Tennessee, executions recorded in statewide records, 1886-1982, Undated

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756 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

ively, and for murder Walker Ingram was sent for twenty years, and John O’Connor ten
years for horse stealing.

In 1875 Andrew Faran, Claibourn J ohnson, James Vance and Fountain Walker were
given terms of three, two, three and fifteen years, respectively, for larceny; and for steal-
ing a horse John Caldwell was sent up for twenty years. In 1876, Neil 9. Icter, for house-
breaking; Andrew Beaty, for forgery; James Powell, house-breaking; and James Bell, C.
T. Tramier and Sterling Butler, for larceny, received imprisonment of six months, three
years, ten years, two years, fifteen months and four years, respectively. In 1877, James
Johnson and Henry Matthews were each sent to the penitentiary for one year for larceny;
Mirabeau Clark, ten years for horse stealing; Ralph Garrett, five years for arson; and
George Riggan, ten years for house-breaking. In 1878, Arch Brown and Henry Smith
were sent to penitentiary for three years each; William Jordan, murder, thirteen years;
and George Washington and William Caldwell, eight and six years, respectively, for
horse stealing. In 1879 Dick Collier was sent up for eight years on a charge of house-
breaking; William Coats, ten years for attempt to poison; and Del Duncan, John Jack-
son, John Sweeney and Tom Ballentine, for larceny, were given terms of one year each
in the penitentiary.

In 1880 W. T. Williams, for larceny, was sentenced to the penitentiary for 8 years;
David Cheairs, for arson, 6 years, and Green Terry and Allan Shaw, 6 months and 5
months in the county jail for larceny. In 1881 Mat Pendegrass and Ben Eddins received
6 months and 8 years, respectively, for horse stealing: Felix Smith, 5 years for burglary,
and Bill Smith, William Franklin and Alonzo Rhodes, 3 years, and 11 months, and 29
days, respectively, for larceny.

The Chancery Court of Giles County was held for the first time in April, 1832, with
M. A. Cook as chancellor and Charles C. Abernathy, clerk and master. The members of
the Pulaski bar have been as follows, the time in which they practiced being in the order
given: John Minns, W. H. Field, William C. Flourna, John H. Rivers, Colin 8. Tarpley,
Aaron VY. Brown, James W. Coombs, V. E. J. Shields, Adam Huntsman, Neil S. Brown,
Thomas Jones, Robert Rose, Alfred Harris, Lunsford M. Bramlett, Archibald Wright,
A. F. Gough, James Davenport, Davidson Netherland, Thomas M. Jones, Calvin Jones,
John C. Brown, John C. Walker and Nathan Adams. The present bar is composed of.
Thomas M. Jones, John §8. Wilkes, Solan E. Rose, John A. Tinnon, E.,T. Taliaferro,
John T. Allen, Noble Smithson, Z. W. Ewing, Charles P. Jones, Andrew J. Abernathy,
J. Polk Abernathy, Amos R. Abernathy, Hume Steele, Flourna Rivers and John C.
Brown.

The following is a list of the court and county officers in the order in which they
served: Judges—Thomas H. Stewart, Alford 8. Harris, Robert M. Mack, William E.
Kennedy, Lunsford M. Bramlett, Edmund Dillahunty, W. P. Martin, Henry Ward, A.
M. Hughes, W. P. Martin, William L. Mc Lemore and Edward D. Patterson. Attorney-
generals—Alford Balch, Robert L. Cobb, Gideon J. Pillow, Edmund Dillahunty, James
H. Thomas, Nathaniel Baxter, Archilaus M. Hughes, Nathan Adams, Archilaus M.
Hughes, Austin C. Hickey, James Smithson, Joseph H. Fussell and John L. Jones.
Chancellors—M. A. Cook, Lumsford M. Bramlett, Terre H. Cahal, A. O. P. Nicholson,
Samuel D. Frierson, John A. Brien, Samuel D. Frierson, John QC. Walker, David Camp-
bell, Horace H. Harrison, William S. Flemming and Andrew J. Abernathy. Clerk and
masters—Charles C. Abernathy, Daniel L. Morrison, James McCallum, W. H. McCallum,
A. Cox, J. B. Stacy. Chairmen of county court since 1865—Daniel G. Anderson, J. F.
Smith, W. H. Abernathy J. L. Jones. County trustees since 1868—Thomas S. Riddle,
Sterling H. Brown, Daniel B. Garrett, W. G. Lewis, R. M. Bugg, H. C. McLaurine, H.
L. Booth and W. R. Craig. County court clerks since 1810—German Lester, Edward D.
Jones, J. L. Jones, A. R. Richardson, E. W. Rose, D. A. Wilburn, H. H. Aymett, P. H.
Ezell, Will 8. Ezell. Circuit court clerks since 1810—James Berry, Henry Hagan, Ster-
ling Lester, Charles C. Abernathy, C. H. Abernathy, W. Williford, F. T. McLaurine, H.
M. Stanley, J. H. Morris, J. W. Braden. Sheriffs since 1810—Charles Neeley, James

GILES COUNTY. 157

Buford, Max H. Buchanan, James Perry, Lewis H. Brown, Thomas C. Porter, Thomas
8. Webb, John A. Jackson, Asa Ezell, James D. Goodman, Joshua Morris, John Kouns,
Berry H. Piden, John W. West, D. H. Parsons, R. H. Mitchell, R. A. Blow, H. Arrow- |
smith, John D. Butler and J. Polk English. Registers since 1810—Jesse Westmoreland,
Fountain Lester, David McCormack, P. T. T. McCanless, Andrew Fay, Daniel G. Ander-
son, John Dyer, J. J. Phillips and J. F. Fogg.

Quite a number of the Giles County pioneers served in the Revolutionary war, and
for their services as soldiers of the line received grants from the State of North Carolina |
for the lands in this county, upon which they afterward settled. But of them there is no
record accessible, and their names have long sjnee passed from the memory of the citizens
of the present, if memory of them they ever had. While no companies went from Giles
County into the war of 1812 a large number of her citizens joined companies that went
out from neighboring counties, among whom were Lester Morris, George Everly, Charles
Buford, James Patteson, Sol. E. R. Rose, Wm. Kirley, Maj. Hurlston, Wm. McDonald,
Wm. Kyle, Col. Cleveland, John Clark, Nelson Patteson, John Phillips, Thomas Smith,
Dr. Gilbert, D. Taylor, Charles C. Abernathy, Wm. K. Gordon, and many others whose
names could not be secured. Dr. Taylor served on Gen. Jackson’s medical staff.

