Joseph Aaron Usher (portrait, ~1820); Joseph Aaron Usher Jr’s father; heritage Native American and Irish
“I did not know there was a murder mystery in my mother’s family,” Nancy Panoch writes.
Neither did I!
Joseph Usher was the great-uncle of my mother; his younger brother William was my mom’s great-grandfather, making Nancy Panoch a distant cousin. I met Nancy at a Barnes and Noble book signing, bought a signed copy of “Accountable,” and learned more about my ancestors. GREAT story–of love and family, mystery and murder, and details of a 1903 trial that is still studied by law students today.
“Not long ago,”Nancy writes, “In the process of exploring my American Indian ancestry, I stumbled on information about that murder and asked for more. … in trying to defend the man who committed the crime, this story grabbed hold of me with a passion I could not let go until I finished writing … becoming an author never occurred to me until this story of love, betrayal and murder took hold of me … I have been working on my ACCOUNTABLE: THE JOSEPH USHER STORY for five years. I looked up the word ‘guilt’ and ‘accountable’ came up. I knew immediately what the name of my book would be because Joseph Usher was accountable for this murder.”
In May of 1903, a hired hand is murdered in the night, in a bed in the house on the dairy farm of Joseph Usher and his family on the outskirts of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Nancy Panoch introduces the reader to Joseph, his second wife, and his two youngest sons by his first wife. Otto, at 16, is a sturdy and reliable worker on the farm, a good role model for his 9-year-old brother. The woman of the house is Lucy, a very young woman Joseph had married some time after the death of his first wife. Lucy shows some signs of mental instability.
**Buy the ebook for $3.99 by clicking on this link: Accountable by Nancy Panoch
William Garrity is a farm hand and a good friend, when he’s not drunk. On May 26, Garrity, staying at the Usher home following a drinking bout, is killed. At first, it seems as if he died of natural causes, but then a bullet wound is discovered.
Most of the book “Accountable” is a record of the trial, with detailed testimony over a prolonged period. Circumstantial evidence puts Joseph Usher in jail for a few years (he’s released on good behavior).
With a successful motion for a new trial, further developments stretch on into 1909. Young Otto takes on the role of running the family business and keeping the family together. Tense relations between the Ushers and Lucy’s family soften.
The primary mystery is the motive. Was it really Joseph who shot Garrity? Why would he? If he didn’t pull the trigger, who did?
All the character witnesses asserted Joseph was a good, upstanding man, not someone who’d commit premeditated murder.
— From a review by Phil Jason, Ph. D., United States Naval Academy professor emeritus of English. Read the complete and unedited review here in the Fort Meyers Florida Weekly.
The paperback is out of print, but you can find copies at bookfinder.com.
5 star review: My Ancestor’s Tale on March 30, 2013 Verified Purchase
This book is written about my Great Grandfather and Great Great Grandfather. It is a fascinating story that was not discussed in our family, and when I learned that this sad story was being written – I can honestly say that I had no knowledge of the events that took place some 110 years ago! I always knew my father’s family to be hard working, devoted, God fearing people – who never hesitated to lend a neighbor or friend a helping hand, and I can only imagine the hardship and isolation that this ordeal caused the whole family at that time. My ancestors were no-nonsense folk who did not partake in idle gossip or openly discuss any type of scandal. I can now understand why that happened to be the case. I knew my Great Grandfather Otto, who is one of the central characters in this tale. He was a man with a great deal of wisdom that most probably was gained by battling the challenges that life presents. He was just a young man when his father was tried for the murder of Bill Garrity. I can only imagine how that horrible experience forced him to age beyond his years. This book is a testament to what a good man he was and remained throughout his life of beyond 90 years.
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