Chicago Great Western tracks
2 miles west of Marshalltown, IA
Marshall County
August 21, 1899
John E. “Jack” Wilson, 30, and Charles E. “Connie” Matthews, 32, were brakemen on the Chicago Great Western Railway.
On Monday, August 21, 1899, the two men worked an extra west-bound freight train that originated in Waterloo at 7:47 p.m. with 32-year-old William J. Fickas as conductor.
At Marshalltown, Will Fickas spotted three tramps near the water tank and made a mental note that they would probably hitch a ride. One was large, weighing 200 pounds, and had a month’s growth of beard and wore a dark slouch hat. The other two men were slighter. All three were “rough-looking” and “poorly dressed.”
Fickas became worried when the engineer whistled for Luray — where the grade was steep — and no brakes were applied.
At Melbourne, 13 miles west of Marshalltown, Fickas confirmed that his brakemen were missing. When he informed dispatchers there, he was ordered by the railway to return slowly back over the route to find the men.
Two miles west of Marshalltown, Fickas discovered the mangled bodies of Wilson and Matthews in a ditch by the rails.
Railway investigators believed that Wilson and Matthews discovered tramps in a coal car filled with steel rails near the middle of the 22-car train and that, during a struggle to put them off the train, the brakemen were shot in the head and thrown onto the tracks. It was thought the killers jumped off the train near Luray, where the train slowed down.
The car where the murders occurred contained a “large and fat” bloody handprint with “an unusually short” thumb. The hand imprint was traced on paper to be studied by investigators. Also found in the coal car were two flattened .45 caliber bullets.
There was also an eye-witness to the crime — Joe Malchal, a track walker for the Northwestern Railway which ran parallel to the Great Western for several miles south of Marshalltown.
Malchal observed the Great Western train approaching from a distance; as it got closer, he could see in the moonlight three men sitting on the end of a flat coal car and two brakemen with lanterns. Then he saw the flash of a revolver — fired into the air once and then twice into the car — and witnessed large objects being dropped off the train.
Railway detectives and local law enforcement immediately set to work, with Marshall County Sheriff McPherson in charge. Men matching the description of the murderers were detained at several rail stops, but none were the suspects.
Armed posses were dispatched from Newburg and Grinnell. About two miles north of the small station of Dixie near Grinnell, a group led by Marshal Vanderwenter of Gilman encountered the three suspects. Shots were exchanged.
The posse’s efforts were hampered by heavy rain, and it was believed the men escaped through a corn field and got away on the east-bound Rock Island freight.
This was the first time Great Western rail workers were killed rousting tramps off trains, and the railway vowed to crack down on such riders.
On August 22, highly agitated Great Western employees gathered at Union Station in Des Moines to see off railway Superintendent Burlingett and friends of the murdered men who were departing for a coroner’s inquest in Marshalltown.
Conductor Will Fickas, looking worn and exhausted, returned to Des Moines on August 23; he brought with him the dead men’s battered lanterns and Wilson’s cap, pierced by a .45 caliber bullet. He spoke angrily about the murders.
George Rieth, Chief Clerk of the Great Western, told the Des Moines Daily Capital:
“I passed through the district of the murder a short time ago at night. The country round about was a perfect settlement of tramps and hobos. The hillsides were brilliant with their bonfires. The murderers must have been a part of this crew.”
The Marshall County Supervisors offered a $500 dollar reward, but the murders were never solved.
John E. “Jack” Wilson, a three-year employee of the railway, was married and had a permanent residence with his wife and two children in Oelwein; he stayed at 210 Tenth Street in Des Moines during his scheduled working times. Wilson was buried in Marshalltown, where his parents resided.
Charles E. “Connie” Matthews lived at 311 Raccoon Street in south Des Moines with his wife and family and had worked for the railway for a year. He was buried in Oskaloosa, his hometown.
Jack Wilson carried a small amount of life insurance, but Matthews had none. Newspapers speculated that the Great Western would provide for the two families who had been left without support.
Questions and information about the unsolved 1899 murders of John E. Wilson and Charles E. Matthews should be directed to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office at 641- 754-6380 or to Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.
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