Henry Chester's REALLY Bad Day

In July of 1905 Thomas H. McClain came to Ainsworth to spend his vacation at the farm home of his daughter Constance and her husband, Charles Chester. Thomas lived in Chicago; he probably expected this country vacation to be a pleasant break from the noisy, dangerous city.

It would prove otherwise thanks to his daughter's father-in-law, Henry Chester.

On the evening of Monday, July 24, Thomas and Henry, and perhaps Charles as well, were all outdoors, and someone was driving a team of horses. (The report of the incident is sketchy.)

Apparently Henry disapproved of the way that person was driving the horses. He voiced his disapproval. An argument ensued and escalated. Henry became completely enraged and ended the argument by grabbing a pitchfork and attacking Thomas with it. He didn't just whack at him — he stabbed him, several times, hard enough to cause injuries.

The next we hear of Thomas, he was in Crown Point getting medical attention for his injuries and complaining to the law-enforcement authorities of Henry's attack on him. Thomas considered it assault with intent to kill.

Henry was summoned to answer the complaint before Justice Barton in Crown Point at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 27, but he did not appear. He sent word that he was sick, and the hearing was postponed.

Two months later, the appeal of Jacob Portmess on his trespass conviction — stemming from the March 1905 incident between him and Henry — came up for hearing. Again Henry called in sick. That hearing, too, was postponed.

I've now read the Hobart Gazette through January 1907 and have found no follow-up report on either of these incidents. On the other hand, Henry hasn't attacked anyone else since July 1905.

About a week after that pitchfork incident, Henry's son-in-law Charles Nelson came down from Chicago to spend a few hours at Henry's house. Folks, to give you an idea of wild imagination I have to live with — from this tidbit of information I have dreamed up a whole story about this visit being some sort of intervention or peace mission.

Henry Chester died in April 1910. Perhaps he got through the last few years of his life without having another bad day. We'll see.

Sources:
♦ "General News Items." Hobart Gazette 11 Aug. 1905; 13 Oct. 1905.
♦ "Stabbed With Pitchfork." Hobart Gazette 28 July 1905.