By Parker Anderson
In September of 1912, miner Robert Meador, who was working claims near the Senator Mine, was passing along a steep grade on the Hassayampa, about a quarter of a mile from the mine. Meador had been a long time pioneer resident of Yavapai County, and had long had a string of ill luck wherein he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Years earlier, working as jailor for Yavapai County, he had been ambushed by prisoners James Parker and two cohorts in their legendary jailbreak. Since then, Meador had several other instances wherein he found bodies out in the country, or was in the middle of things when fights broke out. This fine autumn day would be no different.
Climbing the steep grade on the Hassayampa, Meador discovered a corpse lying under some oak brush. A gun was found beside the corpse, and a suicide note was found in his coat. The body was in an advanced state of decay, and when coroner Charles McLane and undertaker Lester Ruffner made their examination of the remains, they concluded that the man had been dead for at least six months.
The suicide note indicated that the dead man had been a practitioner of "spiritism," and that his obsession with these beliefs had driven him insane. His suicide note read: "Will Morfia from the air in a small jar. Mind within me, I am obliged to commit suicide to avoid a brutal attack by the spirits from the spirit world. When you leave my body, through the bullet hole in my head, and come into conscious being, will-by an effort of the will-that I wake up so that I, as you-both in one-may fly to some very distant point, probably South America, where we have often had to escape, and that, too, without delay. Do not speak to the spirit voices around my head, and if you see spirits, silence them by the power of your will" The note was signed: Malcolm Matheson.
After Matheson was found, miners from the area came forward and confirmed what the suicide note implied-that the man was not all right in the head, and that he talked incoherently about spirits and how they helped him locate mines of great wealth. He also was prone to walking around at night, talking to himself, and keeping the other miners awake.
The miners believed that Matheson had relatives in California, and Lester Ruffner was successful in locating a brother and sister of the deceased. The family requested that he be buried locally, and consequently, the troubled and tortured Malcolm Matheson was laid to rest in Citizen's Cemetery.
As we look around some of the famous landmarks in Prescott, the mind often doesn't comprehend how long they've been there. And, if they've been there a long time, doesn't it stand to reason that they have stories to tell? Oftentimes, they are sad stories, usually forgotten today, but that should be remembered. I'll relate two such stories.
In the early 20th century, the City of Prescott often staged big celebrations over the Labor Day weekend, often comparable to the July 4th doings. It was this way in 1912, when a large carnival and party were held in the Courthouse Square, among other celebrations. Everyone was having a good time. This festive atmosphere was marred when a 16 year old girl, Sarah Marshall, who was playing and jumping and cavorting with her sisters and other young girls, suddenly dropped dead beside the base of the Buckey O'Neill Rough Rider Monument.
The Prescott Journal Miner of September 4, 1912 reported that Miss Marshall "was seen to strike with her foot the tube of the geological survey [marker] beside the statue, giving the altitude of the city," and afterward "fell to the grass plot near the west side of the Rough Rider Monument, and in less than five minutes later was a corpse."
Dr. H. T. Southworth was summoned but it was too late. As medicine had not progressed to the level it has today, it was unclear what caused the sudden death of young Sarah Marshall. Her father reported that she had "trivial heart problems," but otherwise enjoyed good health. Sarah was laid to rest in Mountain View Cemetery.
Around this time, the Elks Opera House (which was already starting to be referred to as the Elks Theatre) had launched into a period where they were booking small-time traveling vaudeville acts and showing the "latest moving pictures." They were open 7 nights a week and typically had vaudeville acts and a 1/2 hour of "moving pictures." The Elks management also occasionally retained local performers.
One of these local performers was a violinist named Professor Stanislaus Scherzel. He had been booked temporarily at the Elks, and when he expressed interest in staying in Prescott, the Elks kept him on to play violin numbers every night. Professor Scherzel became very popular.
But all was not well with Professor Scherzel, who was subject to fits of depression. On August 25, 1912, the violinist was walking home, accompanied by a friend, Fred Ellis. He made a social stop at the office of the Journal Miner and continued on. Ellis and others with whom he came in contact all said later that he was in good spirits.
After arriving home accompanied by Ellis, Professor Scherzel got into an argument with his wife. The embarrassed Ellis was contemplating an exit when he heard a gunshot. Scherzel had gone into another room and put a bullet through his heart.
In the days that followed, some of Scherzel's friends realized that he had previously displayed warning signs of suicidal depression, but as is normal in such cases, the friends were unable to recognize the signs for what they were until it was too late. Scherzel, at age thirty-seven, was also buried in Mountain View Cemetery.
(Parker Anderson researches meticulously at the Archives of the Sharlot Hall Museum. The Blue Rose Theater presents "Stolen From the Grave" a story behind a theft will wrap-up on the 27th and 28th. Call 445-3122 for details.)
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(pb164f4i1). Reuse only by permission.
Two of the people, a young girl and a violinist, mentioned in this article who died unusual deaths in 1912 were buried at the Mountain View Cemetery. This photo of the entrance of Mountain View was made in 1910 shortly after the cemetery was started.