James Maney Shot

James Maney, a former Washington county man and well known in this county was shot and killed while on duty as a watchman at the Douglas county fair grounds on Monday night.

Mr. Maney was reared from boyhood in this county and until about seven or eight years ago lived on his farm seven miles south of Blair by the Maney school.

He has relatives in the county, among them being the Barry, Mackin and Foley families.

Below is a reproduction of the account of the murder given in the Omaha Daily Bee:

James Maney, 54, former chief of police in Benson, was shot from ambush at the Douglas county fair grounds late last night, and died a few moments later at his home, 2701 North Fifty-eighth street, in the arms of his wife.

Before he died, Maney, who had been employed as night watchman during the last week, told Dr. B. W. Hall, William Grothe and others, that a man hiding behind a pile of lumber in the fair grounds shot him down. He died without being able to make further explanation. He was only shot once, the bullet entering his left breast and going out in back through his shoulder. Death resulted from loss of blood.

After being shot, Maney staggered several hundred yards to the street and halted a passing street car by firing off his revolver several times. The street car crew halted and helped him aboard and assisted him to his home, which was a dozen blocks away from the scene of the shooting.

Dr. Hall was at hand when he was brought home, but Maney’s condition was such that nothing could be done to save him. After telling his family and others that he had been shot by a man hiding behind a lumber pile in the fair grounds near Lyck park, he bade his family goodbye and died.

A lumber thief is supposed to be the murderer.

W. B. Wright, speed superintendent for the Fair association, hired Maney to guard the lumber left after the county fair was over several weeks ago. Some of it was being sold daily and Maney’s job would have lasted only a few days more, at the most. When Mr. Wright put him on the job, he warned him that lumber thieves had already stolen much of the lumber, and would probably attempt to take more.

Maney replied that no lumber would be taken while he was on the job.

Sheriff McShane, Deputy Joe Wright and Chief Jim Hughes of Benson trailed the blood several hundred yards. The lumber pile behind which the murderer shot, is located in the middle of the big field. The first blood clots on the ground showed that Maney was less than half a dozen feet away from the lumber pile when he was shot. His own flashlight was found near the lumber.

It is supposed he had discovered the lumber thief at work and was charging him in the dark when the thief eluded him and took refuge behind the pile of boards, and when Maney came past, fired at him to stop him.

Maney had been chief of police in Benson for over seven years. The present administration, after a legal battle, ousted him and put James Hughes in his place. In spite of the fact that hard feelings were caused at the time, the suggestion that political or other enemies, and not a lumber thief might have murdered him, is not entertained for a moment by his friends and relatives.

Besides his wife, who was Miss Ellen McMahon of Omaha, four children survive. They are James, Francis, Marie and Edna, the latte being the eldest. A sister-in-law, Mrs. John McMahon, lives in Lincoln.

The body was turned over to the Leo Hoffman undertaking firm for burial preparation.

When the Omaha police heard of the murder, Acting Captain Madsen at central station refused to send men to Benson to help hunt for the murderer. He said the crime occurred just out of the city limits and Omaha authorities could do nothing. Heretofore, any big crime in Benson has always had immediate attention from the Omaha police. The shooting took place at 11 o’clock and the Omaha police were not notified until 1 o’clock.

The funeral services will be held in Benson on tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock and the body attended by an automobile procession will be brought to Blair for interment in the Blair cemetery.

Note: James is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Blair, NE in Blk 9 Lt 5 Sp 3; death date was 8 Nov 1915.

Pilot 10 Nov 1915

James Maney, for many years a resident of this county was shot while guarding the Douglas county fair grounds at about 11 o’clock Sunday night, and died shortly after being taken to his home at 2701 N 48th Avenue in Benson. It is believed he was shot by a thief who was attempting to steal some of the lumber that had been used for booths during the recent fair. Four arrests have been made of those suspected of the crime. Funeral services will be held at St. Bernards Catholic church in Benson at 8:30 tomorrow morning and it is planned to bring the body to the Blair cemetery for burial in an auto hearse. Mr. Maney lived out by the Maney school house for many years and still owned the old farm. He went to Benson some years ago. He was a brother of Mrs. Mike Barry and married a sister of the late John McMahon. He leaves a wife and four children.

Pilot 17 Nov 1915

Owing to the heavy rains last Wednesday a special train of three coaches came up from Omaha last Thursday to bring the body of Jas. Maney and the funeral party. The train arrived at about noon and returned at 3 o’clock. Jas. E. Maher was one of the pall bearers.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

Find a Grave #131307483