All of his life my grandfather maintained that his father, Mitchell Gallagher had been murdered by two men: Joseph Douglas and James Hills after one of the men had struck him in the back of the neck with brass knuckles. The story was one of legend and there were never any more details. The family would speculate at parties about what events may have led up to the attack, or whether the story was true to begin with. So several years ago I set out to find out what had actually happened to my Great-Grandfather.
My first step was to figure out where this murder allegedly happened. Though my grandfather was born in Boston and lived there for most of his life, I found the family living in Brooklyn, NY in the 1905 state census, which was just a year before Mitchell's death. I was quickly able to track down Mitchell's death certificate and found he had died in Brooklyn, NY. I have since obtained a copy of the coroner's report. Unfortunately it doesn't state whether or not the death was a result of accident or homicide. Please see below. My next step was to try and find an obituary or perhaps a newspaper article regarding his death. Several newspapers reported on the crime, but not one told the same story. I will share some of the information I found in my next post.
Kings County Coroners' Reports, Nov 1905-Feb 1908, volumes 13-14, roll 15, page 495.
My first step was to figure out where this murder allegedly happened. Though my grandfather was born in Boston and lived there for most of his life, I found the family living in Brooklyn, NY in the 1905 state census, which was just a year before Mitchell's death. I was quickly able to track down Mitchell's death certificate and found he had died in Brooklyn, NY. I have since obtained a copy of the coroner's report. Unfortunately it doesn't state whether or not the death was a result of accident or homicide. Please see below. My next step was to try and find an obituary or perhaps a newspaper article regarding his death. Several newspapers reported on the crime, but not one told the same story. I will share some of the information I found in my next post.
Kings County Coroners' Reports, Nov 1905-Feb 1908, volumes 13-14, roll 15, page 495.