The Hood River Glacier, Hood River, Oregon, continued the saga with results of the trial of Jim Green for the murder of Edson V. Benjamin on April 19, 1901, page 2. (Fast trials back then.)

MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE

    “Stevenson, Wash., April 13. – James G. Green was found guilty of murdering E.V. Benjamin at Wendorf’s near Underwood’s landing, March 24. The jury returned a verdict of murder in the first degree after delivering 45 minutes. Although the verdict was received in stolid silence by the defendant, he had broken down during the trial and had made an open confession of his crime. A new trial will be asked for. It was the sight of the widow of the murdered Benjamin with her great sorrow, that unnerved Green and caused him to alter his mind as to fighting the cause to the end. After the session of the first day he called his counsel and Judge Miller, and declared that he wanted to trial over as soon as possible, as he was unable to bear the sight of Mrs. Benjamin’s grief.

    “I killed Benjamin,” said Green, “and should receive the punishment. I want to plead guilty and hang here in Stevenson. Benjamin is dead, but I can’t stand the sight of Mrs. Benjamin in the court room.”

    “This being the desire of the confessed murderer to have the agony of the trial over, the prosecution cut short the testimony to be introduced, and this gave Green an opportunity to take the stand and tell his story. He began by stating that he was 31 years old, and then spoke of his visit to the Hayne’s home and his departure from there at 11 o’clock at night for his logging camp.”

   “When I came to Wendorf’s I saw a light. I looked in through the window and noticed Benjamin sitting there with Nellie Brown, and I raised my gun and shot him. I didn’t realize what I had done until I seen him fall back, then I went to Haynes’ and told what Mrs. Haynes swore to yesterday. We had emptied a couple of bottles of whiskey. I had one bottle with me, about at drank in it, which I finished on the road. I didn’t know there was a dance at Wendorf’s place nor the whereabouts of Benjamin. I was told he had moved to a logging camp on the White Salmon, 18 miles away. I had no trouble with Benjamin, nothing serious. We had trouble one time and fixed it up, and shook hands over it, and was as good friends as ever. I have known Nellie Brown for three years. Three months after I first met her we were engaged. This lasted until New Year’s of 1901.

    “Asked if Benjamin was the cause of the breaking of the engagement, Green declined to express himself, stating that he did not desire to make any exposures. When asked what his feelings were toward Nellie Brown, the defendant broke down and cried, replying that he loved the woman better than his life.

    “Counsel for the defense argued for a verdict of murder in the second degree, as he said there was no testimony showing the deed to have been premeditated. The prosecution demanded conviction in the first degree or acquittal. It required the jury but 45 minutes to return a verdict of murder in the first degree.

    “When he realized that his fate was sealed, Green’s desire to be hanged immediately at Stevenson underwent a change, and he requested his attorneys to fight the case as hard as possible, and ask for a new trial. Green has been returned to Vancouver pending the decision on the motion and sentence.”

Edson was my first cousin, four times removed, so not quite as distant as I first thought. He and Jennie had no children to carry on the story, and I learned of it through an email via Find A grave from a person who documents the area.  He had already done some research, and I had some in place, such as Edson’s parents and ancestors, plus I did more research and found the additional news stories. I am so glad that Edson’s story can finally be told!

We really don’t know much about Edson’s wife Jennie. She was the daughter of  James B. Munger and Julia A. (maiden name unknown, born Ireland in Feb of 1837). Jennie was born in Jan 1866 in New Jersey. She married Edson Benjamin 4 Mar 1887 in Polk Co., Nebraska. (Polk Co. Marriage Records vol 2, p 59) Jennie was just 34 when the Underwood Landing tragedy took her husband in 1901. She remarried  18 Feb 1908 to Alfred P. Slade (1867-1930) in Multnomah, Oregon; it was his second marriage as well. (He may have been married to Mattie MNU and had a step-child, Rebecka Clifton, living with them in the 1900 US Federal Census for Dayton, Yamhill, Oregon. This needs to be confirmed that it is the same person, as no occupation listed.)  Alfred was listed as an orchardist/fruit farmer in the 1910 and 1920 US Federal Censuses, and he owned his farm. By 1926 they had moved to 1588 Ellmore in Portland, Oregon, where Alfred was a tire maker at age 59. No children are listed in any of the censuses of Alfred and Jennie, and as they were both about 42 when married, they may not have ever had children.

Jennie died on 04 July 1927 in Aberdeen, Gray’s Harbor, Washington. Alfred became a boarder and was living in Portland still at the 1930 US Federal Census. He was a laborer doing odd jobs at age 62 in April of 1930. We have been unable to find death information for him, though an Alfred P. Slade is listed in FAG in Darke, Ohio, where Alfred was born; this person, however, may be his father.

[Editor’s Note re: updates-  See “I warn everybody to keep out of such scrapes.” – the murderer of Edson Benjamin, published 26 Feb 2015. Also, Ancestry.com has transferred Martha “Jennie” Munger Benjamin Slade’s Find A Grave memorial to me, so now that is updated as well.]

