Wilhite vs Anable - death of Howard Ellis - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Wednesday in the circuit court Mrs. Paschal Wilkinson, through her attorney, WT Whittington, entered suit against Charles Anable on his bond for $1,500 damages. The complaint alleges that the plaintiff was the mother of Howard Ellis, who was murdered three weeks ago at the Anable saloon in the valley; that Ellis was 19 years of age and that the plaintiff was entitled to his services until he was 21; that he contributed materially to her support.  It is then recited that after 11 o’clock on the Saturday night of the trouble and before 5 o’clock on Sunday morning Anabel sold liquor illegally to James Osborne, causing him to become drunk and crazed by intoxication; that while in this condition he struck Howard Ellis on the head, causing his death and depriving the plaintiff of his services. Anable’s bondsmen are Otto Schlemmer and August Mayer and they stand to the extent of 42,000. Mrs. Wilkinson asks for only $1,500 damages because she can recover nothing except the value of her son’s services until the time he should have reached his majority.

Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal 20 July 1900

The owners of the notorious valley saloons, Jack Bannister and Charley Anable, have thrown up their hands and have agreed to a surrender.  The prosecutor collected enough evidence against them to drive them out of business and probably land them in jail for a season and as a result the men both agreed that in case the cases against them were dropped that they would close their places on August first and retire from business. There were a number of excellent reasons for accepting this proposition, chief of which was the fact that they would in this way be soonest closed. The license of each man runs until June 1, 1901 and by fighting in the courts and by appealing it is very doubtful whether the authorities could close them much before that time. Of course, it would take money for the saloon keepers to fight but it would also cost the county money and all things considered the course adopted was the best one. When these saloons close it is safe to say that they will be closed for good and all. The commissioners will not again grant license for the liquor traffic in the valley. That neighborhood will improve as Morningside has improved since saloons were drive out of that section and it in time will be a thoroughly respectable neighborhood.