Laura Jane Harvey Murder: Part Four

 Laura Jane Harvey

Laura Jane Harvey was the oldest daughter of Rufus J. and Sarah R. Harvey. She was one of eight children with two older brothers, two younger brothers and three younger sisters. Her father Rufus has come from New Hampshire/Maine area as a child and lived in various places in Wisconsin where Laura had been born around 1845 and Illinois. He started off as a Methodist preacher but at some point became an attorney and at the time of Laura's death, was a respected lawyer for the firm Barnap & Harvey in Rockford. 

Mr. Harvey had done some professional business for George Lawrence which is how he came to know Laura and her family. It seems that whenever he was in town, George used the opportunity to stop in to see the Harvey family and to court Laura however her parents weren't too keen on this due to her young age.  Laura's parents forbid George from coming into their house but they still found time to meet clandestinely for buggy rides or to meet up "accidentally" while Laura was running errands around town. 

Eventually, George succeeded in gaining her affections as many a girl's affections have been captured before and talks of an elopement were had. George and Laura set out with the knowledge but not with the blessings of her parents to visit an uncle of hers in Durant via Beloit, Wisconsin. While in Beloit, George and Laura were married before returning back to Rockford.

George Lawrence

George Lawrence was born around 1835 so was a decade older than Laura. I have never been able to ascertain his parentage or where he came from but local newspapers said that he had resided near Rockford for the previous six years and had been farming rented land. He lived with another farmer named William Moore and did farming work for him as well. 

George was apparently not on solid financial footing as the wagon they rode to Ottumwa in was rented and the horses all had mortgages on them that were close to expiring. Shortly before his marriage to Laura, he had stolen some receipts for a quantity of wheat and corn from Moore's desk while purportedly looking for a needle and thread to sew his pants and later cashed them out for some $200. Some of that money was used to purchase two tickets to the nearby town of Belvidere where Lant McComb met them with Lawrence's wagon and team of horses. 

George and Laura stopped in at the Harvey farm where only Mrs. Harvey was around to pack a few things for the trip. Mrs. Harvey tried to persuade her daughter from leaving with George but Laura showed her the marriage certificate and told her mom that she was married and had to go with her husband. Mrs. Harvey sent out one of her children for Mr. Harvey and tried to persuade George and Laura to wait until he got back but Laura replied that they had tickets, the train would soon be leaving and they could not wait.  Laura hugged her mother in an emotional embrace and the two set off. 

Benjamin Alanson "Lant" McComb

Near the Moore farm where George Lawrence bunked and sometimes worked, was the farm of an old family in the area, the McCombs. John Greg McComb and wife Mary were the parents of ten children including their second oldest son Benjamin who went by the name Lant. More than likely, Lant and George were acquainted with each other and later, witnesses would claim they were frequently seen together before the murder of Laura Harvey.. 

The McComb's were apparently a rough lot as at least two of their sons spent time in prison. Older brother Erastus McComb was currently serving time at the Missouri State Penitentiary for larceny at the time of Laura's murder and Lant had previously done a stint in the Illinois State Penitentiary for robbing mail and was also connected with a gang of horse thieves that operated in northern Illinois.