Oregonian newspaper, Portland, Oregon, dated Tuesday, May 16, 1899, Page 6
[Please NOTE: The following article was published PRIOR TO the conclusion of the Coroner's Inquest which stated that Mrs. Elliott did NOT commit suicide but succumbed to exposure and exhaustion. SEE the below MAY 19, 1899 article in the Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper.]
"TRAGEDY AT LOSTINE"
"Hon. J. A .Hunter Killed by Mrs. C. R. Elliott, a Neighbor"
"FAMILY FEUD OF LONG STANDING"
"After Committing the Murder,
the Woman Took Her Own Life with Poison"
LOSTINE, OR, May 15---Sunday evening about 9 o'clock, Hon. J. A. Hunter, an early settler and one of the most prominent men in Wallowa County, was shot and instantly killed by Mrs. C. R. Elliott, a near neighbor, who then committed suicide by taking poison.
There has been a feud of long standing over family affairs between the Hunters and Elliots, whose families are intermarried, a son of the murdered man having married the daughter of Mrs. Elliott.
About 9 o'clock Sunday evening Mrs. Elliott knocked at the Hunter house and was answered by Mrs. Hunter, to whom she said: "It is not you I want to see, it is Mr. Hunter."
Mrs. Hunter then called her husband and he got up and dressed and came to the door. On his opening it and without saying a word, Mrs. Elliott fired on him with a shotgun, the charge striking Hunter in the abdomen and ranging upward, death resulting almost instantly.
After the shooting of her husband, Mrs. Hunter grappled with Mrs. Elliott and attempted to take the gun from her, but was unsuccessful and was told if she did not stop she would be killed also, [illegible] she returned to the house.
Mrs. Elliott then left the house and hid by a foot bridge between the home of her son-in-law and the Hunters, evidently expecting an opportunity to kill young Hunter when he should go over to his father's home, but he was warned by his Mother and they roused the neighbors who began to search for Mrs. Elliott. They found her dead in a plowed field a short distance from the Hunter home. She evidently found that she could not kill young Hunter and had taken poison.
The coroner's inquest is yet in session and an attempt is being made to implicate others of the Elliott family. Public sympathy is with the Hunters.
Cove Ledger newspaper, Union County, Oregon, dated Thursday, May 18, 1899,
[Please NOTE: The following article was published PRIOR TO the conclusion of the Coroner's Inquest which stated that Mrs. Elliott did NOT commit suicide but succumbed to exposure and exhaustion. SEE the below MAY 19, 1899 article in the Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper.]
"REV J. A. HUNTER"
"Homicide and Suicide"
Enterprise, Oregon, May 15 -- A startling and deplorable tragedy was enacted about nine o'clock last night on Whiskey Creek, 11 miles north of Enterprise. Mrs. Elliott, wife of C. R. Elliott, shot and killed Rev. J. A. Hunter, a resident of that neighborhood and while on her way home after committing the deed, Mrs. Elliott took her own life. Trouble grew out of a dispute over the settlement of a threshing bill in which a son of Mr. Hunter and the Elliott's were principally interested. The difficulty began last fall and assumed the form of a neighborhood feud in which the residents of the vicinity took part.
Mr. Hunter was a well known resident of Wallowa, and was a one time representative for the county. He was formerly a minister of the Methodist church, but a few years ago severed his ministerial relations with the church. He leaves a wife who is quite advanced in age and in poor health. He has four grown sons, all of whom are residents of Wallowa.
The Elliott family have resided in Wallowa a number of years, Mr. Elliott being extensively engaged in the saw-mill business.
Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper, Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon, dated (Thursday) May 19, 1899.
"An Awful Tragedy"
"Enacted Near Leap"
"The Murderess found Dead Near the Scene of Her Awful Deed"
The facts of the awful tragedy in which two well known and respected citizens of this community lost their lives, as gathered from the best information obtainable, are as follow:
Hon. J.A. Hunter and C.R. Elliott and their families were , until recently, the best friends, but a falling out about a very trivial matter turned their esteem into extreme hatred, and the efforts of mutual friends to bring about a reconciliation was wholly unavailing. On last Sunday after Mr. Hunter and his wife had retired, a knock was heard at the door. Mrs. Hunter arose and opened the door and found Mrs. Elliott standing on or near the door step, who said she wanted to see Mr. Hunter. He arose, drew on his pants and slippers and stepped to the door, when he was instantly shot by Mrs. Elliott, the charge from one barrel of a double-barreled shotgun entering his stomach killing him instantly. Mrs. Hunter went to Mr. Knapp's, who lives only a few roads away but they were not at home. She then, with difficulty, made her way to their son Charles' house. He procured some neighbors and returned to the house and also telephoned to the sheriff at Enterprise. The party searched for Mrs. Elliott but could not find her until after daylight, when her lifeless body was found 150 yards from the house with the gun by her side, one barrell of which had been discharged, and the other cocked with cap on the tube. The coroner arrived about noon, selected a jury from the citizens present and held an inquest on both the bodies, which resulted in a verdict that Mr. Hunter was killed by Mrs. Elliott, and that the cause of the death of Mrs. Elliott was to them unknown. There were no marks of violence on the person, nor was the theory of suicide by poison at first advanced, accepted by the jury, but as her clothing were thoroughly saturated with water and mud, showing that she had been in a slough near by, they thought it probable that she came to her death from exposure and exhaustion. Mr. Elliott did not know she had left the house until informed of the murder and the finding of her body, as they slept in different rooms. What prompted her to the terrible deed will, no doubt, always remain a mystery. Mrs. Elliott was buried in the Lostine cemetery on Tuesday.
Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper, Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon, dated (Thursday) May 19, 1899.
The tragic death of Hon. J.A. Hunter closes the career of one of the pioneers of Wallowa county. His name is closely linked with many events in this county which go toward making history. He was familiarly known as "Judge" and "Father" Hunter among his multitude of friends. The readers of the Chieftain are well acquainted with his writing under the nom de plume of "Rex," and they, with the editors, deeply mourn his death and extend heartfelt sympathy to the aged widow and her sons and daughters.
Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper, Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon, dated (Thursday) May 19, 1899.
Obituary - The Hon. J.A. Hunter the account of whose tragic death appears in another column was born in Preble County Ohio in the year 1832. His mother died when he was 10 or 12 years old. He then went to Mississippi where he lived with an uncle about three years, and returned to Indiana where his father was then living. On Dec. 2, 1852 in Cass county, Indiana, he was united in marriage to Miss W.H. Vanmeter, who survives him and who witnessed his cruel murder and heroically placed a pillow under his head before going out into the darkness to find help. In 1859 Mr. Hunter moved to Topeka, Kan., where they were living when the Civil war broke out. Early in the struggle he enlisted as a volunteer in the 7th Kansas Cavalry, in which he served three years, and afterward one year in Hancock's Veteran Corps. when the war was over, he returned to his home in Kansas, where he lived until 1878, when they came across the plains to Oregon, remaining in La Grande one winter. They then came to Wallowa and settled on a homestead near the town of Lostine, which he sold a few years ago and moved to his son's place on Whiskey Creek, where he lived at the time of his death. Besides the aged widow, Mr. Hunter leaves four sons, three of them respected citizens of this county, and one of Arroyo [Grande], Cal., also an adopted daughter living in La Grande. Mr. Hunter was for several years a minister in the Methodist Church, and was always a leader in educational, charitable and social enterprises. He was a man of much literary ability; a gifted writer and a fluent speaker. He was Wallowa's first representative in the state legislature and secured the appropriation for building the canyon road, which has been of inestimable value to this county. Mr. Hunter was a man of wholly unquestionable integrity, and the esteem in which he was held by the people was evidenced by the great number who attended the funeral services conducted jointly by Masons and comrades of the G.A.R. He was an honored member of both orders. The interment was in the Enterprise cemetery. The words of cheer and deeds of kindness of Brother Hunter will long live in the breasts of the people of this county.
