by

(Above map may be found online at
http://bit.ly/18VuDtD)

By John Hernandez

Nugget

“Behind every great fortune there is a crime.” Honore de Balzac

On Jan. 5, 1908, the Arizona Republican newspaper reported that George Hunter, was not the man he was purported to be. It turned out his real name was George Ditmore. Ditmore had been a deputy sheriff during the Cripple Creek, Colorado labor war between the mine owners and the Western Federation of Miners in 1904. The mine owners had hired gunmen and had them deputized to keep order in the mining camps and towns. These “deputies” were known to use violence to intimidate the striking miners and their families. The miners also were not afraid to use violence as retaliation or to intimidate those workers that were not union members. During this time, because of the violence, Ditmore’s wife left him taking both of their children and moving to Adams, New York. It was a letter received from Ditmore’s son which had arrived after Ditmore’s death that uncovered the true identity of Ditmore. It was believed that after the labor war ended, that Ditmore left Colorado fearing vengeance at the hands of the Western Federation of Miners. When the strike/labor war ended, 33 men were dead, martial law had been imposed and the Western Federation of Miners would never recover in Colorado.

Ditmore changed his name to Hunter and moved to Texas and then Arizona. The Western Federation of Miners was also active in some Arizona mines and Ditmore made it a point to avoid the mines that had a large union presence. Ditmore had a reason to be worried about vengeance. He was also wanted by the law in Colorado. It would be discovered later that he had killed a miner by the name of John Crowley in cold blood after arresting him. He also made the mistake of shooting a former Missouri Congressman, John Glover, known to be friendly to labor.

Glover was a prominent lawyer practicing in Cripple Creek. General Sherman Bell, leader of the state militia, gave an order that all private citizens be relieved of all firearms. Ditmore and some men went to Glover’s office and demanded that he surrender his hand gun. Glover refused, Ditmore and the men with him, fired at Glover hitting him in the shoulder and through the arm. Glover had enough political clout to have a warrant issued and Ditmore arrested. A bond was posted and Ditmore was released. He would flee Colorado after robbing a “saloon man” and securing a large amount of money.

At the same time the news broke about Hunter’s real identity, another witness in the case was discovered. George B. Hunstock was a miner who had been working with Ed Fondren. It was alleged that he had been at the mine on the day of the shooting and he would be called as a prosecution witness. The Arizona Republican also reported that, “Some stories are that Sheriff Thompson and others of Globe were also interested with Stewart in mining claims in that section, but whether it was the Calumet property or some adjoining holdings was not definitely learned. Several are reported to have said since the tragedy that trouble between these factions was not unexpected as violence had been threatened on one side and possible on both.” Henry Thompson was the sheriff of Gila County.

George J. Stoneman of Globe was the attorney for Fondren and Stewart. He was a well respected attorney and heavily involved in Democratic politics in the territory. He was vice-president of the Territorial Bar Association. Rumors were reported that unknown parties in Globe had hired Stoneman. The talk had probably started over the stories about Sheriff Thompson and others in Globe that had an interest in mining claims in the area where Daggs and Hunter were murdered. Stoneman refused to divulge who had hired him. Stoneman was well acquainted with A.J. Daggs as he had sued him on behalf of Morse and Durse in a case involving a disputed mining claim. The case had been tried in Pinal County and was now in the Territorial Supreme Court. Sheriff Thompson had an interest in the case as he was holding a bond for Morse and Durse.

George Stoneman was the son of General George Stoneman. In 1870 General Stoneman was assigned the command of Arizona and given the task of subduing the Apaches. He ordered his troops at Camp Pinal near Superior to build what became known as Stoneman’s Grade which was the first trail connecting Globe to the Superior area. The building of the trail led to the discovery of the Silver King mine. Stoneman was in command when the Camp Grant Massacre took place. He would be replaced by General Crook in 1871. After leaving the army, Stoneman was elected Governor of California. Stoneman Lake in northern Arizona is named for him. Even if you are not a student of history, you have probably heard the name Stoneman. His name is in the lyrics of the Robbie Robertson song “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” recorded by The Band. “Virgil Caine is the name, and I served on the Danville train, Till Stoneman’s cavalry came and tore up the tracks again”…The song refers to one of General Stoneman’s raids on the Danville, Virginia supply trains.

