M. M. Pierce, together with his wife, the wife's four children and a hired man by the name of Morgan Pack, resided on the Bill Shannon farm, about four miles west of Pottsboro, and immediately on the railway.  In fact, the road runs through the farm.  The Pierce family moved to the farm sometime last fall or winter, and were not very well acquainted in the neighborhood.  The husband was known as a peaceable and industrious man, while the family were moderately neat and intelligent.  The oldest child was a girl some 14 or 15 years
of age, while all the others were boys.  The lady had been married twice before her union with Pierce.  Her parents live somewhere in
east Texas.  Pierce is said to be a native of north George, but of this there is as yet no positive evidence.  The family, including Pack, had decided to spend the 4th in Sherman, and on Sunday Mrs, Pierce, assisted by the children, cooked and stowed away in boxes, provisions for a picnic dinner.  Last week, Pierce had purchased from Mr. Potts, at Pottsboro, a span of young mules, and early Monday morning Pack went out to the lot to harness them up.  Pierce called to him and requested to him to catch one of the mules and work it with a horse.  Both the animals had been caught, one of them was standing near the wagon, while Pack had lead the other down to the water trough to water.  Two of the children were in the wagon, two in the yard, and Mrs. Pierce was sitting in the front door ...... one of her shoes. Pierce, who
was in the front yard, entered the building, took the squirrel rifle from its rack, and, passing out the rear door, walked around to a point near the well.  Pack was standing with his back to the house, when the oldest child, who was in the wagon, saw her stepfather raise his gun and fire.   She, with all the children, began screaming and running away as fast as they could.  They went in the direction of the nearest neighbor, farmer Tanner. After getting a quarter of a mile away one of the little boys mustered up courage and went back to the house.  The other children were too frightened to accompany him,  and they continued on to Mr. Tanner's.  They did not know the extent
of the tragedy.  They had heard their mother screaming, and realized something terrible was transpiring but were not aware of their mother's death until their return home with neighbors.  The little barefooted fellow, however, who returned home tells the following. On returning to the house, he was afraid to go in from the front.  He entered from the rear, and creeping up to the window, peeped in. His stepfather was in the room sitting on the edge of the bed wiping the blood from his neck.  The man got up, walked out into the yard
where the mother lay, and after turning her body over, lay down by its side.  The lad entered the room from the rear and passed through
it to where his mother and father were lying.  He says his father kicked at him and he got away.  In a very short time neighbors began gathering in, and on the arrival of the first the victims were all dead.  Pack sank dead in his tracks, not knowing what killed him.  Blood
was still flowing from the wounds of Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, and in the room where the boy saw his father sitting on the bed, blood was scattered everywhere, and on the floor were fresh barefooted tracks of the boy where he had gone through.  When Pierce was certain he had killed the hired man he turned to his wife, but just how he made way with her will never be known, except that her head was almost severed from her body with a razor.  It must have been full ten or fifteen minutes after this when he cut his own throat, for the little boy had gone a quarter of a mile and returned and, as stated above, at that time Pierce was sitting on the side of the bed.  The horses were standing at the wagon just as they were when the children ran away.  Peck had not moved.  The ball entered the back of his head from
the left side, tearing away a portion of the skull.  A courier was dispatched to Pottsboro and from there a telegraph message was sent to Sheriff McAfee at Sherman.  Justice Odel, in company with six or eight men from Pottsboro went out as soon as possible.  The children were utterly ignorant of any cause leading to the tragedy, and a search of the house began.  In a trunk a number of letters were found, and among them those penned by Pierce.  They read as follows:

The third and last written letter was addressed to the children as follows:

GRAYSON COUNTY, TEXAS, July 3 - Advise to the dear little children - . . ., Laura, Jim and John: Be good children and keep good company. Don't do anything wrong.  Of course the crop and stock is good for all my indebtedness, and of course it is more than good, for
it is a . . . . Dear children, I hate that I can't be with you and your ma and see pleasure.  I hate that I ain't  . . .  you all better, but, dear children, take things into consideration and I have done mighty well.  God bless you all and God bless your dear mother and God bless me.  I pray to God to pardon me of my sins.  I dearly love your mother.  I pray for God . . . .
Here it ended without a signature.

