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Cairo Index Page |
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Obituaries and Death Notices
The Cairo Daily Bulletin
3 Jan 1877-30 Dec 1877
Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois
Transcribed by Darrel Dexter
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Wednesday, 3 Jan 1877:
Nearly all our citizens remember Mr. Swift, who a few years ago officiated as chief clerk of the St. Charles Hotel under Mr. Jewett Wilcox. He is a genial gentleman and made many warm friends here, who will regret to learn that Mr. Swift and his estimable wife were among the injured in the late railroad accident at Ashtabula, Ohio. Mr. Swift received a severe injury of the spine. Mrs. Swift’s injuries are not dangerous. A Mr. Keller, a brother-in-law of Joe Able of this city is supposed to be among the killed. Dispatches also give the name “A. Gibson of Cairo,” as among the killed. This is evidently an error. We have made diligent inquiry, but find no one who ever knew Mr. Gibson. He certainly hails from some other place.
Died, in Columbus, Ky., Jan. 15th, after a short illness, Della, daughter of John and Sally Sproat, aged four years. Another bud transferred from earth to bloom in heaven! Dear little Della—a bright star sent to cheer us for a short time and then taken home. Seemingly endowed beyond her years, she entwined herself around the hearts of all, and loved by all, was the center of affection not only by the bereaved family, but by all with whom she came in contact. Those of our citizens who participated in the 4th of July on the Idlewild cannot fail but remember little “Toodie Sproat” who added so much to the pleasure of the trip. Father, mother, sisters, and brothers have our warmest sympathies, but while bewailing our loss we can think with joy of our blessed little angel moving around the throne of Him that “doeth all things well.”
We find the following in the St. Louis Republican of last evening: COULTERVILLE, Ill., Jan 17—A man supposed to be Dr. W. N. Amenett, of Mound City, Ills., died tonight on the south bound train of the Cairo Short Line between Tilden and Coulterville. It is supposed he was on his way home from Colorado. His remains were left here to await an inquest.
Neither Dead Nor Very Sick. A report was circulated in the city yesterday to the effect that Dr. W. R. Smith, of this city, had died suddenly on the train between Cairo and New Orleans. The report caused considerable excitement and the many friends of the doctor expressed the deepest regret and feeling for the loss of one so highly esteemed and valued. But after a little time it was ascertained that Dr. Smith was neither dead nor sick, but on his way South, and feeling very well.
Tuesday, 23 Jan 1877: Death of Charles Kyle Charlie Kyle, whose serious illness was mentioned in the Bulletin several days ago, died at the hospital in St. Louis at five o’clock on Sunday morning last. His friends in this city received the sad intelligence during the day by telegraph, and Mr. Sam Wilson, father-in-law of the deceased, left for St. Louis by the Sunday night train, on the Short Line. Mr. Wilson expected to make the necessary arrangements to have the remains of the deceased reach here this afternoon. The funeral will probably take place from the residence of Mr. Wilson on Eighteenth Street tomorrow, Wednesday afternoon. (Charles R. Kyle married Clara Wilson on 1 Apr 1873, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
Wednesday, 24 Jan 1877: The report that Bill Lee had died suddenly on Monday night is not true. Bill says he was “dead drunk” and that’s the way the story got out. He don’t expect to die until after the presidential muddle has been definitely settled.
The funeral of the late Charles Kyle took place from the residence of his father-in-law, Mr. Sam Wilson, on Eighteenth Street, yesterday afternoon, and was attended by a large number of the friends and acquaintances of the deceased, who accompanied the remains to their last resting place. The deceased was interred at Beech Grove Cemetery above Mounds Junction.
Tuesday, 30 Jan 1877: Shocking Accident. A most shocking accident occurred at the sawmill of Messrs. Morris, Roode, & Co. near Ullin, on Tuesday last. Mr. Marion Carter, one of the sawyers, was struck in the face by a piece of flying timber, his nose broken and mashed, and both cheekbones crushed to atoms. Dr. Wardner of this city was sent for and went up to attend the wounded man, but before the doctor reached Ullin the wounded man’s face had swollen so much as to render it impossible for him to give the sufferer relief. It is thought doubtful if Carter can recover.
Wednesday, 31 Jan 1877: DEAD OR ALIVE? And if So, Where is He? (Carbondale Observer, Friday) For the past week when the senatorial question was not upon the lips of our people, the disappearance last Monday of one of our attorneys, Mr. O. W. Catlin, and the suspicions of foul play attached thereunto, has been the favorite theme of discussion. Last Monday morning, Mr. Catlin hired a horse at Ava to go into Vergennes Township, a few miles east of Ava, on legal business. Mr. Catlin called on Mr. Rosson of that township and left his house above seven o’clock in the evening. Shortly after leaving, two pistol shots were heard near the bridge across the Beaucoup, in the Crow Settlement. The next day the horse which Mr. Catlin rode was found in a cornfield nearby. Suspicions that he had been foully dealt with were at once aroused, and search was instituted. A hat belonging to Catlin was found on a stump near the bridge. This seemed to confirm the belief of foul play, and his brother-in-law, Mr. Charles Gager, of this place, was telegraphed the circumstances. On Wednesday Mr. Gager went up and had the Beaucoup thoroughly dragged at the bridge and for a mile below it, but without finding further trace of Catlin. The commonly accepted theory in this place is that Catlin has “skipped,” that the pistol shots, the loose horse and the old hat were but part and parcel of a plan to leave the country for the country’s good with a belief behind that he had been done for, and in fresher fields he would begin life anew. Catlin hasn’t a good name here, generally speaking, and this serves to strengthen the belief that there is a skull-duggery in the matter. It is believed that after killing himself, his corpse took unto itself new life, and walked to Elkville or DuQuoin, where it took the St. Louis train and that it might now be found in an advanced stage of decomposition, traveling towards the gates of sunset. He had a check for $1,000 in his pocket on a St. Louis bank, and it is probable that steps will be taken to see whether he has drawn the money. He owned several hundred dollars here, and has been counted very slippery; but it might be that giving a god a bad name has had a good deal to do in putting into circulation much talk about him. The worst part of the matter is that he leaves a wife here without a cent of money. Should Mr. Catlin’s corpse be found or appear at this office, we shall make cheerful apology for all we have said in the above. (Oliver O. Catlin married Ettie Day or Dry on 17 Jan 1875, in Jackson Co., Ill. Charles Gager married Emma Day or Dry on 5 Dec 1870, in Perry Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
Sunday, 4 Feb 1877: O’Brien Dead The man O’Brien referred to in yesterday’s Bulletin as having been removed from the county jail to St. Mary’s Infirmary, died yesterday afternoon. O’Brien with two other men, named respectfully Stibbens and Hamilton, was convicted at the present term of the circuit court for the crime of playing a confidence game on an old man named Moon and were sentenced to five years in the penitentiary.
Collision Between
Steamboats and the Result— On last Thursday night, near Ashport, a point on the Mississippi River a short distance above Memphis, the steamers Charles Morgan and the Aggie collided, the latter boat receiving more or less damage. The circumstances of the collision as related to us were about these: The Morgan was coming up the river and the Aggie going down. The usual passing signals were given by both boats, and the Morgan kept straight on her way, but the pilot of the Aggie must have changed his mind, for immediately after giving the signal he changed his course and attempted to cross the Morgan’s bow to take the opposite side, and in so doing the two boats came together with great force, and the Aggie as above stated, sustained considerable damage. The Morgan escaped uninjured. In the collision, two deck passengers on the Morgan were terribly injured, one of them having since died. The Morgan continued on her way arriving at this point during Friday night. She brought two hundred passengers to this port, where they were left. Charles McCarthy, one of the wounded men, died shortly after arriving here, and his remains were buried by Mr. Cary, the undertaker, at the “Seven Mile” graveyard yesterday. McCarthy was accompanied by his wife and child who were left in destitute condition. The other man, David Anthony, had his foot crushed. The whole party are from Hale’s Point, Tennessee. Capt. Steine, of the Morgan, made every provision in his power for the comfort of the unfortunate passengers and provided them with money and passes to return to Hale’s Point. The Morgan was in no manner responsible for the accident.
Tuesday, 6 Feb 1877: A cold-blooded murder, the particulars of which we learned yesterday, was committed at Clinton, Kentucky, on Saturday last. A man named Harman Bowman, on very slight provocation, stabbed and almost instantly killed a Mr. Marion F. Scott, a peaceable and highly respected citizen. Bowman was arrested and committed to jail on a charge of murder in the first degree.
Wednesday, 7 Feb 1877: John Dalzell, a steamboatman, was drowned in the Ohio River near the Hawes farm opposite this city on last Sunday morning, February 1st, by falling overboard from the steamer Charlie McDonald. Dalzell was thirty-eight years old, five feet high, light hair, and at the time of his death had on a pair of brown pants and a striped shirt. He was in his shirtsleeves. His father, Matthew Dalzell, of Evansville, Indiana, offers a reward of forty dollars for the recovery of the body.
Thursday, 8 Feb 1877: Some time ago Sheriff Saup received notice from the sheriff of Hamilton County to be on the lookout for a man named William McClarney, who is charged with the murder of a citizen of that county, the killing having been committed nearly three years ago. Sheriff Saup gave the matter his attention, and a few days ago learned that McClarney or a man answering his description was living in Goose Island Precinct in this county. Yesterday morning, armed with the proper authority for the arrest of McClarney, Sheriff Saup went out the look for him. McClarney was at the residence of ‘Squire Thomas Martin, and having been placed under arrest, was brought to Cairo, where he will be held until the arrival of the sheriff of Hamilton County, who will take him to that county for trial. McClarney denies the charge against him, and says he never was in Hamilton County. He is an intelligent and fine looking fellow, and would not be taken for a murderer.
Friday, 9 Feb 1877:
McClarney,
the man arrested by Sheriff Saup on Wednesday on a warrant from
Hamilton County, charging him with the crime of murder, was discharged from
custody last evening, Sheriff Blade of
Hamilton County
having arrived and pronounced him the wrong man. Sheriff Blade
says that he received information on the whereabouts of McClarney
through parties in Hamilton County, and felt confident that he was the right
man, but the moment he saw the McClarney arrested in this county he
ordered the release, being convinced that he was not the man wanted,
although he answers the description furnished to Sheriff Saup in
every particular. McClarney has many friends in this county,
where he has resided for some time and is generally held in good repute.
He has been working for Squire Tom Martin of Goose Island Precinct,
and during last fall put in a crop of forty acres of wheat on the shares.
He is an intelligent fellow and we are glad for his sake that he was so
promptly discharged and thus relieved from the suspicions which otherwise
would have been sure to have attached to his name. WHEREAS, in the providence of God, the hand of death has been laid upon a brother member of this company, and Whereas, it is proper that we, his fellow members of the Rough and Ready Fire Company, should give expression to our sorrow and respect for his memory, be it therefore Resolved, By the Rough and Ready Fire Company, that in the loss of our brother, Charles Baker, this company has lost an efficient member who was always ready to do his duty when opportunity offered. Resolved, That we mourn our deceased brother as a man of kind heart, and wear the usual badge of mourning and drape our hall for thirty days; be it further Resolved, That to the stricken and bereaved family of the deceased we tender our earnest and heartfelt sympathy, and may he who watches over all be their stay and comfort in their hour of sorrow and distress.
Resolved,
That a copy of these resolutions be furnished by the secretary to the family
of the deceased, and that they be published in the Bulletin of this
city.
Alton, Ill., Feb. 11.—Between
11 and 12 o’clock last night the alarm of fire was sounded, caused by the
burning of the steamer Lizzie Bayliss, which was lying at the levee
immediately opposite the water works building. The firemen were
promptly on hand, but the fire had reached such headway before their
arrival, and such a length of time was consumed in securing the necessary
amount of hose to reach the nearest plug, that the boat
When he was missed, several of
the firemen went aboard, but only to find the remains of the doomed man,
which had fallen through from the cabin to the lower deck. The body
was
Captain Gruell was about
twenty-five years of age. He leaves a wife and two children in
Quincy, where his parents and family also reside. He and
his father were joint owners of the Lizzie Bayliss, which was engaged
in the towing business and has lately arrived from below. Cliff Hazlewood of Hazlewood Precinct, died at his house on last Saturday night, and was buried in the graveyard near Toledo yesterday. Mr. Hazlewood was known to nearly all the old citizens of the county, and although he had his peculiarities, he was a good citizen and highly esteemed by his neighbors. He died of softening of the brain.
(Cliff Hazlewood is in
the 1870 census of Hazlewood Precinct, Alexander Co., Ill. He was 33,
born in Illinois,
a farmer. His wife, Nancy, was 28, and children were: Edward, 9;
Scott, 8; Lucinda, 7; John, 4; Lucius, 2; and a male baby, 4 months old.
Cliff
Hazelwood married Nancy J. Bass on
9 May 1850, in Alexander Co.,
Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
The St. Louis papers of
yesterday contained an account of the burning of the little steamer
Lizzie Bayliss and the death of Capt. Oliver Gruell, who
perished in the flames. The Bayliss, with Oliver Gruell
as captain and Billy Williams of this city as clerk, ran in the Cape
Girardeau and Cairo trade for a while, and seemed to be doing pretty well;
but when the Mississippi River opened up, Capt. Gruell concluded that
he could do better by going to the upper Mississippi and a few days ago
withdrew his boat and started up the river and had reached Alton, where, on
Sunday night, she took fire and was destroyed, Capt. Gruell perishing
in the flames. Mr. Mowery, the administrator of the estate of the late Dr. Augustine, of Hazlewood in this county, is having considerable trouble in getting together the old doctor’s wealth. Long before the old man’s death it was known that he had amassed a snug little fortune, the great bulk of it being in hard money—gold and silver. He was a strange man, and had little faith in banks, believing that he could take better care of his money than to deposit it in bank. While he would not allow his money to go out of his hands, he was in constant fear of thieves and burglars, and to guard against the possibility of being robbed, resorted to burying his money. Some two or three months ago the old man sickened and died, but before his death never intimated where the money would be found. After he was laid away, the work of searching for the money began and in the course of a few weeks, about $2,800 was found—some of it in one place and some in another about the barn. The greater portion of this amount was in greenbacks; but the gold and silver was still missing. The search has been kept up ever since and every few days small sums are being unearthed. A few days ago in digging about the roots of an old tree standing near the house a small tin can was dug up and found to contain about one hundred dollars in silver. This can had evidently been buried for many years, as the roots of the tree had grown under and over and all around it. A day or two after the can was dug up, a little dog belonging to the widow, was digging after a mole in the garden, but instead of catching the mole dug up a shot bag containing one hundred dollars in gold. It is believed by those who were best acquainted with the old man in his life time, that he had somewhere between five and eight thousand dollars in gold and silver, and so far not to exceed one thousand of it has been found. The search, however, is kept up and it is expected that sooner or later the searchers will strike a rich mine. (George Augustine is in the 1870 census of Hazlewood Precinct, Alexander Co., Ill., age 58, born in Ohio, physician. A marker in Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, near Wetaug in Pulaski Co., Ill., reads: Dr. G. Augustine died Dec. 27, 1876, Aged 65 years, 3 months, 27 days.—Darrel Dexter)
At a meeting of Toledo Division No. 34 Temperance, held on Saturday evening, February 17th, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted: WHEREAS, It has pleased Almighty God to remove from our midst our dearly beloved brother, Cliff Hazlewood, and WHEREAS, Fully recognizing him as a worthy and valuable citizen, and as a faithful and zealous member of the Sons of Temperance, therefore, we the officers and members of Toledo Division (No. 34) assembled at Temperance Hall, on Saturday evening, February 19, 1877, adopt the following resolutions, viz: Resolved, That in the death of Brother Hazlewood the members of this Division have lost a true-hearted and noble brother, and the temperance cause has lost an earnest and zealous supporter; one whose fidelity to the cause of temperance was unimpeachable, and whose place we may in vain seek to fill, and around whose mortal career cling the brightest membrances of brotherly love.
Resolved,
That our most heartfelt sympathy and condolence be extended to the widow and
children of Brother Hazlewood in this hour and their great
bereavement and that the A. B. S. be instructed to transmit a copy of these
resolutions to the sorrowing members of the family, and also that a copy be
sent to the Cairo Bulletin for publication. The funeral of James Garland will take place at his late residence, corner Fifth and Walnut streets at 1:30 o’clock today. The remains will be taken to the Catholic church and from thence to Eighth and Levee streets, where they will be conveyed to Villa Ridge for special train for interment.
