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. Kate Bender, who was around 23, was cultivated and attractive and spoke English well, with little accent. It was a story about the infamous Benders and about one man who got away. 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. barry mcguigan, daughter funeral; mellon mounds kansas murders Satchel walks down the road with his dog. 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. The property was located directly on the Osage Mission-Independence Trail that operated from Independence to Fort Scott. 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 said he fled when he saw one of the Bender men concealing a large hammer. On deer antler shedding, pocket gopher mounds, eagle breeding and murders of crows (that's the name of a flock of crows) Calamita is swept up into the funnel, along with the filling station and the bodies littering its floors. ", "Old Mrs. Bender was a dirty old Dutch crone. 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. Their murders were carried out by use of a canvas curtain that divided the house into two rooms. She advocated "free love," and denounced all social regulations for the promotion of purity and the prevention of carnality, which she called "miserable requirements of self-constituted society." 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. 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. He pointed out that both families' modus operandi, family unit numbers and other evidence proved that they are one and the same. Marker is in this post office area: Cherryvale KS 67335, United States of America. Colonel York agreed that this was possible and remained for dinner. 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][11][12][13][14][15][16], By including the recovered body parts not matched to the bodies found, the finds are speculated to represent the remains of more than 20 victims. [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. [1] The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son JohnJr. and daughter Kate. Location. Home TV & Streaming Recaps & Reviews FARGO Recap: (S04E09) East/West, Posted by Leona Laurie | Nov 16, 2020 | Recaps & Reviews, TV & Streaming | 0. Sometime later, Billy Tole, a neighbor of the Benders, noticed that the Bender Inn was abandoned and their farm animals unfed. Yet another claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. In the spring of 1894, the victims bodies were discovered, sending the town into hysteria. Calamita notices him and shoots twice out the window. 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. In tonight's episode, there's a plaque at the Barton Arms, the hotel Rabbi and Satchel stay at. Bender Property Digging, sketch in Harpers Weekly, June 7, 1873. He then cautiously looks through a window, where he sees Calamita standing over a wounded Omie, gun drawn. John Bender, Jr. was a tall, slender man of about 25 who was handsome with auburn hair and a mustache. Ma Bender was born Almira Meik in the Adirondacks and married as a teenager to a man named George Griffith. 5) December 1872: W.F. She is fun enough. RELATED: Keep up with our Fargo Season Four recaps here! 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 February 1872, the bodies of two men were found with the same injuries as Jones. 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. 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. A crude sign was hung above the front door that advertised Groceries to the many travelers along the Osage Trail. Look for these with their cute sunflowers. The Benders then stripped him of his clothes and went to bury him when the man suddenly awoke. I haven't heard Macabre in years. Sunflower seeds are incredibly rich sources of many essential minerals. But if your not from Kansas it's a fairly obscure story. Cherryvale, Kansas Museum by Kathy Alexander. 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. In its first three days of opening, it attracted more than 2,000 visitors. They purchased tickets on the northbound Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Train to Humboldt. A cult-like group, the families, chose from several available claims and began to make their homes. About 75 people attended the gathering, including both Bender men. sdsu basketball recruiting 2021vice president internal student council. flower arranging classes northern virginia. At this point the customers felt uneasy and decided to leave, a move that almost certainly saved their lives. The lonely hills meander across what is now U.S. Highway 400, where travelers whoosh by in comfort at 65 mph. By the time a deputy from Cherryvale arrived, identification was impossible due to decomposition. Tole reported the news to Leroy F Dick, the Township Trustee, and a search party was soon formed, which included Dr. Yorks brother, Colonel A.M. York, of Fort Scott. This unnamed man was one of the many who made the mistake of stopping at the Bender Inn. A terrible smell inside the abandoned inn also met them. 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. He takes Satchel to a quirky (to say the least) boardinghouse, owned by feuding, deaf, elderly sisters. After the third hanging, they released him and he staggered home "as one who was drunken or deranged. Yet another group claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. Though he allegedly committed suicide in 1884 in Lake Michigan, others believed that Ma and Kate murdered him because he had fled Cherryvale with all the cash and valuables they had taken from their victims. 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. 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. The women's identities were later confirmed by two Osage township witnesses from a tintype photograph. Allegedly, while working at the Bender Inn, she earned her keep as a prostitute, adding an additional amount to the travelers bill for the privilege of laying with her. ?," "big slaughter day, Jan eighth", and "hell departed. 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. They were released after being found not guilty, but were then immediately re-arrested for the Bender murders. Cherryvale Museum One may have been Jack Bogart, whose horse was purchased from a friend of the Benders after he went missing in 1872. The Benders were widely believed to be German immigrants. 1315) December 1872: Various body parts. 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. [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. State Senator Alexander York offered a $1,000 ($22,619 as of 2023) reward for the family's arrest. 