USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical sketches and reminiscences of Madison county, Indiana : a detailed history of the early events of the pioneer settlement of the county, and many of the happenings of recent years, as well as a complete history of each township, to which is added numerous incidents of a pleasant nature, in the way of reminiscences, and laughable occurrences > Part 35
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On the morning of July 8th, 1894, some children discoy- ered the body of a man lying near the Pan Handle railway tracks, a short distance from the Diamond Plate Glass Works in the northern part of the city of Elwood. The fact that the body had been found was immediately reported and a mes- senger sent to Coroner Armington, who repaired to Elwood to hold an inquest and investigate the matter. The remains were seen and identified as those of William Foust, a farmer living north of Elwood, who, at the time of the investigation held by the Coroner, was supposed to have been run over by a train and killed. During the examination of the body Dr. Armington discovered a small wound just below the left collar bone, and he at once decided that the man had been murdered 57
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and placed where the body was found, as it was cold and stiff when taken in charge. After an examination into all the facts that he could obtain, Dr. Armington returned a verdict set- ting forth that the deceased had come to his death from a pistol shot wound made by some person unknown to him.
The fact that the Coroner had placed the responsibility of Foust's death upon some unknown person caused no end of speculation concerning the tragic affair, and for weeks the murder was the principal topic of conversation in Elwood and vicinity. The mystery surrounding it had a fascination that could not be dispelled, especially in the mind of Mr. Dean, the Deputy Sheriff of the county, who resided in Elwood. He was impressed with the idea that the murder was com- mitted near the place where the body was found, and he began a process of reasoning which finally brought about the appre- hension of the criminals.
Living near the place where the body was found was a Mrs. Margaret Bolton, a widow, and her two sons, Clifford and Ephraim, aged nine and twelve years. Mrs. Bolton did not bear the best reputation and Dean was aware that she had sometimes persons of shady character about her premises, and also the fact that George Hires, William Cox and others had been seen in the vicinity of her home at different times under circumstances that left no doubt as to the knowledge on their part of her character. He put this fact along with that inde- scribable feeling that comes over a man when following a pur- pose, and he felt confident that Foust had been murdered in Mrs. Bolton's house. How to ascertain the actual facts now became the burden of his mind. Some time after the murder Mrs. Bolton and her two sons were admitted to the county infirmary, where she remained but a short time, and subse- quently left that institution and went to Kokomo, leaving her two sons at the poor farmn.
Dean was aware of this fact and on a visit to the city of Anderson on business connected with his duties as Deputy Sheriff, requested James Starr, the son of the Sheriff, to drive him to the poor farm, stating that he wanted to procure if possible, by an interview with the Bolton boys, any evidence that they might possess in relation to the murder. Sheriff Starr willingly consented.
Dean and James Starr accordingly visited the infirmary and the boys revealed the story of the crime. Ephraim, the older of the boys, did the talking. He said that on the night
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of July 7, George Hires and William Cox came to their house and that later on Ephraim and George Crull came in. The inen were drunk and indulged in loud talking. He said that he and his brother were not alarmed for the reason that men often came to the house at night. A little before dawn of the next morning he got up and went to the pump in the back vard to get a drink of water. As he passed the kitchen door he saw several men seated at the table playing cards and Will- iam Cox in another room with his mother. As he came back to the house he met his brother Clifford at the door, who also saw the men and became very angry and threw a stool at them. A little later William Foust came in the room, where the men were seated, and upset some whisky that was on the table, and Hires and Foust got into a quarrel. Hires jumped up and pointed a revolver at Foust, calling him foul names, and informed him that he was not wanted there, at the same time firing his pistol. Foust sank into his chair and almost immediately died ; their mother came in at this time and she and her two boys ran into another room, locking the door. After everything had become quiet they came out. but the men were gone, as well as the body of Foust.
This story of the boy was afterwards reiterated in sub- stance before the Grand Jury in an investigation of the case, and an indictment found and warrants were issued for the arrest of George Hires, William Cox, Ephraim Crull and George Crull, for murder.
