Lover's Lane Murders

Lover's Lanes, those back roads and out the way places where young lovers for generations have retreated to have some alone time.  "Billing and Cooing", "Parking", "Sparking", "Making Out" were terms that emerged from these isolated trysting places along railroad tracks, off country roads,  in or near cemeteries, old factories, under leafy trees, under bridges, and by bodies of water.  They were places were lovers could talk, kiss, share a forbidden drink and other activities un-named.  Lonely, isolated, and a place where others would tend to pay less attention to anyone else, these dark secretive places were a magnet that apparently called out to those with a date with death.

 

The term "Lover's Lane" was one not always used but generally understood to exist. The term was not always used in local news accounts of events occurring in these places of a less than loving nature.  In the later half of the 20th century it be used more often and more salaciously than in previous years; some of the innocence had rubbed off of society by that time.

 

In the 1920's and 1930's society was almost totally mobile and so they saw a lot of social barriers fall: short hair and skirts on women, drinking and partying by both sexes, and a flaunting of sexual mores in general.  In 1933, 16 year old John Henkel killed 27 year old Oliver Bailey in a "Lover's Lane" in Ohio after the older man made "advances".

In Pennsylvania in late spring of 1940, a young match factor worker, Fay Gates, was raped, savagely bludgeoned and her body left along a lonely road known locally as "Spook Hollow."   This stretch of road was called by some locals a place where young people went to park.
 

In 1942 in Woodbury, NJ a 39 year old widow Mrs. Emma Evans, was raped and slain in a Lover's Lane and a 22 year old soldier from L.A., Wilburn Rogers was charged.

In June of 1943 in Dallas, Oregon 17 year old Ruth Hildebrand was raped and slain and her body dumped in the Williamite River.   The Monmouth Police Chief, Richard Layton, was charged in her death and later executed.

Around Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1944 several young women were similarly attacked and there was hint of a lover's lane connection. Phyllis Irine Conine, 17, Wilhema Hayes, 37, and Ann Kuseff, 22 were all killed from February through May.

In 1945 in Pontiac, Michigan, Mrs. Lydia Thompson was slain Oct. 11. She was bludgeoned, stabbed and struck with an axe or hatchet in a crude attempt to remove her head. By 1947, her husband was being called in for more questions after a man claimed he had been hired to kill Mrs. Thompson.

 

The Phantom Killer, also known at the time as the "Moonlight Murderer", of Texarkana struck in 1946 wounding in February Jimmy Hollis and Mary Larey on a Lover's Lane and then in March killing another couple on another Lover's Lane. Dead were Richard Griffin and Polly Moore.

 

 

Also in 1948, along a local lover's lane in Oregon, Illinois were the deaths of 17 year old Mary Jane Reed and Stanley Skridla.  Suspicions emerged of police cover-ups and allegations of the involvement of a local deputy sheriff.

 

In 1948, a young woman, Theresa Foster, was killed in Boulder, Colorado and her body dumped in a ravine near a river. A year later, a young man and his  blind date on a local Lover's Lane stretch of road were attacked by a man. The young man, Roy Spore was killed and his body left not far from where the Foster woman's body had been found. His date was injured but unharmed.

Mary Roberts, 17, was abducted and killed near Marion, Illinois by 33 Joseph Milani alias William Winningham.  He wounded her boyfriend and took her as the couple parked in a local lover's lane.

 

In 1970, west of Norman, Oklahoma, two college students were murdered by person or persons unknown.  Amarillo native David Sloan, a student at the University of Oklahoma and his date, Sheryl Benham were found stuffed into the trunk of Sloan's vehicle. Sheryl was nude from had a blanket wrapped around her waist. She and David had been shot repeatedly in the torso and face.  A local police officer was suspected, but quickly left the force and the community. In 1990, the case was reopened due to the discovery of a weapon allegedly owned by the officer and stored in an attic. The case went to trial with testimony of missing files, misplaced or lost evidence, and other accusations.  The officer, now living in Texas, was acquitted by a jury in 1992 after only four hours.  The case is unsolved but closed. 

