Andrew Farley(killed 1840)

FARLEY, THOMPSON, BROWN, COX, CARLIN, PALMER, COLLINS, FOX, WYCKOFF

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 11/16/2008 at 09:47:35

Sabula Gazette,
June 17, 1876.

HOW FARLEY WAS KILLED

“Old Settler” Corrected

Editor Gazette:

In your issue of May 27th, under the head of “Early Scenes in Iowa,” taken from the Des Moines Register, errors occur, which in the issue of June 3 “An Old Settler” undertakes to correct. Now, both of these publications are somewhat erroneous, and as what was known as the “Bellevue War” has become a matter of history, would it not be well to get at the facts connected with the death of Mr. Farley, which was the subject of “An Old Settler’s” communication.

Mr. Farley was not a member of either the Sheriff’s posse or of the Brown party, but had gone that day to mill near Bellevue, without any knowledge, as his family believed, of anything unusual to occur at Bellevue. He took no weapon with him. After leaving his grist at the mill he went into town and past the Brown tavern, and stopping a short distance north of where the action was about to commence stood a looker on. When the Sheriff’s posse marched into the porch of the house they found the door barred and passing to the window near the north end of the porch called upon Brown to surrender. Brown was near the window and raising his gun about breast high fired through the window, the ball passing through the coat of Col. Cox, and between Cox and Mike Carlin. Several shots were then fired by the Sheriff’s posse and Brown fell, shot through the jugular vein. Brown did not come out of the house, as “An Old Settler” says. But after the shooting became promiscuous, and while some of the Sheriff’s posse were reloading under cover of a small building at the south end of the tavern, one Day unbolted the door, stepped out on the porch and shot Mr. Palmer, who was just turning the corner of the little building before mentioned to reload. The next moment Day fell mortally wounded with his back broken. He called previously for some one to raise his head. Mr. Farley ran into the porch to assist the dying man, and as he stooped forward was shot and fell across Day, and both soon were dead, but it never has been known whether Farley was shot by the Brown party or the Sheriff’s. The publication of the affair at the time was that three of the citizens who were assisting the Sheriff, three of the Brown party, and one (Mr. Farley) who was of neither party-seven in all-were killed.

As to Mr. Farley being killed by one of the Sheriff’s party to cancel an old grudge, as “An Old Settler” thinks was the case, I believe that a mistake. Surely it is news to as who were his neighbors for two years before his death and knew not of him having an enemy, unless it might be the notorious One Thumb Thompson, or Godfrey, his accomplice in the robbery of Dennis Collins. Not long previous to the Collins robbery One Thumb Thompson, Bill Fox, and others took dinner at Farley’s in his absence, and Thompson passed a counterfeit bill on Mrs. Farley. When Farley next saw Thompson he took his foot very suddenly away from Thompson’s rear a few times to balance accounts. Farley was also a witness against them on their examination for the Collins robbery. Aside from these ruffians I don’t think Farley had an enemy in the world.

R. B. Wyckoff