St.
Clair County
Remnants Of The Past
Osceola Herald
29 June 1871
The Hughes Murder.
This week we publish entire the testimony taken at the inquest held over
the body of James Hughes, who was killed by Jacob Fleming in this place,
on the 17th inst. A careful perusal of the testimony reveals but the one
fact, that it was a reckless, merciless homicide. This so strongly
impressed he people that at times there was imminent danger that in
their excitement and indignation they would take the law into their own
hands. This state of feeling we have endeavored to allay and now as
heretofore, counsel moderation, Jacob Fleming is a prisoner in the hands
of the law, awaiting his trial upon charge of murder; let him receive a
fair and impartial trial, and let us hope that strict justice will be
done him. A change of venue has been taken in the case to Benton county,
where the prisoner will receive his trial at the sitting of the court in
August. Sheriff Donovan has received an order to retain the prisoner in
custody until that time.
Osceola Herald
29 June 1871
The Hughes Murder.
We give below the testimony taken at the Coroner’s inquest held over the
body of James Hughes:
William A. Mitchell, being duly sworn, testified as follows: I stopped
in the saloon talking with Mr. Campbell, was in the back part of the
saloon, heard some loud talking, said there was going to be a fuss;
talking was unusually loud; recognized this man now lying here dead as
one, and Jacob Fleming as the other. I heard a pistol fired twice; did
not see the first shot; the second shot I saw and saw the man fall;
think the man lying dead here is the man that fell; have known him 12
months. Jacob Fleming is the man who fired the second shot; the pistol
was pointed in the direction of James Hughes. This was in Osceola, St.
Clair Co., to day, June 17th, 1871.
John G. Bobbitt, being sworn, testified as follows: I knew nothing of
the fuss until the first shot and that drew my attention. I saw the man
said to be Mr. Fleming shoot the second shot. I saw him shoot Mr.
Hughes; this is the man who lies here dead; think he shot him in the
neck; saw him fall; heard no quarrelling or loud talking sufficient to
call my attention until the first shot. William Graham, Judge Mitchell
and Mr. Redfield were there, there was more men there but don’t
recollect now who they were but it was in the saloon in Osceola,
Saturday, to-day, June 17th, 1871. I was not more than 10 or 12 feet
from Fleming. Hughes was close to Fleming, so that the pistol nearly
reached him.
C.S. Redfield, being sworn, testified as follows: About 3 o’clock this
afternoon, Mr. Wm. Graham and myself were playing a game of billiards in
the saloon. I heard a pistol shot and turned around; as I turned I saw
the man called Fleming, who is under arrest, with a pistol in his hand
pointed toward a man, the one who was shot. I ran out of the back door
to get out of range; came back in two or three minutes; and saw him fall
after I came back; think I was 10 or 12 feet from the parties when the
first shot was fired. Fleming and the man shot were very close together,
near enough to take hold of each other if they chose. I live in
Leavenworth, Kansas.
Thos. Brown, being sworn, testified as follows: Was in the saloon in
Osceola this afternoon and played on the pigeon-hole table with Hughes,
the man now lying here dead, and started to go up to the bar with him.
Mr. Hughes spoke to me, and Fleming says: “Jim, did you speak to me?”
Hughes said, “no, I spoke to this man,” meaning me; “it is his treat”. I
said to Fleming that Hughes seems to know a good deal bout my business.
Fleming said yes, some more words were said, and I saw Fleming’s arm
presented towards Hughes; don’t recollect seeing the pistol; think I was
too much excited to see it; took no particular notice, but left
immediately. I live in Hickory county, about 3 miles east of Wheatland;
I am past 21 years old; I heard two shots fired.
William Osborn, being sworn, testified as follows: I was in the back
room of the saloon, this afternoon; heard two shots; think they were
shots; am not sure; did not see anything or hear anything more.
H. Kibbie, being sworn, testified as follows: Was standing near Monroe’s
store, heard one pistol shot; saw a boy run from the same side of the
street as the saloon, over to our office, and called “Doc!” I went to
the saloon, as I thought that was where the trouble was; I heard the
fall of some heavy body as I was about 30 feet from the door; when I
entered the door the deceased was lying on the floor, with his feet 4 or
5 feet from the bar, face downward; some persons were standing around;
did not notice who; saw a wound on the back part of the head or muscles
of the neck; the ball apparently entering about an inch and a half back
and below the right ear, and traced it with my finger externally; what I
supposed to be the track of the ball, and found a mass of the size of a
pistol bullet immediately under the tegument, or the skull, on the
opposite side, in about the same position as the place of entering;
think this wound was not necessarily fatal; my opinion is that the ball
passed about the base of the occipital bone between that bone and the
layer of muscles covering it; do not think the spinal cord was injured
by this shot; while examining this wound, he raised his head slightly
from the floor and spoke; Mr. Stewart assisted him to rise; he arose,
appeared to be rational, yet much excited; demanded a pistol of parties
near; plead in strong terms for a pistol; said if he was to die, he
wanted to die like a man; made some violent exertions, and the parties
trying to hold him, did not succeed in doing so; took several steps
forward in the direction of the billiard table and fell suddenly to the
floor; ordered him to be removed to an open door way in the saloon, and
noticed for the first time, a wound in the median line of the neck,
about the position of the trachea; the wound was apparently made by a
very small bullet, passing, apparently from before, backwards; am not
prepared to say whether it was in a direct line; then ordered his
removal to the new building of Geo. Monroe; when he was placed on a
workbench, at this time, he was frothing at the mouth; a mucus
distinctly stained with blood; breathing heavy; and labored with a
peculiar rattling and gurgling sound, characteristic of the blocking up
of the air passages of the lungs, by accumulated fluid; pulse still
strong, but unable to speak; from this time forward, from 3/4ths of an
hour to an hour, he gradually improved and appeared to rally; spoke
several times to persons around; about 2 hours or 2 ½ hours after he was
wounded he was moved to the residence of M.B. Stewart, where he now
lies, at which place he died in about ¾ of an hour after arriving at the
house. His death was, in my opinion, caused by suffocation; the result
of internal hemorrhage, from the wound in the neck, in the vicinity of
the trachea.
