"A Double Murder"

Mount Vernon Register, Mount Vernon, IL 31 Oct 1888

A special to the Chicago Inter-Ocean gives the following account of a double murder in our neighboring county of Franklin under the date of Thursday last:
The village of Thompsonville, Franklin County, located three miles from Duquoin on the Cairo Short Line railroad, was the scene of a horrible double murder at an early hour this morning. The news spread rapidly, causing intense excitment and hundreds of people from miles around went to the little town during the day to see the bodies of victims and learn the story of the crime.
Last night Warren and Beth Jordan, John and Charlie Williams and one or two others were deeply engaged in a game of cards. Both Beth Jordan, who had been drinking rather freely, was put to bed and the game continued until it ended in a violent quarrel between Warren Jordan and John Wiilliams. Jordan drew his pistol and fired five shots at Williams, all taking effect, and any one of them enough to have caused death.
Williams fell dead and Jordan turned, dashed from the room and started to run down the street, but was followed and overtaken by his victim's younger brother, Charlie Williams, who had in his hand a sharp hatchet, which he drove deeep into Jordan's brain, clear up to the handle. Jordan fell and expired in five minutes, and Williams went at once to Benton, the county seat, and delivered himself up to Sheriff John B. Moore, who locked him up in the county jail.
The bodies of John Williams and Warren Jordan lay where they had fallen in death, until Coroner John L. Raglan arrived to conduct the inquest, the jury returning a verdict in consonance with the above facts. The hatchet was still sticking in Jordan's head as they viewed the corpse.
The Jordan and Williams families are among the best known and most prominent in Franklin County and Southern Illinois. The two men were well known and generally liked and, while having the reputation of being hard fighters, they were respected by all citizens. Jordan leaves a wife and family while Williams was unmarried.
Charles Williams, who is a relative of T. J. Eubanks, proprietor of the DuQuoin House of this city, has also always borne the name of being a hot fighter when mad. The sympathy of the public seems to be with him and his friends justify his swift vengeance on his brother's murder. Never before has there been such intense excitment in Franklin County as this startling tragedy has caused, and there are grave fears of further, trouble.
Additional info from Helen Lind - Elijah Warren Jordan, son of Elijah and Anna (Garrison) Jordan, married Nancy Caroline Martin. After his death, Nancy married three times, her last husband being Bluford Jordan, a cousin to her first husband and brother to Bethel Jordan who was later killed by his brother in law, Mack Raines. They were sons of Thomas and Irena (Cantrell) Jordan. Jordan and Williams were laid out together for visitation.