| Name |
William Lee WINDER [1, 2] |
| Census |
1883 |
, Columbia, Washington, USA  |
| Washington State and Territorial |
| Birth |
1 Sep 1883 |
Covello, Columbia, Washington, USA [2] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Census |
Apr 1887 |
, Garfield, Washington, USA [3] |
| cemetery |
1911 |
Dayton, Columbia, Washington, USA |
| Dayton Cemetery |
| obituary |
Feb 1911 |
William Lee Winder 1883-1911
William Lee Winder was born in January 1883 in Dayton, Columbia county, Washington to Francis Nelson "Frank" Winder and Mary Eliza (Whetstone) Winder.
His siblings included; three children who died in childhood - Ida May Winder, Thomas William Jefferson Winder, John Marcellis Winder, Alice Mariah (Winder) Gemmell Arnott, Delilah "Lila" (Winder) Wood, Eliza Jane "Jennie" (Winder) Burks, Francis Cleveland Winder, Charles V. Winder and Laura Edna (Winder) Stephens.
William married Bessie Luella Dunlap in 1907. She was the daughter of David Finley Dunlap and Mary Ann (Crawford) Dunlap.
They became parents to two children; Infant Winder and June Iloa (Winder) Seebeck.
William murdered his wife and her sister, Hattie (Dunlap) Rinehard on February 9, 1911 and then committed suicide.
Prior to his suicide, he had taken his seven month old daughter, June Iloa Winder, to a nearby neighbor to care for her until family arrived. This child was raised by William's sister, Alice Mariah (Winder) Gemmell Arnott and her husband, Joseph Frank Gemmell. |
| article |
11 Feb 1911 |
Dayton, Columbia, Washington, USA |
The Dayton Daily News Newspaper, Dayton, Columbia County, Washington, dated (Saturday) February 11, 1911.
A Terrible Tragedy
Wm. Winder Kills Wife, Sister-in-Law and Self
Eilliam Winder, formerly of Dayton, but for more than a year past has been residing near Joseph, Oregon, Thursday morning at 11 o'clock, murdered his wife and her sister, Mrs. Fred Rhinehart, and afterward committed suicide at the latter place. No cause for the tragedy is known, as Winder and his wife had always lived agreeably together during their three years of married life. Mr. and Mrs. Winder had one child, a baby girl eight months old.
Winder was born at Dayton and spent most of his life there. About a year ago last November, he went to Joseph, Ore., where he was engaged by his brother-in-law, Fred Rhinehart, to assist him in operating a cattle ranch about six miles from Joseph. Rhinehart was formerly a prominent farmer in the Dayton country. During the holiday season just past, Winder and his family visited at Dayton with relatives, returning to Joseph only a few weeks ago, and at that time there was no indication that there had ever been any trouble between him and his wife.
Frank Gemmell, a brother-in-law of Winder, and Charles Shaffer, a closest friend of the Rhineharts, passed through Walla Walla Thursday night on their way to Joseph. They had not heard any of the details of the tragedy further than that Winder had shot his wife and her sister, Mrs. Rhinehart, killing both, and had then shot himself.
The murdered women were daughters of Mr. and Mrs. D. F. Dunlap, of Egypt, Wash., who until recently lived in Dayton, being a pioneer family of the Touchet valley. Mrs. Rinhart was aged about 30 years. She leaves no children. Mrs. Winder was about 25 years of age, and the husband and suicide was aged about 28 years. Winder's mother resides at Dayton.
Messrs. Gemmell and Shaffer were wholly at a loss to explain the tragedy, unless that Winder had been seized with sudden insanity, as he had always been a quiet, trustworthy young man, who appeared to think a great deal of his wife. They could give no information as to what disposition would probably be made of the bodies at this time, as the bare statement of the facts in a telegram from the operator at Joseph was all the information they had received. |
| Death |
15 Feb 1911 |
Joseph, Wallowa, Oregon, USA [2] |
| Cause: Self-inflicted gunshot wound |
| article |
17 Feb 1911 |
Wallowa, Wallowa, Oregon, USA |
The Wallowa Sun Recorder Newspaper, Wallowa, Wallowa County, Oregon, dated (Friday) February 17, 1911.
Double Murder and Suicide
Shooting Follows Quarrel; Child Only One Allowed to Survive
WINDER KILLS SELF BY SIDE OF WIFE
The Excited Murderer Thinks of His Little Child Before Taking His Own Life
The was a wholesale murder and suicide six miles east of Joseph last Thursday.
H.R. Haisten the licensed embalmer of Wallowa was called in to take charge of the bodies and gives us the following account of the sad affair as he found it when he arrived which is on the same lines as the coroner's jury found a verdict: It appears that Winder and his wife were not on the best of terms, that she had been sick for some time and that he, Winder, did not want his wife to take medicine, Winder came into the bed room and shot his wife from over the head of the bed, the ball entering the top of her head, then another shot in her forehead. At this time it is supposed that Mrs. Winder's sister, Mrs. Rinehart came on the scene and he turned the 38 revolver on her, shooting her in the mouth, and killing her instantly. Then Winder's picked up his seven months old child which was on the bed by the side of its dead mother and carried it to their closest neighbor, Mr. Richards and told them what he had done and asked them to care for the little one till his people came to take care of it; that he too would shortly join the dead. He returned home and climbing over the dead body of his wife lay down beside her shot her again in the temple, then turned the gun on his own brains and ending his misguided life.
Mr. Rinehart had left early in the morning for a load of wood and knew nothing of the terrible tragedy till a messenger was dispatched for him.
Winder was about 31, his wife about 24 and Mrs. Rinehart about 33 years old. Mr. and Mrs. Rinehart were childless.
The maiden name of the murdered women was Dunlop and they were well and favorably known in this section of the country.
Winder came to this section of the country from Dayton, Wash., last fall to work for his brother-in-law, Mr. Rinehart who owns a large ranch where the tragedy accurred.
The funeral was held from the I.O.O.F. hall in Joseph Sudany morning at 10:30 a.m. The Rev. Crockett preaching the funeral service for the triple funeral. |
| _UID |
D1BAC7D160F74A09920D493BA0A321F3472D |
| Burial |
- Informant: Mary E. Winder
|
| Person ID |
I17666 |
WinderWonderland |
| Last Modified |
24 Mar 2016 |
1883 - 1911 (27 years)
