Wise County Messenger. (Decatur, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, January 24, 1919 Page: 1 of 10
ten pages : ill. ; page 20 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
",
/
(
Whole No. 1961
|1.50 Per Year.
DECATUR, TEXAS, FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 1919.
All-Home Print.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000
oconoococ0c00000000commaeE
HUGH 0. H KILLED BI WAGO
MAH; HOW SAYS A MISTAKE MADE
Bolger’s Wife Gets Let-
—1
-2-
1
to Marry A Soldier at
k
©ong
I
DAIL DENIED MAN
6"
RANK YOUR MONEY TODAY.
f
YOU MUST DO SO TO HAVE IT TO-MORROW.
" 5"
Helm, Ward & Dillehay
TTat”
Bank-
First
DECATUR
TEXAS
FURNITURE
GROCERIES,
HARDWARE,
200000000000000000000000000000000
20000000000000000000000000000000005
20c
Cash Only
bullet his Lipford in the leg. striking
1.
A'
Silas
Morris
Blacksmithing and Woodwork
i
4
650
Hands Up! MajeStic Saturdayf Jan. 25
775
Truck Chassis 550
she would gladly welcome home the "Spencer," and as Hugh turned
(
lived right and he stood for the best
at the time.
Decatur Motor Co
In the Memphis district
wrote sorrowing friends nd relatives.
i e-
jt
torney, and after moving to Mem-
EXAMINING TRIAL
A short time ago his health
stockholders in the company.
(continued on page 4)
I
* "
\
I
Runabout . . $500
Touring Car . 525
Camp McArthur Who
is Named Bolanger.
elected
three
Coupe . .
Sedan ..
district
terms.
of
his
r
\
)
We cut our prices when
we first murk our ^oods
t
every man, woman and child in this
county, and during all the time of
After she and the child the presence of a large gathering of
in this life,
he was recognized as one of the best
HARPER TEETH
THAN IVE
COT
eov{w monknows his
ha imi liofinqawaw
hand his caina
MApwevi ako
M albinaawwy
kim
From this time on. all MY WORK
WILL BE STRICTLY CASH— no
tickets or credit to anyone.
tect their child he would not expose ____
her if she would leave the country health be wan making arrangeme
wife of her son, who had been a sol- answer the man four bullets from a
dler at Camp McArthur, but at that gun in the hands of Holger went in-
return of
&WVWN
owetau qoma;
u yowumon
inth Gankfor
cd aqe o
n0mh- daue
Texas. In the letter Mrs. Huff said courthouse walk
so the story goes, went to the mail- '
a plug of tobacco in his pants pocket i . . . . . , . . .
, , ■ ing clerk at Sanger’s and got the
and glancing, lodged in a glove in!,.. .. . . .. . . . .
letter. He took it to one of his
his coat pocket A number ol people .. . .. . . ,. . ,
। good friends , a pian floor-walker
were on the street at the time, and ...1 . ...
• in the store, and they discussed tile
it is mjraculous that others were not . .. ,, . . . _
letter. Evidently Bolger s friend
। injured. . . . . . e .
advised him, for he caught the next
returned to Waco, Spencer
He told her that to pro- health he had had for a number
ter Addressed to Wife his home here with the child, and
Mrs. Spencer-Huff returned to Waco.
of Spencer, Who Had Report says that the woman did not
I go to Missouri, but remained in Wa-
Stated She Was Going co, posing as a young lady, and was
er seen or heard of the man. In tne
jail, Bolger said be nad made a mis-
take and asked to be taken to Spen-
cer to make an acknowledgment.
A woman figures in the cause of
phis. Hall county, he was
The story of this terrible affair, in I train for Fort Worth, where he took
which one of the best known men in the midnight Denver train for Deca-
the community lost his life, is pro- tur
bably one of the strangest in the Arriving in Decatur, Bolger walk-
annals of criminal jurisprudence. ed up the street with Elmer Clark
The man who did tne shooting Ind He told Clark his name was "D .n-
never seen Spencer, and in his dying can" and lived in Houston. He
statement. Hugh stated he had n"- asked Clark if he hved in Deeatur,
and when told that lie did. Bol, er
asked him if he knev Hugh Speneer.