Pierce was a native of Georgia and about 40 years old.  He was rather above the average height, and inclined to be a little rawboned.  He had dark hair and mustache and clear blue eyes.  He was rather . . .  He was a honest, hardworking man, but he was addicted to drinking, and while he was under the influence of liquor he was rather overbearing and inclined to think he was being imposed upon.

His wife was quite a small woman, and more than ordinarily good-looking, and bore her 33 years quite lightly.  She was a widow with four children when she was married to Pierce in Upshur County, Texas, about four years ago.  A telegram from Sheriff McAfee to an address supposed to be that of her father in Gilmer carried information of the terrible affair.  The surname of the children could not be learned.

Of Morgan E. Pack, the other victim, but little is known except that he once lived near Van Alstyne.  He had letters in his pockets showing him to have had acquaintance in Sherman, and to one of them, Jack Rich, Sgt North Branch street, he had an unposted card stating that
he would like to meet him (Rich) at a certain place, naming Saturday as the date.

The remains were interred Tuesday in the graveyard at Old Georgetown, a short distance north of Pottsboro.  The children will be cared for by neighbors until word is received from relatives of the family.

Galveston (TX) Daily News
July 7, 1892
p. 2

Sherman, Tex., July 7 - Gradually the mist is being cleared away and the cause of the terrible tragedy and suicide in the western part of the county on Monday last is apparent. As has been heretofore announced, a telegram was sent by Sheriff McAfee to Mr. Wearer of
Gilmer, Upshur County, the father of Mrs. Pierce, informing him of the terrible affair.

W. F. Robinson of Beatty, Upshur County, answered the telegram in person. He was seen by a News reporter to-day, and in substance made the following statement:  "I am a son-in-law of Mrs. Pierce. I married her oldest daughter. My mission to Grayson County is to take the children down to Upshur County, where they will find homes with myself and their grandfather. I will, of course, remain in Pottsboro for a few days to close up the affairs of Mr. Pierce, which I find to be in a pretty fair shape."

"Do you know any of the causes leading up to the affair?," inquired the reporter.

"Of course I do not know anything of the disagreements at home, if there were any. I noticed the letters he left seemed to cast a shadow over Mrs. Pierce. I am satisfied she was guiltless of anything wrong as intimated. I was raised in Gwinnett County, Georgia with Pierce
and have known him for many years."

"When he was quite a young man in an accident of some kind an injury was inflicted on his head which necessitated placing in a silver plate and, at times, he was clear off, especially was he had been drinking."

"Had he been addicted to the use of intoxications ever since you knew him?"

"No. Up to the time he was grown he did not drink, but after he came back from his first visit to Texas he drank a great deal."

"Do you know much of the history of Mrs. Pierce?"

"Well, not fully. She, like myself and Pierce, was a native of Georgia. Neither Pierce nor myself ever saw her there to my knowledge. She came to east Texas with her parents when quite a child. Pierce did not meet her until he came to Texas to live, she was about 35 years of age and had been married three times. Her first husband was George Graves, who is the brother of my wife and father of the eldest boy, Joe, who ray away from near Pottsboro and came to my house.  Shortly after the death of Geo. Graves, she married Robert Logan and the four children now at Pottsboro are by the second marriage. She was married to Pierce about four or five years ago near Marshall. They lived in Rockwall then came in north Texas. None of Mrs. Pierce's relatives were ever informed if there were any family troubles, and they all seemed to be getting along in peace unless perhaps it was that the children during a visit to the grandparents about two years ago complained that Pierce made them work too much. This was the cause Joe gave for running away. I did not know  Morgan Pack."

The burial of the three victims took place in a quiet church near where the tragedy took place. One large, wide grave was dug and the coffins containing the bodies of Pierce and Pack were laid side by side. It was contemplated to bury all  three victims in the same grave, but to this the children objected and a separate grave was dug for her. Wooden signs erected state that the graves are those of Morgan
E. Pack and Lucy Susan Pierce.

The is nothing to tell the stranger that M. M. Pierce, too, awaits the resurrection morn.