BRJSpring26Web - Flipbook - Page 18
thE icE crEam poisoNiNg
of 1886
Bartles was followed by Dr. Francis Apgar, who testified that
in his opinion, David Welsh had died of arsenic poisoning. Dr.
Byron Thorton of Peapack, who also took the stand, claimed to
have discovered traces of arsenic in the water where the spoons
used to serve the ice cream had been soaked. While the Trenton
Times recorded that Reverend William Schmitz, Pastor of the Pottersville Dutch Reformed Church, who initially refused to believe
an intentional poisoning had occurred, concluded from his own
private investigation of the ingredient9s sources and the steps
taken during the ice cream9s preparation, that
