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January 13, 1910

BIGAMIST PAROLED

FOR FAMILY'S SAKE.

Benjamin Franklin Hughes
Must Support Family and

Avoid Primrose Path.

Benjamin Franklin Hughes, 51 years old, formerly a real estate agent of this city, pleaded guilty yesterday afternoon in the criminal court to a charge of bigamy and was sentenced to six months in the county jail. Hughes was paroled on condition that he would support his wife and family and follow the straight and narrow path. He is to report April 4 to Judge Ralph S. Latshaw of the criminal court.

With bowed head and trembling voice, Hughes stood before the bar of justice and told of his mishaps. He admitted that he had acted a "silly, old fool," but promised, with tears in his eyes, to reform and devote his years to his wife and children. Mr. Hughes has secured a position as a real estate salesman in Illinois. He stood alone in court, deserted by his friends and disowned by his wife and family.

"It is not for your sake, because under ordinary circumstances I would have sent you to jail, but for the sake of your wife and family that I parole you," said Judge Latshaw. "They have suffered as much as you; they are disgraced because of your foolhardiness. It was not so much for the crime of bigamy that you deserve punishment, but a far worse crime -- infidelity to your wife, and family."

Hughes's defense was that he was forced into an unfortunate alliance with Miss Vairie Wilder, aged 17 years, who lived with her mother, Mrs. Cora Westover, 1622 Madison street. The real estate agent married the girl in Kansas City, Kas., early last month when he had a wife and family living in this city.

THOUGHT HIM WEALTHY.

Hughes charged that Mrs. Westover compelled him to marry her daughter. he said she thought he was a wealthy widower. Hughes and the girl met last April, and immediately Hughes became enamored of her. Then he furnished rooms in a flat on Troost avenue and lived with her there.

"I spent hundreds of dollars," he said, buying her clothes and presents. "I was forced to pay this girl's board at home, and all her expenses. Now I am broke and have exhausted my credit.

"When I asked to take the girl to Excelsior Springs for her health, Mrs. Westovermade me deposit $15 with her. Besides that I was forced to pay all the expenses while in Excelsior Springs. We stopped at a $4 a day hotel.

"After the girl got in trouble, Mrs. Westover demanded that I marry her, thinking all the time that I was a wealthy widower. I thought Miss Wilder an innocent young girl and that I alone was responsible. I wanted to do the right thing so I decided to marry her. I thought I would be able to keep it a secret from my family. But the farther I went the more trouble I found. Then the girl faced me and my wife with her charges. I was a fool. Who knows this better than I? A silly old fool."

"Yes, you were a silly old fool," interrupted Judge Latshaw. "Your conduct is inexplainable. How could you expect to gain the love of this young girl? You, with deadened passions, shoulders bending under the weight of years, and with deep-wrinkled brow. Every furrow in your brow was an unfathomable chasm, dividing you from her. The law of nature ordained ages ago that a man of your age could not win the love of a fresh young girl, as is Miss Wilder. It would have been like the union of January and May, as impossible as the laws of nature themselves to overcome. But the fool that you are, you followed your fancies.

" 'Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive,' said the poet.

UNNATURAL ROMANCE.

"The farther you went the deeper your feet sank into the mire. Did you hope to win this girl's love? Do you think that she ever cared for you? It is natural for the young to love the young, and for both to despise the old -- the doting, old fool. With one hand she caressed you and with the other hand she was seeking to take the money from your pockets. It was not you but what your money could buy that she wanted.

"But the crime you committed against this girl and later your becoming a bigamist were the least of your offenses. You violated the trust of your wife. What could be more disgusting or inhuman than a man with a good, pure woman at home, totally forgetting his obligations and duties that marriage has brought upon him.

"When the exposure comes they must suffer the same as you. when the name of Hughes is held up for ridicule, made the subject of ribald just, not you alone suffer, but your wife and family also. No wonder the woman whom you swore to cherish and love, despises and hates you. No wonder you are a disgusting sight to her eyes.