Attorney Stoneman would recuse himself from the case before it went to trial. It is not known why although newspaper articles at the time show he was active with the Democratic Party and was a delegate to the national convention where the question of statehood for Arizona would be discussed. He would be replaced by P.H. Hayes of Phoenix as Stewart and Fondren’s attorney. Hayes was appointed by the court to represent the defendants.

The funeral of A.J. Daggs and George Ditmore was held on Jan. 8 in Phoenix. Ditmore’s funeral was handled by the local Masonic lodge. Dagg’s body was taken to R.E. Dagg’s home so the mother, Malinda Dagg’s could view A.J’s body. They were both buried in the Greenwood Cemetery. Malinda Daggs would die on April 10, 1908.

On Jan. 9, 1908 the Arizona Silverbelt newspaper out of Globe reported that Gila County Deputy Sheriff Bob McMurray had been one of the last men to see Daggs and Hunter alive. McMurray said he was down from Globe in Superior several days before the killings to put some men to work on some claims owned by Sheriff Thompson and J.B. Newman. McMurray said he arrived in Superior on Dec. 31 and had made the trip on behalf of Sheriff Thompson who had been laid up with the “grip”. He hired three men and put them to work on the lawsuit and Touch Me claims the evening of the 31st. Thompson and Newman owned the claims and had relocated them last year after the company headed by A.J. Daggs had failed to do work on them. Earlier on the 31st, he had taken some tools and supplies to the camp assisted by Ed Neary and Bob Stewart.

Early on New Year’s Day morning he went to the camp located about two miles from Superior. McMurray told the following story reported by the Silverbelt “When McMurray arrived at the place where the work was in progress he found Jesse Brown, his son Mark and Thomas Enright at work. The elder Brown, who owns claims in the district and has had trouble with Daggs over the ownership of the property, told McMurray that he did not like the looks of things. “We want the work all right,” he said, “but we don’t want to fight for it.” McMurray expressed surprise at this and Brown pointed up the trail about 200 feet, where two men were standing. “That’s Daggs and one of his gunmen and they are liable to start something” said Brown. McMurray started out to the cabin of Stewart about three quarters of a mile distant, and when he reached the place where the two men were standing the man who had been pointed out to him as Daggs accosted him and asked him his name. McMurray gave his name and Daggs wrote it in a notebook, the same one which was found near his body later, and on a page of which was written the line accusing Bob Stewart of the murder. McMurray asked him if he was going to stop the men from working on the claims and Daggs replied, “No, they are nothing to me but if I run across those ___ ___ ___ who sent them here, I’ll settle with them in short order,” tapping his gun at the same time. McMurray also said he believed that Ed Fondren was not involved in the murders. On the night before the killings, he had seen Fondren who he was well acquainted with. Fondren said he was heading to work some claims near the Silver King mine. This would have put him six miles away from the shooting site.

In the same article Sheriff Thompson said he believed that, “The two men were killed by a volley of at least a half dozen gunmen or more and at least that many men were mixed up in the killing.” Daggs had incurred the hostility of many of the claim owners in the district and he had them bluffed through his apparent readiness to use his gun. “He was always accompanied by some armed man, who according to Sheriff Thompson could be depended upon to do a little fighting if necessary or sign an affidavit.” Thompson also said that about three weeks prior to the killings, a house located near Stewart’s cabin, containing about $300 worth of supplies, was destroyed by fire. Men employed by Daggs were believed to have set the fire but no evidence could be obtained against them. McMurray was Thompson’s cousin.

John “Black Jack” Newman was an illiterate Prussian immigrant. He was also one of the richest men in Globe. Newman had come to Globe in the 1880s. He went to work for a local mining company. The timekeeper had a hard time spelling Newman’s Prussian name so wrote down New Man on the time card. He then adopted the name. Newman was also a prospector and along with his partner J.C. Evans discovered some rich silver claims in the area which they began working. Later on, Newman believed that Evans was “high grading” (stealing) some of the rich ore. Newman later testified in a court hearing against Evans involving property at the Pioneer mine. The same day while drinking in Love’s Saloon, Newman saw Evans in the bar. Newman drew his Colt .44 and walked towards Evans who was standing near the entrance. Newman shot twice, one bullet striking Evans in his left arm by the shoulder. Evans ran out the door with Newman in pursuit. Evans was unarmed and ran further down the street. He stopped and bent over to pick up a rock to defend himself. Newman shot him again in the leg. Newman standing only a few feet away aimed his gun at Evan’s head and fired. Evans turned his head at the last second, barely avoiding the shot. By this time Deputy Sheriff Ryan had arrived and Newman ran from him. The deputy caught up with Newman and during their scuffle, Ryan shot Newman through the left side of his face, the ball passing through his cheek. Dr. Largent was called. He would later amputate Evan’s arm and sew up Newman’s face.

