[citation needed], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}372056N 952910W / 37.349N 95.486W / 37.349; -95.486, According to one of the myths that has grown around the murders, after dinner, Colonel York was sitting in the front room when he noticed a gold, List of fugitives from justice who disappeared, List of serial killers in the United States, "The Bloody Benders Serial Killers of Kansas", "The Bloody Benders, Kansas, ca. Four other bodies with crushed skulls and slit throats were also found outside the property in Drum Creek and on the surrounding prairie. 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. The Benders were not what they appeared. Their room is assigned based on Rabbis political and New Testament leanings, which place them in the west wing. One of these families was the Benders, comprised of John Bender, Sr.; his wife, Almira; son, John, Jr.; and daughter, Kate. Prying it open, the men found a six-foot-deep hole filled with clotted blood, causing a terrible odor. 10) December 1872: John Greary. Donald, his wife Karen and their three kids live a nice, comfortable life. John Bender, Sr. chose a 160-acre section on the western slopes of the mounds that continue to bear their name today. All four had crushed skulls and throats cut. Touch for map. When the vigilantegroup approached, the Benders fired on them, at which time, the judge lost part of his ear to a flying bullet. The search of the cabin resulted in the recovery of three hammers: a shoe hammer, a claw hammer, and a sledgehammer that appeared to match indentations in some of the skulls. 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. 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. I haven't heard Macabre in years. [2] The elder Benders did not leave the train at Humboldt, but instead continued north to Kansas City, where it is believed they purchased tickets for St. Louis, Missouri.[1]. It is in Morehead in Montgomery County Kansas. Johnny Boyles body was found in the well. No one ever claimed the $3,000 reward ($67,858 as of 2023), however. That is a Kansas historical society sign. For all these deaths, the Benders gained only about $4,600, two teams of horses and wagons, a pony, and a saddle. 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. (AP) - A man already in prison . 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. These first few missing travelers did not raise an overall alarm in the area as it was not uncommon for men to continue their journey westward during those days. Franks father, Jesse P. Smalley, and several men were joking with a local judge, teasing him about his missing ear. She watches (and recaps) a lot of TV, sees every Marvel movie on opening night and reads voraciously. The Benders were widely believed to be German immigrants. 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. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported . The texts read "Johannah Bender. I believe I read this year that the land where the house once stood got sold to someone. An American Indian legend claimed any twister approaching Topeka from the southwest would have its tail clipped off by Burnett's Mound, a sacred burial ground. 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 1884, it was reported that John Flickinger had committed suicide in Lake Michigan. The Vicious Harpes First AmericanSerial Killers, The Bloody Benders 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. Whenever he is asked a question about himself, Satchels response is that he is hungry. She soon found the lecture circuit profitable by distributing circulars that proclaimed her skills, including supernatural powers and the ability to cure illnesses and infirmities. Some of the Benders' neighbors claimed that John and Kate were not brother and sister, but actually husband and wife. Though no one ever collected the rewards offered, rumors of several parties who had captured and killed the Benders began to fly. The "Bloody Benders" were a German family of four that settled a claim in southeastern Kansas in Labette County. Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. 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. Yep the Abberdeens are very clearly based on the Benders, specifically Kate and John Jr. 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. Nothing like this sickening series of crimes had ever been recorded in the whole history of the country.. 0 coins. ?," "big slaughter day, Jan eighth", and "hell departed. Some believe justice came to them in the end. Tole reported the fact to the township trustee, but due to inclement weather, several days lapsed before the abandonment could be investigated. The only thing remaining an empty hole that had once been the cellar. A terrible smell inside the abandoned inn also met them. He returns his attention to Rabbi, who has noticed something behind the Italian: a bona fide Wizard of Oz tornado. Finally, the men physically moved the entire cabin to the side and began to search beneath, but no bodies were found there either. The man further elaborated that all the stories of the latter's capture were made up, supposedly by a group of Confederates, who have also helped the Benders dispose of the murdered victims' horses and wagons. Mrs. McCann's story came from dreams about her father's murder, which she discussed with Sarah Eliza. In the 19th century, Kansas was a bloody place, especially before the Civil War, as Free-Soilers and slavery advocates duked it out for control of the new territory. The Benders then stripped him of his clothes and went to bury him when the man suddenly awoke. On March 28, 1873, Colonel York arrived at the Benders' inn with a Mr. Johnson, explaining to them that