Friday, May 13, 2016

Gone in Five


It was a somber gathering in Winnipeg, that late Monday morning of January 29, 1917, to await the incoming train from Ontario. It wasn't exactly for a passenger that the crowd awaited the train's arrival. It was, however, on behalf of a person that they had gathered: Marshall Jackson, the recently slain detective who had taken on the assignment of conveying an extradited prisoner to Windsor, Ontario. His remains, escorted by an official from the Ottawa Immigration Department, were to arrive home that day.

Marshall Jackson had passed away only days before. According to the coroner's report in the records of the Sandwich West division of Essex County, he had died on that January 25th, near Saint Clair Junction in that same district. The coroner noted the cause as "a shot in abdomen by James Stewart" who was "being brought to Windsor for deportation." Mercifullyat least according to the coroner's reckoningthe victim had "died in about five minutes."

Gathered at the station in Winnipeg, four days later, were members of Marsh's family, along with representatives from "Damon Lodge, No. 5, Knights of Pythias" (listed as "Dominion Lodge" in a later newspaper report, along with a note that he was also affiliated with the Atabara Temple No. 149, D.O.K.K.).

The plan called for a private ceremony at the family's home the following day, from which the funeral cortège would then proceed to the Fort Rouge Methodist Church for a public service. Committal was to be at Elmwood Cemetery.

As I gather these details from the various newspaper articles, I'm working on locating additional documents to verify those reports at the close of Marshall Jackson's life. Indeed, his burial at Elmwood was corroborated by an entry in Find A Gravealthough admittedly, that resource is not always error-free. Included in the Find A Grave entry was a clipping from an unnamed newspaper, with the caption,
Victim: Winnipeg private detective shot to death by his prisoner, William Anderson, on speeding train near Windsor, Ont.

The news clipping was accompanied by a photograph of Marshall Jackson, himself. Of course, we now know that William Anderson was merely one alias used by John Syme Hogue, and we've already discussed his side of this story. But now that we have these few details on Marshall Jackson, it's time to delve into his own storyat least as much as online resources permit.



Above: Portion of the death records of Essex County, Ontario, Canada, showing the Medical Certificate of Death for Marshall Jackson. Image courtesy Ancestry.com.

8 comments:

  1. The "speeding train" detail really adds drama to the event, not that more drama was needed.

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    1. Worse, I think that "speeding train" detail was editorial hyperbole. I'm not sure, from the other reports, that at the point of the incident, the train was going all that fast. But as you say, Wendy, it does add a dramatic touch to the narrative.

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  2. What a story. Looking forward to hearing more!

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    1. It is quite the story, Marian! Full of unexpected turns, as far as I've gotten.

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  3. I was glad to see a photo at Find A Grave:)

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    1. That was a serendipitous find, Far Side. I'm glad for whoever decided to upload it to the Find A Grave memorial. Besides, I can't locate it in either of the newspaper collections I'm subscribed to, so if it weren't for the volunteer posting it, I'd never have found it!

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    2. That picture comes from The Winnipeg Tribune, Thu, Jan 25, 1917, page 1, accessed on newspapers.com
      I could email you the pdf if you'd like

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  4. I look forward to your selling this story to Hollywood - it has all the makings of a great film.

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