I feel compelled to collect them all even if there is no paper or DNA trail to connect them to my ancestors. I collect their stories and whatever facts I can gather about their lives and share them online in my "Moynahan Scrapbook". In the story that follows, misspelling of a surname saved Malachi's life!
Malachi D. Moynihan Escapes the Noose Twice!
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| Source: Screenshot: https://museum.canoncity.org/ |
Malachi's story takes place in Canon City, Fremont, Colorado and involves a mule, a murder and a mean-spirited railway section boss named Fitzpatrick.
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Topeka, Kansas
Thu, Aug 24, 1876 · Page 1
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One newspaper reported that, immediately following the murder and arrest, Malachi was threatened with the Lynch Law which meant swift punishment of a presumed crime or offense (usually by hanging) without due process of law.) The Lynch Law was named after Captain William Lynch (1742–1820)
The newspapers presumed that Malachi would be dead by morning ....and would be found hanged "by indignant citizens" of Canon City .... but he wasn't!
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Topeka, Kansas
Wed, Aug 16, 1876 · Page 1
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| Source: Screenshot: https://museum.canoncity.org/ |
Misspelling Surnames
Lucky for Malachi But Not For Me
The real difficulty in researching the FULL story about Malachi is that his surname is spelled differently on every document following the murder. Unlucky for me but really lucky for Malachi.
Malachi was given due process of law, found guilty, convicted of the murder (Nov. 7, 1876) of Patrick Fitzpatrick and scheduled to hang in January 1877 but he must have had a great lawyer!
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| The History of the Death Penalty in Colorado by Michael Radelet |
Malachi's case went all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court where he won a reprieve because the original indictment misspelled Fitzpatrick's name and the conviction was vacated in August 1877.
Whatever Happened to Malachi
Minher/Monahan/Monyhan/Moynahan/Moynehan?
After escaping the noose twice, Malachi was sentenced to the Colorado State Prison and is found on the census there in 1880. From his prison records, we learn that he was a 58-year-old unmarried carpenter who was born in Ireland as were his parents.
Another Family Search record for a Malachy D. Monyhan who died in 1893 in Canon City, Fremont, Colorado and is buried in an unmarked pauper's grave (47) in Greenwood Cemetery.
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| Source: Family Search: United States Census, 1880 Colorado Fremont Colorado State Penitentiary ED 46 |
The cemetery records indicate that he was a veteran of the Civil War. There are two burial records (with differing dates) at Greenwood Cemetery:
- Record # 2427 Maynickar, Malachi died 1893 Nov 22 buried PR 47
- Record # 1070 Moynahan, Malachi died 1893 May 22 buried PR 47
I had assumed that misspelling of his surname followed him all the way to the grave, however, Rachel Smith of the Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center (RGRMHC) kindly informed me that:
"After looking at the indexes of the Greenwood Cemetery that we have, I am pretty confident that Malachi Maynickar and Malachi Moynahan are different people, even though coincidentally, they both have the same first name and passed away the same year and are both buried in the Pauper’s Section of the Greenwood Cemetery. According to the last two pages of the PDF file I attached, Maynickar is buried in grave spot number 262 and Moynahan (misspelled in the record as Moynihan) is buried in grave spot number 275"
UPDATE
I contacted the Colorado State Archives to request the penitentiary records for Prisoner 273 Malachi D. Moynihan. This cost $20 (USD) which I was glad to pay because these records can often contain a great deal of information and I was surprised by how quickly I received the information back.
I learned from this small piece of information:
- Malachi Moynahan was convicted Nov. 7 1877
- He was given a life sentence for murder.
- He was 54 years of age at the time, dark complexion, hazel eyes and gray hair
- He had a large scar on his throat (4 inches long)
- His occupation is listed as carpenter and he was NOT married
- He was born in Killarney, Ireland and both his parents are listed as "dead"
- He was able to read and write and signed his name M.D. Moynihan
- March 14, 1887 he was sent to the Insane Asylum and returned to prison on May 22, 1887
- Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center https://museum.canoncity.org/
- Fremont, Colorado Heritage https://fremontheritage.com/
- Museums Archives - Royal Gorge Bridge & Park https://royalgorgebridge.com/tag/museums/
- Colorado State Archives Search https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/archives/archives-search
- Library of Congress: Digital Collections: https://www.loc.gov/collections/
- Moynahan v The People; Colo 367 (1877) https://cite.case.law/colo/3/367/
- The Colorado State Archives services Colorado Volunteer and Colorado National Guard military records https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/archives/military-records
- Civil War Database https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/index.htm
- Civil War Soldiers Database https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm
Research To Be Located
- The Pistol: A Man Killed at Canon City; 24 Aug 1876; Weekly Chieftain
- Greenhorn Notes; 30 Nov 1876; Weekly Chieftain
- Supreme Court Decisions; Denver Daily Times; 24 Aug 1877
- Civil War Records
- Census Records
- Death Record
- Emigration Record
- Denver and Rio Grand Railway Records
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