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 7th
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
Killed in the line of duty – May 28, 1955
Deputy
Curtis Youngblood
Killed in the line of duty – May 28, 1955
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.
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