New Trials and Conclusion

The next few months were difficult for Barney Coffey.  First, he had not been at his farm for almost a month and it needed care.  But more importantly is the public opinion was that Hamilton was surely guilty and Barney was one of the men, in their eyes, that hung the jury.  Although Mr. Coffey was a well respected man in the community, not all his neighbors were pleased on how he voted.  Some neighbors avoided him.  Some were more angry and direct, telling him how they felt.  He heard the snickers and saw people look his way, point, and whisper. Barney waited for Hamilton’s next trial, hoping it would stop the negative reactions by his friends and neighbors. 

 

So what happened with George Hamilton and the five others?  Early in August, Fred Newport surprised the court and also turned state’s evidence to reduce his charge from first degree murder to second degree manslaughter.  He testified along with Vassen at Oliver J Lloyd’s August 1887 trial held in Poala, Miami County, KS.  However even with his appearance and that of Vassen’s, a jury acquitted Oliver J. Lloyd.   Sheriff Ferguson immediately took Lloyd into custody and returned him to Wyandotte County for trial of the original charge, a train derailment in Ramapo.[1]  Fred Newport’s trial, also in Poala, Miami County, started just a few days after Lloyd’s.  Newport pleaded guilty for second degree manslaughter, a charge that could result in 5-20 years in prison.  However, he did not serve prison time and was allowed to leave after his plea.  William Vassen, who turned state’s evidence, was free and was no longer in the news.    

 

George Hamilton’s second trial began on August 26, 1887, at the Wyandotte County court, and was considered much stronger than the first.  Vassen and Newport both testified.  On September 3^rd, Hamilton testified on his own defense.  The courtroom was crowded with Knights of Labor members.  Hamilton stated that he was a carpenter, married with a family.  Before the strike he was a coach inspector.  He stated he was a member, and on the executive board of the local union chapter.  On April 25^th, 1886  he spent most of the day at the union hall.  He left between 6:30 PM returning to the hall at 9:00 PM.  He did borrow the wig from his neighbor, Mr. Law, to have a little fun.  He also used the wig as disguise when meeting with a Mr. Wright who was at the railroad shop, and Hamilton did not want to be identified as being on railroad grounds.  He testified that he spent the rest of the night at the hall.  Vassen and McNamara left around midnight. Hamilton stayed in the company of Feeney, Leary, Lloyd, Monahan, Newport.  It was not unusual for him to stay overnight, so he could be in touch with the strikers. After leaving the hall at 4:00 AM for a short period of time for food, he returned and at about 6:00 AM, heard the news of the wreck.  He tried to walk down 6^th Street to see it, but was told that he would not be able to get near enough to see anything due to the guards.  In cross exam Hamilton said that he had not heard of any vandalism during the strike.  “Never heard of it.” [2]  Next on the stand were several men who testified giving alibis for him for the time period of the train wreck.

 

The following day, Saturday, September 10, 1887, the trial concluded and the case went to jury at 10:00 AM.  They had not agreed that day and were locked up for the night and for the weekend. Court resumed on Monday, September 12^th.  The juror had come to a decision.  George Hamilton was acquitted and allowed to return to his home.[3] 

 

Barney felt some redemption.  His acquittal vote was multiplied twelve times over and Hamilton was freed.  While still a very unpopular outcome, the burden was no longer Barney’s.  It was the twelve jurors in the second trial who agreed that there was not enough evidence.  Also, with the passage of time, life became easier for Barney.  The staring, whispers and talk settled down. Barney continued farming his 160 acres in Wyandotte County.

