TRAGIC
DEATH OF JAMES F. TAYLOR |
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Compiled
and Submitted by Auldeane
Cates |
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TRAGIC
DEATH OF JAMES F. TAYLOR |
|
Compiled
and Submitted by Auldeane
Cates |
|
|
CHAPTER
I:
James (Jim) Franklin Taylor was born in Tennessee on February 29, 1872. He moved to
Arkansas as a young man where he met and married Harriet. To this union was born a son who
they named Earnest.
To this union were born Elsie Verneal and Birdie. Birdie died at a very young age. In the
meantime, Jim and Dosha relocated to Ripley County in Missouri, which is part of the
Missouri Ozarks. They were a very happy couple, with Earnest and Elsie; then Dosha
realized another baby was on the way. Jim
became gravely ill with pneumonia. Jim was a member of IOOF Lodge #710 of Ponder, Missouri
and the Lodge brothers were most helpful during his illness. They would come to their home
and sit with Jim while Dosha took care of the chores and the children.
On this particular day Dosha felt nauseous and Jim told her to lie down awhile and
he would take care of things. When she awoke she discovered that he had gathered in all
the neighbors, telling them that Dosha was gravely ill. What a shock it was to her to see
a house full of people. Jim did a few more strange things and Dosha became scared of him
and fearful of what he might do. With the help of the Lodge and a deputy sheriff she had
Jim committed to Farmington State Hospital #4 for medical help on March 9, 1911.
Thus,
begins the rest of the story ...... CHAPTER
II THE
MURDER
Jim was still in a weak and frail condition from the pneumonia when he was admitted
to the Hospital. After only three weeks of confinement a doctor was called to check on
Jim. What he found was atrocious!!! Jim had two large abscesses on his hand. His
breastbone was broken and he had three broken ribs on one side and two broken on the other
side. The Assistant Superintendent was called to investigate the sad situation! Two
attendants were handed over to the sheriff who let them plead guilty to assault; then he
let them go.
Jim was taken to the infirmary where he DIED the NEXT day. A warrant went out for the arrest of Pate Swain (Peter Swaine/Swain) and Harrison Bizzle (Harris Bissell or Bizzel/Bizzell) whom Jim had identified, before they were let go, as the ones who beat him! The two were brought back from Hastings, Nebraska where they had fled and were charged with FIRST DEGREE MURDER. That was on April 3, 1911.
Dosha
was unable financially to have Jim’s body brought back home to southeast Missouri.
Knowing this, the IOOF buried Jim in their cemetery in Farmington, with full rites of the
Lodge. After these tragic events, Dosha and her children had to go live with her mother
and stepfather, G.W.S. and Almeda Watson, near Corning, Arkansas.
CHAPTER
III THE
INVESTIGATION
St. Francois Lodge #48 “went to bat” for the cause of justice, as did
Lodge #710 of Ponder. Public agitation over recent exposures of conditions at State
Hospital #4, Farmington, forced the Governor to order a hurried meeting of the Board of
Managers to resume its investigation of the charges of inhuman treatment of patients on
the part of the attendants; and of incompetentcy, neglect, and loose methods on the part
of the hospital officials, which had come up before the board at the last meeting! The death of Jim Taylor, a patient on April 3,
1911 Farmington News: The
result of a cruel assault by two attendants more than two weeks prior to his death; of not
reporting his condition to proper authorities, or carelessness on the part of the
physicians in charge of the ward in which he was confined in not discovering his condition
earlier was published in the Farmington
News.
