USA > Iowa > Jackson County > Annals of Jackson county, Iowa, Vol 1-6 > Part 29
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JOSEPH KELSO, Prosecuting Attorney for said County.
And the jurors aforesaid upon their oath aforesaid, do further present: That Absalom Montgomery, late of the county of Jackson, aforesaid laborer, not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigations of the devil, on the 30th day of April in the year of Our Lord, one thousand, eight hunderd and fifty-two, with force and arms at and in the county aforesaid, in and upon one Andrew M. Brown, in the peace of God and the said state, then and there being feloniously, willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, and of his malice aforethought, did make an assault; and that the said Absalom Montgomery, a certain gun the value of $5.00 then and there loaded and charged with gun powder, and one leaden bullet, which gun he, the said Absalom Montgomery, his hand had and held, to, against, and upon the said Andrew M. Brown, then and there fel- oniously, willfully, deliberately. premeditatedly, and of his malice afore- thought, did shoot and discharge; and that the said Absalom Montgom- ery, with and bullet afoersaid. then and there by force of gun powder and shot sent forth as aforesaid, the said Absalom Montgomery in and upon the left side of the belly of him, the said Andrew M. Brown, in the region of the stomach and median line of him, the said Andrew M. Brown, then and there feloniously, willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, and of his malice aforethought, did strike, penetrate and wound, giving to the said Andrew M. Brown, then and there with the leaden bullet aforesaid, so as aforesaid shot, discharged and sent forth out of the gun aforesaid, by the said Ab- salom Montgomery in and upon the said left side of the belly of him, the said Andrew M. Brown, one mortal wound of the depth of six inches and of the breath of half an inch, of which said mortal wound he, said Andrew M. Brown then and there immediately died. And so the jurors aforesaid, upon their oath aforesaid do say, that the said Absalom Montgomery, him the
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said Andrew M. Brown, in the manner and by the means aforesaid, feloni- ousy, willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, and of his malice aforethought, did kill and murder, contrary to the statute in such case made and proved, and against the peace and dignity of the state of Iowa.
JOSEPH KELSO, Prosecuting Attorney.
Montgomery was tried at the June term of court, commencing the 23rd day and on the 25th the jury charged by the court, and returned a verdict of "murder in the first degree." The attorneys for the defendant moved for a new trial, and got it on a writ of error, and took a change of venue to Delaware county. The case was tried at Delhi in 1853, and the defend- ant was acquitted. Montgomery owned a fine farm, but Platt Smith got it for defending him. The property finally went into the possession of the notorius Piper, who erected the finest mansion that the county afforded, at that time and it was generally believed that he burned it for insurance.
Montgomery's victim, Andrew M. Brown, who was about 28 years at the time of his death, left a wife, Jane Brown, who has remained true to his memory all these years, and a son, W. F. Brown, a cripple from child- hood, born after his father's death, who lives with his mother in Maquo- keta. Those who knew Montgomery well, say of him, that he never did much work, that he drank a good deal of whiskey, done much talking and was away from home a large share of his time.
Few, if any, persons had any doubt about his guilt, but he had means, and when a man has plenty of means the lawyers do not allow him to suffer anything more serious than the depletion of his bank account, or the pro- ceeds of the sale of his farm. Platt Smith, who defended Montgomery and cleared him, had prosecuted the unfortunate Joseph T. Jackson and hanged him, said afterward that he had done wrong in both cases, that Jackson ought to have been cleared and Montgomery ought to have hanged.
On the 27th day of July, 1906, the writer visited Mrs. Brown at her cosy · home in the First ward, and gleaned some facts in relation to the murder of. her husband that I did not formerly know of. She said that about a week before her husband's murder, he brought a letter from the postoffice for her father with whom they lived at the time. The letter was from Montgom- ery and warned Rhodes or any member of his family against trespassing on certain land that Rhodes had bought and from which Montgomery had been getting his fire wood. Mrs. Brown said that her husband remarked that barking dogs never bite, and knowing Montgomery to be a hard drink- er, was not afraid of him. Mrs. Brown is a very sprightly lady for her age, being 78 past, is a little below medium height, her hair as white as snow, but her faculties as clear as ever. She thinks her husband was shot about two o'clock p. m., but lived until six p. m., was carried into Mr. Earl's house, where his team had taken him and died there.
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FORTY-EIGHT YEARS AGO.
Items Clipped by J. W. Ellis from a Copy of a Sentinel Dated August 26th, 1858.
