“Sensational and Cold-Blooded Affair”: Murder of Arthur Mead 1903

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

By Nancy Bowers
Written June 2017

In 1903, West Liberty — 20 miles west of Muscatine and the Mississippi River — was a quiet village where citizens felt safe. Minor daily excitement was supplied by the trains and passengers on the two rail lines that intersected at the town, which was a U.S Postal division.

Fifty yards from the Rock Island Depot sat Thomas McCarthy’s Lunchroom, where postal clerks laying over the night and others connected to the railroads took their meals at odd hours between trains.

In the early morning hours of Thursday, May 14, 1903, a group of men was eating and talking in the restaurant: night manager Frank Moylan and waiter Joe Lane; 24-year-old local man Chester J. “Chet” Baxter; Frank E. Elliot; Harry M. Whitehead; George Sissel; a traveling salesman from out of town; and 26-year-old Arthur C. “Art” Mead, a popular and well-respected jeweler in William Worstel’s West Liberty store.

A little after 1:00 a.m., a man burst through the front door. He was of medium height and weight and wore a brown, knee-length coat and a light-colored knit mask with holes cut out for the eyes, nose, and mouth. It was tied in a knot on top of the head and fell below the shoulders.

The Titonka Topic described what happened next:

“The robber had no sooner entered than he began to talk to [Arthur] Mead. Mead appeared to know the man and the two were joshing each other about the lateness of the hour. All at once the robber pointed a revolver at Mead and exclaimed, ‘Shut your face and hold up your hands.’ ‘Oh, I guess not’ said Mead, apparently thinking that the hold-up was a joke. ‘Well, I think you will’ said the robber and then there was a ‘bang’ from the pistol, and Mead reeled to the floor shot through the breast.”

The West Liberty Enterprise reported that before the shot was fired, Arthur Mead walked towards the man, as though to lift his mask or knock the gun from his hands, saying, “You can’t fool me, D. I.,” a comment bystanders assumed referred to local clothing dealer and tailor Davis I. Peters, whom the always-jovial Mead mistakenly believed was pulling a prank.

Arthur Mead, mortally wounded, staggered behind the lunch counter and fell into a chair without saying a word.

The robber yelled that he was from Texas and was a “sure shot who meant business.” The men did not resist when he commanded a second time that they raise their hands; he waved his smoking .38 revolver and shouted he “would shoot the liver out of any man that moved.”

He demanded all the money — amounting to about $26 — from the cash register and then rifled the pockets of the customers, garnering three $5 bills, $7 in change, and some jewelry.

The shooter then walked over to Arthur Mead and said, “Sorry I shot you, Mister, and I hope you will get well, but I had to have the money.”

As the robber backed out the door with his gun still raised, the other men gathered around Mead, who was by then lifeless.

While the robbery was underway, a Rock Island employee arriving at the restaurant for a midnight lunch saw through the windows what was going on. He realized the shooter had an accomplice waiting outside. The two men fled, the taller one going north and the shorter one heading towards a departing Cedar Rapids freight train. A brakeman on that train later described how the man sprinted into the nearby woods when he was unable to get aboard by running alongside.

Back inside the restaurant, Frank Moylan telephoned Town Marshal R.J. Wiley, who responded to the scene within fifteen minutes of Mead’s shooting.

Marshal Wiley ordered the fire bell rung and the water works whistle blown to sound the alarm of an emergency through the sleeping town. Crowds of citizens formed in the street, spreading word among themselves about what occurred; many went to McCarthy’s restaurant to see for themselves.

☛ Extensive Manhunt Undertaken ☚

The hunt for the culprits began immediately, with County Sheriff J.D. Stuart quickly arriving from Muscatine to help organize the pursuit.

At 4:15 a.m., a group of six men meticulously searched an out-going Rock Island freight train, even poking through the hay in the stock cars.

As day broke, citizens of West Liberty and surrounding towns gathered at City Hall and were organized into squads of 25 men each to fan out from town. A.W. Whitaker headed a group going west; James Parvin led another group east. As other squads moved north and south in semi-circles, W.J. Moylan commanded a search north towards West Branch.

For the next 24 hours, Sheriff J.D. Stuart and Marshal R.J. Riley put in what the Muscatine Journal called “probably the most strenuous day of their life.”