"But I think this one experience has cured you. If you fall again you must end with a suicide's grave or the felon's cell. Go out into the world and start anew. you cannot forget the past, because with your sensitive nature and cultivated tastes, the consciousness of your wrong-doing must remain with you forever. You must retrieve your past black record. The rest of your days should be spent in working for your wife and family, the ones who have suffered so greatly because of your misdeeds. If when you come back here, I find you are not supporting your family, you will be sent to the county jail to serve the sentence just imposed on you. Go and make good."

Labels: bigamy, criminal court, Excelsior Springs, Judge Latshaw, Madison street, real estate, romance, Troost avenue

January 13, 1910

WEE BABE PROVES MAGNET.

Tot Reunites Parents, Who Thought

They Couldn't Agree.

"It was 'Jimmy' who reunited us," said Mrs. Mary A. Judkins, of 2131 Madison street, who with her divorced husband went to the recorder's office yesterday to procure a marriage license.

It was about a year ago that the couple, newly married, decided they could not live together happily. Shortly before this a boy had been born to Mrs. Judkins. She named him "Jimmy." When the divorce was granted, Mrs. Judkins was given the custody of the babe. The father, however, was permitted to visit his child once a week. These weekly visits resulted in a reconciliation between Mr. and Mrs. Judkins and yesterday they decided to be remarried.

"We're going to try it over again," said Mrs. Judkins, and the husband smiled his approval.

No happier couple, if appearance counted, was ever granted a license to marry by the county recorder, declare the deputies in the marriage license department. Mr. and Mrs. Judkins hurried out of the court house to find a minister.

Labels: children, courthouse, Divorce, Madison street, marriage

December 15, 1909

ONE WIFE AT HOME,

ANOTHER AT HOTEL?

WED NO. 1 27 YEARS AGO; NO. 2

DEC. 7, 1909, THE CHARGE.

Prosecutor and Police Say Benjamin

Franklin Hughes, Held for In-

vestigation, Admits It --

Wife No. 2's Story.

BENJAMIN F. HUGHES.
(From a sketch at police headquarters last night.)

That he married one woman, with whom he makes his home, twenty-seven years ago, and another, who, until Sunday lived as his wife at the Hotel Kupper, on December 7, 1909, is said by Captain Walter Whitsett of the police department and Norman Woodson, an assistant prosecuting attorney, to have been admitted by Benjamin Franklin Hughes, 124 North Hardesty avenue, in a statement secured from him in the matron's room at police headquarters last night.

Hughes was arrested yesterday on complaint of Valerie W. Wiler, who lives with her mother, Mrs. Cora Westover, and her sister, Clarice Wiler, at 1622 Madison street. To Lieutenant Robert Smith at police headquarters Miss Wiler represented that she had been married to Hughes, who has a wife and family at the Hardesty avenue address, by Probate Judge Van B. Prather in Kansas City, Kas. The ceremony, she said, was performed Tuesday, December 7.

Miss Wiler was under the impression that Hughes had left the city when she notified the police. It was later determined that he was home with Mrs. Hughes. Officer Oliver A. Linsay made the arrest. The man was held in the matron's room last night and will remain there until an investigation is made of the charges against him at 9 o'clock this morning.

HAS THREE CHILDREN.

Benjamin Hughes is 52 years old, and has lived in Kansas City two years, coming here, Mrs. Hughes said last night, from Glasgow, Mo. He is said to come of an excellent family and has dabbled in politics.

The details of Hughes's statement were not given out last night. It was announced by the prosecutor and Captain Whitsett, however, that he broke down and admitted marrying the Wiler woman in Kansas City, Kas., Tuesday a week ago, giving as his reason that pressure had been brought to bear upon him to unite with the girl.

According to the statement he was married to Mrs. Hughes in Osborn, Mo., April 16, 1882. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. James E. Hughes, pastor of the Baptist church there. Three children, two boys and a girl, were born to them. The oldest son, aged 20, is a clerk in the First National bank. The other son is 16 years old, the girl 11. Few clouds, he declared, darkened his married life until he met the Wiler woman last April. Mrs. Hughes had been congenial, a good, Christian woman whom all respected.

STORY OF NO. 2.

