Morris Co., TX - Obits: Steve Good ***************************************************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb by: John Wardlow USGenWeb Archives. Copyright. All rights reserved http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ***************************************************** Bird Exhibit in Death Case - January 1938 Henderson, N. C. (AP) An exotic white bird a South American cockatrice was exhibit "A" Friday at the preliminary hearing of a 23-year old handy man of a Tom Thumb circus, charged with hacking to death his employer, Steve Good, of Austin, Texas, with an ax. The defendant, docketed as William Fairbanks of Baltimore, Md., confessed, Sheriff J. E. Hamlett said, he slew the itinerant showman. It was the bird, the sheriff quoted the youth as saying, that started the argument last Sunday night which ended in the 40-year old circus proprietor's death and the serious wounding of his young wife. Fairbanks, who drove the Good's truck-trailer and looked after the menagerie of monkeys, snakes and birds, related in his confessions, the sheriff said, that he remonstarted with Good for mistreating the cockatrice. Then the showman stuck him, Fairbanks was quoted as saying, and in the ensuing fight Fairbanks hit Good with an ax; and when Mrs. Good intervened, he hit her also. Mrs. Good, in a critical condition at a hospital here, has not been questioned. TEXAN SLAIN, WIFE WOUNDED IN FIGHT OVER BEATING BIRD JANUARY 1938 Youth Confesses He Resented Showman Injuring Performer Henderson, N. C., Jan 17 (UP) A large white-plumed bird, the size of a half-grown turkey with a white feather pointing straight out of its head, crowed in a police cell here Monday night unmindful it was the cause of a murder and a brutal attack on a woman. The bird, alien to these parts and unknown to poultry fanciers, was a star performer of the little troups of animals owned by Steve Good, 45, showman of Cason, Texas, and his wife. The murdered man and injured woman, carted from town to town in an automobile trailer van. The circus played before high school audiences and in villages. Clarence Fairbanks, 19, who confessed the murder of Good and the attack on Mrs. Good, said the showman's abuse of the bird-performer Sunday night brought on the quarrel which resulted in Good's death. Fairbanks' confession said Good began striking the bird when it failed to perform the tricks during a rehearsal preparatory to a showing of the troupe in Henderson High School Monday. RESENTED ATTACK ON BIRD. "The bird refused to do what he (Good) wanted," the confession, signed by the youth after hours of questioning Monday, read. "He got made and started to beat the bird across the wing with a wand." "I asked him to stop. He gave me a dirty look and told me to shut up. I asked him again as he started to hit the bird and he got madder and we quarreled and he hit me. I started to fight him but he hurt me too much with his fist." "Then I went crazy." The fight which ensued left the motor van in shambles. Blood was spattered over the animals cages and furniture was broker. Fairbanks said he crushed the head of the showman with an ax after Good had broken the ax handle on him. Good died in a hospital before dawn. The youth's confession did not tell of the attack on the woman. Police believe she was struck when she ventured into the van. In her haste to escape her hand was caught in a door. When officers, called to the van by Fairbanks, who had driven to police headquarters by a taxi, reached the scene the woman was still pinioned to the van. She was unconscious and her skull was fractured. Monday night physicians gave her little chance to recover. FIRST ALLEGED ALIBI Fairbanks first told officers he was at dinner when the attack occured. He said after he found the couple he rushed immediately to the police station. Then wet clothing was found under the warehouse near the van. It was Fairbanks' and a key to the van was found in the coat pocket. His confession was announced late Monday after officers had removed the youth to an unknown jail to avoid violence. Good's mother, Mrs. Ella Good, is postmistress at Cason and Mrs. Good's mother, Mrs. Stella Stokes, residing at Allenton, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Phil Dodson of Washington, D. C., brother-in-law and sister of the injured woman, came here. Dodson is an attorney in the insurance department of the Department of Justice, but did not officially take part in the investigation. Fairbanks, a truck driver, had been with the circus six months. He said his home was in Baltimore, but would not name his nearest relatives. YOUTH CONFESSES TO CRIME; SAYS IN SELF DEFENSE Stephen Goode, was beaten to death and his wife, Jo Stokes Goode, seriously injured when they were attacked and robbed Sunday night about 9:00 o'clock Eastern Standard time in Henderson, N. C., where they had stopped Friday to put on their bird animal act, fulfilling their contract with Northwest Assembly, Inc. Mrs. Goode is a daughter of Mrs. Grace Stokes of Cason and is known to most people of Morris County, having taught at Cason. She and her husband were here during part of 1937. Rex Fairbanks, a young man, who assisted them with their act, reported the crime to police, and was held for questioning. Sixteen hours later he confessed to the crime, claiming that he was acting in self defense. The police reported to relatives that the youth showed no sign of bruises and no evidence was found that Mr. and Mrs. Goode had struggled. Both were severly beaten on their heads and faces. Mr. Goode was scarcely recognizible, reports said. His wife sustained a broken jaw, her skull was crushed and several teeth knocked out. Mr. Goode died at 4:30 o'clock Monday morning, and his body lies in a morgue, awaiting a