Murder of former Rolla, Phelps Co. MO resident-1902 Hi, My G.G. Grandfather was Henry Dean who was born 11 Feb 1832 TN. He moved with his family to Phelps Co. MO when he was 12 years old where he married Elizabeth Mary Matlock 1 April 1852, Rolla, Phelps Co. MO. In 1874 and 1876 he was Tax Collector for Phelps County. Below is a copy of the news articles concerning his death. I thought it might be of interest for anyone researching the Dean family in Missouri. Regards, Lois Branch "The Norman Transcript", Feb. 6, 1902: Death of Mr. Henry Dean Mr. Henry Dean, father of Mrs. C. W. White, died at the residence of his nephew, four miles southeast of Norman, on Saturday, after an illness of only about twenty-four hours. He had gone out to his nephew's to look at some cattle, and while there was taken with a severe chill that rapidly developed into pneumonia. He was a good citizen, aged some 70 years, and was making his home with his daughter, Mrs. White, in this city. The funeral took place on Tuesday, burial being made from the Christian church, under the auspices of Purcell Lodge, A.F. & A.M., of which he was a member. "The Norman Transcript", Norman, OK, Feb. 20, 1902: SOME SUSPICIONS OF FOUL PLAY The Body of Henry Dean is Exhumed and Chemical Analysis of Some of the Organs Are Being Made By Professor DeBarr. The body of Henry Dean, who died at the home of his nephew, John A. Dean, on Saturday, Feb. 1st, after a very short illness, was exhumed on Monday last and portions of it given to Prof. Edwin DeBarr for chemical analysis, to determine if he came to his death from natural causes. The portions removed were the stomach, liver, some of the smaller intestine, the lungs, and other minor parts. This action was taken by Coroner W.S. Hamilton at the request of the children of the deceased, and who have suspicions that all is not right. The very sudden death of Mr. Dean, when he was known to be in the best of health a few hours before his death; the circumstances surrounding his domestic life; the peculiar will he left--virtually disinheriting his own flesh and blood for comparative strangers--all lead his immediate relatives to think there is something wrong. If the analysis should show that he died from other than natural causes, some acustional developments may be expected. Mr. Dean was a well known man of this vicinity and of Purcell, and died possessed of considerable wealth, leaving two sons and two daughters. He practically disinherited these, and left the bulk of his property to a niece and named that niece's husband as administrator without bond. The following is the will: INDIAN TERRITORY ) SOUTHERN DISTRICT) SS Last Will and Testament of Henry Dean. In The Name Of God, Amen: I, Henry Dean, of the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, being of sound mind and memory and considering the uncertainty of life, do hereby make, ordain, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament; that is to say: First--After all my lawful debts are paid and discharged and the expenses of my funeral shall have been paid, the residue of my estate I give, devise and bequeath as follows, towit: To my grand-daughter, Bessie Dean, daughter of my son, Marion Dean, I give, devise and bequeath the sum of one dollar. Second--In as much as my niece, Mary Merrell Dean, has shown great kindness to me in keeping my house and caring for me in my old age, I do hereby give, devise and bequeath unto her, the said Mary Merrell Dean, the sum of $500 in money and all and singular, my property, both real, personal and mixed, of every description, wheresoever situated, except the moneys, notes and securities on hand at the time of my death. Third--To my children, Charles M. Dean and Stephen A. Dean and Mary Malinda Dean Williams and Bettie Dean White I do hereby give, devise and bequeath the remainder of my moneys, notes and securities on hand after paying the legacies hereinbefore provided to be divided between them share and share alike. Fourth--Reposing special confidence in my friend, John A Sean, I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint him to be my executor of this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills by me made, and I especially stipulate and request that the said executor shall act without formality of bond in carrying out the provisions of this my last will and testament. In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand and seal at Purcell, Indian Territory, this 17th day of March, A.D. 1890. HENRY DEAN Subscribed in presence of (SEAL) J.W. Cherryhomes. H.E. Newman ______ The will is type-written, and the principal provisions underscored in red ink. Prof. DeBarr is to make his report to the coroner and jury to-morrow (Friday) morning. Until he makes it he refuses to talk. It is said that the deceased was in the habit of taking a preparation into which arsenic largely entered, to relieve his asthma, and even if the autopsy discloses evidences of