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Historic Oregon Newspapers:

The Hood River Glacier, April 19, 1901, Vol. 12, No. 48, Page 2, Column 1. Public domain. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1901-04-19/ed-1/seq-2/

2) 1910 US Federal Census for the Slades- Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: East Hood River, Hood River, Oregon; Roll: T624_1278; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0084; FHL microfilm: 1375291. Ancestry.com, accessed 10/22/14.

3) 1920 US Federal Census for the Slades- Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Hood River, Hood River, Oregon; Roll: T625_1494; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 77; Image: 826. Ancestry.com, accessed 10/22/14.

4) Portland, Oregon City Directory- Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed 10/22/14.

5) 1930 US Federal census for Alfred P. Slade- Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Portland, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: 1954; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0551; Image: 1109.0; FHL microfilm: 2341688. Ancestry.com, accessed 10/22/14.

6) 1900 US Federal census for Alfred P. Slade and Mattie MNU- Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Dayton, Yamhill, Oregon; Roll: 1353; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0166; FHL microfilm: 1241353. Accessed via Ancestry.com on 10/22/14.

7) Jennie Munger Benjamin Slade’s Find A Grave memorial # 62763729 has her name listed incorrectly, but the keeper of the memorial has passed on and I have been unable to get it changed over to correct and add information. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Benjamin&GSiman=1&GScid=38938&GRid=62763729&

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The Hood River Glacier, March 29, 1901, Vol. 12, No. 45, Page 2, Column 1, tells a bit more of the story of the murder of Edson V. Benjamin:

“TRAGEDY AT UNDERWOOD LANDING”

     “A cowardly murder occurred at Underwood Landing, Wash., opposite Hood River, Saturday night, March 23rd. Edson Benjamin of Hood River was shot and instantly killed by someone who fired through the window. The tragedy took place at Wm. Wendorf’s house, 1½ miles from Underwood. Benjamin was in the employ of Nicolai & Cameron as foreman of their logging camp. The camp was preparing to move to a new location above the falls of the White Salmon, and a dance was given as a farewell party to the loggers by their friends in the neighborhood. The dance was held in Wendorf’s barn and the supper was given in the residence. At the third table was seated Edson Benjamin, L.W. Jones, Wm. Wendorf, Mrs. Harry Olsen and Mrs. Nellie Brown. Mrs. Brown had been waiting upon the tables and had just sat down alongside Benjamin and was serving coffee when a shot was fired through the window, striking Benjamin in the head and passing through, a part of the ball struck Mrs. Brown on the shoulder. Benjamin fell to the floor and expired without a word. Mrs. Brown’s injury was slight. L. W. Jones immediately went to the barn, were dancing had been resumed, and informed the dancers of the shooting. The men all turned out and hunted for the assassin but he could not be found. Suspicion immediately rested upon a logger named Jim Green, who had had some trouble with Benjamin and threatened his life. Green was in love with a woman who recently rejected his advances and it is supposed to this caused him to become intensely jealous. Edson Benjamin moved from The Dalles to Hood River about two years ago, and about one year ago bought the Dan Smith place on the East Side. He was a man well spoken of by all who knew him. He leaves a widow. His age was about 38, and he was a native of Illinois. The A.O.U.W. lodge of The Dalles, of which he was a member, took charge of the funeral and he was buried at The Dalles Tuesday.

    The coroner came up from Stevenson Sunday, and we understand the jury found a verdict in accordance with the above facts and charged Green as being the murderer.

    Sheriff Totten came up from Stevenson Sunday and with deputies commenced a search for Green. Green was hid in the woods. Tuesday, as the officers passed his near his hiding place, he came out and gave himself up and confessed to the murder. He was brought to Hood River Tuesday evening and taken to The Dalles, and Wednesday morning was taken to Vancouver, where a special term of court will convene for his trial.”

Three additional paragraphs were in the paper that day concerning the murder:

   ” Hood River gets the credit abroad for the cowardly murder at Underwood, Wash., because the dispatches concerning the tragedy were sent from here, the nearest telegraph or telephone station. Hood River isn’t a bit proud of its undue prominence in connection with the affair.”

   ” The citizens of Underwood, Wash., are to be congratulated upon the law-abiding spirit shown when the confessed murderer, Jim Green, was captured. Consdiering the fact that Green was cordially hated and feared by his neighbors, and his victim correspondingly loved and respected, lynching might have resulted.”

     “It is said there are some very badly scared citizens of Underwood after it was learned that Jim Green had killed Benjamin. One young man turned gray in a night. Another, a young man who had loaned Green a gun, fearing arrest as an accomplice, swallowed a big dose of carbolic acid in a quart of cider with suicidal intent. The cider acted as an antidote and as an emetic, and the youth will live to get scared another day. The only person heard of showing any presence of mind during the excitement of the affair was Mrs. Brown, who, after the fatal shot was fired, blew out the lamp so that the assassin could not see into the room to shoot again.”

Interestingly, another related paragraph appears on page 3 of this same issue, but does not even mention the murder:

See Part 2 of this series for the pictures. Sadly, I have found no pictures of Edson or his wife Jennie (Munger) Benjamin, nor can I find a funeral notice.

