Child toting a pistol takes classmate’s life
St. Joseph's Academy, circa 1880. Built in 1848, demolished circa 1923. Photo contributed by Marion Schnelle, it is now part of the Hannibal Arts Council's Hannibal as History collection.
MARY LOU MONTGOMERY
A young Hannibal boy received a gunshot wound to the abdomen while standing in line to enter St. Joseph’s Academy, historically located at the junction of Broadway and Maple Avenue.
The gun - a .22 caliber pistol - was wielded by a 12-year-old student (the son of a Market Street tinman), who snuck the gun onto the premises, defying school rules.
When one of the Sisters of the academy noticed the gun, she admonished the boy to put it away. While doing so, a ball discharged, striking his classmate.
The tragedy took place on Friday, the first day of April, 1887.
Three of Hannibal’s most prominent doctors, John Chamberlain, J.C. Hearne and Charles L. Lamb, were summoned to the scene.
The victim, identified by the Hannibal Journal, was Holman Turner, step-son of A. Murray Ray, and son of Ray’s wife, Luella Belle Ray.
The Hannibal Journal reported: “It was seen that Holman could not live long, and in 20 minutes he breathed his last, death being caused by internal hemorrhage.
The funeral services for the young boy were held at the Ray family’s home, located, according to the 1888 Hannibal City Directory, at 308 N. Third St., a brick duplex on the east side of Third, between Bird and Hill streets.
The Hannibal Journal consoled: “But what of that once happy home where Holman’s bright smile and winning ways were the light of a fond mother’s heart? They miss him, oh, how they miss him. The sympathy of friends can do all but fill the vacant chair, whose occupant death has snatched from a life of buoyant youth.”
After the funeral, "The little form will be laid to rest Sunday afternoon,” the newspaper reported.
Note: Donna Brown, office manager for Mount Olivet Cemetery, said that the child’s name and death date are listed on a burial card, but that no further information is provided. His step-father, Andrew Murray Ray, died on April 18, 1891, at the age of 42, and he is buried in Section 6, Lot 24.
Brother
Holman Turner had a younger brother, Claud Turner, born circa 1879. In 1880, according to the census, the boys made their home with their paternal grandparents, Thomas W. Turner, a farmer from Warren Township, Marion County, Mo., and his wife, Margaret Winn Turner. The elder Turners themselves were parents to some 11 children.
When the matriarch of the Turner family, Margaret Winn Turner, died in 1885, she owned 240 acres of land in Section 32, township 58, Range 7 West, Marion County, Mo. In 1888, two of her heirs, Thomas W. Turner (1842-1916) and McCager W. Turner (1845-1923) filed a partition suit, in order to force the sale of Mrs. Turner’s farm land so that proceeds could be divided between all of her heirs.
Those named as her heirs in the Palmyra Spectator on Nov. 15, 1888, included Luella and Murray Ray, and Mrs. Ray’s surviving son, Claud Turner. Others were:
James Wilson Turner (1836-1919);
John Tucker Turner (1840-1932);
Mary Powell and her husband, George W. Powell;
The Rev. Holman B. Turner;
Nannie Turner Nash (1859-1931) and her husband, George H. Nash; and
Samuel Rhodes Turner, 1864-1923.
The sheriff of Marion County, in charge of the partition sale, was J. Thad Ray, brother of A. Murray Ray, step father of young Holman Turner.
Businessman
At the time of young Holman Turner’s death, his step-father, A. Murray Ray, was a young and popular Hannibal pharmacist doing business at 226 Broadway, next door to John Nagel’s saloon, at 228 Broadway, and Chauncy H. Harris’ bakery at 224 Broadway.
(These three buildings are all demolished. In their place is the five-story building that formerly housed Hannibal Trust Co.)
The boy’s mother was Luella Belle Ray, Murray Ray’s wife.
(During this research project, no further information was obtained for Luella Belle Ray, such as her maiden name or subsequent married name, or for her young son, Claud Ray, who may have also gone by the name of Claud Turner.)
This is the second story written by this author regarding a child killed by a gunshot at St. Joseph’s Academy. To access the first story, go to:
Mary Lou Montgomery retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,” and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com
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