Changes

==Relocation to Colorado==

==Relocation to Colorado==

On June 10, 1871, while back in Moniteau County, Ratcliff, at twenty-nine, married his neighbor, Elizabeth McNair, who was some five years his senior.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moniteau.net/marriages/groom/marriages-ra-ri.html|title=Ratcliff-McNair marriage|publisher=Moniteau.net|accessdate=October 22, 2020}}</ref> Later in the year, the Ratcliffs took the train to Denver, the stagecoach to [[Colorado Springs]], and then a wagon or horseback to the Tarryall Creek area of Park County. The Ratliffs established a successful homestead and ranch]that remained in their family from purchase in 1876 until his arrest in 1895. Ratcliff reported to the 1885 Colorado census that he owned four horses, twenty dairy cows, thirty beef cattle, some seventy calves, and had produced that year six hundred pounds of [[butter]].<ref name=vandusen/>

On June 10, 1871, while back in Moniteau County, Ratcliff, at twenty-nine, married his neighbor, Elizabeth McNair, who was some five years his senior.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moniteau.net/marriages/groom/marriages-ra-ri.html|title=Ratcliff-McNair marriage|publisher=Moniteau.net|accessdate=October 22, 2020}}</ref> Later in the year, the Ratcliffs took the train to Denver, the stagecoach to [[Colorado Springs]], and then a wagon or horseback to the Tarryall Creek area of Park County. The Ratliffs established a successful homestead and ranch that remained in their family from purchase in 1876 until his arrest in 1895. Ratcliff reported to the 1885 Colorado census that he owned four horses, twenty dairy cows, thirty beef cattle, some seventy calves, and had produced that year six hundred pounds of [[butter]].<ref name=vandusen/>

   

   

In October 1882, Elizabeth Ratcliff and her fourth child died in childbirth. At forty-one, Ratcliff was left a widower to rear his son, Howell, and two daughters, Lizzie and Lavina. In 1884, he sent the daughters back to Missouri to live with relatives. Ratcliff and his son Howell, still a boy of ten, ran the ranch together. By 1892 or 1894, the girls returned to Colorado. Lizzie had a severe limp that had become permanent because of the lack of medical attention following a fall. One of her legs was six inches shorter than the other.<ref name=vandusen/> After Ratcliff's arrest, conviction, and execution, his children inherited nothing under the [[Homestead Act]] of 1862 because all were still under the age of twenty-one. The Ratcliff children soon left Park County in April 1896.<ref>''The Flum,'' July 9, 1897.</ref>

In October 1882, Elizabeth Ratcliff and her fourth child died in childbirth. At forty-one, Ratcliff was left a widower to rear his son, Howell, and two daughters, Lizzie and Lavina. In 1884, he sent the daughters back to Missouri to live with relatives. Ratcliff and his son Howell, still a boy of ten, ran the ranch together. By 1892 or 1894, the girls returned to Colorado. Lizzie had a severe limp that had become permanent because of the lack of medical attention following a fall. One of her legs was six inches shorter than the other.<ref name=vandusen/> After Ratcliff's arrest, conviction, and execution, his children inherited nothing under the [[Homestead Act]] of 1862 because all were still under the age of twenty-one. The Ratcliff children soon left Park County in April 1896.<ref>''The Flume,'' July 9, 1897.</ref>

   

   

Ratcliff in 1895 wrote George Miller, the superintendent of the Michigan Creek School Board, to request one of the following: (1) that the school be moved closer to the Ratcliff homestead, (2) that a special homebound teacher be assigned to assist him in the education of his children, or (3) that he be allowed to use the school textbooks and materials for [[home schooling]]. At the time, public school was held in Park County only in the winter, as children were needed for farm and ranch chores during the remainder of the year.<ref name=vandusen/> Ratcliff asked for the assistance to accommodate Lizzie's handicap because the school was seven miles away.<ref name=transcript/> When the school board would not meet any of his requests, Ratcliff became frustrated, and events soon turned to disaster.<ref name=vandusen/>

Ratcliff in 1895 wrote George Miller, the superintendent of the Michigan Creek School Board, to request one of the following: (1) that the school be moved closer to the Ratcliff homestead, (2) that a special homebound teacher be assigned to assist him in the education of his children, or (3) that he be allowed to use the school textbooks and materials for [[home schooling]]. At the time, public school was held in Park County only in the winter, as children were needed for farm and ranch chores during the remainder of the year.<ref name=vandusen/> Ratcliff asked for the assistance to accommodate Lizzie's handicap because the school was seven miles away.<ref name=transcript/> When the school board would not meet any of his requests, Ratcliff became frustrated, and events soon turned to disaster.<ref name=vandusen/>