Mr. Robert Billingsly died at his home on Tuesday evening, in the 40th year of his age. The funeral services were held at the house yesterday afternoon at 1 o’clock, by Rev. B. Y. George, and the remains accompanied by his wife, were taken to Ullin on the 2 o’clock train for burial. Mr. Billingsly was confined to his house for several months with consumption. For several years, at various times, he was connected with the police force of Cairo, and was a faithful officer; he would persist in attending to duty when compelled to use a cane through weakness, until at last, he had to give up, and has since been gradually wasting away. He sank to sleep calm and happy, without a struggle. We have witnessed many deathbed scenes, but we can say Mr. Billingsly showed forth he had found the “pearl of great price.” For a long time he had paid no attention to religious matters. On Sunday, a week ago, several friends met around his bed in prayer; he confessed that “he had found the peace that passeth all understanding;” that all was well, and the grave had no terrors for him now. He was willing to and anxious to go. He turned to a Christian friend present, and regretted he had not followed his counsel years ago, and said, “Oh! what good I might have done.”
A relative visited him a few
days ago who had conversed with him in the past, both being skeptical in
reference to the Christian religion. When she entered his room, he
said: “Ah! the talks we have had may do to live by, but will not avail
to die by.” Mr. Gillham administered the sacrament of the
Lord’s Supper to him the following Tuesday, and after that, he spent his
hours in praising God and admonishing his family and friends to embrace
Christianity. “Happy are the dead, who died in the Lord.”
On Monday, March 5, 1877, at
10:40 a.m., of consumption, Mrs. Emma Green, wife of Capt. S. R.
Green, of this city, in the 37th year of her age.
Funeral service, conducted by Rev. J. D. Gillham, will be held at
residence, corner Eighth Street
and Washington Avenue, today (Wednesday) at
3 o’clock p.m. The remains will be taken to Smithland for interment per
steamer James Fish, Jr., which leaves port at
5 o’clock p.m. Emma A. Burnham was born in Hopkinsville, Ky., Dec. 10, 1838. She was married to Samuel K. Green April 28, 1859. Died in Cairo, Ills., after a lingering illness of several months, March 5, 1877. She was the mother of three children, one of which (a little girl) preceded her to the mansions of bliss. She leaves to mourn her early decease, a husband, two children, a mother, four sisters, one brother, with many relatives and friends; but we feel that they “sorrow not as those who have no hope,” for their loss is her eternal gain.
She professed religion and
joined the Methodist Church a number of years ago, and all who knew
her, and those most intimately acquainted with her, can say of a truth, that
her life was “hid with Christ in God.” She was not inclined to be very
demonstrative in her religious life, not indeed in anything. She was
naturally of a modest, retiring disposition. It was especially in her
upright walk in her daily life that her Christian virtues were to be most
clearly seen, when they shone with the greatest splendor.
Tuesday, 13 Mar 1877:
The funeral of John Curren will take place from St.
Patrick’s Church today at
one o’clock. Funeral
train will leave the foot of Fourth Street for Villa Ridge at two o’clock. (Quincy Herald) The particulars of the shooting of Thomas McDonald, at Plymouth last summer, by Zach. Wilson, are still remembered by our readers. There had been some trouble between McDonald and Zach and Jim Wilson, and all three were in Plymouth on the day of the shooting. McDonald was seated in a drug store with a loaded gun and fired the ball taking effect and causing instant death. Zach ran and succeeded in making his escape, but was captured in Arkansas late last fall. Jim Wilson, who got the gun, loaded it, and gave it to Zach, was arrested immediately after the shooting, and was indicted for murder. The case came up before Judge Bibley, in the Hancock County circuit court last week. Zach’s attorneys obtained a change of venue and the case was sent to McDonough County for trial. Application for a continuance in Jim Wilson’s case was denied and the parties went to trial last week. The jury found the defendant guilty and fixed the punishment at 16 years in the penitentiary.
Mrs. Christiana Friganza, wife of Hon. Romeo Friganza,
mayor of Mound City, died at her residence in that city on Wednesday, 21st
inst., at 4 o’clock
p.m., of paralysis. Mrs. F. was sixty years of age at the time
of her death. The remains were interred at Beech Grove Cemetery
yesterday at 2 o’clock.
Tuesday, 27 Mar 1877:
SALT LAKE, March 23. —At ten a.m. precisely, Lee was brought out upon the scene of the massacre at Mountain Meadow before the executing party, and seated on his coffin, about twenty feet from the shooters. The order of the court was read to him and the company present by Marshal Nelson. After Marshal Nelson concluded reading the order of the court at 10:35 a.m. he asked Lee if he had anything to say before the execution was carried into effect. LEE SAID, I wish to speak to that man, (pointing to Mr. Fennemore, who was fixing his canvas nearby to take Lee’s photograph preceding the shooting). Lee calling to the artist, Fennemore replied in a second to Mr. Lee, and waiting till the artist attested his readiness to listen, Lee said, “I want to ask of you a favor. I want you to furnish my three wives each a copy of the photograph (meaning the one being taken) a copy of the same to Rachel A., Sarah C. and Emma B.” Mr. Howard responded for the artist, “He will do it, Mr. Lee.” Lee repeated the names over again carefully, saying, “Please forward them.” He then arose and said: “I have but little to say this morning; of course, I feel that I am upon the brink of eternity, and the solemnity of eternity should rest upon my mind at the present. I have made out, or endeavored to do so, a manuscript and an abridged history of my life. This will be published. I have given my views and feelings with regard to all these things. I feel resigned to my fate. I feel as calm as a summer morning. I have done nothing wrong. (The Mountain Meadows Massacre was Sept. 11, 1857, in southern Utah. About 120 members of the Baker-Fancher emigrant wagon train from Arkansas were killed and 17 children under age 7 were spared. John Doyle Lee, 12 Sep 1812-23 Mar 1877, was born in Randolph Co., Ill., and was the only person executed for involvement in the massacre.—Darrel Dexter) [The full text of Lee's confession, was reprinted by the newspaper, but it is too extensive to reproduce here. Interested parties should consult the Cairo Daily Bulletin microfilm for the full text -- Webmaster.]
Mr. J. B. Reed, who was called to
St. Louis very suddenly a few days ago to attend a sick brother,
telegraphs that his brother died on Monday evening. Mr. Reed
will not return until after the funeral takes place. Mrs. Fleming, mother of Mrs. George Ramsey, died suddenly last Thursday morning at her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mrs. Fleming was well known in Cairo, and the family has the sympathy of a large circle of warm friends.
John D. Lee was born in Kaskaskia,
Randolph County, Illinois,
on the 6th of September, 1812. He was born and baptized a Catholic,
brought up as a Methodist and embraced the Mormon faith after he had arrived
at man’s estate. He was fond of reading; had read many books in the
course of his life; at one time he owned a large library of his own and many
years ago he was librarian at Nauvoo, in this state. He leaves fifty
children, fifty grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. He held
his faith in the gospel “as delivered to Joseph Smith,” to the last,
and regarded himself as a martyr to the Mormon cause. Between two and three o’clock yesterday afternoon, a most distressing accident happened to a colored girl, whose parents reside at the corner of Twenty-eighth and Poplar streets. Edward Davis, a poor, but honest and hard-working colored man, having leased a few acres of ground a short distance above the city with his daughter Martha, a girl aged sixteen years, was engaged in cleaning it up, burning the brush, leaves, etc. While engaged in raking up leaves and light brush and putting them on the burning heap the girl’s clothing caught fire; becoming frightened she began to run about the field, the wind fanning the flames as she went. Hearing the screams, her father went to her rescue as soon as he could, and though he succeeded in removing some of her clothes, she had already been so severely burned as to render it doubtful if she can recover. Her arms, limbs, breasts and stomach are frightfully burned, and at seven o’clock last evening she was suffering most intensely. Dr. Stalker called to see her, and gives it as his opinion that she may recover, though it is doubtful. Mr. Davis, father of the victim, was also badly burned about the hands and arms in his efforts to save his daughter.
The many friends in this city of
Mr. and Mrs. James Rankin
will regret to learn of the death of that estimable lady. Particulars
of her death are not known, further than that she died at
four o’clock on the morning of March 19th, at
No. 15 Oxford Street, Glasgow,
Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Rankin left this country for Scotland
about one year ago. He was one of the oldest and most prominent Odd Fellows in Southern Illinois—honest, faithful, and industrious, his death will be greatly felt in this section. A firm believer in the golden rule, he tried to the best of his ability to live up to it in all his dealings with his fellow men and by this means won the good will and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. Always willing to lend a helping hand to the poor and needy, more than one hardworking man has found in him a help in time of need. He was buried Monday evening by the Odd Fellows fraternity. (A marker in the American Legion Cemetery in Dongola, originally the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery, has a marker that reads: Ebeni Leavenworth founder of Dongola in 1857, born in Camden, N.Y., Oct. 16, 1811, died April 18, 1877, married 1847 Eliza S. Henderson died Dec. 21, 1850, one child—Charles, married 1866 Sarah J. Galbraith death date unknown, married 1856 Alice M. Little died July 4, 1865. In memoriam to a man “one who lived and died with an abiding faith in God and his fellowmen.” Lawyer, miller, surveyor, ICRR merchandiser. This stone donated and erected by the citizens of Dongola, 1971.—Darrel Dexter.)
A rumor was current on the streets last evening to the effect
that Mr. F. E. Canda, president of the
Cairo and St. Louis narrow
gauge railroad, was among the unfortunate who perished in the destruction of
the Southern Hotel at St. Louis on Wednesday morning. We could trace
the report to no reliable source, and give it for what it is worth, and
sincerely hope it may be unfounded. WAS IT
A MURDER?
BELMONT, Mo., April 9, 1877
DEAR SIR:—On the 7th day of the
present month, I held an inquest over the body of a man supposed by the
coroner’s jury to be about eighteen or twenty years of age. The body
was found in the river near this place. It was the opinion of the jury
that the man had been murdered, as there were two ugly cuts on his neck,
where he had been stabbed by some sharp instrument. Mr. Green B. Parker of Goose Island Precinct, died at his residence on Thursday, 12th inst., at 2 o’clock. The funeral will take place today, Saturday, at 12 o’clock. The remains will be interred in Lake Milliken graveyard near his late residence. Those of the friends of the deceased who can do so are invited to attend the funeral. (Green B. Parker married Nancy M. Martin on 5 Dec 1858, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
H. F. Clarke, the man who, with his wife and daughter, were burned to death in the late fire at the Southern Hotel in St. Louis, was lately passenger conductor on the Cairo and St. Louis railroad.
It is reported that a shooting affair took place at or near
Pulaski on Sunday evening, in which one man was so severely wounded that he
has since died, and another badly wounded. The difficulty was about a
woman with whom both parties were in love.
At 1:30 o’clock p.m., Wednesday, April 18th, 1877, at her residence in this city, Mrs. Honora Mockler, wife of Mr. Patrick Mockler. The funeral cortege will leave the family residence at 1:30 o’clock p.m., today, Thursday, for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, where the funeral service will be held. The remains will be conveyed to Villa Ridge by special train, to leave the foot of Eighth Street at 2:30 o’clock p.m. Friends of the family are invited to attend the funeral. (Patrick Mockler married Hanora F. Catter on 19 Apr 1862, in Alexander Co., Ill. He married Mary Wagner on 1 May 1878, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
Resolved, That we feel that we have lost a brother who was true to our association in every respect; Resolved, That we tender out kindest sympathy to the family of our deceased brother, whom he has labored so long, patiently and diligently to protect from the cold world;
Resolved,
That copies of the above resolutions be published in the city papers, and a
copy be sent to the family of the deceased. Also that the same be
spread upon the minutes of this society.
On Saturday,
April 4th, 1877, at 8 o’clock a.m. Frank Bothick Scott, aged three
months and fifteen days, son of Carrie Kennedy and John H. Scott.
We learn that during the forepart of this week a negro woman in
Brooklyn, Ill., opposite
our city, gave birth to a child which she killed. She says that her
father was the father of the child, and told her if she did not kill it he
would kill her. The father was arrested and lodged in the Metropolis
jail and as soon as she is able to be moved she too will be confined.
We are informed that a woman about 24 years of age, the fourth
wife of a man named Williams, died last night at a house near the
Barracks, and it is thought she died of starvation, as there was no
provisions in the house of any kind. Her husband, until recently, has
been living in the far country, about nine miles from the city, and has been
engaged here lately in fixing up gardens. The neighbors knew nothing
of her having been sick until she was dead. The husband says she died
of bilious fever—that he summoned a physician, but the physician did not
attend. She leaves one child of her own and two step-children, all in
the greatest poverty.
One of the Williamson County Crains sentenced to the
penitentiary for fifteen years has been pardoned by Gov. Cullom.
We understand that it is all well and just and that Mr. Crain is a
good, peaceable man.
Tuesday, 1 May 1877:
(The Saturday, 5 May 1877, Jonesboro Gazette reported that
Leonard Davis was murdered by Uriah Altimus, but stated that
the report was not true in its Saturday, 26 May 1877, issue.—Darrel
Dexter) A special telegram from Carbondale, to the Chicago Tribune of Wednesday, gives the following particulars of the Hightower-Kendrick murder, which took place near that place on Sunday last: Today’s developments in regard to the Hightower-Kendrick tragedy seem to make the case very complicated. The escape of Hightower, coupled together with the mysterious manner in which City Marshall Hightower is acting, throws a suspicious cloud over the affair. Last evening about 6 o’clock Marshal Hightower engaged a livery rig at this place, saying he wished to take his brother Jake, the one who did the shooting, and the two women witnesses to Murphysboro, the county seat. He has not been seen since, and reports from Murphysboro say that he has not been there. It is generally thought now that both the women and Pet were accessories to the deed. Your correspondent accompanied the coroner’s jury to the scene of the tragedy this afternoon, and found the body lying where it had fallen, twenty-two hours before, on the floor of a new and rudely constructed house of oak planks, with only one room, and that scantily furnished. Strange to say, the inquest was conducted in an odd manner, the body not having been stripped for examination, and no surgeon employed to ascertain the course of each shot. Deputy Coroner Prickett, with the following jurors held the inquest: E.M. Mosburg, foreman; J. C. Huntly, Clark H. Whitemore, J. M. Green, James Maybery, J. R. Horste, C. F. Prickett, T. Crenshaw, J. Schvartz, C. Baxter, G. W. Prickett, and A. G. Harwood. Upon examination the foreman it was found that a bullet had entered the head near the left temple and lodged in the base of the skull. A wound was found on the forehead, as it produced by the muzzle of a pistol. Another bullet hole was found in the right arm, about four inches below the elbow which ranged downward toward the hand. On his person was found $1.10 and some other papers. The principal witness having absconded, others being called, testified to the following facts: It is known the two men, Hightower and Kendrick had quarreled several times. It is reported that Kendrick had some $500 on his person on Saturday. For a few days last week Kendrick’s wife had been away. She returned on Friday night, and while relating to her sister as to where she had been, etc. Kendrick crowded under the house and eavesdropped. Afterwards some quarrel ensued. On Saturday night one of the witnesses heard Hightower say: “Hell is a poppin,” inferring that something serious would occur. Another one—of whom he borrowed a revolver heard him say on __day morning, _____ Kendrick only what Jake had told some parties after the shooting could be got at regarding the fatal quarrel. Jake told someone after coming out of the house that he had killed Kendrick in self defense; that Kendrick had come at him with a knife (showing the scar where he received a cut) and caught him by the neck. He said he stood it as long as he could, and then he shot several times, but remarked: “By God! I’ll never tell you where the fatal shot came from.” George Bradley saw Carrie Cox, the murdered man’s sister-in-law, drop a pistol as she came out of the house, which he afterwards picked up. He produced it as evidence. He said he heard Jake tell Carrie Cox that she had done the work. The evidence was very scattering, but plainly shows that it was probably a concerted plan to rid themselves of him. The coroner’s verdict was as follows: “We the jury, find, after examination that W. A. Kendrick came to his death by two pistol shots from the hands of Jacob Hightower, on April 29, about 10 o’clock.” Pet Hightower’s presence within a half mile of the place at the time of the tragedy, and his strange conduct since, does not favorably reflect upon his official integrity, although it may prove not as bad as it seems. The murdered man will be taken care of by friends and buried tomorrow.
(The Saturday, 5 May 1877, Jonesboro Gazette, reported
that William D. Kendrick, of Boskydell, was murdered by Jake
Hightower, with the aid of Kendrick’s wife and her sister, Miss
Cox.—Darrel Dexter) At about half past eight o’clock last night, a young man named Cain, a stranger in the city, was run over at the corner of Eighteenth Street and Ohio Levee by one of the switch engines on the Illinois Central railroad. The wheel struck Cain about the left hip and passed over his body. Cain was alive at the hour of our going to press, but it was thought could not live till morning.
Mr. Tim O’Callahan, the well known proprietor of the
saloon at the corner of Fourteenth Street and Ohio Levee, Mr. Frank Bryant, an old citizen of Cairo, died at his home on Twenty-second Street, in this city, at an early hour on Wednesday morning. Mr. Bryant was an old citizen of Cairo, and was known to almost all of the old residents of the city. He was a man of noble and generous disposition, and was noted for his kindness and sympathy for the distressed. He leaves a wife and three children, who are now residing on Twenty-second Street. His funeral took place yesterday afternoon, his remains being conveyed to Villa Ridge for interment. He was followed to his grave by a large number of his former friends and associates.