The citizens of Farmington, as well as all over the state, were appalled at the terrible
situation and what had happened. Farmington, Missouri, April 24, 1911: At
a meeting, the St. Francois Lodge #48 adopted the following resolutions:
Whereas, Brother J. F. Taylor, a member of Ponder Lodge #710, Ponder, Missouri,
died at the State Hospital #4 at Farmington, Missouri on April 3, 1911 under circumstances
that indicate inhuman treatment on the part of the attendants and GROSS neglect on the
part of the officials of the institution; Therefore, be it resolved by St. Francois Lodge
#48:
1. That
we, as a fraternal order, deplore and condemn the inhuman treatment of Brother Taylor, and
all other unfortunate people who may suffer like treatment in any of our State
Institutions who care for the sick in mind, and that we call attention of the Grand Master
of the IOOF of Missouri to this incident, and request that he use his influence and that
of the Grand Lodge of the Order with the Governor to have a most rigid investigation made
of this case, to the end that better and more humane treatment be accorded not only to the
member of our order, but to all others who may be unfortunate enough to be assigned to
this or other asylums in the STATE. 2.
That a certified copy of the evidence before the coroner’s Inquest; and verdict of
the coroner’s jury, with a copy of these resolutions, be furnished the Grand Master
for his information and guidance in any steps he may take in the premises. Sealed: --End of
Resolution-- CHAPTER
IV THE
GOVERNOR’S INVESTIGATION
Governor Hadley ordered an investigation of the “Asylum Scandal.” He
declined to comment on the report given in “The
St. Louis Republic,”
a St. Louis newspaper, which reported deplorable conditions in Farmington State Hospital
#4. The Governor defended the Republican Board of Managers. William Lang, President of the Board, urged Judge Marshall not to notify Governor Hadley. The Governor said, “Get this thing straightened out if it means the entire management must be changed and other persons put in charge.” He declared the Farmington cases to be deplorable and attributed them to incompetent attendants and a lack of proper discipline. Governor Hadley blamed the Hospital Superintendent, Dr. Keaney, and stoutly defended the Board of Managers and believes it had done all that could be done to straighten out the situation.
Dr. Lloyd was the first assistant physician at the Hospital. He was called in to
examine Taylor’s injuries on March 30, 1911 after Dr. Frank Weber, Assistant
Superintendent, had finally discovered the man’s broken ribs and breastbone. The
examination by Dr. Lloyd revealed that Taylor’s bones had decayed as the result of
NEGLECT! According
to President of the Board Lang, Dr. Lloyd was appointed at the request of Governor Hadley
who desired the appointment out of deference to Representative Hiram Lloyd of St. Louis,
Leader of the House.
Judge Marshall, in his discussion of the “Farmington Scandal” declared
that although a Republican, he could not countenance any “WHITEWASHING” in the
investigation, regardless of POLITICS or who might be involved. “I can
afford NOT TO BE COUNTY JUDGE,”
he said. Mr. Calhoon, Representative of the Board, was also opposed to the appointment of
Lloyd.
The Board of Managers was also asked to investigate another allegation at the
Farmington Institution from the past January. A woman employee at the asylum, spoken of as
an attendant, and a stenographer were alleged to have attempted suicide in the hospital
because of a love affair with an official who was MARRIED. President
Lang and Vice-President Merrell Pipkin, felt like fifth wheels at this point since their
terms were running out and the new board members would be the ones to decide, as it was
Governor dominated. Moore and Pipkin had also opposed the appointment of Lloyd. Judge
Marshall said, “It’s
not time for Governor Hadley to play politics. I do not pretend to be familiar with the
BRUTAL killing of the unfortunate man, Taylor. All I know is what I’ve read in the
columns of the papers and heard on the streets. I have read the transcripts of the
evidence before the coroner in the case and it certainly gives rise to the gravest
suspicions. Even the savage shield and protect the mentally unbalanced. To take this poor
unfortunate woman and dump her in the County Courtroom where there is no provision for
mother or child, is barbarous.”
(Mrs. Wells had become pregnant and had a child while a patient at the state facility.) A
question was asked of Dr. Henry Lloyd. “Dr.
Lloyd, is it true you’ve been out at night in your auto with young men from
Farmington, visiting dance halls and bars in Bonne Terre and Elvins?” Replying,
Dr. Lloyd said, “he
was not a total abstainer”
and he “had
been to Elvins.”
