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Behind the big themes, celebrated figures, and dry dates of history are the interesting stories of life in the past and ordinary people. Southeast Missouri has a varied and rich history that you often don’t hear about in history classes. Join Bill Eddleman of the State Historical Society of Missouri to hear about these stories with “Tales from Days Gone By.”Listen in on the second and fourth Thursday of the month during Morning Edition (7:45 a.m.) and All Things Considered (4:44 p.m.)

“One of the Most Startling Crimes Ever Committed in This Part of Missouri”: The Tettaton Murders

James Henry Tettaton, sketch from February 19, 1901, issue of The Daily Dunklin Democrat, page 1.
James Henry Tettaton, sketch from February 19, 1901, issue of The Daily Dunklin Democrat, page 1.

At 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19, 1901, J. H. Tettaton proceeded from the Dunklin County jail, escorted by Deputies John H. Bledsoe and Hiram A. Gardner, and preceded by Sheriff Will Satterfield, to a gallows in Kennett. The prisoner spoke to about 100 spectators for about 20 minutes, prayed with Rev. W. H. Pascoe, and asked for forgiveness. The sheriff read a decree of the state supreme court on the governor’s stay of execution and then the death warrant. The execution by hanging occurred at 2:10 p.m.—the first legal execution to occur in Dunklin County.

Tettaton’s crime was the murder of his stepmother and four half-siblings, a deed described by The Dunklin Daily Democrat as “one of the most startling crimes ever committed in this part of Missouri.” The crimes occurred at the home of the late Wash Tettaton, father of the murderer, just north of Malden on April 25, 1899. James H. Tettaton had been a farmer and schoolteacher, was well-educated, and was a man of repute prior to the crimes. His father, a wealthy farmer and stockman, had died in early 1897, and Jim Henry became administrator of the estate. The settling of Wash Tettaton’s estate proceeded well initially, but soon Jim Henry and his stepmother, Mary Jane Tettaton, began differing on the inheritance. The Probate Court ordered Jim H. to pay his stepmother one sum of money, and she had sued to settle the real estate, and they became embittered toward each other.

In his later confession, Tettaton professed to hiring two men for $500 to kill his stepmother using a staged robbery as a pretext, with no intention of killing the children. Tettaton ate dinner with the family that evening and was in the room with his stepmother and half-brother, 16-year-old George, when the men entered. They shot Mrs. Tettaton, and one of the men dropped his mask, allowing George to recognize him. They chased and shot George at the rear gate of the yard, then dispatched the other children—Ben, aged 11; Ida, 9; and Ada, 7. The men placed George’s body on the back porch and set the house afire to conceal the crimes.

Tettaton faced a dilemma as events spiraled, so he cut gashes in his head and claimed the “robbers” beat him. The superficial nature of his wounds made authorities suspicious, and discovery of strong motive and the flimsy cover story led to his indictment for the murders.

Authorities jailed Tettaton at Malden, then moved him to Cairo, Charleston, and finally Jackson for safe keeping. They returned him to Kennett in May for the trial. Tettaton and other prisoners tried to escape from jail twice. A trustee prevented him from escaping with others on December 15, 1899, and he and three others successfully escaped January 6, 1900, by cutting a hole in the steel bars with acid and an old razor blade. Sheriff Satterfield and his deputies recaptured him and another prisoner, Milo Gregory, nine days later near Neelyville. Thereafter, the jailor secured them with balls and chain and later moved both to St. Louis for safekeeping.

He attempted suicide three days before his execution by cutting a small artery in his wrist. Although he lost a considerable blood, his attempt was unsuccessful.

Even though Tettaton mentioned hiring two men to kill the victims, whose names in some newspaper accounts were W. T. Barham, a horse trader, and A. J. Ransom, authorities filed no further charges in the case, suggesting either lack of evidence or the men had alibis placing them elsewhere.

Bill Eddleman was born in Cape Girardeau, and is an 8th-generation Cape Countian. His first Missouri ancestor came to the state in 1802. He attended SEMO for two years before transferring to the University of Missouri to study Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. He stayed at Mizzou to earn a master of science in Fisheries and Wildlife, and continued studies in Wildlife Ecology at Oklahoma State University.