 

After the two acquittals, Hamilton’s and Lloyd’s, the government decided to release Robert Geers and Michael Leary nolle prossed, a Latin phrase which translates to “we will not prosecute.” It is usually made after the charges are brought, but before a verdict.  The two men were released on November 2, 1887, after spending 17 months in jail.  But there’s more to their stories. Both Geers and Leary filed civil suits against the Missouri Pacific for $50,000 each for wrongful arrest.  Geers states that he lost $2.50 a day in wages while waiting in jail from May 26, 1886 to November 2, 1887.[4] Both men contended that  they lost their health with worry and their good  reputations.  The legal response from the railroad was that if the men testify under oath that they had nothing to do with the April 26^th wreck, they would be sued for perjury.[5]  It is not known if this ever went to trial or money was collected. In the same 1889 news article, it stated that Lloyd has moved to the south.  Newport moved to Philadelphia.

 

The failure of Great Train Strike of 1886 was the beginning of the end for the Knights of Labor.  It had not drawn the support of the engineers, and started the division amongst its members.[6]  This strike, plus the Haymarket riot and the collapse of the 1887 Sugar Strike in Louisiana were demoralizing to the union and by 1890, only 10% of its membership remained active.  The organization dwindled until its final convention in 1932.

 

P.S. Aren’t newspapers great!

 

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[1] Emporia Weekly News, June 23, 1887 page 1

[2] The Council Grove Republican September 8, 1887 page 2

[3] The Topeka Daily Capital September 13, 1887 Page 1

[4] The Kansas City Gazette November 21, 1888 page 1

[5] The Valley Falls New Era October 3, 1889 page 1

[6] Wikipedia.com  The Great Train Strike of 1886

 

 

Barney Coffey, Juror, at the Trial

On the first day of the trial, Dec 31, 1886, the court was filled. Vassen, key witness, gave his testimony about the events leading up to and after the train wreck.  He appeared very honest and any attempt to change his story proved futile.  Ex Governor Johnson tried many angles during the cross examination, but could not entrap Vassen.[1]  Another witness, Mrs.Horton, wife of Ben Horton, the fireman, testified how badly disfigured her husband’s body was when it was brought to her for burial.

 

The most important witness on the second day of the trial, January 1, 1887 (Happy New Year!) was George A. Fowler, the detective that posed as Brother Albert.  He surprised the jury by testifying of an incident with the Mayor Hannon, of Kansas City, KS, who was a known Knight of Labor member.  While Hannon believed that Fowler was Brother Albert from the executive board, Hannon promised Fowler, that he (Hannon) would shield the six wreckers (from justice.)  Hannon had sent a buggy for the six plus Brother Albert and others.  It had been Fowler’s intent to arrest the six at this meeting, but deferred, due to Hannon’s comments.  In another incident, Sherriff Ferguson gave the secret handshake of the Knights of Labor when Fowler extended his hand as Brother Alfred. Fowler also testified that Ferguson gave Fowler, as a Knight of Labor, permission to go to jail and visit Lloyd.

 

This testimony caused quite a sensation. After Fowler concluded for the day, Sheriff Ferguson jumped up and accused him of lying under oath[2].  Ferguson then reached for his revolver, but other detectives gathered around Fowler and the audience began to move away.[3]  The men were quickly separated and met in a smaller room where the matter was discussed.  Ferguson insisted that Fowler withdraw his statement, but Fowler refused.  With assistance, the two men cooled down and the trial ended for the day.

 

On January 6^th the trial continued.  Several men, members of the Knights of Labor gave alibis for Hamilton, saying he spent the entire night with them at the Knight of Labor meeting room. Under cross examination, the alibis stories seemed weak. Sheriff Ferguson took the stand to say that while he had been a union member for three years, he was not a current member of the Knights of Labor. Mayor Hannon of Kansas City took the stand to say that he was a current member of the Knights of Labor, but denied that it helped him get elected.  He did not remember too much about the night of the buggy ride, other than a tour of the town. 

 

The trial’s closing arguments were on January 8^th, and the jurors, including Barney Coffey, met until midnight.  Not reaching a verdict, they were locked up for a night of sleep to resume deliberations in the morning.  Six days later, on January 14^th, the judge called the jurors into court.  They were helplessly deadlocked.  The judge released the jurors, including Barney.  The newspaper listed the names of the jurors and HOW they voted.  Everyone in Prairie Township and beyond, area that Coffey had voted acquittal or innocent.  Hamilton went back to jail to await a new trial. 

