The media speculated that some of the victims had attempted to fight back after being hit with the hammer. 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. Though the bodies were found in the spring of 1894, the Mellons were never caught. The victim was then dispatched from behind with a hammer, and the body was dropped into a basement pit, later to be buried in an orchard. At her hearing, Mrs. Monroe denied any knowledge of Shearer or the manslaughter charge and remained incarcerated with her daughter. Mellon's family is awaiting results of an autopsy and toxicology tests being conducted by the Mexican government, Mr. [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. . According to the 1870 census, George and his wife, Mary Jane, were neighbors of. 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. My grandfather, who is approaching 80 years old, is always full of great stories but, he assured me that his father, who passed this on to him, knew of what really happened. Mound City was founded in 1855. of murdering several husbands, but none of these rumors were ever proven. The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, from May 1871 to December 1872. Tole reported the fact to the township trustee, but because of inclement weather, several days lapsed before the abandonment could be investigated. 1) May 1871: Mr. Jones. [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. The St. Joseph Weekly Gazette (St. Joseph, Missouri). The Mellon Foundation has committed more than $200 million to arts and humanities nonprofits devastated by COVID-19. The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. They buried their victims in a neighboring orchard, unbeknownst to the townspeople. It was named from Sugar Mound nearby, a hill covered with sugar maple trees. During the Civil War, a military post was established at Mound City. 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. KANSAS HISTORICAL MARKER THE MELLON MOUNDS. [2], Testimony from people who had stayed at the Benders' inn and had managed to escape before they could be killed appeared to support the presumed execution method of the Benders. "The old man was a repulsive, hideous brute, without a redeeming trait, dirty, profane and ill-tempered." . 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". The story of the Benders' escape spread, and the search continued on and off for the next 50 years. The body was then dropped through the trap door. Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. Several weeks after the discovery of the bodies, Addison Roach and his son-in-law, William Buxton, were arrested as accessories. The body of a young girl was found with no injuries sufficient to cause death. 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. Ontario had the highest population of Mellon families in 1911. 1855-1925 Kansas Census Indexes. The front section also contained the kitchen and dining table, where travelers could stop for a meal or even spend the night. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and spiritualist. Buried in the apple orchard. "Young Bender, seen when excited, recalled the grave-robbing hyena at once to mind." A Kansas archaeology professor believes he's found the lost city of Etzanoa, spurring a rethinking of traditional views on the Native Americans' early settlement of the Midwest. State Senator Alexander York offered a $1,000 ($21,342 as of 2021) reward for the Bender family's arrest. [1][11][12][13][14][15][16], By including the recovered body parts not matched to the bodies found, the finds are speculated to represent the remains of more than 20 victims. [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. $38 (2021: $811) and a wagon with a team of horses missing. 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. [1][2][3] Despite York's strong suspicions regarding the Benders since his visit several weeks earlier, no one had watched them, and it was not noticed for several days that they had fled. Grants Database. [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. Later, she married William Stephen Griffith. 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". [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. While there is no definitive number, estimates report that the Benders killed at least a dozen travelers before their crimes were discovered. In 1911 there were 58 Mellon families living in Ontario. 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. Indexes for all of these censuses available online on our research room computers at ancestry.com. 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. 6) December 1872: Henry McKenzie. (A historical marker located in Morehead in Montgomery County, Kansas.) 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. Many stories say that one vigilante group actually caught the Benders and shot all of them but Kate, whom they burned alive. It was once the home of the Mellon family – Andrew and Rebecca and their young son Thomas – before they emigrated to America in 1818. 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. Colonel York agreed that this was possible and remained for dinner. While Bender mythology holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported that several of the Benders' neighbors had stated that they claimed to be married, possibly a common law marriage. 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. 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. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and spiritualist. The parts did not belong to any of the other victims found and are believed to belong to at least three additional victims. to be Elvira's fifth daughter. to have been born John Flickinger. Eyewitness testimony was given that Mrs. Monroe was Ma Bender. She mentioned stopping at the inn, as well as recounting the rumors of the murders spreading through their community. 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. The present generation is the third to be born in this coun try. [9], More than a dozen bullet holes were found in the roof and sides of the cabin. 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]. She advocated "free love," and denounced all social regulations for the promotion of purity and the prevention of carnality, which she called "miserable requirements of self-constituted society." Vol. The search of the cabin resulted in the recovery of three hammers: a shoe hammer, a claw hammer, and a sledgehammer that appeared to match indentations in some of the skulls. By the time a deputy from Cherryvale arrived, identification was impossible due to decomposition. 