And Donald Mellon is your typical doting daddy, a clean-cut family man his girls admire and adore. Colonel A.M. York, leading a contingency of some 50 men, began questioning every traveler along the trail and stopping at the area homesteads. One vigilante group claimed to have shot down the men and Ma Bender and burned Kate alive as the witch they believed her to be. She was 20 at the time of her death. Rabbi makes his way to the filling station in search of a cupcake or candy bar. The texts read "Johannah Bender. This tugs his heartstrings, inspiring him to leave the boardinghouse in search of some kind of birthday treat for his ward. Somehow, he escaped, appearing naked in the middle of the night at Jesse Smalleys doorstep. In February 1872, the bodies of two men were found with the same injuries as Jones. The episode opens with Omie Sparkman (Corey Hendrix) pulling into a filling station on a desolate road in Kansas. Seventy-five locals attended the meeting, including Colonel York and both John BenderSr. and John BenderJr. After discussing the disappearances, including that of William York, they agreed to obtain a warrant to search every homestead between Big Hill Creek and Drum Creek. Quickly, the scavengers were frightened away by the dead souls to spread their ghostly tales. Calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and copper are especially concentrated in sunflower seeds. The book "All the Blood We Share: A Novel of the Bloody Benders of Kansas", by Camilla Bruce, published in 2022. This is a list of notable male murderers who committed their murders in Kansas, USA. The men then physically lifted the cabin and moved it to the side to dig under it, but no bodies were found. This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 16:54. [5][18] rpp program apartments newport news. are enough to drive him back into his own room, where he bars the door with a chair and falls asleep again with gun in his hand. Yet another group claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. That is a Kansas historical society sign. She alleged that her father, "Pa Ingalls," joined in a vigilante hunt for the killers, and when he spoke of later searches for them she recalled, "At such times Pa always said in a strange tone of finality, 'They will never be found.' As more and more travelers disappeared, suspicion began to center on the Benders. Once Kansas declared itself with the Union and the Civil War began, the bloody battles continued. When he pulls into the drive, he spots Calamitas empty car at the pump immediately. The Benders family, of German descent, was one of the families who moved to the outskirts of Kansas. Phone: 620-624-3885 Fax: 620-626-7629 Manager: Nora Rubio Email: Email Mead Lumber of Liberal Hours: Cemetery. The fate of the family remains unknown, with theories ranging from a lynching of the family to a successful escape. By the time a deputy from Cherryvale arrived, identification was impossible due to decomposition. Another of Mrs. Monroe's daughters, Mary Gardei, later provided an affidavit claiming that her mother (then Almira Shearer), under the name of Almira Marks, was actually serving two years in the Detroit House of Corrections in 1872 for the manslaughter of her daughter-in-law, Emily Mark. Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. According to the Pittsburgh Dispatch, the daughter of one of the Benders' victims, Mrs. Frances E. McCann, had reported the pair to authorities in early October after tracking them down. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. The next day, Rabbi goes back to the appliance store and recovers his remaining cash from the brothers at gunpoint. [2], Testimony from people who had stayed at the Benders' inn and managed to escape before they could be killed appeared to support the presumed execution method of the Benders. From those who knew them and have written about the Benders:[4], She professed to be a medium of spiritualism, and delivered lectures on that subject. They were never found and later I formed my own conclusions why. Because some of the travelers were carrying nothing of value, it was widely speculated that the Benders killed simply for the bloody thrill of it. Allegedly, while working at the Bender Inn, she earned her keep as a prostitute, adding an additional amount to the travelers bill for the privilege of laying with her. The media speculated that some of the victims had attempted to fight back after being hit with the hammer. The body would then be buried in the garden behind the house during the night. And everything is in color! The front section also contained the kitchen and dining table, where travelers could stop for a meal or even spend the night. A Catholic priest said he fled when he saw one of the Bender men concealing a large hammer. The Carr brothers were convicted of capital murder in a crime spree in Wichita in 2000 that included robbery, rape, forced sex and four fatal shootings in a snow-covered soccer field. [7], A Kansas newspaper reported that the crowd was so incensed after finding the bodies that a friend of the Benders named Brockman, who was among the onlookers, was hanged from a beam in the inn until unconscious, revived, interrogated, then hanged again. Then Kate would begin to charm the men with her social skills, flirting, or revealing her psychic gifts. As the men gave their full attention to the alluring Kate, Pa and John Bender, hiding behind the canvas, would strike the unsuspecting traveler in the skull with a hammer. Cherryvale, Kansas Museum by Kathy Alexander. The Benders were not what they appeared. [18] The hammers were displayed at the Bender Museum in Cherryvale, Kansas from 1967 to 1978, when the site was acquired for a fire station. In retaliation, the vigilantes killed all of the members of the Bender family, buried them where they died, and took the wagon to town, where they left it. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/washingtonhistor0014unse The CAashington Historical . Hey babe, nice melon mounds. Elvira Bender, who also allegedly spoke little English, was 55 years old and so unfriendly that her neighbors took to calling her a "she-devil.". Though her beauty and social skills gained popularity with the locals, her actions began to cause them to say she was satanic. It was to be this diminutive Bender family member that would take most of the blame for what was soon to be found out about this infamous family. His son chose a narrow piece of land just north of his fathers; however, he never lived on his claim nor made any improvements. According to contemporary newspapers, Elvira was born Almira Hill Mark (often misreported as "Meik") in the Adirondack Mountains; she married Simon Mark, with whom she claimed to have had 12 children. After bearing him a dozen children, including Kate, Mr. Griffith suddenly died; some said of a bad place on his head, resembling a dent that might be made with a hammer. After following a fresh trail of wagon tracks, a search party found that the Benders had gone to the town of nearby Thayer, some twelve miles to the north. I haven't heard Macabre in years. Carrie Nelson was beaten to death during an apparent robbery at Blue Mounds State Park in May 2001. Records of the incarceration back up this affidavit. A beautiful girl of about 23, she was quick to laugh and talk to strangers. Co D 123rd Ill Infantry. If the terrible story of the Bender murders was not legend enough, another tale began to circulate regarding the property upon which the Benders had once lived. Hunza Guides is Pakistan's top mountain destination management company offering full board tours, trekking and expeditions services in Pakistan. Fortunately, Rabbi returns in time to shut down the likely police shooting and receives a warning from the officer about keeping his colored boy out of sight in a town like that. The only thing remaining an empty hole that had once been the cellar. Everywhere Satchel and Rabbi appear together, someone calls out the color of Satchels skin and questions their connection. mellon mounds kansas murders. Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2011, The Bloody Benders. was harry hibbs married; waterloo central railway wedding. why i quit civil engineering; goo goo gaga family net worth; how to make homemade biscuits without baking powder; noah hester restaurant; Just after the Civil War ended, the United States government moved the Osage Indians from Labette County in southeast Kansas to the new Indian Territory in what would later become the state of Oklahoma. Their murders were carried out by use of a canvas curtain that divided the house into two rooms. They broker an arrangement wherein Omie and his captive paint the building in exchange for being allowed to lie in wait. From these depths allegedly came the souls of those murdered on the site, wandering about the property and making moaning sounds that passersby could hear. 12) December 1872: Abigail Roberts. Attempts to capture the bloodthirsty family were immediately made by both law officers and vigilantes alike. Even with her clairvoyant abilities, Kate attempted to search for the missing doctor to throw any suspicion off herself. The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. Buried in the apple orchard. Although stories abound, the ultimate fate of the murderous Bender family is uncertain. As they enter the location, named The Barton Arms, the clerk eventually gives Rabbi keys for the west side, though she lets him know that the sisters don't care much for Coloreds. Despite the lack of identification, the man's skull was displayed as that of "Pa Bender" in a Salmon saloon until Prohibition forced its closure in 1920 and the skull disappeared. but many still live in fear of their bloody hammer. did phineas and ferb die in a car accident. . melon mounds kansas murders. [5], When York repeated the claim, Elvira became enraged, said the woman was a witch who had cursed her coffee, and ordered the men to leave her house, revealing for the first time that "her sense of the English language" was much better than was let on. As they make their way up to the top floor, they peer in the open rooms of the other tenants. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported . The women's identities were later confirmed by two Osage township witnesses from a tintype photograph. Today, Smalley descendants continue to live in the Neodosha and Cherryvale area. They werent even a true family the only ones related were Ma and Kate Bender. Originally scheduled for February 1890, the trial was held over to May. The book "Hell's Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier", by Susan Jonusas, published in 2022. Johnny Boyles body was found in the well. Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. The Benders were undoubtedly surprised to find that the man wasnt dead. In its first three days of opening, it attracted more than 2,000 visitors. The family soon built a small one-room framed cabin, a barn, and a corral and dug a well. In 1884, it was reported that John Flickinger had committed suicide in Lake Michigan. Ten bodies were found in the Benders apple orchard, including Dr. York and the people he had been searching for Mr. Loncher and his daughter, just seven or eight years old. Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. At her hearing, Mrs. Monroe denied any knowledge of Shearer or the manslaughter charge and remained incarcerated with her daughter. [1][2][3], The area was already widely known for "horse thieves and villains, and vigilance committees often "arrested" some for the disappearances, only for them to be later released by the authorities. In total, 12 men "of bad repute in general" would be arrested, including Brockman. "[8] A Roman Catholic prayer book was found in the house with notes inside written in German, which were later translated. Fortunately, Omie appears behind Calamita and gets him with his last bullet. The township trustee called for volunteers, and several hundred turned out to form a search party that included Colonel York. THE KANSAS MURDER TRILOGY by Melvin Litton offers three stand-alone novels that spring from the heartland and mark three pivotal moments in our nation's life: the fall of Saigon and the loss of faith in the post-war construct, 1975; the brink of the Space Age and Civil Rights era, 1960; and the Great Depression, 1934. the mellon family kansas. Fixed: Release in which this issue/RFE has been fixed.The release containing this fix may be available for download as an Early Access Release or a General Availability Release. The little store carried a few supplies such as powder, shot, groceries, liquor, and tobacco, sold meals, and provided a safe overnight resting place to the strangers along the road. Though he reached Fort Scott unscathed and started to return to Independence on March 8, he never reached home. In the end, it was Kate who was primarily blamed for the numerous bloody murders that, even at her young age, was the inspiration for the crimes. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist. Look for these with their cute sunflowers. Inside the wooden cabin, the area was partitioned with a large canvas, creating living quarters in the back and a small inn and store in the front. In the spring of 1873, Longcor's former neighbor, Dr. William Henry York, went looking for them and questioned homesteaders along the trail. Benders Mounds Cemetery Labette County , Kansas , USA - *Estimated location First Name Middle Name Last Name (s) Search this cemetery More search options Search tips About Photos 0 Map About No location information available Add Location Cemetery ID: 2728705 Members have Contributed 6 Memorials 100% photographed When the visitors stopped for a meal, they were seated at a table with their backs to the large canvas separating the inn from the living quarters. When the party arrived at the inn they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. Tole reported the fact to the township trustee, but due to inclement weather, several days lapsed before the abandonment could be investigated. [9], More than a dozen bullet holes were found in the roof and sides of the cabin. They purchased tickets on the northbound Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Train to Humboldt. Prying it open, the men found a six-foot-deep hole filled with clotted blood, causing a terrible odor. He leaves Satchel in the car with Rabbit while hes doing this, and the boy is approached by a nervous policeman who prepares to draw his weapon as he asks Satchel to leave the car. 6) December 1872: Henry McKenzie. Satchel asks to keep Rabbit, and Rabbi refuses until he learns that its the boys birthday. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and . However, none of these tales were confirmed, nor were bodies found, so most thought that the Benders had managed to escape. Many innocent men under suspicion were also run out of the county by these committees.[5]. Ma Bender was born Almira Meik in the Adirondacks and married as a teenager to a man named George Griffith. However, some of those men, who frequently carried large sums of cash with the intention of settling, buying stock, or purchasing a claim, began to go missing. Upon further investigation, Captain James B. The for the guy who discovered Pluto? This is blatantly a reference to the Bender Family, a family of serial killers from late 1800s Kansas. At a fork of the Fall and Verdigris Rivers, they found the Benders with their wagon backed up against a fallen tree with canvas over it for shelter. $38 (2023: $860) and a wagon with a team of horses missing. No documentation or definitive proof of their relationships to one another, or where they were born, has ever been found. I'd need to check but my gut feeling is that its real. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported . Later, Satchel awakens to find that hes fallen asleep and doesnt know where his friend has gone. A number of researchers question the ready acceptance of the affidavit's authenticity and suggest that the county was unwilling to accept the expense of boarding the two women for an extended period. So weird, this last weekend I was just reading about the Benders due to a similar encounter in Red Dead Redemption 2. These hammers were given to the Bender Museum in 1967 by the son of LeRoy Dick, the Osage Township trustee who headed the search of the Bender property. Bit by bit, the story of the Benders was pieced together. ", "Kate proclaimed herself responsible to no one save herself.". Kate was the fifth child of Ma Bender and was born Eliza Griffith. Shortly after theyve settled, Rabbi leaves Satchel alone with his usual goodbye of, If I dont come back, Im dead or in jail. He drives into Liberal to see about the money he left behind, only to discover that the feed store was sold at auction and has been converted to an appliance store by a pair of brothers. However, as more time passed, the disappearances became more frequent, and by the spring of 1873, the region had become strife with rumors, and travelers began to avoid the trail. [5], Detectives following wagon tracks discovered the Benders' wagon, abandoned with a starving team of horses with one of the mares lame, just outside the city limits of Thayer, 12mi (19km) north of the inn. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. Speaking English fluently with a German accent, he was said to have been social, but he was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many people to think of him as a half-wit. Franks father, Jesse P. Smalley, and several men were joking with a local judge, teasing him about his missing ear. [3] Also in 1884, an elderly man matching John Bender Sr.'s description was arrested in Montana for a murder committed near Salmon, Idaho, where the victim had been killed by a hammer blow to the head. The body of a young girl was found with no injuries sufficient to cause death. Yep the Abberdeens are very clearly based on the Benders, specifically Kate and John Jr. Some say they escaped, others that the were executed by a vengeful posse. [7], They then probed the ground around the cabin with a metal rod, especially in the disturbed soil of the vegetable garden and orchard, where Dr. York's body was found later that evening, buried face down with his feet barely below the surface. 215 East 4th Street 620-336-3576. Whether the stuff of folklore or fact, many believe that the trapped souls of these century-old ghosts continue to lurk at the site today. Colonel York, leading a company of some 50 men, questioned every traveler along the trail and visited all the area homesteads. When the war was over, pioneers began to head westward along the many trails through Kansas; murder and mayhem persisted as hardened men from the battlefields, grown used to the violence, continued their violent ways along the overland trails in the many cow towns. Cherryvale Museum 1) May 1871: Mr. Jones. According to the May 23, 1873 edition of The Emporia News, he was identified with the name of William Bender. They set up an inn, lured people into staying, then either hit them with a hammer or cut there throats with a knife before burying them in an apple orchard. The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. They were never caugnt. When the men arrived at the property, they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. Calamita notices him and shoots twice out the window. Both knew of William's travel plans and, when he failed to return, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. [1][3] On April 3, Colonel York returned to the inn with armed men after being informed that a woman had fled from the inn after Elvira Bender had threatened her with knives. THE LAST SKYWALKER Pays Tribute to the Ben Solo Legacy, Lynne Ramsay Tapped to Direct THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON, WANDAVISION Finale Recap: (S01E09) The Series Finale, WANDAVISION Recap: (S01E08) Previously On, WANDAVISION Recap: (S01E07) Breaking the Fourth Wall. Rabbi retreats to take cover behind his vehicle, and Calamita catches him with a bullet in the arm before hes in the clear, making it difficult to return fire. The real one reads as follows: Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family--John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate--who settled here in 1871. She and her brother John often attended Sunday School nearby Harmony Grove and were readily accepted in the community. The desk clerk who shows them to their room warns them that the sisters dont care for colored people, a refrain echoed repeatedly through this episode. Across the hall from them, on the east side of the building, is an Old Testament preacher and his mother (whom the resident gabby salesman- west- mistakes for the preachers wife). Markers of the Kansas state historical markers program administered by the Kansas Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. Four other bodies with crushed skulls and slit throats were also found outside the property in Drum Creek and on the surrounding prairie. Satchel tries looking for Rabbi, but a short conversation with the hospital man and a glimpse of the preacher and his mother folding a flag in their underwear (night wear?) Kate was a self-proclaimed healer and psychic, gave lectures on spiritualism, and conducted sances. The Mellons are believed to have killed over a dozen people, including a child. With the victim's back to the curtain, Kate would distract the guest while John Bender or his son came from behind the curtain and struck the guest on the right side of the skull with a hammer. sdsu basketball recruiting 2021vice president internal student council. The house sits alone in a barren landscape composed of post-harvest fields coated halfheartedly with snow. Yeah! They then began to follow a wagon trail left by the Benders that took them down as far south as Tulsa, Oklahoma, before circling back into Kansas. It was a story about the infamous Benders and about one man who got away. If you live in that town in Kansas today, oh yeah you know about it. They admitted Dr. York had stayed with them and suggested the possibility that he had run into trouble with Indians. It declares, THE FUTURE IS NOW.. She also conducted sances and gave lectures on spiritualism, for which she gained notoriety for advocating free love. ASSOCIATED PRESS. 