Individual Details
Ira Verne Adkins
(21 Jun 1903 - 13 May 1973)
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, November 14, 1946, Page 12, Col. 8: Couple Are Arrested As Peace Disturbers. Ira Verne Adkins, 44, and his wife, Julie, 43, of South Modesto Acres, were arrested late yesterday on charges of disturbing the peace. Lee Adkins, Keyes, their son made the complaint. He said his parents had been fighting and in the course of the altercation Adkins assertedly hit his wife on the head. She required hospital attention.
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, December 10, 1948 has account of the beating and her death.
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, December 11, 1948, Page 1, Col. 3: Adkins Will Face Murder Charge. A murder charge was to be filed today against Vern Adkins, 45, of Modesto, who is accused of beating his wife, Mrs. Julia Adkins, 45, in their cabin on the B. B. Britton ranch near Firebaugh, Fresno County, last Thanksgiving Day, causing her death here last Thursday. Deputy District Attorney H. W. Harrington of Fresno charged the accused man beat and kicked Mrs. Adkins because she hid their money, which he wanted to use to buy liquor. Witnessed By Daughter. The attack was witnessed by the couple's 9 year old daughter, Beryl, who told Harrington her father first kicked her mother off the bed, then struck her with his fist, grabbed her by the hair and banged her head against the floor several times. Seriousness Not Realized. Mrs. Adkins did not realize the seriousness of her condition, Harrington said, and she received no treatment until she was brought to the county hospital here the night before she died. Member of the family said she complained to having severe headaches last Sunday and on Wednesday was taken to the hospital after she complained she was losing her sight. Atkins was arrested by Constable Albert H. Lopez of Firebaugh.
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, December 22, 1948, Page 10, Col. 2: Preliminary Hearing For Adkins In Wife Murder Case Opens. Fresno, Dec. 22,---Testimony of two doctors that Mrs. Julia Adkins, 45, died in a Modesto hospital from head injuries today took up most of the first session of a preliminary murder hearing for her husband, Ira Verne Adkins, 45. The hearing was continued by Justice of the Peace George M. DeWolf to 2 PM tomorrow when it became evident it could not be completed in the one session. Dr. John Steward Wooley and Dr.. Jack K. Ransom, both of Modesto, testified at length to the brain injuries they found in a post mortem examination of Mrs. Adkins. The 9 year old daughter of the couple testified Adkins had kicker her mother in the side of the head after dragging the woman off the bed where she was lying when Adkins first tried to awaken her. The injuries were suffered Thanksgiving Day. Mrs. Adkins died December 9th, nine hours after she had been taken to the hospital.
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, January 8, 1949, Page 9, Col. 8: Adkins Gets Five Months In Fatal Beating Of Wife. Fresno, Feb. 8---Ira Verne Adkins, Middleaged cotton picker who was to have gone on trial next Tuesday on a charge of murdering his wife, Julia, late yesterday was sentenced to serve five months in the Fresno County Industrial Road Camp, less 60 days he already has been in jail. On the motion of Deputy district Attorney Herbert W. Harrington, Superior Judge Ernest Klelle permitted Adkins to withdraw his plea of not guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Must Serve 3 Months. Since he was jailed last December 9th, the day before his wife died in the Stanislaus County Hospital in Modesto of a cerebral hemorrhage, Adkins will have to serve only three months more. Adkins was accused of fatally beating his wife last Thanksgiving Day in the presence of their 7, 9 and 12 year old daughters in their tent in the Britton Camp eight miles northwest of Firebaugh when Mrs. Adkins refused to give him money with which to buy more wine. Died In Hospital. The injuried woman subsequently picked cotton two days, then complained of headache and was taken to the hospital in Modesto, their home, on December 9th and died December 10th. Harrington informed the court that of the three children who witnessed the beating, only the 9 year old daughter was capable of giving a credible account of events. He explained this posed difficult problem of admissible evidence. Adkins denied beating his wife but admitted an altercation. He asserted she also had been drinking wine earlier in the day and was intoxicated.
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, December 10, 1948 has account of the beating and her death.
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, December 11, 1948, Page 1, Col. 3: Adkins Will Face Murder Charge. A murder charge was to be filed today against Vern Adkins, 45, of Modesto, who is accused of beating his wife, Mrs. Julia Adkins, 45, in their cabin on the B. B. Britton ranch near Firebaugh, Fresno County, last Thanksgiving Day, causing her death here last Thursday. Deputy District Attorney H. W. Harrington of Fresno charged the accused man beat and kicked Mrs. Adkins because she hid their money, which he wanted to use to buy liquor. Witnessed By Daughter. The attack was witnessed by the couple's 9 year old daughter, Beryl, who told Harrington her father first kicked her mother off the bed, then struck her with his fist, grabbed her by the hair and banged her head against the floor several times. Seriousness Not Realized. Mrs. Adkins did not realize the seriousness of her condition, Harrington said, and she received no treatment until she was brought to the county hospital here the night before she died. Member of the family said she complained to having severe headaches last Sunday and on Wednesday was taken to the hospital after she complained she was losing her sight. Atkins was arrested by Constable Albert H. Lopez of Firebaugh.