Within a short time after the organization of the county the county militia was estab-
lished as an adjunct to the State militia, and for twenty years or more was in active organ-
ization. The first regiment organized was the Thirty-seventh, which embraced the
entire county. Of this regiment Robert Steele was the first colonel elected, and Claibourn
McVey and John Buford the first majors. After the war of 1812 the regiment was reor-
ganized or divided, and a new regiment, the Fifty-second, was formed of the northern
half of the county, leaving Pulaski with the old regiment. Thomas K. Gordon was the
first colonel, and Richard H. Allen and James Simmons the first majors, elected for the
new regiment. Of the old regiment James Terrill was elected colonel and Thomas Wilker-
son and Wm. Rose majors. Col. Terrill removed from the county in 1821, when Maj.
Rose was elected colonel, and Gillan Hamell and Abel Wilson majors. The militia was
again re-organized in 1825, and an additional regiment, embracing the northwestern por-
tion of the county, including Pulaski, was organized. Of this regiment Richard H. Allen
was elected colonel; Simpson H. White. lieutenant-colonel, and John H. Rivers and Ed-
ward Tipton, majors. From 1830 the militia began to decline, and upon the adoption of
the new constitution in 1834 ceased to exist. Previous to the new constitution’s adoption
the county was divided into Captains District, and the election or appointment of justices
of the peace was regulated by companies or beats, or, as now, by civil districts. During
its day the militia was a great institution indeed, and militia offices were much sought
after. Giles County’s contribution to the Florida war in 1836 consisted of two full com-
panies, which were raised in June, 1836, and on July 4 following, were mustered into the
First Tennessee Regiment of Mounted Volunteers, at Fayettville, Lincoln County. The
companies were designated in the regiment as First and Sixth Company First was com:
manded by Capt. Thomas M. Jones, now Judge Jones, of the Pulaski bar, and Quincy
Black and Robert L. Dixon were the lieutenants. Company Sixth was under command of
Capt. James Gibson, with Joshua and John Morris, brothers, as lieutenants. Among the
members of the above companies, whose names are obtainable, were Archibald Wright,
Neil 8. Brown, Sol. E. Rose, Jesse Mays, J. N. Patteson, Joseph E. Anthony, George B.
Allen, Robert H. Rose, J. Carroll Smith, Samuel D. Wright, Homer Jones, Charles G.
Keenan, Milton Payne, Wm. Baugh, Daniel Brinkle, Henry E. Pitts, Henry C. Lester,
Jesse D. Page and Warren P. Anderson.

As in the Florida war Giles County furnished two full companies to the war with Mex-
ico in 1846. The first company organized left Pulaski in June, 1846, under command of
Capt. Milton A. Haynes and Lieuts. W. P. Chambliss, William Richardson and —
Brownlow. They volunteered for twelve months, and were mustered into the First Ten-
nessee Regiment of Cavalry, under command of Gen. Jonas E. Thomas, of Maury Coun-
ty. Among the members of this company were William Evans, Ira Martin, E. G. B. Lee,

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772 HISTORY: OF TENNESSEE.

cellors: B. L. Bramlitt, Terry H. Cahall, B. L. Ridley, John Steele, A. S. Knox, J. W.
Burton and E. D: Hancock.

The first court house built wasonly for temporary use, until another could be erected.
It was 18x20 feet in the clear, built with round logs, and “covered with a good cabin
roof.”’ It had a ‘‘seat for the jury, court and bar, and a resting place for the feet of the
court, all of good plank.”” It was built in 1811 on one corner of the Public Square, by
James Fuller, for $35. The first jail was built in 1810, with logs not less than twelve
inches in diameter and ten feet long.” The walls, floor and loft were “ all of logs of the
same description.” In November, 1811, a contract to built a new two-story brick court
house on the Square, was taken by Micajah and William McElroy, for $3,995. The court
afterward allowed $750 extra for the work, thus making the total cost of the building
$4,745. This court house was torn down in 1878, and the present one was erected by Will-
iam T. Moyers, James N. Allbright and William E. Turley, for $29,579.30. J. H. Holman,
H. C. Cowan and John Y. Gill composed the committee to report the plans, specifications
and estimates for the building; Theodore Harris superintended the work. The second
jail that was built, was a two-story brick building, lined on the inside with logs, the logs
being protected by sheet iron. It was built about the same time as the court house. The
present jail was built in 1868, and by contract was to cost not more than $23,000. It is
of stone.

The stone bridge across Elk River is one of the best structures of the kind in the
State. It was built in 1861 at a cost of about $40,000. It is of limestone, contains six
elliptical arches, and is 450 feet in its entire length. The roadway is flanked on either
side by a stone wall three feet high and two feet wide.

The civil divisions of the county were first designated by the companies of militia in
the respective parts of the county, 7. ¢., the civil officers of the county were elected
from the various militia companies, as they now are from the civil districts. In 1835 the
county was laid off into twenty-five civil districts. The lines have been changed from
time to time, but still the same number is retained. The school districts have not
always coincided with the civil districts, but are now one and the same.

Among the first acts of the county court was one to provide for the poor, and in 1815
& special tax was assessed for the county poor. About 1826 a poor farm was purchased
and a poor house erected, the supervision of which was put under three commissioners,
regularly appointed by the court. The poor are still cared for in this manner.

At different times agricultural societies have been organized, but have as often proved
to be institutions of short life. The first one was organized in 1824.

In the year 1858 Fayetteville was connected with the main line of the Nashville &
Chattanooga Railroad by the branch built from Decherd to Fayetteville, and in 1882 the
narrow gauge road was built from Columbia to Fayetteville. The main support of these
roads is the agricultural product, which in turn brings in articles of general merchandise.
Pikes connect Fayetteville with Lynchburg and Shelbyville, and extend from Fayetteville
for several miles in all directions.

The political cast of the county is strongly Democratic. In 1884 the vote for presi-
dent and governor stood as follows: Cleveland, 2,382; Blaine, 890; Bate, 2,220; Reid, 941.

Financially old Lincoln is on a strong foundation. She has first class public build-
ings, good general improvements, with a firm backing of a good agricultural soil. The
tax for 1884 shows a total valuation of taxable property of’ $3,564,340; number of acres of
land, 345,722, valued at $2,628,780. The State tax for 1886 is $10,192; county tax, $12,692;
school tax, $16,257; road tax, $2,398; making a total tax of $41,535. These figures
include the estimate on railroad and telegraph property valued at $166,890. In 1885 there
was reported in the county 9,325 horses and mules, 14,090 cattle, 11,969 sheep, 42,415 hogs,
1,070 bushels barley, 213 bushels buckwheat, 1,252,919 bushels corn, 37,908 bushels oats,
1,641 bushels rye and 275,463 bushels wheat.

