The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-08-30
30 UNDARY LINE IN DISPUTE
Half a Century Ago There
Was Property Divide.
TROUBLE BEEN BREWING SINCE
eliminated BY Shooting Of Anthony
Bremen BY Michael; They Are
Not Related.

Pennington, Aug. 2S.-A feud of
some years standing was closed at
Lakeville, a station of perhaps five
hundred inhabitants five miles west of
here, yesterday morning when Michael
Brennan shot and killed Anthony Bren-
nan as a result of quarrel over the
boundary line between two farms.
Michael Brennan and his father,
Michael Nolan Brennan-no relation to
the murdered man-approached An
thony Brennan when the latter was
blowing in his field. The quarrel had
proceeded but a few minutes when
the young Brennan whipped out a
revolver and shot Anthony in the alb
domen.
The wounded man lived until four
o'clock in the afternoon. The slayer
and his father are held in the Jail
at Lakeville, the Jail being heavily
guarded.
Feeling ran high during the day at
Lakeville and there was strong talk of
lynching but better counsel prevailed
as the day advanced and it was stated
last evening that the authorities be-
lieve that they have the situation
well in hand and that the fear of vio-
lence on the part of the citizens has
been reduced to a minimum.
1t was even stated in some quar-
tiers, that there was probability that
Michael Brennan, Jr., shot in self de-
fense..
Feud of Long Standing.
Fifty years ago the father of An
thnny Brennan had one-half of a section
of land about two miles east of Lake
vile and after his death it was divided
up and forty acres of it became the
property of Anthony Brennan and for
ty acres went to the brother Will. The
other eighty became the property OF
others. not heirs. About seven years
AGO Michael Nolan Brennan of st.
Paul came to Dakota county and
bought the eieghty acres that had
fallen into the hands of outsiders.
From the time that the newcomer
stepped upon his land he quarreled
with Anthony Brennan over the bound
arv of the farms. The two families
came together many times in wordy
battles. A year ago young Michael
Brennan, who fired the fatal shot
yesterday, stabbed a young man by
the name of Royce who was on the
Anthony Brennan place and was put
under bonds to keep the peace, as was
also his father The bonds expired in
April this year. During the time
that the bonds were in force there
was less friction than usual about the
place.
Yesterday morning when Anthony
Brennan started to plow around the
edge of the Will Brennan forty the
elder Mr.. Brennan came out to have
trouble with Anthony, telling him that
he was trespassing on his land.
Brennan applied to the other terms
that were intended to arouse anger
and started to pull something from his
pocket and held his hand behind him.
Knife Was Pulled.
Anthony pulled his knife and told
the old man that he was on his own
land and warned him to leave him
alone:
The old man beckoned to his son and
Anthony started to~plow around his
field again. When he returned to
where the elder Brennan and his son
were standing, the quarrel was re-
newed and the young man called An
thony a liar. The latter took wooden
paddle that he used to scrape sod from
his plow. and hit young Michael on the
jaw. The young man pulled gun
and fred three times at Anthony
The first shot missed, the second
struck the victim in the abdomen and
the third shot went wild. Anthony
fell to the ground and his son Harry
who saw and heard all the proceedings
helped his father into a wagon ano
he was hurried to his home, 100 rods
away.
DIR. T. j. Gaffney of Lakevllle was
called but was unable to stop the hem
orrhages, the intestines having been
pierced by the bullet. Neither Dr.
Gaffney nor DIR. William Dodge OF
Pennington, who was also called, were
able to stop the flow of blood.
The elder Brennan said, as they car
ried Anthony away, "We've got HIM
now, even if we lose the whole farm.
Anthony, though in great pain, made
an ante-mortem statement at 2:3O
o'clock, in which he related the cir
cumstances of the affair, substantially
as given sabove. The statement was
taken by Judge w. F. Roche.
Michael Nolan Brennan went to