Co D 123rd Ill Infantry. [7] Brockman would be arrested again 23 years later for the rape and murder of his own 18-year-old daughter.[8]. A Catholic priest claimed to have seen one of the Bender men concealing a large hammer, at which point he became uncomfortable and quickly departed. A message requesting positive identification was sent to Cherryvale, but the suspect severed his foot to escape his leg irons and bled to death. Photo credit: The Lineup. The stone slab floor was broken up with sledgehammers but no bodies were found, and it was determined that the smell was from blood that had soaked into the soil. Mrs. Almira Griffith) and Mrs. Sarah Eliza Davis had been arrested in Niles, Michigan (often misreported as Detroit) several weeks earlier for larceny. However, once the property was searched, the townspeople discovered a far grislier truth: The family had gruesomely murdered at least 11 people and buried their bodies throughout the land. After opening the trap, the empty room beneath, 6 feet (1.8 m) deep and 7 feet (2.1 m) square at the top by 3 feet (0.9 m) square at the bottom, was found to have clotted blood on the floor. that when a guest would stay at the Benders' bed and breakfast inn, the hosts would give the guest a seat of honor at the table which was positioned over a trap door that led into the cellar. ‎In this episode, we head to Kansas and explore the Wichita Troll, the Sallie House, and the Bloody Benders. The Benders’ story begins, like many from this time period, thanks to the Homestead Act of 1862. $38 (2021: $811) and a wagon with a team of horses missing. Some of the Benders' neighbors claimed that John and Kate were not brother and sister, but actually husband and wife. 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. The former property of the "Bloody Benders" is up for sale. Secretly, the four made a living through murder and robbery. [7], A bad odor was noticed and traced to a trap door underneath a bed, nailed shut. It was speculated that she had been strangled or buried alive. From there, they traveled to an outlaw colony thought to be in the border region between Texas and New Mexico. The serial killer’s former rooming house has since been destroyed, leaving only a scatter of bricks. Although the elder Benders kept to themselves, Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove. One of the families was John Bender Sr. and John Bender Jr., who registered 160 acres (65 ha) of land located adjacent to the Great Osage Trail, which was then the only open road for traveling further west. The men with York were convinced the Benders and a neighboring family, the Roaches, were guilty and wanted to hang them all, but York insisted that evidence must be found. "The old man was a repulsive, hideous brute, without a redeeming trait, dirty, profane and ill-tempered." The Benders in Kansas. Records of the incarceration back up this affidavit. CS1 maint: ref=harv ; Ibbetson, Paul A. At Chanute, John Jr. and Kate left the train and caught the MK&T train south to the terminus in Red River County near Denison, Texas. "Old Mrs. Bender was a dirty old Dutch crone. John Bender Sr., his wife Kate and their two children, named John and Kate, operated an inn and sold supplies to travelers -- or so people thought. Eyewitness testimony was given that Mrs. Monroe was Ma Bender. 5) December 1872: W.F. Many innocent men under suspicion were also run out of the county by these committees.[5]. The body was then dropped through the trap door. 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. [18] The hammers were displayed at the Bender Museum in Cherryvale, Kansas from 1967 to 1978, when the site was acquired for a fire station. The Bloody Benders. [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 and interrogated as to what he knew, then hanged again. "[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. In the winter of 1872, George Newton Longcor and his infant daughter, Mary Ann, left Independence, Kansas, to resettle in Iowa and were never seen again. John Bender, Sr. was from either Germany or the Netherlands and is thought by some[by whom?] Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. Washington, D.C.: Photoduplication Service, Library of Congress,1913. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. The group is believed to be one of the first serial killer families in America. 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. "To my knowledge, there have been no efforts to excavate the property during the time my clients have owned the farm," Brent Wellings, auction manager for Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co., told CNN. In October 1870, five families of spiritualists homesteaded in and around the township of Osage in northwestern Labette County, approximately 7 mi (11 km) northeast of where Cherryvale would be established seven months later. The Bloody Benders had a remote little inn not far from the Kansas homestead of Laura Ingalls Wilder.. Wilder mentions two brushes with the Benders, who are sometimes referred to as America’s first serial killers. It was suspected that the Benders sat travelers near the curtain and used some sort of hammer to hit them in the back of the head, before they dropped their victim through the trap door and into the cellar below. "Their story is unresolved and remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the old West. Inscription. 