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. Season 1, episode 15 (2006) of the TV series, The "Hitchcock's Birds, Hope Diamond, Phineas Gang" episode of the Travel Channel's show, The Bender Family is mentioned in episode 94 of the podcast. All four had crushed skulls and throats cut. Ridge-top burial mounds were placed along Cahokia’s central organizing grid, marked by the Rattlesnake Causeway, and along the city limits. Kate's popularity became a large attraction for the Benders' inn. Buried in the apple orchard. On October 25, 1864, Mound City was attacked twice by Confederates retreating south after their defeat at the Battle of Westport.The military post was closed and abandoned in June 1865 after the end of the war. Kansas Vital records Home of the Jayhawkers. This historical marker was erected by Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. [1][2] Although some of the victims had been quite wealthy, others had been carrying little of value on them, and it was surmised that the Benders had killed them simply for the sheer thrill. The Mellon family fortune originated with Mellon Bank, founded in 1869. 12) December 1872: Abigail Roberts. 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. No documentation or definitive proof of their relationships to one another, or where they were born, has ever been found. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. This was about 56% of all the recorded Mellon's in Canada. Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. Elvira was suspected[by whom?] James Mellon was the son of the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of wealthy and influential Mellon family; He built the house in Palatka, Putnam County, Florida in 1883 to …. From there, they traveled to an outlaw colony thought to be in the border region between Texas and New Mexico. 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. In mid-October, Deputy Sheriff LeRoy Dick, the Osage Township trustee who had headed the search of the Bender property, arrived in Michigan and arrested the couple on October 30, following their release on the larceny charges. At this point, the customers began to feel uneasy and decided to leave, a move that almost certainly saved their lives. The men then physically lifted the cabin and moved it to the side so they could dig under it, but no bodies were found. Kate then became abusive toward them, and a short while later the two Bender men emerged from behind the cloth. When the party arrived at the inn they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. 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. Judge Calvin dismissed Mary Gardei's affidavit as she was a "chip off the old block"; he found that other affidavits supporting Gardei's were sufficient proof that the women could never be convicted, however, and he discharged them both. Kansas County Marriages, 1855-1911 Ancestry . "Kate proclaimed herself responsible to no one save herself." The township trustee called for volunteers, and several hundred turned out to form a search party that included Colonel York. Mrs. Monroe resisted, declaring that she would not be taken alive, but was subdued by local deputies. ?," "big slaughter day, Jan eighth", and "hell departed. [7], A bad odor was noticed and traced to a trap door underneath a bed, nailed shut. McCrotty. 2-3) February 1872: Two unidentified men found on the prairie in February 1872 with crushed skulls and throats cut. $10 (2021: $213), a, 8-9) December 1872: George Newton Longcor and his 18-month-old daughter, Mary Ann. 13-15) December 1872: Various body parts. . Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. Linn County, Kansas marriages, 1855-1884 Family History Library . 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 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. When he did speak it, it was so guttural that it was usually unintelligible. Secretly, the four made a living through murder and robbery. When a traveler was seated at the table, his head was outlined against the curtain. The most Mellon families were found in the USA in 1880. 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. 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". The Benders were widely believed to be German immigrants. mellon family murders kansas. No one ever claimed the $3,000 reward ($64,025 as of 2021), however. From Howard County, Kansas. The following is a list of indexes to Kansas state censuses, which are available in the State Archives research room in Topeka. [11] Whether John Flickinger was really John Bender is unknown. 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. Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy's bribery of state legislators in his bid for re-election. Kansas, Compiled Marriage Index from Select Counties, 1854-1873 Ancestry . "[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. 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. A county census was also completed at the time of application for county organization. Often, two women traveling together were accused of being Kate Bender and her mother.[10]. On October 31, 1889, it was reported that a Mrs. Almira Monroe (a.k.a. Some say they escaped, others that the were executed by a vengeful posse. XLIV, No. They admitted Dr. York had stayed with them and suggested the possibility that he had run into trouble with Indians. . The Mellon family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. Despite the lack of identification, the man's skull was displayed as that of "Pa Bender" in a Salmon saloon until Prohibition forced its closure in 1920 and the skull disappeared. . The texts read "Johannah Bender. A self-proclaimed healer and psychic, she distributed flyers advertising her supernatural powers and her ability to cure illnesses. 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. Mellon Acres has been serving the Kansas City, Missouri area for several years and is nestled on a 32-acre private rustic estate, offering a scenic, countryside backdrop with all the modern comforts and conveniences. Buried in the apple orchard. By 1873, reports of missing people who had passed through the area had become so common that travelers began to avoid the trail. In 1937 she gave a speech at a book fair, which was later transcribed and printed in the September 1978 Saturday Evening Post and in the 1988 book A Little House Sampler. 