Grandma and Aunt Lydia never spoke about Warren Jury loud enough for anyone to really hear what they were discussing. Fortunately, their brother, Uncle Pat (my great-uncle) would talk. However, if either of his sisters heard him, he would immediately be hushed. Still, stories about Warren, a much younger half-brother of my Great-Grandmother Matilda (Jury) Peelle, circulated in the family.
Family Lore
The Stories
Family lore said that Warren was very spoiled by his mother Harriett (Warner) Jury. He was very demanding and he got whatever he wanted. One example that circulated in the family was that if he wanted chicken for dinner, you went out and killed a chicken no matter if you already had a different meal partially prepared.
His demands did not go away as he grew older. Instead, if anything, they grew stronger. There were stories of him having issues with multiple young women and demanding that they marry him. One story stated that a young lady’s father shot him and they brought him to the Peelle place (his half-sister’s home and the same home where my dad later was born) for the family to care for him. There was even a story that at some point he spent time in Lansing (state prison).
Of course, no one knew any of the details.
The Explanation
Some members of the family believed that his mother may have spoiled him because his two full siblings (her only children) had died in childhood. Warren had just been turning four when his older sister Harriet died and his brother Edgar had died many years before Warren’s birth.
Yet, other members of the family wondered if his mother hadn’t actually spoiled him, but instead had grown afraid of him because he had a bad temper.
Many Answers Lie In The Newspapers
The availability of newspapers online has led to the discovery of at least part of Warren’s story. The newspaper stories are a bit inconsistent. I have tried to capture what appears to be the most accurate version of events that may explain the family lore about Warren Jury.
Valentine’s Day
The Answer Is “No”
On Valentine’s Day morning in 1916, Warren Jury went to get the mail at his mailbox near the Gaulding’s house, which was about a half a mile from his own house. There he encountered Mamie Gaulding, William and Effie Gaulding’s oldest daughter.
The Gaulding family had moved from Johnstown, Nebraska to the Hiattville, Kansas area about three months earlier. When they moved in next door to Warren and his mother, Warren had immediately took a shining to Mamie. He had even courted her on at least a couple of occasions. And, he had even asked her to marry him despite knowing her for such a short time.
When Warren asked Mamie to marry him, she had put him off stating that she would answer him later. Well, it was Valentine’s Day and Warren saw fit to again ask Mamie to marry him. This time she stated that she could not marry him.
At that point, Warren became enraged and accused her father of not liking him. He threatened to “get the whole outfit.”
Notes
William is referred to as William, Frank, and John in various newspaper articles. No explanation has been found for this as neither name matches his middle initial. It is assumed that the incorrect names come from the fact that the family was new to the area and people simply got it wrong or confused him with someone else.
Mamie is referred to as Minnie in some early articles. It is assumed that this is a misunderstanding or misreading of her name.
Warren’s Response
Warren turned and went home. A short time later he went to Hiattville where he bought a box of .38 caliber cartridges at Wheeler & Hess’ hardware store.
Around 3:30 that afternoon, he returned to the Gaulding farm with his revolver and a pocket full of ammunition. He encountered Mr. Gaulding and Mamie in the yard near the well watering stock. He told Mr. Gaulding to put his hands up. And, it was while his hands were raised that Warren shot him four times without provocation.
One bullet entered Mr. Gaulding’s right shoulder. Another went through his right arm passing into his chest. Another one went into his chest just below that one. And, the fourth entered his torso just above his right kidney.
As this was unfolding, Mrs. Gaulding called to Mamie to come to the house. She ran to the house and with her mother tried to bar the door so that Warren, who was pursuing her, could not get inside. However, they were not able to withstand the pressure that Warren put on the door and he was able to force his way into the house.
Mrs. Gauilding tried to keep Warren from reaching Mamie. However, he was able to reach under Mrs. Gaulding’s arm and shoot his supposed sweetheart in her right arm just below the shoulder. Mamie got their shotgun, but was unable to load it as her right arm was useless. She also tried to call on the phone for help, but was unable to due to her injuries. Warren got a hold of the receiver and ripped it from the telephone.
The Next Encounter
At this point, Warren left and went to Baldwin Barker’s home. He asked that a doctor be called for Mr. Gaulding and Mamie. However, his story was that they had been kicked by a horse. (Not sure how he thought he would get away with explaining bullet wounds as injuries from a horse.)
Meanwhile, despite her injured arm, Mamie ran to William Rouske’s home where she alerted them to the incident. They sent out an alert for help.
