Micahel Bowler, Obituary/Death NoticePorter County obituaries and death notices . . . .
Micahel Bowler
HIS NAME WAS MICHAEL BOWLER.
HIS IDENTITY DISCLOSED THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF FATHER KROLL AND THE CHICAGO HERALD.
The body was Exhumed and Identified by Relatives Monday Morning and Taken to Chicago for Interment.
It is with a feeling of grim satisfaction that The Tribune is enabled to say that the name of the man found dead on the morning of Feb. 23, two miles and a half west of Dune Park along the Lake Shore tracks is Michael Bowler, a stock yards employe whose home was at 3401 Halsted street, Chicago.
Our readers will remember that on Feb. 25, last an inquest was held over the body in Lundberg's undertaking rooms by Coroner Coates. The evidence there offered was unsatisfactory, as nothing was found on the body that revealed its identity. Nothing farther was known than that the dead man had boarded the 7:45 east bound Lake Shore train at Chicago on the night of February 22, and was bound for Pittsburgh.
The supposition was that he had fallen from the train.
Special Agent Wm. E. Henderson, of the Lake Shore company, was detailed to look after the case by that company. He went to Dune Park by first train, took charge of the body, removed the valuables, and notified the coroner.
At the inquest, he promised to unravel the mystery surrounding the dead man, and with permission of the coroner, carried away with him a number of articles belonging to the body, including the dead man's railroad ticket. He claimed to have working on the case two skilled detectives, and left behind him the impression that he intended making an honest effort to discover the dead man's friends. After leaving Chesterton Henderson's first official act was to notify the company's agent here that the company was done with the case. This arroused the suspicions of some of our people who decided to make a determined effort to find the dead man's friends and find out why Henderson dropped the case so quickly.
A description of the body with picture and particulars of death was published in the Sunday Herald of Sunday before last. On Friday evening, last, Father Kroll went into Chicago for the purpose of investigating the matter and secured the services of a Herald reporter. The two started out and worked until one o'clock a. m. on various clues but failed to find anything definate. The story of their search, together with full particulars of the affair, was published in Saturday's Herald and resulted in finding the family of the victim. The story of the discovery is told in Sunday's Herald as follows:
When his sister, Maggie Bowler, read in yesterday's Herald an account fo the case and saw the dead man's picture she startled a knot of girls who had gathered about by scremaing, "My God, he was my brother!" then she fell over in a faint. Maggie is employed in a laundry at 2624 Shields avenue where she runs an ironing machine. Yesterday morning two of the girls who were working near her began talking about the Chesterton mystery, and one of them remarked that the man must have been on his way to see Father Mullinger, the faith cure priest of Pittsburgh as his address was found on the corpse. Maggie Bowler dropped her work at once and eagerly asked for further information. A copy of The Herald was found in the office and handed to the excited girl while her companions collected about her. She had read only a little way down the column when the awful truth became know to her and she fell to the floor with the cry that her brother was dead. It was several minutes before she revived sufficiently to be removed to her home.
IT WAS KNOWN AT HOME.
At the home the sad intelligence had already been known. Early in the day Thomas Bowler, Michael's brother has read an account of the Chesterton case and, satisfied that the body was that of his brother, had started out to find Father Kroll, the parish priest of Chesterton who came to Chicago Friday with a view to solving the mystery. Father Kroll had returned home, however, and last night Thomas Bowler started to Chesterton to identity the body.
At 1:17 a. m., Sunday Thomas Bowler, accompanied by Dennis Flanagan and John McLean, all of Chicago arrived at this place to exhume and identify the body of the man killed near Dune Park Feb. 22. Father Kroll was at once aroused from his bed and the services of the undertaker and sexton quickly secured. The remains were buried in the catholic cemetery, one half mile from town, and by 3 o'clock spades in willing hands were throwing dirt out of the newly made grave. As soon as the coffin was reached it was hastily pulled out of the grave, and by the dim light of lanterns the lid was removed. McLean and Flanagan were friends of the Bowler family, and as soon as they glanced at the features of the dead man they both exclaimed: "My God, that's Mike!"
Thomas Bowler, the brother, did not go to the cemetery. He is a boy about nineteen and his friends desired to spare him all they could and had him remain in town. He was taken to the undertaker's and shown the dead man's clothes. He at once recognized a pipe pair of shoes, and hat and gloves taken from the body as being his brother's and shed tears and was so thoroughly convinced of the identity that he did not look at the remains when they reached town.
Young Bowler told Father Kroll that after waiting a reasonable time to hear from Michael one of his sisters wrote a letter of inquiry to Father Mullinger and in due time saying that no one of that description had been to see him. Last Sunday his sisters went to the Lake Shore Company and asked if all passengers on the night their brother left had been accounted for. They were told all had been safely landed.
Young Bowler and his friends with the coffin boarded the west-bound Lake Shore train just four hours from the time they arrived here and were taken to Chicago by the same crew that the victim started out with on the night of Feb. 22.
The funeral was held Tuesday at nine o'clock, and the remains were buried in Mr. Olivet cemetery Chicago.
It will be noticed that The Tribune uses the name of Bowler instead of Boland as published in the Chicago Herald and in the verdict of the coroner. We do this on the positive assurance of Father Kroll that the family name is Bowler, and that the Herald is wrong. The brother, Thomas, who was out here gave his name as Bowler and signed that name to all dispatches sent away from here.
Just why Henderson was so slack in his work does not appear unless it was that the company was afraid of having a damage suit on its hands. As long as the identity was unknown no suit could be brought, but the probability now is that suit will be brought against them.
The coroner's report as given Tuesday is found in full in another column.
Newspaper: The Tribune
Date of Publication: March 11, 1892
Volume Number: 8
Issue Number: 48
Page: 4
Column(s): 2 and 3
Key to Newspaper Publication Locations:
Newspapers Published in Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana
Chesterton Tribune
The Tribune
Westchester Tribune
Newspapers Published in Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana
Porter County Vidette
Practical Observer
Valparaiso Practical Observer
Vidette and Republic
Western Ranger
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Obituary/death notice transcribed by Steven R. Shook