder+mother+father+brother+new+york+1855&source=bl&ots=YBzU5RP0t6&sig=ACfU3U2Yu24yTcTbowdyOE8Ukrd5USpqrg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi8tvSM3oTgAhVsU98KHfomD4YQ6AEwAXoECAgQAQ#
Citation for Birth Info:
Citation for Death Info:
Citation Notes: 
A letter from Clarinda Miller McClallen to Augustus Henry Seward on March 25, 1856 explains that tickets were available for the public execution of John Fitzgerald on March 28, 1856.