Written by Clay Riley – On or about the 5th of December 1900, Ed Tusker, a German Immigrant farmer, was killed on his farm south of Bangs, Texas. On the 12th of that month, John Pearl, a hired hand of Tusker’s, was indicted for his murder. The following is from newspaper accounts* at the time.
The deceased, Ed Tusker, was a bachelor and lived on his rented farm south of Bangs. Tusker was the owner of four or five hundred dollars of cotton and farm equipment. Within a few days of the time he was killed, John Pearl began asserting ownership of the deceased’s effects, claiming he purchased them from Tusker and proceeded to sell a portion of the effects. He stated Tusker, who was a German, had returned to his native land and had sold out to him. He stated that he had carried Tusker to the depot in Brownwood and he had taken that train to Germany.
Pearl’s conduct caused suspicion of officers and other citizens to such an extent, an investigation was made to determine what had happened to Tusker. A search party went to the house where he had lived and discovered a trail having been made by something having been dragged from the house to a nearby tank. In the tank they found the body of Tusker being held under water with a wire attached to a large rock. Above his right ear was a gunshot wound made by a bullet from a 38-caliber pistol. The tracks of a pony used to drag Tuskers body to the tank were the same as a pony in Pearl’s possession. That and other circumstances connected Pearl with Tusker’s murder.
John Pearl was convicted in Brown County. Because of a technical error, a new trial was granted, also a change of venue to Coleman County. As in the first trial, he was found guilty of murder in the first degree with punishment of death by hanging. The State Appellate Court upheld the findings of the lower courts and the Governor refused executive clemency. The execution took place inside the Coleman County Jail, from a scaffold specifically built for that purpose.
Before 1923 in Texas, executions of prisoners were carried out by the counties in which they were tried, or in some cases by the state at Huntsville. The “wild west” style of criminal justice had yielded to more orderly and lawful means. The state assumed absolute authority of executions in death penalty cases in 1923.
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A Unsolved Mystery Remains
What happened to Ed Tusker’s remains? That is the question posed by fellow researcher Ed Walker. He explains; “But, what happened to Ed Tusker? Did he not rate better than a pauper’s burial, or at least a grave marker as did John Pearl? **
Existing records show nothing of the sort took place for Tusker. The records that exist show his estate was probated in 1902, in which the executer was his former landlord G.S. Howard. The estate after expenses was approximately $250, which disposition was shown as ‘to heirs’, of which there was none of record. A small portion of that amount could have marked his unfortunate demise with a flourish or at the very least a simple dignity.
No record exists to show death, obituary, funeral arrangements or place of burial for Ed Tusker. Much attention was given to the perpetrator of the crime against Ed Tusker, but apparently the life of the hard working old German farmer did not merit recognition, other than to pad a certain citizen’s already fat wallet.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know where to place a simple flower on Tusker’s grave, to show that someone cared, after all these 116 years?” ~Ed Walker
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* Newspapers used as resources; December 1900 – October 1901, Daily Express – Coleman, Tex., the Brownwood Bulletin, Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express, etc.
** John Pearl was buried in Coleman City Cemetery by his family and a tombstone marks his resting place.
This and many other stories are available at the Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Branch at 213 S. Broadway. Volunteers from the Pecan Valley Genealogical Society are there to assist you in your family or local history research.
Clay Riley is a local historian and retired Aerospace Engineer that has been involved in the Historical and Genealogical Community of Brown County for over 20 years. Should you have a comment, or a question that he may be able to answer in future columns, he can be reached at; pvgsbwd@gmail.com.