Dr. Keaney was exonerated because he supposedly had no way of knowing of
Taylor’s condition since the attendants wouldn’t SNITCH on each other and the
patients were threatened, so they were afraid to tell.
Dr. Robert Emmett Keaney then resigned at the REQUEST of Governor Hadley. It seems
he had previously served as a doctor in a poorhouse and before that had been an intern a
few months at a female hospital; and had been dismissed
from both institutions prior to coming to Farmington. CHAPTER
V EVENTS
FOLLOWING THE April 25, 1911 The St.
Louis Republic,
a St. Louis newspaper, published an expose of the shocking conditions at the hospital
showing that an insane patient had died, after being beaten by two attendants, and how a
child was born to one of the insane inmates and mother and child were taken to the county
court by hospital physicians, to be left as charges on the County. April
26, 1911 Governor
Hadley, moved by The St.
Louis Republic expose,
ordered the Board of Managers of the Hospital to make a searching investigation of the
conditions there. The
official careers in St. Louis of Superintendent Keaney and Assistant Superintendent Lloyd
were reviewed in The St.
Louis Republic. April
28, 1911 The
Board of Managers of the Hospital, after a hearing, received the resignations of Doctors
Lloyd and Weber, but deferred action and demanded and accepted immediate resignation of
Superintendent Keaney.
Governor Hadley announced, after the result of the investigation, that he would
send members of the State Board of Charities of Farmington to conduct an independent
inquiry, and placed Dr. R. S. Magee, Assistant Superintendent of Fulton Asylum in
temporary charge of the Farmington Institution. ~END
OF EXPOSE~ CHAPTER
VI PRELIMINARY
EXAMINATION OF DEFENDANTS May
5-6, 1911:
In May, defendants, Harrison and Bizzle, appeared before Judge J. P. Zolman,
Justice of Peace, St. Francois Township and John L. Cleveland, J. P. of Pendleton township
at the Courthouse on Friday and Saturday. This resulted in the defendants being
“bound over without bail!”
(It will be
remembered that James F. Taylor was committed to the State Hospital #4 from Ripley County
on the night of March 9, 1911 and that Harrison Bizzle and Pate Swain, two Scott County
young men were the day attendants into whose care he was placed; that Taylor died on the
morning of April 3, 1911, and because Taylor stated that he had been assaulted while at
the hospital and identified Bizzle and Swain, they were arrested and charged with MURDER.)
The state was represented by Prosecuting Attorney, B. H. Boyer; Assistant Attorney
General, Charles G. Revelle; and J. F. Fulbright, an attorney from Doniphan, Missouri,
whom the IOOF Lodge at that place had employed, Taylor being a member at the time of his
death of that ORDER. The two defendants were represented by Benjamin H. Marbury and
Congressman Walter H. Hensley. The
state introduced the following witnesses:
Dr. Robert E. Keaney Testimony of Dr. Robert E. Keaney: The
evidence on the part of the state tended to prove by Dr. Robert E. Keaney that he, between
March 9 and April 3 was the Superintendent of Hospital #4; that James F. Taylor was
received by Harry Lots at De Lassus, in the county with the deputy sheriff of Ripley
County, L. C. McCauley. These two men turned Taylor over to Dr. Lloyd, who in turn took
him to Harrison Cottage and turned him over to night attendant, Luther Gibson (Robert L.
Gibson in some accounts), who put him to bed.
Dr.
Henry Lloyd was the second witness called; and stated that he was the Assistant
Superintendent of the Farmington Hospital, and had received Taylor at the Administrative
Office about 9 p.m., March 9, 1911. That he conversed with Taylor, but in no way examined
him; that he was thin, but able to walk and handle himself well; that he saw Taylor at the
ballgame on March 11, was called into consultation with Dr. Weber and found Taylor in a
very bad condition; that Taylor was suffering from necrosis of the breastbone; that a
third of the bone was sloughed away, dislocating the second, third, and fourth ribs which
were broken, and pus sacks were on the breastbone and on these three ribs; that Taylor
died from Septicemia, produced by necrosis, this produced by pus and caused by injuries
which were in his opinion inflicted from without; that Taylor was rational and identified
Bizzle and Swain as the men who had injured him. Testimony
of Dr. Frank Weber: Dr.
