MN Great Western John Doe, 60-65 years old, murdered 7 September 1934, Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minnesota

[Richard]

On 14 September 1934, the body of a man was found inside a box car of the Great Western Railroad in Red Wing, Minnesota.

It was believed that he was a "Knight of the Road", that is a hobo who traveled by jumping on freight trains.

Death was determined to have been murder by strangulation.

He has remained unidentified for over 90 years.

He was buried in the Goodhue County Alms house cemetery near Red Wing.

 

[lolz]

On 14 September 1934, the body of a man was found inside a box car of the Great Western Railroad in Red Wing, Minnesota.

It was believed that he was a "Knight of the Road", that is a hobo who traveled by jumping on freight trains.

Death was determined to have been murder by strangulation.

He has remained unidentified for over 90 years.

He was buried in the Goodhue County Alms house cemetery near Red Wing.

Heres a link to his find a grave
John Doe (unknown-1934) - Find a Grave Memorial

 

[Richard]

Heres a link to his find a grave
John Doe (unknown-1934) - Find a Grave

The link has a photo of his hand written death certificate as well as a brief obituary.

 

[lolz]

The link has a photo of his hand written death certificate as well as a brief obituary.

I couldn't read it, the photo was too small, tried to enlarge it but that didn't work

 

[cenazoic]

Can’t find the newspaper referenced in the findagrave linked (Red Wing Republican, 15 Sept 1934), but here’s a bit from the Rochester Post-Bulletin, same date:

 

[lolz]

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-winona-daily-news-frederick-schaffer/109676317/
Coincidentally a man named Frederick Schaffer was found along the train tracks a few days prior, he also had a gash on the back of his head. Chance these incidents may be connected, although he probably took his own life?

 

[Richard]

I couldn't read it, the photo was too small, tried to enlarge it but that didn't work

I had trouble reading it as it appears in the first screen. But if you click on the photo, it might appear in a more clear image that can be enlarged.

 

[lolz]

I had trouble reading it as it appears in the first screen. But if you click on the photo, it might appear in a more clear image that can be enlarged.

When I clicked on it and opened the actual image it went blurry on me, I will see if I can find it somewhere on the ancestry sites and upload it here.

Update. Couldn't find it. But did find a death record on family search suggesting that he was born in 1874 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CYTV-C8PZ?lang=en

Looks like there is another John Doe found in the same area but this time in 1947. Doe was born in about 1887 and died at about the age of 60. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDXQ-X8C?lang=en