CITY DIRECTORY-Jonas Clark, Mayor; Alderman of Wards-First ward, O. D. Cowles, R. B. Clancey; Second ward, R. S. Hadley, T. Lyman ; Third ward, Benjamin Spencer, D. H. Case; Fourth ward, Harry Farr, J. Pangborn: Municipal officers-Wilson O'Brien, marshall; I. C. Hall, assess- or; A. Fellows, recorder: J. E. Goodenow, street commissoner.
An advertisement for new coal oil lamps is as follows: Light, more light! at less than half the usual cost. Our esteemed fellow townsman, Mr. Joseph Willey, presented us one day last week with a new style of lamp called the kerosene or coal oil lamp. They are a most beautiful and eco- nomical lamp. The burner as proprietor says, can at slightest expense be adapted to any ordinary lamp and burns at an expense of one quarter of one cent per hour and gives the light of three candles. For economy and brilli-
ancy and cleanliness these lamps are unsurpassed. Another good feature is their unexplosive qualities. The oil when spilled will not burn upon the application of a lighted match. They are sold at from one dollar and ten cents up to tive dollars, owing to safe finish and size of lamp. The oil is re- tailed at $1.50 per gallon and the expense for one evening would not exceed one cent and a half.
Mr. John Teeple, who lives eight miles west, lost a son on Sunday last aged 11 years and 2 months from the effects of a rattle snake bite. It ap- pears the boy was in company with his mohter and several others picking blackberries when they were attracted by his screams and upon repairing to where he was they found that he had been bitten in the ankle. Every remedy was applied but to no effect he died on Sunday last after suffering a most excruciating pain. Destructive Fire-
Mr. Edtior-Sir: While I am writing there is 22 acres of our wheat in nine ricks burning, without doubt the work of incendary. The wheat was of new ground first crop and considered by all who came in the field during harvest the best wheat in the neighborhood. But to the circumstances. Last night three work hands were hay making within 15 or 20 rods of said ricks and they say all was as usual-no smoke nor smell, or anything indicat- ing fire. Again one of the three were within full view of them at 9 oc'lock p. m. and there was no appearance of fire at that time and at 12 o'clock
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-the night was calm and very pleasant-the whole of them was burning, and each of them felt perfectly solid to within 15 or 18 inches of the outside, therefore the conviction is inevitable as above hinted. Four acres were ricked without any rain falling after cut, the balance was thoroughly exam- ined and any that were damp was dried out thoroughly before ricking. Moreover on last Monday I examined every rick and all was perfectly cool. I was induced by a number of our neighbors saying that apparently some of their ricks would heat-so much sir for civilization. I have resided in this neighborhood when horse thieves stole horses for their value, and passed counterfeit money for their game: but now people steal horses and cut their throat out of revenge, and my ricks are on the same track. Nineteen years ago, we could go to sleep with the doors open with- out fear, but then there was some honor amongst thieves, but now in A. D. 1858 no person is safe, neither in person nor in property amongst such honest men as this neighborhood is partly composed.
Very respectfully yours,
JOHN HOLROYD. Fairfield Jackson Co .. Iowa, Aug 19, 1858.
In the same column was a U. S. marshal's sale wherein Laurel Summers U. S. Marshal of Iowa advertised No. 3 Union block for sale on a judgment against S. D. and T. Lyman.
On the same page county officers were shown to be as follows:
Bellevue County Seat. Honorable Joseph Kelso. county judge; R. B. Wyckoff, treasurer and recorder; J. M. Brokey, clerk; J. Watkins, sheriff; F. Bangs, prosecuting attorney ; Dr. J. W. Eckles, coroner Thomas C. Dar- ling, surveyor; L. L. Martin. deputy surveyor; W. Y. Earle, school fund commissioner; N. T. Wynkoop, drainage commissioner; J. P. Eddie, Supt. common schools; W. C. Bell, assessor.
Under this was a notice of Maquoketa academy, Mr. C. G. Mead, prin- cipal, and the price of tuition ranged from $4 to $10. Notice to the Public-
The electors of Jackson county, state of Iowa, are hereby notitied that a petition is signed by a majority of legal voters of Jackson county, state of Iowa, as shown in the last census, will be presented to the county court of said county and state at the next September term, asking for the removal of the county seat from the town of Bellevue, Jackson county, state of Iowa, to the city of Maquoketa, Jackson county and state aforesaid, and that it be voted upon at the next April election or legal election held for such purpose.
