The Murder Ballad of Fuller and Warren

On January 10, 1820, Amasa Fuller shot and killed Palmer Warren in his office in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Fuller had been engaged to a young lady when he left for Brookeville, Indiana, in late 1819. That December, Amasa received a letter from Palmer Warren, signed by Fuller’s future wife, renouncing her love for Fuller and returning his ring. In response, he left Brookville on foot and arrived on January 7th, 1820. He borrowed two pistols and challenged Warren to a duel on the 10th. When Warren refused, he shot him dead and supposedly proclaimed, “I have been ridding the earth of a vile reptile! I glory in the deed!” Fuller was charged with murder. Despite six defense attorneys, he was convicted and executed on March 31st, 1820. The case became a local sensation. Murder ballads are cautionary tales. Most stories are warnings to women about love and deceitful men. Themes of broken engagements, cheating scandals, and witchcraft are found in most murder ballads that survive today. They served not only as a way to spread tantalizing news, but as a reminder to their singers of the passive role women should take in society to prevent these bloody crimes.

Murder ballads have been an American tradition since the founding of the country. They were made popular in Europe by the development of broadsides in the 16th century. Broadsides were cheap pamphlets and posters that were printed to make news accessible to everyone. They took stories—often true crime—and set them to poems and songs. While not everyone could read, many could sing using their memory. Broadsides were posted in taverns and public spaces for entertainment and educational purposes. Early American colonists brought broadsides and their musical tradition with them.

The story of Fuller and Warren was turned into a murder ballad in 1820. It became so popular that over forty-four versions have been found throughout the United States and Canada. Yet the lady's name, Catherine Farrar, was only identified years after the incident. In the ballad, she carries the burden of the murder, not Fuller. “Fuller and Warren” is Indiana’s continuation of balladry tradition.