(A marker in
Calvary Cemetery at Villa Ridge reads: Timothy O’Callahan
native of
County Kerry, Ireland,
born March 20, 1827, died May 9, 1877. Erected by his wife Mrs.
Bridget
O’Callahan. Frank Bryant was probably Benjamin
Franklin
Bryant. A marker in Cairo City Cemetery at Villa Ridge
reads: B. F. Bryant 1838-1877, Father; N. B. Bryant
1841-1927, Mother.—Darrel Dexter)
Robert Cain, the man who was run over by a freight car on
the Illinois Central night before last, was still alive last night.
His left hip and leg are terribly mangled and it is thought impossible for
him to live. Cain was a section hand and worked on the Villa
Ridge section. He was paid off on Wednesday, and came to
Cairo to spend his money.
It is said he was under the influence of liquor when the accident happened.
Mrs. James Powers, living on
Tenth Street,
between Washington and Commercial avenues, is very sick with pneumonia, and
late last night it was thought she could not survive long.
Died at Villa Ridge, Illinois,
on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 9, at
three o’clock, Mrs. Sarah Scott Edson, wife of Judge Obed
Edson, aged seventy-seven years, seven months, and three days.
(A marker in Cairo City Cemetery at Villa Ridge reads: Obed
Edson 1796-1877; Sally Scott Edson 1799-1877.—Darrel Dexter)
Poindexter Edmundson will be hanged at
Bloomfield,
Stoddard County, Missouri, today, for the killing of William Shaw in
October last. Edmundson’s attorneys have done everything in
their power to save his neck but without avail. The governor and the
Supreme Court refused to interfere with the findings of the court below.
The evidence on which Edmundson was convicted was entirely
circumstantial. It is believed that others were interested in the
killing and it is expected the Edmundson will, before his execution,
acknowledge his crime and name his accomplices. This will be the
second execution that has taken place in
Stoddard County.
The following bill having passed the house of representatives, is now on its third reading in the senate: An act to reimburse the counties of Williamson and Jackson for amounts expended by said counties in suppressing an insurrection against the laws of this state, known as the Williamson County Vendetta. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the general assembly, that the sum of seven thousand, two hundred and ninety-six dollars ($7,296) be and the same is hereby appropriated to reimburse the county of Williamson for that amount of money, advanced and paid by said county, as rewards for apprehension and delivery to the sheriff of said county of Marshall Crain, William J. Crain, Samuel Music, and James Norris, and for the lure of guards to guard the jail of said county during the confinement therein of the persons above named, together with one Black Bill Crain. SEC. 2. That the sum of three thousand five hundred and fifty dollars ($3,550) be and the same is hereby appropriated to reimburse the same county of Williamson for attorney’s fees paid by said county in the prosecution and conviction of the parties hereinbefore named. SEC. 3. That the sum of three hundred ($300) be and the same is hereby appropriated to James W. Landrum for time and money by him expended in organizing militia companies to preserve the peace and protect the lives of the citizens of Williamson County. That the sum of five hundred dollars be and the same is hereby appropriated to Daniel H. Brush, for money by him expended as a reward offered by him, the said Danish H. Brush, for the purpose of bringing murderers to justice, and thereby protecting the lives of citizens of Jackson and Williamson counties. SEC. 4. That the sum of two thousand nine hundred and forty-two dollars ($2,942) be and the same is hereby appropriated to reimburse the county of Jackson for that amount of money advanced and paid by said county as rewards for the apprehension and delivery to the sheriff of said Jackson County of John Bulliner and Allen Baker and for the hire of guards to guard the jail of said country during the confinement therein of said Bulliner and Baker, and for attorney’s fees paid by said county of Jackson in the prosecution and conviction of said Bulliner and Baker. SEC. 5. That the auditor of public accounts is hereby authorized and directed to draw his warrant, payable to the treasurer of Williamson County, for the aforesaid sums mentioned in sections 1 and 2, amounting to $10,846; and also his warrant, payable to James W. Landrum, for the sum of $300 mentioned in section four of this act, and also his warrant payable to the treasurer of Jackson County, for $2,942.
SEC. 6. That whatever
sum may yet be due to A. D. Duff and William J. Allen, for
prosecuting as aforesaid at the rate of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for
each of said convictions, shall be paid to them by the county treasurer of
the aforesaid counties, respectively, out of the moneys received on the
aforesaid warrants.
(John F. Rector
married Bettie Bozman on 2 Feb 1868, in Pope Co., Ill.—Darrel
Dexter) He brooded over the matter for several days, and finally concluded to put an end to his mystery by committing suicide. Accordingly on Saturday morning last he resolved to carry his determination into execution. He left his home and went into the woods and with a huge knife cut his throat from ear to ear, almost severing the windpipe. In this condition he was found a few hours later and was removed to his home and a physician called to see him. He was found to be in a critical condition and liable to shuffle off at any moment. On Sunday he was brought to Cairo and put into the hospital for treatment. On Monday he was getting along as well as could be “expected under the circumstances,” and he may recover. The old man has lived near Unity in this county for a number of years.
(Sarah R. Christian
married James H. Wallace on 5 Apr 1877, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel
Dexter) The negro boy who attempted to rape, and afterwards murder Mrs. Pyle, of Arlington, Kentucky, on last Thursday evening, paid the penalty of his crime at Blandville, Kentucky, on Monday night, by being lynched by a mob.
Full particulars have not
been received and all that is known is about this: The jailer at Blandville though well acquainted with the people of that part of the country, says that leaders of the mob were so thoroughly disguised as to render recognition impossible.
(The name of the man lynched
was given as Levi Pyle in the 26 May 1877, issue.—Darrel Dexter) A beautiful tribute was paid to the memory of Lucy Rector by her schoolmates yesterday noon. Without previous arrangement or the knowledge of the teacher, Miss Riley, a number of the scholars, children ranging in age from seven to ten years, each carried to school a beautiful bouquet and just as school was called they gathered about the seat formerly occupied by the little Lucy and fairly covered the desk with a profusion of flowers. Miss Riley, who knew nothing of the purpose of the little folks until she saw them in the act of decorating the seat of their departed mate, was touched by the sight and burst into tears. The little ones observed her, joined her feelings, and in a moment a dozen little heads were bowed and as many pairs of eyes were bedimed with tears, and for several minutes not a word was spoken. When the “spell” was broke, the scholars, assisted by their teacher, built a pyramid of flowers on the departed Lucy’s desk, and it is proposed to leave them there to wither and fade. Such scenes are not often witnessed in a school room.
The Blandville (Kentucky) News gives the following account of the way the negro Levi Pyle was disposed of by a mob on last Sunday evening: Last Sunday evening, about the hour of eleven, some twenty men from the southern part of the county, came into town and proceeded to the jail, and demanded of E. P. Morgan, the jailor, the keys of the cell in which the negro Levi Pyle was confined; after a few moments parley, the keys were given up and the mob, for such it was, proceeded to the cell, and with ropes soon tied the unfortunate son of Ham in such a manner that he found it was impossible to unloose himself. Having thus secured him they led him downstairs and out in the roads, when they mounted their horses, but as the negro had none, he was compelled to travel on shank’s ponies, and as they made them gallop through town he soon found that it was all he could do to keep up with them, not withstanding he made ten feet at a jump. But all things have an end, and so also had this jumping an end—for the negro soon got tired of going at such a furious rate, and at the bottom of the hill thought he would lie down and take a rest; now that is what his captors did not in the least wish, and as they could not make him get up, they done the next best thing they could, i.e., pulled him on the ground to the nearest tree, but as the limbs were not large enough to hold him, they proceeded to the next tree, and after finding a limb, threw the rope over and Levi Pyle was hanging between heaven and earth to answer to the crime which had been laid to his charge. The mob after hanging him, fired five shots into his body, and then quickly dispersed to their homes.
We are no advocate of mob
law, but in this instance we think it was right and proper that the people
should do just as they did with this negro, who, in nine chances out of ten,
would in all probability have only been sent to the state prison for a term
of one or two years for the fearful crime he had committed. Until our
legislature shall have passed such laws as will insure the punishment of
such fiends, and see that they receive the punishment for the crimes they so
richly merit, just so long will we have such occurrences as occurred here
last Sunday night. The law as it now is on such crimes is defective,
and we hope at the meeting of the next legislature to see Mr. Edrington
make some amendments to the criminal laws. We have another killing to record, which occurred in this wise, as we learn from Mr. E. D. Watson, of the Times and Observer, who was in the city this morning: Last night two negroes named Thomas Riley and Mike Oakley, who were working on a section of the Mississippi Central Railroad, about six miles from Fulton, had a serious dispute after which both of them went to bed. Riley nursed his wrath until about 4 o’clock this morning, when he arose, dressed himself and quietly taking a pistol from beneath the bed, shot and instantly killed Oakley. Riley then took to the woods, but was seen at some hour this morning on the track of the P. and M. railroad and will probably make for this city.”
(A marker in Calvary Cemetery at Villa Ridge reads: Nellie daughter of W. & E. Redman, Aged 2 years, 9 months, 7 days.—Darrel Dexter)
Friday, 1 Jun 1877: We are furnished the particulars of the destruction of the city of Mt. Carmel by a cyclone yesterday evening, by the officers of the Cairo and Vincennes railroad. The sight, as described by the telegrams below must have been terrible. Houses, trees, everything in the course of the destroyer were buried to atoms, and men, women and children and animals alike crushed and mangled in the most terrible, sickening manner. The loss of life and property as yet can hardly be estimated, so great has been the confusion and consternation among the helpless and terror strick inhabitants of the doomed town.
MT. CARMEL, June 4, 4:40
p.m.—As near as can yet be ascertained, about one hundred and fifty persons
have been hurt. Thirteen dead bodies have been removed from the
debris. My house was blown to atoms, and my little brother and sister badly crippled. Oh, horrible! Over fifty houses are a total wreck. All of the churches and four of the finest business houses in town were utterly destroyed. The streets are full of debris. No one has been here but one man who ran away from the cyclone.
A FIRE HAS BROKEN OUT
Mt. Carmel, June 4—5:35
p.m.—My God! the fire is gaining on us. They have
Mt. Carmel, June 4, 7:30
p.m.—The following is a list of the dead as near as I can learn them now: MT. Carmel June 4, 9:30 p.m.—Three more dead have been removed from ruins. Willie, youngest son of Rev. Mr. Wallar, of the M. E. church; Belle Ballard, and Mattison, a little son of Mrs. Burten. Mr. J. R. Thomas, a photographer, formerly of this city, telegraphs to his wife who is visiting friends in Cairo that he is safe and well.
At last accounts sixteen
dead had been taken out of the ruins and it is believed that perhaps as many
more have not yet been found. Twenty-seven are yet missing, and the
wounded number about one hundred. The following is a correct list of the killed as far as known up to a late hour last evening: C. L. Poole, William Wallar, George Moore, Charles Norman, S. A. Edgar, Mr. Goodrich, William Newkirk, Mr. Ballard, Matterson’s child, Mrs. Benton, Lady unknown, John Tennis, C. L. Watkins, Mrs. Baumgartner, John Highbee, Fred Geohe.
(Robert J.
Cundiff married Adelaide A. Phillips on 17 Mar 1874, of Alexander
Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
A few days ago Thomas E.
Keith, living five miles north of Vienna, was out hunting a cow, and
passing along the bluff on Wesley Miller’s farm, he saw a buzzard fly
from under the bluff near him, which attracted his attention. He
descended a few feet and found a cave in there about 20 feet by ten and some
four or five feet arch. On entering he found a large quantity of
ashes—about two wagon loads, and among them a large quantity of human bones,
which are greatly charred. Quite a number of our Viennaians have
visited the cave and confirm the above facts. They think, from the
bones to be seen there, that there must have been from a half dozen to a
dozen persons burned in the cave. Some of the bones are of grown
people and some of children. Some of the bones were brought to town
and shown to Dr. Bratton; he pronounced them human bones. This
discovery has created quite an agitation in the minds of some. There
seems to be no settled theory as to how long they have been there.
Although we have not seen the cave nor any of the bones, it is our opinion
they have been there ever since the red man lived in this country. Who
knows but what it even antedates the Indians, as far back as the days of the
mound builders, of whose existence there is but little known except the
mounds to be seen in some parts of the country. A finger ring and a
large glass bead were found in the cave.
Mr. R. J. Cundiff, of
Cairo, Ills., who came to the valley some few weeks since for the purpose of
receiving treatment for a severe attack of paralysis, died this morning at
half past four o’clock after great suffering. Mr. Cundiff was
one of the oldest residents of Cairo, a prominent businessman, and a
respected citizen, whose demise will be learned with regret by all who knew
him. Mr. Will Cundiff , his eldest son, arrived in the valley
this morning and took charge of the remains of his father, which he will
take to Villa Ridge, Ills., for interment. The bereaved family have
our heartfelt sympathy in their great loss. (The man’s name is recorded as Jim or Jimmie Brown in all later reports.—Darrel Dexter)
Considerable excitement was
occasioned in the city on Sunday last by the arrest, by Chief of Police
Charlie Arter, and W. B. Harkins, city marshal of Osceola,
Arkansas, of Riley Covington proprietor of the barber shop on Eighth
Street near Washington Avenue. Hearing of the arrest of
Covington
we went in search of Mr. Harkins with the view of ascertaining if
possible the nature of the crime charged against
Covington.
Mr. Harkins and Chief Arter were found together, and from the
former we learned all the facts concerning the case in Mr. Harkins’
possession.
Covington is
The day after this
Covington
was seen at Craighead Point with a lot of furs and when asked where
Wilkinson was, said he had left him in Osceola drunk. This was the
last seen of
Covington.
Two or three weeks later
All these facts which were
sworn to before the grand jury of Mississippi County pointed to In February last Covington made his appearance in Cairo, and for a time kept a small restaurant near the corner of Fifth Street and Commercial Avenue, afterwards he purchased the right for a patent coffee boiler, and for a time peddled them about the city. He next engaged to work for Ed. Braxton in the barbershop on Eighth Street, and when Braxton moved into his old quarters in the Reiser building Covington opened out on his own account in the shop vacated by Braxton.
Some weeks ago Chief
Arter received a description of
Covington
together with a history of the crime. The chief at once “spotted”
Covington,
and notified the Osceola authorities to come after him.
Marshall Harkins
arrived in this city on the midnight train Saturday night, and on Sunday
accompanied by Chief Arter went to
Covington’s
shop.
Covington
was engaged in shaving a man, and when Chief Arter laid his hand on
him and notified him that he was under arrest, for a moment he seemed
paralyzed, and unable to speak. Regaining his self control he put on
his coat and hat and without saying anything was marched off to the county
jail. On the arrival of the Memphis packet last night, he was turned
over to Marshal Harkins, who took him back to Osceola.
Chief Arter deserves
credit for the strict watch he kept over
Covington
previous to his arrest to prevent his getting away. (Mr. Hiem’s name is recorded as Heim in other articles.—Darrel Dexter)
At a meeting of the St. Patrick’s Benevolent Society, held at their hall on the 27th day of June, 1877, the following resolutions of respect were adopted to our deceased brother, Edward Morris. WHEREAS, It has pleased the Almighty God to remove from our midst by the unsparing hand of death our worthy brother member, Edward Morris, therefore be it Resolved, That while we bow in submission to the decrees of Divine Providence, our hearts are veiled in sorrow at the loss of one endeared to us by the ties of friendship and affection. Resolved, That we tender our sympathies to the family of the deceased in their hour of bereavement.
Resolved,
That a copy of the above resolution be transmitted to the family of the
deceased, also to be published in the Cairo Bulletin.
On Sunday the 24th inst., at
8 o’clock, p.m. “Baby Jacob” only son of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Martin,
aged three months and three days. The remains were interred in the
Villa Ridge Cemetery on Monday, June 25th, at 4 p.m. The warmest
thanks of the family and friends of the family are tendered to Mr. William
Morris, Miss Lucy D. Wilson and others, who so feelingly and
sympathetically conducted the beautiful spiritualistic burial services over
the form of the darling, little, precious baby boy.
(Granny Horn could be Caroline Horn, who is in the 1870 census of Cairo, Alexander Co., Ill., age 70, born in Virginia, black; or Charlotte Horn, also in the 1870 census of Cairo, age 68, born in Georgia, black.—Darrel Dexter)
DEAR SIR: In your
issue of June 30, appears an account of the terrible death of Riley
Covington
at the hands of a mob at this place upon his arrival here, in charge of our
city marshal, W. B. Haskins. Allow me to say, in justice to
Riley
Covington, that he is charged with the killing of but one man (which of
course will have to be proven hereafter) and the good citizens of this
county, that there is not one word of truth in the whole story.