 

Oddly, enough, this same area (Norman's Lover's Lane) was searched in 1959 when women's clothing were found in the area by a squirrel hunter from south Oklahoma City.  Although, a minimum of three women were missing from the South Oklahoma City area at the time, as searchers canvassed the region and looked for shallow graves or bodies, the local sheriff said he could not understand what all the fuss was about.

 

--Marilyn A. Hudson, c2014

 

Note: I will update this list as more such crimes are uncovered.

Into Oblivion: Do You Have a Story?

Do you have a suggestion for a story of disappearance, unsolved murder, or other crime without solution,  to be included in this new work?

Send your suggestions (and any information you may have) about missing persons, murders, and lingering mysteries from before 1960, to the author at this email address. 

This work will be different in many ways from similar true crime works.  It involves input from the families of some victims and seeks to identify some common trends that might lead to understanding more about who may have been responsible in these cases.  All done with dignity and respect for the victims.

I am especially interested in cases from Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Texas, and Missouri.

Email me and let's talk about your story. 

THE MEADOWS MURDER: SENSATION BEFORE STATEHOOD

From , "Tales of Hell's Half Acre", Marilyn A. Hudson:

THE MEADOWS MURDER OF 1907, part 1:

It was little wonder the story remained a major headline event for over a decade.  The tale had it all: a murder mystery with titillating intrigue, illicit lust, yellow journalism, city officials on criminal payrolls, a guilty till proven innocent public sentiment, clairvoyant mediums, shady peripheral characters,  lying witnesses, plots and shenanigans, a grand standing defense attorney, a lovely and frail widow, a virile young villain, and lingering rumors of a man thought dead still being alive.   

THE PLAYERS

James R. Meadows, the Victim.

In 1907, Oklahoma was looking forward to its soon-to-be state status but was already a growing and increasingly sophisticated land.  One example was the Pioneer Telephone Company.   Originally opening in 1905 as the Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company it was a sure sign of the technological leanings of the people of Oklahoma.  

One of the men overseeing a work crew for them was a James R. Meadows who had been living in a boarding house he and his wife ran on Broadway in Oklahoma City, but had recently removed to the small community to the south of town called Capitol Hill.  The Pioneer Company was already running telephone lines to Capitol Hill indicating the stability of the community.  He had begun as a line man. For some reason, things had begun to turn sour in the marriage and he had hopes that in a new location he might mend his marriage and get a much-needed fresh start in the relationship with his younger wife.

He may be the man listed on the 1900 U.S. Federal Census living at 201 Reno Street as a boarder.  That individual was listed as being 31 years of age, born in Tennessee, and so would be within the age range of Meadows, but there is a similar man also listed on the 1910 census only he is 44 years old but also born in Tennessee.  Wherever Meadows was, reports were he lived as a married adult on Grand Avenue, North Broadway, and in the vicinity of Kentucky and “B” (print is fuzzy and could be 10 or 11th street, which would better match the numbering system of Oklahoma City). 

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~okoklaho/obit/meadows-james.htm

Lila Meadows, the Widow

Maiden name un-known, but that that is only part of the mystery of this woman.  She was said to have been living in Wichita, Kansas when she first met James Meadows. Another version says they met in Kansas City. One version was he and she had lived together unmarried until she had shamed him into marrying her, while another was she had followed him from Kansas to El Reno, Oklahoma, were he lived, and married there in about 1901. Mrs. Lila Meadows, wife of James R. Meadows, remains something of an enigma, although subsequent events lend themselves to several observations of her life and character.  

She was frequently ill, court testimony identified it is a morphine addiction, and then later she has dramatic  appendicitis surgery in 1910.  Good woman cruelly used, grieving widow, seducer of the young killer, it is hard to classify the woman but some clues lead to ideas about underlying truths. She is  known to have been living in 1908 with Annie Wynne Bailey aka “Big Annie”, and one of Annie’s former courtesans Fannie Ritchie, at the notorious  Arlington on West 2nd Street. About this time, Annie left for California after her first unsuccessful run-in with local law.  Did Annie cut a deal? Was Lila a charity cause or one of Annie's own girls?

Significantly, a few days before June 4, J.O. Green of the Sun Accident Insurance company calls to remind Mrs. Meadows of the due date of the life insurance premium on James was due June 1.

