Looking for Clara Haney, burned to death in Tennessee

[annafine]

I'm looking for any info about a woman named Clara Haney who died in a fire in Cocke County, Tennessee. I don't know the exact date, but my estimate is that it happened between 1870-1890.

My gr gr grandfather confessed on his deathbed in 1913 to murdering 4 people and it made the national papers across the US. In the newspaper accounts of his death, one of his supposed victims, Clara Haney, had a coroner's inquest into her death that returned a verdict of accidental death by fire, but that several people were arrested in conjunction with her death, although I'm not sure my gr gr grandfather was one of them. I don't know any of their names.

I'm trying to determine when and where this woman died. I can't confirm she existed based on searches I have done, but given the language in these newspaper accounts of my gr gr grandfather's confession, it appears that some records must exist--either the coroner's inquest, arrest records, or newspaper accounts from when this fire occurred.

Can anyone help? Thank you! 

[Lisa in California]

Hi annafine:

I've not yet found anything (and may not), but I have been looking around.  May I ask, please, why you think this may have happened during 1870-1890?  Also, does anyone know if your ancestor left the state; could the supposed killing have occurred in a neighbouring state?  Have you checked out the other reported murder (where he supposedly lured an unknown stranger to his death) to see if that story is true?

Update:  I found a newspaper (May 6, 1913) in which it was stated that the kerosene murder happened about 20 years ago.  The Bradshaw killing apparently occurred ten years prior to the newspaper report.  Have you been able to verify the Bradshaw date?  If that date is incorrect, perhaps the fire story date might also be incorrect.

[annafine]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you so much for your reply!

The article you found is the source for my belief that it happened in Wilsonville, TN (near Newport).

I have not checked out the other murder where he lured the stranger to his death, because there is so little to go on.

I have been able to verify the Bradshaw date, and it is incorrect in the newspaper article--my ancestor killed John Bradshaw in 1888 and we have court records of his trial which reached the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1889. So they were off by over 20 years. That's what's making it so hard to determine the date.

[Lisa in California]

Thank you for the additional information.  So, we'll definitely not pay too much attention to Ms. Haney's supposed date of death.  I'll have another look around.

[Lisa in California]

I am still not finding anything.  Would you still know the source of the account that stated her death was accidental, please?  I have not yet found a write-up about it.  I am hoping there might be leads within the article.

Also, since we have not found her before her death, have you tried to find her surviving family in 1900?  I've started brief searches for Haney's, but without knowing exactly where she lived, it might not be the best use of time.  Also, Clara could have been her name, but could she have used a nickname during any census taking.   

One last thought, do you remember how many articles contained her surname, please?  My husband has an ancestor who had a claim against him (which was overturned, thankfully) and the other party's name changed slightly, depending upon which newspaper ran the story. 

[Lisa in California]

I found one article, but it is on a pay site and I cannot read the actual image.  It was from The Wichita Daily Eagle, Wichita, Kansas.  Saturday, May 10, 1913.

Snippets from the article:
20 years ago Mrs. Haney "went from Newport to Wilsonville".  In Wilsonville, she met up with "a crowd of boys".  She was found, deceased, the following morning, on a cabin floor.  The boys were cleared by the coroner's jury as they felt she had fallen asleep too close to the fire.

The article also mentioned that Mr. Fine poured coal oil on Mrs. Haney while she was sleeping and then set fire to her clothing.  There is one more sentence possibly about the fire, but the letters are jumbled, so I'm not sure if it was regarding the fire or the next topic, which was about his aunt.

Also, I found a short article earlier tonight and I dismissed it, as I didn't think it was about this event.  I will try to find it again later tonight.

[annafine]

I am still not finding anything.  Would you still know the source of the account that stated her death was accidental, please?  I have not yet found a write-up about it.  I am hoping there might be leads within the article.

Also, since we have not found her before her death, have you tried to find her surviving family in 1900?  I've started brief searches for Haney's, but without knowing exactly where she lived, it might not be the best use of time.  Also, Clara could have been her name, but could she have used a nickname during any census taking.   

One last thought, do you remember how many articles contained her surname, please?  My husband has an ancestor who had a claim against him (which was overturned, thankfully) and the other party's name changed slightly, depending upon which newspaper ran the story.

Hey Lisa,

Looks like you found the account where it stated the death was accidental, but I will gather up today all the articles that mention this that I'm aware of and post them here.

I have looked for her surviving family to no avail so far, but there are Haneys in that area as well as Haynies. It's also hard to see the letters on one account and it looks a bit like Hancy, but it may be an "e" that is obscured.

I'll look more into this and post what I find later today...thanks again for your help!

[Lisa in California]

Most likely there isn't a connection, but I didn't want to dismiss this (like I did with the other article I read yesterday)...
Tennessee State Marriage
Clara Morris married a Michaux Fine 6 Dec 1888, Cocke County, TN
There are two signatures on the page: Michaux Fine (L.S.) and William Fine (L.S.)
While the surname isn't Haney, perhaps she married a Mr. Fine first then married a Mr. Haney?  Also, Clara was written four times on the page and it looks like each time it was written, the name could have been Clare, with the e changed to a.

PS  You're welcome for the help - I just wish we could find something.   

[annafine]

Very interesting! Michaux was his brother. I will look into this further as well.