86:, the Bach farm fell into economic hardship. This period was accompanied with an increase in Carl’s abusive behavior towards Mary. Because Mary financially assisted in purchasing the farm, Carl could not legally sell the property without her consent, which she refused to give. In response, Carl began beating his wife in an attempt to intimidate her into cooperation. Neighbors of the couple reported multiple instances of Carl voicing a desire to murder his wife. Carl was arrested in early fall of 1881, after Mary successfully convinced authorities that he posed a threat to her life. He was held in custody for eighteen days, and upon his release, Mary filed a peace warrant, or
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performing her duties as a wife. Both Carl and their son Carl Jr. testified throughout the trial. Carl Jr.'s testimony confirmed his witnessing the murder and his father's role. Carl was found guilty, but issues with improper jury selection prompted a retrial, where he was once again convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. Carl Bach was executed on
October 12, 1883. It was the second and final hanging to take place in Wood County. After the execution, Carl's noose was placed on display at the Wood County Courthouse, along with the murder weapon and the jar containing Mary's fingers.
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In 2015, The museum temporarily removed the jar from display for conservation efforts, including replacing the original alcohol that had been preserving Bach’s fingers since 1881. In 2020, the Bach Murder exhibition underwent a redesign in collaboration with the domestic violence advocacy group, The
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On
October 10, 1881, Carl entered the family home and began a violent argument with Mary. After some time, he briefly left the home, returning with a corn knife. Carl Bach stabbed Mary 41 times, severing three fingers. Some investigators have speculated that the fingers were cut off when Mary raised
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limit the display of
Indigenous remains and funerary objects. However, because Mary Bach was a German immigrant with no tribal affiliations, her fingers are not protected by any existing legislation, despite current museum ethics advising against the display of remains in most circumstances. One of
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Throughout both trials, the defense emphasized that Carl believed he was justified in his treatment of Mary, given the non-subservient nature of her actions. In his testimony, Carl referred to his wife as “a lazy animal” with a “loose mouth". Initial public response to the murder often ignored Mary
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Cocoon. The goals of the redesign included humanizing Mary Bach, and bringing attention to the issue of domestic violence in Wood County. In the redesign, which is now on permanent display, the jar is located under a labeled box, which can be lifted at visitor’s discretion to view the fingers.
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her hand in an effort to defend herself. Carl turned himself in to local authorities the following morning. During their initial investigation of the crime scene, Mary’s fingers and the knife were both collected as evidence. The murder was allegedly witnessed by the eldest Bach child, Carl Jr.
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Following his confession, Carl Bach was arrested and tried for murder. Transcripts of the trial, which are in the collection of the Wood County Museum, reveal that the defense argued that Carl only intended to wound Mary, not kill her, and that his actions were brought on by Mary inadequately
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entirely, instead focusing on her husband or the trauma her children experienced as witnesses to her murder. However, following the execution, media coverage shifted much of the blame onto Mary, pointing to her refusal to fulfill traditional spousal duties as justification for her murder.
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Mary
Elizabeth Bach (née Myer) was born in Germany in the 1840s. As a child, her family immigrated to the United States. Little is known about Bach's life before the end of her first marriage, when her husband disappeared and was presumed dead while fighting for the Union Army in the
125:, Dr. Rebecca Mancuso wrote “The collection of documents generated by the crime provide a deeper view into nineteenth-century domestic spaces and intimate relationships, realms that did not always bring to women the fulfillment and protection that prevailing rhetoric would suggest."
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Historians have cited Mary's marriage to and subsequent murder by Carl as an example of time-typical domestic violence. Public responses to the case highlight historic norms of victim-blaming in partner abuse. In an article published in the periodical
90:, against her husband, effectively banishing him from their farm. When Carl attempted to return home anyway, Mary locked him out of the house, forcing him to sleep in the barn. During this time, Mary attempted to secure a divorce.
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such circumstances includes instances where institutions obtain the consent of the deceased’s next-of-kin. However, according to museum staff, efforts to locate and contact descendants of Mary Bach have been unsuccessful.
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on
October 10, 1881, when Mary Bach was stabbed to death by her husband, Carl Bach. Paraphernalia associated with the murder, including a jar containing three of Bach’s severed fingers, are currently on display at the
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Mary Bach’s severed fingers were first on display at the Wood County
Courthouse and then at the Wood County Museum. In recent years, they have sparked some ethical controversies among scholars regarding
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79:. Shortly thereafter, Mary remarried Charles (Carl) Bach, another German immigrant. The couple moved to Wood County Ohio, and had three children: Carl Jr., Marie, and Catherine.
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and the public display of human remains. In the United States, laws such as the
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238:"The Finger Saga: One Museum's Quest to Turn the Macabre into the Meaningful"
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324:"Killed with a Corn Cutter," Wood County Democrat, October 14th, 1881
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401:"Carl Bach: Doomed to Death!" Wood County Sentinel, June 28, 1883
333:"The Bach Murder Trial," The Wood County Sentinel, June 1st, 1882
290:"Old Paper Tells," The Daily Sentinel-Tribune, October 10th, 1921
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410:‘‘Dropped to Death,’’ Wood County Democrat, October 19, 1883
503:"Wood County Museum opens up New Exhibit alongside Cocoon"
476:"Fingers from 1881 Murder Preserved at Wood County Museum"
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Trish Biers; Clary, Katie
Stringer, eds. (2023-07-26).
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The
Routledge Handbook of Museums, Heritage, and Death
366:""GUITLY!"," The Wood County Sentinel, June 23rd, 1882
194:. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. p. 6.
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Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
302:"The Gruesome History of Ohio's "Fingers in the Jar""
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Oddball Ohio: A Guide to Some Really
Strange Places
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378:"Museum's jar with 3 fingers tells brutal tale"
40:was a prominent murder case that took place in
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166:"Wood County Museum, Bowling Green, Ohio"
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376:Feehan, Jennifer (October 11, 2006).
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539:History of women in Ohio
344:"A WIFE MURDERER HANGED"
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70:Early life and marriages
190:Pohlen, Jerome (2004).
444:10.4324/9781003195870
438:. London: Routledge.
242:The Public Historian
123:The Public Historian
94:Murder and aftermath
482:. November 13, 2015
51:Bowling Green, Ohio
38:murder of Mary Bach
22:Murder of Mary Bach
348:The New York Times
47:Wood County Museum
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112:Domestic violence
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151:References
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