Mother Myers aka Rose Myers aka Ronie Myers, the Psychic

The boarding house had provided some income but it had also brought Meadows' wife into contact with some questionable people.  The so-called “Mother Myers”, who convinced people she was a clairvoyant with powers to see things, had also swindled people so that she had to flee to avoid arrest or worse. There were others, women mostly, who may have had been giving his wife ideas that were not to her betterment and were detrimental to a happy home. Dorothy Keith was one such friend and confident. He urged them to leave the boarding house and he set out to find somewhere in Capitol Hill for them to live.

Labeled a fortuneteller, medium, clairvoyant, and physic, Myers had been operating in Oklahoma City, in the boarding house, prior to the death of Meadows. It was suggested at one point she was the real mother of Lila and after some searching was finally located in Doxie near Elk City.  One of Annie's connections?

Dorothy or Dora Keith - woman of mystery

Mysteriously labeled the nurse and ‘boon companion’ of Mrs. Meadows. She is dramatically devastated when she is indicted with Mrs. Meadows early in the affair, strangely jovial while in jail, and then strangely missing after testifying in court.  It was even suggested she and Lila may have dressed as men to murder James and Dorothy laughed as she held up a petite hand that she was sure would convince no one of any other gender.  So far, no woman of that name has been located on the 1900 or 1910 census. Another of  "Annie's girls"?  

Rudolph Tegeler or Tegler, the Killer?

Over at the Oklahoma City Waterworks, a young, handsome man with a slight German accent worked hard and to get ahead in this new place. Rudolph Tegeler or Tegler (it is spelled both ways in many documents), was born in Germany in 1884 (U.S. Census, 1910, Oklahoma, Pittsburg Co., Ok State Penitentiary). He was a machinist for the new waterworks (http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.tegeler/15/mb.ashx).  His co-workers included C.M. Roberts, M.E. Hollingshead.  His own wife had died tragically after a buggy ride just a year before. 

At some point, he met the young wife of Meadows, and he was so struck by her charms, that he bought the Palace Rooming House from her, resold it and then ultimately rented  the rooming house with her from W.W. Shipp.   They seemed to be very compatible and able to talk about anything.  Her husband did not understand her: he was a brute, an evil man who abused her terribly.  Before long, one of the rooms in the boarding house, The Palace, now owned by the young man, became of place of secret whispered love promises and finally the first act of a long scene of adultery.  The man came to know another boarder, the medium, Mother Myers, and was soon convinced of her abilities.

Co-workers noticed special tempting dishes and delicacies sent to the young man at the Works for lunch or an afternoon treat.   Special couriers sent letters and phone calls came from a soft-spoken female voice.  Things were over-heard by co-workers, and much more was suspected, about this secret love affair of the young German accented man.

Momen Pruiett - Lawyer

A colorful attorney who was energetically creative in fighting for his clients.  His legal approach was a ‘watch me pull a rabbit from my hat” style designed to keep the story on the front page, incite public debate, and insure a need for a change of venue plea.  A onetime jail occupant himself, he was committed to bringing the system down in his own unique way. Cited for frequently skirting the limits of the law, and a few possible excursions over the line, he was a lawyer for Rudolph Tegeler in his later court cases. http://www.10thcircuithistory.org/pdfs/Moman_Pruiett.pdf

Annie Wynn, aka Big Annie, Local "Business" woman.  

Annie, better known as “Big Annie” had been a fixture in the prostitution, gambling, and bootlegging world of OKC’s “Hell’s Half Acre” since the land run.  The 1900 census lists her as a 35 year old, born in Illinois, whose profession was “prostitute.”  This would mean that she would have been about 24 if she came to the city in, or just after,  the land run of 1889.   In 1903, she was prominent in a case of a woman alleging she had been raped in her resort.  Although she came to dominate the local vice landscape and achieve the veneer of acceptable society, by the time of the murder things were not going so well.  Ron Owens notes in his “Oklahoma Justice” that on August 27, 1907 (two months after Meadows’ murder), her “resort” burned to the ground and arson was suspected.  A disgruntled employee charged that  Annie and another courtesan had plotted to rob and kill a customer and dump his body in the North Canadian River.  Sometime in 1908 she was living in The Arlington, a notorious but elegant sporting house, with Lila Meadows.  Meadows had been acquitted of the murder of her husband.   In Annie’s trial, the jury did not accept the testimony and so in 1909 Annie sold her property, moved to California, and there died some time later (pg. 49). http://www.dougloudenback.com/maps/vintage_vice.htm.  Proof of her death has not yet been discovered and since she was in a profession where discarding and assuming new identities was an art form - who knows?

