BURMEISTER, Henry 1860-1895

BURMEISTER, BURGHMASTER, BUHRMASTER

Posted By: County Coordinator (kermit)
Date: 9/20/2010 at 22:38:32

#1:

Henry Burmeister was born on April 14, 1860, and was killed on March 11, 1895 at the hands of John Vacha. The crime happened in Vacha's harness shop in St. Ansgar.

A newspaper report says: "burns found on [Vacha's] head and hands led some to think that he first killed Burghmaster by strangling, and then attempted to conceal the crime partially by burning the body with paper piled about it, and in his efforts he burned himself."

Vacha was arrested, and later tried and found guilty. Vacha was apparently drunk at the time of the murder.

Burial was in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery, south of St. Ansgar.

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#2:

Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery, St. Ansgar:

Burmeister, Henry 14 Apr 1860 -- 11 Mar 1895

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#3:

Mitchell County has another murder case on its hands, and in this instance as in almost every other, liquor was at the bottom of the tragedy. At St. Ansgar, Monday, March 11th, John Vacha, proprietor of a harness shop, and Henry Burmeister, a none-too-bright young man about town,wound up the day in a drunken debauch. After both had "treated" several cronics, Vacha was finally laid out on a work bench in his shop, fairly stupefied with liquor. Henry continued his revels, and so far as procurable testimony shows, was last seen alive at about 11 o'clock. Tuesday morning an employee at the harness shop found Vacha, still there, apparently dead drunk and Burmeister dead and horribly burned.

Justice Martin Moe at once took charge of the premises, doctors and the coroner were summoned and all the remainder of last week, until late Saturday night, was spent in an attempt to clear away the bloody mystery. The result of the doctor's post-mortem examination clearly indicates that Burmeister was choked to death, and the subsequent attempted burning of his body was probably for the purpose of concealing marks of violence.

Thirty witnesses were examined in the case, and it is perfectly horrible to rend how the trail of the serpent of intemperance is over the testimony of the chums of the murdered man and such as disclosed any real knowledge of the victim.

As a result of the investigation John Vacha was arrested, lodged in the jail and held to the next grand jury. At last accounts he had waived examination and been held to the next term of court in bail fixed at $2000, which he had procured. As to Vacha's direct guilt or responsibility we have no data from which to speak; but he is responsible for having long allowed his shop to be a place of resort for drinking and gambling - one of several places which have given a usually progressive town a needlessly hard name. And whatever may be the outcome of future investigations this much is known: One poor, weak human has died as the fool dies; and some other man wears the stains of blood on guilty hands, all doubtless as the result of a drunken revel. It is necessary to point the moral?

[Worth County Index - Thursday, March 21, 1895, Northwood, Iowa]

(Note: The newspaper had erroneously spelled Vacha as Vercha.)
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#4:
There are additional newspaper reports on the Mitchell County Genealogy website, in the "History, Local" collections at:
the link below.

Local History Materials