Individual Details

Our search for Virgil Hollenbeck began in early 1974 in the basement of the Garfield County Courthouse in Jordan, Montana where we found Art's mother, Edna, registered for school in District 51 for the 1926-27 school year as Edna
Hollenbeck, daughter of Carrie Williams. They were residing at Butte Creek at the time.
The following year, age 17, she was again registered as Edna Hollenbeck, though this time in School District 2 along with Joe, Nellie and John Williams. In 1930 she was once again registered in District 51, this time as Edna
Spracklin (Hollenbeck) with Oliver Spracklin shown as guardian.
Later that summer we returned to Montana for Art's 20th class reunion, stopping first at the Dawson County Courthouse in Glendive. Jordan had been a part of Dawson County until 1919 when Dawson was divided and Garfield County created with Jordan as its county seat.
A check of birth, death and marriage records in Dawson County revealed no information for us, but as we visited with the women working that afternoon and showed what we were doing and explained our interest in Hollenbeck, first name
yet unknown, one of them asked us to wait a little longer while she went to the basement to look through some older records stored there. When she returned she had the "Enquest Over the Body of Virgil Hollenbeck" dated December 12,
1910.

County Cororner, Glendive, Montana.
This enquest presiding is recorded on pages 42-43 of my docket. I will send in expense bill of enquest and burial
expenses. Do you have any blanks for this work? If so please send me a few and obliged.
Signed/C.F. Gregory, J.P., Jordan, Dawson County, Montana
The Inquest Over the Body of V.A. Hollenbeck
Probate Court - Case No. 6199

Chas. Fisher: I saw Hollenbeck come to door. I saw Hollenbeck on bed with throat cut. I saw nothing to indicate any
doubt as to suicide. Signed/Chas Fisher.

Kramer: Same as Fisher. Signed/Chas Kramer

S.G. Sartwell: I saw the body, saw throat cut and knife in hand. Signed/S.G.Sartwell

Garner Smith: Same as Sartwell. Signed/Garner Smith

Dr. Baker: I saw Hollenbeck with throat cut laying on bed with knife in hand. There could be no doubt but he did it
himself. Signed/Dr. David Baker

Signed/ W.C. Henderson, Clerk; C.F. Gregory, Acting Coroner

Mrs. Bozarth and Mrs. Hollenbeck:
Hollenbeck came into my house about 9 A.M., picked up baby and said Carrie, what are you going to do, are you going to live with me and she said no I am not. He said are you going to Forsyth. She said no. He said he would take the baby and Carrie said he could not. He says I will have it and then stabbed it, then made a lunge for Carrie, but she got out of the door. Signed/Mrs. Bozarth and Mrs. Hollenbeck

J.C. Bennet:
Question: What time did you see Mr. Hollenbeck? Answer: About 10 o'clock A.M., December 11, 1910.
Question: Was anybody in the house with you? Answer: No, only Hollenbeck and his baby.
Question: Did you take the baby from him? Answer: Yes.
Question: What part of the house were you when you saw Hollenbeck and baby? Answer: He was laying on the bed
with his throat cut, knife in his right hand, smeared with blood. Baby laying on his left side over the lower
arm and was crying.
Question: Could you identify the knife? Answer: Yes, that is the knife.
Question: How do you think Hollenbeck came to his death? Answer: By his own hand.
Signed/J.C. Bennet Sworne and ____ to before me in Presance of Jury. C.F. Gregory, Acting Coroner.

Jordan, Montana, December 12, 1910.
We the Jury in the Coroner's Enquest over the body of V.A. Hollenbeck find that the Deceased met his Death by a cut in
neck on the right side ranging from judgler vain to the adam apple in front. This cut inflicted by himself with a Jack knife in his own hand.
Signed/R.J. Ramsey, H.O. Woods, Albert Nerguard, O.W. Shoemaker, Fred Polten, F.A. Garinger, "Jurors".


Using this date and assuming that this death might have been a newsworthy event, we drove to Miles City, Montana the next morning. At the Miles City Public Library we found the following article in the "Yellowstone Journal" dated December 14, 1910.