The men all resided in Tipton county, and just how to successfully carry out the intention of the officers was a mat- ter of no little concern to the Sheriff. As before stated in this article, he called to his assistance Detective Mat Moore and Captain Coburn. They planned that Coburn should go to Kokomo, where Mrs. Bolton was then living, and place her under arrest, and as soon as she was placed in custody to pro- ceed to the homes of the other parties in the case and place them under arrest also.
Captain Coburn performed his part of the plan without delay, and in a very satisfactory manner. Immediately after Coburn's return with the Bolton woman in charge, it was sug- gested that the Sheriff, with a number of deputies and a detail of police, should go to Elwood on an engine used in the Pan Handle yards. Detective Moore made satisfactory arrange- ments with the Pan Handle Railroad Company, and at 6 o'clock a. m. the engine pulled out of the yards at Anderson
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for Elwood. On board were the Sheriff, John Starr, his dep- uties, James Starr and Warren Copper, Captain Amos Co- burn, Detective Mat Moore and Patrolmen Mark Robbins and Alonzo Pence, of the Anderson police force. The trip to El- wood was made in a few minutes. After arriving there the officers got off the engine, went to the home of ex-Sheriff Thomas Moore, and secured his services in the case. The posse then divided into three squads, each one of which went in search of its particular man. Hires was arrested at his home in Tipton county, about four miles northwest of El- wood. Ephraim Crull was arrested at a country literary enter- tainment, three miles west of Elwood. Cox, who worked at the chimney flue glass factory, was arrested just as he was returning from his daily work. George Crull beheld the off- cers coming and succeeded in getting away, but not before he had been stopped by Captain Coburn and questioned as to his name and where he was going. He gave satisfactory answers and was permitted to go on. He had been gone but a short time when it was discovered that he was the party named in the warrant. But it was useless for the officers to try to overtake him, and they were therefore compelled to return to Anderson without him.
None of the men made any resistance; but each one declared not only his innocence of the crime, but his ability to establish that fact before a jury.
In a conversation with Mrs. Bolton by the officers she made statements that established, beyond a doubt, the guilt of the arrested parties.
Great credit was due to Deputy Sheriff Dean for his skill in unraveling the mystery and bringing about the arrest of the criminals.
At the March term of the Madison Circuit Court, 1895, George Hires, the central figure in the case, was placed upon trial before the Hon. Alfred Ellison, Judge. The Judge, realizing the enormity of the crime, spared no pains in every way consistent with his position to bring the guilty party to justice. He therefore appointed W. H. Kittinger and Edward Reardon to assist Prosecutor D. W. Scanlan on behalf of the State. The defense was represented by Greenlee &' Call, of Elwood, and George M. Ballard, of Anderson. The trial lasted for many days, and large crowds of witnesses from Elwood and the surrounding country were in attendance.
The prosecution was handled in an able manner by Pros-
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ecutor Scanlan and his associates, and nothing was left undone by the defense to prevent a conviction of their client. On the 6th of April the jury returned a verdict convicting Hires, and placed upon him a punishment of thirteen years in the peni- tentiary at hard labor.
On the 17th of April following the trial the community and the court officials were startled by the report that Mrs. Bolton had made a confession to Sheriff Starr in the Madison county jail that she was the guilty party, and that Hires was innocent of the crime, and that it was she who fired the fatal shot which caused the death of Foust. The news spread at once throughout the city and county and caused great excite- ment and endless comment. But little credence was given the story, as it was thought that Mrs. Bolton, realizing the enfeebled condition of her health, she being then a great sufferer, had concluded that she had but a short time to live, and that no conviction could be obtained against her before her death ; that she desired to obtain the release of Hires from prison, and of his ultimate acquittal, and therefore made this confession. The news was at once conveyed by Sheriff Starr to Judge Ellison, who immediately went to the jail, where he had an interview with Mrs. Bolton, in which she reiterated her confession to Sheriff Starr. The Judge, however, gave but little credit to her words, and afterwards visited Mrs. Bolton at St. John's Hospital, where she had been taken for treat- ment, and in company with Dr. Callens, a professional hypno- tist, held an interview with her. The hypnotist immediately placed her under mesmeric influence, and she again reiterated her story as told to the Judge and the Sheriff on the previous occasions. The Judge did not attach much importance to her story, and no effort was made on the part of the prosecution to obtain a release from imprisonment of Hires.
