Fractured Friendship Leads to Bullet Between the Eyes

From many accounts William Casterlin was a very pleasant fellow, unless he was drinking. In 1859, the 42-year-old barrel maker shared a house in Jacksonville, Ore., with his best friend, Samuel Mooney. They’d been friends since their arrival in Oregon and serving together in the Indian Wars. On Dec. 3, 1859, friendship ceased.
Hiram Abbot and Dr. George Elliot were with Mooney and Casterlin that evening when the two friends got into an argument. Abbot and Elliot tried to intervene, but Casterlin would not be calmed. When Mooney got up and walked out the front door, Casterlin grabbed his gun and fired a shot through the door. Abbot and Elliot rushed outside and discovered Mooney had been shot between the eyes. Casterlin would say later he did not remember anything until he woke up the next day in jail.
It didn’t take long for the trial jury in March to find Casterlin guilty of first-degree murder. On execution day, Casterlin calmly addressed the crowd, confessing to a life of abuse of “spirituous drink” and imploring everyone to shun the evil way that led him to the gallows.
Today’s episode of As It Was was written by Christopher Shockey, the program producer is Raymond Scully. I’m Shirley Patton. As It Was is a co-production of JPR and the Southern Oregon Historical Society. To share stories or learn more about the series, visit asitwas – dot.org.
Sources: Goeres-Gardner, Diane L. Necktie Parties: a history of legal executions in Oregon, 1851-1905. Caxton Press. Caldwell, Idaho. 2005.