Clark told Bolger that he was well
acquainted with Spencer, and gave
attorney, serving
YOU WANT YOUR TOOLS TO LAST, AND HOLD THEIR
EDGE. WE WILL HOLD YOUR TRADE WHEN YOU ONCE BUY
YOUR HARDWARE FROM US.
WE KNOW GOOD TOOLS AND WHO MAKE THEM. LONG
EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT US THE RELIABLE BRANDS OF
TOOLS AND OTHER HARDWARE GOODS. THESE BRANDS WE
CARRY RIGHT IN OUR STORE FOR INSTANT DELIVERY.
stated that his wifel received a let-
ter Thursday at the place where she
works. Sanger Bros., addressed to
Mrs. W. M. Bolger or Belinger. Ha
stated his wife mentioned getting the
letter to him at lunef and told him
I
<
Bolger called.
I
.
I
g
■
1
The best toob\
for a// trades '
a Floyd Huff of Canton, Kan., soldier age and had lived in Decatur a long
MP E E m At Camp McArthur, in Waco, July number of years. He was born at
O • m m mam Ea am ma ■ a ma E 24, 1918. Upon receipt of the letter Burkville, He served Wise
•E MP M 5 GPE the
E mm ■ IB H H mui ■ ■ md ■ • • up his
WWyUEEEMWE EG •a to
" • • • " • • W • • •• and him in Worth
is a good buy in Burkburnett Worth, and Mr. Spencer told 1 is failed him and he returned to neca
«. . . D . _ wife what he had discovered, and de-1 tur to recuperate, and at the time he
iieiu. business men at Burk are manded that the child be turned ov- was killed was enjoying the best
, er tO him.
Mrs. Huff in Canton, Kan., and the large procession followed the
We think it wise to place your order
now as we expect to begin re~
ceiving shipments of cars soon
ugh D. Spencer, ex-county attor-
ney of Wise county, former district
attorney of Hall county, and one of
the best known citizens of this sec-
tion, was shot and killed Saturday
shortly before the noon hour by W.
M. Bolger of The shooting
occurred between the courthouse
walk and the First National bank,
and after he was shut Mr. Spencer
was carried to the office of Dr. D.
A. Carpenter above the bank, after-
wards being taken to the Johnsen-
Beall sanitarium in Fort Wortit,
where he died Sunday morning.
Bolger was taken into custody by
Sam Faith, former sheriff of Wise
county, and placed in jail. The wea-
pon used by Bolger was a 38 Ivers-
Johnson double action revolver.
Four shots were fired at close range,
three of them taking effect in Spen-
jcer’s body. One shot went wild and
hit Alvin Lipford, farmer, who was
standing near the Rrandenburg gro-
cery on the southeast corner. Tae
I greatly appreciate the patronage
I have received; and solicit a contin-
uance of your business, on the bas-
is of first-class work for your mon-
ey, and your money’s worth at all
times. It will pay you to pay cash!
/
da.
years. With the
Dise Conn tn Alessenger.
the terrible tragedy the former
wife of Spencer. A few months ago.
Mrs. Spencer, who was a widow be-
fore marrying Mr. Spencer in Mem-
phis seven years ago. left here lor
Waco. where she has relatives, tak-
ing her six-year-old son. She got
employment in the Woolworth store
in Waco. While working there she
i wrote Mr. Spencer, saying that the
child wanted to see his daddy, and
that she would bring him up for a
a short visit. Mrs. Spencer and the
boy came to Decatur and spent a day
and night at the Spencer home
While she was visiting here Mis.
. VOLUME XXXX-NO. 4.
।
A ---------------_
WE WON’T "NICK" YOU ON THE PRICE. WE SELL OUR
HIGH QUALITY TOOLS AT LOW PRICE.
USE OUR HARDWARE; IT STANDS HARD WEAR. -
the stranger a description of him.
Early next morning, Saturday.
Bolger was on the square, meeting
people under the name of Duncan
and making inquiry about Speneer.
Someone singled out Spencer and
Bolger trailed him to several places
on the square, stating after his ar-
rest that he waited until he could
get his victim in the open Speneer
went into the postoffice shortly af-
ter the mail arrived from the south
and Bolger followed him, asking T.