On her way home, Mamie once again met up with Warren. Believing her life was in danger, she told him that she had decided to marry him as soon as her father was well. They walked back to her house where Warren (per reports) very patiently and gently removed the bullet from Mamie’s arm. Then he cleaned and began to bandage the wound.
Notes
The order of the getting the shotgun and trying to telephone are not 100% clear. It is also not clear where Mamie’s 5 younger sisters were during the initial encounter.
Articles refer to Baldwin Barker with the last name of Baker, but it seems quite sure that it was Baldwin Barker. As such, it appears that Warren went to the home that I grew up in to have the doctor called. I have confirmed that Mr. & Mrs. Baldwin Barker were living on that property in 1920, but I have not yet been able to confirm that they were living there in 1916.
At some point, Warren helped Mrs. Gaulding get Mr. Gaulding into the house. It is unclear if that occurred before he left to go to the Barker home or upon his return.
The Arrest
While Warren was busy bandaging Mamie’s arm, one of the constables slipped into the room and arrested him without incident. At the time, Warren’s revolver included 5 bullets and he had more in his pocket. He was taken to Pawnee. From there, a constable accompanied him on the train to the county jail in Fort Scott.
That night County Attorney Shepard, Sheriff Hartman, and Dr. Newman went to the home to investigate. Before he left Fort Scott, the sheriff informed the men not to question Warren until he returned from the investigation. However, that didn’t stop Warren from talking.
His initial statements were that the shooting was in self-defense. He claimed that Mr. Gaulding had come at him with a knife. He also claimed that he had only shot Mr. Gaulding two times before heading to the house to call for a doctor and that at this point Mamie was shot.
After being informed that the facts did not support a claim of self-defense since he went to town to get bullets and then returned to the Gaulding home, Warren signed a statement that said that he had planned to kill Mamie, her father, and himself. The reason for shooting Mamie’s father appeared to be that Warren thought her father was instrumental in Mamie refusing to marry him.
Life Hanging In the Balance
Warren was not initially charged as it was not clear if Mr. Gaulding was going to live or not. If he didn’t, it would be first degree murder. However, if he recovered, it would only be assault with intent to kill.
The intrigue of a possible murder case kept it in the news with frequent reports every time Mr. Gaulding improved or had a setback. At times, Mr. Gaulding ran a fever, was delirious, had difficulty breathing, and had a very high pulse rate. His doctors feared possible blood poisoning, performed surgery to remove one of the bullets, and performed surgery to deal with a significant hemorrhage. It was thought at various times that Mr. Gaulding was trending toward death. So intense was the news coverage of his condition that even his vital signs were published.
Support For The Family
During this time, the family suffered. The Gauldings had no sons to do the work around the farm. Additionally, Mr. Gaulding required around the clock care. So, everything was on Mrs. Gaulding and the oldest daughters’ shoulders. Mrs. Gaulding, it is said, went into premature labor and lost a baby. Mamie, the oldest, was herself recovering from the ordeal.
Several family members from out of the area came to help out and to see how Mr. Gaulding was doing. They reported that the family was exhausted.
Neighbors were helping out as much as possible, but when March arrived the neighbors had to focus more on their own plowing and planting. Still, they helped when they could. They got 50 men together to chop enough firewood for the family for the next year. Then Baldwin Barker oversaw 18 teams that gathered to plow 20 acres and sow 10 acres with oats. People in the neighborhood also donated to the family, held a pie supper with proceeds going to the family, and organized wolf hunts where proceeds from any wolves killed going to the family.
Realizing what the family was going through, the county eventually provided for a man to come and help care for Mr. Gaulding at the county’s expense.
Legal Jeopardy
Life In The County Jail
While Mr. Gaulding was fighting for his life, Warren’s mother was selling Warren’s belongings, and Warren was sitting in the county jail uncharged waiting to see if his victim would survive. Despite admitting to the shooting, Warren never seemed to realize the gravity of his crime. He would make statements, such as, “I’m certainly glad I didn’t kill her” and “I didn’t mean to hurt him so bad. I guess I went a little further than I intended.”
Another prisoner claimed that Warren said that he would kill himself before he served a day in the state pen. Yet, his behavior while in jail was less than stellar. One day he “got sore and tore one of the iron slabs off the cage.” Apparently, he also spoke in a threatening manner and even stated that he was going to throw red pepper in the sheriff’s eyes.