Covington
is alive and in good health. I saw him about two hours ago and he is
in fine spirits, etc.
“Citizen” on the “Taking
Off” of Old Man Brown. A week ago you chronicled the brutal murder of an old colored man, by white men; and this morning you chronicle the robbery of a colored man of three dollars and a half by four of his own color. Is it not a little odd that in the first case alluded to no arrests have been made or inquest held, while in the latter all four are in limbo within twenty-four hours and under bonds in the amount of $500 each for the appearance before the circuit court. In the first case an old man is found in the road with his skull crushed in and his arms broken with clubs; two men came forward and coolly confess to having killed him, alleging that he was in their cabbage patch with intent to steal. Their excuse is deemed sufficient; no arrests are made, and they are even justified by the public prints. In the second case the vigilance of the police is extolled for the arrest of the terrible criminals who set the laws at naught by stealing $3.50. Why is this? Do we have one law for the nigger and another for the white? Or are we degenerating into barbarism, where property is of more value than life? Common decency should have impelled the officers to at least have gone through the form of an inquest. If there is any law or reason why it was not done, will the coroner or sheriff please publish it?
I am jealous of the good
name of our city as anyone can possibly be, but when such violations of the
law of God and man are permitted, I will not lend them my sanction by
keeping quiet for fear of injuring our standing abroad as a law abiding
community.
The infant son of Mr. and Mrs. James Cheney died at Jonesboro on Wednesday morning. The remains were brought to Cairo on Thursday morning, and were interred at Villa Ridge the same afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney were visiting near Jonesboro when the child died.
(James Cheney married
Mary Smith on 4 Nov 1875, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter) Charles E. Stewart, Night Operator at the I. C. Depot Drowned in the Ohio River while in Bathing.
At a quarter before ten
o’clock last night, Mr. Charles E. Stewart, night telegraph operator
at the Illinois Central railroad stone depot, was drowned while bathing in
the Ohio River near the Illinois Central wharfboat. Stewart in
company with three or four of his companions left the depot at half past
nine and went to the river. For some time they played about in the
water, when Stewart, who was not an expert swimmer, got beyond his
depth, and before help could reach him, sunk out of sight. Every
effort was made to recover his body, but up to eleven o’clock it had not
been found.
Stewart was about twenty-one years of age, and came to Cairo from
Champaign, where his parents reside. During his short residence in
this city he had made many warm friends. Those who knew him best say
he was a young man of exemplary character. A fatal affray occurred at the little town of Forman, on the line of the Cairo and Vincennes road in Johnson County, at an early hour yesterday morning. From what we have been able to learn of the affair it seems that Cud Wagoner and Harrison Burkelow were neighbors, and live but a short distance from the Cairo and Vincennes depot at Forman. Yesterday morning Mrs. Wagoner and Mrs. Burkelow got into a dispute about some trivial affair and kept up the squabble until their husbands were drawn into it, and the affair terminated by Burkelow taking a gun and shooting Wagoner, who died almost instantly. Burkelow was arrested, and a hearing was in progress yesterday afternoon, but how it came out we were unable to learn. We will probably receive full particulars tonight.
A tramp named Robert Orr,
who boarded a freight train at Villa Ridge yesterday morning for the purpose
of stealing his way to this city, in attempting to get off the train on
arriving in the upper end of town, fell under the cars and had his right
foot cut off. The unfortunate man was taken to Thistlewood’s
warehouse, where his leg was amputated just below the knee by Doctors
Wardner and Wood. Orr is a native of New York, and
has a brother who is a cashier in a bank in that city, who was telegraphed
to by the officers of the Illinois Central railroad. Orr is now
in the hospital.
The body of the young man
Charles E. Stewart, whose death by drowning we announced in yesterday
morning’s Bulletin, was recovered yesterday afternoon by diver Hiram
Hill. Nearly the entire morning had been spent in dragging the
river in the vicinity where the young man was seen to go down, but without
effect. Mr. Hill’s services were then called into requisition,
and although Mr. Hill has not been well for several days, he
consented to make a search for the body. It was between three and four
o’clock when he “buckled on his armor” and went down to look for the body,
and before four o’clock he had recovered it, and had it on the wharfboat.
The body was found within a few feet of the spot where Stewart was
seen to go down. Acting Coroner Comings assembled a jury and an
inquest was held and a verdict of accidental drowning returned. Mr.
Stewart of Champaign, father of the deceased, who arrived in the city by
the afternoon train on the Illinois Central, had the body at once prepared
for shipment to Champaign, where it will be interred. Mr. Hill’s
charge in cases of this character are usually $25, but in this instance,
although he was sick and really in no condition to undertake the recovery of
the body, he did recover it, and with characteristic kindness, refused to
accept pay for his services. It is needless to say that the friends
and acquaintances of the unfortunate young man feel that they owe Mr.
Hill a lasting debt of gratitude. Mr. Albert Griffin, of Ullin, came to the city yesterday in search of a man named Thomas McAuliff, who is charged with stabbing a colored boy at the above named place on Thursday morning. From Mr. Griffin we learn the following particulars of the affair. Thomas McAuliff, an employee at Messrs. Morris, Rood & Co.’s mill, attended the celebration at Ullin on the Fourth and got to drinking. He was still under the influence of liquor on Thursday morning, and showed a disposition to be quarrelsome. He finally came in contact with a colored boy seventeen or eighteen years of age named John Glass, with whom he tried to get up a difficulty. The boy it seems tried to avoid him, whether from fear or a desire to avoid a fight is not known. McAuliff followed him about for some time, and at last without cause or provocation, plunged a large knife into the boy’s bowels, inflicting a wound from which it is thought he cannot recover. McAuliff immediately left the place, and was not seen again until he got on to the train on the narrow gauge railroad near Hazelwood, and came to Cairo. The officers here were on the lookout for him, but up to a late hour last night had not succeeded in capturing him.
The Johnson County Yeoman
gives the following account of the accidental killing of a boy at New
Burnside in that county, on Tuesday last: “Mrs. Hood sent her
son, a boy thirteen years old to Mr. Barnes’ grocery story after some
chickens. Mr. Barnes got his pistol and just as he was in the
act of shooting at the chicken, young Hood ran between Mr. Barnes
and the chicken, the ball striking him in the head, inflicting a wound from
which he died in about thirty minutes. Young Hood was a very
intelligent boy, and a great favorite with the people of the little town.” The Johnson County Journal gives the following account of the murder of David Wagoner by Harrison Burklow, at Forman on Thursday morning last: Just on the eve of going to press we received information of a cold-blooded and deliberate murder which was perpetrated yesterday morning at Forman, seven miles south of this place, the particulars of which are as follows. There has been an unpleasantness existing between Harrison Burklow, and David Wagoner for some time, on account of some trouble their wives have had. On the Fourth, while they were both stimulated very highly on bad whiskey, they renewed their difficulties, but the interference of friends prevented any serious results at that time. After this, Burklow and Wagoner went to their respective homes. Yesterday Wagoner went to his work as usual in Chapman & Hess’ mill. Shortly after he had gone to work, Burklow came into the mill, and without exchanging compliments, drew his pistol and shot Wagoner through the breast, from the effects of which he died immediately.
Burklow
was arrested by L. M. Brown and others, brought to Vienna and out in
jail. A pitiable story comes to us from various persons in regard to an old negro woman living on Poplar Street, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets. Her name is Maria Caldwell, and for weeks past she has been confined to her bed by sickness. Her husband, finding it a hard task to support her, a few days ago left the house, and has since refused to do anything in the poor old woman’s behalf. She has been kept in food by Mr. Egbert Smith, who keeps a grocery store at the corner of Thirteenth and Poplar streets, and several negro women living in the neighborhood. The city authorities should look into the case and provide some source of support and care for the forsaken old creature.
(Her name is reported as
Martha Caldwell in the notice of her death in the 21 Jul 1877,
issue.—Darrel Dexter)
In your issue of July 4th
appeared a communication from “Citizen” censuring the officers of the law
for their remarkable conduct in the case of the old negro who was beaten to
death by Messrs. Lattner and Heim. I do not learn that
this article or your editorial on the subject has called forth any reply
from our valiant sheriff, or vigilant coroner, or that they have yet taken
any action in the matter. Are we to understand that this case is a
sample of the way they propose to administer the law during their term of
office? I protest against allowing this matter to drop without further
comment.
I have no false sympathy for
the criminal as against the officer of the law, but Judge George H. Morrow, of Paducah, Kentucky, died very suddenly on the sleeping car on the incoming train on the Illinois Central railroad on Monday morning. From Mr. Bradley, conductor of the sleeping car, who testified before the coroner’s jury, we learn the following particulars of the death. Judge Morrow got into the sleeping car at St. Louis, and seemed to be suffering severely, having a hacking cough, or catching in the throat. He left his berth a number of times during the night and went to the water cooler and drank considerable water. Just after the train left Ullin, he got up again and started towards the door, on reaching which he fell to the floor, and when picked up by the conductor and his assistant, he was supposed to be in a stupor, and was laid on one of the seats in the car, when it was found that he was dead. When the train reached Cairo, acting Coroner Comings was notified and the body having been removed into the Illinois Central passenger depot, an inquest was held, when the facts as above related were brought out. From papers in Judge Morrow’s possession it was learned that he had gone to San Francisco for the benefit of his health. He did not remain there long, however, for his memorandum book shows that he passed through Cairo on his way to California on the 14th of June. The judge was suffering from a tumor on the right said of his throat, which had grown so large as to displace the wind pipe and cause respiration difficult; and Dr. W. F. Grimstead, of Charleston, who happened to be present at the inquest, made an examination of the throat, and gave it as his opinion that the deceased had come to his death for suffocation. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with these facts. The friends of the deceased were notified, and in reply Justice of the Peace Comings was notified to have the body properly cared for and forwarded to Paducah. Shortly after the Sir Knights, of which order the deceased was an honored member, took charge of the body, relieving Mr. Comings of the responsibility and had it sent to Paducah by the Fisk last evening. Judge Morrow was judge of the county court of McCracken County, and was held in high esteem by the people among whom he lived.
The many friends of Alderman
McGauley, who is now in Wisconsin where he went in the hope of
regaining his health, will regret to learn that he is sinking rapidly, and
that he is not expected to live long. He is now at this mother’s near
LaCrosse and at last accounts was failing very fast. Mrs. McGauley
received intelligence a few days ago, which caused her to feel that she
should be by her husband’s side, and she started for Wisconsin by the first
train. On Monday morning last Rev. Isaac K. Swain, a Baptist preacher residing near Blandville, Ballard County, Kentucky, left Blandville with a horse and buggy to come to Cairo on business. He was expected to return to Blandville in the evening, but as he failed to put in an appearance at the proper time his friends became anxious, and on yesterday morning started out to search for him. They soon found the horse and buggy, but Mr. Swain was not with it. The road between Blandville and the river was then searched, and in a small creek between the river and Blandville the body of Mr. Swain was found. There were no marks of violence on his body, and it is a question of doubt in the minds of some whether the preacher was accidentally drowned or whether he committed suicide. His remains were taken to Blandville for burial.
George Morrow, judge
of the McCracken County Court, whose death is announced in today’s Sun,
was perhaps the most popular man in our county. He commenced the study
of law in the offices of Col. J. B. Husbands, in this city, about
thirty years ago. Judge Morrow was an intelligent, faithful
officer, and a firm friend. His sudden death has cast a deep gloom
over this entire community.
We find the following
dispatch going the rounds of the press of this and adjoining states, the
last paper in which we find it being the Illinois State Register: CAIRO, ILL., July 5.—Sheriff Thomas Porter has just arrived home today having in charge Thomas Aiken, whom he arrested at Babcock’s Hole, Custer County, Colorado, on a requisition from the governor on the 13th of June, for the murder of Augustine Stewart, in 1864. Stewart was a well-to-do farmer of this county. The murder was perpetrated for the purpose of robbery, and about $1,000 were obtained. Aiken, at the time of his arrest, was engaged in stock raising. At the preliminary trial, in 1864, before Esquire G. W. Overton, he pleaded guilty and made a full confession. He was placed in jail here, and escaped from confinement, since which time several important witnesses have died. At the time he committed the murder he had two accomplices, by the name of Glide, who fled the country, and have not, and probably will never be apprehended. Sheriff Porter deserves considerable credit for this successful management of this case, as Aiken is quite a desperado. It is scarcely necessary to say that somebody has made a big mistake. This dispatch was never sent from Cairo and when published in the Republican did not bear date at Cairo. The dispatch was sent from Carmi, White County, in its rounds some rascally printer has simply substituted Cairo for Carmi.
Mr. Grundy Bryant, of Ballard County, Kentucky, informs us of the killing of Jock Owens, one of the most desperate criminals known to the officers of the law in this section of the country. Owens met his death about fifteen miles above Baton Rouge, La., while being chased by an officer named Gibbs last Monday. When killed, Owens and an old man named Henry, who once made his home with Mr. Bryant, were in a skiff in the Mississippi River. He was decoyed to the bank by friends of the officers and attempted to push out into the stream again upon discovering that he had been deceived, when Gibbs fired, killing him instantly. Henry, Owens’ companion, had one of his ears shot off.
The sad news of the death of
Mr. M. J. McGauley, at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on Friday evening, was
received in this city yesterday morning. The deceased was a member of
the city council of this city, of the St. Patrick’s Benevolent Society, and
of the Delta Fire Company, and took great interest in the welfare of the
city, and the affairs of both organizations. He has suffered for some
months with consumption, and went to Wisconsin at the request of his
physician, who believed the change of climate would benefit him. Mr.
McGauley was one of our most respected citizens and his loss is deeply
felt by the entire community. His remains were interred at Fond du Lac
yesterday morning. The following in regard to the execution of Poindexter Edmundson, who was known to many in Cairo, at Bloomfield, Mo., on Friday, we take from the St. Louis Times:
BLOOMFIELD, Mo., via
Dexter, Mo., July 13.—Poindexter Edmundson, the murderer of William
Shaw, was hanged at Bloomfield today. Rev. H. H. Haysworth,
of the Southern M. E. Church, administered the ordinance of baptism to him
this morning at 11:30 o’clock. He was brought out of jail, placed in a
wagon surrounded by a guard of about 100 men armed with muskets and taken to
the place of execution, about a quarter of a mile east of town. He
mounted the scaffold at 11:45 and was After he finished his statement the noose was adjusted around his neck, the death sentence read and the black cap placed over his face. At five minutes past 12 o’clock the trap door fell and he was launched into eternity. He fell nearly six feet, breaking his neck instantly. One faint shudder passed over his body and that was all. In twenty-four minutes his pulse had ceased to beat and shortly after his body was cut down, placed in a plain walnut coffin and given to his friends. Thus passed away Poindexter Edmundson. He was born in Lawrence County, Ark., but his father moved to Tennessee when he was only two years old and out to Missouri when he was four.
At a meeting of the St. Patrick’s Benevolent Society of Cairo, Ills., No. 243 of the I. C. B. union held at their hall July 15th, 1877, the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted: WHEREAS, It has pleased the Almighty God in his wisdom to remove from our midst by the unsparing hand of death our late Brother, M. J. McGauley, therefore be it Resolved, That while recognizing the wisdom and justice of him who doeth all things well, we sincerely mourn the loss of one who in all his relations as a Christian and loving friend, and an earnest worker in the cause of friendship, unity, and Christian charity, could be excelled. Resolved, That we, as his brethren in the cause of benevolence, do join in our heartfelt sympathy with his family, who mourn his untimely death; all knowing his worth as a companion, his honor and virtue as a man, will deplore the loss and his separation from us in this world; but consoling ourselves with the hope that God is his omnipotent mercy will reward him for his many noble traits, his kind and genial disposition and generous goodness toward all men. Our unanimous prayers are that his soul may rest in peace.
Resolved,
That a copy of these resolutions be presented to the secretary and to the
bereaved family of the deceased, that they be entered at large on the
journal and published in the Cairo Bulletin, and in the Fond du Lac,
Wisconsin, papers.
For several days past a negro named Alexander Potter who is said to have come to Cairo from Metropolis, has been peddling apples, etc. to steamboat passengers at the wharf in the daytime and sleeping at night in skiffs, onboard piles, etc. He has been sick and scarcely able to move about since coming to Cairo, with what those who saw him most and knew him best pronounce congestion of the bowels, and on Monday night about six o’clock he died on a pile of sacks on Halliday & Phillips wharfboat No. 1. ‘Squire Comings was informed of the negro’s death and summoned a coroner’s jury, which held an inquest. Their verdict was that Alex had died with the cholera morbus. It is not known what led ‘Squire Comings and his men to this conclusion, as it is denied that the deceased had any symptoms of cholera morbus, unless it was the fact that Alex at the time of his taking off, or at some period of his life not definitely known, had been the owner of a box of green apples, which fact to the minds of any body of wise men, would be abundant evidence of the cause of the unfortunate man’s demise.
