The plaque in the show refers to fictional murderers--the Mellons--while the reference implicit in that is to their real-life inspiration, the Benders. Her face was a fit picture of the midnight hag that wove the spell murderous ambition about the soul of Macbeth. Sometime later, Billy Tole, a neighbor of the Benders, noticed that the Bender Inn was abandoned and their farm animals unfed. 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. According to the May 23, 1873 edition of The Emporia News, he was identified with the name of William Bender. 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. As the haunting legend continued, people began to say that Kate Bender had returned to the property, doomed to roam the very land where she had committed so many atrocities. Only a few days later, the homestead was found abandoned, and the search party began to discover the grisly remains of the bodies. By the way, said clerk is a Colored. Although the elder Benders kept to themselves, Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove. It is in Morehead in Montgomery County Kansas. Some of the Benders' neighbors claimed that John and Kate were not brother and sister, but actually husband and wife. 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. Will this theme continue next week? This unnamed man was one of the many who made the mistake of stopping at the Bender Inn. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. While not actually on the old Bender property, the marker sits on the high prairie about a mile northwest of Bender Mounds at the US-400 and US-169 interchange at the Montgomery County Rest area, north of Cherryvale. In 1870, five families of spiritualists settled in western Labette County, about seven miles northeast of where Cherryvale would be platted a year later. 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. [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. After last weeks sincere entry into all-out war, as well as the deaths of several key players, one might have hoped to watch the action in Kansas City escalate. Everywhere Satchel and Rabbi appear together, someone calls out the color of Satchels skin and questions their connection. The Vicious Harpes First AmericanSerial Killers, The Bloody Benders 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. 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. Born July 30, 1848," "John Gebhardt came to America on July 1 18? The Benders were widely believed to be German immigrants. The discussion began regarding the ten people who were reported missing, including a well-known Independence physician named Dr. William H. York. [18], A historical marker describing the Benders' crimes is located in the rest area at the junction of U.S. Route 400 and U.S. Route 169 north of Cherryvale. 12) December 1872: Abigail Roberts. 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. I remember that song. 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. 620-336-3576. At this point the customers felt uneasy and decided to leave, a move that almost certainly saved their lives. 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. 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. 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. However, by the time the men arrived at the Benders cabin very early the next morning, they found them gone. Mrs. Almira Griffith) and Mrs. Sarah Eliza Davis had been arrested in Niles, Michigan (often misreported as Detroit) several weeks earlier for larceny. They killed as many as 26 people, I believe there is a museum that stills has a bloody knife they used. When a traveler was seated at the table, his head was outlined against the curtain. As Active Shooter incidents have increased, employers are tasked with training employees on how to escape, hide, or fight. literally thought of red dead redemption 2 when i saw this episode, and saw that scene. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist. Buried in the apple orchard. 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. 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. Each season of Fargo stands alone - you can watch them all out of order and still be able to understand what's going on. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. It first seems like Rabbi might escape, but ultimately he raises his hands in surrender and flies up into the clouds. [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. In the spring of 1894, the victims bodies were discovered, sending the town into hysteria. Shortly thereafter, the family disappeared. The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. Kate's popularity became a large attraction for the Benders' inn. 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. Kate then became abusive toward them, and shortly afterward the Bender men emerged from behind the cloth. From the first grayscale frame, its clear that were arent in Kansas City anymore. Afterward, she reportedly remarried several times, killing those husbands and three of her older children so they could not testify against her. John Bender, Sr. chose a 160-acre section on the western slopes of the mounds that continue to bear their name today. Even with her clairvoyant abilities, Kate attempted to search for the missing doctor to throw any suspicion off herself. 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. Though most of us know of Dodge Citys wicked ways, the deadly gunfight of the Daltons in Coffeyville, and the many outlaws and gunfighters who spent time in the Sunflower State, few are aware of a family of mass murderers, living a supposed quiet life near the small town of Cherryvale. In tonight's episode, there's a plaque at the Barton Arms, the hotel Rabbi and Satchel stay at. 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. 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. Other bodies found in the garden were those of Henry McKenzies mutilated remains, three men by the names of Ben Brown, W.F. Continuing, they began to dig around the cabin, especially in an area the Benders had utilized as a vegetable garden and orchard. It declares, THE FUTURE IS NOW.. Bender Property Digging, sketch in Harpers Weekly, June 7, 1873. [2], Two men who had traveled to the inn to experience Kate Bender's psychic powers stayed for dinner, but had refused to sit at the table next to the cloth, instead preferring to eat their meal at the main shop counter. The body of a young girl was found with no injuries sufficient to cause death. Ransom, the trains conductor, said that John, Jr., and Kate disembarked at Chanute and took the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad train south to the Red River country near Dennison, Texas, which was then the terminus of the railroad. Premium Powerups . 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. styled components as prop typescript; indie bands from austin, texas; dr pepper marketing strategy; barking and dagenham hmo register; famous belgian chocolate brands [1] The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son JohnJr. and daughter Kate. [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. 