On 14 Dec 2009 I posted a newspaper article that was written 29 Apr 1916 and appeared in The Richfield Reaper. This local paper continues to be in print to this day. The following post is an article written by Ardis E. Parshall, Utah Historian, and appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune on 02 Jan 2010
Living History: Crime of passion in 1916 led to violence, prison
History » In the dead of night in Richfield, a 'quiet, inoffensive' man opened fire.
By Ardis E. Parshall
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 01/03/2010 09:13:57 AM MST
It was April 27, 1916, and a crime was being committed in Richfield. City Marshal Dan Borg had been apprised of the development and he deputized his brother, Hans Borg, to assist him in detecting the act and arresting the perpetrators.
The two sworn officers, together with W.A. Cheel and a man named Anderson, assembled at dusk and proceeded cautiously toward a cabin owned by Cheel and rented to Clara McCabe, lately arrived from the mining camp at Marysvale. At 9:30 p.m. they positioned themselves under the window sills and listened for an opportune moment to enter. Two hours passed as the posse members bided their time, listening to the inside conversation and occasionally taking furtive peeks through the windows.
Finally, at 11:30 p.m., sounds from within assured the lawmen that criminal activity was in progress. With a single kick, Dan Borg broke open the flimsy cabin door and burst inside, followed closely by Hans Borg. Dan struck a match, illuminating the darkened room and its occupants for a brief moment, then the flicker of his match light was answered by two revolver shots.
Hans screamed in pain, his left wrist shattered and his abdomen pierced by bullets. The brothers fled from the cabin. Its door was slammed shut and barricaded from inside as the posse retreated down the narrow dirt lane.
The three men laid Hans on the ground, where he writhed in pain. Dan stayed with his brother while Cheel and Anderson went for a doctor
and the county sheriff, the situation having become too much for the marshal to handle alone. Hans Borg was carried to his home for emergency treatment, then rushed to Salina for surgery. Despite the severity of his abdominal wound, he would recover.
Dan Borg, with Sheriff C.A. Leavitt, returned to the cabin, again dark and silent. Leavitt identified himself in a loud voice and demanded that those inside surrender. After speaking back and forth through the closed door, those within became convinced of the lawman's identity, then opened the door and were peacefully arrested.
They were Clara McCabe, wife of M.J. McCabe, of Marysvale, and Albert Williams, a "quiet, inoffensive man" according to the Richfield press. Williams was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to commit murder. The couple also received a charge for the crime that had brought the posse to eavesdrop through windows and wait in the chilly darkness for hours: adultery.
The record does not indicate the outcome of the adultery case (although the couple had been fined a month earlier for committing the same act in Marysvale -- a surprising occurrence, perhaps, since the number of saloons and saloon girls in Marysvale at that date far surpassed the number of churches and churchgoers).
Williams was convicted of the assault charge, despite his defense that the lawmen had not identified themselves when breaking violently into the cabin in the dead of night; he contended the arrest was therefore illegal, and that he had fired in self-defense. He appealed to the Utah Supreme Court, which upheld his conviction. Because Williams was knowingly engaged in a crime, the court reasoned, he should have anticipated the arrival of the law and submitted.
Williams was sentenced to an indeterminate term in the state penitentiary.
Two years later he sought a pardon, maintaining that his was a crime of circumstance that would not be repeated. He promised to leave Utah to live with his mother in California. His petition was supported by letters from many who had known him in Marysvale, from the Mormon bishop to the roasters at the alunite mines. One mine supervisor offered him a job. The Marysvale town marshal vouched for his good character. Ordinary citizens complained that he had been treated unfairly.
Williams was released, and, like Clara McCabe, disappeared into the backdrop of a changing American society.
Ardis E. Parshall (AEParshall@aol.com) is a Utah historian who welcomes feedback from readers.
*Hans E Borg, 1885-1957
*Daniel E Borg, 1888-1969
Showing posts with label Family History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family History. Show all posts
Friday, January 15, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
My Grandfather, Hans E Borg, Shot in the line of duty
Newspaper Article found by our cousin T. Borg. First printed in The Richfield Reaper News on 29 Apr 1916, Richfield, Utah.
DEPUTY MARSHAL SHOT IN THURSDAY MORNING RAID
Investigation of Illicit Love Affair By Peace Officers Results in Shooting of Hans Borg ------ Chances for His Recovery Said to be Favorable
Richfield was the scene of a shooting affairat an early hour Thursday morning which came near being a tragedy. Illicit love and the weakness of a woman form the base of a story which can be told in a single chapter.
About the first of April a woman named McCabe came to this city from Marysville. She rented a little home owned by W. A. Cheel and entered into possession. She had been devorced from her husband about a year. Mrs. McCabe was little known here. She appeared, superficially, to be a quiet, industrious sort of a woman, and did nothing to arouse suspicion or curiosity in the neighborhood.
Mr. Cheel had been apprised that a man named Williams was here on Wednesday, and having heard that he and the McCabe woman had been charged with undue intimacy at marysville, he made complaint to city marshal Dan Borg, setting up the allegation that he believed things were not "all right" at the home of the McCabe woman, urging further that certain untoward circumstances be investigated.
