Monroe County, Iowa Judge Lynch and Criminal Matters Notwithstanding the oft-repeated assertions of sentimentalists that there was less crime committed in the good old pioneer days, it remains a hard, unrefuted fact that there was actually more lawlessness in pioneer days, in proportion to the population, than now. Education, which goes a long way towards subduing the ranker, unrestrained human passions, had not so wide a spread as now, and while there were really not many flagrant criminals in the community, guilty of the higher crimes, the dockets of justices of the peace were crowded with records of neighborhood broils, assault and battery, hog-stealing, burglary, and now and then an attempt to commit murder. The first murder in the county was committed by James Gordon, on the 29th of September, 1854. On the morning of that date Gordon used some offensive language to his sister. Gordon's stepfather, Thos. Arnold, ordered the former to leave the house. Gordon delayed, and Arnold seized his gun and attempted to drive him out, when Gordon stabbed him twice, once in the side and once in the abdomen. Arnold died in a few hours, and Gordon fled. He was overtaken and captured by Sheriff Porter and posse, and brought back to Monroe County for trial. He stood his trial for commitment, under Squire Teas, on the charge of attempting to commit murder. He was released on $800 bail for his appearance in court, and later was acquitted on sustaining a plea of self-defense. The crime was committed about five miles southeast of Albia, on a farm now owned by John Haller. The following is a sample of the criminal dockets of those days, and was the docket of State cases in the May term of the District Court of 1866. State of Iowa vs. A. M. Myers, charged with murder in the second degree; change of venue from Mahaska County. State of Iowa vs. Thos. Barker, attempt to commit rape; continued, the defendant not having been arrested. State of Iowa vs. D. P. Clay and Jacob Hull, larceny; continued. State of Iowa vs. Moses Cousins, Jr., and W. B. Cousins, keeping intoxicating liquors with intent to sell in violation of law. State of Iowa vs. Chas. Ross, assault with intent to commit murder. State of Iowa vs. Darcus Billings, abandoning a human child; continued as above. State of Iowa vs. Samuel Rinehart, perjury; acquitted. State of Iowa vs. Jas. A. B. Sims and Geo. Edwards, larceny; continued. State of Iowa vs. Jas. W. Atkinson, assault with intent to commit murder; acquitted. State of Iowa vs. Jas. Austin, nuisance, keeping intoxicating liquors: indictment. State of Iowa vs. Martin Cone, petit juror, fined $ 10 for contempt of court, for disrespectful language; fine remitted. Not long afterwards, Clay, who is mentioned in the foregoing docket, stole a horse from Thomas Forster, residing a few miles west of Blakesburg. Mr. Forster and Mr. Thayer, now of Avery, and a member of the Monroe County Vigilance Committee, tracked the thief into Missouri and captured him at Gallatin. Thayer started home with him and Forster remained at Gallatin in search of his horse. Thayer placed his prisoner on the horse which Forster had ridden to Gallatin, and had his feet tied together underneath his horse. When approaching Albia near the Coal Creek bridge, three miles southwest of town, two men sprang out of the bushes and handed Clay a revolver. Clay struck Thayer a murderous blow on the side of the face, which knocked him from his horse. Thayer still wears the scar. Clay then made his escape. Clay was a chum of Jake Hull, the Gibsons, Garrett Thompson, and others. In September, 1866, James Austin, who ran a grocery and saloon in Albia, on the south side of the Square, shot and killed Thos. Davis in the former's saloon in a quarrel over two glasses of beer. Austin was finally acquitted on establishing a plea of self-defense. His case was tried at Centerville on an indictment for murder in the second degree. In November, 1866, two young men by the name of Wiley, who lived on Cedar Creek, and who had been indicted by the District Court for stealing cattle, made their escape from the custody of J. L. Duncan, who was guarding them at his residence. They were handcuffed and chained together, when they escaped, and, making their way to Cedar Creek during the night, in some way succeeded in breaking their shackles. They secreted themselves in a coal-bank near their father's premises. The latter, discovering them, brought them to Albia and delivered them over to the authorities. They were sentenced to the penitentiary for six months. On the night of September 21, 1868, Chas. Brandon, of Mahaska County, was taken to the woods and hanged by a crowd of Vigilantes from Monroe County. Brandon was accused of horse-stealing. An action was instituted in court for $10,000 against the lynchers, and $800 damages awarded. The defendants were Reuben Way, Daniel C. Gladson, Matthew Maddox, B. F. Beats, Lewis Maddox, Wm. Martin, Jas. Hoagland, Geo. Neal, and Wesley May. On August 5, 1869, Thos. S. Hulligen, proprietor of the Gilmore mill at the hamlet of Urbana, in Urbana Township, was fatally stabbed by Geo. W. Wallace. Wallace and Jeff Hawk, the latter the engineer attending the mill machinery, got into an altercation, and in the quarrel the former kicked Hawk in the face. Hawk armed himself with a carpenter's mallet, when Hulligen interposed and ordered Wallace to leave the mill. Wallace refused, and Hulligen seized him and attempted to eject him, and while in the act of thrusting him through the door, Wallace stabbed Hulligen in the breast. Hulligen then released his hold, and. seizing a club, struck Wallace a blow on the head. Wallace again stabbed his victim, and was again struck by the club in the hands of the wounded man. Hulligen died in a few hours, and the murderer escaped, but was soon captured. He was tried on a charge of murder in the first degree, and was sentenced to seven years in the penitentiary, where he served out his term. In 1866 Ross and Mann, two notorious horse-thieves, were sentenced to the penitentiary at Ft. Madison. Ross was sent up for five years and Mann for two years. [An illustrated history of Monroe County, Iowa: A complete civil, political, by Frank Hickenlooper, 1896] Submitted by C. Danielson] Copyright © Genealogy Trails All data on this website is Copyright by Genealogy Trails with full rights reserved for original submitters.