Thriller Thursday - The Murders at Rocky Fork ~ Part Three

With the Nichols family behind bars for the Piatt murders, the law officers of Scioto county assumed they had solved the crime.  Prosecuting the crime was going to prove more difficult.  They couldn't seem to put together a case against the Nichols family members.  Both 13 year old Hammond, who was already physically crippled, and the Nichols' cousin, David Brown,  became ill.  Months went by without any case going to court.

Then, a series of events happened that sent fear throughout Scioto County and created some doubt that the Nichols men were guilty of the crime.

In September, 1911, Sheridan Piatt, son of the murdered Oliver, was viciously attacked by James Evans, his son, Otto, and James' wife, Nora.  After almost killing Sheridan, they went on a crime spree. For three days at the end of September, they sent shivers throughout the community of Buena Vista.  The Portsmouth Daily Times on 27 September, 1911 stated that the Evans' "Went on the Warpath".  Several people were shot and wounded.   Officials from both Adams and Scioto counties began a manhunt for James and Otto Evans, and Nora was found and arrested.  Citizens were concerned that the Evans boys were out to settle "old scores" and many were afraid to confront the outlaws. At one point, the posse found the men and Deputy George River was shot and wounded. Because the Evans had such detailed knowlege of their surroundings, they were able to escape.  After several days, the law officers decided it was too dangerous to continue to go after the boys so they gave up the  hunt.  Speculation began that the Evans were probably involved in the Piatt murders, but they were never pursued.

Nora Evans was sentenced to 6 months in prison for her part in the assault and attempted murder of Sheridan Piatt. She was sent to the Cincinnati Workhouse, but due to illness and for "good behavior" she was released after only 4 months.

Then, on December 30, 1911, one year after the Piatt brothers murder and after spending almost a year in jail, the Nichols family was released on their own recognizance.  No material witnesses could be found to testify against them and it was deemed impossible to convict any of the Nichols men.  Because of the violence of the Evans family two months before, it could have been that too many questions about their possible involvement existed as well.  The Nichols did have to keep the courts informed of their whereabouts, but no further action was taken against them.  In May, 1912, the Nichols family considered legal action against the county for their imprisonment.  As of the writing of this post, I haven't determined the outcome of that lawsuit.

After the escape of the Evans' and the release of the Nichols family, no further arrests were made in the murders of Oliver and Minor Piatt.  It seems that someone did literally get away with murder.
To add to this tragedy,  on 8 March, 1921, 10 years after surviving the brutal attack by the Evans family, Sheridan Piatt was killed when he was hit in the head by a large branch while he was at work trimming trees. 

At this time, I do not know what became of James and Otto Evans, the "Wild and Wooly" father and son team who terrorized the county.  Scioto County in the early part of the 20th century was still a very rugged area.  Moonshiners were plentiful and the newspaper was often filled with stories of lawlessness.  It is sad that no one ever paid for the ghastly crime that occured on that cold December night, now one hundred years ago. Was it a robbery or something more personal?  We will never know.

Thriller Thursday- The Murders at Rocky Fork ~ Part Two

As early as Friday, 30 December, 3 days after the murders, Sheriff Eckhart of Scioto County was telling the press that he expected  to make an arrest in the Piatt murders "within a few days".  

 Countless stories were reported about the status of the case. Supposedly two women had appeared at the crime scene on the day following murder; acting strangely.

At one point there was even an erroneous report that a third body had been found in the burned out cabin and it was most probably the murderer, who had been killed himself by one of the Piatt brothers.

Doubtless, the sheriff was under great pressure to put the culprit behinds bars

  The victims were well known in the community.  Oliver Piatt was a divorced man.  His wife had left him and moved to West Virginia a few years before, taking one of the couple's sons with her.  Another son, Sheridan, had stayed in Rocky Fork with his father.  Not long Oliver and his wife separated, his brother, Minor, moved into the 3 room cabin he shared with his son and they began farming the tobacco fields together. The land was located in a rugged and remote part of the county.

