52 Ancestors: Cause of Death

This week’s blog post was a little troubling – Cause of Death.  I have many, many death certificates from my ancestors but most of them are nothing too exciting.  Sure, I’ve had a few – my great grandmother, Bertha Schwartz Gunzendorfer, died on a train, her brother-in-law, Adolph Gunzendorfer, died in a hotel, and Bertha’s sister-in-law, Charlotte Mervy Schwartz, died during the flu epidemic in 1918.  But this prompt warranted something more – how about a possible murder?

My husband’s 2x great grandmother, Julia O’Reilly, was born in May, 1834 in Ireland.  I don’t know too many details of her early life other than that she immigrated to America in 1864 and at some point, married Michael Gorham.  Together they had three children – Cecilia (my great-grandmother-in-law) in 1859, Josephine in 1860, and John in 1867.

But by 1880, Michael was either dead or they had divorced and Julia was married to Michael Post, a shoemaker, and living in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania with Michael’s daughter, Maggie, and Julia’s son, John. 

Twenty years later, 1900, found Julia widowed and living on South Canal Street in Sharpsburg.  She rented her home and could read, write, and speak.  But what happened to her second husband, Michael Post? 

I know so little about Julia’s life but, sadly, I know quite a bit about her death.

The Pittsburgh Press, 18 Dec 1906, page 1

Mrs. Julia Post, aged 78 years, who resided at No. 1020 Main Street, Sharpsburg, was murdered according to the report of the investigation being made by the coroner.  Although it is supposed she has been dead since last Friday, the discovery was not made until yesterday.

As the result of a preliminary investigation, it was concluded that she had met with an accident at her home and had succumbed to the injuries she then received.  As the result of a more detailed investigation, however, it is now concluded that her death was due to a blow inflicted with a hatchet on her left temple and that the blow was inflicted by an unknown murderer in search of money.

WAS WELL-TO-DO

Mrs. Post was a widow, was the owner of the property in which she resided and occupied the second floor.  The lower portion of the house had not been occupied for some time.  She had been in the habit of having a quantity of milk left at her door every morning but on Saturday and Sunday mornings this milk had not been removed from the doorstep.  It was concluded by neighbors that Mrs. Post had probably gone to visit friends for a day or two and had not troubled about canceling her milk order.  Yesterday morning, however, the milkman had his suspicions aroused, and after leaving the usual daily supply, he hunted up the Chief of Police, John Staub, and requested him to make an investigation.

FOUND BLOODY HATCHET

Later the policeman went to the house on Main street and tried the doors.  Both front and rear were locked, and the windows were also securely fastened.  With the assistance of a neighbor, James Parris a ladder was obtained and entrance made to the second floor.  The woman was found to be lying huddled on the floor.  Near her body was a wooden block 4x4x10 feet, and also, a short distance away, was a hatchet.  On the hatchet were blood stains, and it was ascertained by Chief Staub and Parris that the woman had sustained an injury on the forehead.  It was thought, on this discovery, that the woman, while working near the block, had been overcome in a faint and had stumbled, sustaining the injury on the forehead from which she died.

A more rigid investigation, however, being made by the Deputy Coroners Carney and Pautin, showed that the woman could not have received the fatal injury in the way that had been supposed, and it was also discovered that the blow on the temple exactly corresponded with a blow that could have been made with the hatchet.  It was only in this way, too, that the blood stains on the hatchet could be explained.  The body was brought to the morgue, yesterday, and a second examination made which again served to bring out the fact that the woman could not have met her death by accident, but had been murdered by some person at present unknown.

POLICE ARE BAFFLED

The Sharpsburg police, however, are at a loss to find an adequate motive for the crime.  It was well known in the borough that the aged woman owned the property in which she resided, but it was also known that she did not keep any money or any valuables in the house.  It was stated, however, that a report had been current in the borough that the woman had been expecting to receive some money from a daughter in California, and it is probably that this report had become known to the murderer.  It is also thought that the house had been entered with a view to the getting possession of this money and that the woman had met her death on refusing to make known its whereabouts to the intruder.

Shortly after noon Dr. Speer completed his post-mortem and stated that it was his opinion that the death of the woman was directly due to a hemorrhage of the brain, induced by the blow on the temple.  He stated that he had also ascertained that while the blow on the skull had not fractured the skull, yet the skull had been fractured in two places.  One of these was at the base and the second was in a position behind the left eye.  The skull fractures could be explained on the theory that the woman might have been sitting on a chair and had accidentally fallen from it, striking her head on the nearby block.

This, however, could not account for the temple blow as well, nor for the blood stains on the hatchet.  The coroner will hold an inquest on the woman's death next Friday morning at 11 o'clock.

