USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 39
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An affray occurred in Anderson on the evening of Angust 7, 1890, that resulted in the wounding of John Davis and the death of James Benefiel, a young man who had been rather fond of Mrs. Davis before her marriage. On the date named Benefiel and a young man named Edward Brown called at the Davis home on old South Noble street. Finding no one at home they entered the house and carried away among other things a revolver belonging to Davis. While they were lingering in the neighborhood, apparently waiting for the return of the family, Davis came home and seeing that things had been disturbed went out to find an officer. Failing in this he borrowed a revolver from a friend and
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again went home, entering the house by the back way. In the meantime Mrs. Davis and her mother had returned and Benefiel insisted that Mrs. Davis come down to the gate. She at first refused, but finally stepped out in the yard and asked him what he wanted. His reply was that he had been sent by officers to search the house, but did not say what for or upon whose complaint the search was to be made.
Mrs. Davis then went back in the house and told her husband, who went to the door and ordered Benefiel and his companion to leave the place. Benefiel turned as if to depart, but after taking a few steps turned suddenly and fired, the ball taking effect in Davis' right side. Davis had at one time been a soldier in the regular army and while in serviee on the western frontier won a reputation of a marksman. He promptly responded to Benefiel's shot, the bullet entering the head just below the left eye and passing through the skull. Benefiel never recov- ered consciousness and died about 6: 30 the next morning. The coroner's jury that investigated the case found a verdict justifying Davis in his course and he was not arrested. The parents of young Benefiel lived at Elwood and were respected people, though he had formed bad associa- tions and acquired reckless habits.
A few months later, December 28, 1890, Charles Kynett was shot and killed by Edward Downey, then eity marshal of Anderson. Kynett was on one of his periodieal sprees and started a disturbance at the old Rozelle House, at the corner of Eleventh and Main streets, when the marshal was called upon to arrest him. When the officer told Kynett to behave himself the latter, instead of obeying assaulted Downey, who several times ordered him to stop or trouble would ensue. Finally the aggressor became so violent in his demonstrations that the marshal drew his revolver and fired one shot, which struck a vital part and Kynett died shortly afterward. The marshal surrendered himself to the authori- ties, but the coroner's jury brought in a verdict that the shooting was justified and in self-defense. Kynett was a laborer and when not in his eups was an average citizen, but when drinking he was inclined to be boisterous and quarrelsome. Marshal Downey expressed his regret at the unfortunate incident and it is said was much relieved when his term as marshal expired.
As a result of a quarrel among neighbors, in which several families were involved, John Moriarty shot McLelland Streets at the corner of Main and Ninth streets, in the city of Anderson, about ten o'clock on the morning of April 10, 1893. The report of the pistol attracted a crowd and Edward King took Moriarty into custody until the arrival of the officers. The general impression was that Moriarty, who ordinarily was a peaceable man and law-abiding citizen, had lost his reason over the trivial affairs that led up to the shooting, and it is said was never the same afterward. He was arrested and placed in jail, where he managed to commit suicide on June 16, 1893, by hanging himself to the bedstead in his cell. Little was known of Streets, who had been a resident of the city but a short time. and the sympathies of the community were generally with the family of Moriarty.
About 1894 the boom which followed the discovery of natural gas was at its height. Just as the so-called "sporting element" is attracted
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to rich mining camps, so the same class of people is drawn to cities that are enjoying a period of industrial activity, in the hope of garner- ing some "easy money." At the time mentioned Anderson had a number of saloons with wine rooms attached and on May 26, 1894, a young man known as "Dote" Mccullough was killed in one of these places, con- ducted by a man named Welsh, on North Main street. It seems that young Mccullough had become enamored of a certain Laura Skidmore, a woman of questionable reputation, and upon the evening of May 26th he entered the wine rooms at Welsh's place to find her in the com- pany of another man. He immediately began making threats of what he would do to the couple, when Dora Welsh came in and ordered him out of the place. Mccullough went, but in about five minutes came back with a revolver in his hand and declared he would kill Welsh, at whom he leveled his gun. Welslı sprang toward the young man and struck down his arm just as he fired, the ball taking effect in Welsh's thigh. The two then clinched, but Welsh managed to draw his own revolver, broke away and fired suddenly, the bullet crashing through Mccullough's head, kill- ing him almost instantly.