Their cabin sat at the base of a dangerously high hill.  Surrounding the home were some thriving apple trees and nearby grew an apple orchard that Oliver had planted in 1907.  There was a well-kept garden and a successful 80 acre tobacco farm.  The farm itself was so large that it actually straddled the Scioto/Adams county line.  The Rocky Fork Creek ran through the property and a large ravine made it difficult to traverse the area without great care. 

According to an account in The Portsmouth Daily Times, the Piatt home itself contained a sitting room with a large stone fireplace, a bedroom, and a kitchen. Outside, a porch ran along the entire length of the front of the house. 

The speculation was that the murderer had to have been somewhat familiar with the Piatt's property, and it was believed the killer would be arrested sooner rather than later.

On 4 January, 1911,  the police officers of Scioto County arrested Hammond Nichols.  Nichols, 13 years old and "crippled", was not originally a suspect in the murders. However suspician had fallen on his brother, Jesse. The Nichols brothers lived in a "shanty", in Adams County, one and a half miles from the Piatt cabin.  When officers had searched the shanty, they found an empty gun shell exactly like the three that had been found at the murder scene.  The marks made by the plunger on the shell also matched those on the spent shells at the scene of the crime.  Jesse Nichols, the elder brother, had left town quickly the day after the murders and no one knew where he had gone.  By arresting his younger, handicapped brother, the police thought they could pull Nichols out of hiding.    They decided to leak the story that Jesse was no longer a suspect, hoping he would think it was safe to come home. It worked.  As he tried to make his way to his home, he was recognized by some men working in the woods and they turned him in.  He swore he was innocent, but the Sheriff believed they had their man.

He was questioned, or as the newspaper put it, "sweated" by Sheriff Eckhart, Ex-Sheriff Gillen, and Deputy Smith.  He continued to declare his innocence, telling the officers that he had only left town to visit an uncle in Indiana for the holidays and had fully expected to return. 

Hammond was released from custody on January 30, only to be arrested again, along with Nichols boy's father, Alex in June, 1911.   Then, in July, David Brown, a cousin of the Nichols by marriage who was described by newspaper reporters as a "squatter" was also arrested for the Piatt murders.  The only evidence pointing to Brown was the fact that he appeared to have come into money suddenly.  The Scioto county lawmen thought they had the entire case wrapped up with the arrest of the family Nichols and were just waiting to take the case the court. It should have been an open and shut case.

Right?

Thriller Thursday - The Murders at Rocky Fork ~ Part One

This is the story of the murders of Minor and Oliver Piatt, my husband's 2nd cousins, 3 times removed.


John Piatt, Jr. is standing on his front porch with his son.  It is about 9:30 p.m., Tuesday,  two days after Christmas, 1910.  In the distance he can hear the frantic barking of some hounds on a fox hunt.  The night is cold and he feels the chill through his coat.  Suddenly, the sound of gunshots echoes in the night. It is not unusual for men to carry guns during the fox hunt and  John just assumes that is what has happened..  He is joined on the porch by his son and soon they notice  what they think is the hunter's campfire. It grows larger and larger and John tells his son the men must be burning up the whole country.  The air turns  colder and after watching the flames for awhile, John and his son go back into the house to warm up and head to their beds, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had taken place only one and half miles away, at the home of his brothers, Oliver and Minor.

At about noon, on Wednesday 28 December, 1910, John Piatt, Jr. was shredding tobacco in his field at his home, near Rocky Fork in Scioto County, Ohio.  He was approached by Mr. Hazelbaker, a storekeeper from the town of Pink,  who informed him that he had heard John's brother's home had burned to the ground.  Neither Minor nor Oliver Piatt,  had been seen, and it was feared they had both been killed in the fire.  John quickly stopped his work and headed for the home of his brothers, an 80 acre tobacco farm, 18 miles from Portsmouth, Ohio on the Adams/Scioto County line. He asked his friend, James Brownfield to go with him.   It was around 3:00 pm when they arrived and before he was able to look for his brothers, two ladies, Mrs. Nichols and Mrs. Brown, apppeared on the scene.  Mrs. Nichols told John that it was her sons who had discovered  what had happened. She had sent them to the Piatt cabin to buy some tobacco.  When they saw the tragic scene, shocked and scared, they ran back home to tell their mother. She and her neighbor came to see if their story was true. Sadly, it was.