Broadway Palace or The Palace, 

This was the apparent name of the boarding house where Meadows lived in OKC and where Mrs. Meadows and Tegeler had had some assignations.  It was located at either 116 ½ or 316 and 316 ½ North Broadway. Both addresses can be found in the news articles and ads. Early stories cite the 100 block while later ones favor the 300 block between 2nd and 3rd streets.   There was an incidence at the Broadway Palace, 316 North Broadway, in 1904.  A “Prof. Mott”, a fortuneteller or clairvoyant, was accused of mesmerizing a young woman from Cushing and freeing her of some $700.   At that time, the proprietor was one Mrs. Massey.  Both locations were sites of frequent fly-by-night con artists  labeling themselves as ‘fortunetellers”, “physics”, and “clairvoyants”.   

The location of the rooming house in the 116-116 ½ address on North Broadway is also very interesting because it only within two blocks of the northwest edge of Oklahoma City’s “Hell’s Half Acre” with its brothels, gambling dens, saloons, and other resorts.  The colorful area from Main to Reno   included colorful streets and lanes established with the 1889 land run: Battle Row, Harlots Lane, Alabaster Row, and Hop Boulevard.  Some rooming houses, especially those closer to this section of town, were no doubt subsidiary income for the people, like Big Annie.   Later news articles would cite the procurers who traveled the countryside, ran boarding houses, and  lurked at the train depot to derail young ladies from real jobs and trap them into prostitution.

END OF PART ONE

REMEMBERING ROBERT

The death of a child is always a tragedy. They are all gifts from God. When that death is the result of possibly human intervention - it is something so much worse.

On July 10, 1985, an eight year old boy from a very poor family in Oklahoma City went missing. His young life, and that of his brother, had been haunted by extreme poverty, the social stigma and cruelty that can bring, and several related health problems. Often dirty and unkempt and wearing clothes long overdue for a wash, he was laughed at by classmates, ignored by adults, and left to his own devices far too much. He was awkward and shy. Little Robert was starved for affection, yet as cautious as a wily cat who'd had his tale stepped on once too often.

On July 29, his remains, partially buried, were found under a neighbor's garage.

The neighbor - who may or may not have been the mysterious adult "friend" that Robert said he was going to see on the day he disappeared - was later picked up in Texas. There, it should be noted, he had been in legal trouble over child molestation charges. Brought back to Oklahoma he was charged, and soon confessed, to the murder and burial of young Robert. (see THORNBURGH v. STATE /1991 OK CR 65 / 815 P.2d 186 / Case Number: F-88-897 / Decided: 05/30/1991/ Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals)

Later, in 1991, a judge would acquit the man, citing the prosecution had not shown a clear link from the body back to the suspect. At worst, he was guilty of illegally cutting up and burying a body, but no proof had been shown he had committed the murder (or even if there had been a murder and not a natural death). 

Of course, everyone when they innocently happen upon the corpse of a child cut it apart, bury it, and cover it with lime to enhance decomposition. It is a natural response.

Did the man initially charged actually commit the murder of an eight-year-old boy? If this man did not commit the crime - that means someone else did. Someone who, since 1985, has been living somewhere with the knowledge of little Robert's last moments.....

Maybe someone who killed other children in the same general time (1979-1988)?

For others, like the people who saw him at school (Eugene Field Elementary), or whose hearts were touched by such tragedy in one so young, they can only remember, and mourn, and hope that someday justice will prevail. They had to see an empty desk where a little boy should have been seated for another day of learning. 

Someday....

[For all children who have been taken by violence - and the people they have left to mourn them -but especially for ones like Robert whose young life was already marred by circumstances beyond his control - we remember and honor them all. We pray, let us do better next time and be there for them before something awful happens and show them a little human kindness.]

