By Stan Brown

Rachel Berry’s 20-year-old son, Wiley, had just been killed by two cattlemen brothers, Zechariah and John Booth, while driving his father’s sheep from St. Johns to the Salt River Valley for winter grazing. Wiley Berry and Juan Vigil, the 16-year-old son of their hired sheepherder, Santiago Vigil, were both shot as they ate breakfast at their sheep camp near Gisela (south of Payson), early on December 22, 1903.

After the shooting, Zechariah Booth was busy covering his murderous deed. He went back to the scene of the murders and arranged it "his way." Then he gathered a group of his friends, telling them to get over to the murder scene to be sure nothing was moved (from the way he had arranged it!). He told them, "I’ve been in a shooting scrape up at a sheep camp…that man tried to get me but I got him. I’m afraid if they get there first they might move the arms and put different features on the scene."

The Booth brothers were apprehended and the next day, Justice of the Peace, J. O. Hill, arrived in Gisela from Payson to hold a coroner’s inquest. The jury rode out to the scene of the murders, viewed the evidence, then put the two bodies on horses and took them back to Gisela. Wiley Berry had been shot twice in the chest; Juan had five bullet holes. Zechariah was sure he could get off with a claim of self-defense. He planned to protect his brother, John, from any implication in the crime because he was married and had seven children. Zechariah had no family.

That was the usual defense when, in that wilderness country, there were no eye witnesses to a shooting. The killer would insist that the dead man shot first. However, Zechariah’s claim that his brother, John, was nowhere around and that the herders had shot first did not add up with the evidence. Horse tracks revealed two riders. Santiago Vigil identified the brothers as the two who had approached him before riding to Berry’s camp. Santiago had heard the shots and saw both men leave the scene.

Santiago described the scene which did not match what the jury found. Wiley’s rifle was under his right arm rather than several feet from the body when Santiago had arrived within minutes of the shooting. The gun had recently been fired, which Zechariah had done when he returned to set up the scene. The jury was wise enough to know that he had plenty of time to make these changes. The brothers were charged with murder.

The boys were buried in the Gisela Cemetery on Christmas Eve and the Booth brothers were taken to Payson in custody. Payson had no jail, so they were chained to the big oak tree on Main Street until the sheriff could come from Globe and take them to the county jail. This was not their first scrape with the law. Convicted of miscellaneous crimes, both brothers had served time in the territorial prison at Yuma, along with another brother, Nick.

A posse left Payson with the prisoners for the 80-mile trip to Globe. On their way through the Tonto Basin, they crossed paths with Wiley’s father on his way to retrieve the body of his murdered son. When Wiley had not returned home as expected for the holiday, the family wrote to him at Gisela. The postmaster, John Holder, intercepted the letter, returning it with a note informing the family of the tragedy. The confrontation on the trail was only momentary and both parties continued on their way as William called out, "Are these the beasts who murdered my son?"

In Gisela, William found that both bodies had been exhumed for autopsies to obtain additional evidence regarding the direction the shots had been fired. Wiley’s body was then released to his father for burial in St. Johns and Juan was reburied at Gisela.

The Booth brothers were indicted by the Grand Jury and their trail began on June 17, 1904. Their previous crimes did not help their pleas of innocence. They had served time for burglary, grand larceny, changing brands on cattle, assaults with intent to kill, perjury and now, murder. Zechariah Booth was found guilty of the murders and sentenced to death by hanging. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on John Booth and he was released. A series of appeals postponed carrying out the death sentence until the morning of September 16, 1905. It was the last time anyone was hanged in Gila County, Arizona.

Wiley Berry’s mother, Rachel, took up the gauntlet for the welfare of children. Driven by this deep personal loss, she determined to have an influence in the new state. She was instrumental in gaining the right to vote and hold office for Arizona women in 1912, a full eight years before national women’s suffrage. After serving in the legislature from 1915 to 1917, she returned to St. Johns and continued to lead civic organizations in causes concerning women and children. She became chair of Apache County’s Child Welfare Board and was president of her church’s Relief Society. She also served as a trustee of the school in St. Johns.

Five of her seven children survived her. All of them were teachers and active in educational fields. Daughter Alice carried on the political torch as a reporter during the state’s constitutional convention, 1910-1912 and also in the House of Representatives during the first state legislature in 1912. In 1915, Alice served as clerk of the lower house where her mother was a member, the first elected woman legislator in the U. S. In 1928, like her mother before her, Alice became an elected member of the Arizona State Legislature.

Up until her death "Grandma," as friends and family called her, was active with the Mormon Church, sewing for relief projects and making quilts for all 18 of her grandchildren. She attended concerts and lectures regularly. She had a remarkable memory and excellent judgment and was a favorite with family of all ages. She stayed up on current events and expressed her opinion on many of them. She "wouldn’t dream of becoming just an old lady with nothing to do." Even in regard to fashion she noted, at age 89, "Modern women have more sense than to want to wear their skirts so long that they drag the streets. I had enough of long skirts when I was a girl. My dresses suit me when they’re just a little below the knee, and I hope sincerely that styles never take the hemline to the ankle again."

Rachel Berry died Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1948 at her winter home in Phoenix at age 89. She is interred at St. Johns Cemetery, Apache County. The Berry’s were a family that experienced both great achievements and great sorrows. Wiley was murdered. All of daughter Jennie’s children drowned when the Lyman Dam broke. Rachel’s 5th child, born in 1889, lived only 16 days. William served as Apache County sheriff and was killed in a car crash in 1925 which crippled Rachel.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(Courtesy St. Johns Historical Society and Museum) Reuse only by permission.

The Berry family, c.1892. Front: William, Gerald, Jennie (behind Gerald), Rachel, Eulalia (on Rachel’s lap). Rear: Alice, Levenia and Wiley.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(Courtesy AZ State Library and Archives) Reuse only by permission.

Rachel Berry, c.1930.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(Courtesy St. Johns Historical Society and Museum) Reuse only by permission.

On March 11, 1948, family and friends gathered for Rachel’s 89th birthday in Phoenix as reported in the Phoenix Gazette. A mere 8 months later, her obituary would appear in the same newspaper. She had lived a long and productive life.