Frank Weber testified that he was in charge of the male patients; saw Taylor twice a week
from March 10-29; inclusive; that he examined Taylor’s chest on March 10 and detected
no injuries; as to wounds’ necrosis or fractures; practically testified the same as
Dr. Lloyd had; that Taylor was rational, especially at the time he identified Bizzle and
Swain; that Taylor died from Septicemia, caused by pus; that in his opinion the injuries
were produced by blows from without or some external injuries. Testimony
of G. T. Penninger;
G. T. Penninger, an attendant, testified that he was on duty at Hall Violent
Cottage, where Taylor was transferred about March 14; that Bizzle delivered Taylor to him
saying, “Dad,
here is Mr. Taylor, who is pretty well done up, but guess you can bring him out of it all
right;”
that Taylor accused Bizzle and Swain of being “THE
BOYS WHO BEAT HIM UP.” Testimony of Frank Robinson: Frank Robinson, another day attendant at the Hall
Cottage was on duty when Taylor came to that place, and testified that he was rational and
that he accused Bizzle and Swain with injuring him. Testimony
of Luther Gibson: Luther Gibson, night attendant, testified that he
received Taylor at the Harrison Cottage at about 9 p.m. on March 9; that he neither
examined or bathed him; that on the morning of the 11th; as he left the room,
he saw Bizzle And Swain take hold of the arms of Taylor and throw him out of his bed; saw
Bizzle strike Taylor with his fist; and as he went down to the floor he heard Taylor "Bellowing" but that he (Luther) did not tell anyone and
explained that he had not testified to the truth before the coroner or the Board of
Managers; for the reason he was not asked these questions; that there was an understanding
among attendants, not to tell on each other; that he left the hospital on March 14 as the
receiving/observation ward was discontinued and he went home. Luther said that Bizzle and
Swain admitted to him they had "hung it on" (that is thrashed) Taylor; that on
the 26th and 27th of March Taylor complained of his chest; that
Taylor stated that Bizzle & Swain had injured him.
Deputy Sheriff L. C. McCauley testified that when he
brought Taylor to Farmington Hospital #4 on March 9, 1911 that Taylor complained of his
arm and side hurting and had complained of these when he was placed in the hospital
conveyance at De Lassus; that Taylor was not injured while in his custody.
The Prosecutor had filed his affidavit; charging murder in the FIRST DEGREE against
Harrison Bizzle and Pate Swain and Luther Gibson; but before any testimony was introduced,
charges were dismissed against Gibson.
Mr. Marbury, Attorney for the defense, did not introduce any testimony and the boys
were held without bond. CHAPTER
VII THE EXHUMATION OF TAYLOR
With questions on behalf of the attorneys as to the CAUSE of death; Mr. Taylor's
body was exhumed on May 20, 1911. It seemed the pathologist had not presented the cause to
their satisfaction. Coroner J. H. English was instructed to exhume and make a thorough
post-mortem examination in the presence of the Prosecuting Attorney and Mr. Marbury,
attorney for the defendants, and any who might request to be present.
Early in the morning of May 20, 1911; with undertaker Adam Neidert superintending
the exhumation, the coroner and doctors selected by both sides gathered at the grave of
the deceased Mr. Taylor in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Farmington. Doctors representing
the State of Missouri were Dr. Henry Lloyd and Dr. Frank Weber of Farmington Hospital #4;
Dr. Harry Poston of Bonne Terre; and Dr. Fred Braning of Farmington.
Those representing the defendants were Dr. R. B. H. Gradwohl, pathologist of St.
