these to be the facts of the case, yet by some means or other the newspaper fraternity received the impression that Mc Gehean was the man who did this shooting, and af terwards when he was arrested, charged with shooting Myers, they would often fill whole columns, narrating how he went to the house of John Ryan, a man of sixty-five years of age, and shot him down in cold blood.

Some time after this, Myers had a quarrel with a man in a saloon near the depot, over a game of dice. He set upon this man and beat him unmercifully, from the effects of which the friends of the latter claimed, he afterwards died.

In 1867 Myers with two of his brothers, a man by the name of Bill Harrison and some ten others went to the American Saloon, in Hamilton, for the purpose of raising a row, being all more or less intoxicated. They commenced by shooting and throwing stones promiscuously through the house. Thomas Myers in doing so, shot his brother William. In the same melee Harrison shot a man named Patrick McCarton, through the neck, who was sitting asleep at the time. Dr. Dudley who was practicing medicine in Hamilton at the time, was present, and knows the truth of what we write. He also attended on Bill Myers till his death, which was on the following day. Dr. Dudley now resides in New York City. Frank Carper, who was bar-tender at the saloon, witnessed the

whole proceeding, and knows the facts as they are stated here. He is at the present time living at Cambridge, Ind.

Some two years before Myers' death, he became acquainted with a young girl by the name of Pearson. She was a resident of Darke county, Ohio, though, at the time we write of, she worked for Mr. Giffen, in Hamilton Myers under promise of marriage accomplished her ruin. He openly confessed to many of his friends that he had promised to marry the girl. The poor girl upon finding qut her situation, urged him to fulfil his promise of marriage, but this he utterly refused to do, but set to work, like Peter Schwab, to cover up his crime. uation had now become known to many. to his mother's house, who was a grass widow, and procured some drugs from a traveling quack doctor named McBride, which he administered to her, from the effects of which she died. She was then placed in a coffin and sent to her relations in Darke county.

The girl's sit

Myers took her

CHAPTER XVIII

MYERS' CRUELTY TO HIS FATHER-A GAMBLER AND WARD POLITICIAN-MONEY CONTROLS; MYER'S. INFLUENCE-MISREPRE

SENTATIONS.

P

ETER Myers, the father of Thomas S. Myers, was

a carpenter by trade, and worked hard until his family were well grown up. But like his boys he was too fond of whisky. Tom, being the oldest, took it into his head to reform the old man, and by the means he adopted he made things so unpleasant for him that he left Thomas in possession of the house, having been expelled from his home by the cruelty of his own son.

Although Myers had acquired a short knowledge of the carpentering trade, he did not do a day's work at it for some eight or ten years prior to his death. He gained his living, chiefly as a gambler and a ward politician. Although, in reality, he only had control over some eight or ten votes, he represented to the candidates for election his influence to be very great, and by offering to lend it in their assistance he would obtain sums of money from them.

In the Spring of 1868, he worked for the democratic party, assisting to elect Samuel Davis for council, over John M. Long. For his service in this election he received one hundred dollars from Davis' friends, and the appointment of street commissioner of the third ward by the democratic council.

In 1869 he assisted in electing for state senator, L. D. Campbell, a democrat, over William Beckett, who it will be remembered was a leading republican. He received from the democratic party about two hundred dollars for this service.

Although Myers professed to be a republican, yet as we have just shown, he did not work with them whenever he could get more money from the opposite party. There is not a leading democrat in Hamilton but knows that Myers' services could have been secured at any time for money. Yet evil-disposed men, from a desire to have McGehean convicted, misrepresented to the press, that Myers was a leading republican, and McGehean a democrat. This report was started after the latter had secured a change of venue from Butler to Warren County. Warren being a strong republican county, this report had the effect of putting all the weak-minded republicans against him. Here, however, his enemies somewhat overreached themselves, for in putting the republicans against him, it had the effect of gaining over many of the demo

crats, and making them anxious to let him have a fair trial. This was clearly proved at the trial here, the jury being composed of five republicans and seven democrats, and they voted accordingly: five for conviction, and seven for acquital. The fact of the matter is, McGehean and Myers never had a hard word with regard to politics, in their lives. The following incident will show this:

In the year 1868 Myers ran for the office of Marshal, on the independent ticket. He was opposed by Archy Ryder, the republican candidate, and Johnson McGehean, the brother of Thomas, the democratic nominee. On the day of election, Myers kept all his confidential men from voting till twelve o'clock, M. Being convinced by that time that he could not be elected, he agreed to cast the votes of these men in favor of Johnson McGehean, on condition that his (Myers) expenses should be paid, which amounted to about one hundred and fifty dollars. This proposition was accepted, and Johnson MeGehean was elected by a small majority.

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