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. Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family - John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate - who settled here in 1871. 11) December 1872: Red Smith. It is conjectured[by whom?] Much folklore and legend surrounds the Benders, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. 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], The Ingalls family, made famous in the books and television series Little House on the Prairie, lived near Independence, and Laura Ingalls Wilder mentioned the Bender family in her writing and speeches. Many of these censuses survive, and some are housed at the Kansas State Historical Society. . Mellon Contact Services (then Mellon Collection Services) was ranked 12th in the top 20 of the 2008 Best Workplaces Hellas list. The most Mellon families were found in the USA in 1880. Mrs. Almira Griffith) and Mrs. Sarah Eliza Davis had been arrested in Niles, Michigan (often misreported as Detroit) several weeks earlier for larceny. Records of the incarceration back up this affidavit. 16-19) December 1872: During the search, the bodies of four unidentified males were found in Drum Creek and the surrounds. On May 17, Kansas Governor Thomas A. Osborn offered a $2,000 ($42,683 as of 2021) reward for the apprehension of all four. Bright said. In total, 12 men "of bad repute in general" would be arrested, including Brockman. 1870-1873", Sheriff Saves the Neck of a Man Who Murdered His Own Daughter, http://www.murderbygaslight.com/2010/11/bloody-benders.html, Scan of Chicago Daily Tribune, October 31, 1889, "The Bloody Benders: 140-year-old crime scene still fascinates today", "Selective Omissions, or, What Laura Ingalls Wilder left out of LITTLE HOUSE", "Little House on the Prairie, serial killers, and the nature of memoir", "They Bite: Anthony Boucher's Weirder Western", "Hitchcock's Birds, Hope Diamond, Phineas Gage", "One Red Dead Redemption 2 Side Quest Is Based On An Actual Serial Killer", 1873 map of Bender claim in Osage township of Labette County, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloody_Benders&oldid=1004795790, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Yet another claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. One might have been Jack Bogart, whose horse was purchased from a friend of the Benders after he went missing in 1872. Although the elder Benders kept to themselves, Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove. 1811-1911 Kansas County Marriages Ancestry . 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. From elopements to the all-out wedding extravaganza, Mellon Acres caters to your needs with a compassionate staff. This page was last edited on 4 February 2021, at 12:37. Colonel York, leading a company of some fifty men, questioned every traveler along the trail and visited all the area homesteads. After the third hanging, they released him and he staggered home "as one who was drunken or deranged". [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. [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. The Bender Family—Some New Light on Their Mysterious Disappearance. Both knew of William's travel plans and, when he failed to return home, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. Outside the entrance to The Barton Arms, a Kansas Historical Marker plaque for “The Mellon Mounds” recounts the story of the Mellon family, who … 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. A message requesting positive identification was sent to Cherryvale, but the suspect severed his foot to escape his leg irons and bled to death. 2007. In 1856, Hiatt, his wife and five children moved to Kansas Territory settling in Bloomington.Shortly after his arrival, Hiatt and two other men operated a saw mill but within a year Hiatt decided to move on and transported his family seven miles southwest. All had been involved in disposing of the victims' stolen goods with Mit Cherry, a member of the vigilance committee, implicated for forging a letter from one of the victims, informing the man's wife that he had arrived safely at his destination in Illinois. Mellon is a dynamic multinational group providing technology solutions, contact centre and outsourcing services that aim to facilitate the transactions and interactions of … Learn more . It was speculated that she had been strangled or buried alive. This was about 28% of all the recorded Mellon's in the UK. Kansas City, Kansas: Downtown Burial Mound A Native American ancestral grave site, left in place as the streets bend around it. 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. Secretly, the four made a living through murder and robbery. John Bender, Sr. was around 60 years old and spoke very little English. From those who knew them and have written about them, we gather the following: 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. They disappeared in the spring of 1873, shortly before inquisitive neighbors discovered the victims' bodies. The Bender artifacts were eventually given to the Cherryvale Museum, where they remain in a wall-mounted display case. 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. In 1891 there were 183 Mellon families living in Lancashire. Several groups of vigilantes were formed to search for the Benders. In the spring of 1873, Longcor's former neighbor, Dr. William Henry York, went looking for them and questioned homesteaders along the trail. The Mellon family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. She also conducted séances and gave lectures on spiritualism, for which she gained notoriety for advocating free love. Lancashire had the highest population of Mellon families in 1891. 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. Their murders were carried out by use of a canvas curtain that divided the house into two rooms. 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. Dr. York reached Fort Scott, and on March 9 began the return journey to Independence but never arrived home. His family was from the Cherryvale, Kansas area and the story involves a group of men that found the Benders and were in a gunfight with them, one of whom was a judge that lost part of his ear in the gun battle.
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