 Inside the home, John found  the bodies of his brothers, Minor, age 50 and Oliver, age 53.  They had both been killed by gunshot wounds to the head and they were burned beyond recognition.   One body was located in the corner between the fireplace and the kitchen. It appeared that any gunshot would have come through the front window, perhaps killing him with no warning.  The other man's body was found near the front door.

Sheriff Eckhart was summoned to the scene, as was the coroner, Dr. O.W. Robe.  The investigation began immediately and the speculation was that the Piatt brothers had been murdered for their money.  Family members told the investigators that the brothers were hard working, thrifty individuals who were known to keep large amounts of money in their home.  They carried silver money with them, but no silver was found in the ruins.  Armor Piatt told reporters for The Portsmouth Daily Times that he believed his brothers probably had between $500 and $1000 between them  and it would have been somewhere in the cabin. John Piatt put his suspicians on a man named William Briggs.  For a reason which he could not remember, Briggs had once said that the Piatts would "die with their boots on".   This man had been charged with selling his vote during the last election and was waiting for his punishment on that charge.  He was the first suspect.

The crime scene itself  filled with clues, even though the murderer had done his best to hide his deed.
In the yard were 3 empty Winchester cartridges.  Fresh, sized #8 footprints led in and out of the cabin and a bloody butcher knife was found on a window sill.  It appeared the culprit had approached from the west, up a small ravine that led down to the Rocky Fork Creek.

Within a few hours, a hundred people converged upon the crime scene.  This was a rugged and isolated area and travel to the cabin wasn't easy.  The sheriff, the coroner, and those who reported the crime details for the newspaper had a difficult time navigating the rocky and overgrown terrain to get to the cabin.  In the case of the reporter, he had to have footman on either side of his rig to help steady it and keep it from falling over. 

It didn't take the coroner long to make his determination on the cause of death for the men and he set about gathering up their remains for burial.  All he was able to find of both of the men was placed into an old lard can. and early on Friday morning, 30 December, 1910,  what remained of Minor and Oliver Piatt was placed in a "rough box" and buried in the cemetery at Berry Chapel on Rocky Fork.

In my next post, I will cover the investigation and arrests for the murders of the Piatt brothers of Scioto County.

Shot Through the Heart - The Story of Harry Odle

The cause of death listed on the certificate stated simply "Shot through the heart by officers."   The headline of The Portsmouth Daily Times on 1 March, 1927 proclaims "Coroner Starts Investigation in Death of Harry Odle -  Was Slain in Home in Rardon by Officers; Wife is Slightly Wounded in Gun Battle, Victim Insane, Alleged".   I stumbled upon that headline last night as I was doing a little "light" family history research on my husband's family.  On just another one of those days when I wanted to avoid doing the housework that is still waiting to be done, I discovered another compelling family story. 

As has happened so often in the past for me, researching newspaper archives had provided the beginning of a story that required more research to fill in the missing pieces and to finally put together a more complete picture of an event and a greater understanding of a distant family member.

Harry Odle, my husband's 1st cousin, 2 times removed, was born to John P. and Sarah Alice Cochran Odle on 20 April, 1883 in Nile Township, Scioto County, Ohio.  On 30 April, 1900, he married Iva Estella Freeman and between the years of 1902 and 1920, they had 8 children. 
According to the United States Census, in both 1910 and 1920 he was farming in Rarden Township,  Scioto County.  What could have happened that would have lead to his violent death on 28 February, 1927?

