The Cayuga Museum of History and Art will feature a lecture on the recently discovered diary of Chester Gillette, a man executed in Auburn 100 years ago for murdering his girlfriend Grace Brown during a vacation in the Adirondacks.
Historians knew Gillette kept a diary while in prison but believed it was destroyed after his execution on March 30, 1908. Then in 2003, Gillette's grandniece Marylynn Murray found the diary and donated it to Hamilton College.
That was how Jack Sherman, a Tompkins County judge and Gillette history buff, and his friend Craig Brandon got the chance to read, edit and transcribe Gillette's diary before it was released as a book to the public.
“He is a very different person than we thought he was,” said Sherman, who will be giving the museum's Gillette lecture. “He does not have a lot of surviving letters, and those that did are not very long or in-depth.”
The diary allowed Sherman and other historians to see how Gillette's character, intellect and sensitivity developed as he prepared for his execution.
“He apologizes for his actions and the pain he caused his family,” Sherman said. “But he never talks about the actual crime and he never admits to the murder.”
Instead of speculating on whether Gillette actually murdered Brown, the lecture will focus on what the diary does tell historians. People will get to see what Gillette's relationship with his family and friends was like and learn about his beliefs.
Sherman started his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Herkimer County where he found transcriptions from the actual murder trial. Since then Sherman said he had developed a historical hobby around Gillette's life.
Eileen McHugh, the Cayuga Museum's executive director, said Sherman even made a play based around Gillette's case. The play used the transcripts from the actual case to make the script.
“We read the same words and did the play in the same courtroom the trial was in,” Sherman said. “It was kind of eerie.”
But the court transcriptions could only tell what happened before Gillette went to prison, which is why the diary is so important, Sherman said. However Gillette's diary did pose its own obstacles to learning about Gillette's life.
“It was like a puzzle trying to figure out what was going on sometimes,” Sherman said. “He was concerned about his diary being read by guards so he wrote in code sometimes. So we had to decipher it to understand it.”
After the lecture, Sherman will hold a question and answer forum followed by a book signing where visitors can purchase “The Prison Diary and Letters of Chester Gillette,” edited and transcribed by Sherman and Brandon.
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net
If you go
What: The Chester Gillette diary, as presented by Jack Sherman
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, March 30
Where: Cayuga Museam of History and Art
Cost: Free
Info: Call 253-8051
That was how Jack Sherman, a Tompkins County judge and Gillette history buff, and his friend Craig Brandon got the chance to read, edit and transcribe Gillette's diary before it was released as a book to the public.
“He is a very different person than we thought he was,” said Sherman, who will be giving the museum's Gillette lecture. “He does not have a lot of surviving letters, and those that did are not very long or in-depth.”
The diary allowed Sherman and other historians to see how Gillette's character, intellect and sensitivity developed as he prepared for his execution.
“He apologizes for his actions and the pain he caused his family,” Sherman said. “But he never talks about the actual crime and he never admits to the murder.”
Instead of speculating on whether Gillette actually murdered Brown, the lecture will focus on what the diary does tell historians. People will get to see what Gillette's relationship with his family and friends was like and learn about his beliefs.
Sherman started his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Herkimer County where he found transcriptions from the actual murder trial. Since then Sherman said he had developed a historical hobby around Gillette's life.
Eileen McHugh, the Cayuga Museum's executive director, said Sherman even made a play based around Gillette's case. The play used the transcripts from the actual case to make the script.
“We read the same words and did the play in the same courtroom the trial was in,” Sherman said. “It was kind of eerie.”
But the court transcriptions could only tell what happened before Gillette went to prison, which is why the diary is so important, Sherman said. However Gillette's diary did pose its own obstacles to learning about Gillette's life.
“It was like a puzzle trying to figure out what was going on sometimes,” Sherman said. “He was concerned about his diary being read by guards so he wrote in code sometimes. So we had to decipher it to understand it.”
After the lecture, Sherman will hold a question and answer forum followed by a book signing where visitors can purchase “The Prison Diary and Letters of Chester Gillette,” edited and transcribed by Sherman and Brandon.
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net
If you go
What: The Chester Gillette diary, as presented by Jack Sherman
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, March 30
Where: Cayuga Museam of History and Art
Cost: Free
Info: Call 253-8051
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