HIDDEN MONEY FOUND

Shortly before noon today money to the amount of $210.85 was found that is supposed to have been hidden by Mrs. Post.  The discovery was made by Chief of Police, John Staub, and Deputy Coroner A. J. Carney.  A pocketbook containing $88 was found in the bed tick while a roll of paper money was found wrapped in a rag, lying in a pile of old rags.

Another sum of $2.85 was found in an old satchel lying under the bed, while various other amounts were found to make up the total.  It is thought that the belief that this money was in the house was responsible for the murder of Mrs. Post.

From present indications, more money will likely be found.  So far no arrests have been made but a searching investigation will be carried on in order to hold the inquest on Friday morning of this week.  Mrs. Post was supposed to be almost penniless and the finding of the money shows what might be a motive for the commission of the crime.

FLED FROM ASSAILANT

Perhaps one of the most significant features of the case was the position of the body when Chief Staub entered the upstairs room.  The head was toward the window and the feet close to the wooden block near which lay the bloody hatchet, suggesting the idea that she was trying to flee from her murderous assailant and endeavor to reach the window to cry for help.  The blow on the left temple appeared sufficiently fierce to have crushed the skull and caused instant death.

Mrs. Post was in the habit of going to the nearby hotel of John W. Reddinger, at Thirteenth and Main streets for her daily supply of soup.  Friday was the last day she did this.  It is now said that Mrs. Post is supposed to have a received a sum of money from Pittsburg last week, which may have been a remittance from her son or step-son, the former named Dorman living in New York, and the latter named Post and living in California.

PLACE FILLED WITH RUBBISH

It has not been discovered whether the murderer looted the house.  The place is filled with useless stuff which littered nearly all the rooms, much as is the case with an aged recluse who is prone to gather and preserve the most trifling and needless of artifacts.


A bit of conflicting information as this says she owned the building and lived on the second floor while the 1900 census said she rented her home.  The details of her death were disturbing – murdered with an ax?

Each day brought more information about the case.

Harrisburg Daily Independent, 19 Dec 1906, page 5

The son referenced in the article above would have been John.  He was still living so I don’t think the money she was expecting would have been inheritance.  Maybe something from his father? [where are you, Michael Gorham?]  But the earlier article said that her son (Gorham, not Dorman as reported) lived in New York and her daughter and step-son lived in California.

Interesting to see a photo of the building, even pointing out the room in which she was found. 

The Pittsburgh Press, 19 Dec 1906, pg 1

But just two days later, it had been determined that her death was, in fact, accidental.  So if she hit her head on a block of wood, why was there blood on a hatchet?

The Pittsburgh Press, 21 Dec 1906, pg 25

But wait – now we’re back to a murder????  And she died over $210?

The Press Herald, 28 Dec 1906, pg 7

And that’s all I’ve found on the mysterious death of Julia O’Reilly Gorham Post.  Was she murdered?



The date of death just breaks my heart – “FOUND” December 17, 1906.  How long had she lain there?

And her will dated 29 May, 1906.  Lots of different spellings but I guess that happened when someone else wrote the document. 

Julia is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Sharpsburg, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  I’ve had a photo request on Findagrave waiting to be fulfilled for over 4 years – time to make the request again.  RIP, Julia O'Reilly Gorham Post, 2x great grandmother of my husband.

52 Ancestors: Conflict

This week’s blog prompt is Conflict.  This caused me to pause and think about some of the conflicts (that I know about) in my family.  I’ve written about some:

I wrote about the conflict my paternal grandfather, Sig Levy, had with his brothers HERE. 

And then there was my black sheep ancestor, William Warren McAboy, who was called A Brutal Father in the newspaper – you can read about that HERE. 

And while I don’t know any of the specifics, there must have been conflict between my maternal grandparents, Clara Fitzgerald and Earle Martin, because they had divorced by 1940 which was pretty uncommon for that time.

But I was mulling over some other conflicts, most importantly events that affected more than just my family.  The Civil War fits into that category and since I had a few ancestors who served, I decided to pull out a pension record and learn a little more.

One of my ‘favorite’ ancestors continues to be Emery Waller, my 3x great grandfather.  I’ve written a lot about finding Emery in an unmarked grave HERE but never really focused on the conflict that affected him for his entire life.

Emery enlisted in 39th Illinois Infantry in August, 1861.  The organization of Company I commenced as soon as news of Fort Sumpter reached Chicago and on 13 October 1861, the Regiment left Camp Mather, Chicago with Emery as First Lieutenant.   The Regiment reported to Brigadier General Curtis, at Camp Benton, St. Louis, Missouri.

