The Death of Marshall Fleshman

The attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, the first moon landing, and the 9/11 attack on New York and the Pentagon are all days that can be recalled by those who experienced them. It is human nature, when events are tragic and dramatic, for the memory to remain sharp and clear as to the details for that person’s lifetime.

For those living in the Promise land, north of Wallowa, April 6, 1926, was such an event. Interviewing the elderly Promise-raised citizens many years after the event was to live the horror of the day over again in exacting detail–for this was the day Marshall Fleshman died. His death was not ordinary. It seemed too cruel for a man respected and admired, a Father with a young family.

Fleshman was a young, good looking man, a farmer, a leader in the local Grange, married with three children. He was a part of the large West Virginian-born group of families that settled the area after the turn of the century. His parents, James and Nancy Susan Fleshman, had traveled west, following her parents, George W. and Delilah Carper from Raleigh County. Most of his neighbors were immediate family, cousins, or other West Virginians. When it came time to marry, he chose Nellie Phillips, a daughter of JC and Emily Phillips, one of the first two settlers in Promise. The young couple had four children, Raymond, Ronald, Edith and Herbert.

Spring time meant plowing and planting, and Fleshman had more than his share of work to do. On that fateful day, he was clearing a quarter section of land directly north of the cemetery, near the farm he had homesteaded for his family. His horses were high strung, not totally broken, and had run away with the plow several days before.

The day was beautiful, sharp and clear. Nellie, busy with her children and chores, had no sense of an impending tragedy. The footpaths in the area were busy. School was in session and it was the time of morning when children were walking to the one room school near the cemetery.

Suddenly, something alarmed the horses. “Spooked” is the term usually used with animals. Was there a cougar in the area? A bear, perhaps? Were the horses just unmanageable? We will never know the answer. The sight that greeted Nellie when she stopped her work to check on the commotion in the front yard was truly a horrible sight. Here were the sweating horses, having plunged through a woven wire fence to reach the yard. This restraint was the only thing that had finally stopped them.

Behind the horses and plow was the body of her husband, unrecognizable. The horses had drug him–how far, no one knows. His body was beaten and bloody from the rough, rocky ground. His clothing had been ripped away.

Nellie had no need to call for help. Neighbors across the way had seen the body being dragged and were at this moment running for the Fleshman home. Several children on the footpaths had witnessed the horror and alerted the adults at the school. Someone astride a swift horse hurried to Maxville to alert the Bowman-Hicks company doctor, Dr TenBrock.

Those at the scene knew immediately that Fleshman was beyond help. When the doctor did arrive, he was able to pronounce that devastating head injuries were the cause of death.

This was a defining event for the little close-knit community. This was especially true to those who were children at the time. The late Lola Gorbett McDonald, when interviewed late in her life, still had exact memories of the day. She had been one of the children on the footpath. Her parents hurried her to the Fleshman home so that she could watch the small children while the adults sheltered Nellie in her shock and took care of the body.

Cousin Bertie Carper Prince could also recall the event 70 years later. She had witnessed the accident and it tormented her.

Life stopped for a while in the Promise land.

The community supported Nellie as she continued to raise her children alone and keep up the farm. Eventually she left, and was able to find work in larger communities near family. Her children prospered as well.

Prepared and written by Marilyn Hulse. Sourced from 1980s interviews with several Promise-raised individuals, and from the writings of Orvalla Carper Hafer.