Saturday, November 18, 2017

Murder by Little Girls.

(From Macon Weekly Telegraph, September 26, 1884).



Murder by Little Girls.

St. Louis, September 24. – The story from Ottawa, Kan., that on Monday last Carrie and Bessie Waterman, aged 12 and 11 years, daughter of James Waterman, a farmer, tied a rope around the neck of a half brother, 6 years old, dragged him about and beat him with sticks until he was dead. The girls stated at the coroner’s inquest that they hated the child and wanted him dead. They were held for murder.

8 comments:

  1. What wickedness in the heart of a child...what evil.

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  2. I could find no further information on this incident after researching fairly intensively. No Bessie/Carrie/James Waterman on Find A Grave (buried in Kansas that would fit the time frame and location for the individuals). There appear to be "Waterman" that still live in the vicinity of Ottawa, one in police work there, but whether they are descendants of James Waterman cannot be verified. Truly a horrendous account of the evil and brutality that children can inflict upon even smaller children. A true tragedy. CD in North Carolina.

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  3. According to newspaper reports from Ottawa, Kansas, at the time of the murders the girls were 12 & 14 years old.

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  4. When reading 19th century newspapers, don't expect two versions of the same story to agree on facts.

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  5. Carrie and Bessie Waterman listed as daughters of James Waterman and Almeda Waterman of Peoria, Franklin County, Kansas in 1880, per ancestry.com. Looks like half brother's name was James F. Waterman.

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  6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44952735 Headstone of Almeda Tracy Waterman, wife of James, looks like mother of James F (the step-brother) and step-mother of Bessie & Carrie. Died in December 1880, maybe 2nd wife of the elder James? This would have left James jr without a mother/protector at the time of his death.

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  7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57459907/bessie-j-throne Bessie Waterman Throne headstone, Ottawa Kansas Highland Cemetery

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  8. https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/waterman/1112/
    Below the article about the two girls, it says James Waterman was indited for the murder of his own son.

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