Upon the bench of the circuit court sat J udge Thomas Stewart to hold the first court
in this county. Then came Judge Kennedy for a time, who was succeeded by Judge Ed-

LINUOLN COUNTY. 778

mund Dillahunty, who held for a number of years. A.J. Marchbanks was the next judge,
and continued on the bench until the war. Gov. Brownlow then appointed N. A. Eener
son, who became the laughing stock for the lawyers who attended court. He was one
ient in the organs of hearing,” and very ‘eccentric in nature.“ Then came W. P. i
erson, who did not serve a full term. He resigned and was succeeded by Judge J. J.
Williams, who was afterward elected to fill the term now closing. For many years Erwin
J. Frierson was the attorney-general, and he was superseded in turn by A. F. Goff, James
H. Thomas, Joseph Carter, George J. Stubblefield, J. H. Holman, J. D. Tillman and A. B.
Woodard, the present incumbent of the office. The court in early days was engaged
mainly in trying petty offenses, and not until 1825 was there a sentence of death pro;
nounced. Duncan Bonds had murdered Felix Grundy, and was found guilty. He took
an appeal to the Supreme Court of the State. A jury in 1828 rendered a verdict of guilty
upon a charge of murder committed by a man named McClure, upon D. C. Hall. He re-
ceived the sentence of death, and was hung in the spring of 1829. About 1847 a negro
named Bill Moore was sentenced and hung for an attempted rape. In 1862 John George
was sentenced to be hung for murdering Hosea Towry. He escaped from jail. _Two
years previous to this, in 1860, a negro, Alf, was hung for murdering his master, Willem
Stevens. The whipping post and pillory often received the victims of the judge’s sen-
tence for the various offenses, and men were imprisoned for debt. —_
The bar of Lincoln County is one that ranks high in Tennessee. Not only are the
members at present eminent and able lawyers, but from the first Lincoln County has given
a home to many able men. At the first meeting of the county court was present Thomas
H. Benton. He drew up the minutes of the first session of that court, and was the coun-
ty’s legal advocate on organization. He resided in Fayetteville fora “number of years.
He then arose to adorn the nation’s highest legislative council, of which he was a mem-
ber for thirty-two years, and was truly ‘“‘an eminent man of America.”” Contemporary
with him was L. P. Montgomery, widely known as the brave Capt. Montgomery, who be-
gan the practice of law in 1810, and who fell at the battle of Horse-Shoe. In 1810 George
B. Baulch, George Coalter, William White, Joseph Phillips, Marmaduke Williams, Matthew
D. Wilson and Alfred Harris were permitted to practice in the county. In 1811 Eli Tol-
bert, Samuel Acres and Charles Manton were allowed to practice. George C. Witt and
W. 8. Fontine also practiced here in that year. Hon. C. C. Clay, of Huntsville, Ala., at-
tended this court as early as 1811, as also did John McKinney and John Tolbert. Other
lawyers from adjoining counties visited this court professionally, among whom we
Judge Haywood, and, later, Nathan Green, James Campbell, William Gilchrist, Oliver B.
Hays, Lunsford M. Bramlett and Thomas M. Fletcher. Other prominent early lawyers
were James Fulton, Samuel W. Carmack, Charles Boyles, William C. Kennedy, William
P. Martin, William M. Inge and John H. Morgan. John H. Morgan, after a number of
years in Fayetteville, moved to Memphis, thence to Mississippi, and was elevated to the
bench in that State. He was the father of Hon. J. B. Morgan, of Mississippi. William
P. Martin moved from Fayetteville to Columbia, Tenn., and there was a judge for
ee Kennedy also removed to Columbia, where he too was elevated to the bench. He -
came the owner of quite a number of slaves, which he emancipated and transported to . e
African colony of Liberia. W. M. Inge wes for many years associated in law with oa ;
Carmack at Fayetteville. He served one term in otek — the district which then
i incoln County, and afterward made his home in Alabama.
Cackads wie born in 1802; was an able and learned lawyer. In 1832 he moved to
Florida, although retaining a summer home in Fayetteville. He arose to prominence ip
i ied in 1849.
graben dre has been styled the ‘‘father of the Fayetteville bar.’’ He located in
Fayetteville in 1820, when twenty-two years of age. He filled one term as any a
eral in early life, but devoted his time to the prosecution of his profession rather t _
pursue official honors. He was an able lawyer and a highly respected citizen. His dea
occurred in 1856.

{yi bank near where the Kendall House now stands.

834 HISTORY OF FRNNESSEE.

In an election for sheriff on January 8, 1822, J. W. Judkins resigned his office that day
and ran for sheriff, and was elected over John Huddleson. The court decided that Jud-
kins was ineligible as he held the office of circuit clerk. The court then chose Huddleson,
Judkins then offered to prove that his resignation was in the hands of Judge Haskell at
the time of election. He was cited to appear at the April term and produce proof. [a
the meantime Huddleston was to be considered sheriff, but one Reed was to act till that
time. To this Huddleston protested but had to yield. At the time of trial both agreed
to resign their claims and go into a new election. This resulted in the election of Jud-
kins. James Hardin was declared defaulter as to certain moneys belonging to the office
of county court clerk and removed from office January 9, 1822, aud Alex. W. Sweeney
placed in office pro tem. Whereupon Hardin appealed to the circuit court in the nature

of a writ of error and.was.restored to his office till the April term, when he was declared.