BLOODY TRAGEDY IN VICINITY OF JORDAN.
Virge Hollenbeck Stabs Child, Pursues Wife, Then Suicides.
After a short but futile pursuit after his wife who was fleeing from the house of George Bozarth, who runs a restaurant at Jordan, Sunday morning, in company with Mrs. Bozarth, Virge Hollenbeck returned to the house and there, by cutting his throat with a knife, completed a tragedy which he had commenced by stabbing his one year old babe with the weapon. It was about 9 o'clock in the morning when Hollenbeck took out a jacknife and plunged it fiercely into the body of the little one, and then he turned to give his attention to his wife, but she and Mrs. Bozarth had started to flee in terror.
Hollenbeck pursued them but they had met and told their tale to several men and the party started for the Bozarth place. Seeing them coming Hollenbeck returned to the Bozarth place and locked the door. The advancing party began
to shoot at the house, but quickly desisted when informed there was a child inside. They fully expected Hollenbeck would fire on them and were cautious about approaching too near at first but as no signs of resistence were offered
by the man inside they eventually drew up to the house and forced the door open.
Then it was discovered that Hollenbeck had committed suicide by cutting his own throat, but not before he had made a desparate effort to kill the babe by stabbing it six times in addition to the first. The babe was not dead, however, but was sitting up beside the corpse of its parent. It was immediately taken in charge by Dr. Baker and when the stage left Jordan Sunday night it was still alive, with apparent prospect of recovery.
Hollenbeck was a man of about 35 years of age. He was appointed deputy sheriff subsequent to the resignation of Chas. Marrs, but his dissolute habits necessitated his removal. He married the daughter of Lou Broughton, a former
well known old timer and driver of the Jordan stage, having eloped with the girl, who is now his widow.
It is said that he was recently in Miles City with $200 handed him by a resident of Jordan which he was to expend in procuring a license for a saloon at Jordan, but instead of doing so "blew in" the money for liquor. When he
returned to his home his wife became disheartened and digusted with him for thus selfishly throwing away an opportunity to make a livelihood and compelling her to live in poverty, and left him, and went to work at the Bozarth
restaurant to support herself and child.
It was after Hollenbeck had attempted to persuade his wife to return totheir home and live with him again and she refused that he attempted the murder which thus far has resulted only in his own death.


We began writing to all counties surroundng Jordan, keeping in mind which counties were in existence in 1906-08, the years we guessed they might have been married. We also wrote to anyone else who we thought might possibly have knowledge of Hollenbeck or the incident. One of these was May Billings who had been interested in Garfield County history for some time and who was then gathering information for a future book.

Shortly after we heard from Valley County that they had the marriage record for Carrie Broughton and Hollenbeck, we also heard from May Billings. She enclosed the following article from the "Valley County News", Glasgow, dated
July 31, 1907.

TRUE LOVE NEVER RUNS SMOOTH.
Virgil A. Hollenbeck and Carrie Broughton, a young couple, arrived from Jordan with the intention of getting married but found the sheriff awaiting with a telegram ordering the man's arrest for eloping with a girl only 14 years of age. The prospective groom was lodged in jail to await further instructions while the lady was accommodated at Sheriff
Small's home. After receiving no further orders by Wednesday morning the man was released and he lost no time escorting his sweetheart to the Clerk of Court's office where they secured a license to wed. Instead of giving her age
as 14, she declared she was 19 and they were allowed to go their way unmolested. Judge Evans made them man and wife and they got through just in time to catch an outgoing passenger train.
It is claimed this couple put in an appearance at Malta first and as Hollenbeck answered the description of a horse thief wanted in another part of the state, he was arrested by Constable Smith and brought to Glasgow where he
was released from the charge and then arrested for abduction.

On a later visit to Jordan we visited the office of the "Jordan Gazette" where we found the following article. The one year old that Hollenbeck had stabbed and who survived that bloody incident was undoubtedly Wilbur. The
article is dated Thursday, April 22, 1915.

DEATH OF WILBUR HOLLENBECK.
Little Wilbur Hollenbeck, the five year old son of Mrs. Carrie Curtis, died early Wednesday morning, April 21st, after an illness of about a month with typhoid fever. The little fellow was stricken with this malady on Vail Creek at the home of William Broughton and at first his condition was not considered serious, but about two weeks ago he was brought to Jordan to be near a physician. But the disease was so far advanced that notwithstanding the fact that excellent nursing and all the care that loving hands could administer to the little boy, he gradually grew weaker and weaker until death relieved his sufferings. His death was not entirely unexpected, as it had been realized for several days that his chances for recovery were rather doubtful.

A slightly different version of Hollenbeck's death was found in the draft copy of "Some Doin's", the Arthur Jordan autobiography being written by Joel Bernstein in 1980..
"Then Holleneck went on a rampage, he had trouble with his wife who had left him and went to live at Mrs. Bozarth's Restaurant. Hollenbeck, who had been drinking heavily and had not drawn a sober breath for more than a year, went
completely insane. One morning he went to the restaurant, picked up his baby from a couch, then with his pocket knife stabbed it nine times around the right nipple. Then he made an effort to catch his wife but she eluded him and ran
screaming from the building. Mrs. Bozarth also made her escape..
The male population of Jordan, with the exception of a very few citizens, turned out with guns and began to send a stream of lead into the restuarant building. A few men came with ropes, with which they intended to hang
Hollenbeck should he be taken alive. He came from the building with the baby in his arms during a lull in the firing. He walked a short distance toward the store, then turned and went back into the restaurant..
The firing became continuous, Hollenbeck's only weapon being his pocket knife. Then James Bennett came upon the scene, telling them to cease firing, he maneuvered about until he gained the door of the restuarant and there on a
bed in the bedroom lay Hollenbeck with his baby in his arms. He had cut his throat from ear to ear. Bennett stepped outside and beckened to the gang. They hastened to the building with Dr. Baker in the lead. They found Hollenbeck
gasping his last, the baby still alive with nine knife thrusts in its breast, and impossible as it seems, Dr. Baker saved the child's life. Yet, there is no credit due those men, who like a swarm of ants peeping from behind shelter spitting lead at a man whose only weapon was a pocket knife. It is a pitty the man James Bennett did not arrive on the scene before the shooting commenced.
The baby died of pneumonia a few years afterward."

