Last Thursday night while a happy gathering of Kerton Township people were enjoying themselves at a dance given by Jacob Severns as an infair for his daughter, who had been married the day previous, James Linebaugh shot and fatally wounded Danny Brown with a 38 calibre revolver.
The shooting took place in the new town hall where the dance was in progress. There had been bad blood between the Linebaugh’s and the Brown’s for years, and the two did not speak when they met.
During the evening Linebaugh drank freely of lemon extracts, apparently for the purpose of nerving himself for the murder he committed. Shortly before twelve o’clock in company with a companion, he went to his store near by and loaded his revolver. On his way to the hall he fired it three times, and upon entering the hall proceeded at once to quarrel with young Brown. Dutton, Linebaugh’s companion, staggered against Brown who pushed him back and told him to go away and leave him dance. At this Linebaugh advanced to within three feet of Brown and said, “If you want trouble you can get it from me,” and at the same time drew his gun and fired. The ball entered the body just under the left arm and pierced the lung, lodging in the right shoulder.
Brown was immediately placed in a buggy and taken to his home two miles away, where at the last accounts he was lingering between life and death and in great pain.
Linebaugh immediately left the hall and remained in hiding all the next day, but gave himself up late Friday evening and is now lodged in jail at Lewistown. He is the son of Wesley Linebaugh, a wealthy citizen living at Summum. He is married, has three children and is 23 years of age. He has lived at Marbletown all his life, and at the time of the shooting was conducting a store there.
Brown is an unmarried man twenty-two years of age, and goes by the name of “Joe’s Danny” to distinguish him from another of the same name. The character of both men has been bad, but on the night of the shooting Brown was sober and had caused no disturbance.
Current Obituaries in the Astoria South Fulton Argus