Murder of James M. Shepherd
James M. Shepherd was born 10 August 1798 in Pennsylvania to John Shepherd and Elizabeth Gould. His family moved from Pennsylvania to New York to northern Ohio. James eventually settled in Dearborn County (now Ohio County), Indiana. There he married his wife Jane Ricketts and raised 3 daughters: Anna, Ursula and Jane.
Anna Shepherd married James W. Gibbens on 2 March 1843 in Dearborn County, Indiana. Eventually their marriage turned sour, probably due to James' drinking. Anna moved back into her parent's home along with her children.
The tensions between the James Gibbens and the Shepherd family came to a head on Tuesday, 5 June 1860.
"On Tuesday morning Shepherd, going by the shop of Gibbons, asked a man named Fish—who was a tenant upon a piece of land about which Gibbons and Shepherd had had some dispute in reference to the right of property—if he (Shepherd) could cross the field to get some locust posts. Fish consented, but Gibbons objected, telling Shepherd in effect that he could not. Some words followed, and Shepherd went home. Returning in the afternoon for the posts, he was about to enter the field, when Gibbons being near, shot him with a rifle, the bullet taking effect in the abdomen, ranging toward the right side. Physicians were sent for, but were unable to save his life." (Fort Wayne Daily Times, 14 Jun 1860, p3, col 2.)
James Shepherd died the following morning. James Gibbens was arrested for the murder. In August 1860, Gibbens stood trial and a jury found him "not guilty." Days prior to the murder trial, the divorce Anna and James Gibbens was finalized.
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