1) “The Bloody Benders” A gang of four so ferocious they have the catchy nickname to prove it, the Benders settled in isolated Labette County, Kansas, in the early 1870s. Approximately 152 acres of land that once belonged to the "Bloody Benders". Locals began scouring the area after reports of people who had gone missing in their community began to surface. The Bloody Benders were a German Immigrant family who lived in Southeast Kansas from 1869–1872. Mrs. Monroe now admitted she had married a Mr. Shearer in 1872 and claimed she had previously denied it, as she did not want the court to know that her name was Shearer at that time and that she had a conviction for manslaughter. Kate's popularity became a large attraction for the Benders' inn. 2-3) February 1872: Two unidentified men found on the prairie in February 1872 with crushed skulls and throats cut. Much folklore and legend surrounds the Benders, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. Coordinates: 37°20′56″N 95°29′10″W  /  37.349°N 95.486°W  / The Bloody Benders were an alleged family of serial killers who owned a small general store and inn in Osage township, Labette County, Kansas from 1871 to The inn was a simple one room house divided into living quarters and the kitchen and store area. 7. In February 1872, the bodies of two men were found who had the same injuries as Jones. 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. Located at the rest area at the junction of US Hwy 169 and 400 in NE Labette County, Kansas. They were released after being found not guilty, but were then immediately re-arrested for the Bender murders. The affidavits and other papers are missing from the file in LaBette County, so further examination is impossible. [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}37°20′56″N 95°29′10″W / 37.349°N 95.486°W / 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 serial killers in the United States, "The Bloody Benders – Serial Killers of Kansas", "The Bloody Benders, Kansas, ca. $10 (2021: $213), a, 8-9) December 1872: George Newton Longcor and his 18-month-old daughter, Mary Ann. 1) May 1871: Mr. Jones. $2,000 (2021: $42,683) missing. In Fargo (Season 4, Episode 9), outside the entrance to The Barton Arms, a Kansas Historical Marker plaque for “The Mellon Mounds” recounts the story of the Mellon family, who lured unsuspecting travelers into their home, killed them with a hammer, and buried them out back. [18], A historical marker describing the Benders’ crimes is located in the rest area at the junction of U.S. Route 400 and U.S. Route 169 north of Cherryvale. One might have been Jack Bogart, whose horse was purchased from a friend of the Benders after he went missing in 1872. In May of 1871, the body of a man named Mr. Jones, who had his skull crushed and … Dr. York had two brothers: Colonel Ed York living in Fort Scott, and Alexander M. York, a member of the Kansas State Senate from Independence who, in November 1872, had been instrumental in exposing U.S. Once Kansas declared itself with the Union and the Civil War began to rage, the bloody battles continued. The message is accompanied by a link of unknown origin—one that is likely an attempt to gather personal information. The search revealed a single-room timber cabin that had been divided into two by a curtain. Mrs. Davis claimed that Mrs. Monroe was Ma Bender, but that she herself was not Kate, but her sister Sara; she later signed an affidavit to that effect, while Monroe continued to deny the identification and in turn accused Sarah Eliza of being the real Kate Bender. She mentioned stopping at the inn, as well as recounting the rumors of the murders spreading through their community. (CNN)Ever wanted to own a gruesome piece of American history? Dec 12, 2019 - Explore Cari Knight's board "Bloody Benders", followed by 217 people on Pinterest. (3 August 2016). The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Mrs. Bender (later referred to as Kate, Sr., since no one knew her given name), son John, Jr., and daughter Kate. Though the bodies were found in the spring of 1894, the Mellons were never caught. "Kate proclaimed herself responsible to no one save herself." ?," "big slaughter day, Jan eighth", and "hell departed. After the Civil War the Osage Indians were moved from their home in Labette County to Oklahoma, in order to make the Kansas Territory available to European settlers. 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. William Pickering said that when he had refused to sit near the wagon cloth because of the stains on it, he was threatened with a knife by Kate Bender, whereupon he fled the premises. Colonel York, leading a company of some fifty men, questioned every traveler along the trail and visited all the area homesteads. Buried in the apple orchard. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. She professed to be a medium of spiritualism, and delivered lectures on that subject. She also conducted séances and gave lectures on spiritualism, for which she gained notoriety for advocating free love. The Bloody Benders were an alleged family of serial killers who owned a small general store and inn in Osage township, Labette County, Kansas from 1871 to 1873. "Prior to their ownership, which took place in the 1950s, there could have been an excavation that I'm not aware of.". This is a direct reference to the Benders. Well, you're in luck. to have been born John Flickinger. These hammers were given to the Bender Museum in 1967 by the son of LeRoy Dick, the Osage Township trustee who headed the search of the Bender property. Provides commercial,industrial and residential Pest Control Services at exterminator in nyc. Deputy Sheriff Dick, along with Mrs. McCann, escorted the pair to Oswego, Kansas, where seven members of a 13-member panel confirmed the identification and committed them for trial. In 1992, Fern Morrow Wood, a Cherryvale teacher, wrote The Benders, Keepers of the Devil's Inn. [7], They then began to probe the ground around the cabin with a metal rod, especially in the disturbed soil of the vegetable garden and orchard, where Dr. York's body was found later that evening, buried face down with his feet barely below the surface. Newspapers: The Kansas Murders - New York TImes, May 13, 1873 Says They're Not the Benders - New York Times, January 11, 1890 Website: The Bloody Benders … 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. Marker Name: The Bloody Benders Marker Type: Rest Area Marker text: Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family--John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate--who settled here in 1871. While there is no definitive number, estimates report that the Benders killed at least a dozen travelers before their crimes were discovered and the family fled, with their fate uncertain. 