Some believed that Ratcliff was involved in the disappearance of a neighboring rancher, Gottlieb Fluhmann, a [[Switzerland|Swiss]]-American, with whom he may have quarreled. Ratcliff and Fluhmann lived thirty miles apart separated by a rough road. Ratcliff was never a suspect in Fluhmann's disappearance, which was not resolved until 1944 and then only partially so.<ref name=carrigan>{{cite web|url=http://tri-lakestribune.net/stories/Gottlieb-Fluhmanns-ghost-and-Ratcliff-side-of-the-story,66720|title=Rob Carrigan, Gottlieb Fluhmann's ghost and Ratcliff side of the story, October 27, 2012|publisher=trilakestribune.net|accessdate=January 21, 2014}}</ref> Ratcliff fenced off his property so that his neighbors could not gain access to water from the Upper Tarryall.<ref name=vandusen/>

Some believed that Ratcliff was involved in the disappearance of a neighboring rancher, [[Gottlieb Fluhmann]], a [[Switzerland|Swiss]]-American, with whom he may have quarreled. Ratcliff and Fluhmann lived thirty miles apart separated by a rough road. Ratcliff was never a suspect in Fluhmann's disappearance, which was not resolved until 1944 and then only partially so.<ref name=carrigan>Rob Carrigan, "Gottlieb Fluhmann's ghost and Ratcliff side of the story," ''Tri-Lakes Tribune,'' (Monument, Colorado), October 27, 2012.</ref> Ratcliff fenced off his property so that his neighbors could not gain access to water from the Upper Tarryall.<ref name=vandusen/>

==Crime and punishment==

==Crime and punishment==

Ratcliff rode his horse into the Fairplay and turned himself into the custody of Deputy Sheriff James A. Link.<ref name=transcript/> Because of tensions stemming from the case in Fairplay, Ratcliff was tried in Buena Vista in Chaffee County.<ref>"Ratcliff Found Guilty: The Jury Returned a Verdict Saturday Night," ''The Colorado Springs Gazette,'' July 27, 1895, p. 1.</ref> Eleven defense witnesses testified for Ratcliff, including his son.<ref name=transcript/>

Ratcliff rode his horse into the Fairplay and turned himself into the custody of Deputy Sheriff James A. Link.<ref name=transcript/> Because of tensions stemming from the case in Fairplay, Ratcliff was tried in Buena Vista in Chaffee County.<ref>"Ratcliff Found Guilty: The Jury Returned a Verdict Saturday Night," ''The Colorado Springs Gazette,'' July 27, 1895, p. 1.</ref> Eleven defense witnesses testified for Ratcliff, including his son.<ref name=transcript/>

Ratcliff was found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to death by hanging. The original execution date was August 1895. However, according to the trial transcript, his attorney Vinton Garrett Holliday (1843-1909), a Republican judge in Fairplay,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11105872|title=Judge Vinton Garrett Holliday|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=October 22., 2020}}</ref> sought a re-trial on the grounds that the jury had been given erroneous instructions. A second trial was held in January 1896, insane. Ratcliff was hence hanged at the Colorado State Penitentiary at Cañon City.<ref name=vandusen/> Ratcliff was hanged by a weight-and-pulley system that jerked the convicted criminal upwards and instantly broke his neck. Therefore, Ratcliff did not strangle slowly while hanging on a rope in what is known as the drop gallows system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccpl.lib.co.us/history_old/prisons/CapitalPunishment.html|author=Diana Andersen|title=Capital Punishment|publisher=ccpl.lib.co.us|accessdate=January 28, 2014}}</ref>

Ratcliff was found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to death by hanging. The original execution date was August 1895. However, according to the trial transcript, his attorney Vinton Garrett Holliday (1843-1909), a Republican judge in Fairplay,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11105872|title=Judge Vinton Garrett Holliday|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=October 22., 2020}}</ref> sought a re-trial on the grounds that the jury had been given erroneous instructions. A second trial was held in January 1896, insane. Ratcliff was hence hanged at the Colorado State Penitentiary at Cañon City.<ref name=vandusen/> Ratcliff was hanged by a weight-and-pulley system that jerked the convicted criminal upwards and instantly broke his neck. Therefore, Ratcliff did not strangle slowly while hanging on a rope in what is known as the drop gallows system.<ref>Diana Andersen, "Capital Punishment," ccpl.lib.co.us, accessed January 28, 2014.</ref>