ousted and Sweeney was elected in his place. A similar fate overtook Sweency in July,
i824. He was removed by the court for producing false certiticates for moneys turned over
tohim. A mandamus failed to compel the court to restore him to office. In July J. R.
McMeans resigned his oftice as solicitor and James Scott was elected in his place; at the
same date James Taylor was sworn in as an attorney. James Scott was allowed $40 for
ex officio services as solicitor for 1822. J. W. Judkins took the oath as an attorney July 1,
1822. The election precincts for 1823 were Thomas Robinson’s, Noah Lilly’s, John Gilles-
pie’s and Wm. Boyd’s. Asmall poor-tax was first levied this year. Thomas F. Edwards
was admitted as an attorney March 22, 1825. Jocl Casey, James Barnes, David Robinson,
John G. Williams and J. B. Gantt were appointed school commissioners June 23, 1825.
On December 19. of this year, Elison White was admitted to the bar as an attorney. Thos.
Wells was put under bond of $500 for his appearance at court for stealing Chickasaw In-
dian horses. A loss of the minutes of the county court from 1826 to 1834, and all the
minutes of she circuit court till 1840 makes it impossible to note many interesting cases.
Lewis N. Falkner was sent to jail fourteen hours for contempt in 1834, and John Shannon
two hours June 16, 1835, for a similar offense. Hugh Talbot was allowed $120 for tran-
scribing the county recordsin 1837. [Ta this year occurred the execution of Mrs. Hughes
for the murder of her husband. Being the first criminal execution, and that a woman, it
/Baturally attracted an immense crowd of people. The execution took place at the river
The prisoner was seated in a cart and
the rope adjusted by Jesse Jones, deputy sheriff. The cart was driven from under the
prisoner and she was thus left hanging. Thomas Gray, who was sheriff, resigned his
office June 5, 1837, for fear, it is said, he would have to officiate at another hanging./ Some
very notable cases occurred between 1835 and 1840. Among these were the cases of the
State against Pickett. also the same against Mrs. Coats. Such counsel as James K. Polk,
Terry H. Cahal and Felix Grundy were employed. These parties were indicted for mur-
der in the first degree but finally escaped death punishment. A little later came the cases
of the State against J. H. Calhoun, and on August 19, 1948. the State against Marion
Brooks, Both these cases were for murder in the first degree, but neither was hung.
Nelson, a slave of James Eiliott, was indicted for the murder of David Sellars on Novem-
ber 11, 1845. The case resulted in the sentence of death on June 8, 1846. / By an act of
the Legislature of this year J. J. Williams, J. B. Gantt, Daniel Smith, B. Davy and J. W.

N Cantrell were ordered to survey and make a map of the county. The usual cases, inter-

esting and uninteresting, occurred from time to time till after the close of the war, when
some very bitter cases arose from difficulties growing out of that unhappy period. /In 1867
**Tobe”’ Thornton was hung for the murder of Broyles, a well known and highly respected
citizen of Savannah. This was the last execution that has occurred} however, seve

have been tried since for murder but none convicted. Savannah has had her share of
distinguished judges and lawyers. Joshua Haskell, of Jackson, was circuit judge from
the organization till possibly 1820 to 1832, when he was followed by Austin Miller, who
served till about 1838 when B. C. Totten put on the judicial robes and served till 1856,
when he was succeeded by James Scott, of Savannah, who served till his’death in 1852.
Elijah Walker, also of Savannah, came upon the bench and served till the courts were

/ |

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835

HARDIN COUNTY.

closed by the war. The courts were re-organized by Fielding Hurst, of Purdy, who re-
mained on the bench till 1869, when Judge Walker again served till his death in 1878. ° T.
P. Bateman was then chosen and held the position with credit and honor till 1886, when
E. D. Patterson was chosen judge. Of the attorneys A. G. McDougal has been prominent
before the bar since 1840. Others are D. W. Broyles, J. A. Cunningham, J. M. Watson,
W. J. Watson and H. S.. Hefner.

On the question of Union or Secession Hardin County was largely for the Union and
on the vote of ‘‘separation’’ or ‘‘no separation” the latter was emphatically voted,
1,052 to 498 votes, but when the clash of arms came the ceunty was in majority for the
South. The militia was put into active training and all able-bodied men were enrolled.
The place for general muster on the east side of the river was Old Town;on the west side it
was at the Perkins’ place on the road from Savannah to Purdy. The first company of
troops raised was at Shady Grove Church, near Saltillo, where a great barbecue and
war meeting was held. War speeches were made and volunteers were called for, yet not
in vain. A full company of cavalry was soon raised of which C. S. Robinson was captain,
J. W. Irvin first lieutenant; Arthur Hardin second leutenant; and R. W. Reynolds
third lieutenant. The operations of these men were mainly under Gen. Wheeler. The
second body of men was recruited by L. B. Irvin; this consisted of fourteen men.
They were taken to Nashville and became a part of the First Tennessee (Confederate).
The regiment was organized in April, 1861. George Maney (general) was elected colonel.
(See State history, page 662.) The first full infantry company was raised in the vicinity of
Hamburg. Of this company J. O. Tarkington was elected captain. This company was
raised in the summer of 1861, and was attached to the Thirty-fourth Tennessee (Con-
federate) under Co}. William Churchwell. This regiment did duty at Cumberland Gap,
and other points in East Tennessee, till the invasion of Kentucky by Gen. Bragg in the
summer of 1862. (See page 584 of the State history.) After the fall of Fort Donelson and
the capture of Nashville, Gov. Harris ordered out all the available forces of the State.
Those who did not volunteer were conscripted. Five companies of this character of men
were raised in Hardin County under Capts. Flatt, Sawyer, Powers, Bradley and Sneed.
They were posted at Savannah. where they were disciplined by Col Crews of Memphis,
till February 7, 1862, when the approach of the Federal gunboats ‘‘Tyler,” ‘Lexington”
and “Conestoga,” caused them to leave rather hastily. They were started for Nashville,
buton concentration of the Coufederate Army at Corinth they were hastened thither.
So many of these men were soldiers from force rather than choice that almost complete
disorgnnization followed the battle of Shiloh; from 125 to 150 men only remained. These
were consolidated into two companies and attached to the Ninth, improperly called the
Fifth Kentucky. The officers of the larger of these were B. A. F. Fitzgerald,captain; W.T.
Powers, W. C. Sawyer and Sol Flatt. Numerous changes occurred by death and resignation
so that T. J. Powers became captain and so remained till the surrender. After one year’s
service these men were attached to the Forty-fifth Tennessee, with which they served till
the close of the war. Numerous other bodies were sent to the service, among them Capt.
J. A. Russell’s company and a large number to Capt. J. W. Eldridge’s battery.

Companies E, F and H (Federai troops), were recruited in Hardin, Wayne and Perry,
for the Sixth Tennessee Cavalry. These were recruited by W. K. M. Breckenridge of Perry
County. The officers of Company E were J. D. Poston, captain; F. A. Smith and William
Cleary, liegtenants. The officers of F were D. J. Dickenson, captain; E. L. Hardin, R.
0. F. Roswell and J. W. Youngbivod, lieutenants. The officers of H were J. G. Berry and
R. D. DeFord, captains; Culvin Hanna, Nicholas Pitts and W. A. Newsom, lieutenants.
The other companies belonged to the regiment were K, L, and M. These were recruited
Mainly through theiufluence of Thomus H. Boswell. The officers of K were T. H.
Boswell and Albert Cook, captains; J. W. Barham and James E. McNair, lieutenants;
Company L, John W. Moore and John H. Edwards, captains; T. B. Waggoner, G. T. Wana
and James N. Julin,lieutenants; Company M, Wm. C. Holt and T. C. McMahon, captains;
H. L, Neely and James A. Mangum, lieutenants.

