Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1920-04-22
DOCTOR SLAIN
BY A FORMER
LOCAL PRINTER
Wealthy New Physician Attacked
by Linotype Operator Here In
1913


New York whose congregation in
cludes men and woment socially prom
inent in New York, preached a ser
mon on Sunday making an earnest ap-
peal to his parishioners to be friend
Iy to strangers visiting the church.
No one could know, he said, how
lonely and oppressed stranger sitting
beside one might be and how far a
kind word might go.
The organist began pealing out the
Offertory anthem, and vestrymen
walked up the aisles to make the col
lection. A stranger seated about the
twelfth row from the rear, pulled out
a revolver.
Fires At Doctor
Without warning, he fired at Dr.
James Wright Markoe, a celebrated
surgeon and one OF the vestrymen.
Walking beside him up the aisle, also
Bearing collection plate was Her
bert L. Satterlee, son-in-Eaw of the
late j. Pierpont Morgan.
DR. Markoe fell from a mortal
u
who proved to be an escaped 1unatic,
started up the aisle, waving his re-
volver
At the police station the prisoner,
gave his name first as Thomas w.
Shelley and later as Thomas w. Simp-
kin of Duluth, MINI.
The police said he told them he had
escaped on Thursday from the Eastern
State Hospital for the insane at Will
iamsburg, Va.
Friend of j. p. Morgan
Dr.. Narkoe wealthy vestryman of
Ghe church was friend and personal
physician to J. Pierpont Morgan, also
a parishiOner there. He was Sc years
old.
The church was crowded with par
ishiOners, many of them represent
atives of the wealthiest families in
New York, when the shooting took
place. DR.. Markoe was walking down
the left aisle taking up the collection
while the choir was singing an an
them. AS he reached the twelfth pew
from the rear and leaned over to pass
the plate, Shelley, who was seated
next to the aisle, Grew a revolver and
fired at the physician. The bullet
struck him over the left eye and he
collapsed in the aisle
Women screamed and men rushed
from their seats, some to the aid Of
the physician and others in pursuit of
ais assailant. Shelley, revolver in his
hand, leaped over the body of the
physician and started to run out of the
church. The choir continued singing
in an effort to quiet the congrega-
JtlOn.
Fires Second Shot
Shelley continued hOoting. His
second shot, directed at members Of
the congregation who were pursuing
him, went wild. John G. Tiedman, the
sexton, dropped to the floor in time
to escape the third bullet, which graz
ed the cheek of J. Morgan Jones.
Shelley then ran from the church
into Stuyvesant square. DR.. Brewer
was the first man to reach him. He
seized the mans arm but Shelley
managed to free himself long to fire
another shot, which grazed DR.. Brew
er's thigh. By that time several other
members of the congregation had
thrown Shelley to the ground and
were holding him when a policeman
arrived handcuffed the prisoner and
xook him to the police station.
Meanwhile DR. Markoe had been
carried out of the church and placed
in an automobile. AS he was being
1ifted into the car nc regained con-
seriousness long enough to say: 81
will be all right" and then collapsed.
He was rushed to the nearest hospital,
but was dead when the institution
was reached.
Once Printer in Baraboo
Simpkin came to Baraboo during the
summer of 1918 and was employed as
linotype operator at the Democrat
office for about 2 months While here
he boarded at the brick house east of
the city hall
R. J. Osborne, editor and proprietor
of the Democrat says Simpkin was
~obsessed with the idea that some one
was after him. He was quiet in man
ner and left suddenly. After going
away Mr. Osborne received letter
which stated that he was sorry to
leave and that he had nothing against
the owner of the Democrat. The let
ter was incoherent. While here he
wore a masonic badge and ring.
He registered in the draft on Sep
5tember II, 1918, and after the reg
1stry the draft board had some cor
respondence with his wife. County
Clerk F. A. Cooper recalls that letters
passed but all the correspondence, to-
gether with the registry card, has been
sent to Washington.
While here Mr.. Osborne had 70
ter from Simpkin's wife, then in Du-