Early Thursday morning Marshal Borg proceeded to the McCabe home, deputizing his brother, Hans Borg, to accompany him. Mr. Cheel and a Mr. Anderson, also went with the officers. Arrived at the residence about 1 o'clock, they found the place in darkness and no apparent movement about the premises. Marshal Borg knocked at the front door and demanded admission, eliciting no responce from within. The posse remained on the outside a half hour or more without hearing anything of an incriminating nature and finally Marshal Borg threatened the occupants of the house that he would enter in a forcible manner. This he proceeded to do, wrecking the door to gain admission.
Dan Borg and his brother, Hans, were the first to cross the threshold, striking a match immediately after making their ingress.
The match made but a faint illumination, but in its expiring glow Williams and the McCabe woman were discovered occupying the same bed in the rear of the room. Ere the light became extinguished, Williams rested himself upon his elbow, drew a revolver and fired two shots at the invaders. Both shots were effective. Hans Borg staggered from the room with his left wrist broken and lacerated and with a bullet in his abdomen. This last entered his right side and ranged downward, causing a perforation of the intestines.
The wounded man was conveyed to his home and medical aid summoned. Prior to this Sheriff Leavitt was notified and hurriedly proceeded to the scene where, after Williams had put on his clothes, he was placed under arrest.
Hans Borg, the victim of the shooting, was hurried down to a hospital in Salina and his injuries given immediate attention. The wound in his abdomen is the most serious of all, and may cost him his life. Yesterday evening, however, he was reported resting easily, with many chances of recovery. Dr. Steiner accompanied him to the hospital and assisted in operations that were essential. He will have the best skilled treatment and his relatives and friends hope for the best.
Albert Williams, the man with the gun , does not have the reputation of being a "bad" man. He is said to be a quiet, inoffensive fellow with good traits of character. He is unfortunate in getting himself tangled up into such a net of circumstance, but illicit love has caused many a tragedy since the beginning of this sinful old world.
Hans Egeda Borg
born: 25 Nov 1885 in Richfield, Sevier Co.,Utah
died: 24 Jan 1957 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co.,Utah
burial: 28 Jan 1957 at Salt Lake City Cemetery plot 82709 West-8-48-E-1
DEPUTY MARSHAL SHOT IN THURSDAY MORNING RAID
Investigation of Illicit Love Affair By Peace Officers Results in Shooting of Hans Borg ------ Chances for His Recovery Said to be Favorable
Richfield was the scene of a shooting affairat an early hour Thursday morning which came near being a tragedy. Illicit love and the weakness of a woman form the base of a story which can be told in a single chapter.
About the first of April a woman named McCabe came to this city from Marysville. She rented a little home owned by W. A. Cheel and entered into possession. She had been devorced from her husband about a year. Mrs. McCabe was little known here. She appeared, superficially, to be a quiet, industrious sort of a woman, and did nothing to arouse suspicion or curiosity in the neighborhood.
Mr. Cheel had been apprised that a man named Williams was here on Wednesday, and having heard that he and the McCabe woman had been charged with undue intimacy at marysville, he made complaint to city marshal Dan Borg, setting up the allegation that he believed things were not "all right" at the home of the McCabe woman, urging further that certain untoward circumstances be investigated.
Early Thursday morning Marshal Borg proceeded to the McCabe home, deputizing his brother, Hans Borg, to accompany him. Mr. Cheel and a Mr. Anderson, also went with the officers. Arrived at the residence about 1 o'clock, they found the place in darkness and no apparent movement about the premises. Marshal Borg knocked at the front door and demanded admission, eliciting no responce from within. The posse remained on the outside a half hour or more without hearing anything of an incriminating nature and finally Marshal Borg threatened the occupants of the house that he would enter in a forcible manner. This he proceeded to do, wrecking the door to gain admission.
Dan Borg and his brother, Hans, were the first to cross the threshold, striking a match immediately after making their ingress.
The match made but a faint illumination, but in its expiring glow Williams and the McCabe woman were discovered occupying the same bed in the rear of the room. Ere the light became extinguished, Williams rested himself upon his elbow, drew a revolver and fired two shots at the invaders. Both shots were effective. Hans Borg staggered from the room with his left wrist broken and lacerated and with a bullet in his abdomen. This last entered his right side and ranged downward, causing a perforation of the intestines.
The wounded man was conveyed to his home and medical aid summoned. Prior to this Sheriff Leavitt was notified and hurriedly proceeded to the scene where, after Williams had put on his clothes, he was placed under arrest.
Hans Borg, the victim of the shooting, was hurried down to a hospital in Salina and his injuries given immediate attention. The wound in his abdomen is the most serious of all, and may cost him his life. Yesterday evening, however, he was reported resting easily, with many chances of recovery. Dr. Steiner accompanied him to the hospital and assisted in operations that were essential. He will have the best skilled treatment and his relatives and friends hope for the best.
Albert Williams, the man with the gun , does not have the reputation of being a "bad" man. He is said to be a quiet, inoffensive fellow with good traits of character. He is unfortunate in getting himself tangled up into such a net of circumstance, but illicit love has caused many a tragedy since the beginning of this sinful old world.
Hans Egeda Borg
born: 25 Nov 1885 in Richfield, Sevier Co.,Utah
died: 24 Jan 1957 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co.,Utah
burial: 28 Jan 1957 at Salt Lake City Cemetery plot 82709 West-8-48-E-1
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