J. E. GOODENOW,
S. D. TUBBS,
A. G. HENDERSON.
Maquoketa, July 15th, 1858.
In that year P. B. Bradley was chairman of the Democratic County Cen- tral Committee and Wm. E. Leflingwell was candidate for congress.
In the same issue was a copy of Queen Victoria's message of congratu- lations to President Buchanan for the successful laying of the Atlantic cable and connection of the United States of America with Great Britain also the president's reply.
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More About the Thrilling Crimes in Pioneer Days.
(Compiled for the Jackson County Historical Society by J. W. Ellis, Curator )
One of the early pioneers of Jackson county, who led a checkered life made a great deal of expense for the county, and died an ignominious death, was William P. Barger. Prior to 1850 Barger with his wife and three children were living on a claim in section 13 Brandon township, Jackson county, but in 1851 Barger got the gold fever and went to California with Honorable William Morden, and others. Fortune did not smile on him however, he had a long run of fever and nothing but hard luck and it was three years before he was enabled to return to his home, in the meantime he had been reported dead. During his absence his wife Delia had been living with or cohabiting with one David McDonald, and we have been in- formed by those who were neighbors of the Barger's at the time, that there was a child born to Mrs. Barger during the absence of the said Willliam P. Barger which was a bone of contention between the couple after Barger's return. At all events Mr. and Mrs. Barger could not get along together af- ter his return, and at the April term of court 1854, Delia Barger petition- ed for a divorce from W. P. Barger and F. Seaborough was appointed to take evidence in the case.
At that time Barger was under indictment for aassault with intent to do great bodily injury, we presume on Mrs. Barger, and at the above nam- ed term of court gave bond for his appearance and got change of venue to Jones county. At the September term of court, 1854, the divorce case came up for trial and a jury was empanneled which gave Mrs. Barger a divorce and custody of all the children except the oldest who was at that time sev - enteen years old. Barger was enraged at the action of the court and threat- ened to kill Delia. He was arrested for malicious threats and the same be- ing proven he was held to keep the peace, but as he could not give bond of $500 the amount stipulated, was put in charge of the sheriff. The sheriff had confidence in Barger and allowed him to come and go where ever he pleased. A short time after and during the same month the divorce was granted, Barger went squirrel hunting with the Sheriff's rifle but instead of returning that evening he concealed himself in a lot opposite to Rev. Kirkpatrick's place in Bellevue where Mrs. Barger was staying at the time. The lot had a high board fence near the street. Through one of the boards Barger cut a hole with his knife through which he could put the riffe and remained there with the stoicism of an Indian. Mrs. Barger was warned by her brother-in-law Kirkpatrick not to go outside the door, but said she was not afraid, and in the early morning stepped out to wash when the sharp crack of a rifle was heard and the woman fell with a bullet hole
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through the heart. Barger dropped the gun and fled but was seen and re- cognized by Kirkpatrick. He was arrested and tried for murder but the matchless skill of Leffingwell baffled the prosecution and at the April term of court 1856 he was granted a change of venue to Clinton county, and was transferred to the jail in DeWitt where we will leave him for the present and take up other murder cases in Jackson county which so inflamed the people that they took the law in their own hands and brought retribution to at least two cold blooded murders.
On or about the 23rd of August 1856, George Wilson of Lamotte was threshing grain for Michael Carroll on his farm in section 27 Prairie Springs township, Jackson county. Carroll was cutting bands and a boy by name of Christopher Heidman was pitching bundles or sheafs. The machine stopped for some cause and Carroll found fault with young Heidman some- thing about the work. Hot words passed back and forth. Carroll was sharpening the butcher knife with which he had been cutting bands, when he flew into a rage and rushing at the boy he struck him in the breast with the knife cutting through a rib and through one of the main arteries caus- ing his death almost immediately. Carroll was indicted at the September term of court 1856 arraigned and sent to Clinton county on account, of insecure jail in Jackson county. There we will leave him with Barger for the present.
In 1856 there was living on the banks and near the mouth of Lytles creek in Farmers Creek township a family by name of Conklin, consisting of William Conklin, his wife and a large family of children, several of them grown up. Conklin was a rough man and had the reputation of being a hard drinker. Mrs. Conklin was a large muscular woman of the amazonian type and the progeny of the couple with two exceptions were a hard lot. On or about the 1st day of October, 1856, the neighborhood was thrown into consternation and excitement by the report that Conklin had been murder- ed by his wife, assisted by his sons, Aminadad and Elijah. The accused parties were arrested and indicted by the grand jury for the crime of murder. We will insert a copy herein of the indictment to show how such instruments were drawn fifty years ago.
