Deputy Sheriff John Sydney Dugan

John Sydney Dugan

On Monday, November 27, 1905, Deputy Sheriffs John Sydney Dugan and John W. Wilson went to arrest a man. The suspect shot at the deputies 6 to 7 times. Deputy Wilson accidentally shot Deputy Dugan in the crossfire. The newspaper noted the man was arrested, but his name and any disposition on the case is unknown at this time. The newspaper stated the wound was not necessarily fatal. However, on Wednesday, November 29, 1905, Dugan died from his wounds. As was the custom of the time, Deputy Wilson was charged with murder and posted bond.

John Sydney Dugan had been 48 years of age just 9 days when he died. He was survived by his wife, Alice Thacker Dugan, and seven children. Three children had died as infants. He was buried next to his mother, Mary Ann Dugan, and three infant children in the Kellyville Cemetery in Marion County.

Deputy Sheriff John W. Wilson was still on bond for the death of Dugan when on Saturday, March 24, 1906, Wilson was shot and beaten to death in his home near the Comet community in Marion County. Wilson and his family were tenants on the farm of John Coffman. One of Coffman’s sons married one of Wilson’s daughters. The boy left his wife and bad blood existed between the families. John Coffman and his son, Ben, were convicted of the murder. John Coffman received 20 years in prison and Ben Coffman received 40 years in prison.