"[8] A Roman Catholic prayer book was found in the house with notes inside written in German, which were later translated. The fate of the family remains unknown, with theories ranging from a lynching of the family to a successful escape. 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. They were never caugnt. 2014. 2023 Geek Girl Authority. In addition to the museum, southeast Kansas may be the only place where a state historical marker celebrates mass murder. A Catholic priest claimed to have seen one of the Bender men concealing a large hammer, at which point he became uncomfortable and quickly departed. In The Wizard of Oz, things are in black and white in Kansas and turn color after the Cyclone drops Dorothy and Toto in Oz. As Active Shooter incidents have increased, employers are tasked with training employees on how to escape, hide, or fight. After Colonel Yorks visit and the meeting at the Harmony Grove schoolhouse, the Bender family fled. We are, in fact, in Kansas. [7], A bad odor was noticed and traced to a trap door underneath a bed, nailed shut. One weird oversight. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist. The women's identities were later confirmed by two Osage township witnesses from a tintype photograph. 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. Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2011, The Bloody Benders. Though most were led to believe John and Kate were sister and brother, others said that they sometimes passed as man and wife. Of the family, Pa Bender was found to have been a man named John Flickinger, from either Germany or Holland. flower arranging classes northern virginia. . CHERRYVALE The chain of low hills known as the Bender Mounds extends in a diagonal seven miles northeast of here, islands of limestone and scrubby trees over level fields where this time of year soybeans have just been harvested. The victim was then dispatched from behind with a hammer, and the body was dropped into a basement pit, later to be buried in an orchard., As more and more travelers disappeared, suspicion began to center on the Benders. Rabbi has a tailor-made response for each situation, but the active reminder of reality for black Americans in 1950 definitely adds to the tension of the episode. Yep the Abberdeens are very clearly based on the Benders, specifically Kate and John Jr. The property was located directly on the Osage Mission-Independence Trail that operated from Independence to Fort Scott. By 1873, reports of missing people who had passed through the area had become so common that travelers began to avoid the trail. 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. She also claimed to possess psychic powers, including communicating with the dead. [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. When he pulls into the drive, he spots Calamitas empty car at the pump immediately. They were never found and later I formed my own conclusions why. Benders Mounds Cemetery in Kansas - Find a Grave Cemetery 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. Attempts to capture the bloodthirsty family were immediately made by both law officers and vigilantes alike. 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. It was confirmed that the family had bought tickets on the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad for Humboldt. sdsu basketball recruiting 2021 - boztepeyapi.net Location. Word of the gruesome murders spread fast, and thousands of people flocked to the site, including news reporters from as far away as New York and Chicago. In honor of the Kansas state-wide Centennial Celebration, an exact replica of the Bender cabin was built that housed antiques and household items. The Lawrence Kansas Subreddit. Records of the incarceration back up this affidavit. Fargo is a critically acclaimed series created by Noah Hawley, who is also the creator of FX's Legion. The for the guy who discovered Pluto? 11) December 1872: Red Smith. From there, they traveled to an outlaw colony thought to be in the border region between Texas and New Mexico. 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. I used to have their Dahmer album way back. John Bender, Jr. was actually a man named John Gebhardt. The next morning, another eight bodies were found in seven of the nine suspected graves, while one was found in the well, along with a number of body parts. After a cabin, a barn with a corral, and a well were built, in the fall of 1871, Elvira Bender and daughter Kate arrived, and the cabin was divided into two rooms by a canvas wagon-cover. 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. In 1967, three of the Bender hammers were gifted to the museum by the Dick family. Deputy Sheriff Dick, along with Mrs. McCann, escorted the pair to Oswego, Kansas, where seven members of a 13-member panel confirmed the identification and committed them for trial. Although the elder Benders kept to themselves, Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove. One arm was broken. kansas historical marker the mellon mounds Yep that's the one from a book I have. That is a Kansas historical society sign. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders while escaping to the south and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. When neighboring communities started to make slanderous insinuations, the Osage Township called a meeting held at the Harmony Grove schoolhouse in March to see what, if anything, could be done. Find links to our programs, locations, partners, staff members, and communications. Yet another group claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. All had been involved in disposing of the victims' stolen goods with Mit Cherry, a member of the vigilance committee, implicated for forging a letter from one of the victims, informing the man's wife that he had arrived safely at his destination in Illinois. 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?) 