The Sensational Murder Of A Wounded Civil War Veteran, Maybe

Celebrating her 90th birthday in 1899, the Plainville Times wrote that my fourth great-grandmother Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick was immensely proud that, "Her sons were all loyal defenders of the Union during the rebellion."

Wounded Civil War Veteran

Mary's son Samuel Benedick served in the West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. On August 9, 1862, at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, he was injured when Union forces attacked the Confederate regiments under Stonewall Jackson's command. 

Samuel reported that, during this battle, he was shot in the back of his right arm between the elbow and shoulder. He suffered permanent disability as a result, which he used as justification when he petitioned for a military pension. 

Samuel Benedick summarizes his war injuries to justify his pension claim.

After the war, Samuel and his family settled in Guyandotte, West Virginia where he had worked at the American Car & Foundry Company as a lumber inspector before applying for his pension.

He was "held in high esteem" in his community, but that came to a mysterious end in October 1904 - more than a century ago. 

Foul Play Is Suspected

Early in the morning of October 21, 1904, police in Huntington were notified that a drunken man was passed out in an alleyway. Upon arriving on the scene, an officer quickly determined that the man was dead.

The Herald Dispatch reported in their October 21, 1904 edition:

"The officer hurried to the place and when he attempted to wake the man whom he thought was in a drunken stupor, discovered that he was dead. A close inspection was made of the man's position, as he lay in the alley and of the surrounding ground. The inspection revealed the fact that the man had been dragged to the place where he lay, for the ground in the alley showed signs of being plowed up by the heels of the man's shoes, while his coat was wrinkled up under his arms, which indicated that his assailants had a difficult job to drag their victim to the secluded spot."

The coroner examined the body and found no obvious signs of physical injury. Still suspicious, the police chief initiated an investigation because "all indications pointed to the fact that the man was murdered."

A Cast of Curious Characters

The ensuing investigation determined that Samuel had arrived in Huntington on the evening of October 20th. A timeline of the night quickly came together:

• At around 7:00 pm, Samuel was seen in the company of five women sharing drinks at Lou Davis' saloon at the corner of Third Avenue and Eighth Street.

• At 9:30 pm the women reported that they left Samuel and he "was very drunk."

The police chief suspected that poisoning was the culprit and ordered an autopsy to examine the contents of his stomach. Samuel's family refused. The Herald Dispatch wrote that "they were satisfied that Benedict (sic.) came to his death from an over indulgence of whiskey..." and that he "...was in feeble health and that they expected death to overcome him at any time."

Although there was no postmortem, the police investigation continued due to "an air of mystery connected with the death of the man..." The police had a possible motive, which the Herald Dispatch outlined:

"The theory of the police however is that the man was drugged and robbed, as he was known to have between thirty and forty dollars in his pocket last evening when he met the women.

It is believed by the authorities that in drugging the deceased he was given an overdose which resulted in his death. The victim was then dragged to the alley where he was deserted. No money was found in the man's clothing or anything by which he could be identified. This leads police to believe that the man was robbed of his money and other belongings." 

Sensational Developments

In the paper's October 24th edition, it was revealed that the police had expanded the timeline.

"Within the last twenty four hours, evidence has been secured which revealed the fact that the dead man had been seen at midnight on the fatal night, in company with a certain suspicious woman, whose name the police refused to reveal at this time, but on whom they are steadily piling up evidence which, it is stated, will bring out sensational developments and perhaps prove a case of murder against the woman."

 The woman in question, it was revealed, couldn't keep her story straight during questioning.

"It was learned last night that Benedict (sic.) and the woman were seen at the corner of Third Ave. and Seventh St. shortly after midnight and that the woman introduced the deceased to a confederate, who is now under surveillance. The two induced Benedict to go to a restaurant for a bowl of soup, and, after considerable persuasion, Benedict accompanied them to the restaurant..."

There were witnesses who reported seeing the three individuals after their meal around 1:00 am, and Samuel was "sober at that hour."

The Herald Dispatch's October 25th issue is the last I've seen detailing the investigation. In that edition, the police chief remained "hard at work" on the case and was speaking with witnesses "who have revealed considerable important and damaging evidence against two notorious women."

The police chief was adamant that he would find the culprits, insisting he would "ferret out this case if it took a year to do it and to bring the guilty parties to trial, notwithstanding the protests made by the family of the deceased."

Who were the women?

Who was the mysterious Confederate with whom Samuel was persuaded to dine and was now under surveillance?

Was the investigation ever solved to the police chief's satisfaction?

The Family's Protests
Why did Samuel's family protest the authorities' investigation into the circumstances of his suspicious death? Were there behaviors his family didn't want surfaced in the newspapers?

Did they really believe he drank himself to death? What about the witnesses who said he was sober at one in the morning?

Samuel's pension file includes a handwritten note from the Huntington Department of Health, which stated - nearly nine months after his death - that he succumbed to heart failure. There was no indication that the wounded Civil War veteran was the victim of a sensational crime.

Huntington, West Virginia Department of Health
certification of Samuel Benedick's death

Was it all much ado about nothing or was something sinister swept under the rug? 

I only have transcribed copies of the Herald Dispatch articles cited in this post. I haven't located digitized copies of the newspaper to follow the investigation to its conclusion.

Future research into the paper's archives will hopefully uncover the final judgment of how Samuel Benedick died. Stay tuned...