Valerie Wiler last night said she had first met Hughes when she was in the inmate of a home ofr girls at Chillicothe, Mo., under the care of Mrs. E. Carter. She believed the man was a state officer inspecting such public institutions. he seemed to like her at first sight, and came to see her often. Finally he induced her to become his wife.

Leaving Chillicothe, she stated, they went directly to Kansas City, Kas., where she gave her age as 17 years, while Hughes gave his as 45. She produced a certificate on which both names were signed together with that of Judge Van Prather who officiated at the wedding.

After the marriage, she said, the went to the Hotel Kupper where her supposed husband registered ans Frank Hughes and wife. They stayed at the Kupper several days.

"I discovered my mistake last Sunday morning when I was visiting my mother," said Miss Wiler. "She was aware of the attentions paid me by Mr. Hughes and told me that he had a wife and family on Hardesty avenue. I decided to find out if he had deceived me at once.

"Mother, my sister Clarice and I went to the Hughes home about 6 o'clock Sunday evening. We were allowed to enter unannounced, and found the man whom I had supposed to be my husband there surrounded by his family. He was very much frightened, got up quickly, and asked if he could see me alone for a few minutes. I would not listen. It did not take me very long to tell him that what I had to say was to be to his wife as well as to him.

BEGS NO. 1's FORGIVENESS.

"I said to Mrs. Hughes: 'Madame, I have married this man and have the certificate to prove it. We were married last Tuesday.' Then I threw myself at her feet and begged her forgiveness, telling her it was not my fault, that i knew nothing of any former marriage when I allowed him to lead me into matrimony. She forgave me then and told her husband that he was worse than I was. Later she seemed to take it all back, and when I went again to the ho use with my mother and sister tonight she treated me coldly. She even ordered me out of the house. I guess she is a perfect Christian woman. Anyway I loved her at first sight, and feel deeply sorry for her.

When Hughes was courting me he offered me many inducements to become his wife. He said he had been a member of the legislature and owned property in town and a farm near Cameron, Mo., worth in all about$75,000. He admitted that he had been married once, but added that his wife died eight years ago. 'I never loved her as I love you and we will be a very happy couple if you will have me,' he said once.

MRS. HUGHES DISCONSOLATE.

"Sunday night when we confronted him before his wife in his own home, he asked to speak with me aside. I refused, and he seemed very much annoyed. Finally he managed to get close enough to my ear to whisper, 'If you will make up with me, honey, we will get out of this town and go to Mexico.' I do not remember replying. The way he treated his wife did not suit me, although he was kindness itself to me from the first."

At the Hughes home last night Mrs. Hughes would not be interviewed about her husband. She was nearly distracted over his arrest, she said. Occasionally as she spoke she hesitated, wrung her ands and repeated passages from the Bible.

"This woman he married is a very wicked woman," she cried out once. "She drew my husband way to her through her evil ways. Lord have mercy on them both and me. My poor children."

Labels: bigamy, Captain Whitsett, Hardesty avenue, Judge Prather, Kupper hotel, Madison street, marriage, police headquarters

July 6, 1909

TURNS A SOMERSAULT AT 80.

Grandpa Brueckmann's July 4th

Antics Amused the Children.

The German Baptist Sunday school, Seventeenth and Tracy, held its annual basket picnic at Budd park yesterday. A crowd of children, with hands joined, danced in a ring, while a man stood in the center and sang a German holiday song. At the end of each verse he would do something and each one in the circle had to imitate him.

With the children, and apparently enjoying himself as much as they, was Henry Brueckmann, 80 years old. He made faces, clapped his hands, pulled his neighbor's hair and did everything suggested by the leader, until the latter turned a somersault. The children all went over in a hurry, and then besieged "grandpa" to turn one. And Grandpa Breuckmann, 80 years old, did turn a somersault -- a good one, too -- much to the delight of the children. There were 140 at this picnic.

The Swedish Methodist church Sunday school, 1664 Madison street, headed by O. J. Lundberg, pastor, and the Swedish mission at Fortieth and Genessee streets, held a big basket dinner in the east end of Budd park. About 150 enjoyed themselves.