Oregonian newspaper, Portland, Oregon, dated Tuesday, May 16, 1899, Page 6
[Please NOTE: The following article was published PRIOR TO the conclusion of the Coroner's Inquest which stated that Mrs. Elliott did NOT commit suicide but succumbed to exposure and exhaustion. SEE the below MAY 19, 1899 article in the Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper.]
"TRAGEDY AT LOSTINE"
"Hon. J. A .Hunter Killed by Mrs. C. R. Elliott, a Neighbor"
"FAMILY FEUD OF LONG STANDING"
"After Committing the Murder,
the Woman Took Her Own Life with Poison"
LOSTINE, OR, May 15---Sunday evening about 9 o'clock, Hon. J. A. Hunter, an early settler and one of the most prominent men in Wallowa County, was shot and instantly killed by Mrs. C. R. Elliott, a near neighbor, who then committed suicide by taking poison.
There has been a feud of long standing over family affairs between the Hunters and Elliots, whose families are intermarried, a son of the murdered man having married the daughter of Mrs. Elliott.
About 9 o'clock Sunday evening Mrs. Elliott knocked at the Hunter house and was answered by Mrs. Hunter, to whom she said: "It is not you I want to see, it is Mr. Hunter."
Mrs. Hunter then called her husband and he got up and dressed and came to the door. On his opening it and without saying a word, Mrs. Elliott fired on him with a shotgun, the charge striking Hunter in the abdomen and ranging upward, death resulting almost instantly.
After the shooting of her husband, Mrs. Hunter grappled with Mrs. Elliott and attempted to take the gun from her, but was unsuccessful and was told if she did not stop she would be killed also, [illegible] she returned to the house.
Mrs. Elliott then left the house and hid by a foot bridge between the home of her son-in-law and the Hunters, evidently expecting an opportunity to kill young Hunter when he should go over to his father's home, but he was warned by his Mother and they roused the neighbors who began to search for Mrs. Elliott. They found her dead in a plowed field a short distance from the Hunter home. She evidently found that she could not kill young Hunter and had taken poison.
The coroner's inquest is yet in session and an attempt is being made to implicate others of the Elliott family. Public sympathy is with the Hunters.
Cove Ledger newspaper, Union County, Oregon, dated Thursday, May 18, 1899,
[Please NOTE: The following article was published PRIOR TO the conclusion of the Coroner's Inquest which stated that Mrs. Elliott did NOT commit suicide but succumbed to exposure and exhaustion. SEE the below MAY 19, 1899 article in the Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper.]
"REV J. A. HUNTER"
"Homicide and Suicide"
Enterprise, Oregon, May 15 -- A startling and deplorable tragedy was enacted about nine o'clock last night on Whiskey Creek, 11 miles north of Enterprise. Mrs. Elliott, wife of C. R. Elliott, shot and killed Rev. J. A. Hunter, a resident of that neighborhood and while on her way home after committing the deed, Mrs. Elliott took her own life. Trouble grew out of a dispute over the settlement of a threshing bill in which a son of Mr. Hunter and the Elliott's were principally interested. The difficulty began last fall and assumed the form of a neighborhood feud in which the residents of the vicinity took part.
Mr. Hunter was a well known resident of Wallowa, and was a one time representative for the county. He was formerly a minister of the Methodist church, but a few years ago severed his ministerial relations with the church. He leaves a wife who is quite advanced in age and in poor health. He has four grown sons, all of whom are residents of Wallowa.
The Elliott family have resided in Wallowa a number of years, Mr. Elliott being extensively engaged in the saw-mill business.
Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper, Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon, dated (Thursday) May 19, 1899.