 I began with the lengthy article about the gun battle itself.  I learned that Harry Odle had been shot only once, with the bullet passing first through his forearm and then completely through his body. 
His wife, Iva, had been wounded when she was hit by a bullet that first hit a stovepipe, then the wall, a door, and then lodged in her calf.   Somehow, miraculously, Harry's mother who was also sitting in the room, was not injured. 
It had all begun when Deputy Sheriff Willis and City Patrolman Goodman had arrived at the Odle home with a warrant in hand certifying that Harry had been deemed "insane" and they were to return him to the state hospital in Athens, Ohio. He had been an inmate there in 1924 for the period of about one year.  He had run away at that time and was home for a year and half before being sent back to the asylum where he stayed until he was dismissed. The article states that the first time he was taken, it took more than a half a dozen men to handle him and while in his cell, he had torn out the iron bars with his hands.  During the short time following his release, he had worked off and on farming and working for the railroad with his brother, Nelson.  However, not long before the shooting incident, Harry's family and friends had complained to the sheriff that he had threatened their lives.  Harry himself  had also sent the County Clerk, Fred Warner, this threatening message: "To the Courts of Scioto County:  I herewith set my  hand and seat.  Harry Odle the ruler of Almighty God swear to do what is right by all people.  so I warn you to go according to law.  The first thing my trip to the insane asylum paid all my debts by law.  The second thing I seen in the paper where you appraised my place.  It is a d---- lie. It was never appraised as I know of, and I have been at home all the time.  I wasn't looking for trouble, but if that is what you want go ahead.  But, remember I am a citizen of the U.S. born and bred in Scioto County, and must be recognized."

On the Friday before his death, Harry had gone to the office of Mayor Walter Scott and threatened him with a gun, pointing it into the air and firing it several times. Then, on Monday, the day of the shooting,  Harry's daughter, Gertrude, sent the sheriff a telegram that stated, "Harry Odle dangerously insane. Family in great danger.  Come Immediately." 

Armed with a warrant for Harry's capture, the officers arrived at the home with the hope that they could "nab" him before he had a chance to shoot.  They entered the house through the kitchen and upon stepping into the middle room,  Harry fired upon them with a .32 caliber revolver,  as he wordlessly sat in a chair.  The officers drew their guns and stepped behind the door, returning fire.  Even after the shooting stopped, so wary were the officers about approaching Harry, that they threw tear gas into the room to make sure he was incapacitated.  Upon the coroner's investigation, it was discovered that Harry also had in his possession a large knife and several packs of 32 cartridges in his coat pocket.

The portion of the article that I found most interesting came towards the end when it detailed the following:  "According to relatives, Mr. Odle was a hard, earnest worker and was a sober man always and was never known to use a profane word until after he was first taken mentally ill about six years ago.  At that time, a young daughter, Berlin, about six years old, died, and he turned to religion in the hopes of forgetting his great sorrow.  Instead, relatives claim, he gave every thought to his new religious faith and soon showed signs of insanity."

When I read those lines about the mental illness not manifesting itself until after the death of his precious little girl, I knew I had to find out more about her.  According to the 1920 United States Census, Harry and Iva had a daughter named, Elizabeth B., who was 8 years old.  I felt this was probably the little one I was looking for.  I researched the Ohio Death Certificate database at familysearch.org and there I discovered the information I sought.  Elizabeth Burlene Odle, aged 7 years, 10 months, and 10 days, had died on 1 November, 1920 as a result of typhoid fever that she had contracted at school.
Harry and Iva had buried their little girl just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, 1920.   Certainly, Harry Odle would not have been the first parent to have been driven "insane" by the death of a child.  Today, there are many resources where grieving hearts can receive support, love, and understanding.  But, in 1920, counseling, especially in very rural areas, would have been virtually non-existent.  In fact, in many instances, grieving families were expected to just move on once an "acceptable" period of mourning was over.  The newspaper article reveals that Harry had "turned to religion", but we don't know exactly what that meant.  I'm sure his clergyman and his family all tried to help him ease his grief, but severe depression and it seems in this case, pychosis, could not have been talked away or even "loved" away.