L. St.Clair if the "tall man back
there isn't Hugh Spencer the law-
yer.” Spencer came out of the post-
office and, with others, came across
Spencer lost a letter from her purse the square in the direction of the . ,
which her husband found. This let- First National bank on the south to again enter the practice of law in
ter was from a Mrs. Huff of Canton, side of the public square. Bolger one of the thriving towns in the pan
Kan., and was addressed to Mrs. walked up behind Hugh when he handle,, where he was sown as a
Louise Huff, general delivery, Waco. started across the street toward the splendid awyer witha .ne record
Hugh Spencer was known to most
and never return. In tears sbe
promised to go to some relatives in
Missouri. Mr Spencer returned to
his citizenship here, which covered
more than twenty xears, not one
word was ever heard questioning the
man's honesty and integrity. He
The policy of the Ford Motor Com-
pany to sell its cars for the lowed
possible price, consistent with
dependable quality, is too well
known to require comment.
Therefore, because of pres-
ent conditions, there can
be no change in the
prices on Ford cars:
The courtroom was crowded yes-
terday afternoon when the examin- |
ing trial of W. M. Bolger was call-!
ed before Squire Johnson. Several
witnesses testified that Bolger was
on tbe streets here Saturday morn-
ing making inquiry about H. D.
I sought after by soldiers. She is
I young and pretty. Upon her return
| to Waco she went to board with a
Mrs. McClain, who. it seems, found
out that her pretty boarder had a
i husband in Decatur. The boarding
house lady wrote Mr. Spencer that
his wife was staying at her home.
, and that she had told her she was
going to marry a soldier, stationed al
Camp McArthur by the name of Be-
langer or Boland. Mr. Spencer
heard that his wife had resigned her
position at the Woolworth store ard
had gone to work for Sanger Bros.
Spencer then wrote the woman, say-
ing he wanted her to meet him and
return the insurance papers she held
on his life and have them made out
in favor of the child in the letter
he spoke of how the child missed her
and cried to see her again. This
letter was addressed to "Mrs. Belan-
ger or Bolger, Careof Sanger Bros.,
Waco, Texas.” In the Sanger store
there worked as saleslady, a Mrs. ‘
W. M. Bolger, and the letter was de-
livered to her. She took the letter
home and showed it to her husband
Bolger, it is said, became infruatcd
and suspicioned his wife was untrue.
Mrs. Bolger reasoned with him, tell-
। ing him that the contents of the let-
ter were sufficient to convince any
one that she had received the letter
through mistake. Mrs. Bolger, we
understand was a widow before she
was married to Bolger, about one
year ago. Mrs. Bolger returned tne
letter to the mailing department at
Sanger's, writing- on the envelope,
"opened through mistake.” Bolter,
terrible fact came out in the woman's mains to the city cemetery.
reply that his wife had married Hugh Spencer was 48 years
time was in France. This letter to his body,
aroused the suspicions of Mr. Spen- Funeral services were held at the
cer, but he said nothing to his wife Spencer home Monday afternoon in
Spencer. Spencer was sargnu J
to him by a gentleman in the post-
oftice, where Spencer was at the time
getting his mail. Bolger left the
postoffice and went across the street,
stopping on the corner. Spencer
passed shortly and Bolger ask-
ed a man who was standing near if
the "tall man walking down the
courthouse walk was Spencer”
The man replied that the man was
Spencer. Bolger followed Spencer
to the south side of the square and as
he approached him from the rear,
called, “Spencer." As Spencer turn
ed to answer the summon Bolger fir-
ed four or fives times, one bullet go-
ing wild and three or four entering
the back of the left shoulder and side
Bolger made a voluntary statement
at the suggestion of his lawyer. Mr.
McNamara of Waco, in which he
and most successful attorneys, and
up to the time of his marriage he
was successful as a money-maker.
Soon after his marriage he lost his
health and his accumulations of sav-
eral years were swept away.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Collins, Dick & Smith, Marvin B. Wise County Messenger. (Decatur, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, January 24, 1919, newspaper, January 24, 1919; Decatur, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1582086/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .