I have not heard a story about rescuing a little boy, and if in fact this man did raise him as his son, it isn't the one I'm looking for. However, there do seem to be some parallels to the stories so I will tell you what I have:

I have been searching for almost 20 years for the origin of a man who was called "Benjamin Albert Shipwash" That is the name he was known by when he lived in the Bedford Indiana (Lawrence County) area, between 1900 and 1919.

Legend has it that he lived "out East" and that he killed his first wife & their hired hand after finding them in bed together. (Shot them dead in the bed with a rifle). He said that afterward, he had "gone out West" for a short time, (supposedly lived with some Indians) then came to Indiana, where he lived for the remainder of his life, remarried in 1902 and had two children.

(NOTE: No one seems to know exactly WHEN or WHERE the murders occurred, but I estimate it may have been about 1880 to 1900, probably in the early 1890's).

Benjamin had told his family that the Pinkertons were "after him" and at one point when his son Harry was very young, Benjamin did not return home after work. (This could have been about 1910 to 1915??)

The story is that a man did come looking for him but that his wife, Rhoda honestly did not know where he had gone.

We have heard that someone "tipped Benjamin off" about a man searching for him (a man who was probably from the Pinkertons?) Supposedly, that man told Rhoda to tell Benjamin that they "would not look for him any longer."

Allegedly, she later received a telegram from Benjamin stating that he was in Terre Haute, (Vigo County) Indiana, and that she & the children should join him. They did, and they lived there for a short time before returning to the Bedford area (Lawrence County Indiana).

We do not know whether Benjamin Albert Shipwash was his true name or not, but I feel that even in that time period, IF he was indeed a fugitive murderer, and if he "changed" his birth name, he would most likely have chosen a more
common (less conspicuous) name. I think "Shipwash" is a fairly rare name now, but in those days was probably even more uncommon than it is now. Therefore, I believe that "Benjamin Albert" (OR "Albert Benjamin"??) Shipwash was, in fact, his true given name.

He always went by the name "Benjamin Albert Shipwash", BUT his tombstone says "A.B." Shipwash and lists his Year of Birth as 1850.

He was married on 01-01-1902 to Rhoda Elizabeth Smiley Hubbard in Lawrence County Indiana. On his marriage license, he gave HIS PARENTS' NAMES as William Shipwash & Jane (Jarvis); he listed his birthplace as Virginia,
and his Year of Birth as "1861".

He always told his Indiana family that his family originated in Ireland and that he was born IN IRELAND and that his family came to the United States when he was young.

He COULD have come from Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, (or just about anywhere.) He also was reported to have said that he had seven brothers who were all killed in a coal mine explosion
(about 1911 to 1915??) This MAY have been in the Monongahela region, possible the Northern part of W.Va. or Southeastern PA???), as he told his family in Indiana that is where they lived.

The FACTS that I have are:
He had fiery red hair & a violent temper.(Makes the murders believable, and I see no reason for a man to have claimed to be a murderer if it was not indeed true.) Mr. Shipwash was said to be very fond of his horses.

Indiana law has required everyone who died AFTER 1910 to have a Death Certificate; Mr. Shipwash died in 1919, but no death certificate has been found for him.

On his children's birth certificates, he gave conflicting information about his own age, (as well as on his marriage license; evidently someone else also reversed his initials and gave a different birth year for his tombstone), so he must have been hiding something. (This "accomplice" must have found a
way to avoid the Death Certificate. Interesting.)

His son, Harry Theodore Shipwash was born in Lawrence County (Indiana) on September 6, 1904. Harry died in 1959.

Benjamin and Rhoda also had a daughter, Letha. Little is known about Letha, except that she was married to a Burl Lewis and MAY have also been married to an Emery earlier in her life. She died about 1953.

This is ALL the information I have been able to find on this man. Anything that can be verified will be greatly appreciated.

Joyce M. Jeffries
bookwoman@bluemarble.net