That is the name of an online true story in Ancestry Magazine written by Ellen Notbohm is a three-time ForeWord Book of the Year finalist and frequent contributor to Ancestry magazine. Read her articles at her website.

The story is about Even Paulson on whose tombstone (above) at Mayville, North Dakota, is inscribed:

Even Paulson
Born Dec. 29, 1862
Killed while on duty
As Night watchman at
Mayville, N.D.
Sept. 3, 1893
1 o’clock a.m.

Here are excerpts from the story.

Even Paulson was born in Seljord, Norway. He arrived in Quebec in 1884. He then went to Granite Falls, Minnesota. Filed Declaration of Intention papers in Yellow Medicine County.

In 1892 he went to Traill County, North Dakota. May 13, 1892 Judge William McConnell granted him full citizenship.

He became a Mayville Deputy Marshal. Harold Wenaas in his book Stener, the Sheriff from Telemark, “he could talk unruly toughs and drunks into voluntarily accompanying him to the city jail.”

Paulson had surprised burglars in the act of stealing liquor to bootleg from the warehouse behind the R. L. Kenney & Co. drugstore, where it was used in the preparation of medicines. The first shot, to the abdomen, took Officer Paulson down. His shouts for help carried through the night air until silenced by a second bullet, this one to his forehead at point-blank range.

A posse described in Wenaas’s book as “half the population of Mayville” pulled one James Kelly from under the train depot, either drunk or claiming to be, and hauled him to the city jail.

Law enforcement officials found a .44 Winchester rifle traced to local butcher John William Law (Lowe). A trunk in his room harbored the stolen goods. The price for Even Paulson’s life: a 10-gallon keg of port wine.

A mob of 700 was in the streets. “It was with greatest difficulty that lynching was prevented,” reported the Hillsboro Banner.

A grand jury indicted Kelly and Law for murder and burglary.

James Kelly’s confession to the coroner’s inquest formed the centerpiece of his trial. In it, he had admitted to the robbery, implicated Law and the alleged third party, and claimed he wasn’t present for the murder. Placed on the stand, he denied the coroner’s evidence and, in doing so, contradicted himself. The jury deliberated through the night before returning a guilty verdict.

Law and Kelly escaped hanging due to lack of proof as to which pulled the trigger. They were sentenced to life in prison at Bismarck.

The governor denied Law’s application for pardon. But William Law’s life sentence was commuted to 15 years. John William Law walked free in 1907. He died in 1945.

In December 1911, the board of pardons commuted the life sentence of James Kelly.

Having been a prosecutor in my earlier life I found this story interesting and decided to post it here. Perhaps a reader out there is searching for information about Even Paulson, Kelly or Law. I hope you find it here perhaps in a Google search.

Does he sit tight in his present position or run against Senator Harry Reid or run for Governor of Nevada or wait and run against Senator John Ensign?

Harry Reid

Still no announcement of a Republican willing to tackle Senator Harry Reid for his Senate seat. Reid has low poll numbers and a target on his back. He is recognized as vulnerable. Yet the Republican Party cannot find a viable candidate to challenge Reid. The national Republican leadership would like nothing more than to boot Senator Reid out of office.

Republican Congressman Heller has been wined and dined by the Republican elite to take on the job. However, Heller has not taken the bait.

Jim Gibbons

Then there sits Republican Governor Jim Gibbons a much weaker and fatter target than Reid. His fellow Republicans would like to get rid of Gibbons so Heller would not risk much running for Governor. At least in the primary.

John Ensign

The fall from grace by Senator John Ensign has not helped matters. The following week’s escapade by South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford poured more salt into the Republican wounds. But Ensign’s office doesn’t open up until 2012. A lot can happen before then.

The Playing Field

The political playing field keeps shifting. His base is eroding away. Between April 1 and May 31, a total of 4,306 voters registered in Nevada. Of those new voters, only 148 registered as Republicans; 2,065 as Democrats; the remainder in other minor parties. The Democrats hold a 100,000-voter advantage. But, on the other hand, the rurals of Nevada comprising much of his Congressional District #2 are still quite red with conservatism.

On top of it all is a group called “Republicans for Reid,” with some Republican heavyweights in membership, including Sig Rogich and Dawn Gibbons. And this group has money and considerable political influence. Republican voters seem to be flying the coop.

Heller must note that the exodus of his Republican base. The scarlet letter “R” is tarnished. He must be thinking now is not the time for him to risk his House Ways and Means Committee seat in the House of Representatives and strike out against Reid. Like Ensign, Heller has a chummy relationship with Reid. Additionally, Reid has all that campaign money to run on.

Even Chuck Muth throws cold water on the idea, blaming Senator Ensign for costing the Republican Party of “any chance of anyone getting elected to replace Harry Reid.” Muth recognizes “They’re (Republicans) in a world of hurt and trouble.”

The Timing

The timing is not right for Heller to make a bold run against anyone. The Republican Party has regressed from their beloved Ronald Reagan days. They have now become Herbert Hoover Republicans. Heller is still a lightweight, short on experience. The country is in the throes of historic change and evolution. A contest between “two philosophies of government,” as Hoover described it.  Heller, like Hoover, believes in small government and letting the free market operate. He is on the wrong side of history. As a senator from Nevada he cannot hope to match or supersede Senator Reid’s contributions to Nevada. He may have a better chance to exceed Governor Gibbons’ contribution, but doubtful.

His best chance to rise higher in the Republican Party is to remain patient and see how it looks when Senator Ensign is up for re-election.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Tampa police say Billy Mays, the television pitchman known for his boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean, has died. He was 50.

Billy Mays

Authorities say Mays was pronounced dead Sunday morning after being found by his wife at home. There were no signs of a break-in, and investigators do not suspect foul play. The coroner’s office expects to have an autopsy done by Monday afternoon.

Mays’ wife, Deborah Mays, says the family doesn’t expect to make any public statements and asked for privacy.

Mays was also featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs. [Las Vegas Review Journal] [Read more →]

President Barack Obama

Organizing for America (OFA) has officially landed in Nevada. Organizing for America is dedicated to forwarding President Obama’s agenda through grassroots action, and to creating a progressive, grassroots movement in the State of Nevada.

In order to best serve Nevada, OFA will visit cities throughout the state to re-engage and mobilize the grassroots movement in support of President Obama.

For Organizing for America to succeed, we need to hear from you – your effort and commitment are the backbone of this movement, and your input will help guide our action in Nevada. [Read more →]

Cherie Trowler

I have a grand niece. Her name is Cherie Trowler. She is on Facebook. Her son, Derik, is getting married. I learned that bit of information from Cherie’s Facebook page.

Cherie informs me:

“Derik just graduated with a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering and is going on for his PHd. His girlfriend Christina just graduated with her Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering and going on for her Masters. Yep, I am proud.”

I post that here because it illustrates a lesson about one of the values of engaging in genealogy. That lesson is that each of us are an extension of our ancestors. That is to say, families evolve and grow into the future.

There is another lesson as well. Social websites, such as Facebook, permit us to keep up with our families, wherever they are. A reminder of one of the positive attributes of modern technology.

Being a mother, Cherie writes: “This song tells it all.”

Were I not engaged in genealogy all this would have passed me by. With Derrick’s marriage the evolution of the Wood family continues on.