Newman was tried and convicted for assault with intent to kill and sentenced to 10 years in the Yuma Territorial Prison. In June of 1890, Newman was pardoned by Territorial Governor Wolfley. The Governor received a petition from most of the prominent citizens of Globe and nine of the jurors who convicted him saying there were extenuating circumstances and the sentence had been too harsh. He returned to the Globe area and began prospecting again. He owned claims and a mill near Pioneer. He staked out claims around what is now Miami and struck it rich. He was able to sell the claims to the Lewisohn brothers who organized the Miami Copper Company. Newman is considered the founder of Miami. Magma Copper would buy the Miami Copper Company property in 1969. BHP would then get the property from Magma.

Newman had other business interests in the Miami-Globe areas. He built and owned the Dominion Hotel in Globe with partner Samuel L. Gibson, owner of the Gibson mine. He also is credited with building the Pioneer Hotel, Colonial Building and the Newman Building. To take advantage of the booming mining business and housing shortage in the Globe-Miami area, he formed corporations with other wealthy investors to invest in real estate, mining, land development, an electric plant, and other business ventures. One of his partners in the East Globe Land & Trust Company was G.W.P. Hunt of Globe. Hunt would go on to be the first governor of the state of Arizona in 1912. He was on the board of directors for the First National Bank of Globe and was a stockholder in the Bank of Safford.

On Jan. 12, the Daily Arizona Silverbelt reported that Gila County Deputy Sheriff Bill Voris had returned from Superior and that he believed that Stewart and Fondren were not involved in the killing of Daggs and Hunter. He said that he made a thorough examination of the killing scene and believed that there were more than two men involved. He also believed that the words “Bob Stewart killed me” in the notebook that had been found at the scene was not written by A.J. Daggs. He said, “An examination of the book will show that the writing was done before the page was stained with blood and the fact that the pencil had not spread or dragged the blood indicates that the words were written and the page then smeared with blood.” Voris went on to say that any two men could have been arrested who had been working in the area. Fondren said he was three miles away and Stewart claimed he was working two claims away and heard the shooting. During the Pleasant Valley War, Bill Voris had been a deputy assigned to the Pleasant Valley area that was partially located in Gila County. He had been questioned about being at the scene of a lynching of three young cowboys.

On Jan. 15 the preliminary hearing was held for Stewart and Fondren. George Stoneman filed a motion to prevent the introduction of Dagg’s notebook as evidence but the judge denied the motion. The judge ruled there was enough evidence to hold both men for trial. Stewart was taken to the Florence jail while Fondren was escorted to the Maricopa County jail in Phoenix. The trial was set to begin April 29 for the murder of A.J. Daggs.

On March 21, the prosecution received news of a set back in the case. The Daily Arizona Silverbelt first reported it as a murder. They said that George “Shorty” Hunstock’s body was found in his bed in his cabin located between Florence and Superior. He had been dead for a few months and it had appeared he had been robbed and murdered. The newspaper said he was a peaceable man and was not known to have any enemies. They also said he had much damaging evidence for the prosecution in the Dagg’s murder and was considered the main prosecution witness. The last time he had been seen alive was Jan. 17 shortly after the preliminary hearing in Florence.

On March 22, the Silverbelt retracted its original story after they received more news about the incident. The new article said that Shorty Hunstock had killed himself over worrying that he was going to be implicated in the murder. The body was found by Deputy Sheriff R.M. Harkey of Superior. Hunstock was found dead in his bed. Tied to a bedpost was his .45 – 75 rifle. He had shoved the trigger back using a stick while sitting on the edge of his bed holding the barrel of the rifle against his chest. The ball had entered his body just below the center of his heart, passed through the chest exiting at his left shoulder blade and lodging in a 4×4 post in the corner of the room. He had left a number of notes, one which showed he was worried because two cartridges from his rifle were missing from his cabin and he feared he would be set up for the murder as he had a gun “like no other in the country” which had been given to him by a friend. Some of Hunstock’s notes follow:

“I give my horse and colt to Migrel, the little boy at Nicholas ranch.”

“I give every article in this cabin and house to Jose Lopez and I would ask him in return to bury me to the left of the house as you approach from Superior.”

