Morning journal and courier., 1890-09-12
SHOT A NErGHpeRD DEAp.


 Intense Excitement i'm New milford-
 Terrible Result of . Hitter Family
 Eeud-An Alleged Uneven Division
 Of the Property the Cause-A Door
 Broken Down by Vigilance Com-
 dren Left Unprovfded For.
 NEW MILFORD, Sept. il. John J. Wa ters, aged forty-fye, was shot dead by George Knowles, aged twenty-one, last night, at Lanesville. Jay Knowles and Dr. David Knowles each claim the owner ship of house left by their father. David locked up the premises and placed his wife and son George on guard therein. Later, Jay Knowles came up with party of neighbors, and started to break in the door. George fired, killing Waters, who was in the party. Dr. David Knowles, his wife and middle-aged farmer and George Knowles have been arrested. Waters leaves wife and six children The crime grew out of a family feud that had lasted for years. The murderer is twenty-one years of age, and his father, Dr. Knowles, is dentist and farmer combined. The particulars of the terrible affair in de- tails are as follows: The doctor has two brothers living in Lanesville named Geosge and Jay, his own name being Charles. Ten years ago the fath- CT of the three brothers died, leaving quite a little property, most of it going to Jay. The other brothers were dissatisfied when the provisions of the will became known. Legal steps were taken but without avail, for the will could not be broken The doctor and George constantly annoyed Jay, and finally worried him into leaving the farm over which there had been so much trouble. On the farm was good house and George succeeded in renting the farm and house and appropriated the income Jay went to another part of the village te live and for nearly ten years allowed his brothers to have the benefit of what in lega right belonged to him. Last June the new house left him by his father, was burned to tht ground. Having no home he concluded to make an effort to get possession of the old homestead The house was without a tenant and he made ar engagements to have his household goods moved into it. George and the doctor, hearing of hi Jay, however, succeeded in getting his goods in side the house before they could stop him, ant
 thought & he vas all right, The doctor, before tn leaving the furniture belonging to Jay on th kitchen floor. He then took some of his owl QOuSenOlQ SOOuS ana moved lnJO the house, Oc
 cupying three rooms on the first floor. H l guarded the house night and day, and while h made no attempt to force Jay and his famil | cupy more than one room. The brothers fire l quently quarreled, and the doctor about wee
 ran out Of the house M and escaped He g did 'ls nc 1 return until he was sure that his brother we
 asleep. During the past week, matters bega
 taken sick and he impIored his brother to alio1 him to have bedroom for her, but the docto | took extra precautions to see that Jay did nc
 one of the-bedrooms. The doctor even went s l far as to get his son George to come over to tn
 front of the door through which Jay must pas in order to reach the hallway leading to the oet
 rooms: The door was barricaded strongly an
 determined to aid Jay. They. asked him if l
 would like help and he replied that he didd
 want any tronble but would like to have his vii
 could do. The doctor and his son had
 se%e aeaien way s0 the @ % neigSbors n and 'en 5s
 strongly fortified themselves in u
 house. About Ii last night John J. Waters, Ere
 Halbet, Willis Warner and Fred Aldrich stealtli
 came to the farmhouse and volunteered to do a
 in their power to see that justice was done Ja
 and his ramily. Jay cautioned them about doir
 anything rash and asked them to be very carefr
 as both the doctor and his con were armed. IT
 vigilance committee as the four neighbo
 the door and ask his brother once more if | would give him the use of the bedroom. Tn
 he did and young, George, partly opened u | he bothered him or his father any more tn
 night, he would do some shooting. On hearir
 this the neigilbors left, but soon returned with
 heavy log for the purpose of forcing the door i l They struck the door behind whicn the faith l and his son were barricaded once or twice, al
 broke one of the panels. Another crash w
 heard and the entire door was broken dow
 Then the son was heard to utter an oath and | pistol shot was fired. Almost at the same m
 ment the lantern went out and everything W had been shot and the attacking par
 entered the hallway. No one was foul there, but the window was open and it W evident that whoever had been there h.
 escaped in that way. John J.Waters was miss , ! and the lantern was relighted and search ma for him. He was found leaning against the WI of the kitchen and said: Boys, I'm shot, a George Knowles did it." He then fell to the flo , and expired without saying another word. Officers were at once sent to the scene, but t Toward morning, however, the doctor made l appearance and claimed to be greatly astonish
 1 at finding the windows all demolished the res l of stone-throwing done by the nei yhbors aft l the murder had become known. He claimed I [ to know anything about it, saying he had spe | the evening at a neighbours some distance awf tors statements, positively state that they hea t his voice before the door was broken down a l saw him leap from a window after they h ' | forced an entrance. He and his wife were
 morning. He refused to talk about the erin l ] asserting that he had only done what a by ruffians who had come for the purpose 3 1 killing him and his father. Dr. King, the me { cal examiner, made an examination of Wate , | wound and found that the bullet had entered ! I right side just below the lung and gone tlrou t his body, coming out of his back. The bul l WIS found in the dead mans blouse. It see
 | to be the general opinion that he thought he W . aiming at his uncle Jay when he fired the ia ' | bullet.