Waseca County, Minnesota - Chapter 61, 1905

The Shooting And Killing Of Fred Webber In The Town

THE SHOOTING AND KILLING OF FRED WEBBER IN THE TOWN OF JANESVILLE - COUNTY BOARD PROCEEDINGS - STORM SWEPT, CYCLONE JUNE 15 - COUNTY FAIRS - FALL ELECTIONDIED: PATRICK MURPHY, A. C. SMITH, H. H. SUNDE, FRANCIS WESCOTT, DR. McINTOSH, FRED WOBSCHALL, JOHN AMERSON, WM. EVERETT, E. E. AND JAMES HOLMES, COL. W. F. DRUM, HON. W. G. WARD, JOHN BUNAGLE, CHAS. SAN GALLI.

Immediately aflei- the holidaj^s, Jan. 5, a man by the name of Wm. Koebnik, i-csiding in the town of Jane-sville, near Ely.sian, about 2 o'clock in the morning, shot and killed a man named Fred AVebber. The evidence showed that Webber was a single man, living with Koebnik; that he came to the latter 's house in a drunken condition ; that a quarrel ensued between the men, one accusing the other of making too much noise. They finally came to blows when Koebnik went to his granary, got his gun, returned to the house and, after more wrangling, shot AVebber and killed him. Koebnik was arrested and bound over to appear at tlie next term of court, but the grand jui'y failed to indict on the ground that he shot Webber in self-defense.

Mr. Peterson was again elected chairman of the board - the members being the same as in the preceding year, viz: Alessrs. Chase, Buck, Remund, Siuulc, and TVterson. Twi) important matters were settled at this meeting - the iMcKenna matter and the purcbas<' of fair grounds.

In the matter of the fair grounds, it was resolved that the said board purchase fair grounds for the use of the Waseca i;ounty Agricultural, Mechanical and Industrial Society, pursuant to the power granted said board so to do in chapter 468 of the special laws of the state of ^Minnesota for the year 1891; and further that the chairman of said board appoint a committee consisting of three members of said board to procure prices and select location, and report the same to said board at the next meeting thereof. The chairman appointed as such committee ^Messrs. Chase, Buck, and Remund. As the result of this action, the present fair grounds were purchased of Mr. I. C. Trowbridge.

Whereas, a resolution was passed by this board, Aug. 24, 1891, agreeing to receive a certain sum of money in full settlement with Timothy Sullivan, Christie McGuigan, John Keeley, Peter Burns, and the estate of Dennis Sheehan, bondsmen in the McKenna bond case; and.

Whereas, Oliver Peterson, chairman of this board was duly authorized to act for and in behalf of said board of commissioners in making settlement with said bondsmen; and.

Whereas, said Oliver Peterson did make settlement in full with said bondsmen for and in consideration of the sum of $6,600, which sum was duly paid by the said bondsmen to B. Dieudonne, county treasurer, on the 1st day of December, 1891. Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That this board fully approve of the action of said Oliver Peterson and that the sum of $6,000 be accepted as payment in full to satisfy judgment entered against said bondsmen, and that the above named bondsmen be hereby released from further obligation.

At this session the following sums were appropriated: $70 to New Richland to replank two bridges between sections 14 and 23 and between sections 24 and 25 ; and it was ordered that the sum of $800 be allowed for ditching, draining and bridging on sections 2 and 3, Woodville, and sections 25, 26, and 35, Blooming Grove, said amount having been appropriated by the state to be paid back to the county upon the proper certificates.

Storm Swept

A terrible cyclone swept across Southern Minnesota June 15, 1892. With a roar equal to the din of twenty railway trains running over a score of iron bridges, a great cyclone swept over the Southern Minnesota counties of Jackson, Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Blue Earth, Mower, and Fillmore Wednesday after- noon. The storm began about seven miles west of the village of Jackson, moved eastward over the villages of Sherburne and Wells in Martin county, passed lightly over Faribault county, caused great havoc in Freeborn and spent itself in the two counties farther east. Mr. Z. M. Partridge gave us a list of casualties, in the neighborhood of Freeborn, the result of the great storm as follows: S. Keen, two children killed, two injured, and everything gone; Joy Tellet, two barns destroyed; Sam Lowry, barn and machinery, all but house destroyed; Mike Everson, two children killed, four hurt, house and all gone; J. A. Shequeen, everything destroyed, wife badly hurt, horses injured; Oliver Vertby and E. McCauley, everything gone; Sam. Johnson, granary and barn destroyed, and house unroofed; Hans Omerson, house and machinery all gone and six of the family badly injured; John Heckes, wagon, buggy, and corn crib ; Polander, name unknown, his house lost; L. Drake, house and corn-crib destroyed; F. D. Drake, barn, granary and machine shed unroofed ; Paulson house, everything gone. Vivian, Byron, and New Richland suffered to some extent but without serious damage.

