USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 14
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Green was indieted in October, 1880, and gave bond for $1.000. At the April term, 1881, he was tried at Shelbyville and acquitted. It was a trial that ex- cited the interest of the whole country. Prosecuting Attorney R. P. Giles made a strenuous effort to conviet, two of
Warren's sisters, who attended the trial and were ladies of wealth, offering to pay well any additional counsel needed, but the prosecutor refused aid. The prisoner was ably defended by his uncle, Hon. J. G. Blair, of Lewis county. Blair was a distinguished pleader, and it is said his speech in behalf of his nephew was marked for its eloquence, its force, and its tenderness. Green was acquitted and went home with his uncle to make his home permanently.
A NEGRO MURDER CASE.
In 1881 Shelbina had a murder, when a negress was killed by some colored men. It seems that some negroes were at enmity with a negro man who was the recipient of too many favors of a negress, an inmate of the house where the shooting was done.
On the night of the murder, five negro men - Baily Lafoe, William Wilson, George Buckner, Ben Heathman and Osear Brown-visited the house where they supposed the enemy was, with the avowed purpose of "doing him up."
They attacked the house, and the negress started up from her bed and started to another room, when the assail- lants, seeing her through the window. thought it their man and shot and killed her.
They were all arrested. Brown turned state's evidence. At the October term of Circuit court, 1881, George Buekner and William Wilson were convicted of murder in the second degree and given a sentence of eleven years for Buckner and ten years for Wilson. At the following April term a nolle qurosequi was en- tered in each of the other cases, and Heathman, Lafoe and Brown were dis-
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charged. It was said that Brown fired up his money, or his life was at his the fatal shot.
THE ROBBER "JOHNSON."
J. B. Johnson figured in the county's history of 1882 as the most daring and dangerous robber that had ever trod the fertile soil of Shelby county. It hap- pened that on the night of June 16, 1882, B. F. Smith, a popular proprietor of the City hotel in Shelbyville, was robbed of half a hundred by a guest who regis- tered as "J. B. Sahnon" but later said he was "J. B. Johnson." He was a pedestrian, entering Shelbyville by the eastern road, and talked fluently with his host at the City hotel, representing himself to be a carpenter, and that he had been working in Lewis county and was en route to his home in St. Joseph. He was of gentlemanly address and agreeable in his demeanor, and there was nothing to betray his "outre" im- pression, on a casual acquaintance, but after a more serutinizing survey one might otherwise interpret his cold, glit- tering eyes, his hard, cruel month, which would have a tendency to make one judge him as he was,-one of the most cunning, treacherous criminals of the country, daring beyond limit. Another alias used by him was Henry Clark.
Whether he ever had a home or not could never be ascertained. The roh- bery occurred about as follows :
Smith's guest asked his host for change for a $20 bill and early retired to his room. On the following morning ahont two o'clock Smith was awakened by his wife, who directed his attention to the robber, standing at the foot of their bed, with a drawn revolver, de- manding of his host to arise and yield
merey. Mr. Smith forthwith arose and delivered over to the man the contents of his purse, which contained in the neighborhood of $50. At the request of the intruder he then accompanied him to the hotel office, delivered to him his grip, and then the robher thoughtfully and courteously bade him adieu and stepped ont into the night, to the music of the thunderstorm then prevailing.
With the coming of dawn the county turned out in hot pursuit after the rob- ber, who was apprehended near the town of Clarence. Deputy Sheriff Charles Ennis first discovered him, and a party from Clarence, headed by the marshal and J. D. Dale, captured him a mile east of town. The Clarence officials had been notified of his whereabouts by Deputy Sheriff Ennis, who was aboard an east- hound train and recognized the robber walking along the road. He was cap- tured by main force, refusing, in the face of the well-armed and threatening depu- tation, to throw up his arms, deliver his weapon or make a surrender.
When in the grasp of the officers he proceeded to become notorious. On the evening of the same day he was under guard in the second story of the hotel at Clarence, when ".Johnson" proceeded to anction off to the highest bidder the hat he wore, which he claimed belonged to the renowned Jesse James. Having attracted all the men from the street, he attempted to escape by making a sudden spring through an open window to the street below. He, however, was unfortunate enough to break a leg, and so was easily recaptured.
