- Date
- 1919-09-21
- Kind
- Crime
- Where
- Saint James
- Participants
- John Floyd (victim) · Allie Ward (assailant)
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- communityheritagehistoriography
- Within
- Saint James
Summary
At Saint James on Sunday evening, September 21, 1919, the Charlevoix County Herald reported that machinist Allie Ward shot fisherman John Floyd through the abdomen with a high-powered rifle. Floyd received first aid from Father Jewel, was taken by boat to Petoskey Hospital, and was reported to be resting more comfortably. Sheriff Weaver took Ward to Charlevoix on Monday.
Evidence and limits
The numeric date is reconstructed from the September 26 issue’s “last Sunday” wording. The report says Ward fired three shots and that witnesses believed he was “slightly off,” but this article does not diagnose him or turn the newspaper characterization into a medical fact. The source supplies no motive, court docket, later condition of Floyd, or final disposition of Ward.
Open questions
- Did Floyd recover, and do Petoskey Hospital or later local records identify the outcome?
- What charges, if any, were filed against Ward, and was there a court proceeding?
- Can civil or directory records distinguish these episode-specific people from other Floyd or Ward records?
- Who was Father Jewel/Jewell in the 1919 Saint James parish context?
See also
Sources
- "St. James Man Badly Wounded," *Charlevoix County Herald*, September 26, 1919.The report says John Floyd, 35, was shot at Saint James on the preceding Sunday evening by Allie Ward, received first aid from Father Jewel, was taken by boat to Petoskey Hospital, and that Ward was taken to Charlevoix by Sheriff Weaver. It gives no later medical or court disposition. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
- Raw issue OCR preserves the report's three shots, the rifle wound, the no-physician-on-island context, and the arrest report.
Added 1 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Shooting of John Floyd at Saint James”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/shooting-of-john-floyd-1919/, accessed [date], citing "St. James Man Badly Wounded," *Charlevoix County Herald*, September 26, 1919. (and 1 further source listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-01. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Shooting of John Floyd at Saint James”RIS for “Shooting of John Floyd at Saint James”