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13 December 2012

I finally got the local newspaper account

You know that story about the ancestor who was part of the double murder that wasn't? I finally received a copy of the local newspaper account of the incident. (Much thanks to the Lincoln Lawrence Franklin Regional Library.) The basic story was true. There was bad blood between the Sheriff and my ancestor. They were arguing politics - maybe the Sheriff's election chances since he was up that year. They were both Democrats. The argument escalated. Sheriff pushed or slapped Eugene. Eugene pulls a knife and stabs Sheriff in the side. Everyone thought he was a goner for quite a while. From the story it sounds like everyone stayed out in front of the store where the altercation had taken place for a little while. Then Eugene went around back to the lot where his horse was so he could go home. Somebody followed him and shot him in the back. He bled out in 10 minutes. Other information I found earlier indicated the Sheriff lost the election and tried to contest it. He died three years later.