--part1_70c7afd5.243c4ba2_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ello everyone. The attached articles are from newpaper articles found in the Graham Leader Newspaper, 1881 & 1882. The three murderers are supposed cousins of my gr-gr grandfather. I transcribed the text from the newspapers as best as I was able. I would have liked to find the Federal and State court records for this crime, but the National Archives in Fort Worth, Texas said that since the purpertrators died prior to the trial, there were no records of a trial. Is that right?? Your input is appreciated. Craig McDonald --part1_70c7afd5.243c4ba2_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; name="BELKNA~2.TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline; filename="BELKNA~2.TXT" Hello everyone. The following articles are from newpaper articles found in t= he Graham Leader Newspaper, 1881 & 1882. The three murderers are supposed co= usins of my gr-gr grandfather. I transcribed the text from the newspapers as= best as I was able.=20 I would have liked to find the Federal and State court records for this crim= e, but the National Archives in Fort Worth, Texas said that since the purper= trators died prior to the trial, there were no records of a trial. Is that r= ight?? Your input is appreciated. Craig McDonald __________________________________ Transcribed by Craig McDonald, 77 Washington, Marblehead MA 01945 - Oct. 98 __________________________________ Graham Leader (Graham, Young Co., T X) June 17, 1881 (vol. 5, no. 44), page = 3 (pages are unnumbered). Microfilm of newspaper at Fort Worth Public Librar= y, Fort Worth, T X. First of three related articles. _________________________________ "ROBBERY AND MURDER" On Thursday night last Mr. J. F. Martin, a prominent merchant of Belknap, wa= s called from his residence by three men, who represented themselves as trav= elers and desiring to purchase some groceries. Mr. Martin accompanied them t= o his store, where, Mrs. Martin says they remained for an hour or more, afte= r which time the lights in the store were extinguished and her husband was e= xpected to return. He however did not return, but she was not alarmed, as he= had frequently remained at the store all night - having no permanent clerk.= At breakfast next morning Mr. Martin was still absent, when Mrs. M became a= larmed and search was instituted, and on repairing to the store the tracks o= f horses were seen leading from the store in a north westerly direction whic= h being followed for a half mile presented a horrible scene to the searching= party. Partially concealed in a thicket, Mr. Martin was found dead - been s= hot three times; one ball entering the left eye and coming out at the right,= which destroyed both eyes and burned the face with powder. in a shocking ma= nner one ball entering the breast and coming out between the shoulders - th= e third shot taking effect in one side and coming out on the other. The perpetrators of this foul deed are unknown, and the whole transaction is= enveloped in a mystery that we fear will never be solved. The object was do= ubtless robbery, as thou obtained something near $75.00 from Mr. Martin, and= what clothing they wanted - such as leggings, shirts, hats, boats, etc. Sheriff Melton raised a posse here, on Friday morning, and at Belknap was jo= ined by another posse headed by Constable Carmichael of that place. The trai= l of the murderers was easily followed for about 35 miles - near Griffin - w= here it became very indistinct and the pursuing party went to Fort Griffin. = Our sheriff gave up the chase on Saturday night and returned to Graham Sunda= y - not having a description of the men, and only a partial description of t= he horses, it was a difficult matter to follow them. This is probably the most cowardly and heinous murder ever committed in our = county - excelled in brutality, if possible, only by the McDermot murder, by= the Post boys, in 1879. The murderers are supposed to be horse thieves, as = they had six horses in their possession, and were being pursued by a party f= rom Grayson County at the time they were in the vicinity of Belknap, Dr. W.B. Pope and Mr. Jo. H. Graham came down from Belknap on Wednesday with= subscription list, offering a reward for the murderers. They had about $700= subscribed at Belknap, which was readily increased to near $1,500 here. The= y say that the reward can be increased to $2,000 near Belknap today which wi= ll be promptly paid over to any one for the delivery of the three men at Gra= ham or Belknap; or one third of the amount subscribed will be paid for eithe= r of them. All additional reward is expected to be offered by the Governor. Mr. Martin, the victim of those depraved devils in human form, was one of th= e oldest and best citizens of the community in which he lived - been engaged= in merchandising during the past six years. About two years ago he married = a Miss Johnson, of Denison, an accomplished lady, whom he leaves disconsolat= e. Many, very many friends and acquaintances, who in times past have tried a= nd found true, a man loyal to every impulse - whose genial and accommodating= nature endeared him to all who knew him, now mourn, and will ever cherish t= he memory of J.F. Martin. __________________________________ Graham Leader (Graham, Young Co., TX) July 1, 1881 (vol. 5, no. 46), page 3 = (pages are unnumbered). Microfilm of newspaper at Fort Worth Public Library,= Fort Worth, TX. Second of three related articles. __________________________________ "THE MURDERERS ARRESTED" Since Friday morning, June 10th, the people of Young county have been on