Henry Berger, a
farmer living one and a half miles from Red Bud, while mowing hay with a
team on Wednesday last, struck a bee’s nest. The team becoming
unmanageable threw him in front of the sickle, cutting off his leg and right
arm, and otherwise mangling him, from the effects of which he died in three
hours. At a regular meeting of the Delta City Fire Company held in their engine house on Wednesday evening, the 18th inst., Isaac Ostrander, on behalf of the Executive Committee and the members of the company, presented the following preamble and resolutions, which were adopted unanimously, and ordered spread upon the records of the company. Resolved, That in the dispensation of providence which has removed from out midst our associate and friend, M. J. McGauley, we have sustained no common loss, and it has left a void which cannot be filled. Being with us since the inception of the company he has always labored both as an active and executive member, and we shall miss his voice and action in the deliberation of the company, and his presence at all times. A warm friend and zealous associate, his place cannot be filled, and we extend to the bereaved family our sincere sympathies. Resolved, That in testimony of the respect and love we bear the deceased, the engine house and presidents chair be draped in mourning for the space of thirty days.
Resolved,
That these proceedings to be published in the Cairo Bulletin, and
Fond du Lac papers, and a copy furnished the family of the deceased..
The preliminary hearing of Messrs. Heim and Lattner, for the killing of old man Brown, took place before Squire Comings yesterday afternoon. County Attorney Mulkey appeared for the People and Judge John H. Mulkey for the defense. There was a large number of witnesses in the case, and it was near night before the evidence was all heard. The circumstances of the killing were proven to be substantially as stated in the Bulletin the day following the occurrence. Mr. Lattner had missed considerable garden truck and determined to watch his garden with the hope of capturing the thief or thieves. On the night of June 23d, accompanied by his neighbor Philip Heim, he took up a position in the patch. After waiting nearly all night, at about three o’clock in the morning, the thief made his appearance and entered the patch. Mr. Heim, who had taken his shotgun with him, fired a blank cartridge at the thief, who started to run, when both Lattner and Heim started after him. Mr. Heim, who was some distance ahead of Mr. Lattner, followed the negro into the corn field adjacent to the cabbage patch where he caught up with him and a scuffle ensued. In the scuffle the negro stabbed Heim in the shoulder with a butcher knife. About this time Mr. Lattner came up when Heim called to him that he had been stabbed, and the latter, fearing that he might meet a similar fate, struck the negro with a club—how many blows was not proven. The negro fell, and then Heim went home to dress his wound, while Mr. Lattner awoke some of his neighbors, and by their aid the old negro was carried out of the field and laid by the roadside where he was found by some passersby the following morning, who shortly afterwards removed him to his home. Dr. Wood testified to the old man’s condition when he was called to see him. Both arms were broken, his skull was fractured, and he was otherwise injured. This was about the sum and substance of the evidence. The plea entered by the defendants was self-defense, and Justice Comings made short work of his summing up the case, and acquitted the defendants. And thus ended the Brown case. The result of the trial is nothing more than we expected, having believed from the first that Messrs. Heim and Lattner would be acquitted if an investigation was held. We believed that an investigation should be had that all questions arising from the unfortunate “taking off” of the old man should be put to rest. It was better than an investigation should be had now, than to have the matter go to the circuit court and the county put to heavy expense in its trial, and in the end the result would have been the same. Even the examination had yesterday might have been avoided had the officers whose duty it was taken the matter in hand, held a coroner’s inquest. But that was not done at the proper time, and the investigation was the outgrowth of their neglect of duty.
On Tuesday night, a mulatto
girl by the name of Lizzie Martin, who has been living in a house on
Fourth Street, took an overdose of morphine, and died in a few hours.
The deceased went to market Tuesday afternoon and bought a lot of peaches
and watermelon, and returning home ate of them to such an extent that as
Capt. Jim Miller would say, she was seized with a terrible “grippin’
in her bowels” and took a dose of morphine to relieve her of the pain and
got too much. Acting Coroner Comings, with that promptness
which has at all times been so characteristic with him, summoned a jury and
held an inquest yesterday morning. The jury gave a verdict of
accidental poisoning.
The news of the sudden and
unexpected death of apoplexy of A. B. Safford, Esq., at Burlington,
Vermont, on Thursday night received in this city early yesterday morning,
was a shock to the community and is felt as a sorrowful and irreparable
calamity by all classes of citizens. Mr. Safford was
universally respected and beloved; was a public-spirited citizen, always
deeply and actively interested in everything pertaining to the popular good;
a man of wide and extended charity, whose heart was big enough to feel and
sympathize with the woes of all mankind while it never failed to inspire him
to alleviate the sorrows and relieve the distress of the poor and the
unhappy in his own city and neighborhood; he was an exceptionally genial and
pleasant acquaintance, a firm and faithful friend; a kind, thoughtful and
affectionate brother, and an untiringly devoted husband. “Take him for
all in all, we never shall look upon his like again.” His death is
felt as a common sorrow by the people of Cairo and their deepest sympathy
goes out to the family so suddenly bereaved; to the sorely afflicted wife
and the family in Cairo; to the sister on the Atlantic shore and the brother
on the Pacific, and to that wide circle of relatives and friends upon whom
the mantle of deep grief has fallen.
(Micajah Littleton
married Katherine Woolf on 21 Aug 1824, in Union Co., Ill.
Micajah
Littelton died 13 Jun 1880, in Sacramento, Calif.—Darrel Dexter)
Chief of Police Charley
Arter, received the following letter a few days ago:
DEAR SIR: I wish to
make a few inquiries as to a man by the name of H. A. Cunningham, a
piano tuner by profession. He is about five feet four or five inches
high, and weighs about one hundred and twenty or thirty pounds; has fair
complexion, gray eyes, and black curly hair, and moustache; is slightly
bow-legged; is very neat in appearance; is about thirty years old, and
reserved in manner. I understand he stayed in your city, in a music
store at one time. Is he a married or not? If so, who he married
and where his wife lived. She reported here her maiden name to be
Maggie King, and was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister.
He states he was married to her in Cincinnati, but would not tell who
married them, nor the date. She was a very handsome woman, and he
seemed to guard her very closely. She was taken sick on last Saturday
night, and died on Tuesday night. Cunningham gave her,
according to the inquest, about fourteen times as much as a common dose, and
we have him under arrest for the killing of this woman—or his wife, as he
still claims. His every action was suspicious. Let me hear from
you by return mail, and greatly oblige this community.
Upon receipt of the above
letter, Chief Arter at once recognized, as many others will, in the
description given by Marshal Roberts, H. A. Cunningham, who
some four months ago made his headquarters at Winter & Stewart’s
auction establishment, and went about this city and neighboring towns
repairing and tuning pianos. Mr. Arter immediately set to work
to find out what he could in regard to Cunningham’s course previous
to his arrival in Cairo, and he acquired information to the effect that he
has a family living somewhere in the upper part of the State, whom he left
to go abroad to carry on his profession. At Paducah Cunningham
became acquainted with Miss King, who was the daughter of a highly
esteemed Presbyterian clergyman. He stole her away from her home, and
brought her to Mound City in a skiff. At this town they remained for
some time, living as man and wife, Cunningham carrying on the
business of tuning pianos until times became dull, when he came to Cairo.
A skiff was again brought into use to transport him and Miss King
from Mound City to Cairo. While in this city, the couple occupied
rooms in Dr. Wardner’s building on Commercial Avenue, Cunningham
making his headquarters at
Winter & Stewart’s auction house, in the same building.
He was considered very much of a gentleman, being decidedly quiet and
reserved, and treating everybody with whom he came in contact with marked
politeness. This disposition of Miss King to keep away from the
outside world was particularly noticeable, it being a very rare occurrence
to see her outside of her room, either alone or in company with
Cunningham. She looked about twenty years of age and was
exceedingly pretty, and when she did make her appearance on the streets,
attracted considerable attention.
Cunningham remained in Cairo some two months or more, and went to
Columbus, Ky., the mode of travel again being by the use of a skiff.
At this place the couple remained several weeks, and Miss King became
the mother of a child. We next find them at Union City, and the
history of their lives in that city is found in the letter above.
Chief Arter
gave Marshal Roberts the benefit of the knowledge he had gained, by
letter, and what will come of the matter remains to be seen. The following brief biographical sketch of the life of the late A. B. Safford, Esq., we take from the Biographical Encyclopedia of the State of Illinois. We feel that it is very meager in its details of the life of a man for whom it is no exaggeration today, all the people of Cairo felt a personal attachment and whose death has endeared his memory to them. We hope shortly to lay before our readers a fuller history of Mr. Safford’s life, particularly that part of it which identified him with Cairo:
Alfred B. Safford,
cashier of the City National Bank, Cairo, Illinois, was born at Morristown,
Vermont, on January 20, 1822. His parents were natives of Vermont and
came of Revolutionary stock in both branches, the grandfathers of each
having served in that war. His parents emigrated to Illinois in 1837,
and settled in Will County and engaged in farming. Alfred was then
fifteen years of age, and had before moving to the State attended the
schools of Vermont. He continued at school in Illinois until he was
twenty-one years old. He then began the study of law with William A.
Boardman, at Joliet, Illinois, and pursued his studies for three years,
when he abandoned the law and engaged in merchandising, and continued
therein until 1854. In that year he moved to Shawneetown, where he
started the State Bank of Illinois, and was its cashier. In 1858 he
removed to Cairo and started the City Bank, afterwards changed to the City
National Bank, and has been its cashier since its organization. In
1870 he organized the Enterprise Savings Bank, of which he was made
President, and continues as its first officer. He was married in 1854
to Julia Massey, of Watertown, New York, who died in 1862.
Again in 1864 to Annie Candee, of Cairo. A meeting of the members of the board of trade and of the citizens of Cairo generally was held at the Athenaeum this 28th day of July, A.D. 1877, to give expression to the sympathy and loss felt by the community in the death of Mr. A. B. Safford, Esq. At five minutes past 10 o’clock a.m. the meeting was called to order by Wood Rittenhouse, Esq., President of the Board of Trade, who explained the object of the meeting and announced the first thing in order to be the selection of a secretary, whereupon Mr. W. H. Morris was chosen. It was suggested by the chairman that a committee be selected to draft resolutions expressive of the sympathy and loss felt in the death of Alfred B. Safford, Esq., whereupon Mr. S. D. Ayers made a motion that the chairman appoint a committee of five for the object named. Messrs. S. D. Ayers, W. H. Morris, Dr. C. W. Dunning, H. L. Halliday and Charles Pink were appointed said committee. During the retirement of the committee to prepare resolutions ex Mayor John M. Lansden and S. D. Ayers, addressed the meeting in eulogy of the deceased. At the conclusion of the addresses, the committee having returned, submitted the following preamble and resolutions which were unanimously adopted: Having learned with profound sorrow, of the sudden and unexpected death in a distant part of the land of our late esteemed fellow citizen Alfred B. Safford Esq., we the members of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce and businessmen of Cairo have assembled to give expression to our common grief and to do honor to the memory of one who in life was the true and trusted friend of Cairo and her men of business; Therefore be it Resolved, That while bowing in humble submission to that inscrutable Providence whose ways are past finding out, we recognize the solemn fact that a great and good man has gone from among us and while rendering as sacred to his memory this tribute of praise, we have to mourn the loss of one whose acts of beneficence extended so largely to all classes of our community that he has been justly esteemed a public benefactor. To the businessmen of Cairo his loss will be most deeply felt; ever ready as he was to extend the helping hand in time of need: to his kindness, and liberality are we all largely indebted. It is therefore fitting in us to place on record not only for our emulation, but for those who may come after us, the good deeds of one who as friend, neighbor, citizen and banker, has endeared himself to our entire community. Of no one may it be more truly said, “None knew him but to love him.” Resolved, That in this hour of said bereavement we extend to the family of the deceased our sincere and heartfelt sympathy, and with them will drop the silent tear. Resolved, That the secretary be instructed to furnish the bereaved family with a copy of these proceedings, and also to the city papers for publication, and also cause the same to be spread on the records of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce.
After the adoption of the
foregoing resolutions, the meeting adjourned.
[Additional Resolutions of Respect for Alfred B. Safford by Alexander Lodge No. 224 I.O.O.F.; American Encampment No. 144 I.O.O.F.; the Women's Club and Library Association; the Board of Education; the Arab Fire Club; and the Directors of the City National and Enterprise Savings Banks are omitted here. Full texts may be found in the Cairo Daily Bulletin issues of July 28, July 31, August 1 and August 3. -- Webmaster]
Thursday, 2 Aug 1877: A letter from Dr. Mary Safford Blake, to Mr. H. H. Candee, received yesterday morning having the particulars of the death of her brother, the late A. B. Safford. The following extract from the letter will be read by our readers with painful interest:
“He had been joyous all day,
planning, as usual for the happiness of others. Our trip up Mount
Mansfield, leaving this afternoon, was all planned. Just at evening I
walked with him and Emerson down to get the mail. Your cousin Fanny
came, and Annie and I went to drive with her. We were gone perhaps an
hour, returning to the store to see if Alfred and Emmerson were there, and
were told that Alfred had fallen in apoplexy, and was in a near drug store.
He had fallen on the sidewalk and had been brought in. We found him
sitting in a chair, a doctor and many around him doing all they could.
He recognized us, and spoke distinctly. We got him into a hack and to
the house and on a lounge—got his feet into hot mustard water, and the
doctor asked him if he could not drink some water, and he said, “I’ll try,”
and that was the last he spike. He began to breathe heavily, could not
swallow, and in less than an hour he fell peacefully, without a struggle
into the sleep of death.”
If all that is written and
said of the man Harris Cunningham, arrested a few days ago in Union
City, Tennessee, on a charge of poisoning his wife is true, he is the
deepest-dyed villain that ever went unhung. We have seen a letter from
Mr. H. A. Scever, a traveling agent for the well-known firm of W. W.
Kimball, wholesale dealer in pianos and organs, Chicago, in which
Cunningham’s life for the last two years if pretty thoroughly detailed.
It seems that about two years ago, Cunningham made his appearance in
Bloomfield, Iowa, where for a short time he followed the business of tuning
pianos. During his stay in Bloomfield he became acquainted with a
young lady named Maggie King, daughter of a well-known and highly
esteemed clergyman. Miss King, with her parents, lived in the
little village of Moulton, twelve miles distance from Bloomfield.
Cunningham’s attentions to Miss King were not well received by
the young lady’s parents and he was forbidden to visit Miss King at
her father’s house. He then made arrangements to meet her at the house
of a friend. The meetings between them was kept up for some time, and
finally terminated in an elopement. Although the parents and friends
of the young lady made every effort to discover the whereabouts of the
couple, it was more than a year before they were found out. In March,
1876, Mr. Shaver, who is a friend of the parents of Miss King,
was in Mound City, and while there learned that Cunningham had been
there, but that he had left a short time before and came to Cairo.
From Cairo he was traced to Paducah, and from Paducah to Caseyville, and
from there back to Cairo. While at Caseyville, Cunningham made
the acquaintance of a young lady of that town and ran away with her, but
being followed by a brother of the girl he abandoned her and she returned
home.
We have seen a letter from
Mr. O. J. King, father of the girl whom Cunningham enticed
from her home, in which he speaks most feelingly of her, and urges upon Mr.
Scever that if in his travels he should find her to try to induce her
to return home, promising her that her parents and sisters will receive her
back with true parental and sisterly love. But Mr. Scever,
though frequently hearing of Mr. Cunningham and the girl, was never
fortunate enough to come up with them.
Friday,
3 Aug 1877: Last evening we were told that Mr. Tom Porter, who lives a short distance out of this city, was so very ill from an attack of cholera morbus that his life was despaired of. Miss Nettle A. Limbert, daughter of John Limbert, died at her home in this city at about 8 o’clock last night. Miss Limbert had been sick for only about six days of gastric fever. This will be sad intelligence to the many friends of the young lady in Cairo, as she was a favorite with all who knew her. Due notice of the funeral will be given hereafter. The Burlington, Vermont, Free Press and Times, speaking of the death of Mr. Safford, says: “A. B. Safford, Esq., of Cairo, Ill., here visiting his cousin, Mr. E. O. Safford, of the firm of Safford & Humphrey, was discovered by Dr. C. P. Thayer, about eight o’clock last evening, at the corner of Church and Cherry streets, very ill, and clinging to a hitching post for support. Dr. Thayer at once carried him into Jones’s drug store, and found him suffering from a severe stroke of apoplexy. A carriage was obtained, and the sick man was taken to the residence of his cousin, where he died two hours later. Deceased was a prominent and highly respected citizen of Cairo, cashier of the City National Bank of that city, and president of the savings bank. He was a brother of Hon. A. P. K. Safford, Governor of Arizona, and of Mrs. Dr. Mary Safford Blake, of Boston. He was accompanied by his wife and sister who were by him at his death. His age was some fifty-five years.”
