A moment of joy between a Dover couple was shattered by a drunken driver on Wooster Road. Verna C. Dawson (1892–1923) was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, the daughter of Robert E. Dawson (1862–1916) and Etta Little Dawson (1874–1949). Her father, once employed at a pipe works in Newcomerstown, later returned to farming as theContinue reading “Adam Lantzer and The Newlywed Killing of 1913”
Tag Archives: murder
The Carnival Murder of 1912
When a carnival rolled into Newcomerstown in 1912, it left behind a dead man and a vanished killer. Documenting the life of Elix Vandil (1884-1912), known variously in American records as Alex Bender, Alex Raudel, and Alexander Vendel, illustrates the significant challenges faced when tracing the paths of recent immigrants at the turn of theContinue reading “The Carnival Murder of 1912”
No Justice for Mary Cirillo Shundry
On Thanksgiving Eve 1932, a young mother’s life was violently ended in a rural Tuscarawas County boarding house. Mary Marie Solvey (1907-1932) was born in, 1907 in Coshocton County, Ohio, to Sicilian immigrants Francesco “Frank” Argento (1877-1953) and Rosa “Rose” Mercurio Argento (1879-1921). Her parents married in Sicily in 1903 and arrived in the UnitedContinue reading “No Justice for Mary Cirillo Shundry”
The Poisoning of Mary Hoffman
A Tuscarawas County immigrant couple’s quiet farm life was shattered with arsenic and suicide in 1855. Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for resources to find helpContinue reading “The Poisoning of Mary Hoffman”
Frank Burns and a Christmas Eve Murder on Depot Street
A quiet laborer in Dover, Ohio, Frank Burns became the unintended victim of a Christmas Eve shooting in 1943. Note: The Clakley surname is spelled a number of different ways in the various source material. I have chosen the spelling that appeared in the official criminal court records. Frank C. Burns was born in Milton,Continue reading “Frank Burns and a Christmas Eve Murder on Depot Street”
Jealous and Armed: The Murder of Ruth Moore
Ruth Moore’s life ended in violence after suspicion and jealousy turned her husband into a murderer. Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for resources to find helpContinue reading “Jealous and Armed: The Murder of Ruth Moore”
Innocence Buried: The Feutz Tragedy of 1935
The lives of a Dover family unraveled in 1935 with a secret birth and a tragic crime. Content warning: The post contains discussion of infanticide. Mary Warther (1887-1969) was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, the daughter of Swiss immigrants Jacob Godfrey Warther (1844-1888) and Elizabeth Anna Haney (1855-1938). Her early years were marked by theContinue reading “Innocence Buried: The Feutz Tragedy of 1935”
Jealousy on the Farm: The 1940 Murder of Nellie Kail
A devoted farm wife, a jealous husband, and a fatal morning confrontation – unraveling the tragic, forgotten story of Nellie Vansickle Kail. Content warning: If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for resources to findContinue reading “Jealousy on the Farm: The 1940 Murder of Nellie Kail”
A Killing in Dennison: The Story of Minnie Adkins
Minnie Adkins—a young Black mother and domestic worker—sparked a rare wave of public sympathy after she shot and killed a white man who threatened her. Minnie Williamson (1884-aft. 1950) was born in 1884 in North Carolina to Bedford Williamson and Della Willis. One of nine siblings, Minnie came of age in the post-Reconstruction South asContinue reading “A Killing in Dennison: The Story of Minnie Adkins”
A Georgian in Uhrichsville: The Murder of Mayfield Mallory
During the Great Migration, a period of American history when millions of Black southerners moved to find work in the industrialized cities of the north, many found themselves in the Twin Cities of Dennison and Uhrichsville, Ohio. This is the sad story of one of those men. According to United States Census records, in 1920Continue reading “A Georgian in Uhrichsville: The Murder of Mayfield Mallory”
Tuscarawas County Stories 