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. 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 3rd,
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 25th, 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 6th 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.”
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
12th. The juror had come to a
decision. George Hamilton was acquitted
and allowed to return to his home.
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.
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 26th
wreck, they would be sued for perjury. 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. 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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