Welsh was taken in charge by the police, the coroner was notified and the usual inquest in such cases was held over the body of the slain man. At the preliminary hearing Welsh was acquitted on the grounds that he acted in self-defense. The incident had a salutary effect upon Anderson, inasmuch as it brought about a better enforcement of law and rid the city of some of its undesirable characters.
During the four score and ten years that have passed since the county of Madison was first organized, a number of homicides. cold- blooded murders, or brawls in which one or more of the participants met death have occurred within her borders. Yet it is true that her people, as a rule, have been no more turbulent nor less law-abiding than those of other counties. To describe in detail all these unfortunate events would require a volume, and the above cases have been selected because they were of unusually heinous character or surrounded by an atmosphere of mystery that made them more than a "nine days' wonder."
On the evening of July 9, 1913, at the little town of Ingalls, a hom- icide occurred that attracted far more than ordinary attention on account of the prominence of the parties engaged. Some time before that an election had been held in Green township under the local option law and the people had voted that no intoxicating liquors should be sold in the township. As is always the case, this mandate of the people, as well as the law, was disregarded and liquors were sold. Early in June, 1913, Constable Albert Hawkins, of Anderson, conducted a raid on the hotel of Ingalls and confiscated a quantity of liquor and the fixtures. W. W. Brown, proprietor of the hotel and trustee of Green township, naturally did not feel kindly toward the constable. In the meantime Hawkins went to a hospital in Indianapolis, where he under- went an operation. It is thought that on his way back to his home in Anderson from the hospital he stopped off at Ingalls on the evening of July 9, 1913. Town Marshal Manifold stated that lie met the con-
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stable that evening and that Ilawkins told him he was there on business, but did not expect to make any arrests.
About 10:30 that evening, according to newspaper accounts of the affair, the body of Hawkins was found lying in the street in front of Alfont's store, a short distance south of the Union Traction line. Ear- lier in the evening he had been standing in front of the hotel, but had gone up the street and for an hour before the finding of his body had not been seen. At 10:10 an interurban ear arrived at Ingalls from Indianapolis and four young men-Raymond Higgs, Fred Piper, George Kuhn and Lester Copeland-who had been spending the evening at Fortville, alighted from the ear. Some of them afterward stated that when they stepped from the ear they noticed three men in front of the hotel who appeared to be quarreling. A little while later Fred Piper, while on his way home, heard a man groaning. He hurried to the home of J. M. Roberts and told him that some man up the street was hurt, perhaps killed. Mr. Roberts, who had not yet retired, started toward the spot and on the way met Marshal Manifold. About one hun- dred feet south of the Union Traetion line, at a dark spot in front of Al- font's store, they found the body of Albert Hawkins. An artery in the neck had been severed and blood was still issuing from the wound, al- though the man was dead. There was also a gash about an inch and a half in length on his right side.