Louis; Dr. E. C. McCormick of Farmington; and Doctors U. P. Haw and Sidney Wade of Benton,
Missouri. It had been forty days since Jim was interned. When the body was rolled out of
the coffin, it was in an advanced state of decomposition and gave forth a strong sickening
odor!
The post-mortem was made by Dr. English, the coroner, assisted by Dr. Poston. It
revealed the facts - three ribs on the right side and two on the left were broken; about
one-third of the breastbone was sloughed away; the whole bone structure was in a more or
less state of necrosis, apparently the result of an injury received at a former time,
while the lungs & kidneys gave evidence of being diseased, (BRIGHT’S DISEASE).
The breastbone
and ribs; the condition that was declared at the preliminary examination to have been
caused by external injuries, were removed and taken charge of by the coroner, to be
thoroughly examined by the state physicians or some
Mr. Marbury, on the part of the defendants, requested parts of all the portions
taken by the state, so that the defendants’ physicians might also make a thorough
examination of their condition. Dr. Henry Lloyd objected to this, on the grounds that he,
Dr. Weber, and the Administration were on trial and that the defendants should not be
permitted to make an examination of the parts retained by the state; so no portion of the
affected bones or other affected parts were given to the defendant physicians; however,
two small portions of other bones were given to Dr. Gradwohl.
B. H. Boyer was paid $31.00 for exhumation of Taylor and reburial, plus $8.50 was
paid to Farmington Milling Company for infirmary supplies. CHAPTER
VIII THE RELEASE OF SWAIN AND BIZZLE ON
BAIL
In June, 1911, Bizzle and Swain were released on $5,000.00 bond. The men going
their bails were very rich and had aggregated assets of more than a million dollars. Excerpts from
miscellaneous newspapers across Missouri:
I have in my possession a week of articles
from the St. Louis St. Louis Republic, as well as several months from the Farmington
Times. State Asylum #4 at Farmington, which seems to have been badly unmanaged lately, is being investigated by the Board of Managers. The two attendants, who are accused of beating a patient to death, were arrested in Hastings, Nebraska and have been brought back to Farmington.
They seem to be having a Hades of a time over at the Asylum #4. The Republican
management of the institution needs auditing. ‘Though being Republican - it of course
has its privileges not accorded wicked and unregenerate Democrat officials.
One member of the Board of Managers of the state hospital has defective hearing;
but the dispatch says nothing about defects of vision! April 26,
1911 - St. Louis Star:
We shall never get the right spirit injected into our institutions until we have a
board of control, composed of men imbued with the spirit and empowered to select the
managers; and direct the operation of the institutions, FREE from politics, or political
interference. The only satisfaction of our institution for the insane is to look back half
a century and see how much better they are now than they were then. It encourages us to
look forward along the long road we have yet to travel and hope for more speedy progress. CHAPTER
IX: THE TRIAL The case of Harry Bizzle and
Pate Swain, under charge of murder in the second degree; for the alleged beating of J.F.
Taylor, a patient at State Hospital # 4 which resulted in his death on April 3, 1911, was
called to trial the last Monday in August, 1911. The Jury was qualified, challenges made,
and the taking of testimony began at 1 p. m. on Tuesday. Prosecuting Attorney, B. H.
Boyer; Assistant Attorney General, Charles G. Revelle; and F. T. Fulbright, Prosecuting
Attorney of Ripley County, Missouri, who was employed by the IOOF of Doniphan to assist in
the prosecution, had charge of the case on the part of the state. B. H. Marbury and Walter
L. Hensley appeared for the defendants. CHAPTER X: BIZZLE AND SWAIN GUILTLESS Seldom had a trial in the
circuit court of this county attracted more interest than that of Harris Bizzle & Pate
Swain, charged with murder in the second degree in the alleged killing of J. F Taylor, a
patient at State Hospital #4, or of inflicting the injuries from which it was declared
that Taylor died. AFTER BEING OUT ONLY 17 MINUTES,
The various examinations of the Doctors seem to bear out the theory of the state,
and showed that pus sacks had formed over the points fractured; that at no time after
March 12 had Taylor been injured. The State’s expert testimony went to show that the
injuries were inflicted by external force, administered with GREAT VIOLENCE!