crisis expected in Mrs. Goode's condition, which remains critical. She is in a Henderson hospital. Her sister, Mrs. Phil Dodson, of Washington, D. C., is attending her beside at the hospital. L Demoye Stokes her brother and wife, and her mother left Monday night for Henderson. Mr. and Mrs. Goode traveled in a van and were located on a parking lot about two blocks from the police station in Henderson at the time of the tragedy. Mrs. Goode, who was reared in Morris County, has five sisters, Mrs. Roy Moore, County Superintendant here, Mrs. J. Y. McMichael of Cason, Mrs. V. F. Cramer of Daingerfield, Mrs. M. E. Merrell of Texarkana, Mrs. Dodson, and one brother, Mr. Stokes of Austin. Stephen Goode is Beaten To Death, Mrs. Goode Injured Texan Slain, Wife Beaten In Fight Over Bird; Parties Known Here The following dispatch form Henderson, N. C., will be read with interest in this section where the partied spent their winters. The Goods gave a performance at the Pittsburg school auditorium about a year ago. They had relatives at Cason and spent their winters there. Henderson, N. C. - A large white-plumed bird, the size of a half-grown turkey with a white feather pointing straight out of its head, crowed in a police cell here Monday night unmindful it was the cause of a murder and a brutal attack on a woman. The bird, alien to these parts and unknown to poultry fanciers, was a star performer of the little troups of animals owned by Steve Good, 45, showman of Cason, Texas, and his wife. The murdered man and injured woman, carted from town to town in an automobile trailer van. The circus played before high school audiences and in villages. Clarence Fairbanks, 19, who confessed the murder of Good and the attack on Mrs. Good, said the showman's abuse of the bird-performer Sunday night brought on the quarrel which resulted in Good's death. Fairbanks' confession said Good began striking the bird when it failed to perform the tricks during a rehearsal preparatory to a showing of the troupe in Henderson High School Monday. RESENTED ATTACK ON BIRD. "The bird refused to do what he (Good) wanted," the confession, signed by the youth after hours of questioning Monday, read. "He got made and started to beat the bird across the wing with a wand." "I asked him to stop. He gave me a dirty look and told me to shut up. I asked him again as he started to hit the bird and he got madder and we quarreled and he hit me. I started to fight him but he hurt me too much with his fist." "Then I went crazy." The fight which ensued left the motor van in shambles. Blood was spattered over the animals cages and furniture was broker. Fairbanks said he crushed the head of the showman with an ax after Good had broken the ax handle on him. Good died in a hospital before dawn. The youth's confession did not tell of the attack on the woman. Police believe she was struck when she ventured into the van. In her haste to escape her hand was caught in a door. When officers, called to the van by Fairbanks, who had driven to police headquarters by a taxi, reached the scene the woman was still pinioned to the van. She was unconscious and her skull was fractured. Monday night physicians gave her little chance to recover. FIRST ALLEGED ALIBI Fairbanks first told officers he was at dinner when the attack occured. He said after he found the couple he rushed immediately to the police station. Then wet clothing was found under the warehouse near the van. It was Fairbanks' and a key to the van was found in the coat pocket. His confession was announced late Monday after officers had removed the youth to an unknown jail to avoid violence. Good's mother, Mrs. Ella Good, is postmistress at Cason and Mrs. Good's mother, Mrs. Stella Stokes, residing at Allenton, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Phil Dodson of Washington, D. C., brother-in-law and sister of the injured woman, came here. Dodson is an attorney in the insurance department of the Department of Justice, but did not officially take part in the investigation. Fairbanks, a truck driver, had been with the circus six months. He said his home was in Baltimore, but would not name his nearest relatives. VICTIM OF CRUEL ATTACK BURIED AT CASON SUNDAY - JANUARY 23, 1938 Funeral services for Stephen Goode, 36, who suffered fatal injuries when attacked in Henderson, N. C., a week earlier, where held at Cason Baptist Church Sunday afternoon at 3:30 o'clocl. He died Monday, January 17. His wife, who was with him and also cruelly beaten by the same assailant, lies in a Henderson hospital in a serious condition, attended by her mother, Mrs. Grace Stokes of Cason, sister Mrs. Phil Dodson of Washington, D. C., and brother L. Demoye Stokes, and wife of Austin. J. Y. McMichael of Cason, who had gone to Henderson, returned here Saturday with the body, which lay in state at his home until Sunday. Rev. J. W. Reeder, pastor of the Cason Baptist Church, and Rev. B. L. Hatch, pastor of the Daingerfield Methodist Church, conducted rites. Mr. Goode was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Goode was by profession a trainer of animals, birds being his specialty. He was under contract with NOrthwest Assembly, Inc. The past year he, with the assistance of his wife, presented a group of trained cockatoos, canary birds, dogs and monkeys in acts before assemblies of school children, parent- teacher organizations and church societies. They traveled in a trailer van, according to a pre-arranged itinerary. Mr. Goode and Miss Jo Stokes were married in 1928. She survives with his mother, three brothers and one sister. Among the many funeral attendants from other places were Rev. James Miller of Durant, Okla., Mrs. J. B. Ponder, Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Merrell of Texarkana and Mr. Houston of San Antonio.