From "History of Gratiot Co." (Tucker, 1913): "Asa P. Beam died at his home in Lansing, Colorado, 11/9/1893 at the hand of an assassin. A prominent resident of Lafayette [twp., Gratiot Co., MI] for many years, he was a candidate for county Clerk in 1878 on the Greenback ticket."

Gratiot County Herald
Ithaca, Michigan, December 22, 1893

"MURDER MOST FOUL.
Many Gratiot people were acquainted with Asa P. Beam, for many years a highly respected citizen of Wheeler. Hoping to better himself financially, about seven years ago he went west, and finally became postmaster of Lansing, a town in north-eastern Colorado. Here he was highly respected and was not known to have an enemy in the world. On the morning of November 10th, Mr. Beam was found cold and dead only a few feet from the doorway of his office, with three bullet holes in his body. The story of the crime and arrest of the supposed murderers as told by the Denver News is essentially as follows:

Mr. Beam's post office is in the store of E. S. Gratzinger. About 9 o'clock, on the evening of the fateful day, Mr. Gratzsinger went to his home, 200 yards away, at 9:30 Mr. Beam's light was burning brightly and he was seen to pass between it and the window. That is the last time he was seen alive. At 5 o'clock the following morning his body was found as stated above. The murderers left little or no clue. A pair of mittens left in the store, the size of the bullet wounds and the fact that Mrs. Philips, wife of J.T. Philips who is a brother of P.M. Philips of Ithaca, had seen three men riding that way on the Haigler, Nebraska road, was all that could be learned. The detectives from Denver were put on the trail, however, and Tuesday evening, December 5, they arrested three young men who live on a ranch about seven miles from Lansing. Their names are Thomas Chase and his two cousins Freeman and Herman Chase. The community were greatly surprised at the arrest of these young men, but the detectives are sure that they have the right parties. One of the maddest features of the entire story is that Mrs. Beam, who has not seen her husband for seven years, was just preparing to move to Lansing when she learned of his death. The motive for the terrible deed was undoubtedly robbery, but the perpetrators of the ghastly deed seem to have been frightened from their purpose as nothing was disturbed in the office."

Joseph T. Phillips had proved up a quarter in section 23, 3S 43W in 1896 - one mile straight north of one location of the Lansing post office.  Francis Greatsinger had cash-claimed a quarter in section 35 in 1890, a mile south of that location.