A Walk Through The Tombstones

This month's grave spotlight of the month is about Elsworth "Elzie" Easton, a young man murdered in Stinesville on Christmas Eve in 1889.

According to an article titled "Double Murder, Terrible Shooting Affair" in the December 27, 1889 edition of the Republican Newspaper the Bloomington Telephone, Elsworth "Elzie" Easton, son of William and Jennie Easton was shot and killed by George Buskirk.

The article goes on to say "Elzie Easton and James Douglas had been at Gosport during the afternoon and while there became more or less under the influence of liquor. Shortly after 6pm, they boarded a work train and came down to their home at Stinesville. Soon after arriving they went to the saloon of George Buskirk, a little frame building on the south side of the main street of the town..."

At this time, people in the town were getting themselves together to attend the "Little church on the hill" where the annual Christmas tree had been erected. Town was quiet, young and old were preparing for the holiday. Meanwhile, at the saloon of George Buskirk, a terrible tragedy was about to occur.

As far as the newspaper article states, there had been some words of a quarrelsome nature between Buskirk and Easton, but it is not known what the quarrel was actually about. Regardless of what these words were, Buskirk ordered Easton to leave, not Douglas, just Easton. When Easton refused to leave, Buskirk picked up a double barreled shotgun and fired, killing Easton instantly.

Most of the patrons of the saloon ran. Douglas stayed. Buskirk ordered him to leave, which Douglas started to do, begging him not to shoot. For some reason, he did anyway, hitting Douglas in the arm and the left side.

Douglas was dragged from the scene. Buskirk fled. But by this time, the whole town of Stinesville had heard the shots.

A few hours later, Douglas was in the care of Doctor Stansifer when a reported from the Bloomington Telephone called on him. Doctor Stansifer informed him of the following:

"The first of the whole matter, I went into the saloon of George Buskirk with Easton and was standing by the beer boxes. Young Hargis was in there and started pushing Easton to one side. A few words passed between Easton and Buskirk; Easton wanted to fight and pulled a revolver from his pocket...Easton said he could whip Buskirk, Hargis or all of us. I took Easton's revolver away from him ten minutes before the shooting. Buskirk knew Easton did not have the revolver when he was threatening to whip him just before the shooting."

According to Milton Hargis, Buskirk told Easton to get out twice, Easton asking him to put down the gun at the same time. It didn't take long for gunfire to erupt after that.

Many of the townsfolk stated that Elzie Easton was a pleasant and honorable young man...when not drinking. James Douglas, his friend that was with him when they entered the saloon, was said to be more of a troublemaker. He had, at one point, owned a barber shop in the town, in which he had been allowing gambling. George Buskirk, however, was said to have been a hard character and ran a disreputable establishment.

The county coroner, Doctor Maxwell, Jr. told the telephone that he had heard enough of the evidence to justify the belief that Buskirk was not justified in his shooting of Easton and that there was no excuse for his attack on Douglas.

Meanwhile, Buskirk was on the run. It was said that he had initially wanted to turn himself into the sheriff but was afraid of being attacked and killed by a mob. Instead, he chose to run. He mounted his horse and made his way south. It was only a few days later that it was reported in the Bloomington Republican Progress. on January 8, 1890, that George Buskirk had been captured in Sanborn in Knox County, Indiana at the home of a relative, though not by the Knox County Sheriff, who refused, but instead by the marshal located at Gosport. George Buskirk was arrested without incident.

A month later, as reported in the Bloomington Republican Progress on February 5, 1890, a crowd gathered at the courthouse to hear the trial. George Buskirk testified on his own behalf. He stated that Elzie came into the saloon and demanded that another patron, a man named Lee Wampler, buy him drinks. Wampler didn't want to and Elzie threatened him. Buskirk ejected him from the bar but he came back, angry and cursing and demanding beer. When Buskirk refused to serve him, Elzie left, prompting Buskirk to bar the door. Elzie started throwing rocks at the door and threatening to kill the saloon owner. It is assumed that Elzie was already well into his cups by this time, but this also goes against the fact that it was said earlier that Elzie and Douglas were coming home Gosport around 6pm and the shooting happened not long after.

Buskirk states now that later in the evening, Elzie came back with Douglas and demanded to be served again. He drew his revolver and threatened Buskirk with hit, stating that if he drew the shotgun that was sitting there, he would kill him. It was then that Buskirk fired, hitting Douglas by accident.

This statement of facts goes against what Doctor Stansifer told the paper and what Douglas said about when they came back from Gosport.

After all of the facts were stated, Buskirk was sure that he was going to be charged. The Judge noted the law stated that a person could defend their domicile if needed. The case was turned over to the jury and the next day they came back with the verdict of Not Guilty, a surprise to everyone there. But shortly afterward, George Buskirk had to attend a bond court appearance and it was here that the jury decided instead that he was guilty and he was fined for assault, a fine of $500.

After this, George Buskirk disappears for a while. It is assumed that he decided to make his way elsewhere to find work and start a new life. Indeed, he is not heard from again until 1899 when it was reported that he killed a native Central American Man. This reason for this murder is unknown, but those that captured him wanted to burn him at the stake for what he did. A judge ordered him tied to a tree, apparently for safekeeping, until they could decide what to do with him. During the night, he untied the rope and disappeared into history.

The subject of our story was laid to rest in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Stinesville, Indiana. As a side note, this is one of my favorite cemeteries, as it is set in a beautiful wooded setting and is laid out in such as way that one needs to walk around an explore. I photographed his grave in 2015, not realizing at the time what his cause of death had been.

