Iowa Old Press
KEPHART LYNCHING BATAVIA'S GRUESOME TRAGEDY
(Taken from the
Batavia News--Historical Edition--1936)
(Pgs 5 & 6)
One of the most gruesome tragedies of the early history
of Batavia
occurred about one and one-half miles north of Batavia on Cedar Creek. On
June 29, 1860, T. B. Barnett was fishing in Cedar Creek when his fish hook
caught in something and in pulling it to be the body of a woman. Looking
farther he found the bodies of a little girl, about three years old, and a
boy was young approximately nine years old. The woman and the girl had
drifted partially under a tree that had fallen into the water and the boy
was found a short distance away under a log.
Mr. Barnett spread the news and a message was sent to
Fairfield about
midnight after the sheriff and coroner. An inquest was held and the
following statement was made:
"State of Iowa, Jefferson County. An
inquisition held in Batavia,
Jefferson County, State of Iowa, before said county, upon the bodies of
three persons lying dead, found in Cedar Creek. The said jurors upon their
oath do say, that the said persons names unknown, came to death by some
person, as there are four large cuts on the head of the woman; one just
before her right ear, one on her forehead; jaw broken, skull broken, and the
left shoulder broken. The boy had wounds on his forehead, skull broken and
brains oozing out, another wound on the back of the head, skull mashed, with
a bruise on the left arm. The girl had her right cheek, with part of her
upper lip, and part of her nose, upper jaw, and teeth cut off, with her
under jaw considerably fractured.
"We the jury are of the opinion that the wounds
were sufficient to
produce immediate death. The woman had blue eyes, dark auburn hair, and
was
about thirty years of age. The boy had blue eyes and auburn hair, and was
either eight or nine years old. the girl had blue eyes and auburn hair and
was about three years old. All of which we submit this first day of July,
1860. Thomas Barnes, coroner, A. Collins, H. P. Holmes, John Adams,
jurors.
The county judge immediately issued the following handbill
offering a
reward for the arrest of the murderer.--Two Hundred Dollars Reward--A woman
and two children were murdered in this county on Friday evening last, and
the bodies thrown into Cedar Creek north of Batavia. The murderer is
supposed to be six feet high of ordinary weight, dark complexion, without
whiskers, and when seen on Friday afternoon was wearing a half worn Leghorn
hat and a dirty white shirt; and was without a coat or vest.
He was driving two yoke of oxen to a wagon. The
wagon was an old,
light, two horse wagon, muslin cover, dirty and old, but sound. The lead
yoke of cattle was the smallest, and of a yellowish-red color with some
white; the other yoke was dark red and brindle, the bridle being on the near
side. An old fashioned red and matched work coverlet was over the forehead
of the wagon. With the team were two dogs, one a reddish-yellow, and a
puppy of four or five months. From the tracks where the bodies were
carried
to the creek it was supposed there were two persons involved in the murder.
On behalf of the county of Jefferson--I offer a reward
of $200.00 for
the apprehension of the murderer or murderers.
William K. Alexander--County Judge
Fairfield, Iowa--July 1, 1860
An additional reward was raised by a subscription from
Batavia and
Fairfield residents. Sheriff Roff started at once for Batavia, where he
had
learned that an old man and a little boy, with an oxen team, answering to
the description given in the handbills had been seen on the road that day
near, where the bodies were found. The sheriff, with David Huffstutter,
Harrison Smith, William Tegarden, H. A. Miller, Andrew Smith, Lewis Spurlock
and Samuel Espe, together with several from here started out in pursuit and
tracked the party to Upton, Missouri and found the old man and the boy four
miles south of there. One of the oxen had a crooked hoof and they followed
this track easily.
The man, John Kephart, 60 years old gave up without
resistance. The
little boy was very frightened and ran crying to one of the party who was in
with the search. He told the sheriff that his name was Willis, that the
dead woman was his mother, and the two children his brother and sister. He
was awakened one night and found his mother dead in the wagon with a large
gash in her head, and saw Kephart kill his sister and brother. They had
jumped out of the wagon and tried to run away, but he had caught them and
killed them with a club.
Kephart and Willis had lived as neighbors in Cherokee
County, Missouri.
There Kephart had kept a grocery store and sold whiskey to the Indians. He
had also been at one time a preacher, having held small meetings near County
Line. He had lived in Henry County in 1850 and at that time was considered
wealthy. When arrested he had his certificate from the United Brethren
Church to preach.
His wife and nine children at the time of the murder
lived in
Washington County, Iowa. Kephart had had a shady past. He had been
in jail
for various misdeeds and had been associated with John A. Murrill, noted
criminal pirate on the Mississippi.
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KEPHART LYNCHING (Cont.)
Mr. Willis had sold most of his household goods and had
hired Kephart
to take his wife and children to their new home in a covered wagon. They
had with them the money from the sale in gold and silver pieces. It was
hidden in a keg of soap grease. Kephart was after the money and Mrs.
Willis
refused to tell him where they had hidden it.
Kephart had killed the woman near Eddyville and hauled
the bodies to
Cedar Creek. He had stopped to get food on the way and the storekeeper had
noticed flies swarming around the wagon. Kephart had planned to kill the
boy with him as soon as he could make him tell where it was hidden.
The sheriff brought the prisoner back to Fairfield
where he was given a
preliminary hearing before the county judge and then put in jail. Kephart
had attempted suicide in the jail with a rope he had secretly had hidden on
his body the first night in jail.
On Tuesday morning, a group of well-armed men marched
to the jail and
asked for the keys. Judge Alexander, Mr. Wilson, and Acheson Lamson and
others pleaded with the mob to go home and allow the prisoner a fair trial.
But the mob was not easily sent away.
They used a post as a battering ram and broke the door
down, seized the
prisoner and put him in a wagon under guard and took him to the spot where
the bodies had been found, north of Batavia.
By this time more than 2500 persons had gathered by
Cedar Creek, to
witness the mob execution, nearly 400 women were present. About 3 o'clock
the prisoner was helped up a ladder, for he could barely make it on his own
as he had been subject to extreme rough treatment.
There was no trial, the services of a minister were not
offered nor
asked for. Kephart was given a ten minute period for private confession
and
he stated continually that he was innocent. After his hands had been tied
and the rope fastened around his neck, the trap door rope was cut and
Kephart was sent into eternity directly over the spot where the bodies of
the victims had been found.
Kephart's body was taken and thrown into a ditch in
Chautauqua Park in
Fairfield and was found some days later very decomposed. Medical men had
never had a chance to study the body as they left the remains of him in the
ravine for his shallow grave. The bodies of the woman and two children
were
buried in the Batavia Cemetery and the boy was given the wagon and money and
lived with an appointed guardian until his father came for him.
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[Submitted for posting by Bill R.]