poison, it would not be conclusive that it caused his death. ______ "The Norman Transcript", Feb. 27, 1902: THE HENRY DEAN POISONING CASE ___ Coroners's Jury Agree That He Came to His Death From Poisoning, but Do Not Fix the Crime on Anyone. The coroner's Jury to inquire into the cause of the death of Mr. Henry Dean have held a number of sessions this week behind closed doors and taken a mass of testimony. As we go to press it is still in session, trying to come to some agreement as to the perpetrator of the act, having fully agreed that the death was caused by arsenical poisoning, Dr. DeBarr having found enough arsenic in the stomach and liver to kill a dozen men. The jury agrees that the poison must have been administered sometime early on the morning of Feby 1, 1902, as about 8 o'clock that morning the deceased was taken with several retchings and vomiting and from then on to the time of his death about 11 o'clock that night had all the symptoms of arsenical poisoning. It also agreed that death tookplace at the residence of his nephew, John A. Dean, three miles southeast of town, to which place the deceased had gone the night before and had been taken with a chill and put to bed. Is also agreed that the arsenic was not taken with judicial intent. The jury consists of J.H. Hartley, Z.T. Curley, W.B. Fisher, Ed Fay, B.F. Teeters and Mr. O'Donnell. In the event that it does not find probable cause against any special person, the evidence will be submitted to the grand jury at the coming session of court for their action. ____ "The Norman Transcript", Norman, Cleveland Co. OK, March 6, 1902: John A. Dean and his wife, Mary Dean, were arrested by Sheriff Smith last, Friday, charged with causing the death of Henry Dean, on February 1, 1902, at their residence, three miles southeast of Norman, by administering arsenic. The coroner's jury investigating the case agreed late Thursday night that there was sufficient evidence against the Deans to hold them, and a warrant was issued by the coroner. They were arraigned before Justice Overstreet, and by agreement the case was continued until Tuesday, March 4th. On Tuesday the preliminary was held and numerous witnesses examined, and the justice held the accused without bail to appear before the grand jury March 20th. Newell & Jackson are assisting County Attorney Wolf in the prosecution, and Williams & Williams appear for the defendants. The testimony given at the preliminary was much the same as that given at the inquest, and a annalog up of all the facts in the case seems to show the following state of affairs: Henry Dean, aged 70 years, died at the home of his nephew and niece, John and Mary Dean, on the night of Feb.1, 1902, after a sickness of about twenty-four hours. He had gone to the Dean house from Norman the night before in his usual state of health, and had been taken sick that nigh, but was better the next morning. About 11o'clock on the morning of Feb'y 1st, he was taken with severe diarrtima and vomitting, which continued at intervals all day. About 12 o'clock that day John Dean came in and told Dr. Abel that the old man was sick with a chill, and the doctor sent some medicine out. About dark the doctor went out to the Dean place. He found the patient very low and unconscious with what he thought was pneunmonia, and on his return to town told C.W. White, Mr. Dean's son-in-law, of the old gentleman's precarious condition. This was the first that Mrs. White, Mr. Dean's daughter, knew of it. Although the Deans were well aware that Mrs. White lived in Norman and also that a son of the old man's resided at Purcell, they did not notify them, or take any steps to do so. Mr. and Mrs. White went out to the Deans at once, reaching there about 11 o'clock. He was unconscious and died soon after their arrival without even recognizing them. The Deans tell two or three stories about the sickness--one of them is to the effect that when Mr. Dean arrived there he complained of feeling chilly, but went to the barn with John Dean and assisted inputting away the horse and doing the chores, and then went to the house, ate a hearty supper and talked until 11 o'clock; the other is that when he arrived he was so sick and chilled that he had to be assisted from his buggy and into the house where he was put to bed immediately. Jas. Sanders corroborated the latter story. He took care of Mr. Dean a part of the time, and told of the symptoms which are said to follow arsenical poisoning. Dr. DeBarr, chemist at the University, found sufficient arsenic in the parts of the body examined by him to cause speedy death, and gave it as his opinion that the deceased died from acute arsenical poisoning. Even had Mr. Dean been in the habit of taking a medicine, that contained arsenic, the difference between acute and chronic poisoning would be easily discernable. The habitual use of arsenic might bring about a state of chronic arsenical poisoning, but it would be altogether