"An Awful Tragedy"
"Enacted Near Leap"
"The Murderess found Dead Near the Scene of Her Awful Deed"
The facts of the awful tragedy in which two well known and respected citizens of this community lost their lives, as gathered from the best information obtainable, are as follow:
Hon. J.A. Hunter and C.R. Elliott and their families were , until recently, the best friends, but a falling out about a very trivial matter turned their esteem into extreme hatred, and the efforts of mutual friends to bring about a reconciliation was wholly unavailing. On last Sunday after Mr. Hunter and his wife had retired, a knock was heard at the door. Mrs. Hunter arose and opened the door and found Mrs. Elliott standing on or near the door step, who said she wanted to see Mr. Hunter. He arose, drew on his pants and slippers and stepped to the door, when he was instantly shot by Mrs. Elliott, the charge from one barrel of a double-barreled shotgun entering his stomach killing him instantly. Mrs. Hunter went to Mr. Knapp's, who lives only a few roads away but they were not at home. She then, with difficulty, made her way to their son Charles' house. He procured some neighbors and returned to the house and also telephoned to the sheriff at Enterprise. The party searched for Mrs. Elliott but could not find her until after daylight, when her lifeless body was found 150 yards from the house with the gun by her side, one barrell of which had been discharged, and the other cocked with cap on the tube. The coroner arrived about noon, selected a jury from the citizens present and held an inquest on both the bodies, which resulted in a verdict that Mr. Hunter was killed by Mrs. Elliott, and that the cause of the death of Mrs. Elliott was to them unknown. There were no marks of violence on the person, nor was the theory of suicide by poison at first advanced, accepted by the jury, but as her clothing were thoroughly saturated with water and mud, showing that she had been in a slough near by, they thought it probable that she came to her death from exposure and exhaustion. Mr. Elliott did not know she had left the house until informed of the murder and the finding of her body, as they slept in different rooms. What prompted her to the terrible deed will, no doubt, always remain a mystery. Mrs. Elliott was buried in the Lostine cemetery on Tuesday.
Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper, Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon, dated (Thursday) May 19, 1899.
The tragic death of Hon. J.A. Hunter closes the career of one of the pioneers of Wallowa county. His name is closely linked with many events in this county which go toward making history. He was familiarly known as "Judge" and "Father" Hunter among his multitude of friends. The readers of the Chieftain are well acquainted with his writing under the nom de plume of "Rex," and they, with the editors, deeply mourn his death and extend heartfelt sympathy to the aged widow and her sons and daughters.
Wallowa Chieftain Newspaper, Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon, dated (Thursday) May 19, 1899.
Obituary - The Hon. J.A. Hunter the account of whose tragic death appears in another column was born in Preble County Ohio in the year 1832. His mother died when he was 10 or 12 years old. He then went to Mississippi where he lived with an uncle about three years, and returned to Indiana where his father was then living. On Dec. 2, 1852 in Cass county, Indiana, he was united in marriage to Miss W.H. Vanmeter, who survives him and who witnessed his cruel murder and heroically placed a pillow under his head before going out into the darkness to find help. In 1859 Mr. Hunter moved to Topeka, Kan., where they were living when the Civil war broke out. Early in the struggle he enlisted as a volunteer in the 7th Kansas Cavalry, in which he served three years, and afterward one year in Hancock's Veteran Corps. when the war was over, he returned to his home in Kansas, where he lived until 1878, when they came across the plains to Oregon, remaining in La Grande one winter. They then came to Wallowa and settled on a homestead near the town of Lostine, which he sold a few years ago and moved to his son's place on Whiskey Creek, where he lived at the time of his death. Besides the aged widow, Mr. Hunter leaves four sons, three of them respected citizens of this county, and one of Arroyo [Grande], Cal., also an adopted daughter living in La Grande. Mr. Hunter was for several years a minister in the Methodist Church, and was always a leader in educational, charitable and social enterprises. He was a man of much literary ability; a gifted writer and a fluent speaker. He was Wallowa's first representative in the state legislature and secured the appropriation for building the canyon road, which has been of inestimable value to this county. Mr. Hunter was a man of wholly unquestionable integrity, and the esteem in which he was held by the people was evidenced by the great number who attended the funeral services conducted jointly by Masons and comrades of the G.A.R. He was an honored member of both orders. The interment was in the Enterprise cemetery. The words of cheer and deeds of kindness of Brother Hunter will long live in the breasts of the people of this county.
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