At a preliminary trial Johnson was bonnd over and sent to the Palmyra jail
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for safe keeping. It was here, before his broken limb was well knitted, that he headed and urged his fellow inmates on to an outbreak, making a brutal assault on the young man who carried his food, and whom he beat almost into a lifeless state before a rescue was made. On October 13, 1882, he was arraigned in the County Circuit court and plead guilty to robbery. The distinguished Judge Redd sentenced him to twelve years at hard labor in the penitentiary.
Within the walls of the state peniten- tiary the daredevil was not cowed. He headed a revolt of some of its most har- dened criminals. With his own hand he fired the walls of the penitentiary, cut the hose to head off the quenching of the flames, and strnek down every guard that came his way. The casualty from this desperate act cost the state $150,000 worth of property. For this act he was sentenced to a dark cell, which only made a demon out of a sullen spirit, and, nn- provoked, he attacked his cell-keeper, whom he beat to insensibility. The his- tory concerning the man during his incarceration is to be found on the ree- ords at the Missouri state penitentiary, given us through the kindness of Mr. Roach, secretary of state. as follows:
"J. B. Johnson was received for in- carceration from Shelby county, October 15, 1882, having been convicted of bur- glary and larceny. His sentence was for twelve years. At the December term. 1884, of the Cole County Circuit court said Johnson was convicted of arson and attempt to break prison. His punish- ment for this charge was assessed at imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of twelve years from October 13.
1894. He was an inmate of the prison at the time he committed the crimes of arson and attempt to break prison. In the latter part of 1900 the prison physi- cian certified to the governor that the said Johnson was confined in the prison hospital, was afflicted with consumption, that he was suffering from an incurable disease, and that further confinement would greatly endanger and shorten his life. Upon this certificate the prison inspectors recommended the pardon of Johnson, and accordingly a pardon was issued to him December 4, 1900, upon condition that he immediately leave the state and never return. Thus endeth this chapter on Johnson, so far as the records in this department disclose.
"CORNELIUS ROACH. "Secretary of State." THE GREAT BENJAMIN WILL CASE.
An incident that stirred the county of Shelby as well as the adjoining counties, and indeed all the states, in the 70s, was the great Benjamin will case. Mr. Ben- jamin has received much mention else- where, as he was a prominent pioneer in the early history of the county. From the "History of Shelby County" of 1884 we publish the narrative account in its entirety :
In April, 1878, a suit was begun in the Shelby County Cirenit court to set aside a will made, or alleged to have been made, by Hon. John F. Benjamin, of this county, a few hours before his death, March 8, 1877.
This was and is a "celebrated case" in the annals of northeast Missouri juris- prudence, and will bear something of detailed mention and elaboration.
Mr. Benjamin was a native of New
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York, born in 1817. He came to Shelby county at an early day-before 1846- and settled at Shelbyville. He was an attorney of more than ordinary ability, and was possessed of great shrewdness, sagacity, and aptness for money-making. He improved every opportunity to add legitimately to his property, and in time became possessed of a considerable for- tune, estimated at about $75,000. It is said that he made something of a start in California during the finsh times of 1849-51. He was himself a "forty- niner."
During the Civil war Mr. Benjamin was an ardent Unionist and early en- tered the Federal service. Some of his services are noted elsewhere. He rose from a captaincy to a brigadier general- ship of the Missouri militia. In 1864 he was elected to congress as a radieal Re- publican, and re-elected in 1866-68, serving three terms as a member of the thirty-ninth, fortieth and forty-first con- gresses. In 1872 he was again a candi- date, but was defeated by Col. Jolmn M. Glover, the Demoeratie nominee.
After the war Mr. Benjamin removed from Shelbyville to Shelbina, where he built a handsome and comfortable resi- denee costing over $15,000. After being defeated for congress he repaired to Washington and, in the fall of 1874, en- gaged in banking with one Otis Bigelow, the firm being known as Bigelow & Benjamin.
Upon her marriage to a gentleman named Hammond he assumed a pro- tectorate over her sister, Guy H., a beautiful and winsome young lady. but caprieions and guilty of certain breaches of propriety and offenses against good morals. Married to a Mr. Allen, she eloped from him at Los Angeles, Cal., and in male attire concealed herself in the stateroom of her paramour on board a vessel bound for San Francisco. She was apprehended and the elopement frustrated.
In Washington and elsewhere General Benjamin introduced Guy Allen as his adopted daughter, and she called him "papa."
