Mitchell - William - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Hundreds of people in Crawfordsville remember Wm Mitchell and his marriage experiences in this city. His first wife and her son still live here, she being now the wife of Loren Miller. As to the fate of wife number two, who caused his divorce with his first wife, the following from the Danville, Ill., Commercial is sufficient:

Several years ago a man by the name of William Mitchell, an Englishman, resided in Crawfordsville, Ind., where he was the proprietor of a first class merchant tailoring establishment, doing a flourishing business. In his employ was a lady who had twice been married and divorced. She was handsome and graceful, possessed fine business qualifications and performed her duties in a satisfactory manner. Mr. Mitchell was a married man at that time but afterwards secured a divorce from his wife and married his lady employee.

He finally disposed of this business in Crawfordsville and came to Danville, where he carried on business for several years, when he died. Mrs. Mitchell still continued to reside here on North Vermilion Street, in the old Burroughs property, where now is built what is known as the Anker block. She was a member of the First M. E. Church and a great church worker. W. G. Johnson came here from Portland, Oregon, and boarded with Mrs. Mitchell for some time and finally married her and they went to his home in Portland. He was a contractor and accumulated considerable property. On the 20th day of June, 1890, while drinking heavily, caused principally by financial reverses, he committed suicide at the Hotel Portland. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Johnson continued to reside at their home on Fourteenth and Laurel Streets, Portland Heights. She opened a marriage bureau and for a while did a fair business, but the venture was not ultimately a financial success. She was now 47 years old and still handsome and of pleasing address, and becoming acquainted with Otto Serfling, through the marriage bureau, was married to him on the 28th day of February, 1892. He had been married twice and this was her fifth venture in the matrimonial market. It is said that her former husbands, except Mr. Mitchell, had met violent deaths. Serfling, like Johnson, had been a drinking man, and before she married him she made him promise that he would not drink any after their marriage. They moved onto a farm near West Scio, in Linn County, Oregon, not very far from Portland. Serfling did not keep his promise and soon after marriage began drinking heavily despite remonstrances of his wife. He became jealous and suspicious without cause and made life very unpleasant for his wife. The breach kept on widening. He refused to sign papers to enable her to convey real estate, and did everything in his power to estrange her from him.

On the night of Saturday, Feb. 3, Serfling shot her in the back of the head and afterwards hit her in the face and on the right temple with an axe, killing her almost instantly. He then burned up everything he could get hold of belonging to her, including two trunks of clothes, pictures, silverware, and some money. He then killed himself. And thus ended a terrible tragedy.

Another cause, and one which probably led up to the murder, for it engendered a bitter feeling between the two, was the attachment of Serfling’s children by a former wife to Mrs. Serfling. They were devoted to her and she to them. Serfling imagined that she was trying to alienate their affections and the matter ended by his sending the children to my home in Albany, Oregon. Serfling was a German and was in comfortable circumstances. He owned a fine farm and had several thousands dollars in the bank.

The Portland Oregonian, in speaking of the dead woman, says: Mrs. Lydia A. Serfling, who was murdered by her husband near West Scio Friday night, was well known in Portland. She lived here a number of years. She was an intelligent woman, well educated and possessed of keen business sense. By shrewd investments she made quite a sum of money and acquired considerable property in the city.

The body of the unfortunate woman, so far as can be ascertained, will not be brought to his city for interment, but will be laid to rest beside the remains of the husband in the neighborhood where the shocking double tragedy occurred.