Harry Nelson and John Gleason partnered to purchase the Model Bakery on 4th Street in Salem in 1898. Mere days after the partnership formed, disaster would ensue, leaving one of the men dead, and the other awaiting trial for murder.
The gravesite of Albert Gleason, John's son who served in WWI, is a bit less austere than those of his parents. Albert returned from Europe with tuberculosis, and left Salem to seek treatment. He died shortly thereafter.
The grave of Harry Nelson resides in Cedar Grove Cemetary, across the main entrance road from that of his murderer, John Gleason. Despite having reared nine children in Salem with his wife, Nelson's grave stands alone, shaded by stand of cedar trees.
Harry Nelson and John Gleason partnered to purchase the Model Bakery on 4th Street in Salem in 1898. Mere days after the partnership formed, disaster would ensue, leaving one of the men dead, and the other awaiting trial for murder.
Local Salem Historian Jay Anderson uncovered an interesting chapter of Salem history during his research into the community’s past.
The Partnership
“The Model Bakery”. That was the name of the business on 4th Street in Salem, purchased in 1898 from “Jack” Strauss in a joint effort by two Salem men: John H. Gleason and Harry Nelson. A Dec. 15, 1898 clipping of the Salem Monitor, the newspaper at that time, announced the partnership with an advertisement which stated that the Model Bakery was “prepared to furnish the public with the FRESHEST and BEST of bread, pies, cakes, and confectionaries,” as well as hot and cold lunches “at all reasonable hours”. It also promised that the bakery’s prices were reasonable.
“Two guys that came together to start a business; one was a black man [Nelson], one was a white man [Gleason],” Anderson told The Salem News.
At the outset, the two men likely had no idea what events would transpire only days later.
Nelson was an interesting figure in Salem history. According to a May 20, 1937 edition of The Salem Post and The Democrat-Bulletin, another local paper, Nelson had opened a school for black children in Salem sometime prior to opening the bakery. The “colored school”, as the paper called it, was first held around 1897 with 11 students at Nelson's East Salem home. It is unclear if Nelson was the only teacher, or if he taught in the school at all, or exactly how many students attended the school. The paper only says that the school had “a colored teacher who received $10 per month”.
“If you go where Personal Touch cleaners was, that road; go across that dry creek, and you go up that slight grade, and where two roads intersect there, his property was on the left,” said Anderson.
Christmas Eve, 1898
The Salem Monitor, Dec. 29, 1898
Mere days after the Model Bakery’s new owners took over operations, the partnership between Gleeson and Nelson fell apart. The headline of the Salem Monitor on December 29, 1898 would read in all caps: HARRY NELSON MURDERED.
According to that article, the atmosphere in the bakery was rocky from the start. Gleason was reportedly the weak link in the partnership, and his “overbearing, morose disposition” had compelled Nelson to consider withdrawing from the partnership altogether. It was supposed by the author of the article—there was no byline—that Gleason was angry at Nelson for wanting to cut ties, and became “offensive”, and “interfered continually with Nelson’s management of the restaurant department.”
Around 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Nelson confided in some customers about his reasons for wanting out.
“Nelson told some customers in the dining room that he was completely worn out with the day’s work; that Gleason would not do anything but sit behind the counter in the front room and smoke his pipe,” reads the article.
“He wasn’t too happy about that,” said Anderson.
Gleason, who overheard Nelson’s remarks about him, went to the into the dining room, where a quarrel between the two business partners ensued.
Gleason then went into the front room where “it is supposed” that he secured a revolver before returning to quarrel with Nelson. Gleason called Nelson a liar, and Nelson slapped Gleason with the back of his hand. Gleason leveled the revolver at Nelson. Obviously fearing for his life, Nelson reportedly took some sort of dish or bowl from a nearby table to attempt to defend himself.
Gleason fired the pistol, the ball entering Nelson’s body in the left breast above the heart. He would be dead within minutes.
Gleason walked out the door of the restaurant and down the street. He was followed by officers and arrested.
The article lists witnesses to the shooting. They were Steve Miller, Tom Thomure, Charley Masters, Ed. Garrett, Joe Griggs, and W. Gaines, all of whom were in the front room, dining room, or kitchen of the restaurant when the shooting took place.
Following the shooting, the coroner of that time (Dr. J. C. Welch) held an “inquest over the dead body,” which was held at the home of the late Nelson on Sunday afternoon (Christmas Day). The inquest jurymen were I. H. Whitmire, W.T. Martin, J. L. Smith, J. A. Murray, J. J. Jadwin, and C. F. Thornhill.
The grave of Harry Nelson resides in Cedar Grove Cemetary, across the main entrance road from that of his murderer, John Gleason. Despite having reared nine children in Salem with his wife, Nelson's grave stands alone, shaded by stand of cedar trees.