She made at least one trip to Shelby- ville with him, and accompanied him elsewhere on many occasions. It cannot be questioned that the general, old and mature as he was, was very much at- taehed to if not infatuated with the fascinating lady. Her enemies allege that his relations with her were illicit, as had been those he formerly main- tained with her sisters. It does not seem that Mrs. Benjamin recognized Guy as her daughter, or approved of her inti- macy and familiarity with General Benjamin. She and others had been informed that Mrs. Allen was a Wash- ington eity adventuress, pretty and engaging, but wily and wieked.
In April, 1876, while at Shelbina, Benjamin made a will, which was wit- nessed by W. A. Reid, Daniel Taylor and other citizens of the county. By the provisions of this will Guy Allen was to receive a speeifie legacy of the gen- eral's military clothing and equipments, his private silver plate, and his dia-
General Benjamin had long been mar- ried, but was childless. While in Wash- ington as congressman he formed the acquaintance of some ladies named Welsh. One, Miss Minnie Welsh, he took under his patronage and assisted financially and in many other ways. monds. She was also to receive the
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ineome from the proceeds of the invest- ment of one-half of his estate remaining after certain other legacies had been paid and satisfied. The investment was to be made in United States or Missouri bonds, the interest on which was to be paid "to my adopted daughter, Guy H. Allen, aforesaid, during her natural life, the same to be for her sole and separate use, and neither to be paid to nor in any manner controlled by her husband."
Also in this will the general directed that there should be erected over his grave a monument costing not more than $5,000, and on which should be in- seribed the following: "John Forbes . ing physicians, Drs. JJ. H. Thompson and Benjamin; born in Cieero, New York. G. L. Magruder; his partner, Otis Bige- low, and Mr. Truesdell; and there was present, and witnessed the signing, the nurse, Catherine Mahoney. The fol- lowing is a copy of the will : Jany. 23, 1817; died at -, 18 -. A captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, and brigadier general in the Federal Army, and a member of the 39th, 40th, 41st Congresses."
General Benjamin spent a great deal of his time in Washington. He had rooms on D street, between Second and Third, which he occupied in connection with Mrs. Allen. Their rooms adjoined and communicated. Mrs. Benjamin re- mained at the elegant home in Shelbina.
In the early winter of 1877 General Benjamin suffered from colds and nen- ralgie pains. On the first of March he was seized with a violent attack of pleuro-pneumonia. He died March 8th. At the time of his decease Mrs. Allen was lying very ill in an adjoining room and was not informed of his death until ten days after it occurred.
The general's body was immediately taken to an undertaker, who prepared it for shipment, and in charge of one George C. Rowan it was shipped to Shelbina and there buried.
Immediately after General Benjamin's death a will was produced bearing his undoubted signature, "John Forbes Benjamin," and purporting to have been made March 7, 1877, the day before his death. This paper was written by one George. Truesdale, a real estate agent of Washington, whose office was in the banking house of Bigelow & Ben- jamin, and who was well acquainted with the general in his lifetime.
He swore that the paper was written at Benjamin's dictation and signed by him as represented. There signed this paper as witnesses the general's attend-
The Will.
Know all men by these presents that I. John Forbes Benjamin, of the town of Shelbina, County of Shelby, and State of Missouri, being of sound mind, but conscious of the fact that I have but a few days to live, do make, publish, and declare the following to be my last will and testament, thereby revoking all wills and codicils heretofore made by me.
1st, I give and bequeath the following specific legacies :-
To my good friend. Charles M. King. of Shelbina, of Missouri. my law library and furniture, or all that portion of the same now in use by him, and my gold- headed cane.
I give to George C. B. Rowan, of Washington, D. C., who has given me so much kind care during my siekness. one hundred dollars ($100).
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To my beloved wife, Diana, all my up my business in the District of Colum- property of every description owned or bia, so far as will not interfere with the rights of Otis Bigelow, my surviving partner. Subscribed by my own hand. Done in the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia, on the 7th day of March, A. D. 1877. possessed by me in the State of Mis- souri; also $12,000 in the District of Columbia, six per cent gold bonds. I also give her a deed of trust loan of $4,000 made to John G. Waters, and a note for $2,000 of William Ridge, of Shelbina, JOHN FORBES BENJAMIN. Missouri, which I hereby direct to be forwarded to her at Shelbina, Missouri.