his brother had gone missing and asked if they had seen him. why i quit civil engineering; goo goo gaga family net worth; how to make homemade biscuits without baking powder; Southeast Kansas, in particular, was known as a rough area. A pity, it has quite a few quirks. The story of the Benders' escape spread, and the search continued on and off for the next 50 years. Upon further investigation, Captain James B. Inicio; mellon mounds kansas murders; Sin categorizar; mellon mounds kansas murders Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and spiritualist. [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. But if your not from Kansas it's a fairly obscure story. Of the family, Pa Bender was found to have been a man named John Flickinger, from either Germany or Holland. The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. Immigrating from Germany, John Bender, Sr. was 60 years old when he arrived in the area; his wife was about 55. This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 16:54. Press J to jump to the feed. did phineas and ferb die in a car accident. Satchel asks to keep Rabbit, and Rabbi refuses until he learns that its the boys birthday. 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. In the 19th century, Kansas was a bloody place, especially before the Civil War, as " Free-Soilers " and slavery advocates "duked" it out for control of the new territory. As Active Shooter incidents have increased, employers are tasked with training employees on how to escape, hide, or fight. The house sits alone in a barren landscape composed of post-harvest fields coated halfheartedly with snow. Elvira and Kate Bender also planted a 2-acre (0.81ha) vegetable garden and apple orchard north of the cabin. Yeah! [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. A piece of land where Kansas' first known serial killers murdered at least 11 people in the 1870s is up for auction. The legend was debunked on June 8, 1966, when an EF-5 twister churned its way across the city, cutting a diagonal swath of destruction from S.W. They werent even a true family the only ones related were Ma and Kate Bender. We are, in fact, in Kansas. 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. Outside the door is a plaque that reads: KANSAS In addition to the museum, southeast Kansas may be the only place where a state historical marker celebrates mass murder. but many still live in fear of their bloody hammer. 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. Some say that they escaped, others that they were executed by a vengeful posse. The Mellons are believed to have killed over a dozen people, including a child. Last night, I listened to a story from my grandfather, Emerson Smalley, about the Benders and their supposed end. 20) May 1873: Dr William York. She also conducted sances and gave lectures on spiritualism, for which she gained notoriety for advocating free love. When a traveler was seated at the table, his head was outlined against the curtain. 215 East 4th Street Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy's bribery of state legislators in his bid for re-election. Cherryvale Museum What a uniquely weird unsolved mystery. In 1967, three of the Bender hammers were gifted to the museum by the Dick family. allah y hafdek traduction; markel annual meeting 2022; community action partnership appointment line; July 3, 2022 mellon mounds kansas murdersdcs vsn modsdcs vsn mods 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. Game got that right. Daughter Kate was the friendliest of the bunch, speaking good English with just a slight accent and bore cultivated social skills. This went on for years until they killed someone related to a Civil War hero and a senator. On May 17th, Governor Thomas Osborn added to that amount by offering a $2,000 reward for the apprehension of all four. His family was from the Cherryvale, Kansas area, and the story involves a group of men that found the Benders and were in a gunfight with them, one of whom was a judge that lost part of his ear in the gun battle. Ma Bender and Kate would then rifle the body for money, pushing him through the trap door into the hole below the cabin, where Kate would slit his throat. Like others, he was hit over the head as he sat at the table. $10 (2023: $226), a, 8-9) December 1872: George Newton Longcor and his 18-month-old daughter, Mary Ann. 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 mellon mounds kansas murders Blakeslee, 75, became intrigued by Etzanoa after scholars at UC Berkeley retranslated in 2013 the often muddled Spanish accounts of their forays into what is now Kansas . (In case you wondered after reading that, like I did, what year The Mulligan Concern arrived in Kansas City, it was 1920. 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. The for the guy who discovered Pluto? I used to have their Dahmer album way back. A message requesting positive identification was sent to Cherryvale, but the suspect severed his foot to escape his leg irons and bled to death. Historical Weather. The men then physically lifted the cabin and moved it to the side to dig under it, but no bodies were found. At the site of a freshly stirred depression in the earth, they found the first body, buried head downward with its feet scarcely covered. Props to Noah Hawley for referencing a lot of forgotten crimes, from Jane Toppan, the Kansas City Massacre, and now the Bloody Benders. Standing over six feet tall, John was a giant of a man who, because of his piercing black eyes set deeply under huge bushy brows, earned him the nickname of old beetle-browed John. His ruddy face, mostly covered by a heavy beard, sullen expression, and long hair often led to him being described as a wild and wooly-looking man.. After the third hanging, they released him and he staggered home "as one who was drunken or deranged. The discussion began regarding the ten people who were reported missing, including a well-known Independence physician named Dr. William H. York. Fact or fiction, no one knows, but Ive always enjoyed the tale and hope you will as well. The petite auburn-haired beauty desired notoriety and often advocated free love and justification for murder in her lectures. It takes an English sentence and breaks it into words to determine if it is a phrase or a clause. Several weeks after the discovery of the bodies, Addison Roach and his son-in-law, William Buxton, were arrested as accessories. 