the= que vive (1) over the dastardly murder of J.E. Martin at Belknap, on the ni= ght previous - a full account of which so far as known has already been publ= ished by the LEADER. But now we have the exquisite pleasure of finishing up = the second chapter - the arrest and imprisonment in the Young county jail, o= f the three fiends who committed the crime. Sheriff James Melton, on the 10th ult. (2) accompanied by a posse followed t= he murderers from Belknap to a point near Griffin, where he gave up the purs= uit and came home, as he had no definite description of the parties. After g= aining a description of one of the men and their horses he again started in = pursuit on the 17th ult. (1) accompanied by Jno. B. Crain, and by Deputy U.S= . Marshall Conner, as far as Albany, where Mr. Simpson, the sheriff of Shack= elford county, offered to send his deputy, Mr. Henry Herrin to assist in pur= suing and arresting them, which Mr. Melton accepted, and the three determine= d officers set out to capture the villains or follow them until all hope of = capture was lost. Mrs Melton, upon learning that the murderers had gone in a southwesterly dir= ection, proceeded to Brown county, where he learned that the men had relativ= es. Here he discovered that their names were McDonald, and that they had bee= n in that county a few days previous - in their possession the horses that s= uited the description. He also learned that the old man McDonald, father of = Dee and Nick, two of the boys, lived in Coleman county, six miles from Colem= an City. The sheriff and his two companions proceeded at once to Coleman City, where = the sheriff of Coleman county was interviewed, who preferred his assistance = in making the arrest, as he knew where the McDonald's lived and knew them to= be bad men. He summoned six men and with Mr. Melton and his party arrived a= nd surrounded the house about midnight Thursday, where they waited until day= light Friday morning, when it was understood, that by concerted movement, th= ey were all to closed in upon the house; but Mr. Melton informs us that the = deputy sheriff of Coleman county, got to the McDonald boys first, (who were = sleeping in the yard) and had their pistols before they were awakened - Mr. = Crain was the second one there, and before the boys were fully awakened, the= y were surrounded by the crowd. The prisoners were taken to Coleman City, from whence Mr. Melton telegraphed= to this place for men. Messengers J.G. Tackitt, J.N. Adair and Scott Furger= son, answered the summons and met him at Eastland, on Saturday, and with Dep= uty. Marshal Conner, who joined the party near Eastland, assisted in bringin= g the prisoners here. Our sheriff is proud of his success, and well he may be, for everybody rejoi= ces with him, and should give him the credit he so richly deserves. He has s= hown his pluck upon former occasions and this is considered a crowning trium= ph for him. We suppose the handsome reward offered by the people of the coun= ty, will be promptly paid over to those who deserve it. The prisoners, Pete, Nick and Dee McDonald are all young men - Nick, apparen= tly is about 16 or 17 years of age. Dee, his brother is about 21 and Pete, h= is cousin, is probably 24. They had in their possession when arrested, seven= horses, three saddles, and were each fitted with new leggings, slickers, ha= ts, boots, overalls, shirts, etc. The leggings and other articles have been = identified, beyond doubt, as those taken from Martin's store. To use a famil= iar expression, "they are a hard looking trio"", and will, in all probabilit= y pay the penalty for the crime they are accused of, as the evidence against= them, circumstantial as it is, is said to be sufficient for a conviction. W= e understand that Pete, the boy, has signified a willingness to turn states'= evidence but District Attorney Brim thinks he can convict all of them with = the evidence already obtained. They are charged in the Federal Court with ro= bbing the post office at Belknap, and by the state with murder and robbery, = and are wanted in other counties for stealing horses. Nick McDonald has been= identified by citizens of Belknap as having been seen there on the day of t= he murder, and all of them were seen west of Belknap on the following day. T= he chain of evidence is almost complete. Mr. Melton speaks in the highest terms of the sheriffs of Coleman and Shackl= eford counties and says they did all in their power to assist in the capture= of the outlaws. [transcribers note: An untitled article on same page as above article.] The preliminary examination of Dee, Pete and Nick McDonald, charged with rob= bing the post office at Belknap was in progress before U.S. Commissioner F.W= . Girand on Thursday morning. There were quite a number of witnesses and the= examination was necessarily very slow and tedious. After several witnesses = for the prosecution was postponed until Monday, 4th inst., (3) in order to g= ive defendants an opportunity of obtaining witnesses for defense. The prelim= inary trial for murder will probably come up before the County Judge tomorro= w. __________________________________ Graham Leader (Graham, Young Co., TX) 6 January 1882 (vol. 6, no. 20), page = 3 (pages are unnumbered). Microfilm of original newspaper at Fort Worth Publ= ic Library, Fort Worth, TX. __________________________________ "A DESPERATE BREAK" On Sunday morning, January 1st, while the LEADER man was in his office and w= hile Deputies Sam R. Murphee and Davis Melton were serving the prisoners in = the jail their breakfast, he heard shots fired within the jail, and Deputy D= avis