I'm reading through all this.

such a sad story. truly.

Q. Mr. Shirley, you are the husband of the woman over whose dead body this inquest is being held, are you not?

ok. he comes home and finds his wife dead on SUNDAY. the next day, everyone shows up at his house, where she is still lying, for the inquest. and here he is, not even a day into dealing with his wife being dead, being. asked. this. question. people were tougher back then. wow.

of course today, he would be suspect #1. automatically. because he is the husband.

now starting off, this is Sunday. I'm guessing they'd all went to church in the morning, if he's a farmer and getting that late of start to go pick peaches. The Cat Creek Church was in the neighborhood. Also Springer Chapel and Sharon Chapel.

there are 4 doors on your house? well, I guess we have 4, counting garage and basement. maybe not that weird.

this man took his boys out peach picking, which sounds like a lot of work, and now they can't get into the house? I can almost hear his tone of voice.

Well, I left home between ten and eleven o'clock on Sunday, Sept. 17th, 1911, I did not return until between four or five o'clock Sunday evening, and drove up near the house to two trees, at the west end of my home, and I let the two boys out and then tied my team. The boys ran to the door to open it, then they tried the two doors on the south, and found them fastened. Then one of the boys went to the other side of the house at the other door, when he came back he said, "let us in". Then they went to the window, where the screen is torn off, and I says, "boys, one of you go in and open the door and let me in." I was still near the team when they opened the door. I picked up a bucket of peaches and took them in the house.

4 doors AND the window, where the screen is torn off?

the year is 1911, so you can just picture the house. AND the stairway. probably narrow. and creaky.

he has no illusions. he instantly knows she is dead. he states this fact to his mother. to his neighbor. to his neighbor's wife. I find it interesting that my great grandfather says he can FEEL her heartbeat, then put his head on her chest and said he could HEAR her heartbeat. he is pretty adamant she's fainted. J.E. is pretty adamant that she'd dead. He has stated this SIX times thus far. (can you imagine arguing with your neighbor over your dead wife's body? SHE. IS. DEAD. I can see Will Ferrell playing Grandpa Tom in the SNL skit. I mean, here is the neighbor, touching your dead wife all over insisting she's alive. like he's trained in First Aid. "My name is Tom. Do you need assistance?" and his wife is like...need me to make some calls? A different time, I suppose.

he calls his father on the phone. then yells at his neighbors from the door (my great grandpa Tom Maxwell.) keep in mind he has these peaches to do something with, and the team tied to the tree that needed unhooked and put up and 4 kids who are probably starting to realize what is going on....

taking a break . more of my observations later. stay tuned.