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. Discover something new every day from News, Sports, Finance, Entertainment and more! "The Bender Family Some New Light on Their Mysterious Disappearance". [7] Brockman would be arrested again 23 years later for the rape and murder of his own 18-year-old daughter.[8]. The only thing remaining an empty hole that had once been the cellar. The plaque was created for the show. Also in residence on the east is a hero of Wounded Knee (as if there was such a thing) and his niece, a minor girl whos relationship to the old man is likely not familial. Kate's popularity became a large attraction for the Benders' inn. 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. melon mounds kansas murders Though many wanted to relocate the building, it had become a controversy in Cherryvale, with locals objecting to the town being known for the Bender atrocities. As Calamita advances on him, Rabbi tries to grip his gun well enough to shoot. The Benders tried to help by admitting that Dr. York had stopped at their place but convinced the search party that he had left and was probably waylaid by Indians. 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. The Benders then stripped him of his clothes and went to bury him when the man suddenly awoke. 20) May 1873: Dr William York. 6) December 1872: Henry McKenzie. Hes connected to a medical machine and has a hovering attendant with goggles on, ministering to him with a hypodermic needle. 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. I haven't heard Macabre in years. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. Is Rabbi really dead? The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. 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. Fargo: The True Story - Image Journal Hey babe, nice melon mounds. Serial killer music is a genre unto itself. She maintained carnal relations with her brother, and boldly proclaimed her right to do so in the following words found in her lecture manuscript: "Shall we confine ourselves to a single love, and deny our natures their proper sway?Even though it be a brother's passion for his own sister, I say it should not be smothered. The sensational tales and rumors of the Benders continued well into the 20th century, but what happened to them remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the Old West. In the spring of 1894, the victims bodies were discovered, sending the town into hysteria. [9], More than a dozen bullet holes were found in the roof and sides of the cabin. A Look at Fargo- Season 4, Episode 9: "East/West" - What Else is on Both knew of William's travel plans and, when he failed to return, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. Markers of the Kansas state historical markers program administered by the Kansas Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. Outside the door is a plaque that reads: KANSAS Southeast Kansas, in particular, was known as a rough area. Touch for map. Fact or fiction, no one knows, but Ive always enjoyed the tale and hope you will as well. A piece of land where Kansas' first known serial killers murdered at least 11 people in the 1870s is up for auction. NEW YORK The Occupy Wall Street movement has close to $300,000, as well as storage space loaded with donated supplies in lower Manhattan. Colonel York, leading a company of some 50 men, questioned every traveler along the trail and visited all the area homesteads. Afterward, she reportedly remarried several times, killing those husbands and three of her older children so they could not testify against her. Buried in the apple orchard. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. What little he did speak was so guttural that it was usually unintelligible. ASSOCIATED PRESS. When he wakes alone again in the morning, Satchel takes Rabbit for a walk down the lane to where a man has finished building a cryptic billboard featuring a white man in a suit and hat smiling expectantly in front of a ranch style house. Many stories say that one vigilante group actually caught the Benders and shot all of them but Kate, whom they burned alive. [5], Three days after the township meeting, Billy Tole was driving cattle past the Bender property when he noticed that the inn was abandoned and the farm animals were unfed. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. The Benders used the smaller room at the rear for living quarters, while the front room was converted into a "general store" where a few dry goods were sold. Contemporary newspapers reported his name as either "George W. Longcor" or "George Loncher," while Mary Ann is similarly reported as being either eight years old or 18 months old. Judge Calvin dismissed Mary Gardei's affidavit as she was a "chip off the old block"; he found that other affidavits supporting Gardei's were sufficient proof that the women could never be convicted, however, and he discharged them both. 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. In total, 12 men "of bad repute in general" would be arrested, including Brockman. The family includes Andrew Mellon, one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries, along with prominent members in the judicial, banking, financial, business, and political professions, as well as a famous recluse, Cordelia Scaife May . 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. Kansas Historical Society Historical Markers - hmdb.org Sunflower seeds are incredibly rich sources of many essential minerals. 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. Mrs. McCann's story came from dreams about her father's murder, which she discussed with Sarah Eliza. And everything is in color! barry mcguigan, daughter funeral; mellon mounds kansas murders melon mounds liberal kansas hunzaguides.com Informacin detallada del sitio web y la empresa 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. Their story is unresolved, and remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the old West. According to a breathless Daily Mail report, nursery-school teacher Inessa Tarverdiyeva and her husband, dentist Roman Podkopayev, were behind "a six-year reign of terror including at least 30. Meanwhile, Ma and Pa Bender continued on the train north to Kansas City, where it was believed they transferred to a train headed to St. Louis. why i quit civil engineering; goo goo gaga family net worth; how to make homemade biscuits without baking powder; noah hester restaurant; Some believe justice came to them in the end. This unnamed man was one of the many who made the mistake of stopping at the Bender Inn. 