From there the Regiment went to Williamsport, Maryland and then on to Hancock, Maryland.  On January 3, 1862, the advance of a rebel force 15,000 strong, under command of "Stonewall" Jackson, attacked Companies D, I and K, in the command of Major Mann, near Bath, Virginia.  After the skirmish, the Company retreated up the railroad to Cumberland, Maryland. 

Since Cumberland was at this period threatened, the 39th was ordered to make a forced march of 40 miles, over terrible roads, which was accomplished in the short space of 18 hours.  The Regiment suffered seriously from sickness, due to constant exposure and excessive duty. The weather was intensely cold, and cattle cars were the only quarters to be had for the command. But the men endured these hardships for over two months with scarcely a murmur, even though their comrades were dying around them.  The Regiment took part in the fight at Winchester, 23 March 1862, that resulted in the utter defeat of "Stonewall" Jackson's forces.

Emery resigned from this Regiment on 14 June 1862 and by 4 September 1862 was reinstated as Captain in Company I, 107th Illinois, which was mustered into the United States service at Camp Butler, Illinois that day.  This Regiment consisted of six companies from DeWitt County and four companies from Piatt County.

This Regiment traveled to Jeffersonville, Indiana and several weeks later, crossed Ohio River to Louisville.  Then on to Elizabethtown, Kentucky to meet General John Morgan, who was advancing in that direction.  A slight skirmish ensued which resulted in the capture of some of the enemy yet no casualties to the Regiment.

From there the Regiment moved to Mumfordsville, Kentucky in early December where it remained until March, 1863 when it left for Glasgow to stay until June.  On 18 June, 1863 they marched to Tompkinsville, Kentucky on the Cumberland River in order to meet the movement of John Morgan who was preparing to invade Kentucky.  After moving on to Lebanon, Kentucky in late August, they proceeded with General Burnside to East Tennessee. 

There are various references to the unit being in Loudon and Knoxville during the later months of 1863.  Most important was the mention of the advancement of General Longstreet near Loudon and the ensuring skirmishes.  On 15 December, 1863, Emery Waller resigned.

It’s interesting to read in more detail the movement of this Regiment as I read through Emery’s pension records to learn about his disabilities.  Here’s an example of one of the pages.  While I would like nothing more than to see a photo of Emery (to visualize him, as my dad would have said), it’s pretty amazing to have the notes from his pension records in his own handwriting. 

I have no witness in this case as I was cut off from my command at Campbell Station near Knoxville, Tennessee by Longstreets force and I made for the Rail Road about 100 yards distance and Caveraly [sic] followed me and shot me twice above the left knee as above stated I jumped down a pressings(?) about ten foot and sculked a long the bank until I reached our lines and Lieut. Cal Landry dressed the wounds and he was killed at Franklin, Tennessee about 1/2 of Co. G of the 111 Ohio was cut off with me and Lieut. Weedman of Co. G of our Reg but he died about three months since Co. G have no one to prove my wounds by so if you cant make a case from my affidavit then you will have to drop it and take the spinal and kidney diseases which has risen from the chronic diahrea[sic] and piles this is a full statement of my case.  I can’t furnish any other testimony.  This was in the fall of 1863.

Emery lived the next 25+ years with his disabilities.  He stated on several occasions that his diarrhea and piles were caused by being “compelled to use green corn”.  And on 26 January, 1885, Emery stated during an interview that “I have suffered more this winter than I have ever done”.

Emery’s interviews also mentioned that in the spring of 1862 at Winchester, Virginia he “contracted rheumatism and was greatly disabled for manual labor.”  He also stated he was treated at field hospitals in Knoxville and Loudon.

It’s incomprehensible to think just how many people were affected by this conflict.  Emery was just one person and each story is heartbreaking.

Again, thanks for your service, Emery L. Waller.

52 Ancestors: Sports

I grew up around sports, mostly as a spectator, but I did participate now and again.  It probably started with my dad who was quite the track star in high school.  I remember seeing the pictures of him, as well as the banners, on the wall in his room at his childhood home.  He talked a little about it but I never realized just how good he was.  My dad wasn’t just a star to me, but he was also a star of his high school!

In 1942, when Dad was a sophomore, he was on the Class “C” Track Team at Fresno High school.  That’s him, second from the left on the bottom row.  And there on the bottom right was his childhood (and lifelong) friend, Jimmy Bradshaw.

An interesting side note.  A year ahead of my dad was Jae O’Hanian, manager of the Varsity Track team.  See him there – top row, far left?  Does he look familiar?  He went on to be known Mike Connors, star of the TV show, Mannix.



In 1943, Dad must have been absent the day of photos but he still was a standout for the Class B team.



His senior year, 1943-1944, showed he was now the standout of the Varsity Team and affectionately known as Flash.  I am so glad that I have all of his yearbooks to study.