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. 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. why i quit civil engineering; goo goo gaga family net worth; how to make homemade biscuits without baking powder; noah hester restaurant; Other corpses found in the area and the many mysterious disappearances of other lonely travelers led the locals to believe that the Benders killed more than 20 people. Find links to our programs, locations, partners, staff members, and communications. Donald's family owns successful McDonald's franchises in their home town of Phoenix, Arizona. East/West is a cunningly timed bottle episode. Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. Gabe Gibson, Effingham, Illinois, as told to him by his grandfather, Emerson Smalley, January 2011. They disappeared in the spring of 1873, shortly before inquisitive neighbors discovered the victims' bodies. On deer antler shedding, pocket gopher mounds, eagle breeding and murders of crows (that's the name of a flock of crows) After opening the trap, the party found clotted blood on the floor of the empty room underneath, 6 feet (1.8m) deep and 7 feet (2.1m) square at the top by 3 feet (0.9m) square at the bottom. 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. 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. 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. 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 body of a young girl was found with no injuries sufficient to cause death. In honor of the Kansas state-wide Centennial Celebration, an exact replica of the Bender cabin was built that housed antiques and household items. John Bender, Sr. was from either Germany, Norway, or the Netherlands and may have been born John Flickinger. She mentioned stopping at the inn, as well as recounting the rumors of the murders spreading through their community. Serial killer music is a genre unto itself. Once in the cellar, the body would be stripped and later buried somewhere on the property, often in the orchard. 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. Kate was the fifth child of Ma Bender and was born Eliza Griffith. Her tag says her name is Rabbit. This historical marker was erected by Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. Location. According to the May 23, 1873 edition of The Emporia News, he was identified with the name of William Bender. There is a lot of weird details, like the two children, Kate and John Jr Bender possibly being husband and wife, or the parents Elvira and John Sir being two nobodies who merely said they were family. 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. Next to their room is a hospital man, an obese white man with bandages all over him and some kind of skin condition that makes him look monstrous to the passing child. Once Kansas declared itself with the Union and the Civil War began, the bloody battles continued. According to the 1870 census, George and his wife, Mary Jane, were neighbors of. Leona Laurie is a Senior Contributor for Geek Girl Authority and co-host of the Marvel-Us podcast. 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. Her husband and son were said to have feared her as she ran the household with an iron hand. melon mounds liberal kansaspython list memory allocationpython list memory allocation This tugs his heartstrings, inspiring him to leave the boardinghouse in search of some kind of birthday treat for his ward. Sunflower seeds are incredibly rich sources of many essential minerals. 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. They were never caugnt. [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. No documentation or definitive proof of their relationships to one another, or where they were born, has ever been found. 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. The filling station attendant tells Omie that this is the only place for gas for miles, and that if Calamita hasnt been through yet, he definitely will. 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?) 11) December 1872: Red Smith. Relocating to Independence from, 7) December 1872: Johnny Boyle. The right knee had been wrenched from its socket, and the leg doubled up under the body. 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 learns something new about herself every time she watches an episode of Wonder Woman. Marker is on the grounds of the rest area located northeast of the intersection of US Highways 189 and 400, about three miles south of Morehead. Some say they escaped, others that the were executed by a vengeful posse. They were released after being found not guilty, but were then immediately re-arrested for the Bender murders. So provocative was the Bender family tale that the Bender Museum was created in Cherryvale in 1961. [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. 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). Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2011, The Bloody Benders. 