52 Ancestors, Round 2- Week 1- Bertha Elizabeth Mendenhall

Hi there! I’ve decided to do another round of “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks”! The first set I did back in 2014- you can view those blog posts Here.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Round 2

Week 1- Bertha Elizabeth Mendenhall 1884-1980, my 7^th Cousin, 4x Removed

Recently, I received a message on Ancestry.com from a distant cousin requesting more information from my tree (my tree is set “private”). He wanted more information on Bertha Elizabeth Mendenhall (1884-1980). I sent him everything I had and then a while later, he informed me that he found several newspaper articles on Bertha and her husband Edward Lindley about a murder court case. I was surprised and decided to dig into this to see what had happened.

Bertha Elizabeth Mendenhall was the daughter of Allen Harvey Mendenhall (1856-1951) and Esther Jane Irish (1854-1933). She was an only child, born on 16 Dec 1884 in Howard County, Indiana. On 09 Nov 1907, in Greentown, Indiana, she married Edward Samuel Lindley, a school teacher. Edward, born on 30 Jan 1882 in Indiana, was the son of John William Lindley (1858-1919) and Prudence Petty (1862-1946).

Bertha and Edward had a fairly large family together, having 8 children together between 1909 and 1925- Ruby, Allen, John, Samuel, George, Joseph, Mary and Sarah.

The incident my distant cousin mentioned occurred on May 28, 1955 in Ocala, Missouri. Bertha was 70 years old and her husband Edward was 73. Here is a description from a Marion County website: www.marionso.com/fallen-officer-memorial/

Deputy Robert Wooten
Killed in the line of duty – May 28, 1955

Deputy Curtis Youngblood
Killed in the line of duty – May 28, 1955

On the afternoon of May 28, 1955 Deputies Wooten and Youngblood went to the home of Edward and Bertha Lindley at 615 Elizabeth Street (now NE 19th street) to investigate allegations that the Lindley’s had been stealing kerosene from a neighbor. As they approached the house Bertha approached them carrying a shotgun, as Deputy Wooten took the shot gun from Bertha Edward fired a rifle from the house killing Deputy Wooten instantly. Before Deputy Youngblood could react Edward fired again killing Youngblood. Calls from neighbors flooded into the Sheriffs office. Every available officer in the county responded. As officers arrived Edward Lindley continued firing on them. Assistant Ocala Police Chief M.O. Tuck had taken cover behind a tree; Edward fired and struck M.O. Tuck. He was taken to the hospital where he died a short time later. Another Sheriff’s Deputy; W. G. Ergle was wounded in the shoot out. Eventually tear gas was put into the house, and the Lindleys surrendered.

The investigation revealed that Bertha Lindley never fired a shot. She was taken back to Indiana by family and died of natural causes in the 1980s Edward Lindley never stood trial for the murders of the three officers. He was found mentally incompetent and died at the State Mental hospital.

Deputy Robert Wooten was 56 years old and was survived by his wife Agnes Williams Wooten, three sons Robert L. Wooten, Thomas J. Wooten, and Irvin Eugene Wooten, one daughter, Mrs. Edward Green.

Deputy Curtis Youngblood was 39 years old and was survived by his wife Jonnie Long Youngblood and one daughter Deborah.

Another blogger depicted the incident quite well—you can read it Here.

Bertha died on June 16, 1980 in Greentown, Indiana at 95 years old. Her husband died on December 10, 1971 in a mental institution at the age of 89. They are buried together in Greenlawn cemetery in Greentown, Indiana.