History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 53

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660

USA > California > San Joaquin County > History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 53

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each county. This court was composed of three judges, a presiding and two associate judges. Under the new constitution, adopted in 1879, all state offices were abolished, includ- ing the courts, and the legislature established one or more courts in each county, calling them Superior Courts. San Joaquin County then had but one Superior Court. It now has three courts, Judges John A. Plummer, George F. Buck and Daniel G. Young presiding. In these courts the tragic trials of the county have taken place; murder trials by the hun- dred, civil suits and probate cases by the thousand. They have been the scene of many thrilling incidents, the hope and despair of many a criminal. I have a list of over one hundred murders committed in this county during the first thirty years of its history and that is not half of the number. Those that I have are the murders of greatest interest be- cause of some peculiar feature, cold-blooded- ness of the act, or the murder of some promi- nent and leading citizen. There have been thousands of robberies committed on the high- way of which you will find recorded a few.

The Hanging of "Mickey Lyons"

The execution of George Baker, or "Mickey Lyons," as he was commonly called, was the first legal execution in Stockton. Baker was a young man about twenty years of age and he was hung for the murder of another young man named Conyers. A short time before a boy of sixteen named Joe Moller had stabbed and killed another boy in cold blood, but he was acquitted. The story of Baker's fate is a sad one. He was a reckless, dissipated youth and associated with the lowest characters. Gambling and drinking were his main occu- pations, and on the day of the murder he had been playing poker and drinking freely in both the St. Charles Hotel and the Dickenson ' House. Leaving the latter place, he started for the Levee, and someone pushed him off the walk. He turned immediately, and drawing a knife, stabbed a person near him named Con- yers. "Mickey" was arrested and taken to "the brig," a ship then anchored in the channel and used as a jail. Conyers died two days later, and Baker was held to answer for mur- der. When he was placed on trial, his lawyers, Terry & Perley, failed to sustain their client's plea of self-defense and youthful folly, and he was found guilty by the jury. Judge Ben. J. Williams sentenced Baker to be hung May 20, 1851. A gallows was erected on the block

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where now stands the Center School building, and on the afternoon of the time set the young man, heavily ironed and sitting on his own coffin, accompanied by Rev. James A. Woods and guarded by Sheriff Ashe and Deputy Thomas Blount, was drawn to the scaffold on a two-wheeled dray. On arrival there was a large crowd of men and women, some 800 in number, made way for this awful scene, and at 3 o'clock Baker ascended the gallows steps. After the death warrant had been read, Baker, "in a clear, unbroken voice," made a confes- sion. The minister then offered a prayer to the Supreme Being, entreating Him to "re- ceive this unfortunate youth into his presence to abide forever." Baker then made a short speech thanking the officers for their kindness and his attorneys for their efforts in his behalf, adding, "For it is little else that they have re- ceived for all they have done for me." A few minutes later, the first of those terrible death scenes, of which nearly a dozen were to follow years later, was an event of the past.

Two years previous to this another cold blooded murder had been committed in the slaying of the famous gambler and desperado James Taylor. "He was," says Rev. James Woods, "but twenty-two years of age and the most ferocious desperado that ever scattered terror around his bloody path. He had in other parts of the state encountered in fierce fights other desperadoes and come off victor, but in meeting William Turner he met his fate." Taylor one night, while looking for a fight, entered a saloon on Center street near the well known "El Dorado," which was run by a beautiful little French girl. In fact all of the saloon women in those days were beau- tiful and fascinating, because they were im- · ported at heavy expense because of their beauty, to deal out drinks, and play monte, faro, poker, and roulette, and attract the men. Well, Taylor wanted some fun, and drawing his pistol, with one sweep of his arm he swept all the beautiful cut glass tumblers and de- canters from the bar to the floor, smashing the entire lot. Without offering to pay the dam- age, he then coolly walked out of the saloon. The following day the girl sent word to Taylor that she wanted him to pay for the glassware. Like many of her class, she had a lover, named William Turner, and Taylor meeting him one day said: "Bill, if you don't pay your girl for the smash-up, I will kill you." Taylor was known to be a man of his word, and Turner knew that either he or Taylor must die. So, watching his chance, one Sabbath morning, Turner saw Taylor having his boots blacked. Quietly creeping up behind Taylor, Turner shot him in the back twice, the second shot instantly killing him. Turner was arrested and tried for the murder, his counsel being Mr. Irving and that famous orator and pleader,

