File contributed for use on USGenWeb/MOGenWeb Lincoln County Heritage Page by Beth Rengers Talken, intmdbt@showme.missouri.edu, 19 September 1998.  Link change or update: 19 Sep 1998

Obituary for Mrs. James B. Bowles (dates unknown)
No. 008 - Uncited clippings from the "Neva Murphy Hubbard Collection" of Beth Rengers Talken, 1998.

James BOWLES Kills His Wife and Attempts Self Destruction.

A mother is dead, four little children are left to the care of others and a father lies at the point of death, as the result of the actions of James BOWLES, when he killed his wife and attempted to kill himself last Friday morning. The awful deed was committed at the couple's home 4½ miles west of Silex, about 4 o'clock in the morning. Mrs. BOWLES' throat was cut from ear to ear while she slept and she never realized what had happened. Her husband then turned the razor upon himself, inflicting wounds which at the time were thought would prove fatal; however, chances point now to his recovery. The commotion in the room awakened Zella BOWLES, the 10-year-old daughter, and she succeeded in taking the razor from her father and threw it under the bed. John LYONS, who works for the BOWLES, was sleeping upstairs and the little girl called to him to come down at once. He looked after the injured man and also the infant child of the couple which was almost strangled to death! lying in its mother's blood in the bed, until the arrival of Dr. DAMRON. The witnessed testifying at the inquest, conducted by Coroner E. A. HICKS were Zella BOWLES, John LYONS, C.C. BOWLES, B.F. ROBEY and Paul GROTHAUS, and the evidence introduced showed that Mr. BOWLES was of unsound mind and had been acting in a queer way for several days, and was undoubtedly insane when he committed the double crime. Friends and neighbors who knew him testified he spoke of leaving the community and selling out, that he was tired of living, but they cannot account for him killing his wife. The jury, composed of W.H. HOLTMAN, I.G. UPETGROVE, J.S. ALBERT, J.W. ROBERTS, Frank L. WALKER and Sylvester L. LYONS returned a verdict that "the deceased came to her death by a gash in the throat with a razor at the hands of James B. BOWLES and that the said James B. BOWLES, was, at the time he committed the act, insane."

Mr. BOWLES was a well-known farmer of the Silex neighborhood and was fairly well to do. The tragedy has cast a pall of gloom over the community and is sadly regretted. He was a man of about 40 years while his wife was 32 years of age. The couple had four little children, the oldest being Zella, 10 years of age. The funeral of Mrs. BOWLES was held Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Millwood Catholic church and the body buried in the Catholic cemetery.

Note regarding clippings from the "Neva Murphy Hubbard Collection":  Neva Murphy Hubbard (1886-1971) lived all of her life in Lincoln County, MO.  She collected a large file of clippings of Lincoln County residents. The majority of the clippings were without citation. Beth Rengers Talken, beneficiary of the collection, has transcribed them for inclusion in our Lincoln County Heritage Records. 

File contributed for use on USGenWeb/MOGenWeb Lincoln County Heritage Page by Beth Rengers Talken, intmdbt@showme.missouri.edu, 19 September 1998.  Link change or update: 19 Sep 1998

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