When the time arrived for the trial of Ephraim and George Crull, a change of venue was taken from Madison county, and their cases were sent to Kokomo. When the trial began the same witnesses appeared on either side as in the Hires case at Anderson. Young Bolton told the same story that he had testified to on the former trial. After all the evi- dence had been heard and the arguments were made a verdict of not guilty was rendered as to the defendants. Thus ended, so far as the courts were concerned, this celebrated case. The real facts surrounding this mystery will perhaps, never be known to the community at large. As a general thing, well-
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informed people believe that George Hires was the guilty party who fired the fatai shot which ended Foust's life.
At one stage of the proceedings in ferreting out this case some suspicion was directed toward Chief Toler, of the Elwood police force, and strong efforts were made to bring him in as one of the suspected parties, but sufficient evidence was never obtained to connect him directly with this affair.
William Cox, one of the defendants, was tried by a jury at the June term of the Howard County Court and received a sentence of two years in the State's prison at Michigan City.
It is to be hoped that the future of Madison county may never again be clouded by the occurrence of such a tragedy.
In writing this article, we have endeavored to be impar- tial to all parties connected with it, and have simply recorded the facts as they are, without a comment from our pen. The above account as stated by us is almost wholly taken from the Anderson Democrat of February 6, 1895, which gave a very concise statement of the facts developed in this case.
No case in the annals of crime has so puzzled officers of the law, except it be the celebrated Clem murder case, at In- dianapolis, in 1868. There seems to have existed in the minds of the jury some doubt as to Hires' guilt, from the fact that they gave him so light a sentence.
The final scene in this mysterious tragedy occurred in El- wood, on the 13th of May, 1896, when Mrs. B. F. McFar- land, a daughter of William Foust, the murdered man, com- mitted suicide, after brooding over her father's death until she lost her reason.
ACCIDENT TO DR. S. W. EDWINS.
On the 13th of September, 1895, Doctor S. W. Edwins, of Elwood, while attempting to cross the tracks of the L. E. & W. Railroad, was run over by a train of cars and was very seriously injured, and up to this writing has not fully recov- ered. He was in a buggy in company with a lady friend, who was also seriously injured. The horse which he drove was killed and the buggy torn into fragments. Doctor Edwins, having recovered sufficiently to be about, brought suit against the railroad company for damage to his person and property, which suit is yet pending in the courts. The many friends of the Doctor were pained to learn of his being maimed in such a manner as to practically unfit him to attend to his large and lucrative practice which he enjoyed prior to this accident.
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CUT IIIS THROAT.
On the 9th of May, 1896, Charles Vanness attempted to take his life at Elwood by cutting his throat. He made a horrible wound, almost severing the jugular vein. It was thought that his recovery was beyond a possibility, but Dr. S. W. Edwins performed the difficult operation of sewing up the wound, being one of the first cases on record in the State where the jugular vein was sewed successfully and the victim survived.
KILLED BY THE CARS.
On Monday, January 27, 1896, a shocking casualty occurred at Elwood. James Gelispe, a young glass worker, met a sudden and horrible death.
Gelispe was at the Pan Handle depot as local freight No. 77 pulled out, and at the crossing of South B street fell between two cars in such a manner that the wheels passed over his neck and both wrists, completely severing his head and his hands from the body. A large crowd of people was soon attracted to the spot and Coroner Sells was at once telegraphed.
It is generally supposed that Gelispe attempted to board the moving train to ride from the depot to the post-office, which is a few squares north. Owing to the slow speed at which trains must travel this practice had become quite com- mon, especially on freight trains. He was a single man, well known and liked among glass workers.
No one saw the affair, and he was not discovered until the train had passed over him.
Coroner Sells at once visited the scene of the accident and held an inquest, returning a verdict of accidental killing, hold- ing the railroad company blameless.
FOURTH OF JULY ACCIDENT.
During the celebration of the Fourth of July at Elwood in the year 1896, Charles Adair, a workman employed by the American Tin Plate Company, had his right arm blown off near the elbow by the explosion of a " cannon " fire-cracker.
He was enjoying the sports of the day with friends and was shooting one of those large toy crackers which are dis- charged with a fuse. It had been fired and set down in the street and Adair was awaiting the result when it appeared to him that the fuse had gone out, when he picked it up to exam-
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ine it, and it immediately exploded with the result as above stated.
Dr. Newcomer, the physician at the tin plate works, was summoned and amputated the wounded member.
Adair was a young man about twenty-five years of age and was well respected by the people of Elwood, and much sympathy was expressed in his behalf, and quite a gloom was cast over the festivities of the day.
MISCELLANEOUS-ELWOOD LIGIITED BY ELECTRICITY.
The striking of natural gas at Elwood brought to its bor- ders, like all other towns in the gas belt, a large influx of pop- ulation from all quarters of the country. Money began to be made and house building progressed to such an extent that it astonished the old timers who looked upon what was being done with amazement and Elwood grew at once to be quite a city.
Such a thing as electricity for the lighting of the streets of that hamlet was a thing that had never been dreamed of until in the summer of 1891 when a movement was put on foot to have the streets illuminated. There was much contention as to the best means of doing so. Some contended for light- ing with natural gas, while others advocated the establishing of iron posts similar to the ones used in the old system of arti- ficial gas lighting, but the ideas of the progressive element pre- vailed and the use of electricity was agreed upon and on the 1st of August, 1891, the elegant electric light power house was completed and at 3 o'clock in the morning the button was pushed by the electrician and Elwood sprang forth in all her magnificence and beauty, being one of the best lighted cities in the state. The Elwood band was brought ont and discoursed stirring music up and down the principal thoroughfares and a general good time was had celebrating this event. The plant is a splendid one and the city can well feel proud of it, although it has been twice wrecked, once by a gas explosion and once by that of a steam boiler explosion. It has been rebuilt and is still one of the features of the city. From time to time the plant has been increased to meet the requirements and demands of the growing population until it is at this writing second to none in the county.
ELWOOD'S PRIZE DRILL COMPANY.
For several years Elwood held the proud distinction of having the best drilled "Canton of Odd Fellows " in the
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United States. Captain Nett Nuzum was their drill master and had them disciplined in the highest style. They won many prizes in local contests in the county during the period of their organization, but the crowning event of their existence occurred at St. Louis on the 22nd of September, 1891, when they entered at a meeting of all Cantons and competed for a prize of $1,000, which they captured. A dispatch from St. Louis appeared in the Democrat of September 23rd, giving the following confirmed notice : "The weather was very hot and oppressive, especially for the uniformed Cantons. The maneuvers were carried out splendidly. The draw of lots for position in the Canton drill resulted as follows : . First Canton, number 3, of St. Joseph, Missouri, Captain, P. M. Aber- crombrie ; second Canton, Elwood, number 33, department of Indiana. Captain, Nett Nuzum : third Canton. of Indianapolis, Ind., Captain, J. M. Bodien." The contest was one of the hottest fought battles in this line that ever occurred in the United States. Captain Nuzum, after a severe contest, came out the winner.
Upon receiving the news of the Canton's success, the people of Elwood were wild with joy, and upon their arrival home a grand reception was given in their honor. Captain Nuzum is one of the finest looking officers in full uniform that one can see in many a day's travel. He is still a resident of Elwood and highly respected by the community.
THE ELWOOD CEMETERY ASSOCIATION.
Elwood has one of the handsomest cemeteries in Madison county. It is situated on a beautiful knoll just west of the main part of the city, and is easy of access by brick-paved streets, of which Elwood has many. This association was incorporated in April, 1895. by Daniel King, Dr. Daniel Sig- ler, Thomas DeHority, L. M. Good and Lewis Hefner, who are the present officers of the association.
The place was long a burying ground before its incor- poration, perhaps as far back as 1854, but was simply a vil- lage burying ground, with no one responsible for its care, and was kept up by those who had friends buried there. The rapid building up of the city made it necessary to have an in- corporated cemetery, with a system of management, and the enterprising gentlemen whose names appear above came to the front and filled the want of the community in this regard.