I give and bequeath to my adopted daughter, Mrs. Guy H. Allen, wife of James M. Allen, late of Cleveland, Ohio, all my interest in the partnership of Bigelow & Benjamin, and all debts which may be owing to me by persons in the District of Columbia, and all the real estate owned by me in the District of Columbia.
She is now very ill and may not sur- vive me many days, and perhaps not at all; in either event, I give and bequeath the part given to her to her sister, Mrs. Minnie Hammond, of Cleveland, Mary- land. wife of Eugene Hammond. of Cumberland, Maryland.
My remains after death here to be suitably but not extravagantly eared for by an undertaker and the same for- warded to Shelbina, Missouri, for such cemeterial disposition as may be had there. I leave it all to the discretion of my wife aforesaid.
I have long professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ before me, as the Son of God. Into His hands I commit my spirit.
I nominate and appoint my friend, Joshua M. Ennis, of Shelbyville, Mis- sonri, the executor of this my last will and testament, so far as my property in the State of Missouri is concerned, and appoint George Truesdell to wind
Subscribed by us as witnesses in the presence of each other, and in the pres- ence of and at the request of the testator, who declared to us that the foregoing was his last will and testament, the testator being known to each of us to be the party signing as such.
J. H. THOMPSON, M. D. G. L. MAGRUDER, M. D. OTIS BIGELOW. GEORGE TRUESDELL.
Abont March 1, 1877, or eight days before, his death, Mr. Benjamin made what was intended evidently to be a schedule of his property. This schedule, or memorandum, which was in his own handwriting, was as follows:
"Bank, $34,500; St. L., $2,000; notes, $11,440; Ridge, $2,000; Waters, $3,000; bonds, $12,000; R. E. (real estate), $2,000; int., $10; profit, $50; eash, $2,450. Total, $69,750."
The immediate relatives of General Benjamin-his wife, Mrs. Diana Benja- min ; his brothers, George H. and Henry H .; his sister, Mrs. Lonisa Wood; and a niece, Mrs. Thurza Parks-contested this will, and in April, 1878, brought suit in the Shelby county circuit court to have it set aside and declared null and void, on the ground that it had been fraudulently obtained and made; that the principal beneficiary, Mrs. Guy II.
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Allen, had an undue influence over the testator, etc.
It was further charged or insinuated that there had been foulest of foul play in the transaction; that a general con- spiracy had been entered into by the doc- tors, the nurses, Colonel Truesdell, Jen- nie Welsh, a sister of Mrs. Allen, and Mrs. Allen herself, to put General Ben- jamin out of the way, and to obtain pos- session or control of the greater portion of his valuable property. Some thought he had been drugged in his last illness; others that a will different from the one shown had been prepared by the Gen- eral's dictation, but that the one exhib- ited was substituted when it came to signing.
Numerous witnesses testified as to the genuineness of the will, giving circum- stantial accounts, substantially agreeing, of its preparation and of the soundness of mind of the testator at the time of making it. It was also testified by all the witnesses who were present when General Benjamin died that at the time of his death and for some days preceding and succeeding that event, Mrs. Guy Al- len herself lay in an adjoining room un- conscious of what was occurring and had occurred to Mr. Benjamin. It was fur- thermore sworn to that Mr. Benjamin was not friendly disposed toward his brothers and sisters; that he had been estranged from them for years, and it was sought to establish the conclusion that this was the reason why they were excluded as beneficiaries of his will. It was furthermore sworn to that the testa- tor had repeatedly introduced and repre- sented Mrs. Guy Allen as his adopted daughter, and treated her openly with great affection. His first acquaintance
had begun with her during his first term in Congress, when he was a boarder in her mother's establishment.
The suit was begun in April, 1878, but was not tried until a year later. The in- tervening time was spent in taking depo- sitions in Washington and in other pro- ceedings incident to the law's delay. In April, 1879, the case was called in the circuit court at Shelbyville.
Judge John T. Redd, of Palmyra, was on the bench. A strong array of lawyers from Washington and elsewhere was present, and the court room was crowded with spectators. The trial was prolonged for some days and every point was hotly contested.