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Next Hamilton's new trial and the conclusion.

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[1] Marion Recorder, Jan 7, 1887 page 2

[2] In those days it was called “false swearing”

[3] Lawrence Daily Journal Jan 1, 1887 page 1

The Preliminary Hearing Full of Surprises

In the early morning hours of July 30, the Wyandotte county courtroom of Justice Anderson was filled with people wanting to hear the preliminary examination of the six defendants, Hamilton, Geers, Leary, Vassen, Lloyd and Newport.   Soon after court convened, it was adjourned until 1:30 PM to a much smaller group.   Only those close to the hearing were invited.  The accused were presented by Governor Johnson, and several other lawyers.  The six entered the room wearing the same clothes as the night of their arrest. Their wives were present.  It was first announced that Hamilton, Geers and Leary would be examined together.  The Prosecuting Attorney Gibson surprised the court when he called the first witness, William Vassen, who had not told the others that he had turned State’s evidence.  Governor Johnson quickly asked that the witness be instructed that he did not have to incriminate himself, but Vassen calmly replied that he was ready to testify.

 

He started by admitting to being a member of the Knights of Labor, District Assembly 101 having joined in October or November of 1885.  On the night of April 26^th, he met Lloyd, Hamilton and several other men at the lodge at 1919 West 6^th St.  At about half past midnight, Hamilton invited the group out for a drink, after which they returned to the hall where Hamilton took out a grey wig and adjusted it on his head, then added a big slouchy hat.  Lloyd, who too was wearing a hat, asked Vassen if he’d like to join them for a walk. They walked west on 6^th St., to the river, crossed the Riverview bridge.  The group consisted of Hamilton, Lloyd, Geers, Newport, Leary, Riggins, Verner and the witness Vassen.  They walked to the curve, where Lloyd got out a pick ax and began to draw the spikes on the track along the river.  Vassen suggested that they instead use the bluff side of the track as it would be less dangerous.  Lloyd replied “*#$%&, we want to throw the train into the river and kill the whole crowd.” He saw Geers and Newport also loosen spikes. When a northbound train came by, the men hid. Vassen kept guard while other completed the work.  Newport threw a crowbar into the river.  Newport, Hamilton, and Lloyd Vassen returned via the Wyandotte iron bridge.  He left the group at James and Third and went home to bed.  He does not know what the other men did. 

 

Lloyd came to Vassen’s house the next day and told him that there had been a big wreck.  Lloyd later said he wanted to see all of the scabs killed. There were several discussions amongst the men for days afterwards.  Vassen commented that they should be quiet, and not put their foot in their mouth. [1]

 

At the end of the hearing, Justice Anderson held the six in jail without bail until September 13^th.  By late summer the momentum of the strike had simply faded.  By September, the strike was over.  On November 23, H.M. Hoxie, the target of the union, and the general manager of the Gould Southwest Railway, and Vice President of Missouri Pacific died in his home at the Metropolitas Opera House in New York City.  After the strike settled, he complained of exhaustion and in May had taken time off for kidney stone surgery and recovery.  He became weaker after surgery and died with his wife at his side.  At his request, he was buried next to his only child, a son, in Iowa. [2]

 

The next article I find is about the December 22^nd hearing.  There are some interesting defenses. The case against them for Horton’s death is dropped (no reason given) so the defense moves to have them released arguing that killing two men at one time is one crime and since the one case was dropped, then the case regarding Carlisle’s murder should be dropped also.  This was refused by the judge.  The case against Lloyd was moved to Miami County to be more impartial. The same for change of venue was made for Newport, but the decision was not immediately rendered.  The case for Hamilton was ready to go to trial.  The defense asked for 10 more days to prepare, but it was refused.  Judge Hindman started jury selection.  Twelve men were available and eleven interviewed.  None was selected.  The judge made a special request for 100 men to be available for jury duty. [3] By Dec 28^th, 160 men were examined, and in a surprise decision, the twelfth man, a member of the Knights of Labor, was selected as the last juror[4]  Barney Coffey, age 62, was one of the jurors, and was sequestered with the rest and heard the following at the trial. (Next the trial.)