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. A beautiful girl of about 23, she was quick to laugh and talk to strangers. 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. did phineas and ferb die in a car accident. Rabbi would not have been one of the Mellons.). It first seems like Rabbi might escape, but ultimately he raises his hands in surrender and flies up into the clouds. As more and more travelers vanished, suspicion began to circle the Mellons. what is the best response to an active shooter event A Catholic priest said he fled when he saw one of the Bender men concealing a large hammer. They return to their room, where Rabbi informs Satchel that theyll be leaving that night as he counts his money. Franks father, Jesse P. Smalley, and several men were joking with a local judge, teasing him about his missing ear. 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. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. When the party arrived at the inn they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. The family quickly ran away in the middle of the night never to be seen. Finally, the men physically moved the entire cabin to the side and began to search beneath, but no bodies were found there either. In February 1872, the bodies of two men were found with the same injuries as Jones. . Before York left, Kate asked him to return alone the following Friday night, and she would use her clairvoyant abilities to help him find his brother. A terrible smell inside the abandoned inn also met them. On May 17, Kansas Governor Thomas A. Osborn offered a $2,000 ($45,239 as of 2023) reward for the apprehension of all four. The reason theyre heading toward Liberal is that Rabbi spent enough time there at some point to have stashed $5000 in a feed store in case he needed it. And then, in so many words, Scalia said that nothing in the Eighth Amendment requires that jurors considering "mitigating evidence" that could . kansas historical marker the mellon mounds Orchard Park Police Blotter 2021 , Fran Mccaffery Daughter , How Much Does Bronny Average? [19], The Ingalls family, made famous in the books and television series Little House on the Prairie, lived near Independence, and Laura Ingalls Wilder mentioned the Bender family in her writing and speeches. melon mounds liberal kansas The Benders are believed to have killed about a dozen people, including one child. [1][2] A knife with a four-inch tapered blade was reportedly found hidden in a mantel clock in the Bender house by Colonel York. Nothing like this sickening series of crimes had ever been recorded in the whole history of the country.. Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022. KANSAS HISTORICAL MARKER THE MELLON MOUNDS On this spot stood the Mellon Mounds, named for the infamous Mellon family, who lured unsuspecting travelers into their home, fed them and then dispatched them with a hammer. 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. Mrs. Almira Griffith) and Mrs. Sarah Eliza Davis had been arrested in Niles, Michigan (often misreported as Detroit) several weeks earlier for larceny. Some of the Benders' neighbors claimed that John and Kate were not brother and sister, but actually husband and wife. 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. [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. Kate was the fifth child of Ma Bender and was born Eliza Griffith. McCrotty. James, John Towner; The Benders of Kansas; Kan-Okla Publishing, Wichita, KS, 1913, reprinted 1995. The violence at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 was the watershed event which led to the creation of our current day active shooter response programs. The Benders were widely believed to be German immigrants. As they break for a Coke, Calamita arrives. Those most often reporting glowing apparitions on the property were those who came to the site in search of some long-lost souvenir of the grisly murders. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. Rewind one day, to Rabbi and Satchel driving past the same station. The men with York were convinced the Benders and a neighboring family, the Roaches, were guilty and wanted to hang them all, but York insisted that evidence must be found. 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. The wall wherein he hid his cash is gone, and he knows with certainty that the brothers found it. Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. what happened to johnny rodriguez country singervice president internal student council. mellon mounds kansas murdersduskull evolution arceus. Often two women traveling together were accused of being Kate Bender and her mother.[10]. Prying it open, the men found a six-foot-deep hole filled with clotted blood, causing a terrible odor. Like others, he was hit over the head as he sat at the table. Kansas murderers list | Murderpedia All but one had their heads bashed with a hammer and throats cut, and newspapers reported that all were "indecently mutilated. One of the families was John BenderSr. and John BenderJr., who registered 160 acres (65ha) of land located adjacent to the Great Osage Trail, which was then the only open road for traveling farther west. [1], One detective later claimed that he had traced the pair to the border, where he had found that JohnJr. had died of apoplexy. As the boy listened, the men continued to talk, relating the tale of how the judge had lost his ear. If you live in that town in Kansas today, oh yeah you know about it. 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.
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