About SSKC

In 1870 John “J.H.” Henderson studied under his father, Paris, and was admitted to the Iowa bar by examination.  Although it is possible that the roots of this firm actually go all the way back to the earliest days of Warren County in the 1850s with Paris P. Henderson’s law practice, the material available doesn’t explicitly note that Paris ever actually practiced law associated with his son John.  So, we consider the beginning of the SSKC firm to have started in 1870 when J.H. Henderson began his practice in Indianola. Three years later, in 1873, another promising young attorney by the name of W.H. Berry joined forces with J.H and they formed the firm of Henderson and Berry.

This partnership “was to become the county’s most prestigious law firm. Berry and Henderson also became involved in state and local politics and were recognized as the most prominent politicians in the county for nearly half a century.”[2]

[2] Bryan, Patricia and Wolf, Thomas. Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland: University of Iowa Press, 2005

At approximately midnight on December 1st, 1900, John Hossack was violently murdered in his own bed by two blows from an axe to his head in rural Warren County. His wife, Margaret Hossack, said that she was sleeping next to him at the time of the attack. She told the authorities that she had heard the sound of two boards banging together but when she got up to investigate that the attacker had fled from the scene. Only a few days later, on December 5^th at John’s funeral, Margaret was dramatically arrested for his murder.

The day after her arrest, on December 6, 1900, Mrs. Hossack employed the law firm of Henderson and Berry for her defense and the newspapers reported that she was prepared to “fight the case to the end.”[1] She maintained her innocence throughout and never wavered. The trial began at the courthouse in Indianola months later on April 1, 1901 and newspapers from as far away as Chicago covered the trial extensively. With the identity of the actual assailant up for debate, the papers at times would refer to the murderer or murderess as “the midnight assassin.” As the trial progressed, testimony was produced alleging that there was conflict and potentially that Margaret and her older children were abused by John.

It was a spectacle in Indianola as it was estimated that roughly 1,200 people came to watch the trial daily. The trial itself had its share of twists and theories including one in particular regarding the Hossack’s dog “Shep” who was silent at the time of the murder even though he “had a reputation for barking.”[2] Throughout the next day the dog was said to have been strangely quiet and believed by some to have been drugged.

The Des Moines Daily News reported on W.H. Berry’s impressive closing arguments:

Senator Berry is exhausting himself, his eloquence and oratory in the final effort of the defense to clear Margaret Hossack of the charge of murder. It is said to be the master effort of his life, and it would be hard to conceive of a more affecting plea than that which he has placed before the jury for its consideration during the last two hours of the morning session. At times the jury without an exception was moved to tears. Strong men who had not shed a tear in years sat in their seats mopping their eyes and compressing their lips in a vain effort to suppress the emotion caused by the senator’s eloquent plea.[3]

However, on April 11^th the jury deliberated and found Margaret guilty. On April 16^th she was sentenced to life imprisonment. Margaret’s parting words as she was turned over to the penitentiary at Anamosa were said to be “tell my children not to weep for me. I am innocent of the horrible murder of my husband. Someday people will know I am not guilty of that terrible crime.”[4]

Her conviction was overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court. Henderson and Berry represented Mrs. Hossack on both the appeal and the new trial. Upon retrying the case in Madison County after a change of venue, the result was a hung jury. Ultimately the case was dismissed.

The Hossack case is considered unsolved and an Iowa cold case. Years later, there are still theories as to the actual murderer. In 1953, Don Berry (son of W.H. Berry), long time editor and publisher of the Indianola Record-Herald collaborated to publish a written History of Warren County. In a footnote on the section that discussed the Hossack trial he added:

As a young newspaper reporter I covered the first trial of Margaret Hossack for the Des Moines Register. While the testimony did not prove her “not guilty,” to my mind it fell short of proving her guilty. In the years passed since the trial, evidence has come to me still further casting doubt on her guilt; but I cannot repeat it here without casting a shadow on another party, now dead and against whom the evidence is not conclusive. However, I cannot allow this permanent record to go to press without saying more in the defense of the name of Margaret Hossack than simply the second jury disagreed. I do not believe she was guilty of the murder of her husband.[5]

Interest in the Hossack case has continued into the 21st century with articles, podcasts and even a 2005 book (Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland by Patricia L. Bryan and Thomas Wolf) on the subject.

[1] Glaspell, Susan. “She Prepares to Fight.” Des Moines Daily News, December 6, 1900
[2] Shultz, Gerald and Berry, Don. History of Warren County Iowa, 1902
[3] Glaspell, Susan. “Allege Haines was Murderer.” Des Moines Daily News, April 9, 1901
[4] Glaspell, Susan. “Mrs. Hossack’s Parting Plea.” Des Moines Daily News, April 19, 1901
[5] Shultz, Gerald and Berry, Don. History of Warren County Iowa, 1902

In 1885 J. H. Henderson became a judge and W.H. Berry began practicing as a solo attorney. This was the case until the two attorneys again reformed the firm of Henderson and Berry in 1895. In 1901, Henderson broke away to form the firm of Henderson and Henderson with his son (Frank P. Henderson). At this point, Berry again began practicing as a solo practitioner.

However, in 1903, W.H. Berry took on another young prominent Indianola attorney as a partner, J.O. Watson Sr.. On May 1, 1903, they announced in the Advocate Tribune that the firm of Berry and Watson was formed.

In the fall of 1920, J.O. Watson Sr. opened his own solo practice at 106 East Salem Avenue. Over a century later this is still the location of our Indianola Office. For nearly ¾ of a century after his initial partnering with Berry, J.O. Watson and/or his sons were managing partners of the firm. Throughout the years dating back to the beginning and continuing the tradition into the 21^st century, a number of prominent attorneys have been partners in this firm, today known as Stuyvesant, Strong, Krapfl, and Carda.

J.H. Henderson, W.H. Berry, and J.O. Watson Sr. were the first three members and the root of the firm that today boasts over 150 years of service to Warren County and its surrounding areas.

The firm in Indianola continued to evolve as new generations of attorneys took over the practice and carried it forward. In 1977, Claire Patin graduated from Drake Law School and joined as an associate in the firm that was then called Elgin, Hoyman and Clogg. After becoming a partner, she continued her career and was a visible part of the Indianola community for the next four decades, retiring in 2020. In 2016 and 2019 respectively, Joe Strong and Terry Krapfl joined the firm as partners. Until 2021, the firm was known as Patin, Strong and Krapfl.