history

So the other day, my brother Carl, the internet wiz, found something very interesting about the history of our family. It isn't terribly flattering to the family member involved, but wow, its an interesting story.

He found this news story, and related obituary. Its from the Wichita Falls, TX newspaper, from 1911. We found out that our grandfather's uncle... Our great-grandfather's brother, Frank Hursh, was a stalker and a murderer. He shot his ex-wife three times, then shot himself in the head.

Besides the "gory details" it is really interesting to notice the differences in newswriting from that time to this. The style is much more dramatic and florid than you read today. There are a lot more "judgmental (both positive and negative) comments."

Then there are the differences in the unfolding of events from what we would expect now. First of all, both Frank and his wife walked away from the scene. She leaned on her young daughter until a passerby helped her the two blocks to her house. The sheriff got Frank up on his feet, and talked to him, evidently fairly lucidly, although he was blinded by the shot, and didn't seem to realize it. He wasn't arrested. The sherriff said that would come later, if he survived, which was doubtful. Frank went to the home where his mother was living. Neither of them went to the hospital (there may not have been one nearby, in 1911), although both had doctors - different ones - attend them. They both succumbed to their wounds, she died before he did. Her sister took the three children to Tucumcari with her to live. (we had cousins in Tucumcari???)

So, this really isn't the part of your family history that you want to brag about. Still it was so cool to find it. We had no idea! OK, its probably not too surprising that our grandfather would talk about this uncle who did this terrible thing when he was a pretty young kid. Still... SOME of the family knew. We sure didn't. My cousin didn't either. I'm not real sure that my father or his brother knew. If they did, they sure never talked about it - although, when would that subject really come up? Now, of course, they're all gone. No one to ask about it, and maybe even - at least for anyone who might have any strong feelings about the events of that day - just as well.

So, what's in your closet?