In this final blog about the Soldiers' Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Clinton, IL, Terri highlights four notorious soldiers. One soldier was a victim, another was a thief, one led a family crime syndicate, and another attempted to murder his wife on the front porch of their home. Fortunately, she was "SAVED BY HER CORSETS."
Some Were Infamous
A certain percentage of every sector of society has some involvement with criminal activity, either as perpetrator or victim. Some police officers are petty thieves, some teachers are pedophiles, some clergy are embezzlers, and so on – a universal state of affairs that exists in humanity. The soldiers immortalized at the Soldiers’ Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery are no different. Following are four profiles that might raise an eyebrow.
John Short
Let’s start with a victim – John Short. John volunteered for duty in June of 1861 and served in Company E, 20th Illinois Infantry. He was wounded and discharged for disability in February of 1863. Though he never fully recovered from his injury, he married and settled in Wapella, finding work as a switch tender for the railroad. (In those days, track sections were manually manipulated to move rail cars from one track to another.) Meanwhile, there was another man named Jonathan Way who had a farm near Wapella. As was popular at the time, there were a number of revivals held at Wapella, during which the hymn “My Pilgrim Way” was often sung, and Johnathan soon picked up the nickname “Pilgrim Way,” much to his annoyance. On 8 May 1868, John Short was at work at the rail yards when Jonathan Way happened by. Witnesses said that Short greeted Way with a cheerful “How are you, Pilgrim?” prompting Way to pull a pistol from his coat and shoot Short. Newspaper accounts vary whether there was one shot or two, but agree that Short tried to turn away and a bullet entered his back and lodged in his right breast. Apparently, it hit something vital between point A and point B because Short died at the scene within minutes. Way was immediately taken into custody, but was soon allowed free on bond, putting up his farm as security. That’s the last Way was seen or heard from in DeWitt County. A newspaper entry 24 years later reflected upon the case, stating that it was rumored Way fled to Indiana and drowned there, either by accident or by suicide. John Short left behind his wife and two children.
David Updike
David Updike joined the Civil War from the state of Pennsylvania, Company G, 45th Infantry. I don’t know what brought him to Illinois, but the 1870 Census
shows him living in Macon County with his presumed wife and two children. (The Census at that time did not record relationships between household members.) By 1878, newspapers were reporting his criminal activity. He was charged with larceny, to which he pled guilty to one count, the remainder dropped, and for which he was sentenced to 24 hours in jail and a $25 fine. He was also charged with “keeping a house of ill fame,” again pleading guilty to one charge, remainder dropped, and another $25 fine. Late that same year, he was charged with incest. This case kept being continued, primarily due to his failure to appear, until June of 1881 when it was “stricken from the docket with leave to reinstate.” If the woman in the 1870 Census was his wife, she either died or divorced him, because on 30 Apr 1880, he married a different woman in DeWitt County. The 1880 Census shows him living in Creek Township, age 45, with his bride, age 18, and five children ranging in age from 6 months to 19 years. Updike applied for a pension in 1883, but it looks as though he was receiving assistance from the county. The circumstances of his death are unknown, but a newspaper article reporting the proceedings of the DeWitt County Board of Supervisors 9 Sep 1884 meeting included payment of $6 for a pauper’s coffin. Also paid was $1 to H. Collins for “having Updike corpse.” This likely refers to David, and it was customary to pay someone to watch over a dead body if there was going to be an inquest. The same meeting included payments for the coroner and jurors for conducting an inquest. If this was David H. Updike, then he likely died in August or early September, 1884. His young bride remarried 6 Jun 1885.
