This information is offered FREE and taken from http://www.okgenweb.net/~okcaddo/ If you have arrived here using a pay site please know that this information has been donated by volunteers in a joint effort to provide FREE genealogy material online. Caddo County - Newspapers Submitted by: Sandy Miller ***************************************************************** Minco Minstrel FIENDISH BRUTE MURDERS GIRL IN HORRIBLE MANNER AT COGAR 13 June 1913 YOUNG NEGRO IN ANADARKO JAIL Miss Susie Church the Victim Of the Hellish Fiend's work Worst crime in Years One of the most horrible and brutal murders The Minstrel has ever been forced to chronicle occurred at Cogar, 12 miles west of Minco, Tuesday afternoon when Miss Susie Church the 15 year old daughter of Fred Church, a prominent farmer residing a mile and a half west of the Caldwell store, was foully slain by a human brute, supposed to be a Negro boy named Denny Simmons, which all evidence points out as the guilty party. The gruesome details of the murder are horrible in the extreme, and the whole county is at fever heat over the affair. The victim, a pretty girl in her teens, rode to the store Tuesday afternoon on horseback to do some shopping and was returning alone about the middle of the afternoon, when she was attacked by the devilish fiend not more than a quarter of a mile from her home. The girl's mother heard her daughter cry out for help, as did others who were working in a nearby field, but they paid little attention to the occurrence, thinking the cry came from some children at play. A few moments later the horse dashed up to the home minus its rider, and Mrs. Church became alarmed for the safety of her daughter. Taking the horse she set out for the store, but met her husband who informed her that the girl had left the store sometime before, and together the parents started on the return still looking for the missing girl. As they neared home, their attention was attracted to a pool of blood and evidence of a struggle of some kind in the sand of the roadway, and a trail led the father to the spot about thirty feet away where the girl was found lying in a pool of her life's blood, with her throat a horrible gaping wound and her clothes town and pulled over head. There were also knife wounds in the side of the neck, under the eye and top of the head and bruises on the limbs and body and a broken wrist gave further evidence of a terrible struggle for life and honor against overwhelming odds. The news of the tragedy was soon flying over the wires and a manhunt was started. The sheriff's office at Anadarko was notified and Dr. Masters of Tedda called. Neighbors soon gathered to aid in every way possible to apprehend the murderer. Neighbors of the Church's at once suspected the Negro ( cont) ? ========================================================================== 20 June 1913 IN MEMORIAM Miss Susie Church, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Church, was born in Gary County, Kansas, on July 16th, 1898, and met her death at the hands of a murderer June 10, 1913 at the age of 14 years, 10 months and 24 days. The funeral was held at Glenwood church at 10 a.m. June 12, and the sad procession wended its way to Hazel Dell cemetery where the body was given a last resting place. The following beautiful hymns were sung at the funeral: "Blessed Land Bye and Bye," "O Home Sweet Home," "The Resting Time I coming" and "Meet Me There." The pall bearers were six young ladies: Lottie Taylor, Gladys Croy, Ora Beard, Janet Taylor, Gladys Marty and May Taylor. Miss Susie Church was a sweet, home-loving girl, and her horrible death has cast a pall of sorrow over the whole community. She was held in high esteem by all, Some pretty verses were written to her memory by her Sunday school teacher, which The Minstrel would have published had space permitted. ========================================================================== NEGRO MURDERER WAS LYNCHED THIS MORNING BY MOB AT ANADARKO Dennie Simmons, the Negro fiend who brutally assaulted and murdered 16 year old Susie Church last Wednesday evening near Cogar, was taken from the jail at Anadarko about 3 O'clock this morning and lunched by an infuriated crown of citizens. The keys to the jail had been taken from the sheriff and the doors were unlocked and the brute was led forth by the leaders of the mob. He was then saturated with kerosene and set a fire. After the lower part of his body had been terribly burned he was strung up to a tree and his body filled with bullets. At 10 O'clock this morning the body was still swaying in the wind. The Negro had been taken to Anadarko Thursday morning from the scene of his crime. Where he was under guard all-night and lodged in the old Federal jail, which is about a mile. The mob collected quietly and made but little attempt at disguise. They first visited the county jail, but their victim was not there, and then they proceeded to the Federal jail. The Negro was dragged forth and executed with calm deliberation, and at no time did he utter a word and would not say whether he was guilty or not. The mob was a large one and carefully organized. It is stated that it was composed of friends of the murdered girl and many citizens of Anadarko. It had been rumored that the Negro would have been lynched shortly after the commission of his crime, but the Negroes of the Cogar vicinity armed themselves and gathered about the scene so that it was not thought advisable to inflict the punishment at that time. The crime for which the black brute paid the penalty was one of the most dastardly ever committed in Caddo County. ==========================================================================