“Those who deal in crime as a common product will, I hope, meet their just fate.”

“There is not a doubt in my mind as to who killed A.J. and Hunter. Letters will turn up to prove I was in this cabin. Goodbye to all. I am near the end…… George P. Hunstock, Shorty.”

The trial began as scheduled on April 29. On May 2, after 32 hours of deliberation in the case of Bob Stewart, the jury stood at six for conviction and six for acquittal. In Fondren’s case, the jury spent 24 hours deliberating with the decision being six for acquittal, five for conviction and one blank vote. Judge Kent called a mistrial. The prosecuting attorneys were O’Connor and Lyons. It was speculated that if a new trial was held, it would have a change of venue to Gila County because there may not be enough potential jurors in Pinal County.

In August the Dagg’s family received more bad news. R.E. Daggs had died in the mountains. He had been frail for a long time said the newspapers. The additional strain of the attempted rape charges he had finally been acquitted of in March, as well as the murder of his brother and business partner A.J. and death of his mother contributed to his poor health. This was the third member of the Dagg’s family to die within the past eight months. It would also set up a legal battle between surviving family members over the estates of the three deceased Daggs said to be valued at $150,000 by some parties. (This would be equivalent to approximately 3 million dollars in today’s economy.) The three surviving brothers P.P., W.A. and J.F were pitted against Hugh Daggs, A.J. Dagg’s 22-year-old son. The legal fight would be a bitter one and involve some intrigue perhaps related to the murders of A.J. Daggs and George Ditmore. There is not much known about A.J. Daggs relationship with his son but in 1898, E.T. Daggs, A.J.’s wife was granted a divorce in Los Angeles citing non-support and a “typewriter girl” in A.J.’s office in Phoenix as grounds for the divorce.

This story will continue in the next edition of the Nugget.

as Stoneman’s Grade which was the first trail connecting Globe to the Superior area. The building of the trail led to the discovery of the Silver King mine. Stoneman was in command when the Camp Grant Massacre took place. He would be replaced by General Crook in 1871. After leaving the army, Stoneman was elected Governor of California. Stoneman Lake in northern Arizona is named for him. Even if you are not a student of history, you have probably heard the name Stoneman. His name is in the lyrics of the Robbie Robertson song “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” recorded by The Band. “Virgil Caine is the name, and I served on the Danville train, Till Stoneman’s cavalry came and tore up the tracks again”…The song refers to one of General Stoneman’s raids on the Danville, Virginia supply trains.

Attorney Stoneman would recuse himself from the case before it went to trial. It is not known why although newspaper articles at the time show he was active with the Democratic Party and was a delegate to the national convention where the question of statehood for Arizona would be discussed. He would be replaced by P.H. Hayes of Phoenix as Stewart and Fondren’s attorney. Hayes was appointed by the court to represent the defendants.

The funeral of A.J. Daggs and George Ditmore was held on Jan. 8 in Phoenix. Ditmore’s funeral was handled by the local Masonic lodge. Dagg’s body was taken to R.E. Dagg’s home so the mother, Malinda Dagg’s could view A.J’s body. They were both buried in the Greenwood Cemetery. Malinda Daggs would die on April 10, 1908.

On Jan. 9, 1908 the Arizona Silverbelt newspaper out of Globe reported that Gila County Deputy Sheriff Bob McMurray had been one of the last men to see Daggs and Hunter alive. McMurray said he was down from Globe in Superior several days before the killings to put some men to work on some claims owned by Sheriff Thompson and J.B. Newman. McMurray

said he arrived in Superior on Dec. 31 and had made the trip on behalf of Sheriff Thompson who had been laid up with the “grip”. He hired three men and put them to work on the lawsuit and Touch Me claims the evening of the 31st. Thompson and Newman owned the claims and had relocated them last year after the company headed by A.J. Daggs had failed to do work on them. Earlier on the 31st, he had taken some tools and supplies to the camp assisted by Ed Neary and Bob Stewart.