Among the prominent people lying at rest in this beauti-
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ful cemetery is the late Dr. James M. DeHority, who is placed in a family vault, erected in 1882. Mrs. Fiora May Howe, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. S. W. Edwins, whose sad death is yet fresh in the minds of her many friends, is also sleeping in the handsome vault erected by Dr. Edwins, an illustration of which is given on this page.
This is the finest receptacle for the dead in Madison county, and is a credit not only to its builder but to the city in which it is located. It cost the goodly sum of $4,000. and is built of finely dressed Bedford stone, presenting a beau- tiful exterior, and is handsomely arranged inside the walls with marble cases, urns, and stone vases for flowers.
Dr. Edwins has spared neither pains nor money to make this not only a credit to himself and a monument to the mem-
THE EDWINS VAULT.
ory of his beloved daughter, but to make it one of the substan- tial evidences of the taste and refinement of the community in which he lives ; one that the people of Elwood can well feel proud of and point to as a remembrance of the Doctor long after he has passed beyond, and has been placed beside his loving daughter, who has gone before him to that land from whence no traveler returns.
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BURNING OF THE EXCELSIOR FACTORY AT ELWOOD.
Leeson & March, during the year 1888, owned and oper- ated an excelsior factory at Elwood. It caught fire on the 20th of December of that year and was utterly destroyed. The fire had been put out under the boiler in order to enable some men to do work there. The machinery was running, although the gas was turned off from the boilers where they were mak- ing some changes. It was thought that the changes could be made in a very few minutes, and instead of cutting off the gas at the street, the pipe leading into the engine-room was simply closed. A section of the pipe was taken off, and the gas rushed into the engine-room in a great volume, and as the brick and iron were still redhot, the gas ignited, and, as a result, the building was soon a mass of flames. In the build- ing there was an unusual quantity of shavings and sawdust, and in a very short peroid the whole structure was in a blaze. Adam Miller and Michael Glaspy were at work in the engine- room, and were very severely burned. Miller was so severely injured that it was thought for a while that he would lose his life, as he inhaled the flames while endeavoring to effect an escape. He lay for several days in a critical condition. The factory had just been rebuilt and enlarged, and was doing a splendid business. The loss was $4,000, without any insur- ance.
FRANKTON AND VICINITY - ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS BOILER EXPLOSION.
On or about the 9th day of August, 1877, the people of Frankton and vicinity were startled about 9 o'clock in the morning by a terrific sound and by the shaking of the window panes in the houses and the trembling of the earth as if an earthquake had taken place. The people ran from their places of business and from their houses to ascertain the cause of this commotion but were unable from any indications in the village to account for it. A messenger soon made his appearance and brought news that an engine connected with the thresh- ing machine owned by James Ruth, which was threshing wheat on the farm of Samuel Beck, a few miles distant, had exploded its boiler. The engine was torn to atoms and was sent in all directions through the air like bullets shot from a gun. One of the men named Frank Melson, the engineer, was terribly lacerated and wounded in several places, having the
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left thumb torn off and receiving several wounds about the head.
The news spread throughout the country in a short while and people from all directions were at the scene of the disaster. It was a wonder to all who witnessed the wreck how it was possible that such a mishap could take place in the presence of so many people who were connected with the machine, and who had assisted in the threshing, without some one being killed. No cause could be assigned for the explosion other than that the engineer neglected to keep a suffi- cient amount of water in the boiler. One of the pieces of the boiler was thrown a quarter of a mile, and a wagon standing near by was literally blown to pieces. The threshing machine was standing still at the time of the explosion and was not materially injured. Dr. S. W. Edwins, of Frankton, and Dr. John E. Canaday, now a resident of Anderson, and ex- Auditor of Madison county, were called to dress the wounds of the unfortunate man. Later in the afternoon Dr. G. F. Chittenden and Horace E. Jones were called in consultation with the above physicians, when it was decided that with proper care Melson would recover from his injuries, which proved to be the case. He is now living somewhere in this county. This was one of the most serious accidents that ever occurred in the vicinity of Frankton and was the talk of the neighborhood for months and years afterwards.
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