John Benedick At Rest

I'm laser-focused on finding my 4th great-grandfather Burr Zelah Dornon's grave. I believe he rests eternally in a cemetery somewhere in Lawrence County, Ohio or across the river in Jackson County, West Virginia.

I've been so focused on that search, though, that I've neglected another 4th great-grandfather, John Benedick, who's closely linked to Burr.

According to the U.S. Federal Census, John was a stone cutter in 1850 and a farmer in 1860. We also know he was an active supporter of the Whig Party's presidential candidate in 1840.

Celebrating her 90th birthday in 1899, John's widow Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick reflected on "the years of her young womanhood when history was being made so rapidly during the middle of the century."

She recounted for the local newspaper how she and her husband helped host a dinner in their Harrison County, Ohio orchard for General William Henry Harrison during his campaign for president (Tippecanoe and Tyler Too).

Unlike Burr, I know where John is buried  His grave was documented in a survey of Miller Cemetery burials in Lawrence County. Curiously, John died in May 1863, which is very near to the time frame I speculate that Burr died.

But that's not all they share in common. Two of Burr's daughters married two of John's sons, including my 3rd great-grandparents Albert and Anna (Dornon) Benedick.

These links made me eager to see a photograph of John's headstone. I submitted a request several years ago through FindAGrave.com. Unfortunately, the request was never taken up. Until this week.

Carl Murdock, an administrator for the Lawrence Register - a Facebook group dedicated to Lawrence County genealogy - trawled through Miller Cemetery and found the weathered headstone. After more than 150 years, the stone is still upright.

John Benedick's stone pictured center. Photo by Carl Murdock. Used by permission.

Time has taken its toll on the memorial; it could use a gentle cleaning. The inscription is worn and hidden behind rust-colored lichen, but the name is still visible. The hand pointing heavenward still attests to his faith.

John Benedick. Photo by Carl Murdock. Used by permission.

The existence of John's headstone, after all these years, is encouraging. Perhaps Burr's stone may still be out there waiting to be rediscovered. My search continues, but, in the meantime, I honor an ancestor at rest and am thankful that his marker still has its place.

Unknowns in Red Velvet

Red Velvet Family Album

Last summer, I spent time pouring over my grandmother's old family photos. She pulled out a couple albums that she inherited from her mother, who in turn inherited them from her parents.

Both albums were quite remarkable because their contents were obviously the oldest of the family photo collection. One of the albums had a worn cover that was once made of red velvet. Inside, it included a handful of cabinet cards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Unfortunately, many of the photos were not labeled, so the identities of the people pictured are unknown.

The majority of the cabinet cards that are labeled feature Benedick family members. However, there are a couple cards of Dornon family members, and even one of the Bair family. In trying to identify the other unknowns I've centered on these three surnames.

Of the 30 photos in the red velvet album, two stand out from the rest. They are unlike the others in size and material. They are not printed on heavy card stock, but rather metal with a black tacky backside. The images look older and the clothing appears to be from earlier decades - perhaps 1860s. I believe the images are tintypes.

Unknown Tintypes

Sadly, neither of the tintypes are labeled and my grandmother does not know their names. I can't even determine where the images were taken. Furthermore, the people in the tintypes don't appear in any of the later cabinet cards (at least I haven't been able to identify them elsewhere). 

The album originally belonged to my 2nd great-grandparents Ernest and Bessie (Bair) Benedick.  I'm most curious about the woman. Is she one of my great-grandmothers? My aunt recently shared a letter that she received from a Benedick cousin in April 1988. The cousin, now deceased, was a descendant of Ernest's brother Albert Benedick. She wrote that she remembered seeing photos - in other family members' collections - of two of my 4th great-grandmothers. I've never seen photos of either woman. 

Benedick cousin recollects photos of 4th great-grandmothers

The cousin confirms that photos did in fact exist of Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick and Sophronia (Rogers) Dornon. They were the grandmothers of Ernest Benedick - the owner of the red velvet album. Is it possible that the woman in the tintype is Mary Ann or Sophronia?

The woman in the photo appears to be in her 50s or 60s. Maybe even in her mid-60s. While I'm no Maureen Taylor (you know, the Photo Detective), I'm speculating that the picture is from the 1860s or 1870s.

Let's say 1870. Based on this date and the speculated age span, that could suggest the woman was born between 1810 and 1820.

Perhaps the scarf or hair style are indicative of a more specific time period or even suggest a geographic location? Is she wearing mourning clothes? Or is this just everyday typical fashion of the times?

If we look at the two candidates under consideration, who - thanks to the letter - we now know were photographed, we can determine that each are within reach of the photo's proposed time frame. More information, though, is needed to help crack this case. Perhaps someone can pinpoint facial similarities to children of Mary Ann or Sophronia?

Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick

According to her obituary, Mary Ann Miser was born March 26, 1809 in Harrison County, Ohio. She married John Benedick in October 1831. John died in 1863, and Mary Ann never remarried. By 1870, she was living with her son Samuel in Wyandotte, Kansas. She died June 4, 1901 in Plainville, Kansas at the age of  92.

Below are photos of three of her children:

Benedick Siblings

Sophronia (Rogers) Dornon

According to the 1850 and 1860 Federal Censuses and her grave stone, Sophronia Rogers was born in Massachusetts on May 22, 1815. It's believed that she married Burr Zelah Dornon in about March 1835. No marriage record has been located. She passed away May 23, 1872 in Wyandotte, Kansas.

Below are photos of three of her children:

Dornon Siblings

So, what do you think? Willing to wager a guess?

Who is the Mystery Lady?