Elijah Walker HALFORD was my great-uncle, born in England (1843),
emigrated to Hamilton, Ohio as a child (1848), and grew to adulthood in
Indianapolis, Indiana (1880 Federal Census). Among his papers in the
Library of Congress is a letter to his sister Maria Ann (m. John
SPALDING) about the death in 1865 of their youngest brother George.
I need lots of help in answering questions about this tragedy.
Let me summarize the tale told in the letter. (Email me if youd like a
scan and/or a transcription of the letter.) Early on the morning of May
19, 1865, 12 year old George Curtis HALFORD ("Georgie") and his 14 year
old brother Albert James ("Jimmie", my ggrandfather) left the
Indianapolis home that they shared with Elijah and their mother Maria
Ann. Their destination was the Circle Street office of the Indianapolis
Journal, the newspaper where Elijah worked and for which he would
eventually serve as editor.
Jimmie reached the Journal office but Georgie never would. One Patrick
FLYNN (described as a "drunken rowdy") discharged his pistol and the
ball struck Georgie behind his right temple. Georgie "fell right in his
tracks" mortally wounded. He was taken to the MAYHEW house, where he
died within 20 minutes, just after Elijah's arrival but before his
Mother could reach him. A Coroner's Inquest held either May 19th or May
20th ruled the death a manslaughter, for which Patrick FLYNN was bound
for trial. Georgie was buried in Indianapolis on Sunday, May 21, 1865.
Elijah advises his sister Maria that he would have Georgie buried in the
Hamilton, Ohio (where their father Elijah HALFORD had died in 1854) but
owing to her poor health, he will instead send their Mother to her in
Champaign, Illinois. He hopes that Georgie can be reinterred in Hamilton
when Maria regains her health.
OK, here's some questions on which I could really use some help:
1) Where in 1865 Indianapolis did Elijah and his family reside and how
far was their home from the Journal office on Circle Street?
2) Who was Patrick FLYNN, how old was he in 1865, where had he come
from, and what was his occupation?
3) What jobs did Elijah, Jimmie, and Georgie have with the Indianapolis
Journal in May 1865?
4) Are there county or city records of an April 1865 Coroner's Inquest
on the death of George Curtis HALFORD?
5) Are their trial records for Patrick FLYNN on the charge of
manslaughter?
6) What accounts of the shooting, inquest, funeral, and/or trial
appeared in the Indianapolis press, including the Journal?
7) Where was George Curtis HALFORD buried in Indianapolis on May 21,
1865?
8) Was there a HALFORD burial site or vault in Hamilton, Ohio in 1865?
9) What was the composition and livelihood of family the family of John
and Maria SPALDING in Champaign, Illinois in 1865?
I know I've posed a boatload of questions but I hope that family
historians with a bent for detective work might find these interesting.
Hope to hear from one and all!
Robert Halford Woodson
adm1rw(a)ttuhsc.edu