different from the acute. Acute arsecical poisoning is caused a by taking sufficient of the poison at one time to cause death. There was no one else at the Dean place on Feb'y 1st, except the family and the deceased. The testimony was that Mr. Dean had taken no solid food on that day, but drank some water in the morning. Members of the jury thought it impossible that it could have been administered to him without his knowledge. Arsenic is tasteless, odorless and colorless, and it was demonstrated to the jury that it might have been given in the water and he not know it. Enough to kill a person was taken upon the point of a knife and placed in a half tumbler of water. There was no color, and none of the jury could discover any taste as they took a sip of the water and spit it out. The motive was money. Henry Dean had considerable money and property, and had made a will leaving the bulk of it to Mrs. Mary Dean and naming her husband, John A. Dean, as administrator without bond. This will was in the possession of Mrs. Dean and she and her husband knew its provisions. There was a possibility and a probability that the old man might marry again, and there was besides a supposition that some of his money had been dissipated through C.W. White, and more might be. These things, the prosecution theorize, might cause the Deans to argue that the sooner the old gentleman would die the more of his wealth they might inherit; and in the event of his remarriage they would probably be cut out entirely of any inheritance. One witness testified that Mrs. Dean had said to her some weeks ago: "If it wasn't for the sin of it, we would put the old devil out of the way with poison"--showing that they had it in their mind. This witness was Mrs. Rube Goins, but at the preliminary it was shown that she and Mrs. Dean were not on the best of terms. Rube Goins also testified that she had said that Henry Dean might die suddenly. The coroner's jury was satisfied the deceased did not take the poison himself. When put to bed his clothes were removed completely, so that he had no place from which he could get the poison, and there was not an iota of evidence that he had ever threatened to take his own life or had any cause to do so. John A. Dean is about 40 years of age and his wife 35. They have four children, one a babe in arms. They are not persons of overly intellectual attainments, but rather inferior. The wife seems to be the head of the family; the brains, so to speak. It is said by those who know her and the facts, that she was always kind to the old man, doing all in her power for his comfort, and there will be a number of witnesses give testimony that the old gentleman always spoke lightly of her and of her kindnesses to him. Many sympathize with her on account of the children. _____ John A. Dean and Mary Dean, His Wife, Are Charged With Causing the Death of Henry Dean By Administering Arsenic ___ CORONER'S JURY AGAINST THEM ___ Brings in a Verdict That Henry Dean Died From Arsenical Poison and that it was Administered by the Defendants.--Sheriff Smith Arrests Them--Preliminary Held on Tuesday and Held to Grand Jury. Verdict of Coroner's Jury TERRITORY OF OKLAHOMA) COUNTY OF CLEVELAND.....) SS. An investigation begun and held at Norman, in Cleveland county, O.T., on the 17th day of February, 1902, before me, W.S. Hamilton, coroner of said county, on the body of Henry Dean, there lying dead; by the jurors whose names are hereunto subscribe, they having inspected the body of said Henry Dean, heard testimony and caused examination and chemical analysis to be made of parts of the body of the deceased, and made all needful inquiries as to who caused his death and the means employed by them to affect it. The said jurors upon their said oaths do say that the deceased, Henry Dean, came to his death at the house of John A. Dean, at 11:30 p. m. on the first day of February, 1902, by means of acute arsenical poisoning administered and given to the deceased, Henry Dean, by John A. Dean and Mary Dean, on the morning of Feby 1, 1902, with felonious intent on the part of them, the said John A. Dean and Mary A. Dean, to effect his death. SIGNED: Attest: W.S. Hamilton, Coroner J.H. Hartley A.T. Kerley W.B. Fisher W.J. Teeter E.D. Fay Ed O'Donald "The Norman Transcript", March 27, 1902: MURDER -- JOHN AND MARY DEAN RELEASED -- Grand Jury Decides That the Testimony was Not Sufficient to Hold Them for the Murder of Henry Dean -- Court Notes. Court adjourned on Wednesday. A day's term will probably be held to May to finish up some work. The grand jury, after thoroughly considering the evidence against John and Mary Dean, charged with the murder of Henry Dean by poison, decided it was not sufficient, and recommended their release. Judge Irwin accordingly dismissed the case, and the Deans returned to their home on Monday night. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. 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