As all true Levys did, my dad was also a scrapbooker.  So besides his yearbooks, I also have his scrapbook where he kept all of the newspaper clippings about his track days.  That’s Dad on the right.



Dad was pretty fast for the day.  From what I’ve found, his best time in the 100 yard dash was 10.1 seconds (high school record was 9.9 seconds) and in the 220 yard dash was 22.3 seconds (high school record was 21.7 seconds).  Dad liked to remind people that he ran on a dirt track with sub-par shoes with less conditioning and no scientific diet.





In 1944, the Fresno High School Warriors tied with the Roosevelt High School Roughriders, the first time a tie had occurred in the 14 year history of the Fresno city high school track and field championship.  Dad ran his heart out that day.

L-R:  Gordon Levy, Leroy Eiffler, Jimmy Bradshaw, Ted Matthews

The big meet every spring was the West Coast Relays.  I can remember an annual pilgrimage to Fresno each year so Mom and Dad could go to the track meet while we stayed at home with Grandma.

On May 20, 1944, Dad was the leading scorer in the meet with 7 1/2 points.  He won both the 100 and 220 and was the anchor on the winning relay team.



Dad did run some track at Stanford but, of course, he was a smaller fish in a much larger ocean there.  He said the main reason he was able to participate on the track team was because of the lack of upper class men who were all off to war.

Dad loved to tell the story of running both the 100 and 220 sprints against USC’s Mel Patton in the LA Coliseum.  This was about the time that Mel broke the record in both events and was known by some as “the fastest man in the world”.  Dad was always quick to tell people that on the day of their races, the world’s greatest sprinter vomited before both the 100 and 220 in fear of him and then Mel proceeded to beat him by 10 yards in the short race and a bigger gap in the 220.  When Dad told his roommate how badly he was beaten, his friend summed it up by saying “At that moment, you were the second fastest sprinter in the world”.

Something my dad always hung on to as he always liked to see the glass half full.

52 Ancestors: Ten

This week’s blog prompt had me scratching my head.

“Let's change things up a bit with a theme that is especially ambiguous: "Ten." Ten what? Someone who had 10 children? Someone with 10 letters in their name? Someone who was in the 10th Infantry? Someone who was born in October? #10 on your ancestor chart? (That would be your paternal grandmother's father, if you number it the standard way.) “

Unfortunately, none of that spoke to me.  Hmmm. 

Wait, I’ve got an idea.  How about the 10th letter of the alphabet?  A, B, C…..J.  Okay, that’s it.  Let’s pick an ancestor with a name starting with J.  And that’s when I thought of my second great grandmother, Julia Horgan.

I don’t know much about Julia and after several hours of research, I’m no further along than I was before.  But I can share what I do know and hope that something along the way will spark a memory.

Several years ago I connected with a cousin, Patti, who also descended from Julia Horgan so we shared some notes and a photo or two and then the unthinkable happened and Patti was taken from us.  I wrote about it HERE.  How I wish Patti were here so we could talk again.  My hunch is that we still would be no further along but at least we sure would have had fun talking through it.

Julia was born in Derryleagh, Cork, Ireland in 1849 to Jeremiah Horgan and Margaret “Maggie” Callahan.  She was the 5th of 7 children of the couple – four older brothers (Michael, Cornelius, Andrew, John) and two younger sisters (Mary and Nora).

Julia married Matthew Fitzgerald in, I believe, June, 1869 in Black Station, Yolo County, California.  Julia and Matthew were living in Grafton, Yolo County, in 1870 where Julia was keeping house and Matthew was a Laborer.

By 1880, the family had grown – boy had it grown!



It’s hard to see but there with Matthew and Julia were the first of 7 children – John (b1871), Jeremiah (b1873), Nicholas (b1875), Mary Margaret (b1877), and Edward Francis (b 1879).  This is an especially meaningful census for me as Edward was my great-grandfather, a lovely man whom I remember well.  Two more children would join the family – Joseph (b1881) and Anna Teresa (b1883).  Those two children are also special as Joseph was Patti’s grandfather and I was always told that my middle name was in honor of Anna, my mother’s great aunt whom she lived with for several years.

But just a few years later, Julia was gone.  She died 4 Aug 1885 in Black, Yolo County.  I have no idea of any specifics but it’s not for lack of trying.  I just sealed the envelope requesting a copy of the death certificate which might give me more information.  Fingers crossed.

I did find an interesting article.



Julia is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Woodland, Yolo County, California.  I think she is beside Matthew as both show in Row 26-S, although Matthew shows he is in Plot 3 and Julia shows in Section 3.  One day I need to walk the cemetery and see for myself.