Karr, Jesse P., 1876-1914

KARR, BLAEHOLDER ALLEN

Posted By: Lydia Lucas - Volunteer (email)
Date: 10/28/2015 at 17:16:56

From the Rock Valley Bee, February 13, 1914:

Jesse Karr, a former resident of near Ireton was murdered in Montana last week. His brother Weaver Karr was summoned to Montana by his death. A dispatch from St. Paul says: "Fearing mob violence Sheriff Kommers took John Hutchins, a prisoner, thirty miles across the country in an automobile to the county jail, after the latter's arrest at Cascade, Mont., on the charge of murdering J. P. Karr, a wealthy rancher, 38 years old."

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From the Hawarden Independent, February 28, 1914:

VERDICT NOT SATISFACTORY
Man Who Shot Jesse P. Karr is Again Under Arrest

The Cascade Echo, published at Cascade, Mont., contained the following account of the shooting of Jesse P. Karr, a former well known Sioux county young man who resided near Ireton, the details of which have not heretofore been published here:

"The peace and quiet usually pervading our little city Sabbath mornings, was quickly disturbed last Sunday morning when the deplorable intelligence spread from door to door that John T. Hutchins, grain buyer for the Cascade Milling Co., had shot and killed Jesse P. Karr at about 1:20 o'clock at the Karr boarding house on Central avenue. And perhaps at no previous time in its history have the people living in this beautiful vale been so greatly agitated by conflicting sentiment as that occasioned by the tragedy enacted in the early hours of the morning of January 29th.

"From the evidence presented at the coroner's inquest the jury declared the act to have been justified on the grounds of self-defense, and thus completely exonerated Hutchins. Nevertheless, shortly after the verdict was returned, Constable W. W. Doan arrested Hutchins on a warrant sworn out by Mayor D. W. Monrow charging murder in the first degree.

"At the coroner's hearing held in the opera house Sunday afternoon it was brought out that Karr had been drinking heavily Saturday night. About 1:15 Sunday morning he went to the boarding house kept by his wife and went to the door of her room which was locked. Mrs. Karr at first refused to let him in, but he pleaded to be given another chance to do better if she would let him in to talk things over. Shortly thereafter Karr became loud and boisterous and Hutchins and another roomer by the name of Elmer E. Sandquist were aroused. Hutchins went into the hall leading to Mrs. Karr's room and requested Karr to keep quiet. Upon hearing Hutchins' request Karr told him to get away and not butt in where he was not wanted. Karr, so Hutchins alleged, rushed from the room and attacked him. He retreated to another room, with Karr following, and it was there he pulled the gun and shot him. Karr died within five minutes after he was shot.

"Mrs. Karr testified that her husband had been drinking much of late and was under the influence of liquor when he came to her room on the night of the tragedy. She also testified that Karr had been delusionary at times and frequently came home and told of troubles he had had; he came home one night in a very bad way and declared that he had killed a man in a quarrel and that the officers were after him. He said they would never get him alive and took his shot gun and went into a dark room where he sat for a considerable time holding the gun and talking to himself incoherently."

[The article goes on to say that after Hutchins was first exonerated by the coroner's jury and then re-arrested, he was released on order of the county attorney, but then was arrested again and will probably stand trial for murder.]

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The Montana Death Index on Ancestry.com has Jesse P. Karr, died 25 Jan. 1914. FindaGrave.com has Jesse Paul Karr, born 21 Sept. 1876, Ford County, Illinois; died 25 Jan. 1914; buried Hillside Cemetery, Cascade, Montana; spouse Elizabeth Karr Blaeholder (1876-1972). Biographical notes added to this page say that his wife Was Elizabeth "Lizzie" Allen, and that she remarried to a Blaeholder. The tombstone is a joint one for Jesse and Elizabeth.

The 1910 U.S. census for Cascade, Montana has Jesse Paul Karr, age 33, born Illinois, a farmer; wife Lizzie E. Karr, age 33, born Pennsylvania, married 10 years; son Gervaise Karr, age 8; 3 roomers and a hired man.