Suicide or Murder? The Death of Michael Shelly

Some might say my father's maternal line carried with it a brief family curse. I'll start at the beginning, with Michael Shelly. Though bad luck befell more than one of his sons as well. 

Michael Shelly was born on March 7, 1811, in Cumberland, Pennsylvania. According to family history, his father, Jacob, was of German descent and possibly born in the Netherlands. The 1850 census shows Jacob's birthplace as Pennsylvania and I've not yet found records to substantiate his birth overseas. For now, we'll just go with the family history. It is known the Shelly's settled and lived on a small island in the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania - called Shelly Island. It is believed this is where Michael was born. 

His family moved to Wayne, Ohio, around 1828, where he would lay down roots and build a legacy. On February 19, 1835, Michael married Elizabeth Houser on his father's farm. Together, they prospered, purchasing and working a 160-acre farm in Plain, Wayne, Ohio. Over time, he purchased additional farms, growing his portfolio to a whopping 800 acres! Michael was a talented farmer, his land and assets reflecting his hard work. By 1860, his property alone was valued at over $29,000 (over $1 million dollars in today's money).

Michael and Elizabeth had a large family, 6 boys and 4 girls: Christian, Michael H. Jr., Jacob, Peter, Joseph C., Eliza A., Sarah, John William, Mary Ann, and Susan. Michael Sr. was a devout Lutheran and took an active interest in township affairs, aligning with the Republican party. 

Tragedy struck in his later years. Following is a melding of remembrances of Henry Shelly, the grandson of Michael and half-brother of Alva (who witnessed the events), newspaper articles published at the time and accounts written by family. This story of greed, robbery and death was well covered and much discussed. 

In 1890, banks were having a tough go of it, and people were losing their savings. Despite his niece's husband owning a bank, Michael didn't trust trust them, and kept his money in a dresser at his home. This decision would prove pivotal. On August 20, 1890, after returning from taking cattle to market, Michael was the victim of a brutal robbery in his home. He was 79 and his wife 76 years old. Their 10 year old grandson, Alva, Shelly lived with them. Shortly after midnight, masked men (some accounts say 4 others say 9) entered the house, battering the door to break in. They threatened the Shelly's with a revolver and bound both Michael and Alva. Michael refused to unlock the dresser for them, so they used chisels to open it. Ultimately, they reportedly stole over $6000 in cash (worth over $200,000 today). Then or now, it was a lot of money! Michael would never speak of the exact amount taken. Sadly, Elizabeth, already in poor health, was terribly affected by the whole event and she died just a few short months later in November 1890.

This crime set a series of events into motion culminating in a second loss of life. Michael recognized the voices of some of the men as those of his neighbors. At first, he didn't want to name them (he testified in the preliminary hearing) because he was afraid they'd retaliate and burn his buildings down. There had been other robberies in the community and since he thought he could name most of the men, he ultimately filed charges against Dan Binkley (an ex-policeman in Kansas City), Dick Lee, Dick Geiselman and others. Newspapers also listed Henry Binkley (father of Dan) and Henry Webb as suspects. Lee and Geiselman were supposedly sent to jail. The Binkley's and Webb were put on trial.

On the first day of the hearings May 12,1891, Michael was relentlessly questioned on the witness stand for over six hours. He bravely testified against his neighbors. There was damning testimony from others. Some of the money had likely been used to make mortgage payments by two of the accused in November 1890. Another person testified he sold acreage to Dan Binkley, presumably paid for with the ill gotten gains. Michael's testimony didn't end until 4:30pm on the first day of the trial.

News articles indicated he was affected by the grueling defense examination. At his age, I would expect he'd have been both physically and mentally exhausted. In the evening, he told his housekeeper he wanted breakfast the following morning before leaving for the trial. On May 13, 1891, his grandson Alva didn't see him in the house at breakfast but noticed the barn door was open. He reminded the housekeeper to make the meal and went off to find his grandfather. To his horror, he discovered the body of Michael Shelly, partially under a wagon, dead at 80 years old in his own barn with a single bullet hole in his head. A revolver lay on the ground nearby. 

The circumstances surrounding his death were murky, with widespread speculation about whether it was a result of murder or suicide. It is well documented Michael suffered immense stress after the robbery and during the trial. Reports suggested the strain may have driven him to suicide. A revolver with one empty chamber was found lying at his feet, further complicating the narrative of his death. Neighbors who arrived at the barn did not believe he could have killed himself based on the scene they viewed. The police, however, concluded it was a suicide. Unfortunately, there was no fingerprint evidence available to the police during their investigation. Fingerprinting of suspects wasn't used in the United States until 1903. The family believed Michael had gone to do the morning feeding of the livestock and was shot in the head by someone involved in, or associated with, the robbery. The Wayne County Democrat (May 27, 1891) reported the charges against all the remaining defendants were dropped.

Questions remain (at least for me). How did the gun end up at his feet when he was shot in the head? Why was he partially under the wagon? Although the day on the stand was difficult, wasn't the worst of it over? Why kill himself after he had already testified? Why ask for breakfast if he was so despondent he was considering killing himself? It is told, on the very same day his body was discovered, one of the accused Binkley's packed up his family and moved to Alberta, Canada. If true, why flee when robbery charges had been dropped? Was there fear murder charges might follow? How much was really stolen? At one time, an attorney told the family the men claimed to have stolen $35,000 ($1.1 million today). I thought such an amount would be awfully heavy, but Henry Shelly recalled, based on Alva having been a witness to the events, the robbers took a $1000 bill (yes, it was real, but they stopped printing them in 1969) and taunted Michael by waving it in his face. $35,000 wouldn't be very heavy if much of it was in $500 or $1000 dollar bills. And most of all, I wonder if the men at the center of it all felt any remorse or regret? What did they tell their families? Does someone out there know missing pieces of this story?

The funeral sermon for Michael Shelly was delivered by Rev. J.B. Bergner. I'm lucky enough to have a three page transcription of the actual sermon, including the thoughts Rev. Bergner shared as to why the death occurred. He lay the blame squarely on the robbers who set in motion a chain of events culminating in death...though he stopped short of saying it was either murder or suicide. Michael was laid to rest in the Plain Lutheran Cemetery with his headstone reflecting his life span: 80 years, 2 months, and 6 days. His life, marked by his successes as a farmer and the tragic end that befell him, has been a poignant story in the history of Wayne County.

The dresser still remains in the family. The chisel marks made by the robbers can still be seen. The family continued as well know farmers in the area, though their trajectory was undoubtedly inextricably altered. Some of his children did well, others suffered their own tragedies. In an ironic twist of fate, the barn Michael built, and died in, burned down. In 1957, the house he built on the property also burned. 

Michael Shelly picture from the Commemorative Biographical Record Wayne County, Ohio 1889
Photo of dresser publicly shared by DonnaScott79 on Ancestry.com