Vauris Family
Murder of an Employee of Vauris
IRVIN, WILLIAM [Leiters Ford, Indiana]
WM. IRVIN MURDERED
Last Saturday night about 9 o'clock there was quite an excitement among the citizens of Rochester occasioned by the report that a horrible murder had been committed an hour previous at Leiters Ford, a village twelve miles west of Rochester that has sprung into some prominence since the building of the Chicago & Atlantic railroad which numbers that town as one of the stations along its line. . . . .
Wm. IRVIN was a young man who lacked a few months of having attained his majority. He was left an orphan at a tender age and has had to battle with the world for a subsistence, being thrown almost entirely upon his own resources. He was born near Rochester and had always made this locality his home. For the advantages he has had he would compare favorably in morals and general deportment with other boys of his age who had better opportunities for developing into true and dignified manhood. For some months past he had been engaged upon the new railroad, working under the charge of Louis VAURIS, a Frenchman, whose sobriquet is Frenchy, and to which he cheerfully responds. He is boss of one of the western sections on the road and had a number of hands under his charge, among the number being young Irvin and an Italian. So far as known there was no enmity between Irvin and the other men belonging to the section. It is said that the American boys would occasionally joke and tease the two Italians belonging to the gang, but never in a spirit of anger or hatred. Last Saturday the men on the road received their pay and Irvin took a holiday, while the other workmen went on with their work as usual. In the evening of that day occurred the horrible tragedy by which a young man just blooming into manhood, was cut down, the details of which are very fully and correctly set out by our Leiters Ford correspondent in another column, who was upon the ground and came as near being an eye witness to the tragedy as any other person except the Italian, the Frenchman and the Frenchman's wife. From his account of the occurrence it would seem that Irvin had called at the Frenchman's house on an errand, and that almost as soon as he got within the dwelling he was followed by Louis POURCIELLO, one of the above mentioned Italians. The party of men standing on the street corner within sight of the house, watching for Irvin to return with the key to unfetter the hand-car so that they might come to Rochester, soon heard screams and loud cursing at the Frenchman's house and also saw two men come out of the house into the yard, where loud talk and obscene language was freely indulged in, the voice being recognized by the listeners as that of the Frenchman's. It was a bright moonlight night but none of the witnesses claim to have seen any scuffling by the two men in the yard, nor did they know that Irvin had been hurt until he came up to the waiting party and informed them that he had been stabbed. At this point there is a conflict of testimony among the witnesses. Some say that Irvin stated that Frenchy had stabbed him, while others insist that he said that Lou had cut him. As both the Frenchman and Italian are named Louis it is hard to tell which was meant. Irvin made his way to Dr. OVERMYER's office, which place he barely reached when he sank upon the floor and expired almost immediately without uttering a word further in explanation of the difficulty. And thus the matter stands. . . . . Soon after the bloody deed was done, and a few minutes after the death of the boy, the Frenchman and Italian very deliberately and calmly walked over from their residence to the village store and mingled with the crowd, affecting no knowledge of the murder. They were taken into custody by the citizens and held until the Sheriff was brought, who arrested them and brought them to town where they were lodged in jail. . . . .
The body of young Irvin was left lying on the floor in the doctor's office, where his life flowed out through the ghastly wound, until Sunday forenoon, when it was taken charge of by Mr. A. L. GOODRICH, step-father of the deceased boy, and Dr. V. GOULD, his guardian. Sunday afternoon it was brought to this place and given in charge of V. ZIMMERMAN, who, at his furniture establishment, prepared it for burial, but not until after hundreds of people had gazed upon the ghastly spectacle. From thence the corpse was taken to the residence of Mr. Goodrich, where it remained until the burial, Tuesday afternoon. Funeral services were held at the Baptist church, conducted by Rev. E. J. DELP, after which the remains were deposited in the Odd Fellows cemetery. Elmer IRVIN, an only brother of the deceased, a young man who served an apprenticeship in the Sentinel office and was a member of the editor's family during the time arrived from Muncie to attend his brother's funeral. An only sister who resides somewhere in the southern portion of the State, failed to get here.
The two prisoners in jail on charges of murder have expressed a desire that their trial shall take place at once. In accordance with that wish they jury commissioners met yesterday afternoon and drew a new, double jury, and the following gentlemen will be served today to appear in court Monday morning to be tested as to their qualifications to serve as jurors in the case, at which time the trial will begin: John T. KEEL, Sam'l SHOWLEY, Searing MARSH, Samuel BURCH, D. N. DAGUE, Oliver BARR, Jonathan KERSHNER, Benjamin F. COLLINS, R. NEWELL, B. F. PORTER, D. W. TRAVER, Samuel HOOBER, Noah HEETER, Alonzo KISTLER, John H. PYLE, L. W. FELTS, Z. T. PRIEST, Samuel RUSSELL, Eli ROGERS, Martin STURGEON, Isaac BLACKBURN, Samuel W. JULIAN, George W. GREGSON, Adam HUFFMAN. From the above named gentlemen, twelve qualified jurors will be selected, if that number can be found, who will try the case.
Very unexpectedly, a gentleman has been found in this county who can speak both English and Italian very fluently and his service have been secured as an interpreter in the very important cases to be tried. His name in John RICH and lives in Liberty township with Samuel SHOWLEY. . . .
[Saturday, February 24, 1883]
Reference:: Fulton county, IN Handbook by Wendell C. and John B. Tombaugh
TOMBAUGH HOUSE, 700 Pontiac Street, Rochester, Indiana, 46975-1538, 2001
http://www.fulco.lib.in.us/Tombaugh/Fulton%20Co.%20Handbooks/Html/Handbook%20I-L.htm
Below is the email address I reserved for anyone to contact me.
I also will use the email address for an email list for an "update newsletter", to those interested.vauris.family@yahoo.com