Edwin D. Baker, afterward killed in the fa- mous charge at Ball's Bluff, while leading on the California regiment in the Civil War. The courtroom was crowded with anxious listeners and the proceedings were unusually interest- ing. Baker succeeded in causing a disagree- ment in the jury, and in the following term of the District Court Turner was again tried. Baker was not then in the case, and Turner was convicted of murder, which meant death. In that term of the court there were three men tried for murder-Turner, Barrillo and Reany-and April 28 Barillo and Turner were brought before Judge Charles Creanor and sentenced to be hanged. A faithful brother saved Turner's life. Circulating a petition that his doomed brother's sentence be com- muted to imprisonment for life he succeeded in obtaining hundreds of signatures, and ten- der-hearted Governor John Bigler, "Honest John" he was called, granted the petition. Two years later Turner walked from San Quentin a free man, J. Neely Johnson having pardoned him.

Execution of a Mexican

Indelibly stamped upon the memory are many of the events of childhood, and never can I forget the time when I saw my first legal execution. The victim Jose Barrillo, was a Mexican about twenty-seven years of age and one of an organized band of horse-theives and robbers. His crimes were many, but he finished his criminal career when in a fandan- go-house he shot and killed, without any prov- ocation, a white gambler named Henry H. Janes. Immediately after the shooting the murderer fled, but he was speedily captured by the officers and placed in the lockup. He was quickly tried, convicted and sentenced to be hanged, for at that time a bitter hatred existed between the whites and all foreigners, especially the natives of Mexico. So intense was this hatred that only two months previous to the execution, two Mexican muleteers, lying asleep by the side of their pack mules on the banks of the Mormon slough, in the early dawn were brutally shot and killed by two white men passing by. The white brutes saw the Mexicans quietly lying asleep, and draw- ing their revolvers they "blazed away," and then ran off. No efforts were made to find these murderers. But Jose Barrillo's case was different. He, a Mexican, had killed a white man, and, regardless of the law or evidence, he must hang. The forms of law, however, were complied with. The record of the event says: "An immense crowd witnessed the. sad spectacle and the assertion of the majesty of the law." On the day of the hanging, I was playing with companions on Main street near Colburn's barn, where the Gnekow block now is, when looking down the street, I saw a pro-

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cession of about fifty horsemen approaching, chatting, laughing and smoking cigarettes. Each man was armed with a revolver and their little mustangs were prancing and champing on their bits, the foam from their mouths flecking their breasts. The horsemen sur- rounded a wagon drawn by two horses, and in the wagon the condemned man sat, handcuffed and fastened with a riata to his chair. By his side stood a good padre, reciting the prayers for the dying, at the same time holding before the criminal's gaze a small cross. On arrival at the gallows, which in this instance was a large oak tree then standing on the southeast corner of Main and Stanislaus or Grant street, the wagon was driven beneath an overhanging limb, and the rope, already dangling, was placed around the prisoner's neck. He was then loosened from the chair and the wagon was driven out from under him. The Mexican was strangled to death, and the body was left hanging until the coroner came and cut it down.

The Highwayman Tom Bell

Tom Bell's true name was Thomas Hodges, but he was always known as Tom Bell. Born in Tennessee, he graduated from college with high honors, then graduated from a medical college. In the Mexican war he enlisted in the regiment commanded by B. F. Cheatham- afterwards a Stockton merchant and a partner of General Ketcham-and as an officer won fame and glory. In 1849 Bell came to Cali- fornia, discovered a rich mine in Mariposa County, and "played high roller" until the mine gave out. He had been dissipating heav- ily during this period, and, being now without a dollar, he stole eleven mules from a Mexican camp nearby, drove them to Nevada and sold them at a high price. He found stealing was a much easier way of obtaining money, than by means of a pick and shovel, and, organizing a company of bandits, began a series of rob- beries and murders. The first victims of the bandits were Mexicans, but soon they ex- tended their compliments to all whom they met. Bell, in his exploits imitating the Eng- lish highwayman Dick Turpin, wrote letters to editors, defied the officers to arrest him, threatened to kill those who interfered with his plans and often whipped those travelers found without money. On one occasion Bell came across a traveler who refused to give up his coin and made a fight. The traveler was shot in the thigh and fell from his horse, bleed- ing profusely, an artery being cut. Bell dis- mounted, skillfully tied the artery, carried the man to the nearest house, dressed his wound and gave full directions as to its treatment. The patient recovered. In 1852 Bell was ar- rested in Sacramento for grand larceny. He gave his name as Thomas Hodges, was tried,

