On the evening of July 16, 1929, circus employee Arthur Wilson, 21, was arrested in Appleton and accused of assaulting a man and trying to sexually violate his 15-year old daughter. The arresting officers were Sergeant Matthew McGinnis, Officer Albert Deltgen and Officer Earl Thomas. Even Chief George T. Prim, a former Chicago cop, was involved when they found Wilson sitting in a box car. He was brought to the jail to face court before Judge Theodore Berg.
The alleged incident was that John Kersten, 40, was attacked at the corner of Douglas and Franklin around 9:30pm. He was walking home (to 1513 West Franklin) with his 15-year old daughter Bertha from the show grounds on Badger Avenue. A man, believed to be Wilson, jumped Kersten and broke his jaw in two places before knocking him unconscious. He then went after the girl. She was scratched and bruised around her neck but was able to scream and break free. The intersection had no houses, so no one heard the screams. Kersten was brought to the hospital.
Wilson was part of the traveling 101 Ranch and Wild West show. What was that? Glad you asked. In 1893 Colonel George Washington Miller (a Confederate veteran) started a ranch on 110,000 acres he leased from the Quapaw tribe of Oklahoma. At the time it was the largest working ranch in the United States. In April 1903, George Washington Miller died and his three sons Joseph Carson Miller, Zachary Taylor Miller, and George Lee Kokernut Miller, took over the ranch. Another son, Wilkes Booth Miller, died in infancy.
1905 the Miller brothers put on an exhibition which they called “Oklahoma’s Gala Day” to demonstrate the western skills and horsemanship of their ranch hands and the local American Indian tribes. The “National Editorial Association” attended the event and it received much publicity across the nation.
After the success of the exhibition, the Miller brothers decided to go on the road with a traveling Wild West show, the show began at Brighton Beach, New York in 1907.
In 1908 the Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill Wild West shows combined into one gigantic traveling extravaganza, after the show broke all records at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the Millers decided to take their show to Europe, a decision they would later regret due to unfortunate timing.
Tensions were high in Europe just prior to the World War I, most of the show’s horses and wagons were confiscated by the British military in preparation for the oncoming war. When the show played Germany, many show’s personnel were arrested by the German government on suspicion of spying, some never to be seen again.
After the World War I began the show took a hiatus from 1916 until 1925. When the 101 Ranch Wild West Show returned to the road they ran in to grave financial difficulties, losing over $100,000 in 1926 alone, then as the Great Depression began the show went deeper into debt.
On October 21, 1927, Joseph Miller died and on February 2 1929, George Miller also died (in a car accident), leaving brother Zachary to handle the business alone.
The 1929 tour included the following performers: trick rider “Suicide” Ted Elder, cowboy clown Jack Satchell and his mule Beans, the Jewish midget “Pee Wee” Lunsford, sword swallower Milo, snake enchantress Blondie, “human art gallery” Mickey Manison, knife thrower Pamplin, leading lady Dixie Starr and her man, actor Jack Hoxie.
Back to Appleton. Arthur Wilson denied his guilt no matter how he was questioned. Police photographed and fingerprinted him, and put him in a lineup with other Black men for the girl. She picked him out immediately “as the moron” (in the words of the newspaper). He was also brought to the hospital and identified by Kersten. In the early 20th century, “moron” was a medical designation meaning an adult with a mental age of about 8–12. This is presumably what the newspaper meant, but nowhere else in the first article does it say he is “slow” or anything similar.
Appearing in court for an initial appearance, Wilson pleaded not guilty before Judge Theodore Berg. When at a preliminary hearing on August 8 before Judge Fred Heinemann, he again maintained his innocence. Wilson acted as his own attorney, and according to news coverage “displayed an intimate and accurate knowledge of court procedure. He cross examined the witnesses produced by the prosecution.” This seems to contradict the description of Wilson as a “moron.” In fact, Wilson was able to get Kersten to say he could not “positively identify” the man, only that he matched a “general appearance.” But the girl stood firm, and Wilson was bound over for trial. Not able to pay the $3,000 bond, Wilson went back to jail.
On August 13, Abraham Sigman of the firm Sigman and Sigman was appointed to represent Wilson. Sigman filed a writ and was able to get Wilson a new preliminary hearing, this time with an attorney. But the outcome was the same and Wilson went back to jail. Trial was set for September 6, but was soon postponed to October 3. Wilson had to keep waiting.
With an extra month to prepare, both Abraham Sigman and prosecutor Stanley A. Staidl (a bombing pilot in WWI) went to Wilson, North Carolina to get depositions from people. Sigman was given $160 by the court for the purpose of covering this cost. Four men specifically wanted for questioning were men connected to the circus, which was in town September 27: Colonel Zachary T. Miller, legal adjuster Eddie Vaughn, sideshow performer “Doc” Hamilton and Sam Surgess.
The trial began on schedule the morning of October 3, but jury duty proved to be a challenge. Many of the potential jurors said they had already formed an opinion of the case. The jury ended up being composed entirely of Appleton residents: Julius Radtke (903 North Appleton), J.A. Koehler (228 North Oneida), John Kuchenbecker (1753 North Oneida), Joseph Garvey (327 West Eighth), Ada M Knight (420 East Maple), Henry Kranzusch (1314 North Durkee), William Steinacker (303 North Bennett), Peter Wolf (824 South Kernan), John Layendecker (508 North Garfield) and Edgar Milhaupt (710 East Franklin).
During opening statements, Sigman laid out his defense: Wilson had an alibi and was not at the scene of the crime. In fact, he was two miles away!
The prosecution consisted of the man and his daughter testifying and this remained unchanged – John Kersten was not 100% in his identification, while the daughter was. When it came time for the defense, Wilson took the stand on his own behalf. He testified that he had quit the circus the afternoon of the attack and spent the evening at the train depot waiting for a train to Chicago. The depot was two miles from the attack site, and his only transportation was walking. On cross-examination, Wilson admitted he had previously served prison time in Detroit for an unidentified offense.
Other evidence for the defense had witnesses saying a man matching Wilson’s description was in a saloon at the time he said he was in there. Defense attorney Sigman then pulled out his secret weapon: a farmer’s almanac! The Kersten girl claimed she was able to identify the man because of a full moon. Sigman showed the jury that the full moon was a week after the attack and therefore it was not as bright as the girl claimed.
The jury was out for a relatively short time and came back with their verdict: not guilty!
Because of the Great Depression, the financial situation of 101 Ranch soon became overwhelming and in 1931 both the show and the ranch went into receivership, most of the equipment and property being sold at auction in 1932. Zachary Miller lived for many years after, settling in Waco, Texas, but had a series of misfortunes. He spent some time in jail when he was unable to pay alimony to his ex-wife. At the end of his life, he was trampled by donkeys and died not long after.
Brothers Abraham and Sam Sigman had started Sigman and Sigman in 1925. As of 2026, the firm is going strong, though it is now known as Sigman Janssen. Abraham passed in 1982 – more than fifty years after the Arthur Wilson case!