1888 Demon Alcohol Leads to Murder

Picture was added April 18, 2013
The right image is the original scan.  The left I tried using color
correction software.  Neither is great but it's better
than nothing!  ca. 1880

While researching some of the Irvine relatives I came across Harry Clinton Irvine, the first born son of Agnes Moran and B.D. Irvine.  His nickname was Buck.   The Irvine branch of the family seemed to be full of piss and vinegar as my own mom would say.  They were a wild bunch.  In an earlier post I related the story of Sid and Tom Irvine and the murder of J.W. Kerr in Bowie Texas.  Tom did the actual killing but he left the state leaving Sid at the mercy of the law.

Back to Harry.  Harry was born Oct. 9 1857.  I found it very strange to find a marriage record for Harry in 1871 to a girl named Harriet Younger.  Harry was only 13 at the time.  The marriage fees were paid by R.H. Younger.  I'm still researching the Younger family but I believe this to be Reuben H. Younger of Kentucky who moved to Dresden Tennessee.  I don't know if Harriet was one of his daughters or possibly a niece but I have a feeling this was a "shotgun" wedding.  One other thing, it's possible they only took out a license and there was no wedding ceremony since there is no date or signature where the rites of marriage were solemnized.

More interesting is that in the 1880 Census Harry is still listed as being single, age 21, and living at home with his parents.  What happened to his wife Harriet?

The next thing I came across was the Hamilton Daily Democrat of March 5, 1888.  It seems that Harry and Tabe White were quarreling over a jug of whisky.  Harry shot and killed Tabe.  I've not found anything else regarding this crime.

The last thing I know about Harry is that he died at the age of 39 on May 7, 1897 and is buried in Moran Cemetery, Dresden Tennessee.  Cause of death is unknown.

If you can fill in any information about Harry drop me a line.