Not far from them the Swedish Baptist church Sunday school, 416 West Fourteenth street, with Rev. P. Schwartz and a delegation from a Swedish church in Kansas City, Kas., headed by Rev. Carl Sugrstrom, was holding forth about 300 strong.

There were many family and neighborhood picnics in the park.

Labels: amusement, Budd park, children, churches, Fortieth street, Fourteenth street, Genessee street, holidays, immigrants, Madison street, ministers, picnics, Seniors, Seventeenth street, Tracy avenue

March 28, 1909

FIVE HOLD UP TWENTY IN

BOLD SALOON RAID.

HIGHWAYMEN SECURE $160 AND

WATCH FROM VICTIMS.

Compelled to Hold Up Hands Ten

Minutes After Robbers Left.

May Have Been Aided

by a Woman.

One of the most sensational holdups in recent years occurred about 10 o'clock last night when five men robbed the saloon of John Galvin at 1419 West Twenty-fourth street. The twenty or more men in the place all held up by two of the bandits and compelled to remain in the saloon fully ten minutes before they dared to leave. About $160 was secured by the highwaymen.

It was unusually crowded in the saloon last night. A dozen men were lined up at the bar, and Thomas McAuliff, the bartender, was so busy that he had hardly time to visit with the frequenters. But he stopped at his work when a woman began to yell in the back yard.

A moment later she burst into the barroom through the rear entrance and yelled, "Murder!" All eyes were fixed in her direction when two men stepped in behind her. Each had a red handkerchief over his face and each held a revolver.

"Up with your hands," commanded the taller of the two.

A few of the patrons tried to slip through the front door, but they changed their minds when they saw three more men with guns on the outside. In a moment they had all backed up against the wall and were holding their hands as high as possible. In a businesslike manner the short man went down the line and searched the pockets of each of the victims. He was evidently disappointed at the small amount of change that he managed to extract.

"The cash register must have it all," he said.

Maculiff was also standing with his hands in the air and made no objection to the robber's familiarity with the cash register. Not satisfied with the $100 which the register contained, the highwaymen searched the bartender. He secured $60, besides a watch which Maculiff valued at $65.

The woman, on whom all the attention was at first directed, had left the room. It was getting tiresome for the twenty victims who were leaning against the wall and they were more than glad when the operations of the robbers seemed to be about over. But the prospect of freedom was not so good when one of the men said:

"Now, if a single one of you move in the next ten minutes, he gets his head blown off." The two men backed out of the saloon through the front entrance and ran eastward on Twenty-fourth street. They were joined by their companions, though the patrons and the bartender were not aware of the fact. All remained in the same tiresome position for fully ten minutes. When Maculiff got to the door he saw that the coast was clear.

The police at the Southwest boulevard police station were notified and hurried to the scene. A few clews were picked up which made the officers believe that the holdup gang had been in the neighborhood all evening. The part that the woman played in the holdup was still a topic of conversation at closing time at midnight. Several affirmed that she was an accomplice to the robbers, while others said that she was some woman who lived in the neighborhood and had run in the saloon for protection.

The frequenters of the saloon were too excited to talk about the robbery in a coherent manner last night. Henry Beadles, who lives at 2014 Summit street, said he thought that there were only two men in the gang, but Michael Connolly, who lives at 2136 Madison street, said that he saw three others plainly through the door.

John Reed, 2312 Terrace street, was sure that he could recognize the robbers should he ever see them again. One of them had high cheek bones, and limped slightly in walking. All of the victims said that the ten minutes which they spent against the wall after the robbers had left were the longest ten minutes they had ever experienced. About $3 was secured from the men.

Labels: crime, guns, Madison street, saloon, Summit street, Terrace street, Twenty-fourth street

December 12, 1908

FUNERAL OF OFFICER MULLANE.

Brave Officer Will Be Buried Today,

Wearing His Uniform

and Star.

Dressed in his full uniform of blue, the same uniform he had so gallantly defended only a few brief days ago, and with his badge of authority, star No. 151, shining from his breast, the body of brave Michael P. Mullane lay in a casket at his home, 931 West Twenty-fourth street, all day yesterday. Hundreds called out of respect for the widow's grief, looked upon the face of the gallant man whom they had once called dear friend, and departed.