The Cairo Bulletin of Saturday has a very heavy sensational article on the subject of a man Cunningham whose wife died so mysteriously at Union City, last week, and says the victim was “Maggie King, the daughter of a Paducah clergyman.” There never was a clergyman named King in Paducah of the Presbyterian or any other denomination, which announcement spoils that portion of the Bulletin’s story. The time he “took her to Mound City in a skiff” was the time he stole a skiff here. He wanted her to go down to Cairo on the Jim Fisk and said that he would go in a skiff. She imagined that he was trying to desert her and told him she would go in the skiff too, and they went down the river together. He was not “considered so much of a gentleman” here as he seems to have been in Cairo, probably because he behaved himself better there than he did here. While he was here we were informed that he “beat” everybody promiscuously and his wife seemed to be laboring under the impression all the time that he was trying to desert her. We gave an account of him in our issue of Saturday, which we have every reason to believe was correct. One thing is certain, the woman whom Cunningham is charged with poisoning was never a citizen of this place, except while he was here with her.
The funeral of the late
Nettie Limbert, will take place from the residence of her parents,
Commercial Avenue, between Eighteenth and Twentieth streets, at 1:30 o’clock
today. Funeral services will be conducted by the Rev. Benjamin Y.
George. The remains will be taken to Cobden for interment by the
afternoon train on the Illinois Central. Friends and acquaintances of
the deceased and of the family are invited to attend.
(A marker in Cobden Cemetery
reads: Nettie A. Limbert June 29, 1857-Aug. 2, 1877, Daughter
of John and Sarah A. Limbert.—Darrel Dexter)
At about half past eight
o’clock last night Charles Legley, a colored man residing on Poplar
between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets, was shot and mortally wounded in
front of his home by John Quinlin. (The name of Charles Legley is given as Charles Liggins in the 22 Aug 1877, issue of the newspaper.—Darrel Dexter)
This gentleman while visiting his wife and sister, his cousin, E. O. Safford, Esq., of this city, was stricken with apoplexy and died shortly after, on Friday last. Mr. Safford was born in Hyde Park, in this state, January 23, 1832. At fifteen years of age he removed with his parents to Illinois and lived at their home near Chicago till about eighteen when he entered upon the study of law in Joliet, Illinois. The profession was not agreeable to him in practice and he entered upon a mercantile career; this he pursued with success for several years, when he removed to St. Louis, Mo., where he carried on the commission business till he accepted the position of cashier of a bank located in Shawneetown, Ill. There, as everywhere, he strove to further the best interests of the public. Up to this time there had been no public schools carried on in that part of the state, and their establishment was due to his energy and liberality. In 1850 he removed to Cairo, Ill., where he has ever since resided, and occupied the position of cashier of the City National Bank, and since its establishment, President of the Savings Bank.
The announcement of his
sudden death has been received, not only in the place where he resided, but
throughout the state as a public calamity, where his benevolence and his
purity of character were universally recognized and appreciated. He
remarked on the day of his death to a gentleman with whom he was conversing,
that his greatest pleasure in the acquirement of wealth had been in using it
for the good of others. He was the bright light and cheer of a large
social circle, but by none will he be so missed as by the widows, the
orphans and the poor to whom he gave aid and counsel. In him the
public schools of his city have lost a wise and faithful worker for their
best interests. Mr.
Safford was a brother of A. P. K. Safford, Ex-Gov. of Arizona,
and of Dr. Mary J. Safford Blake, of Boston. He leaves a
devoted wife and a loving sister, who were with him at the time of his
death, and who have the kindest sympathy of all. His funeral was
attended on Sunday afternoon, the Rev. Edwin Wheelock, of Cambridge,
officiating. On learning of his death, Mrs. Safford received
numerous dispatches from Illinois, extending her heartfelt sympathy in this
her crushing bereavement, and the Past Grand Master of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, of Illinois, residing in Cairo, at once requested the Order
here confer the last solemn right, and a goodly number were in attendance at
the funeral and performed the sad duty; so although he died almost among
strangers, still he was among brothers and friends. His remains will
be taken home for burial.
The following memorial to Nettle A. Limbert was delivered at the grave in Cobden, Ill., Saturday, August 4th, 1877, by Mrs. M. T. Cutler. The beautiful remains that we are now about to commit to the earth, in confident hope, were lately animated by the spirit of Nettie A. Limbert, born in Ripon, Wisconsin, June 29th, 1857, to John Limbert and Sarah A., his wife. When about 6 years of age, she removed with her parents to Cobden, where they have since held their home, in which, amid rocks and trees, and nature’s sweetest ministrations, the precocious child read and played and nursed her tender talents. She found here the sweet and enduring friendship that will make her loss so deeply felt by the young people of this vicinity, even though for some years past she had resided in Cairo; there too, she found most pleasant companionship with school mates and associates, who will not soon forget the gentle friend and cheerful companion. These lessons of mortality fall sharply on the hearts of the young. They recoil from the sudden and great change, which cuts off all the plans of life, while the aged wait and wonder that the call was not for them. How gayley would her young friends have robed their companion for a bridal with all the mystery of life yet unfolded before her. For this more perfect marriage of the soul to Life and Love they have only tears and moans, because they see so dimly the higher, purer world. But we know that the Lord of Life is also Lord of Death, and that with one unchangeable Lord, there can be only good intended to his creatures. Thus believing in the triumphant assertion of the spirit over decay, we leave her body in this sweet resting place. RESOLUTIONS BY THE EXCELSIOR SOCIAL AND LITERARY” SOCIETY. “She faltered by the wayside, and the angels took her home.” At a special meeting of the Excelsior Social and Literary Society, held at the residence of Mrs. P. A. Taylor, on Monday evening, August 6th, 1877, for the purpose of passing suitable resolutions in regard to the death of Miss Nettie A. Limbert, one of its most esteemed members, the meeting was called to order by the president, Mr. H. B. Geer, who then very affectively stated the object of the meeting, and in a few, beautiful remarks commended to the society for their example and profit, the life and character of the deceased. Mr. Fisher then took the floor and with suitable and expressive language, told of the social, generous and forgiving disposition of the departed. From his remarks in regard to her flight from this inconstant world to a more genial home, the following is quoted: “And so her bark with sails widespread, dashed on o’er waters blue as Heaven’s own sky. But now, alas! the storm arises, and her little craft is wildly tossed on the white-crested billows of life’s sea. The sails are furled, and with queenly energy she mans the oars and pulls for life. “The morning dawns; the gentle ripple of the waves on yonder rocky coast proclaims the storm is over; but ah! that little bark frightened with precious life lies stranded on the sunken rocks.” Upon the conclusion of the remarks of Mr. Fisher, on motion that the president appoint a committee of three persons to draft resolutions, the following individuals were selected: Miss Lou Walbridge, Miss Fannie Pitcher, and George S. Fisher. During the absence of the committee, opportunity was given for anyone to speak who desired, but everyone had been too solemnly impressed to give utterance to their feelings. The committee on resolutions reassembling, they presented the following which was unanimously adopted by the society: WHEREAS, It has pleased our Heavenly Father in his eternal wisdom and mercy to bid the swift winged “Angel of Death” summon our esteemed and beloved member, Miss Nettie A. Limbert, to her “long home,” and whereas, we, the members of the Excelsior Social and Literary Society, are desirous of testifying our respect and love for her memory and expressing our heartfelt and affectionate sympathy with her father, mother and other dear relatives and friends, therefore be it Resolved, That in the death of Nettie A. Limbert, this society laments the loss of one of the most intelligent, generous, and kind hearted of its members; a sister who was ever ready to proffer the hand of a true friend, and the voice of sympathy to anyone in distress, and that while we bow in humble submission to the will of a kind and loving Father, who doeth all things well, we do not the less mourn for our gentle sister, who has passed to the golden strand of the great hereafter. Resolved, That we most tenderly condole with the sorrow stricken family of our deceased member in this their hour of pain and anguish, and we devoutly commend them to the everlasting arms of Him, who looks with pitying eye upon the sorrowing and distress, and while their hearts are crushed and bleeding let them remember that their loved one is not dead, but gone before, and that in the golden summer of the future life they may all gather in a sweet reunion where partings are not known.
Resolved,
That the secretary of this society be directed to furnish this committee
with a copy of these resolutions and the minutes of this special meetings to
be by them presented to the sorrowing family of our lamented sister, and
that they also be engrossed on the pages of the record of this society, and
be offered for publication in the papers of this city.
(The 11 Aug 1877,
Jonesboro Gazette reported that George Dougherty died at his
residence two miles west of Jonesboro on 27 Jul 1877, aged 78 years.
He was born in Marietta, Ohio.—Darrel Dexter) Died at Anna, Illinois, on Monday morning, August 13th, 1877, Elizabeth Kobler, wife of Michael Koebler. The remains will be interred at Villa Ridge this afternoon. A special train will leave the foot of Fourteenth Street, this city, at half past two o’clock, to convey all who wish to attend the funeral service. All friends and acquaintances of the family are invited to attend. (Michael Kobler married Elizabeth Kugler on 26 Oct 1863, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
(A marker in Calvary
Cemetery in Villa Ridge reads: Louis Blattau 1835-1877.
Margaret wife of Louis Blattau 1845-1923.—Darrel Dexter)
At the regular meeting of Cobden Division, No. 28, Sons of Temperance held in the Division room, Aug. 10th, 1877, the following resolutions were approved and the committee were directed to have the same published in the county papers; a copy forwarded to the family of the deceased, and the same entered upon the record of the Division: That in the recent sudden removal from among us by death, of our highly esteemed friend and sister, Miss Nettie Limbert, a member of this Division, we are sensible of the loss we have sustained, and we would submissively recognize the hand of our Heavenly Father in this bereavement, and bow to His will, who doeth all things well.
That we hereby express our
heartfelt sympathy with the family of our departed sister in their sorrow,
as well as with the large circle of young friends to whom sister Limbert
had so greatly endeared herself by her many good and estimable qualities. Editor Bulletin—In your weekly issue of the 16th appears two items in reference to Harry or Harris Cunningham, and the death of Maggie King, one of the victims of his scoundrelism. In one of these items it appears that he has put on the air of injured innocence and proposes to “make it very warm, legally for the newspapers which have taken any part in the blackening of his reputation.” This Cunningham is no stranger to the writer. In the latter part of 1875 he was in Bloomfield, Iowa. What he did there is best told in the following item from the Commonwealth, published at that place, of which Mr. Van Benthusen, the present editor of the Carbondale Observer, was one of the editors. He has kindly placed the files of the paper at that time at my disposal, and in the issue of February 1, 1876, I find the following under the head of “A Sad Story,” which throws a little additional light upon this sad episode, and stamps Cunningham as the scoundrel he undoubtedly is: “Many of the residents of this place recollect that last fall a man named Harry Cunningham, a piano tuner, eloped from this place with Miss Maggie King, of Moulton, Iowa, who was teaching music at this place. The attempts of the parents to find the young lady have since then been utterly fruitless. Recently a lady from Unionville, Missouri, came to Moulton in search of Cunningham, claiming to be his wife. She stated that Cunningham left her in August, parting with her in the most affectionate manner, but telling her as he would be home in fifteen days that he would not write. This was no unusual occurrence, and nothing strange was thought of it by the wife. When the time had elapsed, she wrote to him, asking him what was the matter. Receiving no answer, she had written time and again to his folks and to other points, but no one knew of his whereabouts. Recently she heard the sad, terrible news of the scoundrely manner in which her husband had conducted himself and came at once to Bloomfield. She believes that Cunningham is in St. Louis, and says she will find him if it takes the remainder of her days, so that she can put him where he cannot seduce another innocent woman and disgrace her. She thinks that Miss King has been deserted by him long ere this. The lesson taught in this should be a salutary one to many young ladies who are ever ready to take up with comparative strangers. We sincerely hope Mrs. Cunningham may find the villain, and that he may receive his just deserts for robbing a young girl of her innocence and purity and deserting his lawfully wedded wife.”
The brazen effrontery of
Cunningham should be fearlessly met by the press, which he proposed to
“make it very warm” for, I should like to see this story of his treachery
and deceit in each paper, which he has threatened, and in newspapers
generally in this section. Another point in this sad story is that
Miss
King was engaged at the time to one of the noblest hearted men in
existence, who was almost distracted by the circumstances. Pass this
story ‘round and let the scoundrel receive a notoriety as deserving as it is
unpleasant.
The preliminary hearing of
the man John Quinlan, who on the night of Wednesday the 8th inst.,
shot and so dangerously wounded a colored man named Charles Liggins
took place before Justice Comings yesterday afternoon. County
Attorney Mulkey, conducted the examination on the part of the People.
The prisoner had no attorney, and as is usual in such cases, the examination
of witnesses was conducted by the presiding justice. A large number of
witnesses were examined, and the facts brought out were substantially the
same as stated in the Bulletin the morning after the shooting took
place. Quinlan had been drinking, and had some words with a
woman living in the house at the corner of Fourteen and Poplar streets, and
had threatened to shoot her. Liggins, who occupied a room in
the upper part of the building, overheard the difficulty between
Quinlan and the woman, and remonstrated with the former and advised him
to go away. Quinlan without the shadow of provocation fired his
revolver at Liggins, the ball entering his breast low down on the
right side, inflicting a wound from which it was thought he would not
recover, but under the careful treatment of Dr. Wardner, Liggins
is recovering and now able to be about. Though there can be no doubt that Quinlan is guilty of the attempt to murder of Liggins, to look at him he would not be taken for a desperado. He is a man, rather under the medium size, and will weigh perhaps one hundred and forty pounds. He is a railroad section hand and has the appearance of being a hardworking man. He was employed on the Eldorado section on the Cairo and Vincennes railroad previous to coming to Cairo. He had been in the city only about twenty-four hours when he did the shooting.
Tuesday, 28 Aug 1877: And so the old Cairo Brass Band is to be reorganized! Well, well, the days when that old band first organized seems like a dream, they are so long ago. Old gray-bearded the “boys” are now, and but a handful left of the sturdy twelve that startled the frogs and wafted away the friendly mosquitoes with every toot of their horns in those early days when a brass horn was a novelty and a band only thought of in a connection with a traveling show. Let’s see; there are “Fred.” Bross, Bernard Smyth, Henry Gossman, Mose Harrell, and Perry Powers, are all, I think, that are now here, and where in the wide, wide world are the balance? Some, I know are gone to that land where that oldest of old horn blowers, Gabriel, is their teacher; and there too, are two of their other teachers, Hunter and Kingsfield. Hunter, the highly strung, nervous, sensitive chap, you all remember, you “old fragment” of ‘59 and ‘60, I know. And hard you blowed and blowed till—no, and he—well, somehow, he died, poor fellow; but maybe it wasn’t your music killed him, after all, though I recollect thinking it might have done so, at the time., And poor Kingsfield’s wife died, whether out of sympathy for her husband’s sufferings or not, I don’t know, but one thing I do know, and that is she escaped something when she escaped hearing their dirge. Do you recollect that dirge, you old “Remnants?” How some of you got out of time and some out of tune, and how one ambitious blower blowed a wail more heart rending than any funeral not all by himself? And how some of you heard some of the others of you, and suffered as only rasped nerves can suffer; and others of you didn’t know much about it, and were greatly affected by the music and the solemnity it added to the occasion? We have grown in grace since then, and can make and know good music now. Nor was it long ‘til you “boys” charmed the ears and hearts of we then rustic people. It could not have been, it seems, to me now, but a few months after you were organized till you were called upon to officiate as a band, and surely nothing ever was more sweetly solemn than your rendering of “Thou Art Gone From My Gaze;” not a dry eyes in that crowd, I tell you, and I think it was more a tribute to your performance than of sorrow to the departed. Do you remember that funeral, “Boys?” It was one over the remains of Mr. Lutz, our first jeweler, on Ninth Street, an old citizen, and one whose widow, is his widow yet.
I think you will all be glad
to know what I learned recently of her and her work. She is now
located in St. Louis. Is a practicing physician of the eclectic school
of medicine, and stands high among her fellow practitioners.
Intelligent, industrious, and ambitious. She has climbed the rugged
height unaided and alone, and is, today, a credit to the women of our day
and of our city, and is a splendid specimen of what can be made of the
material furnished here, in the earlier days of our existence. And to
know of what still were made our old time men of Cairo, we have but to look
upon the remnant of the old-time brass band, than whom you can find no
better hearts and fewer bigger brains. Does the present day with all
the advance and improvement give promise of anything better than we have
furnished in music, or in anything else? Not even in morals, I am
afraid, rough as we were then to be considered.
