Mysterious Disappearance and Death
of Thomas Michael Box
**A 2021 update to this post can be found here **
Thomas M Box is the 1st-cousin once-removed to our grandma Mabel Leffel Baldwin. See short bio at bottom of this blog post.
Thomas Michael Box, son of Thomas Box and Clarkey Carpenter, was born 1837 in Mississippi. The Box family moved to Texas in 1845, then to Utah in 1857. Tom and his father, Thomas, were stockmen - raising and selling cattle for a living. The elder Thomas Box died near Farmington, New Mexico in 1881. Thomas Jr disappeared from all records after 1882. Or, so I thought....
Skeletal Remains found in the Arizona Mountains
On October 25, 1884, Daniel Waughtal reported to the authorities in Cochise County, Arizona that he had found skeletal remains in the Dos Cabezas Mountains, about three miles west of "Silver Camp". W. F Nichols, Justice of the Peace acting as Coroner for Cochise County called for an Inquest into the circumstances of the death of the person found dead.
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1882 Map of Arizona Territory showing
Dos Cabezas Mountains |
Coroners Inquest
The inquest was held on October 26, 1884. The jury adduced from the testimonies of the witnesses (below) and exhibits used as evidence that the remains found belonged to Thomas Box. Below is the final verdict of the jury.
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Cochise County, Arizona Coroner Records
October 1884 |
Transcription of above report:
Territory of Arizona
County of Cochise
We the Jury summoned to appear
before W. F. Nichols Justice of the Peace acting as Coroner of Cochise County
at Dos Cabezas on the 26th day of October 1884 to inquire into the
circumstances of the death of the person found dead in the Dos Cabezas
Mountains on the 25th of October 1884 having been duly sworn
according to low upon our oath each and all do say after having viewed the
remains of deceased and heard the testimony oral and documentary adduced That
the name of deceased was Thomas Box aged about 40 years nativity unknown that
he came to a violent death near the “Silver Camp” in the Dos Cabezas Mountians
on or about the 18th day of April 1883 at the hands of party or
parties unknown to the jury.
Dated at Dos Cabezas the
26th day of October 1883.
Sylvester Porter, P A
Boyer, D P Lynch, J J Savells, E J White, H S J McCowgor
News reports of the Death
An Arizona Stockman Murdered
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Arizona Stockman Murdered
Dodge City Globe, Dodge, Kansas
18 Nov 1884 |
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Thomas Box Foully Murdered
Weekly Republican, Phoenix, AZ
13 Nov 1884
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Arizona Citizen
Tucson, Arizona
15 Nov 1884
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After reading the above news articles and the below transcriptions of the testimonies that were given by the witnesses, can you determine WHAT happened to Thomas Box Jr and WHO might have killed him??
Testimonies given at Inquest
1. Henry Dial
Territory of Arizona
County of Cochise
Henry Dial
being duly sworn say my name is Henry Dial reside in Sulphur Springs Valley
occupation Stock Raiser
Q: Do you
recognize any of the articles found upon or near the remains of deceased that
would lead to the identity of deceased?
A: I am satisfied
that the pocket book now before the jury and found upon the body is the book of
and owned by one Thomas Box. I also
believe the coat found near the remains to have belonged to Thomas Box.
Q: When was
the last time you saw Thomas Box alive?
A: I saw
Thomas Box alive for the last time about the middle of the month of April 1883
it was in Dos Cabezas where I last saw him.
I knew Charlie Smith and H.C. Reynolds whose names appear in the pocket
book found on the body and know that they at one time were in the employ of
Thomas Box.
H. Dial
Subscribed and sworn to before me
this 26th day of October 1884.
W.F. Nichols, J.P.
2. Daniel Waughtal
Territory of Arizona
County of Cochise
Daniel
Waughtal being duly sworn say my name is Daniel Waughtal reside in Dos Cabezas
occupation miner.
Q: Did you
find the remains of deceased and if so state when and where and any other facts
that you may know that will tend to establish the identity of the deceased.
A: I found
the remains yesterday Oct 25th 1884 in the Dos Cabezas Mountains
about three miles west of the “silver Camp”.
The remains were scattered around, bones separated and scattered and
clothing torn and scattered. The bones
of deceased were entirely denuded of clothing and what was left of the bones
were bleached. Should think deceased had
been dead about one and one half years.
Q: Who do
you believe the deceased to be?
A: I believe
him to be Thomas Box
Q: Did you
ever find a horse belonging to Thomas Box in his lifetime and if so when and
where did you find him?
A: I found him between a quarter and a half of a
mile from the mouth of the “Silver Camp” Canyon and about one and a half miles
from where I found the remains after finding the horse. I trailed the back track of the horse to
within about a mile of the place where I afterward found the remains of
deceased. I first supposed the horse to
have strayed from the Indians and afterwards learned that he was the
property of Thomas Box. I learned that
Mr Box had left Dos Cabezas about three days before I found the horse. The horse when I found him was in a bad condition,
had apparently been without water for some time and was cut with spurs considerably
and seemingly had been run pretty hard as the perspiration had dried upon
him. The horse had nothing upon
him. I found a saddle and a bridle and
one spur beside the various articles of clothing near the remains of
deceased. I never saw any of these
articles before I saw them near the remains.
When I found the remains of the deceased and also the horse I was at the
time hunting. When I examined the vest
and shirt I discovered what I believed to be a bullet hole through both
articles of clothing in the right front of the articles. The scull of deceased could not be
found. Think probably wild animals or a
rush of water down the canyon may have caused the scull off. I did not know Thomas Box in his lifetime.