The Tenth Tennessee Infantry received Capt. C. W. Shipman’s company from Har

Se ee ep : GILES COUNTY. 755

>~ ¢ *)
rod HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

total value of Property assessed for taxation in 1885 was $4,587,977, an average of $8.82
The tax levy for 1886 was as follows: 30 cents for State, 30 cents for county 20
eents for school, 11 cents for roads, and $1 each by State’and county for school making a
total assessment of $2.91 on each $100 worth of property. In 1834 the first turnpike was
built through Giles County, it being the Columbia, Pulaski, Elkton & Alabama Pike
The present pikes are the Pulaski & Elkton Pike, built about 1840, of which there sre
thirty miles; the Pulaski & Brick Church Pike, built in 1882, fourteen miles: the Pulaski
& Bradshaw Pike, built in 1882, twelve miles, and the Pulaski & Vale Mills Pike built in
1883, five miles. The Nashville & Decatur Railroad, the only one in the county passes
through from north to south. In 1856 the county subscribed $275,000 in aid of this rail-
road, payable in five annual installments. The road was completed in 1860, and has
proven a great boon and benefit to the entire county. The Memphis & Knoxville Rail-
Toad has been surveyed through the county, and should the road be built the county
would be quartered by railways, and Giles would have transportation facilities equaled
by few counties in the State. -The building of the latter road, however, is very indefinite
The first court held in the county was a court of pleas and quarter sessions, and was
held on the third Monday in February, 1810, at the house of Lewis Kirk, who lived in a
cabin on a bluff on the bank of Richland Creek at the foot of the ‘‘shoals,” and about
yards above where the Nashville & Decatur Railroad depot now stands. ) The magis-
trates who had previously been appointed as such by the General Assembly, were eworn
into office, and they at once elected John Dickey, chairman, German Lester, clerk, Jesse
Westmoreland, register, and Charles Neeley, sheriff. By order of the court a log cabin
was erected in Kirk’s yard, in which the courts were held. and in a short while thereafter
In this rude pri
those convicted of misdemeanors, contempt of court, etc., while the felons were santo
the Williamson County jail, and afterward to the Maury County jail for imprisonment
After the sale of town lots, August, 1811, the cave having been previously cut from a por-
Square, a second court house was erected on the Public Square, and

This second building was constructed of
round
logs, which werg covered with boards. The house stood for about two years, when it was

destroyed by fire, presumably by the citizens, they having become impatient and indig-
nant at the delay of the commissioners in giving them a more commodious and sight
building. A log jail was erected on the southeast corner of the Public Square at en
& court house, and it, too, was destroyed by fire soon after the

The present court
house was completed in 1859, and cost the county about $27,000. Itis a large two-story

Two large court rooms are on the

provided with suitable apartments for a jailer’s family, and has ten well-constructed cells,
with necessary corridors.

In 1865, the County Court purchased-130 acres of land in the Eleventh District, four
miles east of Pulaski, for a county poor farm, and erected log buildings thereon for the
accommodation of paupers. In 1867, frame buildings took the place of the log house,
and these were replaced with a good brick building in 1884, which cost about $4,000.

The Giles Circuit Court convened its first session in the log court house at Lewis
Kirk’s, on the second Monday in June, 1810, present and presiding the Hon. Thomas H.
Stewart, judge; Amos Balch, attorney-general. James Berry was appointed clerk, and
the session was opened by Sheriff Charles N eeley. The court continued to hold its ses-
sions at the above place until the December term, 1811, when the court was opened at that
place, and an adjournment was taken, to meet at once in the new court house on the
Public Square. After the destruction of the court house in 1814, the court was held dur-
ing the April term at the house of David Martin, in Pulaski. During the year 1815 the
house of Isaac Smith, of Pulaski, was used as a temporary court house. From 1810 to
1822 there are no records of this court, they having been destroyed. The records are also
missing between 1831 and 1836, between 1848 and 1852, between 1855 and 1858, and there
were no courts between 1860 and 1865, but since the last date they are complete.

In 1827, for malicious stabbing, James Z. Maclin was sent to jail for twelve months;
for an assault and battery, with murderous intent, Sterling Harwell was fined $25 and
sent to jail for twenty days. In 1880 Arthur Jarnigar, for committing forgery, was given
thirty-nine lashes on the bare back, sent to jailfor one week and made to sit in the pillory
two hours each morning for three consecutive days; and Dury Smith, for manslaughter,
was branded on the brawn of the left thumb with the letter M; and sent to jail for one
month. In 1836 James McNune was sent to the penitentiary for two years for an assault
and attempt to commit murder.

In 1837 William Inzer, for larceny, was sent to the penitentiary for three years. James
Tooey, five years for malicious stabbing, and Isaac Dale was convicte r and
sentenced to be hung. In 1838 John W. Craft was sent to the penitentiary for three years
for perjury. In 1858 William Hall was sent up for two years ona charge and conviction
of malicious stabbing; in 1855 Martin, a slave, was convicted of murder and sentenced to
be hung.

In 1860 N. C. Wisend, for grand larceny, was sent to prison for seven years; in 1865,
Samuel Marks, for the same offense, was given ten years; and in 1866 Benjamin Aber-
nathy, Stephen Brown, Jacob Kennedy and Meredith Dabney, for grand larceny, were
given terms of imprisonment of three years, one year and seven years, respectively. In
1867 Henry Ars, for stealing a horse, was imprisoned for a term of ten years; Pleasant
Beckwith, for murder, in 1868, was sent to prison for one year; and John Lightfoot and
George Springer were tried jointly on a charge of larceny and each sent up for three
years; in 1869, Cesar Allen, for larceny, was given one year; James Kelley, for rape, was
sent up for fifteen years; and Pleasant Madison, for horse stealing, ten years. In 1870,
Sterling Eddins and Harup Mason, for larceny, were each sent to the penitentiary for one
year; in 1871, James Montgomery, horse stealing, fifteen years; Lewis Swinnea, murder,
twenty years; William Allen, larceny, five years; Green Turner, horse stealing, sentenced
to be hung; Philip Maples, for administering poison, three years; and Lewis Taylor, lar-
ceny, three years. In 1872 Jesse Donaldson, Amanda Abernathy, Virginia Abernathy,
Felix White and Richard Collier, for larceny, were given terms of imprisonment ranging
from fifteen months to four years, while for murder, Jordan Petty was sent up for four-
teen years; Jack McGuire, for stealing a horse, twenty-one years; and George Chapman,
for forgery, went up for three years. In 1878, John Adams, Isaac Ballentine, Benjamin
McDonald and Sterling Eddins, for larceny, were sent to penitentiary for three, one, four