Friday, 31 Aug 1877: (Her name is recorded as Annie Statery in the 5 Sep 1877, issue of the newspaper.—Darrel Dexter)
A sad event occurred in our city yesterday evening—the sudden death of little Maggie, daughter of Mrs. Eva Rider. To all who knew the little girl this intelligence will bring a pang of sorrow, while to her mother, aunt, uncle, and cousin, by whom she was almost idolized, it has proven a crushing blow. Maggie was only about three years of age, but was a child whose winning ways and sweet disposition had endeared her to all who were acquainted with her. She was taken with cholera infantum on Tuesday evening, and notwithstanding all that medical skill could do gradually grew worse until last night when she closed her eyes for the last time on earth. The funeral will be held from the residence of George Cashing, brother-in-law of Mrs. Rider. The time has not yet been fixed.” Mrs. Rider’s many friends in this city will all sympathize with her in her sad bereavement. (Eva Hannon married Joseph B. Rider on 1 Jun 1873, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
At a vestry meeting of the Church of the Redeemer, held on Monday afternoon, the following resolutions in respect to the late A. B. Safford, were adopted: Be it Resolved: that we, the rector, wardens, and vestrymen, of the Church of the Redeemer, Cairo, Illinois, in humble submission to the mysterious decrees of Providence, recognize the deep loss sustained, not only by ourselves as individuals, but as a Church, in the decease of the late Mr. Alfred B. Safford, one of the original incorporators of this parish and for many years a faithful and useful vestryman. Deprived by death, of the presence of this noble man, we mourn his loss and cherish his memory, as an upright and charitable man, an exemplary citizen, and a warm-hearted, generous friend, and in justice to that memory we bear records to his many benefactions bestowed upon the Church of the Redeemer, and, that his good deeds may live after him, we think it but right that a page of our records should be devoted to his obituary.
Deeply sympathizing with our
stricken sister, and commending her to the care of the Great Father above,
the God of the widow and the fatherless, we tender to her a copy of this
humble tribute to the many virtues of her deceased husband.
Tuesday, 11 Sep 1877:
WHEREAS, It has pleased the Almighty God, in his infinite mercy, to call from our midst, in the vigor of manhood, one of our most zealous members, Harman Able, therefore be it Resolved, By the officers and members of the Hibernian Fire Company No. 4, That in the death of our beloved brother this company has suffered an irreparable loss, humanity a kind friend, and his family an affectionate husband and father. Resolved, That we bury our departed brother with all the honors of a fireman, and in a manner worthy of his past services towards this company. Resolved, That we tender our sympathies to the family of the deceased in their hour of bereavement.
Resolved,
That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be presented to the family of the
deceased, entered at large on the journal, and published in the Cairo
papers. At a meeting of the St. Patrick’s Benevolent Society, held at their hall September 7th, 1877, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted. WHEREAS, It has pleased Almighty God to remove from our midst, by the unsparing hand of death our worthy brother member Cornelius Bryce; Resolved, That while we bow in submission to the decree of Divine Providence, our hearts are veiled in sorrow at the loss of one endeared to us by the many ties of friendship and affection. Resolved, That by his death his society sustains the loss of one of its most honorable and worthy members, and humanity a kind and loving friend.
Resolved,
That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be entered at large on the journal
and published in the Cairo papers. We copy the following brief sketch of the life of the late Judge Obed Edson, of Villa Ridge, from the last number of the Pulaski Patriot.
On Sunday last at one o’clock a.m., Mr. Obed Edson quietly
and peacefully passed from this life to the land of rest. During a
residence of some twelve years in our midst he had held many places of honor
and trust, all of which he filled with honor to himself and perhaps there is
not another whose life had been so well circumscribed, who was so highly
esteemed by all classes, and whose death has created a vacancy so hard to
fill. On Tuesday his remains were followed from his late residence to
the M. E. church by a larger number of friends than we have seen together on
a like occasion for many years. The funeral sermon was preached by
Rev. Mr.
Gilham of Cairo, whose remarks were so well chosen, and of so
impressive a nature as to be long remembered by his appreciative audience.
For nearly sixty years the deceased had been an active and consistent member
of the Masonic fraternity, and at the close of church services the members
of Villa Ridge Lodge, assisted by Cairo Lodge and a large number of Masons
throughout the county, took charge of the remains, which were conveyed to
Villa Ridge Cemetery, where they were interred with the honors of the Order.
Eighty years to a day from the time of our lamented friend and brother was
born to a long and useful life, his mortal remains were consigned to their
last resting place, by the side of his life partner who preceded him only
four months before. Charles Christman, son of George and Addie Christman, aged 10 years. The funeral will take place from their residence on Twenty-fourth Street and Holbrook Avenue, at o’clock p.m. today. Friends of the family of the (deceased) are invited to attend. Train will leave Twenty-first Street at 3 o’clock.
(The notice did not contain the exact time of the funeral.
A marker in Cairo City Cemetery reads: Charles Chrestman
1867-1877.—Darrel Dexter)
A most deplorable accident occurred at Joppa, Massac County, on
Friday afternoon last, by which one man was almost instantly killed and
three others seriously, and one of them probably fatally wounded. The
parties were engaged in housing tobacco when the barn in which it was being
stored fell, as it supposed from the weight of the tobacco, crushing beneath
its weight and four men with the result above stated. We have been
unable to learn the name of the man killed or either of those wounded.
(The name of the murdered man was spelled Mutz in the 7
Oct 1877, issue. The alleged murderer’s name is given as James
Arnett
in the 23 Dec 1877, issue.—Darrel Dexter)
The funeral services of the late George Steckhan will be
held at the German Lutheran Church, Thirteenth Street, today, Wednesday,
October 3rd, at 1 p.m. Train will leave foot of Eighth Street, at 2:30
o’clock for Villa Ridge, where the remains will be interred. Friends
of the deceased are respectfully invited to attend.
(Severe Marchildon survived and died 8 Aug 1881.—Darrel
Dexter)
One day last week a little ten-year-old boy, an adopted son of
Mr. E. C. Hewey, who lives near Wolf Island, was “fooling” with an
old shotgun supposed not to contain either powder or shot. The body
handled the gun carelessly, and never once suspecting that it was loaded,
even snapped several caps with the muzzle of the gun pointed at a negro
woman. Putting on a fresh cap and pointing the gun at little Mollie
Hewey, aged about five years, who was playing about thirty yards from
him, he pulled the trigger. The gun went off and the poor little girl
received the entire discharge of shot in her body. She was terribly
wounded, and for a while it was thought she could not possibly recover, but
she is now getting along as well as could be expected and it is hoped and
believed that she may survive. Fooling with an old shotgun is
sometimes dangerous. Joseph Coleman Shot and Probably Mortally Wounded by Julian Pillow at Goose Island. A shooting affray took place near Goose Island in this county on last Friday evening in which Joseph Coleman was shot and probably fatally wounded by Julian Pillow. Full particulars of the affair could not be ascertained, but it was learned that the shooting took place at church; the Coleman was in the church when shot by Pillow. The latter was arrested and a preliminary examination took place before Squire Thomas Martin yesterday, but with what result is not known. Coleman was still alive on Sunday evening, but his wound is of such a character that it is thought he cannot live. Deputy Sheriff Jack Hodges will visit Goose Island today, and on his return we will be able to give our readers full particulars of the affair.
(Mary Smith married James Cheney on 4 Nov 1875, in
Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
From Dr. Nowotny of Beech Ridge, who was in the city
yesterday, we learned the
After the shooting Pillow handed his revolver to a friend
whom he told to keep it from him until he (Pillow) paid what he owed
him. It was at first supposed that this was the only revolver
Pillow
had, but later when searched it was found that he had another one in his
pocket. The one he handed to his friend had one chamber empty, and the
other had two empty.
Coleman
was taken home and Drs. Perkins and Nowotny sent for. On
examination it was found that the ball had struck Coleman in the back
on the right side, passing through the kidney and bowels and lodging just
under the skin of the abdomen. Drs. Nowotny and Perkins
pronounced the wound fatal and stated that Coleman could not live
over two days. He died on Sunday night, proving that the physicians
were correct.
Justice of the Peace Nick Hunsaker was notified and held
an inquest on the body. Dr. Nowotny made a post mortem
examination of the body and with the result as above stated.
Pillow,
who was all the time kept under guard by Constable Ryall, was on
Monday taken before ‘Squire Thomas Martin and a preliminary
examination was had. All the facts in the case were brought out, and
at the conclusion ‘Squire Martin held Pillow for trial on a
charge of murder in the first degree. After the trial Pillow was turned over to Constable Ryall for safekeeping. The constable, to make sure of the prisoner’s safekeeping, placed a guard of four men over him. Sometime during the night, while the other two were evidently now keeping a very close watch over their prisoner, Pillow slipped out of the house made his escape and at last accounts he was still at large. There is certainly some mystery surrounding Pillow’s escape, and there are those who go so far as to say that the men who guarded him could have prevented his getting away if they had wanted to. Deputy Sheriff Jack Hodges went out to the Bend yesterday, and when he returns we may be able to throw some light on the matter.
Up to a late hour last evening, the man Julian Pillow who
murdered James Coleman at a schoolhouse in Dog Tooth Bend on last
Friday night, and who succeeded in making his escape from the officers
Monday night, had not been recaptured. Constable Berry who had
Pillow in charge is severely censured for allowing him to get away.
It is said, but with how much truth we do not know, that the man who were
selected to guard Pillow were his personal friends and associates and
there are those who when they learned of this fact expressed fear that
Pillow would be allowed to get away. This may or may not be true;
and whether it is or not makes little difference now so far as Pillow
is concerned. He is gone, and it is not probable that he will soon be
recaptured. But if it can be proven that there was collusion or
connivance among the men who were set to guard him to allow him to escape,
they should be dealt with severely. The man who could or would assist
in the escape of a murderer like the man Julian Pillow, is little
better than the murderer himself. Sheriff Saup is much
chagrined at the way this matter has been managed. Although the
shooting occurred on Friday night, the sheriff was not notified of it until
on Monday, and then just as he was getting ready to go to Mound City to turn
old man Hicks over to the sheriff of Pulaski County for trial.
Deputy Sheriff Jack Hodges went to Dog Tooth early Tuesday morning,
and as he had not returned up to a late hour last night, it is evident that
he is exerting himself to recapture the murderer. We hope he will
succeed.
Died, at her residence in Goose Island Precinct, on Saturday morning the 13th instant, in childbed, Mrs. Melinda, wife of Elijah Dickerson, in the 37th year of her age. Mrs. Dickerson was a member of one of the oldest families of Alexander County and enjoyed a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, who will learn of her death with feelings of genuine sorrow. She was a lady of well-cultured mind, with a conscience that yielded to all appeals in the name of charity, devoted in her affection for her husband, and in her friendship for those who won her confidence and respect as friends. A few hours after giving birth to a fine and healthy daughter she was taken suddenly ill, and before medical aid could arrive, which was promptly summoned, she expired. To her husband and surviving relatives the heartiest sympathy is extended by all who know the extent of their great and irreparable loss. Her remains were interred in the family burying ground on Sunday, the 14th instant, the Rev. H. H. Richardson conducting the solemn ceremonies. (Melinda Worthington married Elijah Dickerson on 4 Jan 1877, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
A shocking and most distressing accident happened on the Illinois Central railroad track near Galigher’s mill between nine and ten o’clock yesterday morning. Mrs. Caton, wife of Mr. James Caton, one of the city employees engaged in repairing sidewalks was the victim. Mrs. Caton accompanied by two of her children, a little daughter and son, went onto the track to gather up the bits of coal that are to be found laying along the track over which so many coal cars was standing on the track and Mrs. Caton sent the little girl under one of the cars to pick up some lumps of coal. In a moment after the child had gone under the car the whole train began to move, when the mother caught hold of the child to pull her from under the car. She succeeded in saving the child, but by some means which she is unable to explain was herself caught by the wheels of the car, and her left arm from about halfway between the wrist and elbow to the shoulder crushed and mangled into a shapeless mass of flesh and bones. Mrs. Caton was dragged some distance by the cars. She was carried to her home near the old orphan asylum on Twenty-fifth Street, where Drs. Wardner and Stalker shortly after arrived. The arm was amputated at the shoulder and the unfortunate woman made as comfortable as circumstances would permit. Mrs. Caton was otherwise injured, though not seriously. However, she is fifty years of age, and if she survives her terrible injuries it will be something wonderful. The chances against her recovery are ninety-nine- to one. She is the mother of four small children, two boys and two girls. Mr. Caton, his suffering wife, and the children have the sympathy of the community at large.
Last Saturday a man named Tyndall, from Rose Clare,
visited Carrsville, Ky., and while there stole $20 from Theldkeld, a
merchant at that place. He was arrested, but escaped and started to
run, when Constable Akers, who had him in charge, ordered him to
halt, failing in which he was shot through the back of the head. He
lived about three hours after receiving the fatal shot.
In this city, Tuesday evening, at 7 o’clock, at his residence on 19th Street, between Poplar and Washington avenues, John Lane, in the fifty-fifth years of his age. Funeral services will take place at St. Patrick’s Church at 1 p.m. today. A special train will leave the foot of 8th Street and Ohio Levee at 2:30 p.m. for Villa Ridge, where the remains will be interred. Friends and acquaintances of the deceased are invited to attend.
The Paducah Sun of the 28th gives the following account of the shooting of a negro by an officer of that village on Friday night last.
Friday night about
11 o’clock, officers
Schroeder and Robinson arrested a colored man named John Owens,
supposed to have been implicated in several robberies perpetrated the night
before. Having bagged their game the party started for the jail, when
the prisoner broke away and started off on a run, darting through yards,
breaking palings and planks off the fences in his path, as though they were
broom straws, he being a very powerful man. Eluding his pursuers for a
time, Officer Robinson ran up with his game, who showed fight,
grabbing the officer about the neck. Thus being placed in status
quo, and being a pigmy in the hands of this giant, was completely in his
power—having no other recourse than to shoot, which he did as soon as he
could extricate himself sufficiently. The ball entered the abdomen to
the left of the navel, ranging directly through to the spine, where it is
supposed it lodged. The negro died at a late hour on Sunday night. “COLD
IN DEATH.” A man—a tramp, was found dead yesterday morning in an Illinois Central railroad car on one of the sidetracks above the round house. The man’s appearance and everything about him seemed to indicate that he had died from exposure and want. Justice Comings held an inquest over the remains and the verdict of the jury was in accordance with facts as above stated. Dr. Wood, overseer of the poor, took charge of the remains and had them put away.
Thursday, 1 Nov 1877:
While a number of colored men
were crossing the Mississippi River at Greenley’s Bend in Dog Tooth,
on Friday last, the skiff was capsized and one of them, Randall Gilbert
by name, was drowned. Gilbert was a preacher and was on his way
to Missouri to attend a religious meeting of some kind at the time the
accident happened. He was a low, heavy-set man; he had a scar caused
by a burn on the left side of his head, the effects of which had caused the
ear to grow fast to the head. When drowned he had one pair of dark
jeans pants and a lead colored coat. In his vest pocket was a silver
watch attached to a chain made of twelve silver ten-cent pieces. He
also had in his pocket a small white handled pocketknife. Anyone
finding the remains will please notify Isaac Nelson, Goose Island,
Alexander County, Illinois. A reward of $5 will be paid for the
recovery of the body. (The 4 Dec 1877, issue of the newspaper reported that it was a mistake that Roach had a large family.—Darrel Dexter)
A homicide occurred a few days
since at the schoolhouse called Azolas, near Bay City, Pope County.
The person killed was a youth named Dale. The person charged
with the offense made his escape. The particulars we have not
obtained.
There were two murders in Edgar
County last week. E. Birdwell, an officer, was shot and killed
by one C. Burns, while arresting a desperado from Indiana who had
fled to this county. Burns has been arrested and is in jail.
A girl of fifteen years was killed by her seducer and an abortionist.
