Contra Costa County CA Archives History - Books .....Killing Of George Mitchell 1882
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com November 23, 2005, 12:31 am

Book Title: History Of Contra Costa County, California

   KILLING OF GEORGE MITCHELL.—At an early hour of Friday morning, February 1,
1878, it was rumored about Antioch that George Mitchell, an old resident of that
town, was not to be found, and there was a strong suspicion that he had been
murdered. About half-past ten o'clock on Thursday night he accompanied William
Brunkhorst to his residence on Front street, with a lantern, the night being
dark and stormy. Mitchell was duly sober and told Brunkhorst on parting that he
was going to Dahnken's saloon on the wharf where he slept, and retire for the
night. Carson Dahnken had closed the saloon. In about fifteen minutes after
Mitchell left Brunkhorst, a pistol-shot was heard on the wharf by several
parties, but it seems no one went out to ascertain the occasion of the shooting.
  Dahnken, who slept in the rear of the saloon building, said he also heard the
breaking of a lantern, the broken glass of which, together with several spots of
clotted blood, were plainly to be seen upon the wharf. It was believed from the
circumstances that Mitchell had been murdered and thrown into the river from off
the wharf. Poles were brought and a moment's search proved that such was the
case. The dead body of Mitchell was brought forth from the water and a
bullet-hole or knife-wound found on his left side over the heart. Suspicion at
once fastened upon William Hank, a German, in charge of the schooner A. P.
Jordan, which had been lying at anchor a few miles down the river. Hank had been
in town on Thursday, drinking freely, exhibited a pistol, and was once during
the day prevented from shooting at a man in Martin's saloon, by Martin. Shortly
after the shooting on the wharf Hank went into Gordon's saloon and told the
bar-keeper, Johnson, that he had just killed a man on the wharf, his, Hank's
clothes, being at the time quite bloody, with his nose, face and lips scratched
and bleeding. Going out of Gordon's saloon he fired at some dogs and finally
went to Dahnken's hotel and entered the room of Joseph Parker, a boarder. Parker
awoke and finding a strange man in the room inquired what he wanted; Hank said
he was a stranger in the house and wanted a room. He finally slept upon a lounge
in the sitting-room, where, his pistol was found in the morning by Dahnken.
While search was being made for Mitchell on Friday morning, Hank left the wharf
in his sail-boat for his schooner. As soon as the body of Mitchell was found,
Constable Pitts, with two Italian fishermen, started in pursuit with a boat and
overtook him. Pitts got into his (Hank's) boat, and on being told that he
(Pitts) was an officer .come to arrest him, Hanks leaped overboard. He was
handcuffed by the Constable while in the water, then taken into the boat, tied
and brought shivering with cold from his voluntary bath to Antioch. George
Mitchell was an Englishman, forty-seven years of age, and had lived in Antioch
and its vicinity since 1859. On April 24, 1878, Hanks was tried and acquitted.
Immediately after the trial, and ere he had left the court-room, he was joined
in matrimony to Mary Augusta Raymond, who was present during the proceedings,
and watched the case with eager interest.

Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION;
TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT
DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST
AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING
THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE;
ALSO,
Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches
OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS
1882.


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