The Bender Tragedy

by Mary York, Kristin Schodorf, Julie Phelps

This book contains The Bender Tragedy, and is a reprint from JUNE 8, 1875. It is written by Mary E. York, and is a descriptive firsthand account of the murder of her husband, by the Benders of Cherryvale. It surmises the Bloody Benders tragedy where so many people were murdered. Both the Longcor and York murder victims were neighbors of famous author Laura Ingalls Wilder when she lived in Kansas. The Longcors lived half a mile from Laura Ingalls Wilder, and are now buried on the Little House on the Prairie Museum property since 1873. The Bender family lived in a small house on the Osage Road, and killed travelers on that road. When one too many people were noticed to have gone missing, people started to search. This is that story, written from the wife of one of the missing victims. This is her story.

It also contains two articles about the Bloody Bender saga. The other articles are from the 1910 Celebrated Criminal Cases of America, and the 1893 History of Labette County. There are many pictures of the scene and relative artifacts surrounding the Bender murders.

177 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2022