Melton calling, ""Sam! Sam!! Sam!!!" We immediately ran to the front of= the jail, when we were covered through the bars with a six-shooter in the h= ands of Pete McDonald and told to "Stand!, and not make a fuss." At this jun= cture Davis Melton came to the window, pushed Pete McDonald away, and told u= s to tell Jim Melton, Sheriff, not to come up stairs. We immediately gave th= e alarm and within a few minutes Sheriff Melton, together with quite a crowd= of citizens were surrounding the jail. About this time, Jim Bone, confined = in the jail, hallowed to Sheriff Melton and told him that Sam Murphee had be= en killed. By this time all those who could procure arms had assembled aroun= d the jail and were waiting for something further to transpire, when they di= scovered that the McDonald boys had cut a hole through the floor of the cala= boose. One of the boys came down through the hole, ascended the stairs, and = with the keys which Davis Melton had been forced to surrender, the calaboose= door was unlocked, and a few minutes afterward they were seen coming out th= e back door, having Davis Melton between them. Davis at this time begged the= crowd not to shoot, as the McDonalds had secured the arms of the jail and w= ould kill him if any resistance was shown. The McDonald boys walked out the = jail yard to a point about eighty yards southwest from the jail, who the fir= ing from the citizens commenced and Davis Melton Made his escape from the Mc= Donalds, but not before being shot twice as he ran - once in the face and on= ce in the leg. The firing upon the McDonald here became rapid, which was ret= urned by them. After more than one hundred shots had been exchanged the firi= ng ceased and the McDonald boys were found dead. We cannot fail to mention an incident which occurred just as the firing bega= n. A brave and chivalrous lady of Graham, seeing two young gentlemen passing= her residence, ran out and tendered each of them a gun and insisted upon th= em rendering all aid in their power. But, the young gentlemen, instead of do= ing this, took to their heels in another direction. A majority of our readers are aware that Dee, Nick and Pete McDonald were ar= rested last July for the murder of J.E. Martin, at Belknap, on the 9th of Ju= ne previous, and that they were held in jail here until a trial could be had= . On Sunday morning Deputies Melton and Murphee turned the prisoners out into = the calaboose for the purpose of serving them their breakfast. While the boy= s were eating, Deputy Murphee handed Davis Melton his six-shooter, and went = to examine the iron cell. While he was gone, one of the McDonalds asked Davi= s Melton for a match, and while he, Davis was feeling in his pockets, anothe= r one of the boys embraced him while the others took on of the pistols away = from him, and in scuffling for the other one it was discharged, shooting Dav= is Melton through the hand and Pete McDonald having one thumb and two finger= s shot. Davis Melton then called in Sam Murphee, who was in the iron cell, a= nd when he ran out and into the wooden cell Nick McDonald shot him just abov= e the heart, killing him instantly. During the melee, Joe Ellis, a neighbor of Mr. W.J. Morton, was shot in the = right leg just below the knee. He was doing valiant service at the time he w= as disabled and deserves great credit for his nerve and presence of mind. Judge Woods was just grazed by a McDonald ball, but was only slightly injure= d. The bodies of the McDonalds were carried to the jail and an inquest held. Bo= xes were made for them and they were interred on Monday morning. The remains of Deputy S.R. Murphee were conveyed to the residence of his bro= ther-in-law, Prof. S.E. Burkhead, where his mother was found almost frantic = with grief. The body was prepared f o burial and was consigned to mother ear= th on Monday - being followed to its last resting place by a very large conc= ourse of people - the business houses nearly all being closed and nearly eve= rybody paying the last sad tribute to one who had sacrificed his life while = in the discharge of his duty. Mr. Davis Melton received three wounds, and after escaping from the desperat= e trio, he procured a gun and appeared upon the scene of conflict with as mu= ch courage as any one on the field. He was afterward conveyed to the residen= ce of his brother, Sheriff Melton, where medical aid was summoned, and at th= is time he is doing well. His father and sister of Corsicana, arrived on Tue= sday evening so attend him - having been summoned by wire. The LEADER is pleased to congratulate the people of Graham for their prompt action and readiness in assisting the officers of the law. They have been tried upon former occasions and have always responded promptly. We will venture the assertion that a town of community can no wher= e be found where the people, with one accord, show a more willing spirit for= the preservation of law and order. We believe that every officer and citize= n of the town are ever ready to do their duty; with the exception, perhaps, = of one or two who "occupy positions which proclude them from so doing." THE END __________________________________ Transcribers notes: 1. que vive -a french phrase, possible meaning "What kind of a life?" I'm no= t sure of the exact translation. 2. ult. =3D ultimo. An old-fashioned usage. meaning. "in the last month". in= this usage it means. the __th of the last month. i.e. June. 1881. 3. inst. =3D instant. An old-fashioned usage. meaning "of the current month"= . in this usage it means the 4th of the current month. i.e. July. 1881. --part1_70c7afd5.243c4ba2_boundary--