Tomorrow: the trial.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Historic Oregon Newspapers:

http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1901-03-29/ed-1/seq-2/

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The story of Edson V. Benjamin’s murder continues in the Portland, Oregon newspaper- even back in 1901, the old journalist’s maxim, “If it bleeds, let it lead” was in force, as it is still today- we just have so many more media outlets.

Sadly, there is no picture of Edson Benjamin that I could find- that would have been the least they could do to honor him.

This article is not transcribed- please click to enlarge all the sections from the paper if needed.

Circumstantial evidence seems to abound here, and be taken as truth in the Wild West of Oregon, even as late as the early 1900s.

Poor Mrs. Nellie Brown- she was a young woman, already divorced once and having to deal with domestic violence with her fiancé Jim Green, which worsened once they broke up. “Marked as an object of assassination…”- what horrible words. It is so sad that in our country and around the world today, women still sometimes fear for their life even though they have loved the person.

Poor Edson- loggers are tough guys, but to have to deal with Jim Green’s behavior- well, that shows the character of the man when Edson gave his would-be-killer-at-the-time his hand to help him up after a fall.

It almost sounds like high school jealousy drama, but sadly was real life in 1901.

How gruesome- Edson’s body still lying where he fell. There is no mention of his wife until the trial- wonder if she rushed to stay beside him while those ‘in charge’ were trying to decide what to do.

The saga continues tomorrow…

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Historic Oregon Newspapers:

The Morning Oregonian, March 26, 1901, Vol, c1-3http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1901-03-26/ed-1/seq-4/

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A murder in the family? So heartbreaking, but true. (Thankfully not a murderER.) Distant, in relationship as well as time, it is still a sad tale that should be told, especially since Edson V. Benjamin had no descendants to pass on his story due to his untimely death.

It was 1863, on a cold day after two years of turmoil in our nation with two more years of civil war to follow, that Edson Benjamin was the first child born to Jonathan Felix Benjamin (1838-1913) and Hannah E. Marple Benjamin (1842-1900). Ohio on 29 Jan 1863 was a state with mixed sympathies over slavery and the war, and in July of that year the inhabitants would be terrorized by the Confederate bands of Morgan’s Raiders. The Benjamins probably lived in some of the areas where the raiders pillaged businesses, houses, and farms, “procuring” supplies like food and horses as well as other spoils of war, leaving the area inhabitants hungry and without supplies, and soldiers and citizens dead. This turmoil was nothing new for the Benjamins, however: Edson was the grandson of Jonathan N. Benjamin (1799-1876) and Hannah E. Ford (1798-1891), themselves frontiers people and descendants of Indian fighters, Indian captives,  Revolutionary War veterans, as well as veterans of the War of 1812.

After the war, Edson’s family and his grandparents migrated to Jasper County, Iowa, in covered wagons, probably about 1867. By the 1870 US Federal Census, seven-year old Edson was found with his family living in the same household as his paternal grandparents, Jonathan N. and Hannah E. (Ford) Benjamin in Malaka Township Jasper County, Iowa.

At age 17 Edson was listed on the US Federal Census as a farmer, living with his parents and siblings on a farm in Twin Lakes, Calhoun, Iowa, about 150 miles northwest of Jasper County, on June 9th. In 1885, the Iowa State Census lists him as a single man living in Rockwell, Twin Lakes, Calhoun County, Iowa. He was entitled to vote but also subject to military duty.

Edson married Martha “Jennie” Munger, daughter of Irish immigrants, about 1888 per the 1900 US Federal Census when they had Jennie’s mother living with them; they had no children. They had moved to Hood River, Wasco, Oregon, and purchased a place there about 1899. Previously, they had lived in  The Dalles, Oregon, to which they had migrated about 1897. (No information yet found on the time between 1885-1897.)

Edson was working as a logger and then the foreman of a logging camp in 1901. The camps traveled around Oregon and Washington state as they cleared the forest. Edson was well-liked and much respected by his coworkers and neighbors… except for one.

The newspapers tell the story best, but that will need to be in my next posts…

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) My Find A Grave Memorial #  with help from research done by ColumbiaGypsy and shared with all.

2) Morgan’s Raid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan%27s_Raid

3) 1880 US Federel Census- Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Twin Lakes, Calhoun, Iowa; Roll: 330; Family History Film: 1254330; Page: 285B; Enumeration District: 025; Image: 0313.

4) 1880 non-population schedule for Columbia, Washington: Source Citation: Census Year: 1880; Census Place: District 3, Columbia, Washington; Archive Collection Number: A1154; Roll: 6; Page: 4; Line: 01; Schedule Type: Agriculture. (Interestingly, an “E. Benjamin” was also listed  on 7 June 1880 on the US Federal Non-Population Schedule – more research is needed to clarify these entries, which include a William Benjamin- Edson had a brother named William, but that is a common name- on the same page in Columbia, Washington, where Edson later lived.)

5) 1885 Iowa State census- Source Information: Quigg, Gary, comp.. Iowa, State Census 1885 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.

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