Individual Details
Perry Newton Kirkpatrick
(22 Feb 1860 - 20 Nov 1919)
Perry Newton Kirkpatrick was born 29 February 1860 at Emerald Point, Morgan County, Illinois. After his father's death, he and his brothers and sisters were taken in by Perry's uncle, John Lane Kirkpatrick, Jr. In his youth, Perry worked part-time for the railroad and as a carpenter. On 6 October 1881, Perry married in Industry, Illinois, Elizabeth Jane Bennett, daughter of John and Mary K. (Warrington) Bennett.
Between 1882 and 1885 Perry moved his family to Seward, Nebraska. There they lived until 1893 when Perry filed for a 160 acre homestead in Sioux county, northeast of Harrison, in extreme western Nebraska. In 1900 Perry and his family moved by covered wagon to Custer County in Central Nebraska. On 26 March 1907 Perry filed for another homestead, this time in Hooker County, Nebraska. By 1919 he owned a 1400 acre ranch about ten miles southwest of Seneca, Nebraska.
On 20 November 1919 in Hooker County, Perry was murdered*. Southwest of his ranch lived a man named Louis G. Holcomb on a 240 acre homestead. According to the newspaper account of the trial, "Holcomb seemed to be afflicted with a mania that someone wanted to hurt him and carried a revolver in plain view constantly with him for several years. The testimony showed that he expressed himself on several occasions that he would kill somebody..." On the Tuesday before the murder the two men had had a quarrel about some cattle, but the details are murky. Again, quoting the newspaper account, "About 2:30 in the afternoon Kirkpatrick started out on horseback to look after his cattle and came to a cornfield of Holcomb's only a quarter of a mile away from his house. The Holcomb brothers (Louis and Byron) were there with their wagons and were picking some corn and fodder. Kirkpatrick approached and asked if any of his cattle were there. The brothers answered 'No, they have not bothered us here today.' But somehow the conversation turned back towards the dispute they had together the previous Tuesday and a quarrel started...(Kirkpatrick) was shot in the head, the bullet penetrating the right temple in a downward position...most likely shot when he was about to put his foot in the stirrup and ride away on his saddle horse."
Holcomb was subsequently tried and convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to twenty-five years in the state penitentiary. He served approximately ten years of his sentence before being paroled in 1930.
Elizabeth Jane Bennett was born 28 May 1858, probably in New York City, although in the 1900 census she reported that she was born in England and immigrated to the United States in 1863. A search for passports or passenger lists have found no records to verify this story. Her sister was christened at St. Johns Church in New York City, and it is assumed that Elizabeth was also christened there, although no such record has been found. Elizabeth, her sister Emma, and her brother James W. were orphaned before 1867. The girls were placed on an orphan train in New York and transported to Peoria, Illinois. James ran away and so stayed in New York. Emma and Elizabeth were sent to live with two Walker families who owned adjacent farms. These people were very harsh with the sisters. Emma decided to run away and stopped to pick up Elizabeth. They were soon caught, but as they were being returned to the Walkers, Emma jumped off the wagon and went to the William Vance family to ask for help. An investigation ensued, and the Vance family agreed to take Emma. Elizabeth was placed with Andrew and Sarah Anstine of Industry, in McDonough County, Illinois. She worked there as a domestic servant until her marriage in 1881. Following Perry's death, Elizabeth married a second time on 29 January 1923 in Denver, Colorado, to James C. McCracken. She died on 16 January 1931 and is buried in Seneca, Nebraska, next to Perry.
There were six children born to the marriage.
On 1880 Census with uncle John Kirkpatrick at Industry, McDonough Co., Illinois.
*Mitchell Daily Republican, Mitchell, South Dakota, Tuesday, November 25, 1919, Page 8, Col. 4: Cows In Corn Causes Murder. Nebraska Man Confesses Murder of Neighbor Whose Cattle Jumped Fence. (By Associated Press Leased Wire) Omaha, Neb., Nov. 24---Louis G. Holcombe, a rancher living about 18 miles southeast of Mullen, rode into Mullen late Saturday night to give himself up to the sheriff for killing Perry N. Kirkpatirck, a neighbor, according to a dispatch received here from Mullen. As nearly as can be learned, the dispatch says, the tragedy grew out of a dispute over Kirkpatrick's cattle getting into Holcombe's cornfield.
Between 1882 and 1885 Perry moved his family to Seward, Nebraska. There they lived until 1893 when Perry filed for a 160 acre homestead in Sioux county, northeast of Harrison, in extreme western Nebraska. In 1900 Perry and his family moved by covered wagon to Custer County in Central Nebraska. On 26 March 1907 Perry filed for another homestead, this time in Hooker County, Nebraska. By 1919 he owned a 1400 acre ranch about ten miles southwest of Seneca, Nebraska.
