Dallas County, Texas obituaries

From: Clarke County Tribune, Quitman, Clarke County, Mississippi, Vo. X, No. 34, Friday, January 9, 1920. Submitted by: Debora C. Reese

Dallas, Tex. - Attorney for Mrs. Madeline Tether, pretty 22-year-old brunette, of this city, charged with stealing patent rights valued at more than $100,000, insist the woman is innocent of any crime because she acted under the hypnotic influence of her husband. In support of the claims made by her attorneys, Mrs. Tether was taken to the office of District Attorney William J. Pierson, where she performed a number of seemingly ,possible acts. Health physicians who witnessed the demonstrations jabbed her with needles and made other tests which proved her trance was not a fraud. It is the first time in the South such a plea has been entered in any criminal case, and as a result attorneys and jurist are watching the outcome with interest. According to Noah Roark, one of Mrs. Tether's attorneys, she was under a hypnotic spell when she was married three years ago. At times after the marriage, her husband would throw his wife into a trance and allow her to lie for days at a time while he was absent from home. he did not want her to speak to another man or have anything to do with neighbors or any one other than himself. It is alleged that Tether knew the place where the drawings desired were concealed and that after hypnotizing his wife, he commanded her to go and get the drawings. She obeyed, but it is alleged, only did as commanded and therefore cannot be punished for the crime.

From The Evening News, Maria Texas, Presented by Shauna Williams
A FATAL DUEL
Dallas, Tex., Aug. 14, 1899 - A sensational duel occurred in this city Sunday morning just before daylight and it will be days before Dallas will cease to discuss it. The duelists were Mounted Officer A.P. Rawlins and Special Policeman Charles A. Daniels. The weapons were large caliber single action six shooters, and the distance was three paces. Food for the leaden hail both men stood their ground and "shot it out" to the bitter end. Both men are dead. Rawlins fell on his side and then rolled over on his back to expire in less than ten minutes without uttering a word. He moved his lips once or twice in an effort to speak to his brother, who soon arrived on the scene, and was holding his dead, but the effort was futile. Daniels dropped his weapon and staggered off up the street and then returned to the drug store on the corner, where he died an hour later, unconscious of the pitiful moaning and hysterical weeping of his wife, who had hastened to his side.

December 11, 1885 The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Georgia [submitted by Shauna Williams]

Death of "Old Black Joe."-Dallas, Tex., Dec. 10-Joe Parker, a negro, said to be one hundred and twenty five years old, died at the poor farm here today. His last words were, "Wake up, for the great jubilee and come." Parker had been a slave in Alabama, Georgia and Texas for exactly one hundred years of his life. He was the original of "Old Black Joe" in Milt Barlow's famous character song bering that title.

Kansas City Times
1915-11-26
submitted by Barbara Ziegenmeyer
STRANGLED A TEXAS WIFE
Body of Mrs. Hugh Perry, Missing ten days, Found in Ravine
Two Handerchiefs were knotted about throat
Husband of Dallas Woman Had Been Making Secret Search For Her

Dallas Tex. Nov 25- The body of Mrs. Hugh Perry, wife of a well-to-do business man of this cty, was found today, bearing marks of strangulation, in a ravine a short distance out of Oak Cliff, a city suburb. Although Mrs. Perry disappeared November 13, the Police and an undertaker said she had not been dead more than forty-eight hours Her disappearance had been kept secret by the police, who have been searching for her ten days. Her husband was said to be in San Antonio today searching in that city. About 3 o'clock the afternoon of November 15, Mrs. Perry bade goodbye to her sister-in-law, Mrs. Royal Smith, at a department store here, saying she had an appointment for 3 o'clock. What this appointment was is not now known. So far as the police know she was never seen alive again.
STRANGLED WITH MAN'S HANDKERCHIEFS Mrs. Perry was between 35 and 40 years old and a church worker. She had no children. When found the body was fully clothed, even to a new turban which, it is said, Mrs. Perry had purchased the afternoon of her disappearance. There were no marks of a struggle about the clothing, but two handkerchiefs apparently a man's handkerchiefs, were knotted tightly about her throat. There was blood on the lips and a bruise, apparently made by a blow, above on ear. The wrists bore faint marks which some of the officers took to be naim prints. SLAIN, THEN TAKEN TO RAVINE Two negro boys hunting rabbits found the body. The Police said they had no doubt that Mrs. Perry's bady was taken to the ravine after she had been killed. Mrs. Perry's friends said some valuable diamonds she was wearing November 13 were missing from the body. Mr. Perry is the secretary of an electrical good company. ONE SUICIDE THEORY Opinions were divided tonight by the city dectivies and county sheriffs department as to how Mrs. Perry met her death. On the theory that murder was committed, /sheriff W.K. Reynolds tonight ordered an autopsy tomorrow, with the removal of the stomach to ascertain whether Mrs. Perry took poison, or was given poison to cause her death. City detectives are working on a suicide belief. It was said late this afternoon that the only available clue to substantiate the murder clue was the fact that the handkerchiefs found knotted about Mrs. Perry's neck was man's size, with the embroidered Initial "T'. Houston, Tex., Nov 25- Hugh H, Perry of Dallas was notified here today of the murder of his wife at Dallas. Upon the disappearance of his wife some days ago, be came to Houston, hoping to find her here. He had not been apprehensive of a tragedy and was greatly affected. He left for Dallas tonight.

