JEFFERSON COUNTY NEW YORK CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS' BIOGRAPHIES

John Byer

Union Soldier - Distinguished Service

John Byer enlisted at Cape Vincent, at the age of 17 in the 5th New York Cavalry, Company I on October 31, 1861. Later he was moved to 193 Reserve Division New York Volunteer Infantry, Company G. He was mustered out on October 22, 1864. John was murdered in his home at Cape Vincent on October 7, 1913 by person or persons unknown. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Cape Vincent.

The Watertown Daily Times Friday, November 7, 1913

Funeral of John Byer

Cape Vincent, Nov 7- The funeral of John Byer, who was found dead in his home at Wilson Settlement, was held Thursday afternoon at 2, Rev. Walter E. Cook officiating. Interment was made in Riverside cemetery.

SYRACUSE JOURNAL Monday, November 10, 1913
CLOSING IN ON BYER'S SLAYER
Suspicions of County Officials Now Center Upon Man at Cape Vincent. WATERTOWN, Nov. 10 - The bullet that took the life of John C. Byer at his home three miles from Cape Vincent village on the evening of Oct. 7 may never be found. Sheriff Morris S. Cragg, Undersheriff C. C. Hosmer and District Attorney Claude B. Alverson were unable to discover it in the house of the dead man. Traces of a bullet were found low in the western wall toward the foot of the bunk; marks where the leaden ball had penetrated the plaster and glanced out again at contact with the lath, but the officials do not believe that the shot from which this came killed Byer.

Contrary to expectations no arrests were made Sunday in connection with the murder. While admitting that their suspicions now center upon one individual who resides either near or at Cape Vincent, the authorities will make no arrest until several loose ends of theories can be joined into a web of evidence that will have no loopholes.

Roy Byer of this city, a son, says that he knows of no enemies that his father had made, or of no trouble with anyone that might result in the crime. He believes the motive to have been robbery. "I hope they get the man who did it," he said. None of the neighbors heard any shots or disturbances about the time that the crime took place, nor were any strangers noticed in the vicinity. This strengthens the theory of the sheriff and district attorney, also shared by Roy Byer, that the slayer of John Byer was a person well acquainted with his habits, whose entry to his home in the early evening aroused no suspicion in his victim and occasioned no resistance. Byer's revolver lay undisturbed in its accustomed place on the bed, and he sat on his bunk when the shot struck him.

The Watertown Daily Times Thursday, August 16, 1914

It resembles the John Byer murder case at Cape Vincent. The body of Byer was found in his home at Cape Vincent early last November.

The Watertown Daily Times December 12, 1914

DUTCH JOHN NOT AT PLUM ISLAND County Officials Have No Clue To His Whereabouts
That the officials have apparently been on the wrong track in thinking that "Dutch John" is at Plum Island, near New York city, became known today whan Coroner H. L. Smith held a special inquest in the case of John Byer, the Cape Vincent veteran, who was murdered several months ago, and examined one John Kroog, a fellow countryman. Kroog has just returned from Plum Island, where he claims he has been working. He says that he knows nothing of the crime and that he has not seen "Dutch John" since he (Kroog) left Cape Vincent. The only explanation of the Plum Island theory he could give the coroner was that, before he went away, he told the men at the place where he boarded that he was going to Plum lsland. Dutch John spoke up and said that that was where he was going also.

The authorities are now looking for "Dutch John," although they are said to have no clue to his whereabouts. The coroner said this afternoon that everything pointed to him as the = person who committed the crime.

Sources:
Jefferson County NYGenWeb, US Civil War Service Records, for John Byer
Newspaper - Watertown Daily Times - December 12, 1914
Newspaper - Watertown Daily Times - Thursday, August 16, 1914
Newspaper - Watertown Daily Times - Friday, November 7, 1913
Newspaper - Syracuse Journal - Monday, November 10, 1913
Jefferson County NYGenWeb, US Civil War Soldiers Buried in the Town of Cape Vincent

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http://jefferson.nygenweb.net/cwbbyer.htm updated March 7, 2009