Listed on the headstone with Elzie, are his parents, hotel-owners William G. Easton (1826-1894) and Delila Virginia "Jennie" Williams Easton (1836-1909). Buried a few miles away were three of his brothers, Millard Lindsey Easton (1856-1934), William Perry Easton (1857-1911) and John W. Easton (1862-1926), all buried in Chambersville Cemetery. One further brother, George Brinton McClelland "Clell" Easton (1864-1922), is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

I haven't found where James Douglas is buried as he also just disappears from the records after the shooting. I have found a man by this name and within the right timeframe buried in Valhalla Memory Gardens, but I have no idea if this is him or not.

Elsword "Elzie" Easton was a young man who was killed in an instant of anger. RIP Elzie.

~~~

REFERNCES

Hoosier State Chronicles - Bloomington Telephone

Monroe County History Center - The Murder of Elsworth "Elzie" Easton

Hoosier State Chronicles - Bloomington Republican Progress

Today's Walk Through the Tombstones is the final section of the Pioneer Cemetery at Crown Hill in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the relocated Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery.

The original cemetery was located in Castleton, Indiana and was established in 1841. With the expansion of I-69 and I-465 in 2007, the cemetery needed to be relocated and Crown Hill was chosen. A memorial stone and dedication was done in 2008, with about 100 people in attendance. In total 33 graves were re-interred with their original headstones.

The monument on the far right side of the entrance into the Pioneer Cemetery, which stands just to the side of the burials, reads:

"Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery

Established 1841

This monument honors the memory of the Wright-Whitesell-Gentry families who were buried in a small cemetery located on the Wright family farm in Lawrence Township beginning in 1841.

In 2008, twelve adults, fourteen children and seven infants were reburied in this final resting place at Crown Hill Cemetery.

Members of the Wright family headed by the Reverend James T. Wright, founder of the Church now known as the Castleton United Methodist Church, and extended family members of the Whitesell, Gentry, Easterday and Gates families were buried in the small cemetery with the last burial taking place in 1905.

Also interred is Civil War Private John W. Gentry, who served in the 26th Indiana, Co "I" from March of 1864 until the unit was disbanded in January, 1866.

This memorial is a fitting tribute to the pioneering families who were among the first settlers in Marion and Hamilton Counties."

The back side of the monument shows a map with the burials listed. I did not spend time noting as to whether or not the burial map matched the layout of the current burials to see if, when they were re-interred, they matched them up to the original cemetery. I would imagine that they did. In fact, an Indianapolis Star article dated June 4, 2008, says that they laid them out exactly as they had been.

To the right of the above monument sits the small cemetery, with all of the stones neatly arranged as they had been before they were moved. You can go to the Indiana Memory Collections to see the cemetery as it had been in Castleton, right next to the highway. The Genealogical Society of Marion County has an incomplete burial list on their website. Unfortunately, no one has added these burials to Find-A-Grave, so I will attempting to do so as I go along.

And now, on to the burials.

Our first grave is that of James B. Wright.

Born: unknown

Died: 1853

He was the young son of Reverend James T. Wright (1787-1859) and Ruhamah McAnally Wright (1788-1858). They are both reinterred nearby in Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery.

He had several siblings:

Charles W. Wright (?-?) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

John M. Wright (?-1837) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Josiah W. Wright (?-1852) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Elizabeth M. Wright Hair (1811-1892) - buried in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Paulina J. Wright Gentry (1817-1863) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Jesse Wesley Wright (1823-1897) - buried in Crownland Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Margaret C. Wright Armentrout (1825-1885) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Eliza Isabella Wright Whitesell (1831-1868) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

~~~

This is the grave for John M. Wright.

Born: unknown
Died: 1837

He was the son of Reverend James T. Wright (1787-1859) and Ruhamah McAnally Wright (1788-1858). They are both reinterred nearby in Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery.

He had several siblings:

Charles W. Wright (?-?) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

James B. Wright (?-1853) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Josiah W. Wright (?-1852) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Elizabeth M. Wright Hair (1811-1892) - buried in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Paulina J. Wright Gentry (1817-1863) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Jesse Wesley Wright (1823-1897) - buried in Crownland Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Margaret C. Wright Armentrout (1825-1885) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Eliza Isabella Wright Whitesell (1831-1868) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

~~~

Next is the grave of Ruhamah McAnally Wright.

Born: November 28, 1788, Stokes County, North Carolina

Died: January 5, 1858

She was the daughter of Jesse McAnally (1760-1800) and Elizabeth Morgan McAnally (1764-1844). They are both buried in the McAnally Family Graveyard, Meadows, Stokes County, North Carolina. Jesse was a Revolutionary War Soldier and served as Justice of the Peace in Stokes County, North Carolina.

She had several siblings:

Mary Polly McAnally Booth (1784-1861) - buried in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Charles McAnally (1786-1844) - buried in McAnally Family Graveyard, Meadows, Stokes County, North Carolina

Jesse McAnally (1794-1866) - buried in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Elizabeth McAnally Davis (1796-1858) - buried in Davis Graveyard, Danbury Township, Stokes County, North Carolina

Mercy McAnally Mitchell (1798-1877) - buried in Mitchell Cemetery, Dillard, Stokes County, North Carolina

She was married to the Reverend James Thomas Wright (1787-1859). He is buried nearby in the Wright-Whitesell- Gentry Cemetery Section of the Pioneer Cemetery at Crown Hill.

They had several children that I had found: