William Kelly was a large man, 6’2″, with hard muscles built from a lifetime of farm work. But still, he sat humbly and quietly. Across from him sat his mother, Myrtle Kelly, who was fervently asking why he had committed the deed that had put him here, in the Harrison County, Iowa jail. He explained …
Deadly Lessons: The Logan, Iowa Hammer Murders of 1933 Read More »
The grass was ready to turn from brown to green, and some of the trees had started to bud new leaves in anticipation of warmer weather. Birds and other animals were building nests and dens. It was April 1896, and spring was returning to Iowa. All of this was lost on Herman Boek …
Sin and Redemption: The Augusta Bartz Murder of 1896 Read More »
Hard as it is to believe now, Scott County, Iowa, bordering the Mississippi River on the state’s eastern edge, was once America’s frontier. Before 1833, when the United States Congress opened what was then known as the Blackhawk Purchase to free settlement, nearly that entire region was as wild and untamed as anything the …
Perhaps the most dangerous weather in the Midwest is the blizzard. Temperatures plummet, and the wind not only drives that cold through a person, but blows the snow so hard that they can hardly see. Many lives have been claimed by Iowa’s winter storms over the years, and H.V. Morrill was almost among …
Once Upon an Iowa Blizzard – The Journey of H.V. Morrill Read More »
All marriages have their ups and downs. It’s not always an easy thing living with another human being. More than sharing space and material goods, living with someone else is also the sharing of moods and attitudes toward life in general. Like so many other things in life, these things aren’t always positive. No one …
The Day Horace Angle Chased His Wife Through a Window Read More »
Breakfast was slightly awkward in the Hoskins household that cold January morning. John Hoskins and his wife, Hulda, had been arguing. While that wasn’t necessarily unusual, it didn’t make things exactly comfortable. All four of the children – Roy, 12, Merlin, Irene, 15, and Gladys, 18 –seated at the table could tell that John was …
The Devil You Know: The John R. Hoskins Family Murders of 1919 Read More »
Winter driving can always be sketchy in the Midwest. Snow, ice, and plummeting temperatures can create dangerous road conditions. Almost one-hundred years ago this month, a Davenport man named Singleton Gardiner tragically found that out. Insurance Agent Singleton Gardiner was the superintendent of the Davenport division of the Prudential Insurance Company. He had originally …
Fire in the Snow: The Sudden End of Singleton Gardiner Read More »
William Bettendorf showed a passion and talent for invention from an early age. Raised by German immigrants first in Illinois and then later near Leavenworth, Kansas, William was able to see first hand the daily struggles of the American farmer. At the age of thirteen, he set out on his own, working in several plow …
Life in rural Clinton County could be hard, just like it could be everywhere else. But, for the most part, it was a good, clean place to live. It was a place that you could settle down with your family and not really worry about anything bad happening to you and yours.
But, sometimes, the biggest threat to a family comes from within.
I’ve always admired people who could play an instrument, especially those who could do it well. In the 1800’s, a DeWitt, Iowa pioneer used his musical talent to not only entertain, but build a small fortune. Do you have any ancestors who were musically inclined? Drop by and tell me about them sometime!