Coroner's Book, Clerk & Recorders Office, Dawson County Courthouse, Glendive, Montana
V. A. Hollenbeck is listed among the Jurors on an Inquest held at Chas. Kramer's ranch on Snow Creek on the 23rd day of June 1903 over the body of Chas. R. Hill. The Jury found that he came to his death by a rifle shot in the hands of one of the outlaws by the names of William Hardee [sic] and Fred McKinney on the 15th of June about one mile up Snow Creek from Sullinger's ranch and about one and a half miles north of the creek. The inventory of his personal effects included $6 and some cents, one pocket knife and a rifle by his side. He was buried by the Sheriff's posse where he was killed. (p24)
The following day V. A. Hollenbeck was among the Jurors for an Inquest held at Chas. Kramer's ranch on Snow Creek on the body of Wm. L. Harder [sic]. The Jury found that he came to his death by a rifle shot fired by one of the Sheriff's posse while resisting arrest on June 15th, 1903 about one mile up Snow Creek from Sullinger's ranch and one and a half miles north of the creek. The Jury exhonorated all members of the Sheriff's posse from any blame. His personal effects included a hankerchief, fish line and hook, 1 pound of chewing tobacco, 1$2 match, a pair of ladies kid gloves and 1 30x30 rifle. (p24)
V. A. Hollenbeck was again a Juror at an Inquest held at Jordan on the 23rd of October 1904 over the body of Ed Curl. According to the evidence received from the witnesses at the Inquest the Jurors found that Ed Curl came to his death on October 19, 1904 at the southwest corner of the porch of Geo. Rock's Hotel in the town of Jordan, Dawson county, Montana by receiving three gunshot wounds by the hand of Geo. Rock. The Jurors found from evidence and observation that the killing was pre-meditated and wantonly done. Personal effects were 50 cents in coin a pocket knife given to his brother Lou Curl. The body was given to his brother Louis Curl. (p28) [note: In an article in the YJ, 16 Jun 1908, "George Rock was hanged yesterday at Deer Lodge for the muder of guard John Robinson in the pentitentiary." The 17 Jun 1908 YJ described the hanging in detail and said "he was sent to Deer Lodge for 99 years for the murder of a man in Jordan, Dawson county" and had served five years of his term when he killed the guard while attempting to escape.]
V. A. Hollenbeck was a juror in Jordan again on November 11, 1906 when an Inquest was held on the body of Joseph New who met his death by having a wagon turned over on him at Snow Creek about thirty miles northwest from Jordan on Thursday, November 8, 1906. (p32) The same day he was a juror at Jordan for the Inquest held over the body of Michael Fitzgerald whose death was caused by a gunshot wound in the head administered by his own hand at Jordan, Montana about 7:30 p.m., November 7, 1906, in the building known as A. J. Jordan's Lodging House. (p32)

The Independent, Miles City, 10 Jan 1907, p5, c3, in Locals
"N. A. Hollenbeck [sic] was here from Jordan last Monday on business."

YJ, 8 Jan 1909, Short Locals
"V. A. Hollenbeck is in the city from Jordan."

Birth	Apr 1878	, California
Marriage	13 Jul 1907	Glasgow, Valley, Montana - Carrie Ellen Broughton
Death	11 Dec 1910	Jordan, Dawson, Montana
Burial		Jordan, Dawson, Montana

Spouse	Carrie Ellen Broughton (1892 - 1966)
Child	Wilbur Hollenbeck (1909 - 1915)
Child	Edna Louise Hollenbeck (1911 - 1960)

Father	Asa Manuel Hollenbeak (1841 - 1919)
Mother	Mary B. McClure (1853 - 1932)
Sibling	Mary Belle "Belle" Hollenbeak (1876 - 1932)
Sibling	Asa Oscar Hollenbeak (1879 - 1919)
Sibling	Hattie J. Hollenbeak (1881 - 1932)
Sibling	James Arch Hollenbeak (1884 - 1932)