Coroner Albright, Sheriff Black and one of his deputies left Ander- son on the 11:15 ear for Ingalls and arrived there before the body had been disturbed. The officers went to work on a elue and soon ascer- tained that the two men suspected were still in Ingalls. The sheriff summoned Prosecutor Shuman by telephone and that officer, aecom- panied by Deputy Sheriff Ambrose, hurried to Ingalls in an automobile. All trains were watched, the house of one of the citizens, in which the men were supposed to be hiding, was surrounded and every precaution taken to prevent any one from leaving or entering the town without being observed and identified. Notwithstanding all these measures, Trustee Brown and his son, William, Jr., twenty-seven years of age, managed to elude the vigilanee of the officers and at one o'clock on the morning of the 10th arrived at the county jail in Anderson and gave themselves up to the turnkey. The young man stated that he had killed Albert Hawkins and was locked up, the father waiting in the office of the jail for the officers to return. Sheriff Blaek received word at Green- field, whither he had gone in the effort to intereept Brown and his son, that they were at the Madison county jail, and hurried baek to Ander- son. While waiting for the sheriff's arrival the elder Brown gave out the following statement, which was published in the Anderson Herald of that date :
"I was in Fortville last evening and returned to Ingalls on the 10 o'clock traction ear. When I stepped from the ear, my boy, William, was sitting in front of the hotel erying. When I asked him what was the trouble, he told me that Constable Hawkins, of Anderson, was going to kill him. The boy is a little hard of hearing and easily angered. He told me that he had met Hawkins last evening in Phillips' groecry, in the north end of Ingalls, and at that time Ilawkins showed a revolver Vol. 1-21
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and told the boy that he was in Ingalls watching, and was going to kill some one before leaving. Hawkins and my son had some words and all evening Hawkins seemed to be looking for trouble. Late in the even- ing my son and I started home and Hawkins followed us across the street. They had a few words in the middle of the street and Hawkins still followed ns. In front of Alfont's store they mixed and it was then that Hawkins started to draw a gun on my son and William cut at Hawkins, stabbing him in the neck. My son did it in self-defense, hav- ing been followed by Hawkins all evening and threatened many times."
The case against Brown and his son at this writing is still pending. Soon after his being confined in the jail, Mr. Brown's bondsmen asked to be released, but he filed a new bond and is still trustee of Green town- ship, transacting much of the township business in jail, or in some of the county offices, where he is taken under guard for the purpose.
On the night of November 12, 1851, the buildings on the south side of the public square in Anderson were destroyed by fire. The fire originated in the frame building at the southeast corner of the square occupied by Sherman & Wolf as a fanning mill factory. It was dis- covered shortly after midnight and was supposed to have been of in- cendiary origin. Next to Sherman & Wolf's place was a small frame cottage, at that time unoccupied. The next building was a three-story frame, in the lower story of which was Joseph Fulton's clothing store. Next to that was the shop of Adam Reed, a hatter, and the next build- ing was the general store of Dr. Townsend Ryan. Then came the Myers House, a two-story log structure owned and occupied by "Uncle Billy" Myers as a tavern, and just back of it, fronting on Meridian street, was a livery stable. All these buildings, with a lot of personal property contained in them at the time, were totally destroyed and the loss fell entirely upon the owners, as no insurance companies were at that time represented in Anderson. The entire population turned out and did all that could be done to check the ravages of the flames, but the facilities for fire fighting were of the most primitive character and all their efforts were without avail. Three men-William R. O'Neil, Seth Smith and James Kindle-while trying to save their effects were so seriously affected by inhaling the heated air that they died within a short time after the fire.
In November, 1866, an old frame livery barn on Main street, between Ninth and Tenth streets, caught fire about 9 o'clock in the evening and in a short time was wrapped in flames. The loft was filled with hay and straw, which burned furiously, and it was with difficulty that the horses and vehicles were saved. The United States hotel on the cor- ner and the Ross house were near the burning building and were in imminent danger. In fact it looked for a time as though the entire block was doomed. Anderson had been incorporated as a city only the year before and no fire department had as yet been organized. No effort was made to save the burning barn, but Captain W. R. Myers, Major C. T. Doxey and Joseph Pickard organized the citizens into a "bueket brigade" and directed a systematic work in saving the adjacent build- ings. Many of the women brought ont their bedclothes, which were saturated with water and spread over the roofs. Pickard's hands and
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face were so badly burned during his fight against this fire that he car- ried the sears through life. Through the heroic efforts of the people a heavy property loss was averted.
On December 14, 1871, the plant of the Anderson Foundry and Ma- chine Works was destroyed by fire, but the plant was in such an isolated position that no danger to other buildings was feared. The works were soon rebuilt on a larger seale than before the fire.
