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Submitted: 4/13/15 • Approved: 4/14/15 • Last Updated: 9/13/17 • R1069439-G0-S3
28 Apr 1887 - 19 Dec 1931
Son of John Williams Gatling (1851 - 1916)
and Elizabeth Gilliam Skinner Gatling (1856 - 1946)
Husband of Bessie Mae Williams Gatling (1895 - 1936)
Children:
John Williams Gatling (1919 - 1942)
Siblings:
Olive Gilliam Gatling Leigh (1882 - 1956)
Louise Gatling Gilliam (1885 - 1966)
John Williams Gatling (1887 - 1931)
Thomas Nimocks Gatling (1887 - 1966)
Elizabeth Gilliam Gatling Bridgforth (1889 - 1989)
James Lawrence Gatling (1891 - 1971)
Dorothy Leigh Gatling (1897 - 1902)
*Obituary and Notations
The body of John Williams Gatling, 43 years, was found this morning in the L'Anguille river this morning by a searching party composed of A.L.Stevens, John Threat . Russell Williams. It was found under a drift, about one mile below the new concrete bridge and a quarter mile below the iron bridge near where his car was found parked following his disppearance from home on Saturday, Dec.19. The body had not come to the surface but was first touched by Mr.Stevens boat paddle, and John Threat reached down and pulled it to the surface. It was entangled with a mass of drift, near the middle of the river. The body had drifted to witing 200 or 300 yards of nets that had been stretched across the river several days ago to intercept it. News of the finding was brought to the city by Mr.Williams and the body brought to Stevens Funeral home. The body upon investigation at the funeral home was found to have a bullet hole in the left of the heart and it is believed that Mr.Gatling would not have been able to do the shooting himself based on the angle of the bullet in the body. The autopsy found a 25 caliber bullet, performed by Dr.N.C.McCown and Dr.J.O.Rush, and the coroner's inquiry returned a verdict of death due to a bullet from an unknown person. Funeral services will be tomorrow, New Years day, at the Forrest City cemetery. Mr.Gatling's watch was found, and it stopped at 1:20 o'clock, and his knife was also found along with a five dollar bill and papers. No note or message was found. Mr.Gatling had left home enroute to work at the Forrest City Grocer Co. when the disappearance came about.
Forrest City Times-Herald Dec.31,1931
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From Wife's Obituary:
A great tragedy came into Mrs.Gatling's life in the loss of her husband, who came to his death by drowning on the 19th of December, 1931. and was buried on New Year's day, 1932. The exact manner in which Mr.Gatling met his death has never been determined, and the uncertainity of this, with its attendant sorrow, has been a source of grief through the years which Mrs.Gatling was never able to overcome.
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According to "The Semi-Weekly Farm News" newspaper printed Dallas, TX Jan 5, 1932 p 6 and the "AP",John Gatling, 43, of Forrest City, AR, died in Dec 1931.He was a wholesale grocer who had been missing since Dec 19th. His body was found in the L'Anguille River near Forrest City on Dec 31,1931 with a bullet wound.
Contributed on 4/13/15
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Record #: 1069439