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. They werent even a true family the only ones related were Ma and Kate Bender. [7], A bad odor was noticed and traced to a trap door underneath a bed, nailed shut. Of the discovery of her remains, the Kansas City Times reported: The little girl was probably eight years of age and had long, sunny hair and some traces of beauty on a countenance that was not yet entirely disfigured by decay. 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. The 4th United States Colored Infantry, 1863-1866, A History of the Ninth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, How . The men then physically lifted the cabin and moved it to the side to dig under it, but no bodies were found. 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. Shortly after theyve settled, Rabbi leaves Satchel alone with his usual goodbye of, If I dont come back, Im dead or in jail. He drives into Liberal to see about the money he left behind, only to discover that the feed store was sold at auction and has been converted to an appliance store by a pair of brothers. Though most were led to believe John and Kate were sister and brother, others said that they sometimes passed as man and wife. In 1870, five families of spiritualists settled in western Labette County, about seven miles northeast of where Cherryvale would be platted a year later. Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy's bribery of state legislators in his bid for re-election. Finally, the men physically moved the entire cabin to the side and began to search beneath, but no bodies were found there either. John Bender, Sr. chose a 160-acre section on the western slopes of the mounds that continue to bear their name today. The parts did not belong to any of the other victims found and are believed to belong to at least three additional victims. Their downfall was the murder of a father and daughter named Loncher, and Dr. William York, who had come looking for the missing pair. 2014. The family soon built a small one-room framed cabin, a barn, and a corral and dug a well. Anyway just had to mention this, bizarre crimes and female killers are my specialty and outside appearing in Red Dead 2, the Bloody Benders don't get a lot of attention. Her tag says her name is Rabbit. 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). (AP) - A man already in prison . [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. His son chose a narrow piece of land just north of his fathers; however, he never lived on his claim nor made any improvements. 2023 Geek Girl Authority. THE MELLON MOUNDS. 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 -. 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. If not accosted by road agents, travelers also had to be concerned about Indian attacks. Elvira was rumored to have murdered several husbands, but none of these rumors was ever proven. Originally scheduled for February 1890, the trial was held over to May. The Bloody Benders - Serial Killers of Kansas Bender Mounds, Kansas by Kathy Alexander. After bearing him a dozen children, including Kate, Mr. Griffith suddenly died; some said of a bad place on his head, resembling a dent that might be made with a hammer. "[7], Word of the murders spread quickly, and more than three thousand people, including reporters from as far away as New York City and Chicago, visited the site. It isnt a kill shot, though, and Calamita whips around to put Omie down. Fargo is a critically acclaimed series created by Noah Hawley, who is also the creator of FX's Legion. Colonel York, leading a company of some 50 men, questioned every traveler along the trail and visited all the area homesteads. 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][2] Although some of the victims were wealthy, others carried little of value on them, and it was surmised that the Benders had killed them simply for the sheer thrill. The Bender artifacts were eventually given to the Cherryvale Museum, where they remain in a wall-mounted display case. 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. Game got that right. 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. Tole reported the fact to the township trustee, but due to inclement weather, several days lapsed before the abandonment could be investigated. Eyewitness testimony was given that Mrs. Monroe was Elvira 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. He has a white man in his trunk, an informant who has helped him track Calamita to the Liberal, Kansas, area. And everything is in color! betty crocker net worth 2020; vietnamese culture relationships; pastillas para dormir durante el embarazo; what does modern fit mean in men's shirts? According to the 1870 census, George and his wife, Mary Jane, were neighbors of. I believe I read this year that the land where the house once stood got sold to someone. It says this home used to be run by the infamous Mellon Family, who lured travelers in before killing them with a hammer. On May 17th, Governor Thomas Osborn added to that amount by offering a $2,000 reward for the apprehension of all four. [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. Elvira and Kate Bender also planted a 2-acre (0.81ha) vegetable garden and apple orchard north of the cabin. [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. 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. Kate was purportedly Elvira's fifth daughter. Photo courtesy of the BCA. It was reported at the time that Kate was into free love, telling fortunes, and being a little too close to her brother. 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. 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. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders. By 1873, reports of missing people who had passed through the area had become so common that travelers began to avoid the trail. For all these deaths, the Benders gained only about $4,600, two teams of horses and wagons, a pony, and a saddle. Hes connected to a medical machine and has a hovering attendant with goggles on, ministering to him with a hypodermic needle. 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. In Rabbis absence, Satchel discovers a Jack Russel terrier hiding in the wardrobe in his room. This historical marker was erected by Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. More gruesomely, though the little girls body was found to have multiple injuries, none of them would have caused death, and it was speculated that the poor lass may have been buried alive. They buried their victims in a neighboring orchard, unbeknownst to the townspeople. She also conducted sances and gave lectures on spiritualism, for which she gained notoriety for advocating free love. ", "Kate proclaimed herself responsible to no one save herself.". 