Robert W Seeton (unknown-1985) - Find a Grave Memorial

SEARCH FOR TRUTH: The Enduring Mystery of the Katie Dewitt James Murder of 1905 (Updated 2022)

Updated 2022

The Story

On July 7, 1905, the woman from Lenora, Katie Dewitt James (1874-July 8, 1905) with her 13-month-old daughter, her father had taken her to Custer City to the train and watched them boarded it to go visit her aunt and uncle in Ripley. 

She had been having marriage problems and was suing for divorce and custody of the child. On July 25, Dewitt hires Sam Bartell of the Oklahoma Detective Agency to locate his daughter. The search followed a trail to Clinton, then to Weatherford. They learned a couple matching the description of Mrs. James had stayed with a Mrs. Fanny Norton, of Clinton, at the residence of Norton's brother-in-law, William Moore. 

The two women were reported to have left in a buggy for what was to be a three-hour trip. It was found "Mrs. Norton," (if it was her) returned the rented livery about four hours later without Mrs. James.

The Subjects

Henry Dewitt, father of Katie. A look at the 1900 census for Dewey County locates a Henry Dewitt, b. 1844 in Canada who called himself a farmer and next door lives a young woman with a name that looks like "Katie Dewitt", b. 1874 in Iowa, listed as a schoolteacher. Is this Katie Dewitt the woman who marries James? In 1910 he is listed in Beaver County and appears to have there in 1930.

Fannie or Fanny Bray Ham Norton. In the nearby Custer County is a "Fannie Ham, b. 1872, Tx" listed as a laundress with several children: Roy, Diela, and Lula. Is this "Fannie Ham" the later "Fannie Norton"? Some sources indicate this woman had killed a bartender in Weatherford and had been a prostitute. The grave of the woman who committed suicide in Shawnee, while under arrest, lists the same information for the Fannie Ham on the Custer Country Census.

Martin Luther James, husband of Katie and father of the 13-month-old baby girl. In the Dewey Co., OK 1910 census is a “Luther James” with a wife of three years Cynthia and a 6-year-old daughter, Blanche, and a 2-year-old son. The wife was born in Kansas but the daughter’s information lists that her mother was born in Iowa.

The Search

Her father, who was alarmed his daughter had gone to visit her sister and never arrived, reported her missing, hired a detective, and it is her father, Henry Dewitt of Taloga, Oklahoma, who offers a reward. This may be the Henry Dewitt listed in the Knowles cemetery with a photo on the tombstone.

Bartell reported he hired a buggy and began searching the area where the women went. In doing so he found a woman matching Norton's description had left a baby at the farm of a Peter Bierschied with claims she would return soon for the babe. A boy at the farm said he had seen a woman throw out a bundle of baby clothes wrapped in a blanket.

Bartell retrieved the child and hurried on to find the Norton woman tracking her down in Shawnee at the home of a butcher, R.T. Patty on east 10th in Shawnee. She told a tale of meeting a wagon, of Katie leaving with a man, and her being told to take the wagon back to Weatherford. 

Adding meaning to the mystery was a report that surfaced two days after her disappearance. Katie, it revealed, filed for divorce from her husband. So many stories but what was the truth?


Weeks went by without any solid leads that had any footing in reality. As is always the case, false leads crop up and waste the time and resources of every investigation. On August 31, 1905, however, the decomposed body of Katie James was found six miles northeast of Weatherford and one mile north of the Morton schoolhouse. 

The remains, mere skeletal at the time and in that weather, where found along Deer Creek by local hunters. She had been shot in the head (from behind the right ear), but her head was laying some distance from the body and was still wearing the hat she had been wearing when she disappeared. A gold ring was on one finger. The coroner’s jury declared robbery the motive but what robber would leave a potentially valuable ring?

Investigating the disappearance and the murder was the noted Sam Bartell, now part of the Oklahoma Detective Agency, but one time US Deputy Marshall and OKC constable and Deputy Sheriff. He was known for sometimes dogged determination and was trusted as a solid officer of the law. 