Michael Mullane is the first officer in Kansas City to be buried in full uniform, his star and all. It had been his request in life that should he die in the discharge of his duty to be laid away "Just as I fought, with my uniform on."

The funeral will be this morning at 8:30 o'clock. There will be a short service at the home at that hour. At 9 a. m. solemn requiem high mass will be said at the Sacred Heart Catholic church, Twenty-sixth street and Madison. Burial will be in Mount St. Mary's cemetery.

Yesterday Chief Ahern received many telegrams from police departments in nearby cities and over the country. All were of condolence, and many spoke with praise for the officer who had made such a gallant fight, only to sacrifice his life because he refused to shoot a woman.

Labels: Adam God sect, cemetery, churches, Funeral, Madison street, police, Police Chief Ahern, Twenty-fourth street, Twenty-sixth street

December 11, 1908

MICHAEL MULLANE IS DEAD.

Heroic Patrolman Succumbs to the

Wounds Received in the City

Hall Riot Tuesday.

MICHAEL MULLANE,
Police Patrolman Who Lost His Life in the Line of Duty.

Michael Mullane, patrolman, died at 1:10 p. m. yesterday at St. Joseph's hospital from his wound received in the riot Tuesday afternoon. Funeral services will be held at 9 o'clock Saturday morning at Sacred Heart church, Twenty-sixth and Madison. Solemn high mass will be conducted by Father Hogan. Burial will be in Mount St. Mary's cemetery.

Mr. Mullane was 34 years of age. He was born in Athea, County Limerick, Ireland. He came to America in July, 1897, coming directly to Kansas City. He obtained employment with the Western Grocery Company and remained with that company till November 16, 1905, when he was appointed as a probationary officer. On December 31, of the next year, he was put on as a regular member of the force. Mr. Mullane was one of the best men on the force, as well as one of the largest. Standing six feet two inches and weighing 260 pounds, he was a powerful man. He was not corpulent, but was a man of big bone, muscle and sinew. Strict attention to duty in the worst part of the city, with total abstinence from liquor and not a black mark against him, had won for him the high regard of his superior officers and the friendship of everyone.

A widow and two children, a girl baby of 3 months and a boy of 8, constitute his family. One child, a little girl, had preceded him to the great beyond. She took sick about a year ago this week and died on December 16. Besides his immediate family, he has two brothers and a sister residing in the city, John P. Mullane, an insurance agent of 1102 West Fortieth street; Patrick P. Mullane of 2542 Belleview and Mrs. Mary Dalton of the same address. His father is dead, while his mother and older brothers live in Ireland. He has many cousins who are residents of Kansas City.

The body was removed from the hospital to O'Donnell's undertaking rooms yesterday evening and later to his late home, 921 West Twenty-fourth street.

Mr. Mullane leaves life insurance amounting to about $5,000. Besides he owned a residence at 2631 Belleview.

Labels: Adam God sect, Belleview avenue, churches, city hall, death, Fortieth street, hospitals, immigrants, Madison street, ministers, murder, police, Twenty-fourth street, Twenty-sixth street, undertakers

June 20, 1907

IN GAS EXPLOSION

WOMAN FATALLY BURNED AND

KITCHEN WRECKED.

MRS. SKAUV STRUCK MATCH

NEIGHBOR EXTINGUISHES FLAM-

ING CLOTHES OF WOMAN.

Windows and Door Blown Out,

Ceiling Forced Up and Pictures

Torn From Wall in Resi-

dence at 4423 Forest

Avenue.

"Like a thousand cannon booming," is the phrase used by a next-door neighbor to describe the explosion wh ich took place about 10 o'clock last night in the four-room cottage of George Skauv, 4423 Forest avenue, practically wrecking the house and probably fatally burning Mrs. Teresa Skauv.

The explosion is believed to have been the result of natural gas which had collected. The family, which is composed of George Skauv, a boxmaker employed by the Kansas City Packing Box Company; his mother, Mrs. Teresa Skauv, 63 years old, and his wife, left the house shortly after 8 o'clock. Skauv and his wife had gone to visit his sister, Clara Skauv, 2325 Madison street. Shortly after Mrs. Teresa Skauv was seen to close the doors and windows and walk north on Forest avenue, presumably to visit one of the neighbors.