 

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[1] The Weekly Kansas Chief August 5, 1886 page 1

[2] Emporia Weekly News, November 25, 1886 page 1

[3] The Daily Commonwealth of Topeka Kansas December 23, 1886 page 1

[4] The Daily Commonwealth of Topeka Kansas December 29, 1886 page 1

The Train Wreck

The accident occurred between James St. and 6th Street Bridge, Kansas City, KS where the river bends to the southwest.  The track hugs the river bank and is near the edge of the river, 10-20 feet above it.  On April 26, 1886, at about 4:30 AM, freight train #38 consisting of the engine and six cars, was eastbound rounding a curve southwest of the Wyandotte Bridge, along the bank of the Kaw River[1].  The train was moving slowly, about 5 miles/hour through the curve, when the engine and four cars suddenly left the track.  The engine and the first two cars hurled over the embankment, turned upside down and landed in the mud close to the river.  The two next cars rolled down an embankment and two remained on the track.  A fire immediately started.  The sound of crashing cars was heard by many.  Hundreds of people came running to the pre-dawn scene.

 

Riding on the engine that night were J.H. Fowler the engineer, Ben F. Horton, fireman and George Carlisle, head brakeman.  Fowler was thrown into the river from the train, and was able to wade to shore, relatively uninjured.  Sadly, Horton and Carlisle’s bodies were found in the engine crushed and scalded to death.  Carlisle’s body was described as “crushed and cooked”.   Horton’s crushed.  It took four hours to remove them.  A wrecking train came and cleared the track.  By noon the track was ready for travel.

 

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[1] Now known as the Kansas River

 The accident occurred just south of the James St. Bridge.  The train was going in a northeast dirctionat the curve and next to the left bank of the river.  Across the river is W. 6th St. the location of the union headquarters.

 

Immediately the officials realized this was a result of malicious tampering with the rails.  The spikes had been removed and the fish plates taken from fifteen rails along the most dangerous part of the curve.  Fowler, the only survivor said he had a feeling that there would be trouble at the bridge and thus went at a very slow speed.  He saw a number of men near the bridge watching.  He had just reached for his rifle when the train threw him into the air.  About an hour before the accident, passengers on a west bound train that had travelled through there later reported that they had been fired upon.  Mr. H. M. Hoxie, First Vice President of the Missouri Pacific company offered $2500 for information that would lead to the capture and conviction of all the men who “ditched” the train and $1000 for information leading to the conviction of any one of them.  An inquest by the coroner was convened on April 27^th in Kansas City, KS. After which Horton’s wife came to take his body home to Oak Grove, Iowa for burial.

 

Except for a few editorials about event’s severity and that the men responsible should be held accountable and sentenced to fit the horrendous crime, not much else is mention of the case for several months. But on Sunday night, July 19, 1886, Sheriff James Ferguson of Wyandotte County and his deputies took five of the six men into custody at the county jail, George Hamilton, the suspected ringleader, Robert Geers, Michael Leary, Fred Newport, and William Vassen.  That night, Hamilton was working security at the Brooklyn Park resort outside of the city was arrested at 10:00 PM and taken to jail before his charges were read.  Next Geers’ home was surrounded at midnight by detectives who woke him up and arrested him.  Newport, who had been working as a car repairer, was arrested shortly thereafter.   Vassen an employee of an ice firm and Leary were the last to be arrested at their homes, pre-dawn on July 20^th morning.[1]  All were members of the executive board of the local lodge of Knights of Labor union.  The sixth man, Oliver J Lloyd, who had been a car repairer, was arrested separately the same morning and held.