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. The Vicious Harpes First AmericanSerial Killers, The Bloody Benders My grandfather, who is approaching 80 years old, is always full of great stories, but he assured me that his father, who passed this on to him, knew what happened. Whenever he is asked a question about himself, Satchels response is that he is hungry. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. 1) May 1871: Mr. Jones. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported . All but one had their heads bashed with a hammer and throats cut, and newspapers reported that all were "indecently mutilated. Though the pair were jailed, the case was dropped for lack of evidence. McCrotty. What a uniquely weird unsolved mystery. A pity, it has quite a few quirks. A message requesting positive identification was sent to Cherryvale, but the suspect severed his foot to escape his leg irons and bled to death. 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. 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. One of the women would cut the victim's throat to ensure death, and the body was then dropped through the trap door. Subreddit for the FX original TV series, Fargo. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. Legend has it that the family of four gruesomely murdered at least 11 patrons, scattering the bodies throughout their property and county. Find links to our programs, locations, partners, staff members, and communications. Once Kansas declared itself with the Union and the Civil War began, the bloody battles continued. Some say they escaped, others that the were executed by a vengeful posse. Rock Chalk! Several groups of vigilantes were formed to search for the Benders. 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. We are, in fact, in Kansas. [11] Whether John Flickinger was really John Bender is unknown. John BenderJr. was around 25 years old and handsome, with auburn hair and a mustache, and spoke English fluently with a German accent. The Carr brothers were convicted of capital murder in a crime spree in Wichita in 2000 that included robbery, rape, forced sex and four fatal shootings in a snow-covered soccer field. 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. Mrs. Monroe resisted, declaring that she would not be taken alive, but was subdued by local deputies. Mrs. Almira Griffith) and Mrs. Sarah Eliza Davis had been arrested in Niles, Michigan (often misreported as Detroit) several weeks earlier for larceny. The family quickly ran away in the middle of the night never to be seen. Elvira Bender, who also allegedly spoke little English, was 55 years old and so unfriendly that her neighbors took to calling her a "she-devil.". Their story is unresolved and remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the old west. The Benders were not what they appeared. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported . ASSOCIATED PRESS. As the boy listened, the men continued to talk, relating the tale of how the judge had lost his ear. Though no one ever collected the rewards offered, rumors of several parties who had captured and killed the Benders began to fly. They buried their victims in a neighboring orchard, unbeknownst to the townspeople. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. The texts read "Johannah Bender. 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. All four had crushed skulls and throats cut. James, John Towner; The Benders of Kansas; Kan-Okla Publishing, Wichita, KS, 1913, reprinted 1995. If you live in that town in Kansas today, oh yeah you know about it. While popular retelling of the story holds that JohnJr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported that several of the Benders' neighbors had stated that they claimed to be married, possibly in a common law marriage. In addition to the museum, southeast Kansas may be the only place where a state historical marker celebrates mass murder. They return to their room, where Rabbi informs Satchel that theyll be leaving that night as he counts his money. 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. A roadside sign now marks their murderous exploits. Like others, he was hit over the head as he sat at the table. They killed as many as 26 people, I believe there is a museum that stills has a bloody knife they used. 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. Later, Satchel awakens to find that hes fallen asleep and doesnt know where his friend has gone. [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. Discover something new every day from News, Sports, Finance, Entertainment and more! In 1923 it was donated to the Kansas Museum of History by York's wife but is not on display; still bearing reddish-brown stains on the blade, it can be seen upon request. From Howard County, Kansas. 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. 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. So weird, this last weekend I was just reading about the Benders due to a similar encounter in Red Dead Redemption 2. 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. 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. Southeast Kansas, in particular, was known as a rough area. 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. mellon mounds kansas murders. Today, Smalley descendants continue to live in the Neodosha and Cherryvale area. Secretly, the four made a living through murder and robbery., Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. The petite auburn-haired beauty desired notoriety and often advocated free love and justification for murder in her lectures. kansas historical marker the mellon mounds Orchard Park Police Blotter 2021 , Fran Mccaffery Daughter , How Much Does Bronny Average? 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. Another of Mrs. Monroe's daughters, Mary Gardei, later provided an affidavit claiming that her mother (then Almira Shearer), under the name of Almira Marks, was actually serving two years in the Detroit House of Corrections in 1872 for the manslaughter of her daughter-in-law, Emily Mark. 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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Kara James Meteorologist Age, Articles M