John Reginald Birchall was an English con man who came to Ontario in the 1880s. He and his wife lived in Woodstock, pretending to be gentry and amassing large (unpaid) debts. In 1890 he lured Fredrick Benwell, another young Englishman, to Canada, with a get rich quick scheme. In the woods near Gobles, Ontario Birchall murdered Benwell. The trial in Woodstock was an international sensation attracting a lot of attention from the press. Birchall was convicted and in November 1890 he was hanged in the Woodstock Gaol. This song is a version of the story that plays pretty loose and fast with the facts. It came from LaRena Clark. It will work with the tune at the bottom of the page.