Across the Fence: No way to treat a lady

The new moon was but a thin crescent of silver in the early midnight hour of March 15, 1885, when a mob of more than 30 torch-bearing, rifle-toting citizens left the Village of Spring Ranche, Neb., on a one and one-half mile jaunt to Taylor's sod ranch house.

The mob surrounded the large, squat soddy that housed: the widow, Elizabeth Taylor, her mother, Margaret Jones, twin brother, Tom, 5-year-old daughter, Maggie and hired hands, John Farrell, Texas Bill, A. Clark, Nelson Seely and Luther Wiggins.

It was 1 o'clock when the mob reached the soddy and in the escalated frenzy of mob rule, demanded the surrender of Elizabeth and her brother Tom. Apparently the two were not quick to obey the demands being made and were informed that if they did not present themselves immediately the dynamite being carried by a number of the mob would be used to blow them out. Rather than jeopardize the safety of family and friends, Tom and Elizabeth surrendered and we forced to crawl out through a window rather than coming out by way of the front door. No doubt their emergence from a window placed them at considerable disadvantage.

Once Tom and Elizabeth were outside, their hands were bound behind their backs and while some of the mob went inside to restrain those who remained, others escorted the pair toward the bridge that passed over the nearby Little Blue River. No doubt both Tom and Elizabeth struggled as they were pushed a prodded along the 200 yards from the soddy to the bridge. There are no records of the exchange between captors and captives though I can well imagine that the mob might have been soundly cursed for their cowardly actions. At the bridge, two ropes were tied to a span and the nooses that dangled at the ends were placed over the heads and around the necks of Tom and Elizabeth. It is said that they were given a chance to pray before being shoved off the deck of the bridge. Tom died instantly, his neck broken when the rope went taut. Elizabeth was not so fortunate, struggling for air until the blackness of death covered her.

By three o'clock, hours before the dim light of dawn, the mob had returned to Spring Ranche, giving the vigilant citizens plenty of time to catch a few hours of sleep before having to get up and prepare for Sunday morning services. Tom and Elizabeth would sway beneath the Blue River Bridge until later in the afternoon.

Elizabeth A. Jones and her twin brother Thomas were 6 years old in 1860, when their parents, John W. and Margaret Jones, immigrated to the state of Missouri from the country of Wales. In 1869, at age 15, young Elizabeth was married to James A. Taylor and moved west, along with her family and new husband, to the Spring Ranch Precinct of Clay County, Neb.. The family settled on a homestead claim northeast of the Village of Spring Ranch on the Little Blue River. Located on the Oregon Trail and between the short-lived Pony Express stations of Rock Creek and 32-mile, the Village of Spring Ranch was officially established in December 1870 with the opening of the local post office and an Overland Stage terminal.

The Taylor/Jones homestead claims encompassed rangeland, some farm ground and also a measure of timber. In 1875, at age 21, Elizabeth was by law eligible to file a claim of her own and she did so, thereby increasing the family's land holdings. She and James, in partnership with Tom, expanded their cattle business and at the same time, seem to have generated an adversarial relationship with several of their neighbors. Allegations of cattle rustling were thrown about and neighborhood distrust escalated.

Apparently, Elizabeth was an astute businesswoman and a domineering wife. She allegedly insisted that all the family landholdings, property and livestock should be recorded in her name alone. Perhaps her husband James was not an able manager or perhaps Elizabeth was just insistent on having total control. Whatever the reason, when James unexpectedly died in May 1882 it was rumored that Elizabeth had facilitated his death with potato bug poison. Although the local doctor ruled the death from natural causes, the rumors of her supposed homicidal tendencies escalated when her father died soon after and a hired man, one Ben Bethlemer, mysteriously disappeared.

Not long after James' death, Reese T. Rees, a local landowner and somewhat unsavory character, proposed marriage to the recently widowed Elizabeth. The proposal was not particularly based on any affection or romantic notion, although it was said that Elizabeth was a striking figure of a woman, but rather Mr. Rees saw a possibility of increasing his net worth. Of course, Elizabeth rejected his proposal and not with any delicacy. The rejection incensed Mr. Rees.

Disputes between neighbors continued and allegations of rustling and other illegal activity continued to be the topic of gossip. When a neighbor's barn burned down, Elizabeth was rumored to be the arsonist. Alleged husband killer, cattle rustler, arsonist, the accusations were building and proof of guilt was unnecessary.

In 1884, Elizabeth agreed to let a neighbor, Edwin Roberts, use a portion of her land for grazing. No doubt there was a rental agreement and conditions would have been made for the land usage. However, in addition to exercising his right to graze the land, Mr. Roberts also began harvesting timber on the land, a privilege that was not part of the agreement. Elizabeth gave warning but it went unheeded and when Mr. Roberts was next seen taking timber off of Taylor land someone put an immediate stop to it by placing a well-aimed gunshot to Mr. Roberts head. The final warning was fatal.

Elizabeth's two sons, Will and John, were arrested and charged with the killing and were placed in the local jail. In town, someone claimed to have been in the area, heard the shot and observed Elizabeth running into her house. The implication was that it was Elizabeth, not either of her sons who had shot Roberts.

And so it was, that shortly after midnight on March 15, 1885, Will and John sat in the local jail, that a jilted, angry and vengeful Reese T. Rees organized a lynch mob and set out to administer justice, vigilante style.

At 2 o'clock that Sunday afternoon, after the vigilantes had attended Sunday morning services and enjoyed their Sunday dinners, a small group returned to the makeshift gallows and cut down the bodies of Elizabeth and Tom. Their corpses were hauled to the local cemetery where they were buried between the graves of their father and Elizabeth's husband. Elizabeth's sons, Will and John were released from custody and given the generous directive to leave the vicinity in no more than 30 days, a directive that they no doubt were obliged to heed.

On April 01, 1885 The Columbus Journal reported that:

"R. R. [T] Rees, G. W. Van Gilder, John Llewellyn, David Bennet and H.H. Hyde were arrested in Harvard, Neb., the other day, on a charge of murder in the first degree. They are supposed to be the head men engaged in the mob which hanged Tom Jones and Elizabeth Taylor at Spring Ranch a short time ago."

It appears that news traveled slowly and the Columbus Journal was late in getting notified of the arrests. A day earlier, on March 31, 1885 the Omaha Daily Bee reported by special telegram to the Bee from:

"Hastings, Neb., March 30. – The eight men arrested for lynching Elizabeth Taylor and Thomas Jones on the night of the 14th inst. Had their preliminary examination today at Clay Center before the county judge. The evidence being insufficient to bind them over, they were discharged."

Perhaps Elizabeth was guilty of nothing more than not fitting the expected role of housewife and mother. Her domineering personality no doubt put people off, though her actions were no less severe than those of any man who intended to protect their property.

Her refusal to marry Rees, a somewhat unscrupulous leader in the community, was an unforgivable insult and likely fueled the flames of suspicion and set the stage for revenge.

Elizabeth's mother, more than likely, took charge of her 6-year-old granddaughter but their whereabouts have been lost in the fateful twists of history. And the hired man, Ben Bethlemer who mysteriously disappeared, later returned to Spring Ranch.

Although there are many recorded instances of vigilante justice in the pioneer days of Nebraska, many of which might have been justified, Elizabeth Taylor was the only woman ever to be lynched in the state. Guilty or not, that's no way to treat a lady.

M. Timothy Nolting is an award-winning Nebraska columnist and freelance writer. Reach him via email at [email protected]