We the undersigned, jury, having been on this, the 17th day of June,
1871, summoned and sworn by E.T. Daniels, a Justice of the Peace, within
and for Osceola township, St. Clair county, Missouri, to declare of the
manner of the death of James Hughes, late of the county and State
aforesaid, do find that the said James Hughes came to his death, by two
pistol shots, fired, the 17th day of June 1871, by the hand of Jacob
Fleming, of the county and State aforesaid; that the said shots were
fired by the said Jacob Fleming, on the evening of the 17th day of June
1871, in the saloon of John D. Anderson, in the town of Osceola, in said
county; that there were present, among others, whose names are unknown
to this jury, when the said James Hughes was shot, as aforesaid: Wm. D.
Graham, Wm. A. Mitchell, John J. Bobbitt, C.S. Redfield, Thomas Brown
and John Campbell; that the said James Hughes, after he was shot, as
aforesaid, was removed to the residence of M.B. Stewart, near the said
town of Osceola, and that he there died on the evening of the 17th day
of June, 1871, aforesaid. This the 17th day of June, A.D. 1871.
J. Wade Gardner, A.B. Prock, John W. Dooly, F.M. Cole, R.W. Hanks,
William Winfield.
History of Henry and St. Clair Counties, Missouri, 1883:
Crimes and Casualty
One of those terrible crimes for which human nature can scarcely
understand, and which causes a shudder of horror to pass through the
frame, was the murder of James Hughes by the hands of Jacob Fleming. The
following description of both the murderer and his victim is taken from
the local paper:
The Victim
James Hughes, the deceased, was a cripple, ex-Union soldier, severely
wounded in the battle of Stone River, and a hard working, quiet and
inoffensive man. He came to this country from Ohio, where he leaves a
wife and two children, whom he had made preparations to bring here at an
early day. Ordinarily he was a sober man and not a frequenter of
saloons; but on this occasion, yielding to some unknown influence, he
entered the Arcade, and became somewhat under the influence of liquor,
but not boisterous or quarrelsome.
The Murderer
Jacob Fleming, the murderer, though comparatively young in years, is a
notorious desperado - one whose hands, we are told, have frequently been
imbrued in the blood of fellow mortals. He developed into manhood during
the late war, and entering the Missouri Militia, thirsting for revenge
on account of real or imaginary wrongs, gave uncontrolled license to his
passions in this direction, and numerous murders, house-burnings, etc.,
are attributed to his agency and the encouragement of others. On a
former occasion he took the life of a man in Osceola, shot at another in
Roscoe, and generally conducted himself in such a manner as to be a
terror to all law-abiding citizens. He is a married man, and the father
of two interesting children, happily too young at present to realize the
depth of disgrace into which they have been plunged by their reckless
father. His wife is said to be an estimable woman, and has made constant
efforts to reform him, but to no purpose. There was serious talk of
lynching him, but we are pleased to know that wise counsel prevailed,
and those who were rash enough to engage in such an act dissuaded from
their purpose. He is now in the hands of the law, and although he has
succeeded in obtaining a change of venue from this county, which it was
perfectly natural for his counsel to apply for, we feel assured he will
have a fair and impartial trial, and justice done in the premises.
The belief of the editor was not carried out and Jacob Fleming suffered
for his crime at the hands of Judge Lynch: The change of venue was
probably the cause of this sudden action, for it was known only to the
participators until the time for action had arrived as laid down in
their programme.
The Inquest
The coroner's inquest on the body of James Hughes was as follows:
We find that the said James Hughes came to his death by two pistol
shots, fired on the 17th day of June, 1871, by the hands of Jacob
Fleming, on the evening of said day, in the saloon of John D. Anderson,
in the town of Osceola.
The jury was Messrs. Dooley, Gardner, Prock, Hanks, Cole and Mitchell,
and the coroner, Mr. Daniels. Twelve days after, on the night of June
29, 1871, a vigilant committee numbering nearly 100 men, rode up to jail
and demanded the keys. Of course this was refused. The vigilants,
however, came on business. They promptly forced the door with a heavy
hammer brought for the purpose, proceeded quietly to the cell, which
door they also broke down, and took out their prisoner. No words were
spoken. All had been arranged beforehand, and the work was
systematically carried out. With the prisoner in their possession, they
took up their march for the old brick yard, and without words quickly
strung him up. The prisoner was stoically silent, and took his fate
bravely. He made no appeal, but went to his doom quietly, for he was
wise enough to know he was then beyond human help. The vigilants
surrounded the gallows and remained until one of their number stepped
forward, examined the body and pronounced him dead. They then turned,
sought their horses and retired. They were effectually disguised.