Early on New Year’s Day morning he went to the camp located about two miles from Superior. McMurray told the following story reported by the Silverbelt “When McMurray arrived at the place where the work was in progress he found Jesse Brown, his son Mark and Thomas Enright at work. The elder Brown, who owns claims in the district and has had trouble with Daggs over the ownership of the property, told McMurray that he did not like the looks of things. “We want the work all right,” he said, “but we don’t want to fight for it.” McMurray expressed surprise at this and Brown pointed up the trail about 200 feet, where two men were standing. “That’s Daggs and one of his gunmen and they are liable to start something” said Brown. McMurray started out to the cabin of Stewart about three quarters of a mile distant, and when he reached the place where the two men were standing the man who had been pointed out to him as Daggs accosted him and asked him his name. McMurray gave his name and Daggs wrote it in a notebook, the same one which was found near his body later, and on a page of which was written the line accusing Bob Stewart of the murder. McMurray asked him if he was going to stop the men from working on the claims and Daggs replied, “No, they are nothing to me but if I run across those ___ ___ ___ who sent them here, I’ll settle with them in short order,” tapping his gun at the same time. McMurray also said he believed that Ed Fondren was not involved in the murders. On the night before the killings, he had seen Fondren who he was well acquainted with. Fondren said he was heading to work some claims near the Silver King mine. This would have put him six miles away from the shooting site.

In the same article Sheriff Thompson said he believed that, “The two men were killed by a volley of at least a half dozen gunmen or more and at least that many men were mixed up in the killing.” Daggs had incurred the hostility of many of the claim owners in the district and he had them bluffed through his apparent readiness to use his gun. “He was always accompanied by some armed man, who according to Sheriff Thompson could be depended upon to do a little fighting if necessary or sign an affidavit.” Thompson also said that about three weeks prior to the killings, a house located near Stewart’s cabin, containing about $300 worth of supplies, was destroyed by fire. Men employed by Daggs were believed to have set the fire but no evidence could be obtained against them. McMurray was Thompson’s cousin.

John “Black Jack” Newman was an illiterate Prussian immigrant. He was also one of the richest men in Globe. Newman had come to Globe in the 1880s. He went to work for a local mining company. The timekeeper had a hard time spelling Newman’s Prussian name so wrote down New Man on the time card. He then adopted the name. Newman was also a prospector and along with his partner J.C. Evans discovered some rich silver claims in the area which they began working. Later on, Newman believed that Evans was “high grading” (stealing) some of the rich ore. Newman later testified in a court hearing against Evans involving property at the Pioneer mine. The same day while drinking in Love’s Saloon, Newman saw Evans in the bar. Newman drew his Colt .44 and walked towards Evans who was standing near the entrance. Newman shot twice, one bullet striking Evans in his left arm by the shoulder. Evans ran out the door with Newman in pursuit. Evans was unarmed and ran further down the street. He stopped and bent over to pick up a rock to defend himself. Newman shot him again in the leg. Newman standing only a few feet away aimed his gun at Evan’s head and fired. Evans turned his head at the last second, barely avoiding the shot. By this time Deputy Sheriff Ryan had arrived and Newman ran from him. The deputy caught up with Newman and during their scuffle, Ryan shot Newman through the left side of his face, the ball passing through his cheek. Dr. Largent was called. He would later amputate Evan’s arm and sew up Newman’s face.

Newman was tried and convicted for assault with intent to kill and sentenced to 10 years in the Yuma Territorial Prison. In June of 1890, Newman was pardoned by Territorial Governor Wolfley. The Governor received a petition from most of the prominent citizens of Globe and nine of the jurors who convicted him saying there were extenuating circumstances and the sentence had been too harsh. He returned to the Globe area and began prospecting again. He owned claims and a mill near Pioneer. He staked out claims around what is now Miami and struck it rich. He was able to sell the claims to the Lewisohn brothers who organized the Miami Copper Company. Newman is considered the founder of Miami. Magma Copper would buy the Miami Copper Company property in 1969. BHP would then get the property from Magma.

Newman had other business interests in the Miami-Globe areas. He built and owned the Dominion Hotel in Globe with partner Samuel L. Gibson, owner of the Gibson mine. He also is credited with building the Pioneer Hotel, Colonial Building and the Newman Building. To take advantage of the booming mining business and housing shortage in the Globe-Miami area, he formed corporations with other wealthy investors to invest in real estate, mining, land development, an electric plant, and other business ventures. One of his partners in the East Globe Land & Trust Company was G.W.P. Hunt of Globe. Hunt would go on to be the first governor of the state of Arizona in 1912. He was on the board of directors for the First National Bank of Globe and was a stockholder in the Bank of Safford.

