- On February 19, 1894, Milton Sparks arrived at the Grand Central Station in Houston, with his wife Constant, infant daughter Ruth, and Constable D.I. Sutton of Eagle Lake to attend the trial of Milton's brother Frank on the following day. James Mitchell of Richmond was standing on the platform, and when he saw Constable Sutton, fired six shots into the crowd. Milton, Constable Sutton, and Dan Gleason, a bystander, were killed. Mrs. Sparks and her daughter were wounded. Mitchell claimed that he only intended to kill Constable Sutton because of a dispute involving Mitchell's wife and that Milton Sparks was a friend of his. Mitchell was shot to death in a gunfight in Richmond, Texas on October 1895, before he could be brought to trial for the murders in Houston.
(Information from Weimar Mercury News, February 20, 1894)
(findagrave)
Death of William Melton Sparks: William Melton Sparks is buried in Eagle Lake, Texas but he was shot and killed in Houston, Texas on 19 Feb 1894 by James B. Mitchell. He had just stepped off of the train from Eagle Lake, TX and was carrying his two year old daughter in his arms who was also hit by a stray bullet. Mitchell began firing and three men lay dead, D. I. Sutton, the constable of Eagle Lake, Melton Sparks, and Dan Gleason, a hack driver for the Globe Hotel. (See the Galveston Daily News story of 20 Feb 1894 and subsequent editions).
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