One of the most disastrous fires in Anderson started about midnight on May 17, 1875, near the middle of the block on the west side of the publie square and spread in both directions. The Odd Fellows' build- ing. at the southwest corner of Ninth and Meridian streets, was the only really substantial building on that side of the square, the others being cheap frame structures that furnished excellent food for the flames. An alarm was sounded, the people turned out and in a short time the bucket brigade was in action. A line was formed from the public well to the blazing buildings and buckets of water were passed from hand to hand as rapidly as they could be filled at the pump. Those not thus engaged were busy in the effort to save some of the goods in the various iner- eantile houses along the street. Among those who suffered the heaviest losses by this conflagration were: Nichol, King & Makepeace, hardware dealers on the ground floor of the Odd Fellows' building; the Anderson Democrat, on the second floor of the same building; the law offices of Calvin D. Thompson and Sansberry & Goodykoontz, on the same floor as the Democrat office; Bliss' confectionery store; the shoe stores of L. M. Cox and Ryan & Broadbeck; the American Express Company, and the bakery of George Daich. The Donocrat lost not only the ma- terials of the printing office, but also the files of the paper and other valuable property.
A smart breeze was blowing at the time and this carried sparks and embers some distance to the southwest, threatening the destruction of that section of the city. Carpets were quiekly torn from the floors, bedclothing was taken from the beds, and these were saturated with water and spread over the roofs, thus preventing the spread of the flames. Holes were burned in many of the quilts and carpets, but the homes were saved.
The Doxey Opera House on Meridian street, one of the most impos- ing private edifices in Anderson at that time, was totally destroyed by fire on the night of November 14, 1884. It is thought that the fire orig- inated in the rear part of Hurst's livery stable, immediately south of the theater. Anderson was without an adequate fire department and a telegram was sent to Indianapolis asking for assistance. The authorities of that eity started an engine and a supply of hose on a special train for Anderson and had reached Brightwood, when a second message was sent eountermanding the request, the fire by that time having gained sneh headway that no assistance would be of any benefit. A theatrical company had just concluded a performance when the fire was discovered and the members of this company rendered efficient service in saving some of the interior furnishings, though practically everything con- neeted with the theater perished in the flames.
Directly after the fire L. J. Burr, II. J. Bronnenberg and others
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joined with Major Doxey in rebuilding the opera house, a stock com- pany being formed for the purpose, with Major Doxey at the head. Subsequently he purchased the stock of his associates and became the sole proprietor of the theater. Although the second building was not quite as elaborate as the former one, it was one of the finest opera houses in eentral Indiana, outside of Indianapolis. It was opened to the pub- lie on the evening of November 19, 1885, and for more than eight years was Anderson's chief place of amusement. On the night of March 30, 1893, the second building was burned. The origin of the fire on this oceasion is not definitely known, but it was thought to have been started by a gas jet which was left burning near some of the draperies of the stage. With the loss of this building Major Doxey gave up the idea of providing a theater for the people of Anderson. He accordingly sold the property to Louis Loeb and A. J. Brunt, who rebuilt it as a busi- ness bloek.
On the morning of July 13, 1886, fire broke out in a row of wooden buildings at the corner of Ninth and Meridian streets at an early hour, before many people were on the streets. The fire was first discovered in the grocery of Irey brothers by a night watchman named Wolf, who im- mediately gave the alarm. Before the fire could be checked the gro- eery in which it started, the millinery store of Miss Carrie Dodd, the meat market belonging to the Rhoads brothers, Minor Barett's shoe store, the United States express office, and the agricultural warehouse of B. F. Alford were totally destroyed. It is said that about two weeks before the fire a pile of shavings saturated with kerosene was found in the basement under the grocery and many believe the fire to have been of ineendiary origin. The buildings burned were the property of Hes- ter Neely, who rebuilt some of them and others were rebuilt under leases.
The old Adams block at the corner of Eighth and Main streets, one of the landmarks of Anderson, was completely destroyed by fire on the morning of August 16, 1888. It was built by Robert Adams in 1867- 68 and at the time of its erection was one of the best business blocks in the eity. The fire was discovered about four o'clock in the morning by Randle Biddle, a night watchman, who immediately turned in an alarm. Anderson now had a fire department, but for some reason it was slow in responding on this oeeasion, and when it arrived the fire was beyond control. Attention was therefore turned to saving the ad- joining buildings, in which the department was successful. A dry goods store on the ground floor, the offices of Judge Lake and William Roaeh and the rooms occupied by Benjamin Roadeap, Joseph Carr and Samuel Sykes on the second floor, and the cigar factory of Purcell & Ehli on the third floor suffered practically a total loss. There were also a grocery and barber shop on the ground floor that were considerably damaged.
