Murder In McLean County
February 13, 1885
Clinton Public
Clinton, Illinois
A FAMILY IN WHICH DEWITT COUNTY NEVER TOOK MUCH PRIDE.
Some ten or twelve years ago a widow with her family of children came from Tennessee and located in the brush near Clinton. The Widow's name was ENNIS, and she had four children, two boys and two girls. The oldest of the boys passed by the name of Doug ENNIS. While the name of Ennis was not his by right, he took it because it belonged to his mother. He was an illegitimate child. The family eked out a precarious living by bringing to town chips and rough wood which they gathered in the timber. They had a sorry-looking pair of horses. Doug did not stay around Clinton much, and indeed the whole family were itinerants, moving from place to place as their fancy dictated. For a long time the Ennis family dropped out of sight, but a few months ago they came here from Decatur and squatted by the roadside across Ten-mile, west of town, near the Weaver timber. Doug by this time had a woman with him whom he called his wife. Doug's wife it is said would have been pretty had she been surrounded with the advantages that would have brought out her beauty. She had black and eyes, good features, and a rather comely figure. While here, she used to visit the post-office frequently and received quite a number of letters from Decatur and other of the surrounding towns. The Ennis girls are named Lucy and Caroline, and they were a hard-looking pair. The old woman was a fitting mother for such a tribe.
When they were in this neighborhood last fall the family lived on the gypsy plan, changing their location as their interests demanded. They were not desirable neighbors, for they levied contributions for the necessaries of life on the smoke-houses and cellars of the farmers. The female portion of the family had many followers of the male persuasion while they were located west of town, and they succeeded in getting rid of a lot of spurious silver dollars among their admirers. One married man was victimized by getting from one of the girls three of the bogus dollars, and he made complaint to the marshal. The marshal tried to get hold of some of the bogus money so that he could arrest the Ennis tribe, but they got a hint of what was in the wind and silently stole away.
Till this week nothing has been heard of the Ennis family around here. Now comes the news that Doug Ennis has been arrested for attempting to murder a man named Parr, who lived on a brush farm near Danvers, in McLean county, and also for shooting a son of Parr's, but this turned out to be a mistake, as Ennis was not the murderer, though he was in the neighborhood of Danvers at the time and suspicion rested upon him. The real murderer was a man named W. R. Jackson, who was a friend of Ennis's, and who gave the name of Doug Ennis when he was arrested. The particulars of the murder will be found in another article in today's PUBLIC.
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February 13, 1885
Clinton Public
Clinton, Illinois
A MURDER IN McLEAN COUNTY.
A Citizen of Clinton the Murderer.
There seems to be some sort of a fatality hanging over Clinton and DeWitt county which brings us into anything but desirable prominence as a community. A few years ago a few families from Tennessee came this way in search of a home in Illinois, and unfortunately for this community they pitched their tents in the brush on the outskirts of Clinton. They were followed by other relatives, and they, too, stopped in Clinton. The men were generally shiftless and not inclined to take kindly to work. Some of them, in the course of time, were sent to the penitentiary from this and other counties, but their families remained here. Some of the women try to earn honest livelihoods, but others follow a vicious life. They are the nucleus around which gathers the loafers and criminals that brings disgrace to the name of Clinton, and it is time steps were taken to purge the city of this nest of uncleanliness.