submitted by Barbara Ziegenmeyer
Dallas Tex., Nov 26- Hugh Perry. Dallas merchant, today arrived from Houston to assist the police in solving the mystery surrounding the death of his wife, whose cloked and bruised body was found yesterday in Cedar Creek, near here, by two negro boys.
The probability of suicide has been considered by the police and the stomach has been turned over to chemists for analysis to learn if it contained poison.
Dr. Landon C. Moore analytical chemist said his examination disclosed that the woman had been without food for some time, probably a week before life became extinct.

DEATH SENTENCE IN DALLAS MURDER CASE
Holly Vann Convicted of Murdering Sol Aronoff
Postponement in Burrell Oates Case Refused by Court.
Dallas Tex. Dec 22- If the verdict and directions of the jury in the case against Holly Vann, charging him with the death of Sol Aronoff are followed, Vann will be the first white man to be ahnged in Dallas County. The verdict of murder in the first degree and the assesment of the penalty at death was reached Wednesday. Vann receiving the finding with a laugh olainly heard by those about him. The jury was out but two hours.
Burrell Oates, the negro charged jointy with Vann with the murder, was in the court room at the time the verdict in the Vann case was rendered, the hearing of his case, which was in progress, being postponed tio receive the verdict. He displayed no emotion.
Mrs. Sol Aronoff, accompanied by her two little daughters, was also present when the verdict was rendered.
In the Oates case, a motion to hold over for the next term because of public felling was overruled. Five jurors had been secured at the time for adjournment.

submitted by Barbara Ziegenmeyer
SECOND MURDER IS CHARGED TO DALLAS NEGRO
By United Press Dallas, Aug., 26- Houston Wagner, negro, under sentence of death for the murder of Miss Zaola Cramer, Dallas nurse, is also guilty of another series of mysterious murders committed her last winterm according to local police.
Detextives Saturday afternoon discovered a revolver and a wedding ring which have been positively identified as the property of William Humphries and his daughter, Mrs. Bertha Trower Humphries, as aged storekeeper, was beaten to death, and his daughter clubbed into insensibility by an unnown assailant April 6, near Lisbon, on the outskirts of Dallas. The articles were recovered after a search of Wagner's trunk.
Mrs. Trower fainted when the ring and the revolver were showed to her late Saturday afternoon for identification.

Grand Prairie, TX newspaper, February 2, 1965
Birthday Party Honor Mrs. Ethel Poindexter
Mrs Ethel Poindexter, a member of one of Grand Prairie's earliest pioneer families, was honored Sunday with a birthday celebration given at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary Mitchell, 213 NW 13th St. Another daughter, Mrs. Forrest Smith was cohostess. Mrs. Poindexter, who was 81, Feb 1, greeted each guest with a bit of philosophy and said she would see them all again on her next birthday. Her daughters served cake and coffee. Mrs. Mitchell said her mother's hearing and eyesight are good and she is very alert. She has lived in the city 71 years. For entertainment, her mother keeps a scrapbook of current events and is very interested in affairs of today. She commended Rev. Earl K. Oldham, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, who often visits Mrs. Poindexter. Mrs. Poindexter will enter Methodist Hospital in Dallas Thursday for surgery.


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