Captain Frederiek Tykle, of Middletown, the owner of the building at the time of the fire, offered the property to his son-in-law, John H. Terhune, if he would ereet a building upon the site. The offer was accepted and Mr. Terhune built the When block, which was destroyed by an explosion of natural gas some years later, and the Phoenix block was then erected upon the corner. It is still standing.
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The burning of the Boring-Hannah bloek, on the north side of the publie square in Anderson, December 7, 1890, is of historie interest, because the Daily Bulletin office occupied the entire second floor of the building. James W. Knight, one of the owners of the paper, was sleep- ing in the building and gave the alarm. The fire originated in the base- ment in the bakery of William Williams, and was started by a burning gas jet. Mr. Knight, knowing that two young men employed by Wil- liams roomed on the main floor, aroused them just in the nick of time to save their lives. The greatest loss fell upon the owners of the build- ing, R. H. Hannah, of Alexandria, and James W. Sansberry, of All- derson, the Bulletin Company, Mr. Williams and W. S. Shirk, who had a jewelry store in the block. The newspaper and Mr. Williams were amply protected by insurance, but the files of the paper ean never be replaced. The publishers showed their enterprise by getting out their regular daily edition, the publishers of other papers coming to their assistance by tendering the use of their presses. A new building was immediately erected upon the site.
About six o'eloek on the evening of Mareh 1, 1893, Mrs. J. O. Hard- esty heard the erackling of flames, and upon looking out of her window discovered that the Olympie theater building, only a few feet distant, was on fire. A. J. Jones, the hardware man, notieed the fire about the same time and sent in a still alarm. The department responded promptly and then began one of the most strenuous fights ever experienced by that organization. At the time the building was oeeupied by the Colum- bia Rifles as an armory. Private John Hopper, a member of the eom- pany, afterward reported that he had left the armory only about fifteen minutes before the fire was discovered by Mrs. Hardesty, but that before his departure he had turned all gas jets down low enough to be perfeetly safe, as he thought. As the fire originated under the stage, it was difficult for the department to reach it, and for nearly two hours they battled with the flames before they were extinguished. The build- ing was a wreek and the military company lost most of its arms and equipments.
There have been a number of other fires in Anderson besides the ones already enumerated. Perhaps the most noted of these were the burn- ing of Conrad & Mathes' wagon shop in June, 1867; the destruction of the old hotel known as the "Junction House" on February 23, 1868; the heading factory of C. T. Doxey & Company on January 3, 1873; the Adams heading factory at the junction of the Big Four and Pan Handle railroads on September 5, 1887: the Fisher snath and cradle factory on February 19, 1888; and the destruction of the Amer- ican Wire Nail Works on March 13, 1890.
The Junction House stood at the erossing of the Big Four and Pan Handle railroads and was a stopping place for all through trains, to give passengers an opportunity to get something to eat. That was before the days of dining ears, and the old hotel at the Anderson junction was well known to the traveling public. HI. L. Searle was the proprietor for several years and under his management the house won a high repu- tation. It was never rebuilt.
The American Wire Nail Company sustained a heavy loss by the
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burning of the mills, the insurance of $50,000 not being sufficient to replace the buildings and machinery destroyed. In this emergency the Anderson Board of Trade and some of the liberally inclined citizens came forward with offers of assistance and in a short time the mills were rebuilt on a larger scale than before the fire.
Several disastrous fires have occurred in the city of Elwood. On the morning of September 18, 1872, the large flour and saw mills of John T. Adair caught fire about three o'clock, or a little before, and were entirely consumed, although the "bucket brigade" responded promptly and worked heroically to save the mills. The total loss was in the neighborhood of $20,000, all of which feli upon Mr. Adair, as he earried no insurance. This loss fell so heavily that he never fully re- gained his former financial status, and it is said to have destroyed in some measure his usefulness as a business man.
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