Jacob Fisher's Suicide

New York, 1895

Shot Himself Before the Eyes of the Woman Who Jilted Him.

Jacob Fisher, aged 26, a brass moulder of Brooklyn, committed suicide Monday afternoon by shooting himself through the head at the residence of Mrs. Rother, a married sister of his, at Evergreen, Newtown. His father said that the only reason for his son's deed that he could imagine was that the young man had been jilted in love by a young woman. A week ago she married a man by the name of Keeler, and the couple went to live in Mrs. Rother's house.

Young Fisher left his father's house early Monday morning to visit his sister. Mrs. Rother noticed that he did not seem to be in good spirits. About 2 o'clock she went out in the yard on an errand. She had barely left the room when she heard the report of a pistol shot, and, running back, found her brother lying at the foot of the stairs leading to Mrs. Keeler's room. It is thought that he heard Mrs. Keeler coming down stairs, and that he hurried to the hallway and shot himself before the eyes of his former sweetheart.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Feb. 8, 1895, p. 12.

Shot By His Old Rival

New York, 1895

Giaginto's Unrelenting Hate for the Man Who Won his Sweetheart.

With a bullet hole in the left breast of his overcoat and a battered leaden pellet in his pocket, Joseph Schiavello, of Astoria, appeared before Justice Duffy in the Long Island City police court on Friday and asked for a warrant for the arrest of Carnetto Giaginto. The hostile feeling between the two men, according to Schiavello, dates back eight years, when he married Giaginto's sweetheart in Italy and came to this country. Giaginto, who swore he would be revenged, followed them.

The two men met in New York, and Schiavello asserts that Giaginto attempted to shoot him, and spent six months in jail in consequence. The two men met again in Astoria Thursday night. Giaginto whipped out his pistol and blazed away at his rival. The bullet cut a hole through his coat, and glancing along one of his ribs, came out at the breast bone. The wound is not dangerous. Giaginto has escaped, but a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Feb. 1, 1895, p. 12.

Mr. Ketcham Wants a Divorce

New York, 1895

George W. Ketcham, jr., of Northport, seeks a divorce from his wife, Luella M. Ketcham, naming Michael Rannay as corespondent. Mrs. Ketcham left her home suddenly on the night of January 2, and, with Ranney, went to Brooklyn and set up housekeeping.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Jan. 25, 1895, p. 1.

Hold Girl for Slaying Rival

1920

DETROIT, Michigan. — Eleanor Greer, 33, is dead and Birdie Bradford, 18-year-old girl, is held by police following a revolver duel, which the officers say, resulted from a quarrel over a man at a rooming house here.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 5.

Wife Finds Right Key to Hubby's Love Code

1916

His Clandestine Missives Then Read Like Open Book to Indignant Spouse.

SAN FRANCISCO, California — A code used by Chester J. Capps of this city in writing affectionate letters to other women fell into the hands of Mrs. Eunice Capps, his wife, and thereafter the little love missives became to his wife an open book. The letters written in the code language were introduced in evidence before Superior Judge Deasy when Mrs. Capps was granted a divorce on the ground of cruelty.

Capps, an employe of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, invented his code to carry on a correspondence with Grace Durbrow of Fresno. The directions for its use are as follows:

"Write each word backward and add a letter both before and after, so when you read it, all you have to do is leave off the first and last letters of each word and read it backward, as follows:

"A-d-n-a-t spells and, with the first and last letters stricken out. "A-l-l-i-w-y, d-e-e-s-o, s-u-o-y-a, s-n-o-o-s-a."

The code fell into the hands of Mrs. Capps when the young woman to whom it was addressed found that Capps was a married man. Accompanying the letter addressed to Mrs. Capps and containing the code was a copy of a letter addressed to Capps which read:

"I have just heard that you have a wife with whom you are living in San Francisco. You are a liar and a scoundrel and tarring and feathering is too good for you."

Investigation started by Mrs. Capps brought to light letters which her husband had received and written to several other women and these were introduced in evidence. There was introduced in evidence also a lock of chestnut hair which Mrs. Capps found in a locket her husband wore as a watch charm, and a dainty handkerchief used by another woman.

Capps explained that the handkerchief was his sister's but had no explanation for the hair. The letters also, he told his wife, were merely such as might be written from a brother to a sister.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 4.

Love, Booze, Temper, Murder

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ANOTHER MURDER.

Again Love and Booze and Temper End In Murder—Inquest Held on Saturday.

John Miller, a Slav, was shot and killed during a quarrel at the tipple at Sample Run, near Sample Run schoolhouse. It is the old story of jealousy, maddened by fiery liquor. Miller, it is alleged, was to have been married two weeks ago, but after his sweetheart, Lizzie Telli,[*] had danced with one Pete Horwath she would not live up to her promise, and Miller accused Horwath of meddling and made dire threats of what he would do.

Both men went to Clymer Saturday and both indulged in that which maddens the brain of a sane man, and it is alleged that Miller threatened death to Horwath, who took the precaution to secure a revolver before starting home in the evening.

About 8 o'clock in the evening the men met at Sample Run tipple, where, according to Horwath's testimony, Steve Honesky hit him over the head with some weapon, knocking him down, and as he lay he shot at Honesky, who ran, and then at Miller, who fell. Horwath went to his boarding house and told them he had shot Miller because he was attacked and then went to the office of Squire France to give himself up and prefer charges for assault and battery against Honesky and was met by the latter, who had preceded him to the squire's office to prefer charges against Horwath for the murder of Miller.

Honesky said it was one John Urchuk who struck Horwath. All three men were arrested.

Dr. Ney Prothero, who attended to Pete Horwath's injuries, Oliver Householder, Earl Fleming and Joe Kauffman drove to the scene of accident, and each walking on separate tracks at Sample Run tipple with lanterns Dr. Prothero discovered Miller's body beside track lying on his face and a bullet having entered left chest. The man was still warm but life extinct. The men carefully placed the body in schoolhouse for night and Coroner Gates was notified and at 9 o'clock Saturday morning held an inquest, the jury consisting of Howard Smith, Oliver Householder, Ezra Helman, John Byron, William Laud and Lew Helman.

The jury rendered a verdict as follows: "John Miller came to his death from a gun shot wound, said gun fired by Pete Horwath."

The deceased and accused had been the best of friends and worked in same room in Sample Run mines. But a week ago, September 7, they had words over the girl named Lizzie Tilli, whom Miller intended to marry, but she turned him down for Peter Horwath. Miller had not touched liquor for two years until this time and he started drinking and claimed he and Pete must fight it out for the girl, and the Saturday following he or Pete would marry the girl, depending on who survived.

Miller was dead Saturday, September 14, the girl fled to Barnesboro two days previous and Peter Horwath, Steve Honesky and John Urchuk all lodged in Indiana jail to await the decision of the December court.

--The Indiana Weekly Messenger, Indiana, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1907, page 1.

[*] Lizzie's last name is spelled two different ways, Tilli and Telli. A couple other papers from the region only have Telli. But in one, the Indiana County Gazette, Indiana, Pennsylvania, 9-18-1907, Honesky is Honskey and Horwath is Horbat . And I'm not going to sort that all out!