But the county was struck with horror, as the news came that one John
Hann had cut open the head of his stepson, John Beck, with an ax
while Beck
was in bed asleep. Hann had been in a demented state for
several months, but was regarded harmless even by Beck, who had
objected to have his stepfather cared for elsewhere. No difficulty had
occurred between them. Hann rose before anyone else in the
house, got an ax, went to
Beck’s room and with two blows cut open his skull then set down the
ax, went a half mile called on the sheriff, told him that he had killed
Beck with an ax and gave himself up and was locked up. Beck
had supported his stepfather and was very kind to him. He was an
industrious young mechanic, highly respected by all who knew him. (The family Bible of Dr. Daniel Arter at Cairo Public Library records the birth of Ann Eliza Arter on 27 Aug 1827 and her marriage to George W. Hunsaker on 10 Jul 1845. According to the Bible Hunsaker died on 30 Aug 1845, and Ann Eliza married William Harrell on 23 May 1848. The date of her death is not recorded in the Bible. A marker in Cairo City Cemetery reads: Ann E. Harrell Aug. 27, 1827-Nov. 9, 1877.—Darrel Dexter)
(Her marker and the notice of
her death in the previous issue of the newspaper state she died on 9 Nov
1877.—Darrel Dexter)
The Ballard County News of the 10th gives the following particulars of the shooting of Charles Louis by Birch Glenn at Fort Jefferson a few days since: Last Thursday night at about 7 o’clock, at Fort Jefferson, Birch Glenn shot and killed a Canadian named Charles Louis. From all accounts Louis was a very quarrelsome man, and one whom it was impossible to get along with peaceably. Before supper Glenn and Louis had a settlement, and after supper Louis went to Glenn’s house where he boarded, and used bad language, sang obscene songs, and was cutting up very “Old Nick” generally. After this thing had been going on for an hour Birch walked in and told Louis that he must make less noise; Louis at this moment had asked a young boy who was standing in the room, to sing, but who refused; Louis then said when a bird won’t sing he must be made to sing and so slapped him over. He then made a dash towards Glenn, who retreated backward with the intention of passing out of the door, but soon saw that Louis would have him within his grasp before he could reach the haven and safety, and so Glenn reached for a shotgun which sat by the door and was loaded with buckshot and as Louis was within one foot of him, fired. The shot entered his right side and went through to his heart. He never spoke a word after being shot but died instantly. He was a large robust man, weighing some 225 pounds and was the terror of Fort Jefferson. Birch Glenn, who done the shooting, is a young heartless boy of about 18 years and weighs probably 130 pounds, and when we take things, as well as all others, we think the jury will find that he was justified in shooting of this man.
We yesterday received the
following letter from John O. Blackwood, Esq., which explains itself:
Editor Bulletin:
As a bit of news to friends of the negro, Riley Covington, the
colored barber, who was captured in your city by Detective W. B. Haskins,
and brought to this place some time since, upon a charge of murder, will say
that on the 14th ult., was convicted of murder in the second degree and
sentenced to eighteen years in state prison. J. Blackwood, Att’y for Covington
Died, in this city, Friday morning, November 23d, 1877, at 2 o’clock, in the 42d year of her age, Mrs. Mary, wife of Patrick Clancy. The deceased had been confined to her bed for nearly three months with a lingering disease brought on by a severe cold and chills and fever. Mr. Clancy was a resident of Cairo for nearly twenty-four years and was known and highly respected but all the older inhabitants of the city. She leaves a husband and eight children, the youngest only six months old, to mourn her untimely death. She was a good and faithful wife, and an affectionate and loving mother. The surviving members of the family have the sympathy of the entire community in their sad bereavement. Mrs. Clancy was a sister of Mr. Patrick Burke, of this city. The funeral cortege will leave the family residence at 1:30 o’clock this afternoon for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church where the funeral services will be held. A special train will leave the foot of Fourteenth Street and Ohio Levee at 2:30 o’clock to convey the remains to Calvary Cemetery, Villa Ridge, for interment. Friends and acquaintances of the family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral. (Mary Burk married Patrick Clancy on 31 Jan 1854, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
Sometime last spring, at Elizabethtown, Hardin County, a difficulty occurred between a man named Alexander Wilson and another named James Vinyard, in which the latter was killed. Wilson was arrested and taken to Golconda, Pope County, where he was imprisoned, the Hardin County jail not being considered a safe place to keep him. Notwithstanding, this precaution, on the 7th of October, Wilson succeeded in making his escape from the prison and has not since been heard from. The murder of Vinyard by Wilson is said to have been cold-blooded and deliberate and as the rewards offered for the murderer amount to $1,400 it would seem that it must have been so. The rewards are as follows: $200 by the sheriff of Pope County; $100 by the commissioners of Hardin County; $200 by the state; $200 cash and land valued at $700 by Philip Vinyard, brother of the murdered man. The following description of the murder is given: “Wilson is about 22 years old, 5 feet 9 or 10 inches high, has rather light hair, fair complexion, with grayish blue eyes, with heavy dark eyebrows and eye lashes; had when last seen a dark mustache; he has a wild staring look, and has a whine in his speech. His hair when uncombed has a tendency to stand up bushy.”
Tuesday, 4 Dec 1877:
Last Friday morning a serious accident occurred to William Ludwig, a young man of this town (Murphysboro), at Mr. E. Brown’s. He was assisting some men who were sawing wood by power, taking away the wood from the saw and turned around for something and the saw pinched and turned over, the blade striking young Ludwig on the back of the head sawing through the skull for about five inches in length. The wound was dressed by Dr. Parsons who took away nearly a teaspoonful of brains from the cut. Ludwig was living at last accounts.
Nov. 26, A. D. 1877, at the home of her parents, near Goose Island, Alexander County, Ills., Nellie Octavia, daughter of William E. and A. H. Woods, aged 3 years. Always kind, gentle and obedient, she was the pet of the family and the idol of the fond mother. Her death has left a vacuum in the hearts of her loving parents that no other can fill. Though they love all their children, yet none can fill the place of little Nellie, the household pet. Their only consolation is in knowing that she has been called to join the good throng to sing sweet songs of praise around God’s throne, where pain nor death can ever come. (William E. Wood married Angeline Johnson on 22 May 1865, in Alexander Co., Ill.—Darrel Dexter)
Sunday, 9 Dec 1877:
Parties in St. Louis are making
a raid on Gov. Cullom for payment of the reward offered in this state
for the arrest of the desperado Rande. It may be that they were
entitled to the rewards, but we would respectfully call the attention of
Gov. Cullom to the fact that the state of Missouri and residents of
that state have up to the present failed and refused to pay the rewards
offered by them for the apprehension, dead or alive, of the notorious Sam
Hildebrand, who, after a fearful resistance, was killed in this place by
officers who were sent to arrest him in 1874. Let Missouri pay her
debts, owing to citizens of our state, before her citizen demand payment of
us. Several days ago we mentioned the fact that the sheriff of Johnson County, Mr. James H. Carter, had come to the city for the purpose of taking the murderer Harrison Burkelew, who was confined in the county jail here, for safekeeping, back to Vienna for trial. Sheriff Carter with his prisoner arrived in Vienna on Wednesday morning last, and on Thursday morning Burkelew was placed on trial. The trial occupied the time of the court from Thursday morning till Monday afternoon, when the case was given to the jury. The jury were out some four or five hours, when at 9 o’clock Monday night they returned a verdict of guilty, fixing the penalty at death. We are unable to give full particulars of the crime for which Burkelew was convicted, further than that it was for the murder of a man named Davis at Chapman & Hess mill at Forman sometime in June or July last. The murder is said to have been cold blooded and without the least cause or provocation. Judge Dougherty presided at the trial of Burkelew. Since writing the above we learn more about the case. The prosecution was conducted by O. A. Harker, Esq., and State’s Attorney R. M. Fisher, and the defense by Capt. John R. Thomas of Metropolis, and A. G. Dameron of Vienna. A motion for a new trial is now pending and will be argued today. This is the first case in the history of Johnson County where the verdict has been death. The court is now engaged in selecting a jury in the case of the People vs. James Arnet for murder, and the trial will probably take up the balance of the week. S. P. Wheeler, Esq., of this city, is one of the attorneys for the defense. (In other articles about the man his name is referred to as Burklow or Burkelow.—Darrel Dexter)
Thursday, 13 Dec 1877: Thomas J. Patterson, clerk of the J. B. Mercer, died at Baton Rouge on Saturday last.
The case of the People of the State of Illinois vs. Harrison Burklow, indicted at the present sitting of the grand jury, came up for trial Friday the 7th inst., and out of about 250 men summoned, a jury was obtained. R. M. Fisher, prosecuting attorney, and O. A. Harker, of Vienna, who was employed by the citizens of Forman, conducted the prosecution, and attorneys J. R. Thomas of Metropolis, and A. G. Damron, of Vienna, conducted the defense, they having been appointed by the court, defendant not being able to employ council. The evidence in behalf of the People went to the jury by Saturday night, and the court then adjourned until Monday, and on that day the evidence in behalf of the defendant was given to the jury. The attorney then presented their arguments and at 6 o’clock p.m. the jury retired with the instructions of the court. Judge Dougherty did not adjourn court and told the jury that when they had made a verdict to send for him, and he would receive the same. In about three hours from the time the case was given into the hands of jury the judge was notified that they had agreed upon a verdict. Although most of the citizens had retired to their peaceful couches of repose, the news that a verdict had been reached caused quite a stir, everybody seeming to be eager to know the fate of the criminal, and in a comparatively short time a large crowd had gathered at the court house. The nudge took his seat and the crowd anxiously awaited the appearance of the prisoner. The prisoner was conducted into the room by the sheriff and deputy sheriff and seated inside the bar. It was evident that his mind was undergoing a terrible ordeal, and when the clerk read the verdict, “We, the jury, find the defendant, guilty, and assess the penalty death,” Burklow seemed to give down, but did not give vent to his feelings, though it was evident that the emotions of his bosom were suppressed only by his iron will or determined resolution. He, for the first time since the trial began, except when his attorney was pleading, bowed his head when the verdict was read, and when the sheriff proceeded to put handcuffs on his wrists (the first time during court) to take him back to jail, Burklow said: “Don’t keep them on me, Jim; let me rest while I can rest.”
Burklow’s
council, Thomas & Damron, made a strong effort in his behalf
and the speech of each was good, but their faith in the cause was weak.
In the course of Damron’s speech, he admitted the guilt of the
defendant, but endeavored to show to the jury that he was only guilty of
manslaughter. Burklow seemed to think his attorney ought not to
have made such an admission and at once gave way to tears. The facts in this case elicited upon trial are about these: On the fourth of July last, a number of the Forman citizens went to Cairo, and among them were Burklow and David Wagoner (the murdered man) who were under the influence of whiskey when they returned; that Wagoner went to his home, and that Burklow went to the house of Wagoner and called him out and began a quarrel; then Burklow went into his own house, which was a short way off and then started out again with pistol in hand, but that his wife prevented his coming out. All the evidence in regard to what occurred on the evening of the 4th tended to show that Burklow was anxious to have trouble with Wagoner while he (Wagoner) was disposed to avoid trouble. On the next morning, the 5th, Wagoner went to work as usual at Chapman & Hess’ sawmill. Burklow got up that morning, it seems, bent on taking the life of his victim. Armed with a revolver, he went to the mill barefoot, and as he passed along he made inquiry as to where he could find Wagoner. Burklow was near when Wagoner first saw him. Wagoner had an armful of timbers to take to his saw to cut them up, and as he at this moment took in the situation, he dropped the timbers, stepped back a step or two, at the same time throwing up his hands, cried out, “Don’t Burklow, don’t!” At this moment Burklow fired the fatal shot, which stopped the lifeblood of poor Wagoner. At the crack of the pistol Wagoner jumped or fell off the platform, raised his head, then dropped it—a dead man. Burklow, as soon as he fired the fatal shot, retraced his steps, and as he passed out of the mill, in substance said: “I’ve fixed him; damn him, he won’t bother me any more. I did it, and there is what I did it with” (holding up his pistol). Burklow prayed fervently the night after the verdict was read to him. Tuesday night the sheriff had the shackles put on his legs, so as to prevent the possibility of escape, knowing the frail condition of our jail, though he says he regretted to do so as much as to have to tie the hangman’s knot. At the present writing the judge has not passed sentence upon the prisoner, and may not do so until toward the adjournment of court. Burklow will have to be kept here in jail until the day of his execution. The verdict is the first of the kind ever returned in this county. We learn that three of the jurors were not at first in favor of the death sentence. Burklow is about 40 years of age, of heavy build, weight about 180 pounds, physically his appearance is that of a perfectly developed man. He has been married the second time, but his wife has not been present at the trial, she being at the home of her people. It is said Burklow, while in the army, was sentenced to be shot, but was saved by the intercession of Gen. John A. Logan. Wagoner, the murdered man, was also married, but we are not able to say anything further of him, having never seen him. We hope this case will be a warning to those who thirst for the blood of their fellow man—that a new era will be inaugurated so that our county may again be pointed to as a model county for its peace and quietude, as in former years. We ask our readers what is the cause of all or nearly all the great crimes known to our country? You will doubtless bear me out when we say, WHISKY, WHISKY. (Harrison Burklow married Martha Carns on 18 Nov 1864, in Pulaski Co., Ill. He was a sergeant of Company F, 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted on 22 Aug 1861, and was then 28, a resident of Pulaski Co., Ill., with black hair, black eyes, and a dark complexion. He was born in Graves Co., Ky.—Darrel Dexter)
WHEREAS, It has pleased Almighty God in his infinite mercy to remove from our midst in the vigor of manhood, one of our most zealous members, Martin Coffee, therefore be it Resolved, By the officers and members of this company, that in the death of our beloved brother, the Hibernian Fire Company No. 4, has suffered an irreparable loss, and the community at large an honorable and upright citizen; and Resolved, That we bury our deceased brother will all the honors of a fireman, and in a manner worthy of his past services to this company, and that we tender our heartfelt sympathy to the relation of the deceased;
Resolved,
That the foregoing resolutions be spread upon the journal and published in
the Cairo papers, and that a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the
relations of the deceased. Judge John Dougherty was in the city yesterday, on his way home from Vienna, where he had been holding circuit court. From Judge Dougherty we learned that the motion for a new trial in the case of Harrison Burklow, convicted of the murder of Carl Wagoner, at Forman, in July last, was overruled, and the death sentence pronounced upon the prisoner. The execution will take place on the 15th of January. When Judge Dougherty gave his decision overruling the motion for a new trial, and was about to pronounce the death sentence, Burklow broke completely down, and gave way to his feelings, and it was with difficulty, after the sentence, that he was removed to his cell in the county jail. The particulars of the murder have already appeared in the columns of the Bulletin. James Arnett, who was tried for the murder of Edward Mutz, was acquitted. The trial lasted ten days, and attracted considerable attention.
A NEW TRIAL GRANTED.—Hon.,
F. E. Albright, of Murphysboro ,was in the city yesterday on his way
home from Shawneetown, where he went to take part in the Aiken case
on the motion for a new trial. From Mr. Albright we learn that
a new trial has been granted, and set the first Tuesday in March.
Aiken’s attorneys, Mulkey and Linegar, of Cairo, Mr.
Albright
of Murphysboro, and Hon. F. M. Youngblood, had about given up all
hope of getting a new trial for their client when word came to Mr.
Albright that the jury, when they entered the jury room, were pretty
evenly divided on the question of imprisonment for life and for hanging.
After a good deal of wrangling it was decided to draw straws as to whether
the verdict be death or imprisonment, and the drawing resulted in the favor
of hanging. When this became known to Aiken’s attorneys they
asked for further time, and finally succeeded in obtaining the affidavits of
four of the jurors to the fact. On this evidence, of course, a new
trial was granted. Four of the jurors, John B. Walters, William
Willis, John Crow and Mr. Boardman, were brought before
the court and fined one hundred dollars each, except the last named, who was
fined only fifty dollars. This was certainly a remarkable proceeding
and the jurymen could not be too severely dealt with.
From a gentleman who came in from the country yesterday it was learned that a fatal stabbing affray took place at the house of George Harrison in Goose Island Precinct on Christmas night. The circumstances of the affray, as near as we could learn them, are briefly told, as follows: There was a ball in progress at Harrison’s and late in the evening James Carnes, a young man living in the neighborhood, came to the house, and announced a determination to break up the ball, and to carry out his threat conducted himself in an offensive and boisterous manner. Mr. Harrison went to Carnes and remonstrated with him, when, without provocation, Carnes drew a revolver and jamming the muzzle right into Harrison’s face, attempted to shoot, but the weapon would not go off. Harrison then took a club and striking Carnes on the head knocking him down. A general melee followed and in it Carnes was stabbed five times in the back, one cut penetrating to the lungs, and another entering one of his kidneys. Who did the cutting is a mystery as yet, but the guilty party is believed to be known. Carnes was still alive yesterday morning, but his physician, Dr. Porterfield, gave it as his opinion that he cannot recover. No arrests have as yet been made.
Saturday, 29 Dec 1877:
The Johnson County Journal of Saturday last gives the following account of the scene that occurred in court when the murderer Burklow was brought before Judge Dougherty to hear his sentence pronounced: Harrison Burklow was brought before His Honor Judge Dougherty, last Friday morning, and the motion for the rehearing was ably argued, but the court overruled the motion. Then J. R. Thomas entered a motion for an arrest of judgment, which was also discussed at length, but overruled by the court. The attorneys for the defense asked leave to file a bill of exceptions, which was granted. After which, the Judge pronounced to sentence the prisoner. But before announcing the sentence he made some very appropriate and feeling remarks as to the solemnity which was then to follow. He then read the sentence: That the prisoner, who had been found guilty of murder, and to suffer the penalty of death, by twelve jurors, of his county, should be hung on the 15th of this January, between the hours of 11 and 1 o’clock, within an enclosure of the county jail yard, until he was dead, dead, dead! In repeating the last word, the court gave way to his humane feelings and bursted into tears, and then added: May God _____ this is the first death sentence ______ was past in this county, it is _______ will be the last. |
