CURRY, James R.

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Death of James Curry

James Curry died yesterday at his home in Whiteland at 11:30 a.m., after an illness of about five weeks from inflammatory rheumatism. For two weeks he had been lying at the point of death, with but little hopes for any change for the better. Wednesday night he was reported slightly better, but the next morning he grew rapidly worse until death came to his relief. Mr. Curry was well known in Johnson County having served as sheriff to fill the unexpired term of Pres. Malden. He was a candidate for the nomination last winter for the same office. Mr. Curry was a man of agreeable manners and had many warm friends.

The Franklin Democrat, Friday, December 21, 1894,
Volume XXXV Number 24, page 1 column 5

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Resolutions.

WHEREAS—It has been the will of God to remove from our midst our beloved brother, Jas. R. Curry, who departed this life Dec. 13, ’94, we the members of Greenwood Lodge, No. 238 K. of P. desire to express our feelings in the following resolutions:

First—That as a member of our order he had endeared himself to us by his genial disposition, and his excellent qualities of mind and heart.

Second—That by his death, we have lost an honest and faithful member and an esteemed friend and brother.

Third—That we cherish his memory and commend his manly character; and that we extend to his bereaved wife and relatives our heartfelt sympathies.

Fourth—That a copy of these reso­lutions be published in the papers and also place upon the records of our order.

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The Franklin Democrat, Friday, December 21, 1894,
Volume XXXV Number 24, page 5 column 3

PERSONAL AND LOCAL.

(From Monday’s News)

James Curry was buried yesterday at Greenwood. The funeral was held at the Presbyterian church at Whiteland. Probably not a third of the people were able to get into the church. Elder Amzi Atwater, of this city preached the funeral discourse, the Masons having charge of the burial. A large number of Franklin people drove up to Whiteland in the morning, returning in the evening.

The Franklin Democrat, Friday, December 28, 1894,
Volume XXXV Number 25, page 1 column 6

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GRAVE ROBBERS.

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GHOULS CARRY OFF THE BODY
OF THE LATE JAS. R. CURRY.

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The Theft Discovered by a Visitor at
the Cemetery–The Body Recovered
at Indianapolis–Greenwood Greatly
Excited Over the Affair.

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About 2:00 o’clock Tuesday afternoon Paschal Dorrell visited the grave of his daughter at Greenwood. In going around the cemetery he noticed a heap of fresh dirt with other things thrown around the grave of ex-sheriff James R. Curry, who was buried Dec. 16. Upon approaching the grave he found that the dirt had been taken from the grave leaving it unfilled nearly half in depth. He also found buttons and shreds of clothing and also the foot prints of a man in the dirt. This convinced him that the grave had been robbed and he informed Sexton Brenton. The latter dug down through the dirt covering the casket and box and found a hole cut in the box and casket barely large enough to draw the body through and the next step in the examination learned that the body was gone. The burial shroud was torn from the corpse after its removal from the grave and thrown back and partly covered with dirt. The manner in which the shroud was torn off accounts for the buttons lying around the grave.

The ghouls were traced to the woods ad­joining the cemetery on the west but no further trace can be found.

A double rig was heard going through town from the direction of the cemetery about two o’clock in the morning and it is supposed that it bore the stolen body.

Dr. Dobyns, of this city, and Dr. Joe Wishard, of Greenwood, in company with several others from Whiteland and Greenwood, went to In­dianapolis Tuesday evening determined to recover the body. The two former, knowing somewhat more than the others the way ghouls perform their work, quietly went to persons whom they had reason to believe were ac­quainted with the whereabouts of parties carrying on this business, and learned their secret headquarters. Leaving the other members of the party at the hotel, Drs. Dobyns and Wishard went to the place designated and with a piece of scantling broke down the door leading into the basement of a private and deserted residence, and began their inves­tigations. In a short time they discovered the object of their search. In a barrel wrapped in straw, and prepared for shipping, was found Mr. Curry’s body. Orders were given for a new casket and robe, into which the body was placed and brought to Greenwood on the eight o’clock train, Wednesday morning, where it was placed in the vault.

The persons giving Drs. Dobyns and Wish­ard information leading to the recovery of the body are not made known. It is supposed they were persons connected with the medical colleges. The statement that the body was found in one of the medical colleges is not true. As above stated it was found in a private residence, and it is supposed would have been shipped either to Cincinnati or Louisville.

Dr. Dobyns says he supposes there were fif­teen or twenty bodies in this room. The building is an old deserted one with a cellar divided into several apartments. It is located in the northwestern part of the city, but he has forgotten the street or number. After breaking in, they first found an empty room, but on passing into another found several barrels. The first examined contained the body of a woman in brine. The next opened was the one which contained Curry’s body.

The plan pursued by Dr. Dobyns was the only one to insure the recovery of the body. Had the matter been reported to the police it would soon have reached the ears of the ghouls and the body would have been spirited away before ever located.

The Franklin Democrat, Friday, December 28, 1894,
Volume XXXV Number 24, page 1 column 2

PERSONAL AND LOCAL.

(From Wednesday’s Daily News)

G. C. Stuart and Stephen A. Williams went to Indianapolis to assist in recov­ering the body of James Curry.

Link to James R. Curry’s grave

Note: The 1880 US Federal Census for Whiteland, Johnson County, Indiana records twenty-three-year-old, Kentucky-born laborer James R. Curry and his wife, twenty-three-year-old, Ohio-born Marideth [sic] Curry.
The Johnson County Indiana WPA Death Index, 1882–1920, page 46, referencing Book H-17, page 10, records that Jas. Curry, a thirty-seven-year-old white male, died 13 Dec 1894 in Whiteland.

Note: The articles headed “From (day of the week)’s News.” seem to be copied from the Franklin Daily Herald. The dates stated are relative to their publication day in the Herald, not to the publication date of the Democrat.

Submitted by Mark McCrady, Cathea Curry and Lois Johnson