Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-12-08
Murder and Suicide.

Butler county was the scene of the wors
tragedy that has occurred within its limit
since the killing of the Wigton family BY
! the Indian Mohawk. fifty years ago.
Harper Whitmire, son of Frank Whit
mire, deed, killed his mother-in-law, Mrs
Christina Nordheim tor Hassler) whose
place is near st. Joe Station, on the lint
between Oakland and Donegal twps; he
daughter Mrs Martin, lately married and ye
living at home; ard then himself.
The events Immediately preceding thu
murders and suicide are about as follows
Harper whitmire. whose wife, daughter
of Mrs. Nordheim, died about two years
ago, placed his children in a charitable in
stitution and left the county. He return
ed few days ago and went to the home o.
his mother in-law, Mrs. Nordheim, whose
farm was and is an oil farm.
He was needing money, no doubt, was
begging her for more money, though his
wife had received, during her life time,
what was considered her full share of the
estate.
On the morning of the 9Th he, Mrs.
Nordheim and Mrs. Martin where the only
persons in the house,-Louis Nordheim
the son, being at the oil well on the farm
some distance from the house. Harper
seems to have determined to help himself
to the money he believed to be locked up
in the trunk in Mrs. Nordheim's room
Mrs. Nordheim arose early and went out
to feed the stock. Harper got up, and
whether because the young woman was
| awake and discovered his purpose or from
generalization; he went to her bed and
beat her over the head with double bar
relied shotgun as che lay in bed, and then
nearly severed her head from her body
with sharp razor. The gun was broken
in two by his assault upon her.
Then he went down stairs, and meeting
the old lady as she came in lie picked up
poker and beat her over the head until
she fell upon the floor OF the kitchen, and
he continued the assault until her head
was beaten almost to a jelly.
Then he got a hatchet, went up stairs
1 anu bIOht Optu luC bidhht oho tOOh nhot
money was in it, and left the scene of his
horrible work.
He first went to Linas G. Martins about
miles distant and there secured (sbout
er Samuefs, from whom he tried to bor-
row a pistol with which to kill himself,
saying that he had killed two parties and
wished to kill himself. But his brother would
not give him the pistol, Linas rode over
to SamueIs with him and he there engaged
Linas to meet him at noon at Samuers
With rig. Then be started over the hill
toward John Calvin WhItmire's, and Sam
uel went to Boydstown and consulted Peter
Whitmire and Graham Campbell as to
what should be done in the matter. Louis,
Daniel and Samuel, brothers of Harper,
with Peter, then followed Harper over the
hill and up the run, in which he had wad
ed, and back the John Calvin's, where
they found him sitting by the fire, they
induced him to go with them to SamuePs
TOR dinner; and Peter went away to get a
warrant. AT noon two rigs were seen
coming toward the house, and Harper
feared arrest and said he would not be
taken alive, SO he ran out to the barn, gave
his son Sid, who lives at SamuePs, some
money, went back to Calvin's. secured a
razor he had left there, walked out and
around hill to small grass plot, and sat
down and eut his tbroat-h acked it six
times with the same razor he used on Mrs.
Martin and the edge OF which had been
badly twisted and nicked. When his
brothers came up to him he was dying,
and they got him wagon and hauled him
back to Samuels, from where he was buried
in the Whltmire private burying ground
next day.
Word Of the murder had been sent to
Butler early that morning, and officers had
gone out to arrest Harper, but they found
him dead
Louis Nordheim, the son, was the first
to discover the murders. When he came
in from bis work on the wells about s
o'clock, he found his mother lying dying,
upon the kitchen floor, and his sister dead
in bed. Harper was gone and Louis real
lied that he was the culprit, and notified
his neighbors of the affair.
Mrs. Nordheim was a daughter Of DIR.
Hasler. decd, who at one time lived at or
near Hannahstown. She married -
N0rdheim and lived with him until be
made q murderous assault upon her father,
for which he was sent to the penitentiary.
-. 81. 4
her maiden name Of Hassler. Her farm
produced great deal of oil and she was
considered wealthy. She was the mother
of three girls, one of whom was married
to Whitmire, one to Henry Leidecker of
Butler and the youngest one to James
Martin. Her only son, Louis, lived at
home with her and attended to the stock
aud well yet producing
Harper Whitmire and the eldest daugh-
ter were married some Is years ago. He
bought the Dick McCandless farm in Cen
tire twp. borrowing part of the money from
his mother in-law and giving her mort
gage. Then he induced her to cancel the
mortgage and give him money and among
them they put the farm in the name of his
ife, as her full share of the estate. This
deed was not recorded until the end of the
six months and in the meantime Harper
borrowed money from several persons, by
representing himself rs the owner of the
farm, and when the deed to his wife was
recorded, and trouble came to him, he and
his wife came to Butler and borrowed mon
ey to get him out of trouble This was
three or four years ago and was about the
time that the young man who went by the
name of Howard WhitInire was sent to the
woIkhouse for forgery, where he died
Two Years ago, Harper's wife died under
suspicious circumstances. But little was
said about it, yet he was supposed 10 have
caused her death by beating her. He took
his children to Nordheim's and went away,
came back and put them in charitable
schools and went away again. He was at
Erie until few days ago, when he again
came to Nordhem's and this terrible trag-
| edy has followed.
Mrs Nordheim's skull was so badly in
jured that the doctors could do nothing for
her and she died Wednesday morning.
She and her daughter will be buried
| Saturday.
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