According to the Journal, Wiley’s organizational skills were so excellent that,

“. . . there is not a brush heap or haystack within a radius of fifteen miles in all directions that has not had a searching party probing into it. The whole country around looked like a walking and riding arsenal. Every man and boy who could get a gun or horse joined in the search and for the day business was nearly suspended in West Liberty. All the surrounding country and towns lent their aid, and it is estimated that 500 men were searching for the murderer, every one of them armed with a fire arm of some kind.”

At midday, Marshal Wiley received word that a suspicious man was traveling towards the Tice Bridge near Iowa City 18 miles to the northwest. Wiley commandeered a buggy and drove 13 miles to overtake him. After hearing the man’s story and determining he was not a suspect, Wiley rode back to West Liberty, where he learned of another man seen approaching Riverside. Wiley obtained a fresh team and rode 15 miles before concluding he was pursuing a futile lead.

That afternoon, a man applying for a farm job near Tipton was detained and brought to West Liberty on suspicion of being the shorter of the two suspects. When shooting witnesses Frank Moylan and Chet Baxter observed him, they agreed that, although he generally matched the suspect, he was not the right man based on how his voice sounded.

Marshal Wiley gave orders to round up anyone who could not account for himself; by 10:00 p.m., more than a dozen hoboes were crowded into the small city jail.

While the searchers scoured the countryside for the two robbers, an inquest was held by Muscatine County Coroner W.S. Norton with jurors Robert Brook, William D. Ady, and J.C. Park. Testimony was taken from the men present when Arthur Meade was shot and killed; all agreed on the general details, although they differed somewhat about the killer’s appearance.

By the next day, many of the men riding in the posses returned home because they were satisfied from the thoroughness of the search that the suspects had escaped the area.

☛ Shooter’s Disguise Discovered ☚

At 6:00 a.m. on May 14, a young boy named Clyde Martin found the shooter’s long, brown coat and his mask — cut out of a light, knit summer lap robe — stashed in a clump of bushes behind John Layba’s barn near the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway tracks three blocks north of the depot.

On the night of the shooting, a train’s engineer saw a suspicious man near those same bushes and yelled, “Hey there! What are you trying to do — steal chickens?”

It was believed the suspect jumped on that train shortly afterwards as it slowed to shut the switch. Because the train was not searched until it arrived in Cedar Rapids — 48 miles away — he could have jumped off at any point in between.

Near the coat and mask, Marshal Wiley located footprints. They were made by new shoes and were 11 inches long, with a width at the heel of two-and-a-half inches and a width at the ball of three-and-three-eighths inches.

☛ Reward Offered ☚

Hoping that money might lure out witnesses, Mayor J.E. McIntosh, Town Marshal Wiley, and the West Liberty City Council requested Iowa Governor Albert B. Cummins propose a reward. On May 18, Cummins issued a proclamation offering $300 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Arthur Mead’s killer.

☛ Dogs Join the Search ☚

At 5:00 p.m. on the day the reward was offered, Mrs. Ella Hitchcock answered the door of her residence on the Deming farm two miles northwest of West Liberty. A man, partially turned away so she could not see his face, demanded a loaf of bread, a bucket of water, and a sheet. After Mrs. Hitchcock gave him the items, he threatened to shoot her if she tried to see which way he traveled when he left.

When this news reached authorities in town, a posse of 200 was organized to search for the man throughout the night.

Early the next morning, a train from Waterloo brought bloodhounds, which were taken to the Hitchcock home. For a time, the dogs followed a trail before losing it, causing their handlers to assume the large posse itself had so thoroughly trampled the area that it was impossible to track the man’s scent.

☛ A Meeting In Wilton Junction, A Suspect Emerges ☚

Investigators learned of a meeting held the night preceding the murder by four suspicious men in Wilton Junction 14 miles east of West Liberty along the railroad. The quartet hatched an ultimately-abandoned plan to rob the express train as it stopped in West Liberty. Authorities immediately undertook to locate the men.

One of the plotters was an ex-con named “Reddy,” who fled to Cedar Rapids, where he was arrested and jailed. Two of the men were not found. The fourth was 35-year-old coal miner Harry Gay, who matched the description of Arthur Mead’s killer.

It was theorized that when the train robbery plan fell through, Gay held up the McCarthy Restaurant to replenish money he’d lost in Muscatine.

From letters exchanged between his wife and aunt, authorities learned that Gay was in Runnells, a coal mining community near Polk City southeast of Des Moines.

