Thum, Joseph died 1884

THUM

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 1/25/2010 at 13:41:51

From the Alton Democrat of April 4, 1884
Joseph Thum was murdered last Thursday evening at Cedar Rapids, on the C.M. $ St. P. Bridge. (He had worked for a farmer by Alton) His cries were heard and the murderer was seen by two terrified men as he rushed by them. They said he was a tall, large man, but they could not see his face. The body was found the next day floating on a cake of ice, horribly mutilated, and identified as that of Joseph Thum, just discharged from the Anamosa penitentiary, and sent there from Orange City. Officers have as yet no clue to work on for the arrest of the murderer. The Herald says: Thum worked for a farmer east of Alton, from whom he stole a large sum of Money, went to town, got drunk and began slinging this money around 'promiscuss like', was arrested and put in jail at Orange City where three or four other hard cases were confined. The others, a little after, dug out and never came back, but Thum stayed and went to prison of 18 months. Jelle pelmulder, clerk of courts, believes the he may have learned some of the unsafe secrets of his fellow prisoners and that possibly one of them was his murderer.
(no other information is known about this Joseph Thum)