and six years, respectively; Andrew G. Downing and Richard Benson were given fifteen
and ten years, respectively, for horse stealing. In 1874, William Jones, George Washing-
ton and Calvin Rhoades were sent to penitentiary for five, four and seven years, respect-

messee

CSsee

DEDICATED TO
TENNESSEE’S COUNTY HISTORIANS

PCr obi RE oe, Mrs. G.D. Hoskins
NE 5, ee ia, ee. R. Paul Cross
PRINOM: codigo Reus Jonathan K.T. Smith
To. COO aR Miss Elizabeth Robnett
DROME oe) sak, or Miss Inez Burns
BRAC 5.55 sprees C.L. McAlister
OE sc sstk. vc taeds hook oS T.H. Miller
RPMI soci 05 | 5 onto lind ic Sorvecas.e:,. none
Caron 4 icky ccmeleee Miss Anna Pearl Nesbitt
ST ne RH Se none
CBAMINGY, osc Sta James B. Hallums
COBH R areal Rade csv, 5; Corley Orick
CHIDOINGS . oa Shy. oe Col. Edgar A. Holt
RAMP is stir vaya ets cok Ca Mrs. W.B. Upton
COC i iiic ts odo Edward R. Walker, III
eee: RE are David L. Jacobs
CHOCO ioe ee og, as Mrs. Charles C. James
Cumiberlatid iii. icc. 3. sce. Laverne M. Tabor
BPOVITIONE givceds scosbcoraterds cos Hugh Walker
SPEER i. cchaeies de Mrs. Lillye Younger
TAO ON ois hic es Thomas G. Webb
SACOM AL ses is ce, i Clifton Goodlett
2, SUCRE COE Cm Elmer Gardner
si ey ee a Oe Mrs. J.R. Morton
iia Ee CR ae none
FIRIWNN fe ccekis oc. vec douk? Howard M. Hannah
ROM sts ie RG nee. Fred Culp
Fe PORES OO Loa Mrs. Estelle Cosby
a eS Miss Mildred Marshall
Fe Ey Oe eC eel T. Elmer Cox
CUI RG js esos cCiia lev hit err ceceagens ses, none
1 | eS Se Mrs. Burwin Haun
Bear aN, 0d iss ci es Dr. james Livingood
PURO 5 ric sy fig eheas cS Chris D. Livesay
Hardeman..... Mrs. Faye Tennyson Davidson
VEN chi Give Miss Grace Patterson
PENVAGIW i OB oc sho none
PPV MIO 506s is ase ie Morton Felsenthal
Menderson:..5...6860 06.5 G. Tillman Stewart
EOOWIY.. Ldhevvsncswveis eba ia ck, W.O. Inman
PRCA ii ee. Edward Dotson
PIOURUWY spdig as Cee scabs Oy George Bateman
HIGMPTEYS ics iisascvas.. Mrs. Bill Anderson
PAERSON i ee an Ms. Molden Tayse
PCTS ES iii cies, ee George A. Bauman
PINSON 4c Mrs. Blanche S. Osborne
WTR is oe syscdtbccedebaat onic) Mrs. Park Niceley

Es oa a a nace Mrs. Abigail Hyde
Ratid@rdale. .¥. 3 ot re ee a none
Lawrence Jia. Mrs. Edward M. Lindsey
LEWIS .. ois ices tants to lira eae none
Lincoln... cor, tan oe: Battle Bagley, Sr.
Loudon....35Ge fae Edmund McQueen II
McMinn 20) attic 8 ...James Burn
WicNlairy aires Wie lesa ke a ee none
Macon, Seis, Gita | Harold Blankenship
Madison .......... Mrs. Emma Inman Williams
Marion .., agiesthn, ora J. Leonard Raulston
Marshall..:.2i3y yi, Ralph DO. Whitesell
Maury .. ceeci ape. Mrs. 1.7. Garrett, Jr.
MIEIBS sucraguedrene ones » Mrs. James F. Gallaher
MOOG... ices ORES Vac cus aR a ce none
Morttgomety... diiilicgsy i, Mrs. Oscar Beach
MOGTE «oocytes xShodes as Mrs. Elizabeth Cobble
Morgan.......... Pep Vipiock odh'vs sce isleredganad none
OBION |... vcseca ede is Rebel C. Forrester
OWEGrION | ci eel Rahs cic coh oc none
POTTY sovivassdausing ety oii tel Gus A. Steele
PRE KO aioe Se veg acaba. Tim Huddleston
POM . cncsingd skiverncale ed leiacide cs: Roy G. Lillard
PENG cid ies beer Estes stan. heel none
AN@S .f..00i02 oh Dr. Theodore Mercer
ROANG ins en. sunt Pe eo es oaaccthaen J.C. Parker
Robertson 306, ei Mrs. Charles Durrett
Ratherford. 68 Dr. Homer Pittard
Scotter se John Roy Thompson
Sequatehie. i.7 Hea ear oe; Mrs. Ora Lane
DOVICL cociksiksrstsb wc cee Mrs. Beulah D. Linn
Shelby... 00008: Mrs. Hillman P. Rodgers
SMD ..cctope Wiens ise Ate, Carmack Key
Sewart 8d Rese ee none
Suilivgets bee ee ae ee none
SUMMCR i ee tikes CN, gl ue none
Tipton vio iis ie e As : Dr. J.S. Rutfin, Jr.
Trousdale 0:55, ciate eos Rex Gaskins
51 «SPR seen ae Pat Alderman
Van DUNGA ,sccicies Wey is. Creed B. Shockley
Warts cde eis vice cc tk none
Washi gtory iris ccs isc vevicsdes os: Paul M. Fink
WAVE ois ves Covinges tna Charles D. Gallaher
Weakley |. 0 ie Mrs. Wilbur Vaughn
631 1| Oe RA. Charles Leonard
Williamson .......cccccccee eee Mrs. Joe Bowman
WHSOR siscssccorditivac hacen G. Frank Burns

°F
®.
ss

INTRODUCTION

a book about the county jails of Tennessee. Ninety-five

AND NOW COMES ALONG .. .
counties, ninety-five courthouses, ninety-five jails: this is government at the local level.

Similar in design and concept to Tennessee Taproots about the county courthouses, this
companion book presents all of Tennessee’s county jails as they appeared in 1977 to 1979.
Workhouses, penal farms and city jails are not included. A few inside pictures give a flavor of
what it is like to be on the inside.