At 5:00 p.m. on May 25, Harry Gay was arrested at gunpoint by West Liberty Marshal R.J. Wiley and his brother and former Muscatine County Sheriff Harry Wiley on suspicion of killing Arthur Mead. The Iowa State Press described the arrest:

“They found Gay in one of the miners shacks near the mine, where he and his wife and two children had been living. Gay was on the bed and, breaking through the door without ceremony, the two officers pinned down their man before he could arise, and proceeded to handcuff him and search him.”

Gay was taken by the officers in a buggy to Des Moines, where the party boarded the 10:45 p.m. train on the Rock Island Line to West Liberty. Gay was heavily guarded on the train because some passengers who had known Arthur Mead were intensely stirred up.

Investigators speculated, based on where the discarded disguise was found, that Gay went north on the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway freight line to Elmira, on to Iowa City and Lone Tree, and south to Fredonia (where Gay had recently lived), and then traveled on to Des Moines and Runnels. They claimed he was not caught because the Engineer refused to let law enforcement search the train.

Harry Gay protested his innocence. Although he admitted to being one of the four men at the Wilton Junction meeting and confessed to being in West Liberty the morning before the Mead shooting, he claimed he boarded a freight train south and could prove he was in Runnells at the time of the incident.

On May 26, the Muscatine Journal wrote of feelings running so high in West Liberty that hundreds of angry and vengeful people congregated outside the jail, where Gay was awaiting a June 9 hearing.

West Liberty resident F.E. Thomas, refuted the Journal’s claims in a May 28 letter to the editor. Calling the town a “quiet and peaceable little city,” he disputed the crowd numbers, saying there were dozens, not hundreds, gathered outside the jail and the restaurant where Gay was taken for a meal. Thomas also denied the crowd urged violence or that Marshall Wiley and his brother had arrested Gay to collect the reward money.

☛ Harry Gay Released ☚

Not everyone was convinced of Gay’s guilt. W.G. Leedom was prepared to testify that he sold Gay two tickets on the afternoon before the shooting and saw him board the train later that day.

On June 9, Harry Gay was freed from jail after an investigation by Muscatine County Attorney Edward P. Ingram backed up his account.

The primary reason for dismissal of the charges, as reported by the Burlington Hawk-Eye, shocked and amazed the community:

“Harry Gay, accused of the murder of Arthur Mead, was released . . . after a preliminary examination. The sensational fact was developed that he has a double, who is the guilty party.”

On July 21, Governor Cummins, at the urging of frustrated Muscatine County officials, announced an increase in the reward from $300 to $500 for information leading to Arthur Mead’s killer. Including donations from West Liberty locals and McCarthy’s Restaurant, the total reward was brought to $800.

The story of the four men who gathered in Wilton Junction the night before the murder to plan a train robbery in West Liberty continued to intrigue authorities.

Meanwhile, the large amount of reward money created a great interest in locating the killer.

☛ Young Wastrel Bert Sheppard Arrested ☚

At 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday August 11, Muscatine Police Chief Rice and Officer James McElravy entered Smelzer’s Saloon on Front Street and arrested Bert Sheppard — the dissolute 22-year-old son of a wealthy Oskaloosa coal mine owner — for killing Arthur Mead. They had a warrant sworn out that morning by Johnson County Sheriff Andrew Hofer and Iowa City Night Police Officer Mac Burnett.

Also arrested was Muscatine resident Tom Clay (recently of the Iowa City Jail), who was taken to City Hall to be warned out of town. When questioned why he was back in Muscatine after being ordered out previously, Tom Clay said he was attempting to obtain information that Bert Sheppard shot Arthur Mead. Muscatine County Attorney Edward P. Ingham confirmed Clay’s story.

From the County Jail and in court before County Attorney Ingham, Bert Sheppard — who was reportedly known in his hometown as a drunken wastrel — vigorously protested his innocence.

Iowa City officer Mac Burnett, who had pursued Sheppard for four weeks, explained to the Muscatine Journal why the Oskaloosa man came under his suspicion:

“On the night preceding the murder of Arthur Meade [sic], a dozen or more men climbed off the blind baggage [car] of train 41 on the mail line in Iowa City. I immediately rounded them up and sent for the patrol wagon. One load of men were [sic] taken to the station, and the wagon returned for the remainder. In the remaining bunch, there were two men who particularly attracted my attention. They appeared to be very much disappointed over being taken to the station and insisted that they had to reach Des Moines by the following morning. I noticed them carefully. I observed how they were dressed, particularly one of them, and since the murder of Arthur Meade [sic], I have gone over the case and am almost positive that one of the men answers the description of the [shooter].”