convicted and imprisoned on Angel Island, there being no state prison at that time. John C. Hayes, the famous Texan, was then the prison warden, and Bell, pretending that he was sick, was sent for treatment to the San Francisco Broadway jail. He escaped from that famous bastile and then, too late, the authorities learned that Tom Bell and Thomas Hodges were one and the same person.

In October 1856, Sheriff Hanson of Placer County learned that the Bell gang was in his vicinity, and with a party of armed men he started out to find them. The officers and criminals came together near a wayside saloon, and amid the crack of revolvers, Lewis Con- way was killed, and a bandit named White captured. Bell and a pal called Texas escaped. To the officers White confessed his criminal record, and that his life might be spared, he promised to lead the officers to the rendezvous of the outlaws. Under the guidance of White a party of well-armed men a few days later . started for the famous outlaw's retreat. White led them to a small shanty in the midst of a thick cluster of willows near Knights Ferry. The house was occupied by a woman, and she refused to give any information regarding Bell. The party, which was under the com- mand of Judge George D. Belt, who was after- wards killed in this city by William Dennis, then rode down the banks of the Stanislaus River, and by accident, discovered the man for whom they were looking. When about a mile from the house one of the searching party named Price, while crossing the stream, noticed a man endeavoring to conceal himself in the thick willows. Price, thinking this a suspicious circumstance, gave the alarm and the party quickly surrounded the brush. Rid- ing towards a common center they soon came upon Bell and a Spaniard, who were ordered to throw up their hands. Judge Belt, recog- nizing Bell, exclaimed, "I believe you are the man we have been looking for." "Very likely," replied Bell. The bandit's revolver and bowie knife were taken from him and he was tied upon a horse and taken to Firebaugh's Ferry, the party reaching that point about 11 o'clock a. m. Bell was then informed that at 4 o'clock he would . be hung. The outlaw, then but twenty-eight years of age, asked permission to write a letter to his mother and to the woman in camp. The request was granted, and after finishing his letter he asked for liquor. He was given a bountiful supply and in a short time he became deliriously drunk. Talking freely he told of his many crimes and adven- tures. Near the ferry there grew an oak, and the only tree in that vicinity. It was, there- fore, known as "the lone oak tree," and at the hour appointed, Bell was taken to that tree. After he fervently prayed for forgiveness a

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rope was placed around his neck and a few minutes later he was dangling in mid air.

The Washington Garden Murder

Late in the evening of April 30, 1860, the citizens around town were asking each other, "Have you heard the news?" "No, what is it?" "Esses was shot a while ago by somebody, the police don't know who." Joseph Esses, a German by birth, came to Stockton in an early day with his family, and, purchasing a plot of ground on Market street just west of Califor- nia, planted trees and grape vines, and started a pleasure resort which he named Washing- ton Gardens.

In summer it was a delightful spot, a cool, quiet place, and hundreds visiting there would sit under the little bowers of vines, slowly sip their lager beer and pluck grapes from the thick, heavily laden branches. Esses had a rather quarrelsome, jealous disposition, and on the evening of the shooting he quarreled with a roomer named Henry Bolles, because Mrs. Esses gave Bolles a rose from the garden. During the fight Esses shot Henry through the arm. The wound was not serious, and Bolles, taking the pistol from the shooter, went down town to have his wound dressed by Dr. Taggert, and then went to Sheriff O'Neal's office to give him the pistol. This movement on the part of the injured man saved him from being arrested as the murderer of Esses, for while he was absent a lively skirmish took place at the house, with the re- sult that Esses was dropped. Who fired the fatal shot? Mrs. Taylor, wife of William Tay- lor, who lived across the street; John Shea, a a tall Irish horeshoer; V. M. Peyton, Charles Huffman and George Dahl each heard three shots. A near neighbor, a large man, in size and appearance like the late Judge Terry, said he heard only two shots. Peyton and Huff- man were standing talking on the corner of Main and Sutter streets, and hearing the shots, they hurried to the spot and on the way saw a large man coming out of the gate. On ar- rival they saw Esses lying on his back near the porch with a five-barreled pistol lying near. According to the testimony of a near neighbor, Esses, after Bolles left the house, procured another pistol and began chasing his wife to kill her. She ran to the near neighbor, who was passing by, for protection. Then Esses shot at him and soon afterwards received the fatal wound. Peyton and Huffman assisted in carrying Esses into the house, and Peyton asked Esses who shot him. "Some large man in his shirt sleeves," said Esses." I under- stand that Peachy knocked your arm up and isn't it possible that your own pistol shot you?" asked Peyton. "I'm not drunk or a fool," replied Esses. "Some man shot me who had no business here." Esses lingered for

