Payette County ID Archives Obituaries.....Whitney, W. Grant 1908 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/id/idfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Patty Theurer seymour784@yahoo.com November 8, 2005, 1:48 am Payette Independent, Payette, Idaho Payette Independent Payette, Idaho Friday, Feb. 28, 1908 W. G. WHITNEY SHOT TO DEATH J.M. McGrevey Kills Him in a Quarrel Over Some Hay. ALLEGES KILLING WAS DONE IN SELF DEFENSE Tragedy Occurred Tuesday Morning on Whitney’s Place South of Payette.--Two Bullets Pierce Whitney’s Body, Either of Which Would Have Been Fatal-- McGrevey Held for Trial on Charge of Manslaughter. W. Grant Whitney was shot to death Tuesday morning on his place about six miles south of Payette by James M. McGrevey as the result of a quarrel over some hay. Whitney ordered McGrevey to desist from baling the hay, which McGrevey claimed belonged to him, and ordered him to leave the premises. Not doing this, but instead, starting the baling machinery in operation again, Whitney started after McGrevey and was chasing him with a club when he turned and shot Whitney with a 38-automatic revolver. He was about 30 feet away when he fired three times, two of the shots taking fatal effect. One entered the upper left chest, passed through the plural cavity and entirely through the lungs and was found in the man’s clothing at his back. The other entered near the naval and passed through the abdomen and lodged just under the skin at the back. Either shot would have caused death. After being shot Whitney walked about 40 feet and climbed into his buggy and drove probably 70 feet before he fell over backwards in the rig. As he was leaving he turned to McGrevey and with a motion of his hand, exclaimed: “Now don’t you bale any more of that hay.” He was taken to the home of Chapman Williams, about half a mile away, where he died about an hour after he was shot. Before passing away, he was told by the physician that if he had anything to say he should not delay as his time was short. Dr. I. R. Woodward was the first physician to reach him and Dr. Avey arrived just before he died. Whitney could talk only in short syllables. E. E. Hunter, Mr. Williams and B. F. Tussing were with him nearly all the time. He told Mr. Hunter that if McGrevey had told him he was going to shoot he would have gone away and left him. Then he said he hoped McGrevey wouldn’t be pardoned. A little later he asked it the men were still baling hay and said they must be kept away. He gave Dr. Woodward some instructions about a thousand dollar check he had in his pocket. This is the first killing that has occurred in or near Payette since a man by the name of Snyder was killed by an unknown murderer on the streets of Payette about 20 years ago. Snyder was killed one night in front of D. S. Lamme’s old store in the old town. He was of a quarrelsome, ugly disposition and it is the opinion of old timers that the people at that time did not care enough about his fate to make a very vigorous search for his murderer. There has been trouble between Whitney and McGrevey since the latter left the former’s ranch some time ago. Last year he rented the Whitney place on the shares and it seems the two were unable to make a satisfactory division of the products, and as a result a suit between the two is now in the district court. The immediate quarrel which resulted in the killing was over the hay. McGrevey claimed he was entitled to half of the hay raised on the place the year he had it rented. Whitney refused to make a division of it and ordered McGrevey, who had purchased part of the Whitney place and lived about a half mile away from the hay stacks, to keep off the place. McGrevey decided to go ahead and bale his share and started men to work on it Tuesday morning. The men were Fred D. James and son Basil, who live at Washoe, and Mr. James’ son-in- law, Frank Goff. Mr. James was the chief witness to the shooting, as the other two men did not see all of it. When Whitney learned that the hay was being baled he drove out to the stacks and ordered James to quit his work. James walked over to McGrevey’s place and told him Whitney had ordered him away. McGrevey told him to wait until he went to the house after a drink and he would go with him to the stacks. The two drove there in McGrevey’s buggy. When they reached the hay Whitney was gone, so the work was started again. But in a few minutes Whitney retuned with Mr. Sutfin, the man who now has Whitney’s place rented. Whitney drove his team in the way of the team hooked to the sweep of the baler, and ordered that the work be stopped. McGrevey picked up a short handled fork and tapped his horses which dodged past Whitney’s team and started the baler going. This seemed to anger Whitney who jumped from his buggy and started after McGrevey. James testified that Whitney carried his right hand in his coat pocket the entire time. Whitney chased McGrevey around the circle made by the horses attached to the baling machine two times, when McGrevey circled to one side and redoubled on his course and started around the end of the hay stack. When he made this change in his course Whitney grabbed a heavy wooden stake in his left hand and continued after his man. McGrevey was about 30 feet away and he turned and shot three times. He stood and watched Whitney until the latter climbed into his buggy and drove away. The he walked over to where James was kneeling scarcely three feet away from Whitney when he was shot and asked what he had better do. James advised him to drive to town and give himself up, which he immediately did. As soon as the news of the killing reached Payette General Manager Dunn of the P. V. railroad offered his train to County Attorney Van Duyn, who was in the city, to take him to the scene of the tragedy. The train left shortly after 1 o’clock, Mr. Van Duyn being accompanied by Fred James and a number of others. The county attorney went over the ground with the witness and heard his story. An autopsy was held Wednesday morning by Drs. I. R. and J. C. Woodward and Dr. Avey, whose findings were as reported in the first part of this story. No gun was found in Mr. Whitney’s possession. McGrevey’s preliminary hearing was held Wednesday night before Justice of the Peace Tim Driscoll, who withheld his judgment until 10 o’clock yesterday morning when he bound him over to appear in district court on the charge of manslaughter, placing his bond at $5,000, which he raised yesterday. His trial will come up at the March term of court. He was represented at the preliminary by Attorney John C. Rice of Caldwell and Attorney J. L. Seawell of Payette. Mr. Whitney was a member of the Weiser Masonic lodge and eight or ten Masons were up from Weiser and with a number of Payette Masons attended a short service which was held at the ranch house Wednesday, before the body was brought to town. A coroner’s inquest was held Wednesday, which determined three things: That Mr. Whitney was dead, that he came to his death as the result of gun shot wounds and that the wounds were inflicted by someone other than himself. Grant Whitney was a pioneer of the Payette Valley. He came here more than 20 years ago with his brother, John Whitney, who died several years ago, and started a nursery. He leaves a wife and adopted daughter, who were at their home in Boise at the time of the shooting and arrived in Payette Tuesday afternoon. He came here from the Walla Walla valley, where two brothers now live. One is C. L. Whitney and the other is E. C. Whitney, both of whom were here and accompanied the remains to Walla Walla where they will be buried. The body was shipped Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Whitney also had a sister, Mrs. A. E. Sayre, at Spokane, who was unable to reach here but will join the other relatives at Walla Walla. Mr. Whitney was about 50 years of age. He had accumulated considerable property and was well to do. Besides his place north of Payette and ranch south of Payette where the tragedy occurred, he owned property in Boise, where he had lived for the last few years, and at Seaside, where he spent his summers. He also owned valuable property in Black Canyon, over which he was engaged in litigation for many years. He had interest in the Payette Valley Mercantile company at this place. Mr. McGrevey and family came to Payette about a year ago from Whitby Island, Wash. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/id/payette/obits/w/whitney1038gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/idfiles/ File size: 8.8 Kb