On the afternoon of Sunday, August 11, 1901, Charles Chester went out on a mission: he was going to retrieve his twelve-year-old stepson from the house of one Mike O'Hearn. According to the Hobart Gazette, the boy "had been away from home about a week," which sounds as if he'd gone AWOL.
The boy in question was probably Frank Booty, who (if the 1900 census can be relied on) was twelve years old in 1901. As for this Mike O'Hearn, I haven't been able to find any official information on him.
The encounter did not go well. For reasons unknown to the Gazette, Mike grabbed a piece of wood and went on the attack, hitting Charles several times. The worst was a blow to the left arm that caused a compound fracture at the elbow.
Charles retreated to get medical attention. No word of whether the stepson came away with him.
Naturally, Charles complained to the authorities. Mike had the nerve to complain right back, saying that Charles had used profane language to him.
The profanity case against Charles came up for jury trial in the court of Justice John Mathews on September 4. After three hours of deliberations, with the votes stuck at nine for conviction, three for acquittal, the jurymen declared themselves hopelessly deadlocked and were dismissed.
The assault case against Mike was tried in Hammond on Saturday, September 7. He was found guilty. The court required him to pay a fine of $5.00, plus $20.85 in costs. Mike declared his intention to appeal to the Superior Court.
Sources:
♦ "General News Items." Hobart Gazette (Hobart, Ind.) 16 Aug. 1901.
♦ "General News Items." Hobart Gazette (Hobart, Ind.) 9 Sept. 1901.
♦ "More Swearing." Hobart Gazette (Hobart, Ind.) 13 Sept. 1901
Monday, February 22, 2010
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Oh, Lordy! Trouble was Frank's ( and maybe Chas.'s) middle name. I love coming across posts that I have missed before pertaining to the Chesters. Helps to round out my impressions of them, both positive and negative. Frank's mother Con. was my great g'ma's sister. My grandmother came from Chicago to visit her, fell in love w/ a farmer here in rip-snortin' NW In, and many yrs. later here I am reading about their lives. I treasure any little tidbit, tangible or not, about life back then. Thanks for all you do!!
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