1619) December 1872: During the search, the bodies of four unidentified males were found in Drum Creek and the surrounds. She watches (and recaps) a lot of TV, sees every Marvel movie on opening night and reads voraciously. The Benders are believed to have killed about a dozen people, including one child., Although stories abound, the ultimate fate of the murderous Bender family is uncertain. $2,000 (2023: $45,239) missing. The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. The "Bloody Benders" were a German family of four that settled a claim in southeastern Kansas in Labette County. When friends and family began to look for them, they could trace them as far as the Big Hill Country of southeast Kansas before finding no trace of the lost traveler. The family quickly ran away in the middle of the night never to be seen. Good info. "[20][21] Some have cast doubt on the story, saying that Laura would have been only 4 when her family moved away from the area, and that the Benders were exposed in 1873, two years after the Ingalls family left. She mentioned stopping at the inn, as well as recounting the rumors of the murders spreading through their community. Fact or fiction, no one knows, but Ive always enjoyed the tale and hope you will as well. The Bender cabin was ripped apart by gruesome souvenir hunters right down to the bloody bricks that lined the cellar. The two were known to have had a relationship, and further tales abounded that when Kate became pregnant, they would simply bash in the babys head once it was born. Touch for map. "[7], Word of the murders spread quickly, and more than three thousand people, including reporters from as far away as New York City and Chicago, visited the site. In mid-October, Deputy Sheriff LeRoy Dick, the Osage Township trustee who had headed the search of the Bender property, arrived in Michigan and arrested the couple on October 30, following their release on the larceny charges. As Calamita advances on him, Rabbi tries to grip his gun well enough to shoot. In the first season, Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman), daughter of former state trooper, now diner owner, Lou Solverson (Carradine), must overcome the good-natured goofery of her department as she tracks the unparalleled malevolence of Loren Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), who in serpent-like fashion enters the ear of persecuted loser Lester . Their story is unresolved and remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the old west. Instead, we downshift hard into the side story ofSatchel (Rodney L Jones III) andRabbi (Ben Whishaw) on the lam, withConstant Calamita (Gaetano Bruno) on their tail. It says this home used to be run by the infamous Mellon Family, who lured travelers in before killing them with a hammer. that when a guest stayed at the Benders' bed and breakfast inn, the hosts would give the guest a seat of honor at the table that was positioned over a trap door into the cellar. In 1937 she gave a speech at a book fair which was later transcribed and printed in the September 1978 Saturday Evening Post and in the 1988 book A Little House Sampler. Eyewitness testimony was given that Mrs. Monroe was Elvira Bender. It says this home used to be run by the infamous Mellon Family, who lured travelers in before killing them with a hammer. In 1870, five families of spiritualists settled in western Labette County, about seven miles northeast of where Cherryvale would be platted a year later. 23) February 1872: Two unidentified men found on the prairie in February 1872 with crushed skulls and throats cut. What a uniquely weird unsolved mystery. Rock Chalk! 2023 Geek Girl Authority. Some say that they escaped, others that they were executed by a vengeful posse. The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. East/West may *look* like a detour into surrealist Midcentury Italian cinema when it opens, but the minute the wind starts blowing through black and white Kansas you know where you are. The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. . All Rights Reserved. These include the 2012 murder of Quan Donnell, the 1996 murder of Michelle Hutchinson, the 2013 murder of Juan Solis, and the 2016 murder of Robert Williams, among countless others. In her lectures she publicly declared that murder might be a dictation for good; that in what the world might deem villainy, her soul might read bravery, nobility, and humanity. The Benders are believed to have killed about a dozen people, including one child. Shortly thereafter, the family disappeared. Is Rabbi really dead? But if your not from Kansas it's a fairly obscure story. Often two women traveling together were accused of being Kate Bender and her mother.[10]. As the boy listened, the men continued to talk, relating the tale of how the judge had lost his ear. The Version table provides details related to the release that this issue/RFE will be addressed. In the end, the artifacts, including the hammers, photos, and newspaper clippings, were placed in the Cherryvale Museum and can still be seen today at 215 East 4th Street. Many stories say that one vigilante group actually caught the Benders and shot all of them but Kate, whom they burned alive.
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