A Case Deserving Consideration
Why did John Sather shoot Henry Hudson?
This is the second in a series about Black businessman Henry Hudson. If you'd like to read the posts in the order I published them, start with Henry Hudson's Estate. Of course, in my opinion, the best place to start reading about Henry is Chapter 15 of my book Hidden History of Eau Claire.
When I settled on the name No News Is Old News for my writing home, Henry Hudson's death was one of the stories I had in mind. This incident from 120 years ago sounds so familiar it's easy to forget that a person still has to do good-faith research to determine the facts of the case. When you dig into the details of the fight between Henry Hudson and John Sather, the White man who shot and killed him, there's no doubt race played a major factor in the reason for Hudson's death, regardless of what conclusions a person might reach about Sather's claim of self-defense.
A good place to start the story is August 28, 1919, the day a 14-year-old White girl named Ella Bovee ran away from her home at 520 S. River Street (now Graham Avenue) and ended up in Minneapolis. Ella's parents, George and Lilian, were close neighbors to Henry Hudson's home and junk shop at 516 S. River Street. Henry and the Bovees had a friendly relationship at first. Lilian worked for Henry in some capacity, and he'd been a "good Samaritan of the Bovee family, buying white frocks1 for the little girls' Fourth of July celebration, and taking them for lifts in his truck."2
Somewhere along the line, things soured. In July 1919, Henry and the Bovees had an argument over tires on a car the latter had purchased from the former. During the ensuing physical scuffle, Lilian allegedly kicked Henry's assistant (who was removing the tires) in the ribs. George left to consult a lawyer and came back brandishing a water pipe. Henry reportedly grabbed the pipe and George's face in an attempt to defend himself. Jurors later found Henry guilty of assault on George and fined him $50 (about $900 today).
By the time Ella went missing, then, the Bovee family was primed to believe the worst about Henry. That's where John Sather enters the picture. George and Lilian hired Sather, a private detective, to hunt down Ella in Minneapolis and bring her home. It appears his mission was successful. Ella eventually returned, and Henry Hudson was charged with influencing her to run away. Details are slim so far, but I suspect Ella worked for Henry and saved the money she earned for her runaway fund. It sounds like Sather accused Henry of employing the girl with the intent of helping her leave home. The Bovees, no doubt baffled why the daughter who seemed happy at home would suddenly choose to bolt, accepted Sather's explanation and brought a $5,000 (about $78,000) lawsuit against Henry.
At the trial on March 16, 1920, Henry's attorney, Fred Arnold, argued his client was framed with the help of racial prejudice. Arnold didn't have to work hard to make his case. The Bovee's attorney, A.J. Sutherland, got right up in front of the jury and provided some strong evidence for the defense with his own arguments against Henry: "[H]ad this been your daughter or mine, the case might never have come before a court. I do not advocate mob violence, but I do say the man, who brings before a jury the case of his little white girl only 14 lured from home by a black man, deserves consideration." A Black man meddling with a White girl was a special circumstance in Sutherland's mind.
After two hours of consideration, the jury acquitted Henry. He went home an innocent man, but no one in the courtroom knew fate had scheduled another trial in less than two weeks. Henry and John Sather crossed paths at around 5:30 on the evening of April 5, 1920, when Henry went to the post office across the street from his business to buy stamps. The details of what happened will have to wait for another day, but the salient fact is Sather claimed Hudson carried a grudge from the Bovee case and threatened his life on the post office steps. John Sather said he shot Henry Hudson in self defense.
Next in the series:
The newspaper report of Ella's disappearance mentions she was wearing a "white dress with a ribbon sash and three-ruffle skirt" but doesn't say if it was given to her by Henry.
"Suit of George Bovee vs. Hudson for $5,000 Lost." Eau Claire Leader, 17 Mar 1920
I can't wait to read the rest of the story.