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). [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. 2014. Season 4 Episode 22 (1961) of the TV series, Season 1, episode 15 (2006) of the TV series, The "Hitchcock's Birds, Hope Diamond, Phineas Gang" episode of the Travel Channel's show, The Bender Family is mentioned in episode 94 of the podcast, The story was recounted on Investigation Discovery's, The metal pioneers Macabre have a song about the Benders, who are said to be of Norwegian ancestry -. Bit by bit, the story of the Benders was pieced together. After the Benders escape, one detective, who had closely followed all the leads, said that he had traced Gebhardt to the outlaw country along the Texas/New Mexico border, where he had found that the criminal had died of apoplexy. Bloody Benders - The Forgotten Story of a Family of Pioneer Kansas Serial Killers By: Justin Nobel | Date: Sat, November 16th, 2013 The Bender family lived in southeastern Kansas and murdered pioneers headed west during the late 1800s. Buried in the apple orchard. When he pulls into the drive, he spots Calamitas empty car at the pump immediately. The two arrive at The Mellon Mounds- a historical marker in Kansas. York had two brothers: Ed York living in Fort Scott, and Colonel Alexander M. York, a Civil War veteran, lawyer, and member of the Kansas State Senate from Independence who, in November 1872, had been instrumental in exposing U.S. Legends of America founder Kathy Weiser-Alexander hams it up for Discovery Channel producers for the show Evil Kin, episode 2, season 2, The Bloody Benders, original air date August 12. When the Benders opened their store and inn in 1871, many travelers would stop for a meal or supplies. Originally scheduled for February 1890, the trial was held over to May. John Bender, Jr. was a tall, slender man of about 25 who was handsome with auburn hair and a mustache. 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. 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. 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 It was reported at the time that Kate was into free love, telling fortunes, and being a little too close to her brother. [1][2][3], John Bender, Sr. was around 60 years old and spoke little English. William Pickering said that when he had refused to sit near the wagon cloth because of the stains on it, Kate Bender had threatened him with a knife, whereupon he fled the premises. All of the bizarre characters in the house sit around the table, except the hospital man and his companion, and the table (like the whole house) is split into two meals, two styles of dcor and two serving staffs in accordance with the sisters feud. The breastbone had been driven in. Kate's popularity became a large attraction for the Benders' inn. Although the elder Benders kept to themselves, Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove. The notorious "Bloody Benders" were a German immigrant family who owned both a general store and small inn in the early 1870s in Labette County. [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. The Benders family, of German descent, was one of the families who moved to the outskirts of Kansas. Does that mean that Satchel has just landed in Oz now? They buried their victims in a neighboring orchard, unbeknownst to the townspeople. Mrs. Almira Griffith) and Mrs. Sarah Eliza Davis had been arrested in Niles, Michigan (often misreported as Detroit) several weeks earlier for larceny. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. His habit of laughing aimlessly led to him being described as a half-wit, though many afterward believed this was simply a ruse to disguise his clever nature. 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. ", "Young Bender, seen when excited, recalled the grave-robbing hyena at once to mind. Mrs. Monroe now admitted she had married a Mr. Shearer in 1872 and claimed she had previously denied it, as she did not want the court to know that her name was Shearer at that time and that she had a conviction for manslaughter. 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. This unnamed man was one of the many who made the mistake of stopping at the Bender Inn. , Fedmyster Google Doc , Gladiator Lucilla Character Analysis , Fran Mccaffery Daughter , The Ranches At Royal Pines Livingston Tx , Crooked Stick Golf Club Membership Cost , Mart Bus Fitchburg To Gardner . He then cautiously looks through a window, where he sees Calamita standing over a wounded Omie, gun drawn. [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. [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. Though the tales of what happened to the Benders can only be speculated as to their accuracy, the fact that ten bodies were found on the property is not disputed. 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. John was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many to consider him a "half-wit." [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. 620-336-3576. Keeping mostly to themselves, the Benders appeared to simply be struggling homesteaders who worked hard to earn their living like the other area pioneers. Subreddit for the FX original TV series, Fargo. As more and more travelers vanished, suspicion began to circle the Mellons. 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. Even with her clairvoyant abilities, Kate attempted to search for the missing doctor to throw any suspicion off herself. I remember that song. melon mounds liberal kansascrank arm length calculator sheldon browncrank arm length calculator sheldon brown THE MELLON MOUNDS. She is fun enough. If this really is Oz, then Satchel is Dorothy and Rabbit is Toto. melon mounds kansas murders. 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.