THE MEAD MURDER

By Doug Zwicky

 

History II

April 26, 1940

Published by Inez Fuerst

 

The Mead Murder

 

            On the seventh night of the month of October in the year of our Lord 1882, the Sixth commandment was brutally and forcefully violated for on that date one Henry C. Mead was murdered.

            Mr. Mead was an eccentric man.  In business he was a private banker. He was moderately successful though he had a very peculiar habit about his business.  He had no wife or children or relatives near him.  He would do his work while others slept.  There in his little office he would post his books and count his cash for the day at eleven, twelve or one o’clock in the night.  He would keep his notes in brown paper with the history of the note written on the wrapping. All these peculiar habits were known to the people of Waupaca.  His place of business was in the building now used by Mrs. Sorenson for a dry-cleaning/pressing establishment.  The building then stood where the Western Union Telegraph office was until very recently.

            In addition to his odd business habits, Mr. Mead was a gossip and meddler.  He had interfered with the night watch and he had gained the ill-will of a crowd of young men, who liked to get intoxicated and ride with strange women and do tings young men like to do.  Among these men were four named Fred Lea, Sam Stout, Tab Prior and Edwin C. Bronson.  More will be heard of these men later.

            With permission of the reader I would like to quote from the introductory address to the jury delivered by the Hon. H.V.J. Quarles who opened the case for the prosecution Wednesday morning June 21, 1893.  Eleven years after the crime had been committed. Said Mr. Quarles, speaking of Mr. Mead, quote, “On that memorable evening he walked uptown, gossiping as he went, and while he was gone, somebody went to a back window and concealed himself in a small woodshed back of the bedroom.  Later Mr. Mead came home.

            Before twelve o’clock that night the door opened from the woodshed into the old man’s bedroom and some one struck him on the head with a blunt instrument, with three distinct cuts. Read the story of the crime from the hands of the murdered man, written by his own hand, covered with his own blood, around that little room.  He was evidently stunned, fell to the floor, groped his way to the door, and the marks of his hand and head appeared on that door.”  While the assassins were rifling the safe, Mr. Mead struggled to regain consciousness, staggered to the bed, and laid down, his life blood flowing all over the pillow.  Then he got back to his chair, and bowed his head down upon the ledger on the table, on which he had just finished an account, for time and eternity.  There was no light in the room except in the back part, but these men knew where the banker kept his notes, bonds, and money, and they took them and took notes and mortgages of no use to anybody, unless the person who took them had a note there; they took $3500 in bonds and about $1100 in cash, overlooking about $700 cash, which was on the counter.  They get this money and go into the back room and to their surprise they found the old man had recovered consciousness; that he knew them.  An emergency arose; something had to be done.  “They were his neighbors.  A professional burglar, having his plunder, would have escaped, he would have no reason to murder; but if the men who had robbed that bank lived here a second crime was necessary.  A man who commits a crime has got to commit another to cover it up, and then it was for the first that the scheme of killing the old man was entertained.  Those men, filled with liquor then and there determined to kill Mead to save themselves, and what happened:  One man stood upon a dry goods box, holding a Flabert rifle, and fired a ball into the old man’s temple and that ball will be shown to you gentlemen. Although the aim was sure, that door into the woodshed, opened and two men, each with a shotgun deliberately shot he old man’s head into bits.  Great chunks of oozing flesh, forced by those shots, were driven against the wall.  One of his eyes was carried over nearly to the bed, his head was shot to pieces, and the force of the discharge threw him back into the chair, his head falling on the table, and his arm hanging down by the side of the table.”  Ten years after he was buried Mr. Mead was disturbed in his sleep to have his head amputated to furnish evidence at the trial.

            The atmosphere around Waupaca after the murder was almost unbearable.  Everybody lived in the dread fear of saying something that would bring the suspicion of the townspeople upon themselves or that they might be talking to one of the murderers in person.

            The state opened the main trial on Wednesday, June 21, 1893 with the speech, part of which I have quoted.  The jury took seats in the same courtroom we still use.  They were seated as follows:  Back row:  Kelly, Anderson, Lutch, Mallory, Rohrer, Rosenow.  Front row:  Warren, Smith, Martin, Louthern, McGuire, and Colwell.  The same seats were kept throughout the trial.  The Hon. Chas. W. Felker took counsel for the defense.

            Defendants took the stand in the following order:  Fred Lea, Sam Stout, Abe Barnes, Tab Prior, Frank Stout and Edwin C. Bronson.

            Fred Lea.  The first witness sworn for the defense.  Mr. Lea was about 40 years old at the time of the trial. Lived in Waupaca 28 years.  He knew Mr. Mead.  Did banking business with Mead for 4 or 5 years before Mr. Mead’s death. He was under indictment of accessory.

            Sam Stout, second defendant to take the stand. He was 44 years old.  Moved to Waupaca in 1882.  Was married 24 years ago. He had 5 children, the oldest 22 years and the youngest 22 months.

            Went into the saloon business in the Woodworth Building.  Stayed there 3 or 4 years.  He had know Mead only by sight.

            Abe Barnes was the third defendant to take the stand.  Not much is known of the Negro barber.  He was arrested as an accessory after the fact.  It was thought he hid one of the murders in the hollow base of one of his barber chairs.

            Tab Prior, the fourth defendant called to the stand was 39 years old at the time of the trial.  Was married and had two children.  He was a policeman at the time of the murder. Went on the force September 1881.

            Frank Stout, the fifth defendant to take the stand. No facts about his life can be found.

            Edwin C. Bronson, the sixth and last defendant to take the stand.  He was 43 years old at the time of the trial.  Married 20 years before and the father of 3 children.  He was in business with W.C. Miller, his brother-in-law.  Succeeded Miller in business at his death (Miller’s).  Miller and Bronson have done their business with Mead and Bronson kept on doing it.

            One of the highlights of the trial came when Michael J. Harris was called to the stand.  Harris was at the time of the trial serving life imprisonment for murder at the State’s prison at Waupun.

            He was shackled hand and foot and accompanied by an armed deputy warden from the prison.  At the court’s request the shackles were taken off his hands.

            His testimony was given in a calm and cool manner, but it didn’t seem to “carry any weight” with the jury for if it had it could have found Bronson, Prior, Lea, and Sam Stout guilty of murder in the first degree.

            Although the grand total of the trial was $18,000, the jury reached a decision of “Not Guilty” and if they have not died or moved the Murderers of Henry C. Mead, private banker, still walk the streets of Waupaca.