Daniel
Waughtal
Subscribed
and sworn to before me this 26th day of October 1884. W.F. Nichols, J.P.
3. N. C. Scow
Territory of Arizona
County of Cochise
N. C. Scow
being duly sworn say my name is N.A. Scow reside in Dos Cabezas occupation
Freighter
Q: Do you
recognize any of the articles found near the remains of the deceased and if so
state what they are?
A: I recognize
the coat as belonging to Thomas Box as it was made of a peculiar clothe and
the last time I saw him alive he had on this kind of a coat. I could not swear that this coat belonged to
Box but he Box had one on just like it when I last saw him. The shoe that was found near the remains is similar
to the pair that Thomas Box wore when I last saw him. The saddle blankets found with the saddle are similar as Mr Box had. I knew Thomas Box
during his lifetime. Saw him last alive
about the 18th day of April 1883 in Dos Cabezas it was in the
morning about 9 o’clock he was about to leave and was inquiring the shortest
way to Safford as He brought some cattle
from somewhere on the Gila river and sold them to Henry Dial. I helped drive the cattle from Stockton Pass
to Dos Cabezas. I understood he received
his pay for the cattle from Mr Dial and that he had the money on his person
when he left here.
N. C. Scow
Subscribed
and sworn to before me this 26th day of October 1884. W.F. Nichols, J.P.
4. James Scow
Territory of Arizona
County of Cochise
James Scow being duly sworn say my name is James Scow reside in Dos Cabezas occupation Freighter.
Q: Do you recognize any of the articles found near the remains of the deceased?
A: I recognize the coat as just like the one worn by Thomas Box the last time I saw him alive. I knew Thomas Box in his lifetime saw him last on about the 18th day of April 1883 in Dos Cabezas as he was leaving for Safford he lived in Smithville. He had received the sum of about $1800 from Mr. Dial for the sale of cattle to Mr. Dial and was about to go home. He required of me the shortest way across the Mountains and I directed him to go through the Silver Camp From the head of “Silver Camp” there is a trail that goes to the Graham Mountains and from there a road leads to Safford.
James Scow
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 26th day of October 1884
W F Nichols JP
The original documents of the above transcriptions of testimonies given at Coroners Inquest can be found on Ancestry.com in the Source section of profile page for Thomas Michael Box. To go to profile page, click here
Thomas Michael Box
Short Biography
Thomas Michael Box, son of Thomas Box and Clarkey Carpenter, was born
26 Oct 1837 in Chulerhome, Marshall, Mississippi. He was named Thomas Michael after both his father Thomas and grandfather Michael. In 1840, Tom was living with his family in Tippah County, Mississippi. Many of his Box relatives also lived in Tippah County, including his grandparents Michael and Mary (Fulcher) Box. Tom moved with his parents Thomas and Clarkey Box to Henderson County,
Texas in 1845. The lived in Texas until moving to Utah in 1857 after joining the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints. The Box family lived in Salt Lake City for many years, then moved to southern Utah in 1880. Tom and his father,
Thomas Sr, raised and sold cattle for a living, with a short stint trying their
hand at mining near Panaca, Nevada. Thomas Jr lived with his parents during his lifetime and there are no records showing that he ever married.
In 1880, the Box family lived west of Bluff, Utah (present day McElmo Canyon) in the Four Corners area. Then moved into New Mexico Territory by 1881. His father, Thomas Sr, died near Farmington, New Mexico on 17 March 1881. Tom was still single and living with his
mother after his father's death.
In 1882, Thomas is mentioned in the Minutes of the Burnham Ward, San
Juan Stake of the LDS Church when on the 4th of February 1882, he was
re-baptized and confirmed a member of the Church. This was the last record found for Thomas Box in New Mexico.
Tom seemed to have completely disappeared after 1882. Although his mother and sister, Josephine
(along with her family), were enumerated in the 1885 San Juan, New Mexico Territorial
census, Tom could not be found.
What
happened to Thomas M Box after 1882 and where did he go?
It seems that after the death of his father, Tom Jr continued to raise
and sell cattle. He moved down to a
Mormon community in Arizona near Safford called Smithville (now called Pima). In April 1883, Tom sold a herd of cattle to
Henry Dial of Sulphur Springs Valley, Arizona for $1,900 cash. On his way back to Safford, riding his horse on a trail through
the Dos Cabezas Mountains, Thomas Box was robbed and murdered. He never reached his home and no one knew what happened to him -- some feared foul play. According to a
newspaper account, his disappearance was "shrouded in mystery". But, since no "body" was found, his disappearance remained a mystery until skeletal remains were discovered in the Dos Cabezas Mountains on 25 October 1884. A Coroners Inquest was held the next day on October 26th and the remains were declared to belong to Thomas Box. Tom's murderer was never discovered.
QUESTIONS concerning the death of Thomas Michael Box:
WHAT happened to the remains after the Inquest? Were they properly buried?
WHO knew Thomas had money from the sale of the cattle, and who knew where he was going?
WHY wasn't his disappearance in 1883 investigated?
Was there a cover-up? Coroner's report does not seem complete.
There is more information in the Dodge newspaper than in local newspapers. Why didn't the Arizona newspapers give a more detailed account?
Waughtal's testimony doesn't seem plausible. There are too many inconsistancies.
WHO killed Thomas Box??
****2021 UPDATE****
Thomas M Box Probate Blog Post
***Another murder in the family took place in the Arizona Mountains. In 1910, Fred Kibbe was murdered in the White Mountains on the Fort Apache Road. Click here