John Barton
John Barton served in Company A, 107th Illinois Infantry from 1862 to 1865. After the war, he returned to his home and family near Wapella. The 1870 Census finds him as head of household with his wife and five children ranging in age from 1 to 14. By the fall of 1878 newspapers were reporting that two sons, by now about ages 18 and 20, were being held on a burglary charge. Furthermore, his younger son and daughter, ages about 12 and 16, stole a buggy from Heyworth and took it to a local shop and demanded that it be painted, though it was in virtually new condition. The daughter, Lizzie Barton, gained quite a reputation across the state for being a notorious horse thief. Even though she was caught on more than one occasion, she got off easy due to her gender and young age. By 1879, neighborhood men had grown tired of their belongings going missing and formed an “association” to confront the Bartons. More than 60 armed men went to the Barton residence and, after a brief shoot-out, the Bartons allowed them to search their property. Many stolen items were recovered, and the Barton men, along with a couple ex-cons who were also present, were taken into custody. The Barton sons swore their father was not involved in their burglary ring, and he was released. Remarkably (but perhaps not surprisingly) the ages of two of the younger Barton children, which included Lizzie, did not increase by 10 years between the 1870 and 1880 Censuses. This was likely an attempt to keep them out of prison, but by 1881, it all began to fall apart. Lizzie stole another buggy and took it to Quincy where it was buried to hide it from authorities, apparently with her father’s knowledge. The state’s attorney had procured enough evidence to prove that Lizzie was at least 19 years old and eligible to go to prison. While being held for trial, Lizzie started a fire in the “calaboose” in Wapella. In court, she was charged with larceny and arson, for which she pled guilty. It was determined that she was under age 18 when she committed the larceny, so her sentence was to spend 24 hours in the local jail and pay a fine of one dollar. The arson, though… she was a little older by then and was sentenced to one year in the penitentiary. Ironically, after all the years of thievery, the arson conviction sent her to the big house. Her father and two older brothers also did time, but the younger brother who had helped her steal the buggy from Heyworth was apparently scared straight. He changed the spelling of his surname a bit and lived until 1954, buried in McLean County. John Barton, the father, served his sentence and by early 1882 had returned to his home near Wapella. He died suddenly in April of 1883, age 65 or so. His wife and two other daughters were never implicated in the family’s criminal activity and seemingly lived lawful lives.
George Caplinger
George Caplinger, a native of Kentucky, fought for that state in Company C, 2nd Cavalry. He served just under six months, being discharged for an unknown disability. He married in 1865 and started a family. Newspaper articles indicate that George’s father was wealthy and left him a nice inheritance, but George mismanaged it, and it eventually dwindled to virtually nothing. For unknown reasons, George moved his family to Clinton around 1887. By now, he was 53 years old, his wife 39 and children ranged from 5 to 20. Home life was turbulent, and George and his wife just couldn’t seem to get along. By 1893, George had moved to the Soldiers’ Home in Quincy, his family staying in Clinton. He indicated he was happy there and frequently complimented the U. S. Army on its treatment of veterans. However, in September of 1895, he stopped in Clinton on his way to a soldiers’ reunion in Louisville. He went to the residence of his wife and now mostly grown children insisting that he be allowed to return to the home. Mrs. Caplinger was not the least bit interested. On a Saturday evening, while his wife was out of the house, he enjoyed dinner with his children, then left for downtown to seek “refreshment.” Around 10 pm, somewhat intoxicated, he returned to the residence to again try to convince Mrs. Caplinger to reconcile. One of his daughters, looking out the window, could see in the moonlight that her father was brandishing a handgun. At that time, he was persuaded to get a room at the hotel to sleep it off. The next morning, however, he was back again, and Mrs. Caplinger stepped outside to speak with him. At one point, she turned and bent over the garden gate – to pick a flower, perhaps? – but she startled and turned just in time to see her husband put a revolver to her head. She managed to push his arm just as he discharged the weapon, and the bullet entered her shoulder rather than her skull. He then stepped back and fired again, this time a steel stay in her corset preventing the bullet from tearing into her flesh. Meanwhile, her children heard the commotion and ran outside just in time to see their father raise the gun to his temple. One of his daughters grabbed his arm, causing his hand to fall as he squeezed the trigger. The bullet, instead of exacting an immediate death, lodged in the base of his skull and rendered him immediately paralyzed. Doctors were summoned and were able to bring him back to consciousness, but their opinion was that he would succumb within 24 hours. Sure enough, he died the next morning. Needless to say, this incident created quite a stir in Clinton. In fact, it made the papers as far away as Kingston, Ontario, Canada with the headline “SAVED BY HER CORSETS”!
Sources
DeWitt County newspaper archives on microfilm
Terri Lemmel was born and raised in DeWitt County near Kenney. Upon completing her education at Clinton High School, she lived in Bloomington for several years before returning to Clinton in 1990. Her interest in genealogy was piqued in the mid-90s when she found unidentified obituaries in her late grandmother's scrapbook that family members could not identify. While she initially dabbled in the subject, it wasn't until her retirement in 2018 that she jumped in with both feet. Terri joined the Genealogical Society and has been serving as its President since 2022. Research is a passion of hers, and there are lots of interesting stories to uncover! You can find Terri in the DeWitt County Genealogical Society room at the Vespasian Warner Public Library every Thursday completing research and helping others with their family and local history research.
To learn more about the DeWitt County Genealogical Society, feel free to reach out to them via phone at 217-935-5174, email at dewittcgs@gmail.com, their website, or their Facebook page.
The Vespasian Warner Library, located at 310 N. Quincy St. in Clinton, IL, features an extensive collection of local history and archives. To learn more, visit our Local History Page on the website or stop by in person! We are always excited to showcase our local history resources and discuss DeWitt County's local history.
Until Next Time Library Friends!