Eureka Alleged Mass Murderer Arrested 83 Years Ago Friday

Recently I submitted a blog with a picture of my front porch relic, a caboose stove dating back to the 1800s, in which my narrative mentioned the name Bertha Gifford, of Franklin County. She was arrested in Eureka about a quarter of a mile from where I am sitting right now.

One of the men I mentioned in the blog was Joe Murphy, who also grew up in the Catawissa-Morse Mill area, and who at times would sit up with people who were ill and cared for by Bertha. She purported to be healing people, but she later was accused on poisoning those she 'doctored.' I also knew her husband, Gene Gifford.

In November of 1928, the case against Bertha Gifford was tried in Union, MO, and while she was not convicted of murder, she was declared insane and spent that sentence in the asylum in Farmington, MO. Because she was great cook, she operated mostly as a cook at the asylum, dying herself there in 1951.

This is a fascinating story of romance, intrigue, the glory days of the 1920s and a good history of our area that is too good to miss.

There are great stories on the Internet, some of the best are under copyright through 2011, so I invite you to log on and enjoy them for yourselves.

See:  www.berthagifford.com and enjoy the reading.  One entry is from a 2009 blog by a Californian who described what she went through for her story.  Her name is S. Kaye Murphy. This will let you know how much an effort it is to produce our work.

Thank you for looking.