Among inmates at the time Ratcliff was in the Colorado penitentiary awaiting trial and execution, were Anton Anton Woode (1882-1950), who at the age of twelve in 1893, was the youngest person in the nation confined to a state institution, convicted of murder and theft,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccpl.lib.co.us/History_Old/Prisons/WoodeAnton.htmlauthor=Diana Andersen|title=Anton Woode|publisher=ccpl.lib.co.us|accessdate=January 31, 2014}}</ref> and Alfred Packer, who served nineteen years of a 41-year sentence for killing and cannibalizing five men on a prospecting expedition from [[Utah]] into Colorado.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccpl.lib.co.us/history_old/prisons/packeralfred.html|author=Diana Andersen|title=Alfred Packer|publisher=ccpl.lib.co.us|accessdate=January 31, 2014}}</ref>

Among inmates at the time Ratcliff was in the Colorado penitentiary awaiting trial and execution, were Anton Woode (1882-1950), who at the age of twelve in 1893, was the youngest person in the nation confined to a state institution, convicted of murder and theft,<ref>Diana Andersen, "Anton Woode," ccpl.lib.co.us, accessed=January 31, 2014}}</ref> and Alfred Packer, who served nineteen years of a 41-year sentence for killing and cannibalizing five men on a prospecting expedition from [[Utah]] into Colorado.<ref>Diana Andersen, "Alfred Packer," ccib.co.us, accessed January 31, 2014}}</ref>

==Aftermath==

==Aftermath==

Mrs. Ratcliff and her infant child are interred at Bordenville Cemetery in the now ghost town of Bordenville near Jefferson in Park County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/co/bordenville.html|title=Bordenville|publisher=ghosttowns.com|accessdate=January 25, 2014}}</ref> There is no public record regarding Ratcliff's burial. His body lay in the prison coffin for two snowy days in Buena Vista before it was claimed<ref>''Chaffee County Republican,'' February 12, 1896.</ref> and presumably buried in frozen ground, possibly on his homestead about a mile from the actual domicile.<ref name=vandusen/>

Mrs. Ratcliff and her infant child are interred at Bordenville Cemetery in the now ghost town of Bordenville near Jefferson in Park County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/co/bordenville.html|title=Bordenville|publisher=ghosttowns.com|accessdate=October 23, 2020}}</ref> There is no public record regarding Ratcliff's burial. His body lay in the prison coffin for two snowy days in Buena Vista before it was claimed<ref>''Chaffee County Republican,'' February 12, 1896.</ref> and presumably buried in frozen ground, possibly on his homestead about a mile from the actual domicile.<ref name=vandusen/>

There is a two-foot [[granite]] [[obelisk]] on the former Ratcliff property. It is unknown who erected the obelisk or when it was placed there. In 2010, Ratcliff descendants placed an engraved paver tile beside the obelisk as a memorial. It is unknown if Ratcliff's grave is at the actual location of the marker.<ref name=vandusen/>

There is a two-foot [[granite]] [[obelisk]] on the former Ratcliff property. It is unknown who erected the obelisk or when it was placed there. In 2010, Ratcliff descendants placed an engraved paver tile beside the obelisk as a memorial. It is unknown if Ratcliff's grave is at the actual location of the marker.<ref name=vandusen/>

The former Ratcliff homestead is located in the Pike National Forest with a view of South Park and surrounding mountains. The physical remains are a two-room structure without a roof or windows. Hidden from public view and easy access, the lot is covered with grass and wildflowers and has a stream of cool, clear [[water]].<ref name=vandusen/>

The former Ratcliff homestead is located in the Pike National Forest with a view of South Park and surrounding mountains. The physical remains are a two-room structure without a roof or windows. Hidden from public view and easy access, the lot is covered with grass and wildflowers and has a stream of cool, clear [[water]].<ref name=vandusen/>

The Ratcliff case has been termed "the most brutal and unprovoked murder ever known in Park County."<ref name=barth/> On May 9, 1895, the largest funeral procession ever assembled in Park County came together for the last rites of the three victims. After his conviction, Ratcliff claimed that he had given up part of his life wounded in Civil War service and would surrender the remainder of it in the good name of his family.<ref name=barth>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54ufW2eJJKQC&pg=PA254 |author=Richard C. Barth|title= Pioneers of the Colorado Parks|publisher=Caxton Press|year=1997 |isbn=978-0870043819| page=254|accessdatOctober 22, 2020}}</ref>

The Ratcliff case has been termed "the most brutal and unprovoked murder ever known in Park County."<ref name=barth/> On May 9, 1895, the largest funeral procession ever assembled in Park County came together for the last rites of the three victims. After his conviction, Ratcliff claimed that he had given up part of his life wounded in Civil War service and would surrender the remainder of it in the good name of his family.<ref name=barth>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54ufW2eJJKQC&pg=PA254 |author=Richard C. Barth|title= Pioneers of the Colorado Parks|publisher=Caxton Press|year=1997 |isbn=978-0870043819| page=254|accessdate=October 23, 2020}}</ref>

==References==

==References==