The Suicide

Finally, the determined detective quickly tracked the wobbly story back to Fannie Bray Ham Norton (1872-July 28, 1905). He found her in Shawnee and questioned her. About to formally arrest her and take her to Oklahoma City, the woman committed suicide on July 28. She had secreted poison on her person and, given the times, and the lack of female guards or matrons in most jails the search failed to find the hidden drug. In that Edwardian Era the thought of searching a woman's person would have been a difficult social more to break for most men. She was buried in an unmarked grave in Shawnee.

Some investigators in years to come would muse that Mr. Martin Luther James, observably a little distant in the affair, perhaps did not grieve as much as a man in his position might be expected. His rather cool response to his wife's disappearance and that of his child had been noted. Some newspapers selected to suggest he was being "manly" in the face of difficulty. It was an allowance that did not last long. A follow-up article suggested that the murderer had possibly been helped by Mr. James.

Rumors of possible divorce, and perhaps even loss of property and land, have been discussed by several researchers. That line of thought had cause wonder if Norton had been hired to do the dirty work. Her involvement in the episode is strange without that motive otherwise. 

By September, a bizarre and convoluted story was circulated of some nefarious connection between Katie James and Fannie Norton aka Mrs. Ham (from when she lived near Webb in Dewey County). Mrs. James, it was said, "claimed to be an invalid" and Mr. James charged these two women had schemed and tried to kill him. Both husbands so testified, the coroner ruled "case closed" because the murderer (Norton) was dead. 

That was that. James may have stayed in the area of Weatherford, remarried, and raised his daughter. Mr. Norton, Mr. Ham is harder to pin down. Mr. Dewitt died on his homeplace in the region.

The Suggestions

An even stranger wrinkle emerged, years later when a man came forward to claim he had been a young boy when he had seen a buggy with 2 women, followed by 2 men on horseback, on a dusty road. He was forced, he claimed, at gunpoint to take part in the incident and chopped the head off the body. 

While possibly a tale of lies (and the story has no sources), the tale highlights some lingering questions. Just why had she been killed in such a manner?  It was not robbery because only $25 dollars had been while a more valuable a gold ring and lovely (expensive) hat were left on the body? Apparently, the crime had been intended to end a life and theft was involved merely as a means to convey that storyline.

What are the motives for murder? Revenge and gain are two strong ones. Reports indicated that Katie had filed for divorce two days after her disappearance. If their finances were from her and she divorced him then there would be no more money. Was there an insurance policy on Katie? Who owned the land, and who had paid for any real estate, or estate, left by the woman? Was it James, or DeWitt, or someone else? We may never know the full details after more than a century. Today, like in previous generations this story concerning the fate of a young wife and a small child, has the power to grip people.

That baby raises other questions. Was she also an intended victim? A clean sweep of wife and child by a husband?  Did the killer, or the accomplice, fulfill the one but balked at killing the innocent child? For what other reason might Fannie left the child with a farm family in the area and provide someone to identify her?

A lot of questions linger. If the tale of the young boy forced to abuse the body are true, just who were the men? Did Luther James have something to do with his wife's death? Was the other man husband to Norton? If she was the schoolteacher from the 1900 census, his declared accusations of her attempted murder, do not seem to mesh with an image of a schoolteacher who lived next door to her father. Where was Katie Dewitt in 1900? When did she marry James? When did she allegedly live near Webb?

Yet, he strangely stayed with the alleged near murderous woman and had a child with her in 1903-04. In fact, the bad influence, Fannie Ham-Norton, comes back into the circle of acquaintances to the point she drives Katie James and child on the last fateful day?

The Victims

The Katie James Murder represents an enduring tragedy that captures the attention of people each generation. It is a stirring tale featuring a missing young mother, a child, strange events, and the stalwart presence of one of the early heroes of Oklahoma Territory, Sam Bartell (U.S. Marshal, Police Constable and Private Detective).  The circle of victims, however, was larger than the young woman, the baby and the grandfather. Here, through special permission, is the story of the aftermath:

Although most of the excitement surrounding the murder of Katie James in 1905 involved the search for Katie and the woman suspected of killing her, there were other victims of which almost nothing is told; these victims were the children of Katie and Fannie Norton; Lulu Blanche James and Roy, Leta & Elsie Ham. Lulu Blanche was only 18 months old when her mother was murdered. A newspaper article from the Weatherford Democrat says the following:

"The Weatherford Democrat, Thursday, January 23, 1913

Blanche James Dead

Another chapter in one of the saddest tragedies in connection with Weatherford's early history ended recently with the death of Little Blanche James. A letter received by the Cheyenne Marble Works of this place Monday from Mr. DeWitt at Knowles states that he had just got a letter form his sister, Mrs. Shinsteffer who had been notified of the death of the little girl on Jan. 2nd. So little can be known of the fact except that the girl had been visiting her father and took sick with spinal meningitis from which she died. The letter from Mr. DeWitt closed with the cry of the old man's broken heart, "I think they might have might have let me know. I would like to have been with her.

Many of our readers will remember the gruesome story. Seven years ago Mrs. James, having had trouble with her husband on account of his cruelty, had come to Weatherford to her father, Mr. DeWitt. At Clinton she met with Mrs. Ham who offered to drive her through the country. Some place on that lonely drive she was murdered. The body was afterwards found hidden in the bushes near Deer Creek. A little boy related that a woman driving the wagon called hi and asked him to hold the baby as the horses were fractious, then drove furiously away leaving the little child in his arms. Two years ago a trace of the murderer was found in Colorado but she was wanted for stealing horses in New Mexico, so she could not be brought back here for trial until her sentence expires.

But many have asked, what became of the little babe deprived of its mother's care and left to strangers? The father came and took the child, never letting Mr. DeWitt have anything to do with her or to see her. Mr. James married again, but through the years the child was guarded from any knowledge of her grandfather. 

Mrs. Shinsteffer, the sister of Mr. DeWitt, lived in the same county, Dewey County, and through neighbors kept track of the child and informed Mr. DeWitt. The old gentleman in the course of time amassed considerable property. Mrs. James was his only child and he has no heir. It was the wish of his heart to have and to help little Blanche. Although he was not allowed to see her, he could not resist sending her pretty clothes. These were sent through his sister and without letting them know where they came from. Mr. James always told his daughter that her mother still lived and that the clothes were sent by her. And so, the story ends with the death of little Blanche."

The Ham children spent their last days together as a family traveling to Guthrie Oklahoma. On July 11, 1905, they were placed for adoption by their Mother Mary Francis Norton, who then left for Shawnee where she eventually committed suicide. Roy, the older brother was 13, his two sisters Elsie and Leta only eleven and seven.

The records that survive show the children placed with families in August 1905; sadly, they were not kept together. The entries state:

* Roy Ham -With farmer, good people man and wife of Quaker faith.

* Elsie Ham-With intelligent family, who will give the child a good home. Methodist faith.

* Leta Ham-With Dr. B. and his wife, no children, fine people. The child will have good advantages. Presbyterian and Methodist Churches preferred.

Roy and his sisters had little contact with one another. All letters between the siblings were sent via the Children’s Home. While the records are incomplete, they do show that at least in the beginning the children tried to maintain contact with one another. Transcripts of the few remaining letters show the children adapted well to their new lives. Only Roy seems to make any mention of their mother, and even that is only a short sentence to say he is sorry to hear she is dead.

I haven’t been able to track down anything about the family Roy Ham was placed with. He kind of disappears until October 1918 when dies of pneumonia. Roy’s obit in the Kansas City Star of October 20, 1918 reads:  "Ham-Roy L Ham, 26 years old, died Friday at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Gilmer, 5948 Brooklyn Avenue, of pneumonia. He made his home at that address. His father, Taylor Ham, lives in Turlington, Tex. Two sisters also survive him."   Roy’s sisters never knew what happened to their brother.

Elsie Ham married in October 1913. She and her husband had three children, a boy and two girls. Her son died during World War II; I don’t know what ever became of her daughters or if she ever shared with them the sad story of their grandmother’s life and death.

Leta was perhaps the luckiest of the three Ham children. She was placed with a doctor who eventually adopted her. She wrote to her brother of her little pony and of the four dolls she had. Leta too went on to marry, raise children and live her life.