That man was Bert Sheppard.

While sitting in jail, Sheppard insisted to a Muscatine Journal reporter — who described the young man as “handsome” but “rather nervous” — that he was in Muscatine for a week-to-ten days visiting a friend and had never been near the crime scene. He stated:

“About four years ago I was in West Liberty, but have never been in the town since that time . . . . I don’t want any notoriety out of this thing, and I wish you would keep it out of the papers. In Oskaloosa, my people are as good as can be found anywhere, and if this affair were to happen there, I would have no trouble in getting out of it and getting out quickly . . . .”

When Wilton Junction night watchman George Sherberger arrived in Muscatine, he could not identify Bert Sheppard as one of the four men he saw in Wilton Junction the night before the murder who were believed to have gone from there to West Liberty on an aborted mission to rob a train and, instead, two of them committed the robbery and murder in McCarthy’s Restaurant.

On August 12, 1903, the Muscatine Journal ran the headline “Sheppard Is Not the Man.”

☛ A Joke Goes Wrong ☚

On Friday, August 21, the Editor of the West Liberty Enterprise received a letter from a Gay Luse, postmarked “Chickasaw I.T. [Indian Territory].” In it, Miss Luse, a Rock Island Station restaurant cashier, claimed that 17-year-old Enoch Shafer, once employed by former West Liberty resident Mrs. A.M. McDonald, told her he was acquainted with Arthur Mead’s killer and helped him spend $10 of the money stolen from McCarthy’s Restaurant and its customers.

This letter and a second one were turned over to West Liberty Marshal R.J. Wiley, who consulted with Muscatine County Attorney Edward P. Ingham. The two requested the United States Marshal at Chickasaw arrest Enoch Shafer.

On August 29, Marshal Wiley received requisition papers from Iowa Governor Cummins and left for Chickasaw to bring back the suspect for interrogation.

Citizens buzzed that there was about to be a big break in the case.

However, once back in West Liberty, Shafer protested his innocence and claimed his statements to Gay Luse were made “in a spirit of fun.” Investigators concluded that he was merely trying to impress the young woman, and he was released.

☛ Chicago Crime Leads to Another Suspect ☚

On the morning of Sunday, August 30, a violent event occurred in Chicago that had an impact on the Arthur Mead case.

On that day, the city railway car barns at State and Sixty-First streets were robbed by a small group of safecrackers. Francis W. “Frank” Stewart, a clerk at the facility, and motorman James B. Johnson were shot and killed.

Following an extensive manhunt, three of the robbers — Harvey Van Dine, Peter Niedermeier, and Gustav Marx — were captured after a dramatic shoot-out in northern Indiana, during which a Detective Quinn was killed.

In an ultimately unsuccessful effort to avoid the gallows, Gustav Marx immediately started talking, identifying his accomplices and confessing to killing not only Stewart, Johnson, and Quinn, but at least five other men in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Colorado. Not to be outdone, Peter Niedermeier bragged of killing 23 people, one for every year of his life.

Authorities believed these confessions were attempts to gain criminal notoriety.

That same afternoon, under the bold front-page headline “Marx Says He Killed Art Meade [sic]: Street Car Barn Bandit Confesses To Foul Murder at Liberty, Iowa, In May 1903; Is It Fake Or Truth,” the Muscatine Journal wrote:

“Gustav Marx, hung in Chicago today for murder, killed Arthur Mead in West Liberty, according to a Chicago paper which says that Marx confessed to killing ‘a clerk in a railway station in West Liberty, Iowa.’ If this be true the search for the murderer of the West Liberty young man has ended. It is known, however, that Marshal Wiley, of West Liberty, is working on another clew.”

The confession of Marx, however, created intense excitement in Muscatine today. In many quarters it is believed to be the proper solution of the mystery.”

Noting that Marx confessed to killing a train brakeman in Wisconsin, the Journal asked: “This much being established it is not improbable that he might have visited West Liberty during his wanderings?”

Those inclined to believe that Arthur Mead’s shooter had been identified argued that Gustav Marx would have no way of knowing about the killing if he had not been involved.