On Jan. 12, the Daily Arizona Silverbelt reported that Gila County Deputy Sheriff Bill Voris had returned from Superior and that he believed that Stewart and Fondren were not involved in the killing of Daggs and Hunter. He said that he made a thorough examination of the killing scene and believed that there were more than two men involved. He also believed that the words “Bob Stewart killed me” in the notebook that had been found at the scene was

not written by A.J. Daggs. He said, “An examination of the book will show that the writing was done before the page was stained with blood and the fact that the pencil had not spread or dragged the blood indicates that the words were written and the page then smeared with blood.” Voris went on to say that any two men could have been arrested who had been working in the area. Fondren said he was three miles away and Stewart claimed he was working two claims away and heard the shooting. During the Pleasant Valley War, Bill Voris had been a deputy assigned to the Pleasant Valley area that was partially located in Gila County. He had been questioned about being at the scene of a lynching of three young cowboys.

On Jan. 15 the preliminary hearing was held for Stewart and Fondren. George Stoneman filed a motion to prevent the introduction of Dagg’s notebook as evidence but the judge denied the motion. The judge ruled there was enough evidence to hold both men for trial. Stewart was taken to the Florence jail while Fondren was escorted to the Maricopa County jail in Phoenix. The trial was set to begin April 29 for the murder of A.J. Daggs.

On March 21, the prosecution received news of a set back in the case. The Daily Arizona Silverbelt first reported it as a murder. They said that George “Shorty” Hunstock’s body was found in his bed in his cabin located between Florence and Superior. He had been dead for a few months and it had appeared he had been robbed and murdered. The newspaper said he was a peaceable man and was not known to have any enemies. They also said he had much damaging evidence for the prosecution in the Dagg’s murder and was considered the main prosecution witness. The last time he had been seen alive was Jan. 17 shortly after the preliminary hearing in Florence.

On March 22, the Silverbelt retracted its original story after they received more news about the incident. The new article said that Shorty Hunstock had killed himself over worrying that he was going to be implicated in the murder. The body was found by Deputy Sheriff R.M. Harkey of Superior. Hunstock was found dead in his bed. Tied to a bedpost was his .45 – 75 rifle. He had shoved the trigger back using a stick while sitting on the edge of his bed holding the barrel of the rifle against his chest. The ball had entered his body just below the center of his heart, passed through the chest exiting at his left shoulder blade and lodging in a 4×4 post in the corner of the room. He had left a number of notes, one which showed he was worried because two cartridges from his rifle were missing from his cabin and he feared he would be set up for the murder as he had a gun “like no other in the country” which had been given to him by a friend. Some of Hunstock’s notes follow:

“I give my horse and colt to Migrel, the little boy at Nicholas ranch.”

“I give every article in this cabin and house to Jose Lopez and I would ask him in return to bury me to the left of the house as you approach from Superior.”

“Those who deal in crime as a common product will, I hope, meet their just fate.”

“There is not a doubt in my mind as to who killed A.J. and Hunter. Letters will turn up to prove I was in this cabin. Goodbye to all. I am near the end…… George P. Hunstock, Shorty.”

The trial began as scheduled on April 29. On May 2, after 32 hours of deliberation in the case of Bob Stewart, the jury stood at six for conviction and six for acquittal. In Fondren’s case, the jury spent 24 hours deliberating with the decision being six for acquittal, five for conviction and one blank vote. Judge Kent called a mistrial. The prosecuting attorneys were O’Connor and Lyons. It was speculated that if a new trial was held, it would have a change of venue to Gila County because there may not be enough potential jurors in Pinal County.

In August the Dagg’s family received more bad news. R.E. Daggs had died in the mountains. He had been frail for a long time said the newspapers. The additional strain of the attempted rape charges he had finally been acquitted of in March, as well as the murder of his brother and business partner A.J. and death of his mother contributed to his poor health. This was the third member of the Dagg’s family to die within the past eight months. It would also set up a legal battle between surviving family members over the estates of the three deceased Daggs said to be valued at $150,000 by some parties. (This would be equivalent to approximately 3 million dollars in today’s economy.) The three surviving brothers P.P., W.A. and J.F were pitted against Hugh Daggs, A.J. Dagg’s 22-year-old son. The legal fight would be a bitter one and involve some intrigue perhaps related to the murders of A.J. Daggs and George Ditmore. There is not much known about A.J. Daggs relationship with his son but in 1898, E.T. Daggs, A.J.’s wife was granted a divorce in Los Angeles citing non-support and a “typewriter girl” in A.J.’s office in Phoenix as grounds for the divorce.

This story will continue in the next edition of the Nugget.

Staff (5796 Posts)

There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.

by

by