Slagle Cemetery and Bridge

Missouri · United States · Cemetery

One of the first settlers in Livingston County, Missouri buried several wives and most of his children, and there was no law yet to ask him why.

Mr Slagle was among the first settlers in Livingston County, Missouri. He built a mill and became wealthy. He had several wives and several children, and most of them died in circumstances the county remembered as mysterious.

Local tradition holds that he murdered them all. It also holds that he was responsible for the first reported murder in Livingston County, and that the body of the man he killed is buried beneath the road that runs past the cemetery. He was never charged with anything, for the simple reason that there was as yet no law in the county to charge him.

His wives and children lie in the cemetery, and so does he. None of the murder claims has ever been tested in a court or, as far as we can establish, in a document, and they should be read as what a frontier community concluded about a neighbour rather than as proven fact.

An old bridge stands nearby and carries its own set of reports. The cemetery is small, rural and still identifiable.

FAQ

Where is Slagle Cemetery and Bridge located?

Slagle Cemetery and Bridge is in Missouri, United States.