Jails, like hospitals, operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, without time off for
weekends and holidays. The county jail might be considered society's Emergency Room,
manned at all times to take care of whatever problems may arise and, in a small county, may
be the only facility offering twenty-four hour coverage. A drunk may be brought in to be dried
out, a runaway teenager may find lodging, a violently disturbed person may be temporarily
isolated, and even an abused child may find sanctuary. However, the main purpose of the
county jail is to deal with criminal elements. The accused offender is brought first to the
county jail which serves as the gateway into the criminal justice system.

Short sentences, usually up to eleven months and twenty-nine days (‘11-29'), may be
served in the county jail. The problem of long term confinement has been thrust upon the
county jail by overloading of the courts and overcrowding in the state prisons. Most county
jails were not constructed for long incarcerations.

Like the courthouse, each jail reflects the architectural styles of the times and no two jails
are alike, Of the six jails listed on the National Register of Historic Places, those in Bedford,
Hancock, and Scott Counties are currently in use. Old jails in Franklin and Lawrence Counties
have been transformed into county museums. The old jail in Grundy County stands as a bleak
relic of the past.

County jails come in four main types: some are inside the courthouse building; some
include or are attached to living quarters for the sheriff; others are free-standing and may be
located on a small side street out of public view; some of the newer jails may be found in what
is called a “Justice Center,” a multipurpose building including courtrooms, offices and other
support facilities. In most counties one may locate the jail by looking for the tall police
communications antenna which towers above it.

For the historical information about the jails we owe a major debt to the County Historians
whose generous and often unrecognized work is doing much to preserve the heritage of the
past. The enthusiasm with which many answered our request for help was a real
encouragement and we are grateful. There are many county histories in print, some published
under the impetus of the bicentennial year. Goodspeed’s monumental History of Tennessee,
published in 1887, was a prime source.

Statistical information came from the Jail Inspector’s Annual Reports for 1976-78 and the
Department of Correction’s Annual Reports for 1975-79. Lynching information is
documented from 1889 to 1944 as follows: National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States, 1889-1918; Daniel T.
Williams, archivist, Hollis Burke Frissell Library, Tuskeegee Institute, Ala. (1916-1934); jesse

Ames, The Changing Character of Lynching, Review of Lynching 1931-1941, Commission on
Interracial Cooperation, Inc. Atlanta, Ga. 1942; The Negro Year Book, 1947, Department of
Records and Research, Tuskeegee Institute, Ala., 1947, (1937-1944). Information on
hangings by the state came from the Tennessee Board of Prison Commission Reports for
1908-1914 and from the Tennessee Board of Control Report for 1915-1916. The data on the

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Published by Cangitin

EARLE-SHIELDS PUBLISHERS Carroll Leeann ees
P.O. Box 526 Carlericcccceee

Old Hickory, Tennessee 37138 ine aaa

Claiborne.....

All rights reserved Gocke ..... 00000
Coffee coc.
Crockett.......
© 1979 by Sophie and Paul Crane Cumberland...
Davidson ......
Decatureven ...
DeKalb ........
Dickson.......
Dyer wi... sine
Fayette .....6..
Fentress ......
Franklin ........
Gibson .......
CHeS: Siecce
Grainger .....
Greene ......
Grundy.......
Hambien......
Hamilton......
Hancock ...
Hardeman ..
ratean iss ai.
Hawkins ......
Haywood .....
Henderson..
IGN ee aut
Design——Typesetting by Printers Service Co., Inc., Nashville, Tennessee aS
ouston.....
Printing and Binding by Marshall & Bruce Co., Nashville, Tennessee Humphreys...
Jackson.......
lefferson......
Johnson ......

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 79-91129

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TENNESSEE'S
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Sophie and Paul Crane

Earle-Shields Publishers

P.O. Box 526
Old Hickory, Tennessee 37138

HAMILTON COUNTY

County seat: Chattanooga, Tennessee 37400
Population: 269,600

Hamilton County was established in 1819; named for Alexander Hamilton. The county
seat, first at Dallas, was moved to Harrison in 1840 and in 1870 to Ross's Landing which was
renamed Chattanooga.

The first jail in Chattanooga was built in the 1850s at Fifth and Lookout Streets. In 1870 the
county bought property at the southwest corner of Market and Fourth Streets for a courthouse
and jail. In 1881 a jail was built for $33,530.83 on Walnut Street. In 1976 the Hamilton
County Justice Building, incorporating jail facilities, was constructed tor around $7,500,000.
Hamilton county jail is approved for housing federal prisoners. Jack H. Tyler of Chattanooga
was the architect; Robins Engineering, Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama, the contractor; Southern
Steel Company of San Antonio, Texas, furnished and installed all of the jail equipment;
Jackson and Church Electronics Company, Inc. of Melbourne, Florida, furnished, and Jacox,
Inc. of Satellite Beach, Florida, installed all of the electronics surveillance system.

A brief summary of some of the unique features of the Hamilton County Jail in the new
Justice Building stands in sharp contrast to the construction of early jails described in Roane
and Fentress Counties and reflects the influence of modern technology on the jails. See
appendix 2 and Roane County.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low — Average (102 jails)
1976 283 200 140 167 4th
1977 283 215 147 181 Certified
1978 291 238 170 190 Certified

Meals: Three times a day at 6:30, 11, 5.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of pinto beans, cornbread,

fruit drink

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 148 1976-77 165 (6.9% crimes in state)
1974-75 191 1977-78 185 (168 male, 17 female)
1975-76 156 (62 white, 94 black)

Lynchings in Hamilton County:
1893, 2/14 Andy Blount (black) suspicion of rape
1895, 11/29 Cad Smith (white) attempted rape
1897, 2/26 Charles Brown (black) attempted rape
1906, 3/9 Ed Johnson (black) murder

Legal hanging by the state from Hamilton County: 1911, 11/17 Robert Cook (black) murder

Electrocutions by the state from Hamilton County:
1921, 8/3 Cyrenus Jackson (black) murder
1921, 8/3 Taylor Neal (black) murder
192255 7/725 William Dwight (black) murder
1933; * 9/7 Oscar Bevins (black) rape
1933, 9/7 Andrew Wilcoxson (black) rape
1941, 7/18 Walter Reed (black) murder
1943, 12/15 Robert Hall (black) murder

sak mate Re 44
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nt pioneer.

surthouse. A second
' of the courthouse

Rating
‘102 jails)
ith

vt certified
‘on-certified

surant, Typical lunch:

Je (white) murder

GREENE COUNTY

County seat: Greeneville, Tennessee 37743

Population: 52,100

Greene County was established in 1783; named for Major General Nathaniel Greene,
veteran of the Revolutionary War.