County Fairs

For six years the people, especially the farmers, had been interested in county fairs, and one had been held each fall. This year extra efforts were made by the officers, and the result was a very successful fair. It was held Sept. 29 and 30, and October 1, and was largely attended. There was received from the sale of tickets, $449.75 ; from the state, $210.52 ; from privileges, $79.00 ; from entrance money, $42.10; from subscriptions, $39; from Everett, Aughenbaugh & Co., special premium, $10 ; grand stand receipts, $22.50; membership fees, $6.00 - total $858.87. The fair paid out $389.80 in premiums, and $475.30 in expenses. The receipts were overdrawn $5.23, but the surplus of the year before, $19.6], still left the treasury with $14.38 on hand. That year, Joseph T. Dunn, now deceased, was president, and Hon. John Moonan, secretary, both of them very energetic men. We regret to say that from that time forward interest in the county fair has waned, and for the years 1903 and 1904 there has been no attempt to hold a fair.

The Election

There were only two sets of local candidates this year, Republican and Democratic, except for county treasurer. For this office the Republican candidate was Capt. Walter Child, the Democratic candidate, Joseph T. Dunn, the People's candidate, George T. Dunn, and the independent candidate, Bmil Dieudonne. On treasurer, the contest resulted in 896 votes for Child, 843 for Joseph T. Dunn, 427 for Dieudonne and 253 for George T. Dunn. The other candidates elected were: A. J. Lohren, county auditor; Peter McGovern, county attorney; Henry Reynolds, sheriff; John S. Abell, superintendent; John WoUschlaeger, register of deeds; B. B. Collester, judge of probate; Dr. L. P. Leonard, coroner; O. L. Smith, surveyor; B. P. Latham, court commissioner; Henry F. Lewer, of Woodville, Henry AY. Bluhm, of Vivian, and Thomas Boucher, of Waseca, county commissioners. Dr. R. 0. Craig was elected to the state senate, and H. M. Buck to the house of representatives.

The Death Roll Of 1892

With each succeeding year, the death roll of the old settlers increases in length. The first to be called this j-ear was Patrick JIurphy, one of the very early settlers of Blooming Grove. He died of influenza at the residence of his son Thomas, in Minneapolis, Jan. 10, after an illness of four days, aged eighty-three years. Mr. Murphy was born in Kilkenny, Ireland. He came to this county in 1856, where he lived many years, moving to Minneapolis in November, 1891. He was the father of fifteen children, eleven of whom, with his wife, survived him. His remains were brought to Wasecii for burial and lie at rest in the Waseca Catholic cemetery.

Mr. Alfred C. Smith, one of the 1855 settlers of Woodville, after an illness of nearly two years, died Jan. 28, 1892. His history is noted at length among the early settlers.

The Herald: "One by one the early settlers of Minnesota pass away. Died, Feb. 4, 1892,^ at Northfield, Minn., Hans H. Sunde, aged sixty-six years and eight months. He was one of the eight families who first settled in New Richland in 1856. He came to America in 1854 and resided in New Richland up to 1883, when he removed to Northfield. His remains were brought to New

Richland on the 5th inst., and were buried the 9th, in the churchyard of the Norwegian Lutheran society, which he was instrumental in forming and of which he was a worthy member. ' '

Francis Wescott came to the township of Wilton, this county in September, 1865, where he resided eight years, when he moved to Yellow Medicine county. After living there seven years he moved to Lyon county, where he lived up to the time of his death, which occurred Feb. 29, 1892. He died of pneumonia, after a short illness. His wife and three children survived him. He was an honorable, upright man in every walk of life.

Dr. L. D. ^Mcintosh, who came to Waseca in 1868, died at De Funiak, Florida, Feb. 28. 1892, of heart failure. He went there for the purpose of giving a two-weeks' course of instruction at the Florida Chautauqua. He was a native of Bethel, Vt., and a graduate of the medical college at Castleton, in that state. He came West in 1860 to Sheboygan, Wis., where he married ;\[iss Rebecca Preston and resided until 1868. He was assistant surseon for a short time in the Forty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry in the Rebellion. He was a very ardent temperance man and prohibitionist during his residence in Waseca. He was a resident of Chicago at the time of his death. The doctor stood high in his profession. At the time of his death, he was holding a professorship in the Chicago dental college, also a professorship of Electro-Theropeutics in the Chicago Post-Graduate Clinic. He was at the head of the Emmert Proprietary Co., of Chicago, and was also appointed assistant superintendent of microscopy at the World's fair.