A week ago last Monday a man by the name of William R. JACKSON came to Clinton from Clay county, Illinois, and rented the Tom HUTCHERSON house. He was accompanied by his wife. Another family came with them, and they all occupied the Hutcherson house. Jackson had a team of horses, and he and his wife drove here from Clay county in a covered wagon. He claimed to be a horse trader, and from what brief knowledge can be gained of his history, the probabilities are that he is a horse thief. [One sentence missing due to torn paper.] Jackson's record in Clay county was so unsavory that it became an imperative necessity for him to change his base of operations. Unfortunately for the good name of Clinton, he came here, and now that he is charged with committing a murder in McLean county our city gets the credit of him. On last Saturday afternoon Jackson was around the saloons in this city and had been drinking heavily. He told one of the saloon keepers that he was going off on a horse-buying expedition. That evening he went to the Central depot to take the train for Bloomington, but missing the train, he laid around the depot all night and the next morning left on a freight. The next we hear of him is in connection with the murder of an old man named John PARR, who lived near Danvers, in McLean county. As we gather the story from the Pantagraph Jackson got into some difficulty with old man Parr, whom he wounded twice with a revolver. The old man died on Wednesday afternoon. Jackson also fired at Parr's son and wounded him.
It seems from the narrative that Jackson was in search of a man named Chester McCOLLUM, whom he swore he would kill on account of one of the ENNIS girls. This girl belongs to another of the unsavory families who squatted in the brush near Clinton nine or ten years ago.
Another DeWitt county girl now appears upon the scene. Her name is Lulu AUSTIN. She was born in Waynesville and lived there till a few years ago. Her father, James AUSTIN, a sort of half-breed Indian, came to Waynesville about the close of the war and married Amanda COFFER, a daughter of one of the old citizens of Waynesville. Austin and his wife did not pull together harmoniously, and the result was that he skipped out one day and never since has he been seen about Waynesville. Mrs. Austin got a divorce from her husband. She and Lulu went to live with an old couple named MILES and made their home there till Mrs. Austin married again. Lulu continued to live with the Miles family, till finally she concluded to strike out a path for herself. She went to Bloomington and worked around hotels and restaurants. Finally, after a long siege of sickness, she went to the McLean county poor-house for a time. When she had fully recovered, she left Bloomington and went to St. Louis, where she led the life of a prostitute under the name of Laura CLIFFORD. From St. Louis she went to Little Rock, Arkansas, where it is supposed she is now living in a house of prostitution.
In some way or other Jackson and Lulu Austin met some years ago, and it was in search of her that he went to Danvers. Chester McCollum, it seems, had been intimate with the girl, and when Jackson could not find her in Bloomington he came to the conclusion that McCollum knew where she was. Jackson claimed that Lulu had fallen heir to the property of Philip Miles, of Waynesville, and that about $2000 was coming to her. He said that parties were trying to defraud her, and in search of her he got after McCollum. It was his intention to kill McCollum on sight but, unfortunately for the Parr family, he drifted to their house, and on last Monday got into an altercation with the old man and fired the fatal shots which ended in his death on Wednesday afternoon. Parr was an old soldier and was in receipt of a pension of $16 a month. He and his family lived in the most squalid poverty in a hut in the brush near Danvers. Every cent they could raise went for whiskey.
Jackson is now in jail in Bloomington. The proof of his crime is strong enough to hang him. Parr's son was a witness to the shooting, and Jackson does not deny it.
So it seems that after all DeWitt county cuts quite a figure in the history of this crime, even though Jackson was only a recent accession to our population. When he was first arrested he gave the name of Doug ENNIS, and this accounts for the Ennis family coming into the story. Jackson and Ennis were old acquaintances, having met some years ago in their wanderings around the country. Both men were of the same stripe. The probabilities are that the Austin girl also belonged to the gang when they were leading their gypsy life. It would be such a life as would suit her temperament.
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June 5, 1885
Clinton Public
Clinton, Illinois
JACKSON, the fellow who went from Clinton to McLean county and murdered old man Parr, has been granted a new trial because a man was on the jury who expressed himself before the trial that he wanted to be present when Jackson was hung. When being examined as to his qualifications to impartially try the case, the juror said that he had no prejudice against the prisoner and could give him a fair trial. Judge BLADES decided that Jackson should have a new trial, and his case will now go over to the September term. Bloomington should send its murder trials to this county if justice is to be meted out.
Submitted by Judy Simpson
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