For the plaintiffs there were D. C. Cameron and Judge Barrow, talented and experienced attorneys from Wash- ington City; Thomas L. Anderson, the veteran lawyer of Palmyra, the Nestor of the northeast Missouri bar, and King & Giles, the well known accomplished practitioners of Shelbina. For the de- fendant, Guy Allen, there was A. S. Worthington, of Washington, now dis- triet attorney; Hon. B. F. Dobyns, a most learned counsel and brilliant advo- cate of this county; Hon. Theo. Brace, an erndite judge of this circuit. P. B. Dunn, Esq., represented .J. M. Ennis, the executor for Missouri, and a lawyer named Barnard appeared for George Truesdell, the Washington City executor. Mrs. Allen herself was present through- out the trial and testified as a witness, making a most favorable impression- demure and modest as a Quakeress, and shrewd and quick-witted as a queen's maid of honor.
Ile, over whose effects the litigants wore wrangling and snarling, lay silent
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in his narrow house in the Shelbina cem- etery, and those who ought to have been mourning his memory, were quarreling over his dollars.
Of what avail now was the wealth he had toiled so long and so hard for-the privations he had endured, the hard bar- gains he had made and the enemies he had created thereby ? How much had he taken with him to that city whose gates are of pearl and whose streets are paved with gold and lighted with the divine glory? Alas! for the dross which he had striven so hard for! It had become as the spoil of the pirate-as a bone over which dogs might fight! Far better had he done good with it while he lived, vis- ited the widow and the fatherless and those who were siek and in distress and ministered to them in their affliction. Far better had he never acquired it.
After some days the jury retired, but found it impossible to agree. In Octo- ber following, the case was tried again, with the same result. The multiplicity of testimony, some of it conflicting, the weary lawyers with their endless tongues, the lengthy and learned instruc- tions of the judge, the entrancing fea- tures of the principal defendant in the case, who was present on both occasions, and sat the trial through, muddled the senses and confused the opinions of our Shelby county yeomanry.
Before it could be brought to trial again the case was taken on a change of venne by consent of parties (Judge Brace, who had come to the bench, hav- ing been of counsel) to Macon county, where it yet lies undisposed of. But in the meantime a suit was begun in the District of Columbia by Mrs. Allen, now married again to a Mr. Schley, of
Washington, to secure the property which she claims was bequeathed to her by her "foster father." The nisi prius courts decided in her favor, and it is un- derstood that their decisions now await confirmation by the Supreme Court of the United States. Upon this decision rests the ultimate fate of the case in its entirety in the courts at Macon and else- where.
The property in the District of Colum- bia has already been distributed by order of the Probate court there, and Mrs. Al- len given her share or the greater part thereof. The Benjamin relatives fought the case, without success, however.
The decision that finally settled the case was rendered in the Supreme Court of the United States April 15, 1886. The case was decided in favor of Mrs. Allen and the Washington executors. All op- position was then withdrawn and the will was admitted to be probated.
But the fascinating and beautiful Guy, fair of feature and light of love, yet reigns as a queen. She has at least the partial enjoyment of her fortune. and is happy in the possession of her new lover and husband. She speaks in tenderest tones of General Benjamin, and takes great pride in exhibiting his letters, wherein he speaks of her fondly, calling her "Bonnie," and by other terms of en- dearment.
Mrs. Benjamin, the widow of the Gen- eral, did not survive him but a few months. She died in Shelbina in the summer following, and was not buried beside her husband, but in the Shelby- ville cemetery, and there is, as yet, no stone to mark her resting place, or that of her husband.
On Wednesday, June 12, 1889, the
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body of Gen. John F. Benjamin was dis- interred at Shelbina and interred the same day at Shelbyville under the aus- pices of the Grand Army of the Republic.
INDICTING "REBEL" PREACHERS.
The Drake Constitution, section 9, ar- ticle II, compelled preachers, teachers, lawyers, etc., to take the test oath, and this brought a protest from all over the country, from all denominations, Protest- ant and Catholie, but the authorities pro- ceeded to "make good." Ministers of the gospel were arraigned all over the state, and even three Sisters of Charity were dragged into court in Cape Girar- deau county and fined for teaching with- out taking the test oath. Fourteen min- isters were indicted at a single session of Circuit court. In our own county we fur- nished our own integral part of history along this line. In November, 1866, the following ministers were indicted for not taking the Drake oath: Rev. Jesse Fau- bian, three counts ; Henry Louthan, Rob- ert Holliday, Milford Powers, William Pulliam, Father D. P. Phelan and Revs. Robey and Brown. The indictments against the preachers were found sepa- rately and charged each with having on a certain date "at the county of Shelby aforesaid. more than sixty days after the 4th of July, 1865, unlawfully, feloniously, etc., etc .. 'preached' without first having taken. subscribed and filed *
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