---Courtesy of William Slack

The Summary
The conflicting elements, the allegations, and the nuances of this story suggest there was more, much more to the story. Research into the newspapers of the area, such as the Arapahoe paper cited as the source of the “Jezebel” stories, investigations into inheritance, the alleged murder of the barman in Weatherford by Ham/Norton, and other threads will need to be explored. 

Perhaps most telling of all is the haunting inscription placed on Katie's grave. It may be merely a bit of forgotten poetry or a father's attempt to lay blame, and its pronoun can be open to many interpretations: " How many hopes he has ended here." Until more is discovered mystery remains, as it always does in the loss of any life, and until that time, the tale retains its ability to raise interest, inspire sympathy, and generate questions as much in 2010 as in 1905.

Sources:Brenner, Susan Woolf. "Dead Woman's Crossing: The Legacy of a Territorial Murder." Chronicles of Oklahoma: Volume LX (Fall 1982). If you can find it in a library (this one frequently is missing from collections).
Dewitt, H. (1844-1940), Find a grave, at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=dewitt&GSby=1844&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSst=38&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=9547925&
Federal United States Census, Dewey County, 1900 and 1910.
James, Katie A. Dewitt (1874-1905), Find a Grave, at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=James&GSfn=Katie&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1905&GSdyrel=in&GSst=38&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=10619462&. Includes photo of grave and states inscription reads: “How many hopes he ended here.”
Norton, Fannie Bray Ham (1872-1905), Find A Grave, at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=ham&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1905&GSdyrel=in&GSst=38&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=42469111&
Oklahoma newspaper (1905).

ANATOMY OF AN URBAN LEGEND

HATCHET HOUSE: Anatomy of an Urban Legend?
In the early 1990's accounts of a "Hatchet House" with accompanying awful murder and porch painted red to hide "all the blood", began to appear in local OKC newspapers. Soon tales of swings moving in the moonlight.....and ghostly voices of children playing..... began to flesh out the vague and lurid premise. Now, every Halloween local haunters flock to the historic district of the Gatewood Neighborhood to find the notorious house with hatchet cutouts...or the red painted porch....or the driveway where 'they found the body.' This seemed like an easy find....track down the dastardly crime....solve the mystery...provide some background for this legend. So far...however, no such crime has come to light. The area only dates back to the 1920's when it boomed along with various other areas of the city. Its classic hometown feel and its historic homes kept it a special place for many decades. There was tragedy as children, go to and coming from the local elementary school (Gatewood Elementary) were struck by automobiles...a few random crimes....and some natural deaths. Findng a grim and ghastly crime worthy of such a horrific legend....has so far drawn a blank. It is similar to the tale in the Don Knotts comedy, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" with its tale of murder, blood stained organ keys ("and they used Bon-Ami!"), and generally bad reputation. Unless, and until, something definite is discovered this is no doubt another OKC Urban Legend. So, drive through the area and enjoy the neighborhood that is on the national history registry.....but give the folks there a rest because there is really nothing else to see there.

IS THERE A REAL EVENT TIED TO DEAD WOMAN CROSSING?

In Oklahoma, near Weatherford, is a spooky area known locally as "Dead Woman's Crossing." Is it related to a famous murder case or something else?

Conflicting stories exist that have suggested that the germ of a real event, the kidnapping and murder of Mrs. Katie James in 1905, and a later tall tale/urban myth from local university students merged to create a jumble of ghostly tales related to this general area. [For more information: Dead Woman’s Crossing: http://www.ghost-investigators.com/Stories/view_story.php?story_num=15 ]

Dead Woman’s Bridge is located on the famous Route 66.

Prairie Ghosts has a pretty good account of it, except he misnames the detective who helped in the search. Sam Bartell was a well known early US Marshall and local Oklahoma City police officer and at the time was with the Oklahoma Detective Agency. I will load my profile of this man soon.

As for "Dead Woman's Crossing"? Well, a look at places in Oklahoma reveals several "dead man" or "dead woman" or "skeleton" locales. In fact just to the east is a "Dead Woman Creek" and the southeast "Dead Woman Mound" and to the south "Ghost Mound." If this was a "Dead Woman's Crossing" - it may be much older than the James crime and not have anything strange about it at all. Early maps of the region should reveal much. The terrain has changed by farming and road constructions.