115 years ago, 1905

The entire third page of The Youngstown Vindicator covered a most sensational crime. On the night of July 4, 1905, James Ivy Harbison put an end to what he thought was his estranged wife’s illicit affair.

The trouble between Harbison and his wife, Margaret, had been the talk of the town for months. Their eight-year marriage had dissolved into a mess of quarrels and rumors and their 7-year-old daughter was forced to live with her father’s parents. Several rounds of charges and countercharges finally resulted in Mrs. Harbison filing for divorce. She secured a restraining order after declaring that she felt her life was in danger due to Mr. Harbison’s long history of cruelty.

“Shortly after the petition was filed, Harbison, whose suspicions had been aroused for some time, kept watch upon his Belmont Avenue home. He saw things that made him furious. Alleged visits of men, prominent and otherwise, were noted. Finally, the husband followed his wife and a well-known businessman to an East Federal Street hotel. He watched the place for some time, but his wife and her companion, observing that they were being watched, left the building under disguise. The woman put on men’s apparel and the man changed his hat and clothes.” Following this incident, Mrs. Harbison asked that the divorce petition be withdrawn so that the illicit stories would not be made public. Several prominent businessmen agreed with this proposal and fought to have the case dropped.

After the divorce petition was withdrawn, Mrs. Harbison remained in their Belmont Avenue home with her sister, Gladys Good. “The two women had company frequently, it is alleged, and Harbison was gradually becoming nerved to the terrible deed he committed Monday night.”

The couple finally agreed on a separation but Harbison was preparing for something else. He supplied himself with a 32-caliber revolver and an electric flashlight and took up a spot on Belmont Avenue where he could watch the house in secret and “the details of what followed will form one of the most sensational cases in the police annals of Youngstown for years to come.”

Late that evening, Harbison watched as Margaret and Gladys returned with Louis V. Bergman. The three entered the home and Harbison watched the house for nearly two hours before the first floor lights went out, indicating that all had retired upstairs. Harbison entered through the basement, took off his shoes, and crept to the second floor.

“He could hear Bergman and Mrs. Harbison conversing in the bedroom, the door of which was shut, but not locked. For fully 10 minutes he stood listening, brooding over his wrongs, and nerving himself for the “deed.” When he burst through the door, “the sight that met his gaze removed all pity from his head and, without uttering a word, and before Bergman hardly knew that he had been cornered like a rat in a trap, Harbison opened fire.”

Bergman was hit in the chest and head. “He moaned a few times after and died without a struggle. The man was undressed when Harbison entered the room. He did not even have on a night shirt. Harbison’s wife was also nude.” Mrs. Harbison begged for mercy but her estranged husband told her that he would not make their daughter an orphan. Harbison then held the two women hostage before calling the police to turn himself in.

When the police arrived, Harbison noted, “Now come with me. I shot the — — — and fired four bullets into him. He is dead upstairs.”

The story was spread all over town and many “expressed themselves as being of the opinion that Harbison was justified in what he did.”

He was arraigned the following morning and the courtroom was filled with curious onlookers. The judge read the indictment and Harbison’s lawyer loudly proclaimed a plea of “not guilty.”

Harbison sat for an interview with a Youngstown Vindicator reporter who uncovered several more illicit details. He stated that Bergman “was one of the crowd who has broken up my home. I only wish it had been…” At that point, Harbison said the name of a prominent local businessman. It turned out that Harbison had intended to kill one of his wife’s other lovers. Mrs. Harbison and her sister were detained in jail through the arraignment. Mrs. Harbison argued and pleaded for her release, but the authorities would not budge. She was then visited by “her lover” who offered words of encouragement.

Bergman was 22 at the time and had been working in Mansfield. He returned to Youngstown after receiving a desperate letter from Mrs. Harbison, where she cried of money woes and pleaded for him to keep his promise to return to her. The coverage of this story continued for months — stay tuned as we revisit this dramatic tale.

• Compiled from the archives of the Youngstown Vindicator by Traci Manning, MVHS Curator of Education