 

How these men were fingered, was very interesting.  The authorities had several clues.  A pinch-bar was found near the wreck.   An actor, Mr. Law, a neighbor of Hamilton’s, reported that Hamilton had borrowed a gray wig as a disguise that night.  A boatman reported having been hired to take the six men across the river in a skiff the evening of the wreck.  He could identify three by name, Hamilton, Geers and Leary.[2]  During the months that followed, detectives gathered clues by quietly sitting (even pretending to dose off) in bars frequented by Knights of Labor, to overhear conversations.

  

Sheriff Ferguson focused on one man, Oliver J. Lloyd, who was arrested in late June or early July for his responsibility in another train wreck in Ramapo, KS just outside Wyandotte County. Lloyd was seen flipping a switch that caused a mail train to derail.[3] Two detectives, posing as a members of the Knights of Labor, Brother George Alfred (actually George A. Fowler) and Brother Thomas Martel (actually Thomas Furlong) visited the union’s Kansas City, MO headquarters located at 1919 W Sixth St.  Their cover story was that they were secret service officers, from the national executive board in Scranton, PA, who were sent with money for Lloyd’s bail.  Saying that the executive board thought that it was important to get Lloyd out of jail, Alfred and Martel used $1500 (which was obtained by Detective Thomas Furlong of the Missouri Pacific) to  bail Lloyd out . Alfred stood before the judge and told how he would be responsible if Lloyd jumped bail, earning Lloyd’s trust.  Immediately leaving court, the three men hired a hack which drove them just in time to board the train to St. Louis (via Chicago.)  This was ostensively to get away from the Kansas City officers. 

 

In a rented house in St. Louis, the three men met with four (pretend) members of the union’s executive council, including a (fake) lawyer to work out a defense strategy.[4] The “lawyer” suggested Lloyd get several alibis for the Ramapo incident, and to stretch out the start of the trial as long as possible.  As the meeting was ending, one of the group who had stepped outside on an “errand” said he’d received a telegram directing the group to go to Pacific Junction, Iowa to assist union brothers who had been arrested for firing at a Missouri Pacific train. [5] The group of seven rode in a special private sleeper car to save money.  (A member of the union, still working for the Missouri Pacific, had supposedly obtained the car for free.)  The detectives continued to gain Lloyd’s confidence, and Lloyd, while still on the train, gave the detective/union members the details of the derailment, and train wreck and the meetings that lead up to it.  Lloyd even told of an earlier plot by Hamilton and others to kill H.M. Hoxie, the Missouri Pacific Vice President and the chief strike negotiator, and Sheriff Ferguson.  There had been a change in Hoxie’s travel plans, and this plan was never carried out. What Lloyd did not know was that he was on a private car that eventually went past the scene of the accident.  Early, the morning of July 20^th, the detectives revealed their true identities and re-arrested Lloyd on the train.  He was handcuffed and held in the private car waiting on a side rail until all of the others were arrested.  [6] (Next the preliminary hearing with some surprises.)

 

 

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[1] Osage County Chronicle, July 22, 1886 page 2

[2] Hutchinson News, July 21, 1886 page 1

[3] Hutchinson News, July 21, 1886 page 1

[4] Real detectives

 

[6] Fort Scott Daily Monitor, July 20, 1886, page 1

Barney Coffey (1824-1898) and a Free Newspaper Subscription

A seven day free subscription to the newspaper website www.newspapers.com was too tempting to pass up.  So I signed on and as any good genealogist would do, immediately went to work searching for any articles that name family members.  One name, Barney Coffey, is my third gr-grandfather, born 1824, Ireland, died 1898 Menager, Wyandotte, Kansas.  New information included three 1875 articles listing him as a delegate for the Independent Reform (party) Convention,   one in 1883 when he (good Irish Catholic)  is building a home for a priest, one in 1884, when he reports the current crops growing better than those in the past, two in 1885 and 1886 when he is elected as one of six road overseers for Prairie Township, three February 1888 articles about his appointment as postmaster in Menager, Wyandotte County, KS , two September 1888 articles advertising the leasing of coal rights on his property.  Next are Barney’s 1898 obit and forty two times when the same legal notice regarding his probate ran between Feb 14, 1899 and April 3, 1899.

