John F. Meloy/Melloy 1883-1905

MELLOY, MELOY, HAWKES, OTTING, LENERTZ, SHIELDS, MCGRATH, DUNN, HERARD, MCMULLEN, HOAR, BIGELOW, DWYER, SULLIVAN, BARRETT

Posted By: cheryl moonen (email)
Date: 7/20/2017 at 08:28:30

Cascade Pioneer, August 3 1905, page 4, column 4

RECEIVED DEATH BLOW

John Meloy, Bartender for Hawkes & Otting, Assaulted by Tony Lenertz and Dies from Injury.

IRON CUSPIDOR WEAPON USED ASSAILANT THREATENS DEFIANCE OF ARREST BUT IS TAKEN PEACEABLY BY CONSTABLE HERARD.

Maddened by a refusal to give him drink and smarting under the effect of slap on the nose, Tony Lenertz, blacksmith at Fillmore, struck Bartender John Meloy on the head with an iron cuspidor in the barroom of Hawks & Otting'sgrocery and saloon at Fillmore Monday afternoon between the hours of 5 and 6 o'clock. Meloy died at 9:15 o'clock in Dr. Shield’s office in Bernard whither he had been taken shortly after the assault.

Lenertz had been drinking heavily for several days, and his wife had notified the saloon-keepers not to give him any more liquor. Being accustomed to drinking considerable each day he was naturally enraged when refused. He was in and out of the saloon during the afternoon. Just a little while before the fatal act he had asked for drink from John McGrath who was assisting in tending bar, and was refused. He repeated the request of John Meloy who had entered the barroom from the grocery department. Meloy also refused, whereupon Lenertz became very abusive in his language calling Meloy vile names, until the latter in rebuke struck him a smart blow on the nose with the back of his hand causing the blood to flow. Lenertz reached down and picked up the cuspidor and holding it in his two hands let the blood flow from his nose into the vessel. About this time a customer came in for beer and it was discovered that the keg on draught was empty. Meloy busied himself in placing fresh keg in the refrigerator, and the incident with Lenertz was evidently forgotten. In the meantime Lenertz left the barroom by the front door, was gone a few minutes, and returned to the room while Meloy was engaged in replacing the fresh keg of beer and was stooped over working, back to the door when Lenertz entered, grabbed up the iron cuspidor and rained a crushing blow on the left side of Meloy's head. The latter fell to the floor. He was assisted to his feet by Mr. McGrath and the others in the room. His first words were: "I must go and see Shields," (meaning the physician at Bernard.) As soon as a team could be procured he was taken to Bernard. Arriving there the young man walked from the vehicle into the doctor's office, sat down on a lounge, conversed few moments, leaned back languidly and lapsed into unconsciousness from which condition he did not recover and died at 9:15 o'clock, about 4 hours after the assault.

After his death Sherriff Dunn was notified, at Dubuque, and Edward Gavin and P. C. Meloy telephoned Constable Herard of Cascade to go to Fillmore and arrest Lenertz, but to be on guard as the latter had loaded his shot-gun and threatened violence to anyone who undertook to take him. Herard left here at 9:55, accompanied by Henry McMullen, drove the six miles to Fillmore in record time, and had his man under arrest at 10:20.

Lenertz offered no resistance when the constable placed him under arrest. Mrs. Lenertz answered the officer's knock at the door and in reply to the inquiry as to the whereabouts of her husband, said he was upstairs. She was told to summon him. She did so and he soon descended the stairway, dressed in shirt and trousers but barefooted. His descent of the stairway was noiseless, and the officer and assistant were guarded, but Lenertz was unarmed and peacefully surrendered. Informed of the fatal culmination of his rash act, he broke down and wept, saying he did not mean to kill Meloy. After Lenertz was dressed Herard took him to the store to await the arrival of the sheriff, but as the latter did not reach there at 1 o'clock a.m., he brought him to Cascade and lodged him in the town jail where the prisoner was kept until Sheriff Dunn and Bailiff McCarthy arrived at 4 o'clock a.m., and late r took him to Dubuque, where he now languishes in the county jail to await the penalty of the law.

Lenertz's wife told Constable Herard that she had, after the former raved about shooting anyone who attempted to arrest him, succeeded in taking the shotgun away from her husband and had extracted the loads.

Tony Lenertz, the accused, is a son of Mrs. Peter Kink, of Cascade, is about 26 years old, was reared in this town and learned the trade of a blacksmith with J. B. Altman. He is an undersized but powerfully built man. Has been married several years and has one child. It is coincidental that nearly twenty years ago his father met a violent death at Onslow, two men being accused of kicking him to death in his harness shop in that village. The charge, however, was not proved against them.

Lenertz's version of the affair, as told to a reporter for the Dubuque Times is as follows:

"Lenertz said there was a crowd in the saloon at the time. He was drunk and had some words, with Meloy. He doesn't recollect how it started, but thinks they were joshing with each other at first, and then he thinks he must have said something Meloy didn't like, for Meloy, he says, struck him across the face with a pop bottle, cutting his lip on the inside and making, his nose bleed. He says he instantly picked up a cuspidor from the floor and threw it at Meloy. He says he did not intend to injure Meloy badly, although he did want to hurt him because Meloy had struck him and gave him pain. He liked Meloy very much, they were good friends, and since his arrest he has spent much time lamenting over Meloy's death, and the tears, have been flowing frequently down his face.”

Coroner Hoar of Dubuque was notified of the death of Meloy and sent County Physician Becker out to Bernard to conduct a postmortem examination. Dr. Becker was assisted by Drs. Bigelow and Shields. They found that the skull was fractured from a point about two inches over the right ear downward and around to the middle of the face. At one point the skull had pressed inward and ruptured a blood vessel, which resulted in the formation of a large clot of blood weighing about three ounces, which pressed on the brain and crushed out the young man's life.

An inquest will be held in Dubuque Friday afternoon and upon the result will hinge the line of prosecution against Lenertz. Tuesday County Attorney Barnes and Coroner Hoar impaneled a jury consisting of Wm. Dwyer, Dan Sullivan and Ted Barrett, who viewed the remains, and the continuance of the hearing was set for Friday afternoon.

John Meloy, the victim of the tragedy was a young man of 22 years of age. He was a son of Mrs. James Meloy, who resides near Washington Mills. For a number of years he has been working in the Fillmore store, was a sober, industrious young man, and very popular with the public, and counted his friends by hundreds in this section. His violent death has cast a deep gloom over the villages of Bernard and Fillmore, and the bereaved family of deceased feels keenly the sad affliction. He is a nephew of Joseph Meloy, of Dubuque, William Meloy, of Ballyclaugh, and Frank Meloy, of Vernon, and Wm. Cannon, of Bernard. His brothers are Daniel, William and James, and sisters Susana, Katie, Mary E., and Loretta.

The funeral was held Wednesday forenoon from the family residence to St. Patrick's church, Garryowen, and was said to have been one of the largest funerals ever held in that locality. Rev. E. Slattery officiated in the office of the dead.

Compliments of Joseph Cahill