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The Muscatine Weekly Journal
Friday, 8 February, 1867

         Brutal Murder in Jackson County
         
         A Young Man Waylayed and Killed -
         His Body Found by School Children -
         No Clue to the Cause or the Murderer
         
         (fron the Dubuque Herald)
         A horrible murder, which for hideiousness of inception
       and brutality of execution, has not been surprassed in
       the annals of crime, has just transpired in Jackson county.
       A young man twenty years of age by the name of SAMUEL S.
       CRONK, who for a number of years past has been living with
       Mr. W. B. WHIPLY, a resident of Andrew in that county, was
       foully murdered last Wednesday evening. The particulars of
       the affair briefly given are as follows:
       
         The murdered man, SAMUEL S. CRONK, was brought up in the
       family of MR. WHIPLY, and was universally respected by all
       who knew him. He had served for a peried (sic) in the army,
       and on his return was appointed deputy sheriff, residing
       at his old home. Last Tuesday morning he started for Lamotte
       - distant ten miles from his home, and twenty miles due
       south from Dubuque - for the purpose of serving some notices.
       He came to Cottonville, six miles north of Andrew that day,
       and stayed overnight at that place. In the evening he fell
       in with some soldiers who had originally served in the same
       regiment with him, and together they went off to a dance,
       remaining quite late. - Wednesday morning he came on to La-
       motte, served his notices, met quite a number of his friends,
       conversed with them and returned to Cottonville, arriving
       there the middle of the afternoon. And this was the last
       that was seen of him by his friends. LYMAN ABBEY, ESQ., an
       old and respected citizen of that place, gave CRONK twenty
       or twenty-five dollars in bills to deliver to some person
       at Andrew. The amount of ready money that he had in his
       pocket beside this is not stated, but it is known that he
       had a promissory note for one hundred and sixty dollars.
       He left Cottonville for his home that afternoon, and as
       before stated, that was the last seen of him. Yesterday
       morning (Thursday) the children on their way to school, a
       mile south of the village, discovered drops of blood upon
       the snow, and going a little further, saw a spot about ten
       rods from the main road where a violent struggle had taken
       place, while the ground was covered with blood. An alarm
       was given, and the body found thrown over a fence near by
       partly covered up with rails and snow. On examinations,
       the body proved to be that of CRONK, and all traces of
       life were extinct, while his hat and pants were removed,
       but the rest of his clothing was untouched. The corpse
       presented a ghastly appearance. The forehead was broken
       in, evidently the work of some heavy instrument; and there
       was also a hole in the back of the head. The horse which
       the murdered man rode was an iron gray, and had been
       hitched to a small tree near by, and was of course missing.
       
         MR. CRONK was a young man of peaceable disposition, and
       it is not known that he had an enemy in the world. He was
       murdered by some incarnate fiend of fiends for his money,
       and who they were, or what direction they have taken is
       not at present known.
       
         The murdered man has a married sister residing in West
       Dubuque by the name of PIERCE, who first heard of the hor-
       rible affair last evening. The county sheriff has been
       notified, and parties throughout the State are requested
       to keep a sharp lookout for an iron gray horse, and arrest
       every person with one of a suspicious appearance.
       
       [Transcriber Notes: The three men that he served in army
       with, whom he had encountered earlier, were arrested for
       his murder. One of the them was convicted in Jackson county
       and sentenced to death. The other two were granted a change
       of venue and were acquitted. The one convicted in Jackson
       county filed an appeal and the charges against him were
       dropped at the beginning of his second trial.]
       
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