Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1894-01-20
NUMBER 3.
BURKE FAIRCHlLD DEAD.
Romantic Story Told of Him in the
Chicago Record.

Burke Fairohjid is remembered
by many in Iowa county, aud how
seven or eight years ago he killed
his wife near this city, was tried, and
sent TO states prison for the crime.
Since then nothing has been known
If him here, except that no served
out the term OF his sentence and
left the state. 1t appears by the
following from the Chicago Record
of Monday that he went 10 Algona,
Iowa, and lived q secluded life there
on a farm, until last fail, when hs
died. All the stuff about Farchld
having property in Mineral Point;
his escaping after killing his wife,
aud the buried $4,000, Is of course
untrue aud rediculons We reprint
the story only to illustrate the
capacity of some newspaper cor
respondents for romanciug:
AIgoua, lowe, Jan. IA few
| years ago man named Burk fair
child osme to AIgona and went
down into Riyerdale, where ne made
his home until he dled last fall.
He never told where he uame from
nor related to any one anything
about himself further than once to
tell &. b. Matson that he had
nephew in Milwaukee. lie gained
a little notoriety by raising 4 lot of
beans one year, but was otherwise
unknown TO the county. When he
died he was about 80 years of age.
a telegram to his nephew, Edward
Seebert, brought him out to the
burial. Another nephew answered:
"Let the county bury him" 'rhe
one who came only paid for the lot
and sexton, the county bearing all
other expenses. The one who came,
however, intimated that FAirchild
had property in Mineral Point, Wis,
and the supervisors authorized Mr..
Matson to see if the expenses Of the
burial could not be recovered out of
| it. And this has led To a rather
sensational discovery.
Archie Hutchinson was resi-
dent at Mineral Point before Fair
child left, and at once recalled that
a murder was at the bottom of 1t,
but had never before connected the
Kossuth man with the incident IL
seems that at the age of 70 Fair
child married wife about 80 or 35
years old, aud coming home one
night intoxicated he got down the
shotgun and threatened 70 shoot
her One story is that he was
merely crazed by drink. But, DR..
Stull, who also comes from that
section, says jealousy was At tho
bottom Of it.. In any event, in the
struggle which ensued the gun
went off and she was killed Fair
child disappeared aud was never
heard Of afterwards, although his
uephews undoubtedly knew all the
time where he was. He wandered
about for two years and then came
here.
While here at the burial Seebert's
chief feeling seemed TO be of salts
faction at knowing that it was the
same man who was dead. He told
while here that Fairchild had buried
$1,000 before leaving, and that he
had found $4,000 aud sent it to him
here. 1t is related that Fairchild
did at one time get some money
from the east, but no one believes
that he ever got that amount He
also owned forty acres Of land at
Mineral Point, and, it is thought,
had an sO-acre farm somewhere else.
When Seebert came he got al the
papers the old man left before any
one else saw them. Fairchild told
nobody about his affairs, although
it is thought he tried to once at the
last minute. All in all, it is a
curious case.
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