eight days, shot through the lung, Doctor Ryer said. The jury summoned by Coroner Morris H. Bond rendered a then too-common verdict, "Shot by some person unknown to the jury." Esses, a member of San Joaquin En- gine No. 3, and the Turnverein, was buried by them.

A Tragedy at Medina's

Four years later, a murder most foul kept " busy the criminal officers of San Joaquin. This time the crime was committed near the foot- hills of the Sierras on the Mokelumne Hill road, some twenty miles from Stockton. At that point an Italian by the name of Frank Medina kept a little country grocery store, the trading place of the farmers of the sur- rounding country. Medina had been in busi- ness since 1861, and by thrift and steady habits had accumulated considerable

amount of money. On the morning of December 10, 1869, a farmer driving to the store to purchase goods found the doors closed. This was strange, for Frank was always ready for customers. Pounding on the doors and receiving no an- swer, he began an investigation. Finally en- tering the place he found no one there, but the safe was open, the money was gone, and there was every appearance of a robbery having been committed. Help was then obtained and the ranchers began a search for the proprietor and his clerk. Finally in a deep gulch, some three-quarters of a mile from the store, their bodies were found, together with those of two Mexicans, and a negro called "Old Boss." They were all shot through the head, and the hands of each man was securely fastened be- hind, him. It was a startling sight, and there was a cry for justice, but who were the mur- derers and how came the victims there? No one could tell, and not a clew was left except that the neighbors the previous evening had heard: a noise in the store as of a drunken quarrel, and paid no further attention to the disturbance. General David F. Douglas, the old warhorse of San Joaquin took temporary charge of the store, and Coroner Bond held an inquest. No facts were brought out that would throw any light upon the murders, save that the previous day a party of Mexicans were seen riding along the road in the vicinity of the store. The demon of blood was then in his glory for seven men were murdered in San Joaquin County within two weeks. Some years after a Mexican named Padella was arrested as being one of the murderers. No evidence could be found to that effect, and he was tried for horse stealing, found guilty and sent to the penitentiary.

The Murder of a City Official

In the murder of Esses, Golding and Medina there were no court trials, for the finger of

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justice could not point to a single person, but in the murder of J. P. D. Wilkins, then city col- lector and street superintendent, there was slight evidence obtained. A saloonkeeper, homeward bound near the midnight hour, March 26, 1873, near the corner of Hunter and Lindsay streets passed what he believed was an old drunk lying near the shade trees. He walked on, stopped, returned and, examining the man, found that it was J. P. D. Wilkins, badly wounded and unconscious. Assistance was obtained, and he was carried to his home, not far away. He was laid upon the bed and upon examination his head was found in a ter- rible condition, swelled and bruised from the effect of sandbag blows; one across the fore- head, a second across the back of the neck, the blows being struck by a man skilled in the use of that cowardly weapon. Mr. Wilkins lingered for three days, unconscious except for two or three times, when his lips moved and he tried to talk but could not, for his vocal organs were paralyzed. Sunday, March 30, he was buried by the Odd Fellows, of which or- ganization he had been a prominent member since 1852. . The funeral was held from the Presbyterian church, Rev. F. B. Morse and C. V. Anthony taking part in the service. Who murdered this honored citizen, a man of not- able purity of his life? Two men, Ira A. Hall and Bab Durkin, were arrested, being sus- pected although there was no direct evidence to connect them with the crime. It seems that on the evening of the murder Wilkins, who had been working quite late in his office on his way home entered the Independent saloon and took a glass of beer. In paying for the drink he took money from a bag of silver which he carried. There was a stranger in the saloon at that time, and he immediately went out on seeing Wilkins with the coin. His appearance had been noted, and he and his pal were arrested by Police Officer Jerome Myers. The two men were held in jail for nearly six weeks, the officers hoping that something would turn up to implicate them. The grand jury failed to indict them, and May 12 they. were liberated, but were again arrested and taken to Sacramento for robbery.