Ben Johnson
Nelson was 43 years old when he was killed and had lived in Salem for about 26 years. The paper recalls him as a “remarkably quiet, peaceable citizen, and a hardworking, honest man.” Nelson had “as many friends as any man in Salem” and the paper reports that the town expressed a general regret over the sad ending of his life. Nelson left behind an unnamed widow and nine children. Nelson was so beloved by his neighbors in fact, that Gleason requested to be guarded after his arrest on the night of the murder, because he feared a mob would form against him. However, the paper noted that there was “no danger of a mob if the law is enforced with reasonable promptness.”
The coroner’s jury came to the obvious conclusion: That Nelson had died from being shot by a pistol at the hands of John Gleason. At the time of the article, Gleason was in jail awaiting the action of the next grand jury.
Gleason goes to trial
The Salem Monitor, Oct. 5, 1899.
In 1899, Gleason, who was charged with first degree murder, saw his case continued. His case would be tried twice in the following years, resulting in a hung jury each time, according to a May 8, 1902 article. That year, the case was tried again by a jury comprised of Fred Kitchens, Geo. Moss, Henry Brown, Thos. A. Arnold, Geo. Steelman, Russel Belew, John R. Plank, J. K. Asher, Robert Nelson, J.H. Dennison, R. E. Malady, and W.T. Horner.
The jury found Gleason guilty of murdering Nelson, and he was sentenced to just ten years in the penitentiary. However, a motion for a new trial was filed by Gleasons attorneys. No newspaper records could be found regarding the outcome of the appeal.
After Nelson’s death, a May 1937 edition of the Salem Post and The Democrat-Bulletin said that Mrs. Louella Mohr taught the little group of children through the early 1900s, “when no colored teacher was available”. No other newspaper mentions of Nelson or the school could be found by Anderson or The Salem News.
“I don’t know [what happened to the school]. There’s nothing past that point; I can’t find anything really. I don’t know if it disbanded because of his death,” he said.
On Feb. 11, 1903, Gleason was taken away from Salem by R. E. See, Marshal of the Supreme Court of Missouri, to serve his sentence.
The Cobbler
It is unclear where Gleason spent the time during his sentence. However, The Salem News was able to uncover more newspaper mentions of Gleason, and his obituary.
After serving his sentence, Gleason apparently returned to Salem and became a cobbler. Advertisements from several editions of the Salem Post and the Democrat-Bulletin and over the next few years said to see John Gleason for shoe repairs in the Woodside building east of Clark’s Dental office.
The Salem Post and The Democrat-Bulletin, Nov. 27, 1913
“If you are looking for cheap shoes, I have them. Come in and let me show you,” reads one ad. A May 28, 1914 record of the expenses of Dent County notes that in February, the county paid John Gleason $2.00 to repair shoes for prisoners.
Another ad reads, “A penny saved is a penny earned. You can save not only pennies but dollars by buying your shoes from me.”
The gravesite of Albert Gleason, John's son who served in WWI, is a bit less austere than those of his parents. Albert returned from Europe with tuberculosis, and left Salem to seek treatment. He died shortly thereafter.
Ben Johnson
Gleason’s ads and mentions (of him, not of his crime,) continue into the early 20’s. He had a wife and one son, Albert, who would serve in the U.S. Army in 1918, before being discharged in 1919. Shortly after returning to Salem, he had to leave to receive treatment for tuberculosis he had contracted during his service. He spent time in various hospitals, but despite being a “patient sufferer”, passed away shortly after. He is buried in the Cedar Grove cemetery.
The Salem Post and The Democrat Bulletin, May 27, 1937
John H. Gleason died on May 27, 1937 at his home in East Salem. In the obituary, nothing was said about his life, surviving relatives, or his crime of murdering Harry Nelson. His wife, Julia, preceded him in death by five years, but this fact was not mentioned in his obituary.
John Gleason's grave now resides in Cedar Grove Cemetary, beside his son, Albert, and his wife, Julia.
Ben Johnson
The True Cost
Gleason’s motive for killing Nelson is not clear from the historical record—was he just unhinged, and quick to anger? Did the object which Nelson held (which may have been something like heavy earthenware or metal) pose a grave danger to Gleason? Or was there a racial component to Nelson’s murder? If there was, why did Gleason go into business with Nelson in the first place?
“It’s kind of hard to wrap your mind around. Harry was a hard worker, you know? If you’re a partnership, it’s supposed to be a partnership. You’re supposed to both work, and Harry was doing all the work, that’s why he was agitated. But I don’t know how Mr. Gleason was,” said Anderson.
Those who find the story of Gleason and Nelson are left with many unanswered questions. Why would Gleason cut down his business partner, a beloved member of the community? Why did it take so long to get a successful conviction in court? Once convicted, why was Gleason sentenced to just ten years? And why, after initially fearing a mob, would Gleason return after his sentence to live the rest of his life as a cobbler in the community from which he feared retribution? Those answers may never be known, but one thing is clear: the true cost of Nelson’s murder was paid not by Gleason; but by Salem’s small community of black children at the time, nine of Nelson’s and several others, that he sought to teach through his school.