From the Lawrence Daily World for Sept. 15, 1910:

“HE SAYS IT IS ALL A MISTAKE – John Branin emphatically denies that He is Shot – NOT EVEN HALF SHOT – Other Man’s Name Was John Brannon of Lawrence – Former Telegrapher Here Writes That He is Still Alive.

J. W. Branin, former messenger and telegrapher for the Western Union in Lawrence ten years ago, and now with the United Press Association in Oregon, writes the World: ‘Though others may regret it, I personally take pleasure in informing you that I am not dead, although “if you see it in the World it’s so.” I refer to an article published in the World August 23, under the caption “Lawrence Man Shot”…I have often wished to be able to read my obituary but this one, being entirely unsolicited, was quite a shock, Also it lacked detail – but it was to the point and my morbid desire has been satisfied. The point is: I am not dead, and I can prove it by the United Press Association, for which I have been working for many years. Yours, In This Life, J. W. BRANIN.'”