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, December 22, 1948, Page 10, Col. 2: Preliminary Hearing For Adkins In Wife Murder Case Opens. Fresno, Dec. 22,---Testimony of two doctors that Mrs. Julia Adkins, 45, died in a Modesto hospital from head injuries today took up most of the first session of a preliminary murder hearing for her husband, Ira Verne Adkins, 45. The hearing was continued by Justice of the Peace George M. DeWolf to 2 PM tomorrow when it became evident it could not be completed in the one session. Dr. John Steward Wooley and Dr.. Jack K. Ransom, both of Modesto, testified at length to the brain injuries they found in a post mortem examination of Mrs. Adkins. The 9 year old daughter of the couple testified Adkins had kicker her mother in the side of the head after dragging the woman off the bed where she was lying when Adkins first tried to awaken her. The injuries were suffered Thanksgiving Day. Mrs. Adkins died December 9th, nine hours after she had been taken to the hospital.
Modesto Bee & Herald-News, Modesto, California, January 8, 1949, Page 9, Col. 8: Adkins Gets Five Months In Fatal Beating Of Wife. Fresno, Feb. 8---Ira Verne Adkins, Middleaged cotton picker who was to have gone on trial next Tuesday on a charge of murdering his wife, Julia, late yesterday was sentenced to serve five months in the Fresno County Industrial Road Camp, less 60 days he already has been in jail. On the motion of Deputy district Attorney Herbert W. Harrington, Superior Judge Ernest Klelle permitted Adkins to withdraw his plea of not guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Must Serve 3 Months. Since he was jailed last December 9th, the day before his wife died in the Stanislaus County Hospital in Modesto of a cerebral hemorrhage, Adkins will have to serve only three months more. Adkins was accused of fatally beating his wife last Thanksgiving Day in the presence of their 7, 9 and 12 year old daughters in their tent in the Britton Camp eight miles northwest of Firebaugh when Mrs. Adkins refused to give him money with which to buy more wine. Died In Hospital. The injuried woman subsequently picked cotton two days, then complained of headache and was taken to the hospital in Modesto, their home, on December 9th and died December 10th. Harrington informed the court that of the three children who witnessed the beating, only the 9 year old daughter was capable of giving a credible account of events. He explained this posed difficult problem of admissible evidence. Adkins denied beating his wife but admitted an altercation. He asserted she also had been drinking wine earlier in the day and was intoxicated.
Events
| Birth | 21 Jun 1903 | Johnson Co., Arkansas |  | ||
| Residence | 1910 | Horsehead, Johnson Co., Arkansas | | ||
| Residence | 1920 | Horsehead, Johnson Co., Arkansas | | ||
| Marriage | 21 May 1920 | Johnson Co., Arkansas - Julia Christine Buchanan | | ||
| Residence | 1930 | Horsehead, Johnson Co., Arkansas | | ||
| Death | 13 May 1973 | Keyes, Stanislaus Co., California | | ||
| Burial | Ira V. Adkins, Turlock Memorial Park Cemetery, Turlock, Stanislaus Co., California | |
Families
| Spouse | Julia Christine Buchanan (1903 - 1948) |
| Child | Arlen Lee Vern Adkins (1923 - 1997) |
| Child | Reginald Lavonne Adkins (1924 - 1978) |
| Child | Harold Dean Adkins (1928 - 1976) |
| Child | Marion Jane Adkins (1936 - 2003) |
| Child | Bernell Adkins (1939 - 1971) |
| Child | Laura Christine Adkins (1941 - 1990) |
| Father | John Abraham Adkins Sr. (1879 - 1963) |
| Mother | Lura Elizabeth Porter (1886 - 1922) |
| Sibling | Burruss W. Adkins (1905 - 1920) |
| Sibling | Della Adkins (1907 - 1993) |
| Sibling | Etta Pearl Adkins (1909 - 1948) |
| Sibling | Florence Adkins (1911 - 2006) |
| Sibling | Joseph "Joe" B. Adkins (1913 - 1973) |
| Sibling | Jim Adkins (1917 - 1925) |
| Sibling | Amy Annis Lorraine Adkins (1919 - 1979) |
| Sibling | Abner Adkins (1922 - 1922) |
| Sibling | Abraham Adkins (1922 - 1922) |
Endnotes
1. Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006), Database online..
2. Johnson Co. Arkansas Marriage Record Book, Book W, page 152.
3. Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006), Database online..
4. Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006), Database online..
5. Johnson Co. Arkansas Marriage Record Book, Book W, page 152.
6. Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006), Database online..
7. Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006), Database online..
8. Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006), Database online..
9. Find A Grave.
10. Find A Grave.