Before this time the hand of suspicion began pointing to Mrs. Wilkins and a lodger in the house named Bennett. At this sensational point the narrative must go back to 1852. At that time Wilkins was keeping the Crescent City hotel, the property later owned by D. S. Rosenbaum. During the summer his wife died, and Wilkins, returning to the East sup- posedly a rich man-for all returning Califor- nians were presumed by the Easterners to be wealthy-married his first wife's sister. She at that time was only sixteen years of age, while he was thirty-three. They came to Stockton, and having sold his interest in the

hotel, he began working for M. L. Bird, for he was by trade a harness maker. They lived a comfortable but not a happy life, for they had no pleasures in common. He cared nothing for society or amusements, and could not sing a note. She was fond of society and music. She had a sweet voice of fair range and power, and day after day the neighbors would hear her singing as she worked ; the old songs, "My Pretty Jane," "Robin Adair," and "Coming Thro' the Rye." She was ever singing these love songs, but her favorite was "John Ander- son, My Jo, John" for it was said she left a young lover in her Eastern home. Among those with whom she became acquainted, meeting him perhaps in the dry goods store of Stockwell and Underhill, was Henry B. Underhill, director and organist of the Presby- terian Church choir. He invited her to join the choir and she gladly accepted the invita- tion, and sang in that choir for ten years or more. Summer and winter she was faithful in her choir work, and to and from her home walked alone or accompanied by some of the church members. Mrs. Wilkins was at heart a good woman, but lively, full of fun and long- ing for congenial companionship. As the of- ficers could find no trace of the murderers, early in June 1873 they arrested Mrs. Wilkins and Bennett, who had been her lodger. They were given a preliminary examination by jus- tice A. G. Brown and held in jail to await their examination before the grand jury. That body indicted them for the murder of Wilkins, and Bennett was first placed on trial. The case was heard in Judge Booker's court and Ben- nett was defended by N. Greene Curtis, his brother-in-law, one of the best criminal law- yers in California. The principal witnesses were members of the family. Their evidence was conflicting and the jury failed either to convict or acquit. Then came a proceeding as mysterious as the murder, for Curtis asked for a change of venue to Sacramento county and Judge Booker granted the request. This was equivalent to an acquittal in Sacramento, and Bennett walked from the courtroom a free man. The charge against Mrs. Wilkins was dismissed.

The Swaney Poisoning Case

A murder somewhat similar to the Wilkins case was that of Swaney on trial for murder by poison of John Searles. In the fall of 1867 there lived in the mining camp of Mariposa a family by the name of Terry. There were sev- eral children, among them a daughter named Adelia. She was a very pretty girl and at the age of sixteen, encouraged by her parents, she married a wealthy mining man named John W. Searles, who was twenty-four years her senior. In the same town lived A. M. Swaney, who was at that time publisher of the Mari-

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posa Gazette. He was married and had four children. Searles was frequently away from home on mining business, and, as the two fam- ilies lived near each other, Swaney and Mrs. Searles became quite intimate. Immediately after Mrs. Swaney's death the sympathy of Mrs. Searles for Swaney's children was so deep that she frequently visited them at his home and remained many hours. Then the neighbors began to talk, and one moonlight night the couple were seen out walking. Swaney heard, or claimed that he heard, that Searles was going to kill him. One of the deputy sheriffs, A. W. Bancroft, was married to a Mexican woman, and to him Swaney told his troubles. Calling him aside one evening, where they couldn't be seen, Swaney asked: "Can't you get a Mexican to do the job? Searles is going to Buchanan Hollow soon with $1000 in his pockets. The Mexican can rob Searles and I will give him $200 and will give you some money." Bancroft could speak the Mexican language and was friendly with all the Mexican population, but he replied : "I don't know any. Mexican that will do a job, but why don't you challenge him?"

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History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 53

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849 Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1660

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660