State of Iowa vs Esther Conklin, Aminadad Conklin, Elijah Conklin. Indictment for murder. A true bill.
A. D. PALMER, Foreman of the Grand Jury.
Witnesses: Esther Malinda Conlin, Wlliam Conklin, Ira Edwards, Jesse Said, James HI. Said, Ann Wallace.
Presented by the foreman of the grand jury in presence of said grand jury in open court, and filed by me in open court, in presence of said grand jury this 11th day of July, 1857. I. M. BRAKEY, Clerk.
STATE OF IOWA, SS.
County of Jackson. .
In the district court of said county at a special term thereof, begun and holden on the first Monday in July in the year of our Lord one thous- and eight hundred and fifty seven.
The grand jurors within and for the county of Jackson and State of
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Iowa, being first legally convoked empanneled and sworn in open court to inquire into indictable offenses committed within the body of the county of Jackson, aforesaid in the name and by the authority of the State of Iowa upon their oaths present :
That Esther Conklin, Aminadab Conklin, and Elijah Conklin, late of the County of Jackson aforesaid, on the first day of Otober in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, at and in the county of Jackson aforesaid, with force and arms in and upon one William Conklin, in the peace of God and said state, then and there being feloniously, wil- fully, and with their malice aforethought, did make an assault, and that the said Esther Conkiln, with a certain knife of the value of 10 cents which she, the said Esther Conklin, in her right hand then and there, had and held the throat of him, the said William Conklin, feloniously. wilfully and of the malice aforethought, did strike, stab and cut and that the said Es- ther Conklin, with the knife aforesaid, with the striking, stabbing, cutting, aforesaid, did then and there give to him. the said William Conklin, in and upon the said throat of him, the said William Conklin, one mortal wound, of the length of two inches and the depth of four inches, of which said mortal wound, he the said William Conklin at and in the county aforesaid, instantly died. That Aminadab and Elijah Conklin, of the county of Jack- son, aforesaid, on the day and year last aforesaid, at the county aforesaid, feloniously and wilfully, and of their malice, aforethought were present aiding and abetting the said Esther Conklin the felony last aforesaid to do and commit And so the jurors aforesaid, do say that the said Esther Conklin, Aminadab Conkiin and Elijah Conklin, him the said William Conk- lin, in the manner and form aforesaid, then and there feloniously, wilfully- and of their malice aforethought, did kill and murder contrary to form of the statute in such cases made an provided and against the peace and dignity of the state of Iowa.
R. S. HADLEY,
Special Prosecuting Attorney of Jackson County, Iowa. I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true copy of the original indict- ment on file in my office. I. M. BRAKEY, Clerk.
July 11th, 1857, the case of the Conklins came on for hearing at the July term of the district court. R S. Hadley was appointed special prosecut- ing attorney and W. E. Leffingwell defended the Conklins. The following answer to the indictment was tiled by the defendants attorney : And now comes the defendant in her own proper person and pleads "Not Guilty" in manner and form as alleged, and of this she puts herself upon the county. signed, W. E. Leffingwell, Attorney for Defendant.
The witnesses with one exception were members of the Conklin family, or related to the Conklins, and their evidence made it appear that the old lady was acting in self defence when she struck the fatal blow. It was claimed by the Conklins that the old man attempted to assault the old lady with a butcher knife, but that she wrested the knife from him and struck him in the neck, inflicting a mortal wound. The verdict of the jury was as follows:
We the jurors find the defendant not guilty as charged in the indict-
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ment. S. Burleson, Milton Godard, George Hay, N. T. Wynkoop, D. W. Garlett, H. Noble, B. L. Stuckey, H. Thompson, Daniel Potter, Enoch Smith, John Gilmore, V. Harrington.
With the acquittal of Esther Conklin, the indictments against Amina- dab and Elijah Conklin were quashed.