According to an article in The Portsmouth Daily Times, dated 9 April, 1924, the probate court first officially judged Harry as "insane" on 8 April, 1924, and sent him to the Athens State Hospital because he had become violent and had terrorized his neighbors numerous times.   It is possible that his mental condition would have deteriorated without the death of his little girl, but it is hard to look at Harry's life just preceding the incident and not believe that his grief was not the major contributor to his downfall.   The fact that Harry Odle was a different man before his illness was told by the story of his funeral in The Portsmouth Daily Times on 5 March, 1927,  which stated "The throng that filled the church until the obtaining of standing room was next to impossible testified to the wide friendship of the man."

Thankfully, his actions did not harm anyone else,  at least physically  However,  I can't imagine what life must have been like for Iva, his wife, who had to grieve for her child and then for her husband.  She survived the gunshot wound, but remained in serious condition for many weeks.

The tragic story of Harry Odle began many years before he was "shot through the heart".  I can't help but think that his heart was injured twice; the first time by the loss of his beautiful Burlene and the final time when the lawman's bullet took his life.

Surname Saturday The Odle's and O'Dell's of Scioto County, Ohio

During the past week, I haven't written too many posts on my blog because I have spent just about every free moment I have had researching on my newly found resource of newspaperarchive.com.  Luckily for me, two of the newspaper they have available cover areas of the country where my husband had family living during the periods of time the source covers.  Last week, I shared both the story of my husband's great great uncle, August Hellmund and the account of the tragic drowning of  his great uncle Clyde O'Dell and his wife, Lillian.  In the past, I have told of some "offbeat" finds I have made such as some "moonshining" arrests and to my great delight, I have uncovered newspaper accounts of family weddings.  Yesterday, I was enjoying the search for "Odles" and "O'Dells" in the new database,  copying and saving articles in my history folders and updating my family tree with any newly found names and dates, when I came upon something new that shocked and saddened me.   It was an article published 4 April, 1937 in The Portsmouth Times.  The headline read, "BULLETS KILL MAN, WOUND MOTHER OF 8".  The article went on to describe how James Odle, in an apparent "jealous craze" had shot and wounded the wife of his cousin, John Odle.  He had been staying with his cousin,  John and his family and had  been very difficult to deal with.  Bessie, John's wife, had apparently had enough of  James living with them and she told him to move out of the house. James became angry, retrieved a gun and shot  Bessie.  Her son, William, had come to his mother's aid and stepped between her and the man attempting to kill her.  After shooting Bessie, James had put the gun to his head and killed himself.  Bessie had actually walked herself to the ambulance, but was now in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.  What a terrible story.
I immediately wanted to see just how these individuals fit into my husband's family tree.  The first thing I did was open to my family tree files to look up James, but there are many James Odle's in the family and not knowing any more information than what I had, it was a little difficult to match exactly whose "James" he was.  My next step was the Ohio Death Certificates database at familysearch.org to see if I could connect him to his parents by looking at his death certificate.  Unfortunately, his record wasn't there, but my eyes fell upon the name of someone else.  It was Bessie O'Dell.  According to her death certificate, Bessie died two weeks after she was shot, on 18 April, 1937.  The cause of death was listed as endocarditis, contributory cause was a gunshot wound to the abdomen.   I felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness.  I had just "met" this incredibly strong woman who had walked from the scene of her attempted murder to the waiting ambulance, and now she was gone.  She was taken away from her husband and her eight children by a man who was angry that she didn't like his influence upon her household.   I knew there was now more to be told of this story.  I searched the archive database once more, concentrating specifically on her name and I  discovered another article.

At the time of this article, Bessie's condition seemed to be improving, but unfortunately, I knew now that it wasn't to be.

The next two articles I found were obituaries; both Bessie's and James'. 

My final steps in documenting this tragedy were to input the information that I had found into both my Ancestry.com family tree and my personal family tree database.  After that, I could tell my husband that the wife of his grandmother's first cousin, therefore, his first cousin, once removed, was shot and killed by the man, James Odle, his second cousin, twice removed. 

 We all have items that live in our family trees that don't make us proud, but they are still important components to who we are.   Now that I know Bessie, I won't forget her and I think that is what family history is all about.