On 20 November 1919 in Hooker County, Perry was murdered*. Southwest of his ranch lived a man named Louis G. Holcomb on a 240 acre homestead. According to the newspaper account of the trial, "Holcomb seemed to be afflicted with a mania that someone wanted to hurt him and carried a revolver in plain view constantly with him for several years. The testimony showed that he expressed himself on several occasions that he would kill somebody..." On the Tuesday before the murder the two men had had a quarrel about some cattle, but the details are murky. Again, quoting the newspaper account, "About 2:30 in the afternoon Kirkpatrick started out on horseback to look after his cattle and came to a cornfield of Holcomb's only a quarter of a mile away from his house. The Holcomb brothers (Louis and Byron) were there with their wagons and were picking some corn and fodder. Kirkpatrick approached and asked if any of his cattle were there. The brothers answered 'No, they have not bothered us here today.' But somehow the conversation turned back towards the dispute they had together the previous Tuesday and a quarrel started...(Kirkpatrick) was shot in the head, the bullet penetrating the right temple in a downward position...most likely shot when he was about to put his foot in the stirrup and ride away on his saddle horse."
Holcomb was subsequently tried and convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to twenty-five years in the state penitentiary. He served approximately ten years of his sentence before being paroled in 1930.
Elizabeth Jane Bennett was born 28 May 1858, probably in New York City, although in the 1900 census she reported that she was born in England and immigrated to the United States in 1863. A search for passports or passenger lists have found no records to verify this story. Her sister was christened at St. Johns Church in New York City, and it is assumed that Elizabeth was also christened there, although no such record has been found. Elizabeth, her sister Emma, and her brother James W. were orphaned before 1867. The girls were placed on an orphan train in New York and transported to Peoria, Illinois. James ran away and so stayed in New York. Emma and Elizabeth were sent to live with two Walker families who owned adjacent farms. These people were very harsh with the sisters. Emma decided to run away and stopped to pick up Elizabeth. They were soon caught, but as they were being returned to the Walkers, Emma jumped off the wagon and went to the William Vance family to ask for help. An investigation ensued, and the Vance family agreed to take Emma. Elizabeth was placed with Andrew and Sarah Anstine of Industry, in McDonough County, Illinois. She worked there as a domestic servant until her marriage in 1881. Following Perry's death, Elizabeth married a second time on 29 January 1923 in Denver, Colorado, to James C. McCracken. She died on 16 January 1931 and is buried in Seneca, Nebraska, next to Perry.
There were six children born to the marriage.
On 1880 Census with uncle John Kirkpatrick at Industry, McDonough Co., Illinois.
*Mitchell Daily Republican, Mitchell, South Dakota, Tuesday, November 25, 1919, Page 8, Col. 4: Cows In Corn Causes Murder. Nebraska Man Confesses Murder of Neighbor Whose Cattle Jumped Fence. (By Associated Press Leased Wire) Omaha, Neb., Nov. 24---Louis G. Holcombe, a rancher living about 18 miles southeast of Mullen, rode into Mullen late Saturday night to give himself up to the sheriff for killing Perry N. Kirkpatirck, a neighbor, according to a dispatch received here from Mullen. As nearly as can be learned, the dispatch says, the tragedy grew out of a dispute over Kirkpatrick's cattle getting into Holcombe's cornfield.
Events
| Birth | 22 Feb 1860 | Emerald Point, Morgan Co., Illinois |  | ||
| Marriage | 6 Oct 1881 | Industry, McDonough Co., Illinois - Elizabeth Jane Bennett | | ||
| Death | 20 Nov 1919 | Hooker Co., Nebraska | | ||
| Burial | Seneca Cemetery, Thomas Co., Nebraska | |
Families
| Spouse | Elizabeth Jane Bennett (1858 - 1931) |
| Child | Alice Belle Kirkpatrick (1882 - 1942) |
| Child | James Monroe Kirkpatrick (1885 - 1886) |
| Child | Clara May Kirkpatrick (1887 - 1922) |
| Child | Raymond "Ray" Burt Kirkpatrick (1890 - 1954) |
| Child | Louie Newton Kirkpatrick (1896 - 1979) |
| Child | Silva Mary Kirkpatrick (1899 - 1972) |
| Father | James S. Kirkpatrick (1836 - 1875) |
| Mother | Harriet H. Ogle (1840 - 1872) |
| Sibling | James Barnett Kirkpatrick (1862 - 1935) |
| Sibling | Benjamin Absolom Kirkpatrick (1865 - 1936) |
| Sibling | Nellie Belle Kirkpatrick (1868 - 1952) |
| Sibling | Harriet Matilda Kirkpatrick (1872 - 1955) |
| Sibling | Alice Jane Kirkpatrick (1872 - 1872) |
Endnotes
1. tombstones.nesgs.org, Tombstones from Nebraska State Genealogical Society.org.
4. tombstones.nesgs.org, Tombstones from Nebraska State Genealogical Society.org.
5. tombstones.nesgs.org, Tombstones from Nebraska State Genealogical Society.org.