On May 10, 1894 the Meeks family was murdered and left burried in hay in a field in Linn County, Missouri. The following is a period cabinet card showing their bodies as found.

Dimensions: 4.25"h x 6.5"w

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Meeks Murder as reported May 18, 1894, if you are interested in the whole story:

"Atrocious Murder!

Gus Meeks and his wife and three children were taken out of Milan at 12 o'clock Thursday night and murdered in cold blood by W.P. and George Taylor of Browning. The murdered were: Gus Meeks, aged 33 years, Delora Meeks, his wife aged 30, Hattie Meeks, the four year old girl and Mary Meeks the 18 months old baby girl.

Last Thursday night occurred one of the most horrible and brutal murders ever committed in the annals of the criminal history of Linn or Sullivan County.

Gus Meeks, his wife and children were killed and Nellie Meeks was knocked in the head with a rock and buried for dead with the rest of the others. The bodies were buried on the farm where George Taylor lived, in a field that had been freshly planted with corn. In the center of the field was an old straw stack that was worn and eated down by stock till the straw was not over three feet deep at the deepest. It was in under the edge of this straw, which had been turned and rolled back, where the bodies were all buried and then covered back with a little dirt, and the straw placed back on them.

To the southwest about 250 yards is the Cotter place where a family by the name of Carter lives. To the south east of the old stack about 400 yards is the house of George Taylor.

Some little time after daylight but before five o'clock, the little girl came to and managed to crawl out from under the straw and the first house she saw was that of Geo. Taylor. She started there but looking around saw the Carter house much closer, went there and tumbled into the house in a half dazed condition, and being all bloody and dirty, the Carter women were badly scared, there being no men at home save a 10 year old boy. The little girl stated her name Nellie Meeks and that her Papa & Mama were dead and buried in the straw in the field, that sister was dead, but baby was not dead yet. The ladies were much startled but could not believe the strange story told by the little girl hence they sent the 10 yr. old boy down to the straw stack to see if he could see the bodies. He came back and said he could find nothing, then the little girl said she could find them and went down with him and uncoveredand showed the faces of her parents to the Carter boy. When the boy and little girl got back the ladies sent the boy out to tell the neighbors. The unsuspecting boy passed through the field where George Taylor was harrowing around the old stack trying to hide the wagon tracks, and told him there were some dead people in the straw stack and not to harrow on them. George Taylor came out to harrow just as the little girl and boy got back and when the Carter boy told him about the little girl crawling out and showing him the dead people, Taylor says to the boy, you come and go with me and we will see. He went immediately home with the harrow, and told the little boy to go in the house and sit down and as soon as he got the team put up they would go see. The little boy went into the house and waited for George Taylor, but George Taylor did not go in. He took a horse out of the barn and made a run for Browning.

The circumstances leading up to the crime is a matter of court record in Linn and Sullivan counties. There are a number of criminal cases in Linn and Sullivan counties against Wm. P. and George Taylor brothers. The charges against them are forgery, arson, larceny, viz the bank draft case, the case in Linn county, for incendairyism, and the McCullough cattle case from this county. William P. Taylor, Gus Meeks and others were indicted. Meeks pleaded guilty at the last term of the Sullivan County Court and was sent to the penitentary. About one month ago the Governor pardoned Meeks out of the state prison in order to use him as a witness and because of his being the principal witness against the Taylors, they were in consequense, very anxious to get him out of the way before court next week, also Abner Page who now lives near Sticklerville, as he was a victim already marked had little Nellie Meeks been dead and the story untold.

Some two weeks ago Wm. Taylor commenced arranging with Gus Meeks to get him to move out of the country so he would not be present to testify when the trial came up. It was arranged that the Meeks, for a team and wagon, and $1000 in money, would move out of the community. The plan was for the Taylors to move Gus Meeks away, to be driven to Geo. Taylor's the first night, to remain there during the day, and the next night to make the drive out of the community.

Mrs. Meeks, mother of Gus, with whom Gus lived in Milan, knew the plan. From Mrs. Meeks it was learned that Gus received a letter on Thursday, and Attorney Pierce in searching the Meeks house found the letter Saturday:

Browning, Mo. May 10, 1894.