The State further showed by Luther Gibson, who was night attendant, at the
receiving-observation ward and had turned Taylor over to the defendants on the morning of
March 12, that as he went off duty he saw Bizzle & Swain throw Taylor out of the bed
upon the floor, and heard Taylor cry out, "For
God’s sake don't kill me." I heard him scream after he had gone to his room
some distance away! The most
interesting feature of the trial was when the State sought to introduce the BONES OF
TAYLOR IN EVIDENCE, and when it attempted to prove a purported dying declaration of the
insane Taylor.
About 40 days subsequent to his death and burial, the State had the body exhumed,
and a post-mortem made of the body, and parts of the breastbone and the fractured ribs
were removed and turned over by the coroner to Dr.Tiedman, pathologist, of Washington
University for examination. The theory set by the defense was that there was necrosis of
the bone. The testimony of Dr. Tiedman went on to show that there was no necrotic
condition of the bones.
It was then the state sought to introduce the bones as evidence; and they were
brought into the courtroom in a tin box. It was here that the attorneys of the defense
strenuously OBJECTED and the jury had to be sent out while each side argued the
admissibility of bones as evidence. The attorneys showed their appreciation of the GREAT
importance and the bearing on the case that the admission of such evidence might have.
After the points were thoroughiy discussed, the court sustained the position of the
defense and EXCLUDED THE EVIDENCE!!!
Also excluded was the purported dying declaration of Taylor, who a few days before
his death pointed out the defendants as the parties who had beaten HIM! The defense
brought out by the testimony of the expert physicians that a blow with force enough to
fracture these bones would have resulted in such great shock that Taylor could not
possibly have been able to go to breakfast and walk a mile with no indications of his
injuries, as was sworn by the testimony that he had done and that he probably could not
have lived.
The defendants showed by their expert witnesses that muscular contractions could
have caused the fracture proven by the State; and on cross examination of the Deputy
Sheriff who brought Taylor to the Hospital, that Taylor was injured, and screamed and
charged that someone was murdering him; that Taylor was insane and violent.
The defense further showed that the defendants were in charge of TAYLOR only during
the days of March 10-11 and one-half a day on the 12th; that Swain went to
another building on March l4 and that Bizzle left for home on the 15th and
neither of them saw him (Taylor) again until March 31. The defendants testified that at no
time either of them ever struck Taylor or in any way abused HIM.
It was further brought out from testimony on both sides that Taylor entered
Hospital #4 suffering from an advanced case of Bright's Disease, as well as malaria and
that he had just recovered from a spell of pneumonia. Dr. Keaney testified that Taylor
entered #4 suffering from complications of diseases that practically marked him as a dead
man. When, where or how the deceased had suffered the fractures of the breastbone and
ribs, which the post-mortem disclosed, was not shown at any time throughout the trial.
The case was sharply
contested by counsel on both sides, showing untiring energy, determination, and HIGH CLASS
of ABILITY throughout the LONG mental strain. The jury paid close attention to the
testimony and Judge Huck showed great patience and fairness in all disputed points and in
his rulings. The Jurors: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later, in despair, Dosha went to a woman named Martha Patterson who practiced
Necromancy and fortune telling. Martha told her that Jim Taylor was out West, as she had
heard. Dosha wanted to ask him if he was happy. As Martha supposedly communed with his
spirit, she related to Dosha of his happiness. Gertrude Elliot related this story: Several
years after 1911 a transient came through the area where she lived. Dosha had remarried
and was living a few miles from that area. The transient said he was hungry and would be
glad to cut wood or whatever for a meal. While there, he asked about Dosha and where she
was. After being told, he went on his way. Gertrude told me she KNEW IT WAS JIM TAYLOR. He
said he was on his way to visit a sister in Arkansas and had been with a sister in
Oklahoma. |
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