The Bloody Bender Family
Were any of the Bloody Benders in Greenwood County? One Greenwood County Deputy thinks so.
The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers in Labette County, from May 1871 to Dec. 1872. The family supposedly consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira or Almira, their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. Several excerpts were taken from articles in the Aug. 7 and Aug. 9, 1877 and Nov. 29, 1877 editions of The Eureka Herald and the Aug. 8, 1877 edition of The Eureka Censorial.
On July 31, 1877, Biggs and Bennett of Eureka discovered that a mowing machine had been stolen from their premises the night before. The imprint of mule feet and light wagon tracks were plainly visible leading from the place of perpetration of the theft to the river westward. Sheriff Claycomb at once started in pursuit following the trail on the Eldorado Road to the summit of the Flint Hills. From there, the main road was abandoned and the track lead to the right. After following about 15 miles over the prairie, the Sheriff found the machine concealed in a swail in a rank growth of grass and weeds.
He returned to the nearest home and got several men to accompany him, and returned to where the machine lay and they took up the trail and found the thieves sound asleep under their wagon. The sheriff soon had the bracelets on them and returned to Eureka with them around 9 p.m.
A number of volunteers had started, soon after the Sheriff left, to aid in the search of the theives. Mr. S. H. Shewalter, being one of the volunteers and the most enthusiastic, was last seen on the prairie about 15 miles west of Eureka on foot, attired in a pair of boots, pantaloons, shirt, collar, spurs, double barrel shotgun and navy revolver, determined to bring home a thief. This capture was the beginning of a breach in an organized band which would be entirely obliterated before they were done with them.
“The two men captured by Sheriff Claycomb on Tuesday of last week, as the persons who stole Biggs and Bennett’s mowing machine, had their preliminary examination. They at first refused to give any account of themselves or tell their names. This, together with the fact that they were believed to be members of an organized band who had been committing similar depredations in this community for some time past, caused an unusual degree of curiosity to be excited. During the course of the examination, the prisoners signed their names to an affidavit giving them as L. Patterson and J. Patterson, claiming to be father and son.”
There was no evidence offered on the part of the defendants and at the conclusion of the examination, Justice Olney committed them and fixed their bail at $600. The prisoners seemed deposed to wrap themselves in mystery, declining to state where they were from or whence where they were going. The older one was of medium height, had prominent features, a bold expression, bushy whiskers of dark brown color and was about forty-five years old. The younger was in the neighborhood of eighteen years of age, had a slender stature with a reckless don’t care air and looked like he might be the son of his father.
“While the Commissioners were inspecting the jail with the Sheriff the other day, Mr. Raymond noticed one of the prisoners Patterson throw something in the stove. Investigating, he found the main spring of a watch in the ashes. Near one end, it was slightly notched as though prepared for cutting iron. It might have been thought that the prisoner received this from the spirits, he being a medium, but one singular coincidence is the fact that he had a watch with the “inards” all loosened, and the main spring removed.
“Deputy Sheriff Patton, bother-in-law to Sheriff Claycomb, has about figured out the fact that the two prisoners are members of the Bender family. We cannot conceive why this discovery was not made at once. It is the first instance on record since the flight of the Benders that they have not been promptly identified in nameless or mysterious prisoners. The Benders were spiritualists and so are these persons said to be. Kate Bender claimed to be a medium and so does the elder man now in jail. Hence, it is clear that he and Kate Bender are one and the same individual. Deputy Sheriff Patton may have overlooked the fact that Kate Bender was a woman.
“Nov. 8, 1877, L. Patterson, “Old Conn,” made another effort to escape from jail last Saturday night. His plan was to remove a stone from the wall by the window in the rear of the cells near the ceiling. The guard on duty heard the noise and notified the Sheriff. Just as the prisoner was working most actively, the Sheriff fired a shot from a revolver beneath the window and a party at the jail door hastily unlocked the door and entered the jail before Conn could reenter his cell. Conn has forced the lower part of his cell door to get out, and as the aperture was small, he could not get back readily. The Sheriff recently attached a new shackle to him consisting of a fourteen-pound weight on the left ankle, which greatly interferes with his locomotion. On Monday, there was an alarm of fire in the jail and when he entered, he found the room filled with smoke produced by the burning of Conn’s mattress, which the scalawag probably fired intentionally.