While acknowledging that the case might be solved, the Journal reminded readers that “. . . all the [Chicago] bandits confessed to crimes which they never committed after having been promised tobacco, etc.”

On the afternoon of the executions, West Liberty Marshal R.J. Wiley communicated with the Cook County Sheriff in regards to the alleged confession. The latter knew nothing of it and was not inclined to believe it. The Journal concluded:

“Sheriff Wiley also thinks there is nothing in the confession. He says the Chicago sheriff said the bandits confessed to crimes all over the country and that it is not surprising that they confessed to the West Liberty killing.”

☛ Sad Case Never Resolved ☚

Arthur C. Mead, born September 26, 1876 to Rachel Hollingsworth and Aaron W. Mead, was buried by his grieving parents and siblings, Lee Roy and Minnie B., in the Oakridge Cemetery in West Liberty.

Despite the many leads, the multiple suspects, the intense searches, and the unflagging dedication of law enforcement, the killer of Arthur Mead was never brought to justice and what the Burlington Hawk-Eye called “. . . one of the most sensational and cold-blooded affairs ever enacted in eastern Iowa,” was never solved.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please note: Use of information from this article should credit Nancy Bowers as the author and Iowa Unsolved Murders: Historic Cases as the source.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

References

• ☛ “Admit Many Murders,” Morning Sun News-Herald, March 24, 1904, p. 2.
• ☛ “All Three Have Swung,” Burlington Evening Gazette, April 22, 1904, p. 1.
• ☛ “Another Murder Suspect,” Iowa State Press, August 28, p. 1.
• ☛ “Around A Big State,” (Estherville) Vindicator and Republican, June 5, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Around A Big State,” Sumner Gazette, June 4, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Arthur Mead shot down by a Cowardly Robber,” The West Liberty Enterprise” May 14, 1903.
• ☛ “Bandit At West Liberty Shoots And Kills Arthur C. Meade [sic] While Holding Up Restaurant There,” Muscatine Journal, May 14, 1903, p. 1
• ☛ “Bandit Was In Muscatine,” Muscatine Journal, May 14, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Bandit Wore Mask Made Of A Summer Lap Robe Found This Morning,” Muscatine Journal, May 15, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Bert Sheppard Is The Wayward Son Of A Rich Oskaloosa Family,” Muscatine Journal, August 12, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Blood Hounds [sic] On The Trail,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette,” May 19, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Bloodhounds On Trail,” Burlington Hawk-Eye, May 20, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Bloodhounds On Trail,” Iowa State Press, May 21, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Brief Iowa News,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, August 29, 1903, p. 9.
• ☛ “Case Given to Jury,” Iowa Postal Card, March 17, 1904, p. 10.
• ☛ “Charged With Murder,” Dubuque Daily Times,” May 28, 1903, p. 6.
• ☛ “Dogs Failed To Find Culprit,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, May 21, 1903, p. 7.
• ☛ “Doomed To The Gallows,” Monticello Express, March 17, 1904, p. 2.
• ☛ “A Foul Murder: Arthur Mead shot down by a Cowardly Robber,” West Liberty Enterprise, May 14, 1903.
• ☛ “Gay to Be Freed,” Burlington Hawk-Eye, May 30, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Gustav Marx, Car Barn Bandit, Makes Confession,” Rolf Reveille, March 17, 1904, p. 6.
• ☛ “Harry Gay Arrested: Charged with Murder of Arthur Mead at West Liberty,” Iowa State Press, May 26, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Harry Gay Has A Double Who Is Guilty,” Burlington Hawk-Eye, June 10, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Harry Gay Lodged In Jail At West Liberty,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, May 26, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Harry Gay Not Yet Released,” Burlington Hawk-Eye, June 5, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “The Hawkeye State: News Of The Week Precisely Condensed,” Carroll Sentinel, May 28, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “The Hawkeye State: News Of The Week Precisely Condensed,” Morning Sun News-Herald, May 28, 1903, p. 6.
• ☛ “The Hawkeye State: News Of The Week Precisely Condensed,” Nashua Reporter, May 28, 1903, p. 7.
• ☛ “The Hawkeye State: News Of The Week Precisely Condensed,” Parnell Iowa County Advertiser, May 29, 1903, p. 3.
• ☛ “Highwaymen Commit Murder,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, May 14, 1903, p. 5.
• ☛ “Joke May Prove Expensive,” Atlantic Semi-Weekly Telegraph, September 4, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Joke May Prove Expensive,” Greenfield-Adair County Democrat, September 3, 1903, p. 4.
• ☛ “Joke May Prove Expensive,” Le Mars Semi-Weekly Sentinel, September 4, 1903, p. 3.
• ☛ “Joke May Prove Expensive,” Malvern Leader,” September 3, 1903, p. 4.
• ☛ “Joke May Prove Expensive,” Webster City Tribune, September 4, 1903, p. 9.
• ☛ “Killed By A Robber,” Algona Courier, May 22, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Killed By A Robber,” Titonka Topic, May 21, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Know Nothing of It,” Muscatine Journal, April 22, 1904, p. 1.
• ☛ “Late Iowa News,” Morning Sun News-Herald, June 11, 1903, p. 4.
• ☛ “The Local News,” Iowa State Press, August 29, 1903, p. 8.
• ☛ “The Man Hunt,” Muscatine Journal, May 15, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Marx Says He Killed Art Meade [sic]: Street Car Barn Bandit Confesses To Foul Murder at Liberty, Iowa, In May 1903; Is It Fake Or Truth,” Muscatine Journal, April 22, 1904, p. 1.
• ☛ “May Fasten Crime on Marx,” Atlantic Daily Telegraph, March 29, 1904, p. 1.
• ☛ “Meade [sic] Murder Suspect Is Taken In This City And Proves To Be Son Of Wealthy Oskaloosa Man,” Muscatine Journal, August 12, 1903, p. 1 and p. 4.
• ☛ “The Murder Reward Raised,” Anita Republican, July 22, 1903, p. 3.
• ☛ “The Murder Reward Raised,” Chariton Democrat, July 23, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “A New Clew To The Murderer Found,” Dubuque Daily Times, May 21, 1903, p. 22.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Altoona Herald, May 21, 1903, p. 4.
• ☛ “Notes From the Capital,” Anita Republican, May 20, 1903, p. 3.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Chariton Democrat, May 21, 1903, p. 6.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Humboldt County Independent, May 21, 1903, p. 7.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Humeston New Era, May 27, 1903, p. 7.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Palo Alto Reporter, May 21, 1903, p. 7.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Pocahontas County Sun, May 21, 1903, p. 7.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Semi-Weekly Herald, May 23, 1903, p. 3.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Terril Tribune, May 22, 1903, p. 3.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Webster City Tribune, May 22, 1903, p. 8.
• ☛ “Notes From The Capital,” Weekly Tribune, May 22, 1903, p. 7.
• ☛ “Offer Two Hundred Dollars,” Muscatine Journal, May 14, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “People’s Pulpit,” F.E. Thomas, Muscatine Journal, May 28, 1903, p. 3.
• ☛ Pocahontas Democrat, May 21, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Postponed Again: Harry Gay’s Trial Now Set for Next Tuesday,” Muscatine Journal, June 3, 1903, p. 8.
• ☛ “Reward for Mead’s Slayer,” Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette,” May 18, 1903, p. 7.
• ☛ “Shepherd [sic] Denies Guilt: Man Accused of Murdering Mead Says He Is Innocent,” Burlington Hawk-Eye, August 13, 1903, p. 2.
• ☛ “Sheppard Is Not The Man,” Muscatine Journal, August 12, 1903, p. 4.
• ☛ “Stands Poor Show,” Muscatine Journal, May 14, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Story Of The Murder,” Muscatine Journal, August 12, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Story Of The Tragedy,” Muscatine Journal, May 14, 1903, p. 1.
• ☛ “Thinks Marx Killed Meade,” Muscatine Journal, March 17, 1904, p. 7.
• ☛ Tom Mead, Photograph from findagrave.
• ☛ Tom Norris, Personal Correspondence, June 2017.
• ☛ “Trailing Suspect: Believed Murderer of Arthur Meade [sic] Will Be Taken,” Dubuque Daily Times, May 27, 1903, p. 2:
• ☛ U.S. Census.
• ☛ “A Week’s News,” Fairfield Ledger, April 27, 1904, p. 3.
• ☛ “The West Liberty Crime,” Burlington Hawk-Eye, May 16, 1903, p. 4:
• ☛ West Liberty Enterprise, August 27, 1903.