The old lady and some of the younger boys were residing at Farmers Creek township about thirty years ago, but they never prospered; the stig- ma of the murder of the old man clung to them, and they were generally regarded with distrust. The boys were engaged in several escapades which cost the county a good many dollars, and it was a good job for old Jackson when they shook her dust from their feet. William Conklin, Jr., was well respected by his neighbors, as was Phoebe, who married Thomas Said, and lived on the old Conklin farm until recently. It was said that little Tom Conklin, who could not talk very pain at that time, was being questioned about the killing of his father, and he said "Minadab held dad by the hair while man cut his throat.
Away back in the eary fifties when the territory lying between the north and south branches of the Maquoketa was covered with a dense growth of primeval forest, the chief industry of the country was coopering, and almost every settler was engaged in that business. The timber consisted largely of oak. The red oak timber was converted into flour barrels, and the white oak into whiskey barrels, and pork barrels, and the principal market for this product was Galena. Living in the vicinity of Iorn Hills in 1856-7 were four or five men whose names became very prominent in the history of Jackson county. One of these, Henry Jarrett, a French Canadian, lived a few rods northwest of where George Hute now lives, and to use a common phrase, run a, cooper shop. Residing with Jarrett and working for him was Alex Grifford. a nephew aged about 21, also a French Canadian, a man by the name of John Ingalls was working for Jarrett in 1856, but Ingalls and Jarrett fell out and Ingalls moved on the farm owned by David McDonald. now owned by Ceph. Clark. McDonald was a professional horse trader and was very intimately associated with Jarrett and Ingalls and it was general- ly believed by the neighbors, that they were engaged in counterfeiting. Al- though Jarrett and Ingalls, had frequent violent quarrels they still remain- ed on visiting terms. On the 27th of March, 1857, Jarrett and his wife and young Grifford went to Ingles place ostensibly to see Mrs. Ingles who was sick at the time. McDonald was also present as were some other neighbors. The men as was quite customary in those days engaged in the pastime of shooting at a mark. Finally Alex Grifford suggested to Ingles that they go into the woods and kill a rabbit for Mrs. Ingles. Ingles consented and took an axe and Jarrett's dog and Grifford borrowed a gun, counting the bullets before starting and they set out in their quest for game. An hour later Grif- ford returned saying that he saw nothing to shoot, but that Ingles had gone on with the dog. He returned the gun with the five bullets. the exact number that he started with and McDonald tired off the gun. John Ingles never returned and three days after his disappearance a search party found him lying dead in the woods with a bullet hole in his head and Jarrett's little dog lying across his breast. He had been shot from behind and fell
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dead with his head resting on a log, and his axe lay near him just as it had fallen when he was shot. Grifford was arrested on suspicion, as it was well known he had gone to the woods with Ingles on the day of his disappear- ance, and sufficient evidence was produced at the inquest to hold him, and he was confined in the old jail at Andrew, to await the action of the grand jury at he next term of court. The neighborhood was very much excited over the cold blooded murder and the people determined that Ingles' blood should be atoned for. J. K. Landis, a bold, determined man, who was post- master at Iron Hills at the time, with the aid of James Green, a man equally bold and determined, organized a vigilance committee, and the 11th day of April, 1857, marched into Andrew and after procuring a rope and a black cloth from Levi Keck, who was clerking in a store there, pro- ceeded to the jail and demanded the keys, which were refused.
They were prepared for refusal, however, and forced an entrance with sledge hammers, placing the rope around Grifford's neck they led him to an old crooked tree which stood near the old Cobb hotel. After passing the rope over the tree the prisoner was given a chance to make a statement, but he claimed that he was innocent. The rope was tightened sufficient to choke him and he was again exhorted to confess Refusing again he was pulled up several feet from the ground and held for some time, when he was let down and resucitated and promised a trial if he would make a confes- sion. With the hope of reprieve the miserable young man confessed to the kiling of Ingles, and said that he was promised $150 by Jarrett and Dave McDonald for putting Ingles out of their wav. He had shot Ingles with a pistol. He also said that he had tried to kill Mary Saudy, a young girl then, who is now the widow of Wm. Bowling. Mary had refused to dance with him on some occasion and he laid in wait for her and fired .. a bullet through her mother's bonnet while she was milking, mistaking the old lady for the daughter. After hearing the confession, a majority of the mob was in favor of hanging him immediately, although they had promised to spare his life for the present and Capt. Landis gave the word and the soul of Alexander Grifford was launched into the great beyond. When David Mc- Donald learned of the arrest of young Grifford he fled from the country and never returned. He last was heard from in Kansas as a preacher, and a few years ago as an elder in the Mormon church at Salt Lake. The next morn-
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