16-19) December 1872: During the search, the bodies of four unidentified males were found in Drum Creek and the surrounds. Its floor was covered in pools of blood. Contemporary newspapers reported his name as either "George W. Longcor" or "George Loncher", while Mary Ann is similarly reported as being either eight years old or 18 months old. The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, from May 1871 to December 1872. While the two women were certainly criminals and liars, as their own defense attorney admitted, the charges were weak and many people doubted their identification as the Benders. Kate Bender, who was around 23, was cultivated and attractive and spoke English well with very little accent. Several groups of vigilantes were formed to search for the Benders. Digging resumed the following 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. Both knew of William's travel plans and, when he failed to return home, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. There was a trap door that led to a stone cellar below. Law enforcement officials in Maine have notifiedresidents that there have been reports of people receiving text messages indicating the recipient has been in contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus. Buried in the apple orchard. In this episode, we head to Kansas and explore the Wichita Troll, the Sallie House, and the Bloody Benders. Elvira allegedly could not understand English, while the younger Benders denied the claim. 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. On March 28, 1873, Colonel York arrived at the Benders' inn with a Mr. Johnson, explaining to them that his brother had gone missing and asking if they had seen him. 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 probing continued until midnight, with another nine suspected grave sites marked before the men were satisfied they had found them all and retired for the night. "[4], In May 1871, the body of a man named Jones, who had his skull crushed and his throat cut, was discovered in Drum Creek. With the exception of McKenzie and York,[17] who were buried in Independence; the Longcors, who were buried in Montgomery County; and McCrotty, who was buried in Parsons, Kansas, none of the other bodies were claimed, and they were reburied at the base of a small hill 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the Benders' orchard, one of several at the location now known as "The Benders Mounds". [9], More than a dozen bullet holes were found in the roof and sides of the cabin. It covers the on-going investigation into the Bloody Benders. When the party arrived at the inn they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. The story of the Benders' escape spread, and the search continued on and off for the next 50 years. With the victim's back to the curtain Kate would distract the guest, while John Bender or his son would come from behind the curtain and strike the guest on the right side of the skull with a hammer. All but one had had their heads bashed with a hammer and their throats cut, and it was reported in newspapers that all had been "indecently mutilated". "Young Bender, seen when excited, recalled the grave-robbing hyena at once to mind." 11) December 1872: Red Smith. The Bender family home was a one-room house that was divided in half by a curtain. After the third hanging, they released him and he staggered home "as one who was drunken or deranged". On the high prairie by the nearby Mounds which bear the name, the Bender family ~ John, his wife , son, and daughter Kate ~ in 1871 built a small house. According to the May 23, 1873 edition of The Emporia News, he was identified with the name of William Bender. It is conjectured[by whom?] The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, from May 1871 to December 1872. The Benders were widely believed to be German immigrants. 13-15) December 1872: Various body parts. It was confirmed that in Thayer the family had bought tickets on the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad for Humboldt. ... One location that became a killing spot for him was Emigration Canyon, Utah. The inn was a simple one room house divided into living quarters and the kitchen and store area. The front section also contained the kitchen and dining table, where travelers could stop for a meal or even spend the night. The Sally House was built in Atchison,… Then neighbors remembered finding additional bodies on the prairie the past winter that had been mutilated in much the same fashion. On this episode, TJ and I research Americas first serial killer family from the 1870's. The body of a young girl was found with no injuries sufficient to cause death. [3] Also in 1884, an elderly man matching Pa Bender'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. Currently, there's not any kind of alert system regarding potential coronavirus exposure that would … The meeting was attended by 75 locals, including Colonel York and both John Bender Sr. and John Bender Jr. After discussing the disappearances, including that of William York, it was agreed that a search warrant would be obtained to search every homestead between Big Hill Creek and Drum Creek. The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who owned an inn and small general store in Labette County of southeastern Kansas from 1871 to 1873. She alleged that her father, "Pa Ingalls", joined in a vigilante hunt for the killers, and when he spoke of later searches for them she recalled, "At such times Pa always said in a strange tone of finality, 'They will never be found.' 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. The approximately 152 acres of land that was once the property of the "Bloody Benders," who may be the first serial killer family in America, is up for auction. The Bloody Benders—a.k.a. Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy's bribery of state legislators in his bid for re-election. [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. Mrs. Monroe resisted, declaring that she would not be taken alive, but was subdued by local deputies. Now that land is going up for auction. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. The Bender cabin was destroyed by souvenir hunters who took everything, including the bricks that lined the cellar and the stones lining the well.[1][2]. Born July 30, 1848," "John Gebhardt came to America on July 1 18? In the front half of the house, the family ran an inn and store, while the back half was the family living area. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist. When he did speak it, it was so guttural that it was usually unintelligible. John was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many to consider him a "half-wit". Tole reported the fact to the township trustee, but because of inclement weather, several days lapsed before the abandonment could be investigated. The 'Bloody Benders' are known as America's first family of serial killers. In 1884, it was reported that John Flickinger had committed suicide in Lake Michigan. Yet another claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. Elvira was suspected[by whom?] Several weeks after the discovery of the bodies, Addison Roach and his son-in-law, William Buxton, were arrested as accessories. The family consisted of John Bender, Mrs. Bender, son John Jr. and daughter Kate. The "Bloody Benders" were a German family of four that settled a claim in southeastern Kansas in Labette County in 1871. In 1937 she gave a speech at a book fair, which […] A self-proclaimed healer and psychic, she distributed flyers advertising her supernatural powers and her ability to cure illnesses. From Howard County, Kansas. [2], Two men who had traveled to the inn to experience Kate Bender's psychic powers stayed on 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. A historical marker erected near the site says, "Although stories abound, the ultimate fate of the murderous Bender family is uncertain. The victim's throat was cut by one of the women to ensure death. 6 The Bloody Benders’ House. The "Bloody Benders" Kansas Historical Marker. On October 31, 1889, it was reported that a Mrs. Almira Monroe (a.k.a. It was in the nearby orchard field that the victims were found buried. Buried in the apple orchard. [11] Whether John Flickinger was really John Bender is unknown. State Senator Alexander York offered a $1,000 ($21,342 as of 2021) reward for the Bender family's arrest. [5], When York repeated the claim, Elvira became enraged, said the woman was a witch who had cursed her coffee, and ordered the men to leave her house, revealing for the first time that "her sense of the English language" was much better than was let on. [1], One detective later claimed that he had traced the pair to the border, where he had found that John Jr. had died of apoplexy. Their attorney also produced a marriage certificate indicating that Mrs. Davis had been married in Michigan in 1872, the time when several of the murders were committed. [1][3] On April 3, Colonel York returned to the inn with armed men after being informed that a woman had fled from the inn after being threatened with knives by Elvira Bender. Her face was a fit picture of the midnight hag that wove the spell murderous ambition about the soul of Macbeth." John Bender, Sr. was around 60 years old and spoke very little English. Colonel York agreed that this was possible and remained for dinner. ", according to the Kansas Historical Society (KHS), Miniature murders: Unsolved crimes recreated in dollhouses. America’s first serial killer family—committed as many as 21 murders on their Kansas property in the 1870s. The timber cabin where the murders were committed no longer exists, and there are no structures or buildings that remain on the property. Once in the cellar, the body would be stripped and later buried somewhere on the property, often in the orchard. By the time a deputy from Cherryvale arrived, identification was impossible due to decomposition. With the Benders gone, neighbors searched their property. The family that slays together, stays together. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. There’s a storm gate in Wichita, Kansas that has no plaque or indication, only a troll sculpture that waits for the unaware – it is the Wichita Troll. The St. Joseph Weekly Gazette (St. Joseph, Missouri). Stein and Day. In the spring of 1873, Longcor's former neighbor, Dr. William Henry York, went looking for them and questioned homesteaders along the trail. One of the searchers identified the body of his brother, with the back of his skull smashed in and his throat slit. When attempts were made to relocate the museum it became a point of controversy, some locals objecting to the town being known for the Bender murders. [5][6], Around the same time, neighboring communities began to make accusations that the Osage community was responsible for the disappearances, and a meeting was arranged by the Osage township in the Harmony Grove schoolhouse. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira Bender, son John, Jr., and daughter Kate. • 1) May 1871: Mr. Jones. Elvira Bender, who also allegedly spoke very little English, was 55 years of age and was so unfriendly that her neighbors took to calling her a "she-devil". [5], Detectives following wagon tracks discovered the Benders' wagon, abandoned with a starving team of horses with one of the mares lame, just outside the city limits of Thayer, 12 mi (19 km) north of the inn. Wilder says, “while Pa watered the horses and brought us all a drink from the well near the door of the house. By 1873, reports of missing people who had passed through the area had become so common that travelers began to avoid the trail. Dr. York reached Fort Scott, and on March 9 began the return journey to Independence but never arrived home. 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