“Nov. 21, 1877, Old Conn said that he didn’t steal the machine, but he would plead guilty and then with his eyes full of crocodile tears appealed to the judge for mercy. We hope the judge will be “easy” on this poor innocent creature, and not give him more than five years in the state penitentiary.
“Friday Nov. 23, 1877, the judge passed the sentence upon L. Patterson, alas “Old Conn,” who had plead guilty to larceny, to four years hard labor in the penitentiary. The boy was sentenced to the confinement of the county jail for six months.
“Patterson said that if he could be allowed to wait until 3 p.m., the lord would put into his power to show the court and the people that he was an innocent man. His honor seemed to doubt that. Friday night found the old sinner chained to the floor of the jail, the inner door locked and the outer door slightly ajar, and the guard lying with his ear at the opening so he might hear the prisoner and any attempt to escape.
“Saturday morning, Old Conn was gone. The sheriff was very slow to believe that he had escaped without help, and without leaving any evidence as to how it was done, but the other prisoners stated that sometime in the night, he broke his chain by means of a broomstick and crept through the opening in the inner door. He waited between the two doors till the guard (about 5:30 in the morning) went down after the keys which the Sheriff, in abundance of caution, had kept with him. While the guard was gone, Conn had only to push the door open and travel.
“It appears on Saturday about 2 o’clock, Patterson went to the house of J. W. Street, who lives on Fall River, Salt Springs Township, about 16 miles from Eureka, and eat his dinner, having in all probability watched the house until the men had gone to the field to work. While Patterson was at the house, he was seen by a boy who had been sent to the mill at Twin Falls, returned, bringing with him one of the handbills which give the description of Patterson. Suspecting this to be the man he hurried off to inform the men at work in the field.
“Mr. Street started back to the house but too late to catch his man at the house. He started after him in the direction he supposed Patterson had gone, when he soon found him building a fire in a brush thicket and before Conn was aware of danger, Street was within 10 feet of him and had the drop on him. Conn coolly said “let the hammer down: that looks might rough that way.” Street complied with his request, when Conn leaping at him tried to wrench the pistol from his hands but failed. With the assistance of a young Mr. Millis, Conn was put into a wagon and brought him to Eureka at about half past 7 o’clock.
“They stopped in front of the Metropolitan Hotel, and Mr. Street got out of the wagon and went into the house. Leaving Millis in charge of the team and prisoner, and the latter not being fastened in anyway, at once become unmanageable and jumped out of the wagon, and with a few bounds was out of sight and a free man once more. In the dark with Millis in close pursuit, they both fell over a pile of rocks and into a ditch. Conn jumped to his feet and quickly went out of sight. It was densely dark and it was thought useless to make any further search that night, until it was ascertained that he had been trying to get one of Rev. McCune’s horses, and then quite a few citizens put forth an effort to find him but to no avail.
“Early Sunday morning news reached the city that there had been considerable grub, a boiled ham, three loaves of bread, a quantity of butter and a silver knife taken from the kitchen of John Jackson, just south of town on Saturday night. On the floor was found a horse blanket which proved to be the property of Mr. McCune. Sunday night a horse was stolen from Mr. Durham, six miles south on Honey Creek and the tracks showed the party had taken the Howard City Road south at an eager rate. The verdict of the people is that Patterson is the man who did the stealing. Several parties are in pursuit of the fugitive, but our guess is that it’s “good-by John.”
Tuesday, Nov. 27, 1887 “Old Conn” took a horse, saddle, and bridle from the barn of Charles Hiccox, six miles below Charleston on Fall River, near the Wilson County line. Deputy Marshall Johnson went in pursuit of him, and found the horse, saddle and bridle on the Verdigris below the junction of Fall River. Conn had turned the horse loose and made good his own escape.
“May 1, 1879, Mr. T. L. Davis and Mr. Johnson returned from Texas and said that they had saw the “Old Conn.” They were in the train car enroute to Austin and saw Conn in the custody of the Sheriff of Cherokee County, Texas going to Austin to lodge his prisoner in jail to await trial on a charge of murder. When Conn saw Davis and Johnson eying him, he turned his face from them. Both were confident that it was the veritable Conn.”
To view previous copies of Greenwood County newspapers, including The Eureka Herald, visit the Greenwood County Historical Society Museum during their regular business hours.
