Morgan - Fred Homer - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Fred Homer Morgan, son of Stanley and Stella Scott Morgan was born near Grenada, Prowers Co, Colorado and d. March 5, 1922, aged 15 years, 8 months and 3 days. His parents returned to Indiana when he was a year and a half old, and lived for four years with the grandfather, Joseph Morgan, after which they moved to Waveland. But Freddie has lived most of his life with his grandfather. He attended school at Swamp College and Waveland. He was a very bright and affectionate boy with a genius for mechanics. He is survived by his parents and 8 brothers and sisters: Ruth, Paul, Glenn, Maude, Robert, William, Raymond and James; a grandfather and two grandmothers, and many relatives and friends. Funeral services at the Christian Church on Tuesday afternoon were in charge of Rev. JT Boyer. Burial at Maple Ridge Cemetery. Mr. Boyer said in part: "We are here not as a court to pass sentence upon the tragic event of this untimely death of the departed youth. We are here in a Christian service to offer sympathy to the bereaved and the consolations of the Gospel of hope to those who will hear and heed, to inspire the spirit of Christ in the hearts of any whose souls may be in conflict that they may breathe the Christian spirit even in the tragic experiences of life; that the spirit of Christ may calm their spirits in the storms of life. We think of the departed as a mere youth; the choosing of a course of action was not a result of an established or unbreakable habit; he was usually found to be busy in the peaceful pursuits of life. Temptations came to him which are common to all humankind. An impulse to a course of action came to him in moments of weakness. If it could have been known that those impulses were overpowering him there are ministrations that could have delivered him and could have led his life into the paths of righteousness. Christian charity impels us to think of a mistake made by a youth, and who is it that has not made a mistake; and that a mistake does not in itself imperil the soul. We rather think of the redeeming love of Christ and that He who can save to the uttermost can save a youth who made a mistake. The greatest saint of the Kingdom of Christ said, "It is no more I that do it (evil), but sin which dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present in me, but to do that which is good is not. Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Source: Waveland Independent Waveland, Montgomery County, Indiana Fri, March 10, 1922 p1

The evidence in the Sunday tragedy is so conflicting that it is well to follow the example of Coroner Griffith, and let the Grand Jury pass on the whole matter. The bare outlines of the story are these: Between 3 and 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, Freddie broke in a back window at the Spencer store room. He got three, 32-calibre revolvers, some shells and about $5 in money. It is thought that he broke into the pool room the night before and got some prizes from the punch board set including a 22-calibre revolver. He was seen in the store, but not recognized, by James Barr who gave the alarm. Freddie secreted himself in the stable just back of the store, where he was found by Harold Durham. All Harold saw was a hand and a gun, so he came away swiftly up the alley south, being fired on twice. By this time the hue and cry had started and Freddie ran west on Howard St. to the Lough residence, and then down the old road to the cornfield. As far as we have learned there was no shooting at him until he reached the cornfield. He shot in return, reloading one of his guns when about half way across the field. At this poin thewas recognized and some of the cooler heads tried to stop the shooting but were not entirely successful. Freddie continued his retreat across the field to the railroad, crossed the trestle and climbed the point of the hill going towards his home. About 40 feet from the fence he fell forward on his face. When Harold Durham reached home about five minutes afterwards he was lying on his back with the blood gushing from his mouth. He did not speak, only moaned and in ten minutes was dead. The ball that caused his death entered the back of the neck ranging upward, severing some large blood vessels, and was found in the mouth. It appeared to be 22-calibre and the facts that the 22-calibre gun found on the boy had never been loaded and that there was no powder burns fully disposes of the first report of suicide. Technically the shooting was the act of a mole, as one had been deputized by the town marshall who at the time of the fatal shooting had given up the pursuit and was phoning for Sheriff Luddington. Much of the street talk both here and at Crawfordsville is without foundation and the reports in the city papers mostly imagination. But the facts are bad enough and a heavy responsibility rests on some one and it a solemn duty for those who actually know anything to give careful and truthful evidence. There was nothing in the previous history of the boy to show that he was a desperate character. Rather there is reason to think that he was at least temporarily insane. It is probable that had been allowed to go to his home that he could later have been arrested without any difficulty. The grand jury is now in session and the matter may be taken up at any time.