 

Then there were the two articles about his jury duty in December 30, 1886 and the trial verdict on January 20, 1887.  I almost overlooked the possibilities of a good story, but with a just two days left on my free subscription, I check the facts closer.  The first article gave some clues that this was a bigger than usual trial.  The trial is about a man – George H. Hamilton who is accused being part of a group of men responsible for a train wreck on April 26, 1886.  The jury was sequestered for the entire trial.  Twelve men, of which nine are farmers.  Names and townships were listed including my Barney from Prairie Township. Maybe look into this more.

 

The January 20^th article states that it took 94 hours before the judge called the jury to court.  Judge Hindman spoke.  Normally he did not allow a jury to deliberate so long, but because of the nature of the trail, he allowed it.  Still, it was a hopelessly hung jury.  Seven for the conviction, five for acquittal.  The paper actually listed each juror’s name and HOW he voted!  Barney voted for acquittal.  A new trial would begin soon.  Hamilton returned to jail awaiting his next trial.

 

I almost overlooked the case, but realized…sequestering, one of a group of men responsible, train wreck, hung jury.  What was the rest of the story?  What happened at the next trial?  What happened to the other men in the group?  So I did a search on…George Hamilton, found the five other men’s names and the name of the railroad, the Missouri Pacific.    Using these as a search, I found the rest of the story.

 

Surprisingly, only two articles were about the train wreck itself.  The Topeka Daily Capital gave it front page coverage on April 27^th. The first headline I saw, in the April 27^th, 1886 Lawrence Daily Journal  reads:

 

A Terrible and Fatal Train Wreck on the Missouri Pacific.

The Work of Miscreants.

The Fireman and Brakeman Crushed and Cooked –

The Engineer Saves His Life by Jumping

…Full Details

 

To give you a background, there had been an ongoing and tumultuous railroad workers’ strike starting  March 6, 1886. Known as the Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886, the railroad workers in the organization called the Knights of Labor, working in the southwest United States (at that time) conducted strike against railroads owned by Jay Gould, a ruthless industrialist who owned about 12% of the railway track at that time.  His businesses included the elevated lines in New York City, The Western Union telegraph service, and several railroad including the Missouri Pacific.   The Knights of Labor was formed in 1869. Acting similar to a union, demands included eight hour work days, an end to child labor and graduated income taxes.  By 1886, membership jumped to 800,000 members.  

 

The 1886 strike action was sparked by the dismissal of a Texas employee who had attended a union meeting on company time. More than 200,000 workers were on strike in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Texas. [1]There had been much vandalism and just a week before this accident, the railway advertised a $300 reward for information leading to the arrest for such crimes.  The strikers were particularly angry at one man, H.M. Hoxie who managed the Gould Southwestern Railway. Hoxie’s response indicated that the strike left 10,000 men out of work nearly stopped the travel on 5,000 miles of railway traffic in four states effecting four million people.[2] Leaders of the union, and the railway company met in March, 1886, but were unable to reach agreement.  Pinkerton detectives were hired.  While the governor of Texas and Missouri hired State Militia for protection, Kansas’s governor refused, stating there had been no reports of incidences.  However newspapers reported many incidences in Kansas where shots were fired, switching stations burned, trains uncoupled and trains wrecked.  The railroad was forced to hire private security. Governor John A. Martin eventually the First State Militia and tried to help the union and railroad negotiate. (Next –The Train Wreck)

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[1] Wikipedia.org Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886

[2] The Daily Commonwealth March 10, 1886