Ernest Frederick William Wobschall was born the 6th day of January, 1822, in Colmar, Province of Posen, Governmental circuit of Bromberg, Prussia. He came to America in 1858. After spending about two years in Indiana and Wisconsin, he arrived in Minnesota, and settled in St. Mary on the farm where he died, in June, 1855. He came in company with Fred. Proechel, (Big Fred.) Gottlieb Proechel, Martin, John F., and Gottlieb Krassin, Sr., and John G. Greening. He had a yoke of oxen and a homemade wagon, money enough to pre-empt one_hundred and sixty acres of land and improve it. In those early days he was a very industrious and frugal man, and soon became one of the wealthiest farmers in the county. In those early daj^s, too, he was com- panionable and hospitable. The writer often made the trip to Hastings with him, camping by the roadside, and eating potato soup from the same kettle. Fred, probably had some faults - and who among us has not - but on the whole he was an oldfashioned German of honesty and solid worth. By his first marriage he had foi;r sons and one daughter, and by his second wife, seven sons and two daughters. His last sickness commenced in November, 1891, and terminated the 29th day of April, 1892, at 7 o'clock a. m. His death was caused by stomach trouble, known as gastritis. He left one brother, a widow, and fourteen children surviving him.

On the 22nd day of ]May, 1892, John Emerson, after a long struggle, died of typhoid pneumonia, in the eighty-ninth year of his life. He was born in the state of Vermont, and lived in "Windsor coi^nty, that state, until 1866, when he came as far west as Wisconsin, where he remained until 1868, when he came to ^ilinnesota. He was married to Dr. Young's mother over forty years before. By his former wife he left surviving him a son and two daughters. The son is a resident of California. He was a model Yankee farmer, a strong, upright man, and a good citizen. If the world had no worse men than "Uncle John Emerson," it would come very close to the ideal marked out by the gospel of peace.

The death of Wm. Everett, of Waseca, occurred in California, June 21, 1892. He died of diabetes at the age of sixty-four. He was born July 6, 1828, in Sussex county. New Jersey. An extended notice of his life appears in biographical sketches and in the account of the Indian massacre at Lake Shetek.

There were two deaths by drowning, July 3, 1892, on section 31, town of Freedom, in the north branch of the Little Cob - Edward Eugene Holmes, fourteen-year-old son of John Holmes, Jr., and James Holmes, aged thirty-two years, uncle to the boy. Edward and some other boys were in the stream bathing, the water at that place being ten or twelve feet deep. Edward, while swimming across the stream, sank- : out of sight. This frightened his Uncle James, who plunged into the stream to save the boy. Both sank to rise no more in this life. It was thought that both got into the eddy or whirl, near the old bridge, and were whirled around until drowned. The bodies were recovered

Died, Col. W. F. Drum, U. S. A., at Fort Yates, N. D., at 9 o'clock p. m., July 4, of apoplexy. Col. Drum, brother of S. II. Drum, of Woodville, was about fifty-nine years of age, and was a man of sterling worth and full of patriotism. He was a graduate of West Point, served during the liebellion with eminent ability, and remained in the service until his death. He was one of the earliest s(>ttlers near JMeriden, Steele county.

One of the early settlers in St. IMary and Freedom, IMr. John Bunagle, of the latter town, died very suddenly of heart disease. Oct. 4, is:»2. He had l)een at work with his team in the field, plowing out potatoes, when he said to his wife and daughters, M-ho wei'e with him, that he felt bad. They suggested that he go to tlie house and take a rest. When they went to the house, about noon, he was found dead in the barn. Apparently he had died without a struggle. His first settlement in this county was at the old village of St. .Mary, where he opened a small country store. XL' finally closed out his store and devoted himself to farming.

After a long and painful sickness, ^Ir. Charles San Galli died Oct. 5, ]S!)2, of stomach trouble. ]\Ir. San Galli was seventy years of age, having been born in Prussia, July S), 1822. Upon attaining his ma.jority he engaged in the mercantile business, which he continued until 1840, when he came to America, settling in New York, where he remained about twelve >-ears. He married Miss Emily Sliepliei'd in 18r)ll, by whom be had fotir cbildi'en. His wife died in lS(i:t. After twelve years spent in New York, h(" returnecl to Piaissia for eight years, and tlien came back to America, residing in Albany, N. Y. lie came to this comity in 1869 and bought the Gruhlke farm, ad.ioining ^Vaseca on the south, wliei'e he resided with his family up to the time of his death. lie was elected to the office of register of deeds in tlie fall of 1879, liy the Democrats, and re-elected in 1881, sei'ving four years. In addition to bis other acc<nii]ilishments he was an excellent poi'trait painter. He left si;rviving liim two sons and two daughters of nnit,ure years.