At 10 o'clock she returned. P. G. Stokes, an employe of the Ellis Planing Mill Company, who lives next door, saw her come into the yard and go to the back door. She unlocked the door and stepped into the kitchen. A moment later she struck a match.

"Then I heard a noise like a thousand cannons," said Stokes. "A second after I heard a woman scream at the top of her voice. I rushed to the rear door of the Skauv house.

"Just as I reached there Mrs. Skauv staggered out onto the porch, moaning and crying. Her clothing was on fire, and she was attempting to put out the flames by beating them with her hands. I took of my coat and wrapped it around her, and in a short time the fire in her clothing was extinguished."

Mrs. Skauv was then carried into the Stokes home and the physicians called.

At the sound of the explosion, which was heard for blocks around, neighbors gathered about the Skauv home. The first comers discovered that the kitchen was afire.

"Form a bucket brigade!" shouted someone, and immediately there was a rush to the neighboring houses for buckets, dish pans, cooking utinsils, anything which would hold water. But before the members of the bucket brigade were ready to get into action, someone had found a garden hose attached to the hydrant in the yard, and the flames were extinguished before any appreciable damage was done. The fire department was not notified.

An investigation of the premises after the fire was extinguished showed that the explosion was one of unusual force. Pieces of glass from the window were found in the street nearby half a block away.

The back door was blown off its hinges, and was found twenty feet away in the back yard. The pictures were blown from the walls. Both windows in the kitchen were shattered. A front window was blown out. The ceiling had apparently been raised by the force of the explosion.

A peculiar thing was that the west windows of the bedroom in the northwest corner were shattered, and pictures knocked from the walls, while not even the frailest piece of bric-a-brac was disturbed in the parlor, which is in the southwest corner with no hall between it and the bedroom. The parlor opens off the kitchen, where the explosion occurred. The only explanation which Skauv could find for this is that probably the parlor doors were both closed, while the doors of the northwest bedroom which opens into a room at the southwest corner of the house, and so to the kitchen were opened.

The explosion apparently took place close to the ceilings, which are about ten feet high. The top panes in the two kitchen windows were broken, while the lower panes remained unharmed. The ceilings everywhere seemed to have been lifted.

The kitchen where the explosion seemed to have occurred, is equipped with a gas chandelier with two jets, and a gas range. The other three rooms have gas lights. A careful search showed that all the burners were properly turned off, and it is the theory of the neighbors that one of the pipes was efective. Escaping gas could not be noticed anywhere in the house after explosion.

Mrs. Skauv was so badly burned that she was unable to talk last night. George Skauv and his wife did not know of the explosion until they returned from their visit shortly after 11 o'clock.

Dr. W. C. West and Dr. L. C. Dod, who attended Mrs. Skauv, hold out slight hope fore her recovery. She was badly burned about the neck, arms and back. It is believed that she inhaled some of the fumes.

Labels: accident, Fire, Forest avenue, Madison street

May 19, 1907

ESCORT JUMPS, GIRL HURT.

Pearl Brown, of Armourdale, Injured

in a Runaway.

Pearl Brown, a 19-year-old Armourdale girl, was thrown from a buggy at 2022 Madison in a runaway last night at 10 o'clock. The team ran on, and at Twenty-fourth and Belleview killed another horse with the buggy pole. This hourse was the property of the Brandenmeyr Bros., grocers. The team was caught at Twenty-seventh and Belleview.

Dr. W. O. Gray, ambulance surgeon from the Walnut street police station, took Miss Brown to the general hospital. She was suffering from convulsions, but here injuries were convined to bruises on the limbs. Her home address is 918 South Twelfth street, Armourdale. At the hospital she said she ahd gone driving with Oliver Dooley of 8 West Sixteenth street and that he had been drinking and lost control of the team, then jumped and left her alone.

Labels: accident, alcohol, Armourdale, buggy, doctors, general hospital, Madison street, Sixteenth street, Twelfth street, Walnut street police station