Murder in Milford Township - 1900

Sylvester Steele, a widower of eight years, often visited with his friends, Mr. and Mrs. William Davis who lived on Arthur Street in Hicksville.  It was all very innocent until the day that Mr. Davis came home unexpectedly and found his wife sitting on Sylvester's lap.  Davis was angry and later confronted his wife who claimed that nothing improper was going on.  But the suspicions were there...

Six months later, Mrs. Davis left her husband and moved in with their daughter, Mrs. Charles Smith, who lived in Milford Township.  Davis blamed it all on Steele, and he stormed and threatened to shoot his old friend.  Eventually, however, things cooled and Sylvester Steele promised to stay away from Mrs. Davis...but he didn't.  

Steele would show up on Saturday nights at the Milford home and stay over until Sunday with Mrs Davis.  In the meantime, Davis was frantic with jealousy and could not be pacified.


"Last Saturday evening, April 7th, about 7 o'clock, as Sylvester Steele, of Hicksville, aged 61, was about to enter the house of Charles Smith, who resides on a farm six and one-half miles north of Hicksville, in Milford township, a gun cracked and Steele's body was pierced with a bullet.  

He stepped into the house, addressed a remark to Mrs. Wm. Davis, saying, 'Oh, Ma. I'm shot!" and sank down in a chair near the door.  He was in a dying condition and was soon recognized by the occupants of the room to be in the throes of dissolution.  Those present assisted in laying him down on the floor where in less than five minutes, he was dead, blood flowing profusely from his mouth, as a result of the wound from the bullet which had pierced his body.

Defiance Democrat - April 12, 1900

The shooting was done by William Davis of Hicksville, aged 53; and the shootist is now in the county jail in Defiance where he will be held to answer for the crime, of which he freely confesses he is guilty...

Last week Davis resolved to put an end to the liason between Steele and his wife.  On Thursday, Davis borrowed a 22 calibre rifle from a Hicksville man named Lower, in preparation for the killing, and on Saturday afternoon walked out to the Smith home to await the arrival of Steele.  He had noticed Steel was 'fixened up' (meaning dressed up) about the streets of Hicksville Saturday morning and was thus assured he was intending to pay a visit to the Milford township retreat that evening.

Davis arrived in the vicinity of the Smith home two hours ahead of his wife's paramour and secreted himself in the woods near by to await his coming.  As darkness came on, Davis drew near the house and hid behind a wagon.  Finally when it had grown quite dusk, Steele appeared and walked up to the door of the house, where, as he stood on the step, with his hand on the latch, Davis, who had changed his position to a point about twenty feet distant, pulled up his gun and fired...

Davis said it was too dark for him to take aim, but that he could see the outline of Steele's person and he pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger.  Charles Smith, Davis's son-in-law in Milford township...says Davis told him Saturday morning that he would have Steele's and Mrs. Davis's heart's blood and would then kill himself.

The Smith family, being aware of the threats which Davis had made against Steele at once suspected it was Davis who had fired the fatal shot and expected Davis would stay in that vicinity to get a shot at Mrs. Davis, so they sent word to Hicksville for officers."

W. W. Wilson (Sheriff), Harvey Anderson, Carl Diffenbaugh, Benjamin Steel and William Steele (Sylvester's sons) went out to the Smith house to look for Davis, as did Marshall Sensenbaugh of Hicksville.  But, as it turned out, Davis had gone home to Hicksville, and it was there he was found by the Sheriff on Sunday morning, calmly reading his newspaper at the table.  At first, Davis denied knowing anything about the crime, but after just a short time, he confessed to the intentional killing.

Many of the Hicksville people took Mr. Davis's side, feeling that his wife had treated him badly and it was a justifiable homicide.  It also caused a rift in the Davis family, as some of Mrs. Davis's children would not allow her to live with them due to the scandal.

Davis was indicted for second degree murder and languished in jail from April until August, 1900, when twelve men from Hicksville put together $4000 in bail money to get him out.  His health was failing, and he had a great deal of support in the Hicksville community.  

In July 1901, the indictment was nollified.  The prosecutor needed witnesses to testify who now lived in Indiana and "under Indiana law they can not be compelled to attend and testify in a criminal case in Ohio and they declined to come."  No depositions were allowed either, so Mr. William Davis was free!