St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1860-07-19
Murder and Lynch Law.

most narrowing and diabolical crimes
ever committed. They are no less
than the murder of woman and two
children, and the hanging of the MUIR
dercr by mob of two hundred and
fifty citizens. The scene was enacted
in Jefferson County, Iowa. The vic,
tins Of the murderer were Mrs Jane
Willis and two of her children, son,
Joseph r., aged y years ; and a
daughter, Maria Jane, aged 7 years.
The murderer was John kcphart, a
hoary headed villain, aged ovor GO
years, a minister of the gospel, OF the
United Brethren denomination. The
murdered woman was believer o
the same faith.
The history Of these people appears
to be that they had all lived for mum
Der Of years in the southeast part Oh
Iowa, till about a year ago, when the
Willis family, (thcn at Muscatine,)
removed to Cass county, Mo-, kephart
accompanying them. There they rent
cd a farm, and in the fall of 1859,
lIr. William Willis, the husband and
father, died, or disappeared from his
family. Some accounts intimate that
he was poisoned by Kcphart.
After the death Of hcl husband, Mrs.
Willis appears to have looked to Keep
hart, q profcssedly pions man and
preacher of the gospel, for aid and
protection. She owned in Iowa l60
acres of land which she was induced
to give Kephart . power Of attorney
to sell. The land he decided at once
to his son "for aud in consideration
Of the sum Of two thousand dollars tc
him in hand paid" The title, howev
CT, is imperfect. For this, Kephart
gave Mrs. Willis $500 in gold. AT
forwards, it appears that Mrs. w
wished to return to Iowa, to live
among her old ncighbors, and kephart
started with her on the journey, and il
was during this journey that she and
her children were murdered.
kcphart's ruling passions were av
aricc and lust. All his ends and aims
were to crafty these. Mrs. w. had
the $500 with her hid in some soap
grease. Ibis Kcphart wanted and
was determined to have, and Mrs. w.
was equally as determined that he
should not have it. Failing to make
her give up the money, he conceived
the plan of numbering her saving
only one of the three children, from
whom he expected to learn where the
money was, or, perhaps, murder him
also. His plan of executing the mur-
der appears to have been taken from
the Ottumwa murder, as he twice
drove into the Dcs Moincs river but
finding the water too sloal he turned
towards Cedar Creek in which the
bodies were found.
Tie woman had no doubt, ere this,
wished to get loose from the mcshcs
Of kcphart, and was determined to
keep the gold hidden to buy bread for
her childrcd so soon as she might be
50 fortunate as to escape his clutches.
Kcphart could not obtain the money.
If he had found the gold he would, no
doubt, have left her to go to her
friends. But he dare not take her to
them, for there she would have had
protection, and then perhaps gold and
land would have been all lost. lie,
no doubt, hunted day and night for it,
cnaxcd and threatened by turns, but
all in vain-the gold was hidden. At
Eldyvillc he formed the murlcr0us
purpose-if she is dead he can find
the gold. james he would not kill,
for he knew where the gold was hid
den.
On Thursday, June 2sth, they stop
ped near the river, in Eddyville, and
campcd ont for the night. Mrs. Will
lis cooked the supper, after which she
complained Of being sick, laid down
in The wagon and went 10 sleep. In
tic night, sometime, the boy awokc
and saw that she had deep cash in
her head. The three children all got
out Of the wagon, and Kephart chased
Joseph T., aged II, and Maria Jane,
aged I, about half an hour, under and
around the wagon with the axe in
hand, until they, too, were killed lie
then placed them by the side of the
mother and pounded their heads with
the wagon hammer.
He left Eddyvillc soon after the mur-
dcrous deeds were finished and trav-
cled over thirty miles to the place
where he no doubt hoped to hide the
unfortunate victims from human eyes.
A grey headed old man, over GO years
old, travelling day and night with an
OK team thirty miles, with the dead
bodies of mother and two children
in the wagon, to find place of con-
cealment the living boy, James
Harvey Willis, by his side-and then
when the place was found, he stripped
his victims, put their garments into
the wagon, took the mother first and
then the children, and hid them under
the water, placing log upon them to
keep them down.
on Saturday, the bodies were found
IN the creek near Batavia, Jefferson
County, by some fishermen. The news