The sheriff’s threat back was that if he didn’t behave that they would put Warren in a cell alone. This would cut him off from the other prisoners. Additionally, the sheriff stated that without improved behavior, his mother would not be able to make her lengthy twice weekly visits. He would no longer receive the pies, cakes, and other treats that she regularly brought to him.
Guilty Plea
Finally, Mr. Gaulding appeared to be on the road to recovery. So, the county attorney made the decision to bring the charge of assault with the intent to kill. The charge made Warren eligible for bail, which was set at $5,000. However, he remained in jail.
When it came time to enter his plea, Warren plead “guilty.” The evidence was stacked against him and he had confessed. Thus, a “not guilty” plea would have been useless. Likewise, a plea of “temporary insanity” would not have bought his freedom. In some states, pleading “insanity” or “temporary insanity” could keep a person from being sent to the state penitentiary with some people going to an asylum and others being acquitted. However, in Kansas the law at that time stated that people committing felonies who were deemed insane would still go to the state prison at Lansing. They would just be in a separate ward for the criminally insane.
On May 8, 1916, Warren Jury was sentenced to no more than 10 years in the state penitentiary.
A Plea Too Soon?
While awaiting transfer to the prison, Mr. Gaulding took another downturn and again doctors became concerned that he might not live. He was having trouble breathing and would choke. He had an abscess which needed to be addressed, as it could become fatal. Complicating matters was the fact that Warren had already entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge and could not be charged with murder if Mr. Gaulding died. An additional complication was that Mr. Gaulding refused to come into Fort Scott to the hospital for surgery. One of the doctors even offered to do the surgery without charge, but he continued to refuse.
A Deposition
Warren’s transfer to Lansing was delayed, in part, so that he could give a deposition in a lawsuit against him and his mother by their landlord Nellie Eiffert over money owed.
Still Sweethearts
On June 8, the day prior to him transferring to Lansing, Warren wrote a letter to Mamie stating that they would be sweethearts again when he got out. For some reason he seemed to think that no one, including Mamie, would object to him having a relationship with her. Although portions of the letter was quoted in the newspaper, the sheriff supposedly did not have it delivered to Mamie.
Battle of The Petitions
You might think that the story would end once Warren was transferred to the state prison. However, that wasn’t the case. A month after he transferred to Lansing, his mother started a petition to have him paroled or pardoned. This alarmed the residents of the Hiattville area. They thought Warren was criminally insane and that he would kill members of the Gaulding family or others if he was released.
Their concern prompted the county attorney to petition to have Warren transferred to ward for criminally insane and have him committed for life. The request included the option to keep him imprisoned for the full 10-year sentence if the former option was not a possibility.
The petition included disturbing facts of the case and a history of Warren’s life prior to the shooting. Apparently, on another occasion he had gone to the home of a young lady with a shotgun intent on killing her. However, her brother intercepted him and his plan was foiled. (Was this the event where the family reported he had been shot?)
In addition, some months earlier when Warren had a falling out with Agnes Kelly, who he was courting, he had attempted to commit suicide using chloroform. However, he was unharmed in the attempt. The information concluded that Warren “is rather weak mentally.”
Upon completion, the petition was to be sent to the Hiattville area for signatures and was then planned to go to the governor and the state patrol board.
Discharge
None of the petitions appear to have resulted in a change in Warren’s sentence. The very next year, he was granted a temporary leave to attend the funeral of a close relative. And, in 1918 amid World War I, he was released from prison to join the Army. However, after he arrived at Camp Funston, he was found to be physically unfit for service.
Near the end of October 1923, his term was to expire. He received a citizenship pardon 10 days before it was to expire so his citizenship rights could be restored. (I have not found anything yet that explains why this was done.)
Afterward
Mr. Gaulding
Mr. Gaulding recovered from his injuries and lived another 25 years.
The Gaulding family moved away from the area in September of 1916. After that they bounced back and forth a few times between living in Missouri and Kansas. However, I found no record of them returning to Bourbon County.
Mamie Gaulding
Mamie married and had 3 children before dying in Wichita. She was only 26.
Warren Jury
After Warren got out of prison, he married Ada Marshall, a first cousin on his mother’s side.
When Warren was 37, he was injured in a mining accident in a local mine where he worked. He was in and out of the hospital, but eventually succumbed to his injuries. He is buried in an unmarked grave in the family plot at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Bourbon County, Kansas.
Note: The featured image is from pixabay.com. Created by stefu.