5) December 1872: W.F. The vacated land was then made available to homesteaders, who, for the most part, were a group of hard-working pioneers farming the areas softly rolling hills and windswept prairies. Some say they escaped, others that the were executed by a vengeful posse. Their murders were carried out by use of a canvas curtain that divided the house into two rooms. By the time a deputy from Cherryvale arrived, identification was impossible due to decomposition. The wall wherein he hid his cash is gone, and he knows with certainty that the brothers found it. 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. Cherryvale, Kansas Museum As Calamita advances on him, Rabbi tries to grip his gun well enough to shoot. Home TV & Streaming Recaps & Reviews FARGO Recap: (S04E09) East/West, Posted by Leona Laurie | Nov 16, 2020 | Recaps & Reviews, TV & Streaming | 0. Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. Thomas Jefferson was one of the first to excavate into a Native American burial mound, citing the disappearance of the "noble" Indianscaused by violence and the corruption of the encroaching white. Eyewitness testimony was given that Mrs. Monroe was Elvira Bender. flower arranging classes northern virginia. They disappeared in the spring of 1873, shortly before inquisitive neighbors discovered the victims' bodies. Their downfall was the murder of a father and daughter named Loncher, and Dr. William York, who had come looking for the missing pair. 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. Of the family, Pa Bender was found to have been a man named John Flickinger, from either Germany or Holland. There is a LOT to unpack in the latest episode of Fargo, some of which will likely be easier when we see what happens next. He takes Satchel to a quirky (to say the least) boardinghouse, owned by feuding, deaf, elderly sisters. She watches (and recaps) a lot of TV, sees every Marvel movie on opening night and reads voraciously. Dr. York had two brothers, one living in Fort Scott and the other in Independence. Keeping mostly to themselves, the Benders appeared to simply be struggling homesteaders who worked hard to earn their living like the other area pioneers. Yet another group claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. 2023 Geek Girl Authority. Though no one ever collected the rewards offered, rumors of several parties who had captured and killed the Benders began to fly. John and his raw-boned wife spoke with such guttural accents that few people could understand them. She also claimed to possess psychic powers, including communicating with the dead. Along with her desire for fame, she also craved wealth and position. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. She was 20 at the time of her death. Prairie Ghosts, Byways & Historic Trails Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History, Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas Declaring Independence, Stanley, Ks Extinct but Still Here (LOK), Black Bob Reservation in Johnson County (LOK). This one would make a great show/movie, but we keep seeing remakes and reboots. Many innocent men under suspicion were also run out of the county by these committees.[5]. He does not deliver his usual parting words to Satchel. [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. The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10) December 1872: John Greary. He returns his attention to Rabbi, who has noticed something behind the Italian: a bona fide Wizard of Oz tornado. barry mcguigan, daughter funeral; mellon mounds kansas murders Though most were led to believe John and Kate were sister and brother, others said that they sometimes passed as man and wife. On deer antler shedding, pocket gopher mounds, eagle breeding and murders of crows (that's the name of a flock of crows) They were released after being found not guilty, but were then immediately re-arrested for the Bender murders. Finally, the men physically moved the entire cabin to the side and began to search beneath, but no bodies were found there either. 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. 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. No one ever claimed the $3,000 reward ($67,858 as of 2023), however. Mrs. Davis claimed that Mrs. Monroe was Elvira Bender, but that she herself was not Kate, but her sister Sarah; she later signed an affidavit to that effect, while Monroe continued to deny the identification and in turn accused Sarah Eliza of being the real Kate Bender. Several weeks after the discovery of the bodies, Addison Roach and his son-in-law, William Buxton, were arrested as accessories. Co D 123rd Ill Infantry. [18], According to a news report from contemporary media, an unnamed man from Kansas City, who had investigated the Bender Family's house and the rumors of their deaths numerous times, claimed that The Kelly Family were in fact the Benders. [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. Yet another claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. She also conducted sances and gave lectures on spiritualism, for which she gained notoriety for advocating free love. Donald, his wife Karen and their three kids live a nice, comfortable life. . 11) December 1872: Red Smith. mellon mounds kansas murders. THE MELLON MOUNDS. 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. Their murders were carried out by use of a canvas curtain that divided the house into two rooms. On May 17th, Governor Thomas Osborn added to that amount by offering a $2,000 reward for the apprehension of all four. 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. Bit by bit, the story of the Benders was pieced together. I'd need to check but my gut feeling is that its real. John Bender, Jr. was actually a man named John Gebhardt. Many stories say that one vigilante group actually caught the Benders and shot all of them but Kate, whom they burned alive. 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 . [1], One detective later claimed that he had traced the pair to the border, where he had found that JohnJr. had died of apoplexy. Legend has it that the family of four gruesomely murdered at least 11 patrons, scattering the bodies throughout their property and county. When the Benders opened their store and inn in 1871, many travelers would stop for a meal or supplies. Some believe justice came to them in the end. Along with an old episode of Death Valley Days. She is fun enough. Location. 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. Often two women traveling together were accused of being Kate Bender and her mother.[10]. It says this home used to be run by the infamous Mellon Family, who lured travelers in before killing them with a hammer. However, there were no bodies in the hole. Franks father, Jesse P. Smalley, and several men were joking with a local judge, teasing him about his missing ear. As the boy listened, the men continued to talk, relating the tale of how the judge had lost his ear.
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