Be ready at 10 o'clock, everything is right, xxx

The letter was written on a letter head of the Peoples Exchange Bank of Browning of which Wm. P. Taylor is Cashier. The letter was mailed on the Burlington train, addressed to Gus Meeks, Milan, Missouri. The receiving stamp of the Milan post office shows the letter to have been received at 2 p.m. May 10, 1894. Persons familiar with the hand writing of Wm. P. villian sons of bitches." The doctor who examined Nellie bears out her statement by the bruise on her back.

She continued, & quot They covered me up and I could not breathe good. I heard them say 'it would not burn' as it would not catch." She thought they were talking of burning the straw, but a woolen blanket was buried out at one side about ten feet, which had been on fire and was still burning when found.

Early Friday morning George Taylor drove into the cornfield with a harrow and followed the wagon track harrowing it all out and drove around the stack a few times and that is where the little Carter boy found him. Upon George hearing the report he made a straight line to the barn, took a horse out and started for Browning.

Tom Daily had been out to his farm and was going back into town and says George Taylor passed him on a forced ride. George rode into town, got Wm., informed him of the discovery, they both passed out and met Daily again. They were riding hard & went east, this was as early as 8 o'clock Friday morning.

The word was not received in Browning until an hour after the Taylors left. It was then telegraphed to Milan.

Nellie says they were met by two men in a buggy on the hill just before the murder.

When the Meeks family left Milan they had two large bundles of bed clothing and wearing apparel, a feather tick and two pillows. Meeks wore an open face stem winding silver watch. None of this has been found but one partially burnedquilt at the stack.

The bodies remained where they were buried all day until about 5 o'clock. It was about dark when the Coroner of Linn Co., who lives at Bucklin, got there. After the inquest was held the bodies were put in rude coffins and brought to Milan. Be it said to the eternal disgrace of Linn County, that woman's and children's bodies were placed in those unlined boxes in all that dirt, blood and old clothes they had lain in all day, and unwashed, and with only "furniture packing", and the old clothes stuffed around them. They were brought to Milan about 11 o'clock Saturday night and were placed in the court house yard. Undertaker Schoene opened the coffins and to the consternation of those present, the corpses had not been washed, the coffins were crude, not finished on the inside and with no lining. Be it said to the credit of Schoene & ourcitizens generally that the bodies were taken out, and the blood washed off, and nicely washed and cleaned and the bodies were nicely dressed in shrouds. Schoene took the coffins and lined them, fixed them in decent shape and put mountings on them. They were set in the corridors of the court house, where during the after part of the night and Sunday morning the remains were viewed by hundreds of people from town and the surrounding country. The mother was in a delicate condition, and in the natural course of events, would have been confined in a couple of months. When she jumped from the wagon she aborted a fetus which was thrown in the grave with the

family.

At nine o'clock Sunday morning the remains were placed in wagons and the funeral procession moved toward the Bute Cemetery, 5 miles south east of Owasco. The crowd at the funeral was estimated in the thousands. The funeral occured at 3 o'clock, services conducted by Rev. Pollard of Milan. The grave was dug ten feet wide and all the bodies put in one grave.

Pursuing parties from all surrounding counties were organized and by Saturday night 500 men were in pursuit of the Taylors. Blood hounds from various places are being used and it is thought by Monday 1000 well armed men were on the hunt.

At the coroner's inquest Nellie Meeks told the same story she had told the Standard Reporter. After hearing her story and other evidence the Coroner's jury gave a verdict that the Meeks had met death by gunshot wounds and blows from blunt-end instruments, and at the hands of William P. Taylor and George E. Taylor.

and the

The jurymen were: J.W. Gooch, Joseph Lay, Geo. Dodge, A.J. Schrock, D.D. Cotter and W.H. Gooch.

It is thought the Taylors are skulking in the Chariton breaks and on foot. The O.K.R.R. was patrolled from the Castle to Kirksville, the Wabash from Kirksville South and the Sante Fe with men every few feet"

Image faded. Please see photos.