The first jail was built of logs over Richland Creek three hundred feet downstream from Big
Spring around which the town’s first buildings were located. Effluent dropped through the
puncheon floor into the creek. Historians think that a second log jail was built similar to the
first one but nearer the present courthouse. This is not proven. In 1804-05 a stone jail was
erected on Depot Street less than one hundred feet west of Andrew Johnson's tailor shop. A jail
was built around 1839 using stone from the former jail. In 1882 a second floor of brick and
iron was added. This building. still stands and is occasionally used to house a prisoner
overflow. The present jail, built in 1924, has solid concrete walls and floors, iron windows,

and is painted white.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 62 60 26 35 90th
1977 62 61 25 34 Not certified
1978 66 82 30 47 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 8,4,9 em. (sandwiches).—A supper served in 1978 consisted of beans,
greens, cornbread, buttermilk, banana pudding

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 21 1976-77 50
1974-75 28 1977-78 27. (26 male, 1 female)

1975-76 14. (13 white, 1 black)

Lynchings: None recorded for Greene County

a PO Oe a Ne ee ee ee ee et, ar a ee

Ores ae a ee ae om ee ees

GRUNDY COUNTY

County seat: Altamont, Tennessee 37301
Population: 12,400

Grundy County was established in 1844; named for Felix Grundy, U.S. senator and
congressman.

The “old” jail, known locally as the ‘‘Tower of London,” is a three-story structure with a
tower and was built in 1904. A “mob cell,” built in the pinnacle of the tower, provided a safe
retreat for a prisoner from a lynch mob. If threatened, a prisoner might crawl up into this secret
cell through a trap door, pulling the ladder up after him, and thus survive the fury of the mob.
Sheriff's quarters occupied the first floor; cages in the upstairs rooms held the prisoners. This
jail is on the National Register of Historic Places and there are hopes of converting this
deserted building into a museum. The present jail was built in 1973 for $170,000. Williams
and Associates of Nashville was the architect; Warren Johnson of Nashville, the contractor.
Living quarters for the sheriff's family are included in this one-story brick building. Renovation
was Carried out in 1978 with a federal grant. Following the Jail Inspector's report of
deficiences, the grand jury of Grundy County inspected the jail. The grand jury foreman is
quoted in the Tracy City Herald of July 6, 1978 as saying, “We found things pretty much like
they said. Of course, it’s been broke out of since then.’ Recommendations were made to
convert the. sheriff's living quarters into jail space, to improve security, and to bring
deficiencies up to standard. The District Attorney General is quoted as saying, “The main
thing they recommend was for everybody to try to get along and get the job done.”

Jail Inspector’s Report: Datly Census Rating
Capacity = High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 32 30 4 5 34th
1977 32 31 10 14 Conditionally certified

1978 32 10 2 15 Certitied

Meals: Three times a day at 7:30, 12, 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of meat loaf, pinto beans,
sweet potatoes, cornbread, tea

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 4 1976-77 5
1974-75 és 1977-78 8 (male)
1975-76 1 (white)

Lynchings: None recorded for Grundy County

HAMS

County seat

Hamblen |
Morristown

The court!
dungeons.”
two-story bri
replaced in |
jail facilities,
Morristown; |
are no winde
that may be

Jail Inspector’:

197

Meals: Three
potak

Prisoners sent

1973-74
1974-75
1975~—76

Lynchings: Nc

Anthony B!
Two doctors

U.S. senator and

ry structure with a
or, provided a safe
_ up into this secret
1e fury of the mob.
‘he prisoners. This
of converting this
70,000. Williams
‘le, the contractor.
iiding. Renovation
pector’s report of
od jury foreman is
4 pretty much like
ons 2 made to
rity | to bring
aying, ‘The main
the job done.”

Rating
'Q2 jails)

‘onally certified
d

eat loaf, pinto beans,

HAMBLEN COUNTY

County seat: Morristown, Tennessee 37814 J
Population: 45,100

Hamblen County was established in 1870; named for Hezekiah Hamblen of Hawkins.
Morristown was named for the Morris family, early settlers of the area.

The courthouse, built in 1874, had two windowless rooms on the ground floor called “the
dungeons.” These served for the jail until the first jail was built in 1877 for $3,000. A
two-story brick jail with large barred windows was built in 1930, renovated in 1973, and
replaced in 1979. The new Hamblen County Justice Center, containing courtrooms as well as
jail facilities, cost approximately $1,000,000. The architect was George L. Price Architects of
Morristown; the contractor, Charles K. Hodge Construction Company of Morristown. There
are no windows in the cell area. A new feature in this jail is the row of riot control bright lights
that may be turned on any unruly prisoners with such intensity as to subdue them.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 64 49 16 40 99th
1977 64 65 30 42 Not certified
1978 63 — — — Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 5:30, 11:30, 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of mixed beans,
potatoes, hamburger meat, corn, cornbread
Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1973-74 7 1976-77 $5
1974-75 9 1977-78 25 (23 male, 2 female)

1975-76 17. (13 white, 4 black)
Lynchings: None recorded for Hamblen County

Anthony Blair was hanged on September 26, 1879 for the murder of members of his family.
Two doctors are reported to have paid $15 for his body for medical study.

kson, a Nashville
»es Robertson, the

Rai
02 jails)
th,
| certified
-certified

{, lima beans, white

‘emale)

“aick) for striking a
a ‘negro bar.’’ Shot
0 took him from the

ourder and arson

Par ea
BNW

inne
i |

DYER COUNTY Be

County seat: Dyersburg, Tennessee 38024
Population: 33,800

Dyer County was established in 1823; named for Colonel Robert Henry Dyer, veteran of the
War of 1812, the Seminole War, the Natchez Expedition, and the Creek War.

The first log jail was built in 1838. The second jail, a substantial brick building built in
1842, was remodeled in 1883 for $7,000. The present jail was built in 1975 for approximately
$400,000. The architect was Wiseman, Bland, Foster, and O’Brien of Memphis; Seaton
Construction Company, the contractor.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High low — Average (102 jails)
1976 64 80 35 50 3rd
1977 64 82 35 50 Certified
1978 79 77 43 70 Certified

Meals: Twice a day at 7 and 3:30.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of fried chicken, turnip greens,
white beans, slaw, coffee, water

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 15 1976-77 Al
1974-75 -— 28 1977-78 21 (20 male, 1 female)
1975-76 15 (9 white, 6 black)

Lynchings in Dyer County:
1901, 2/18 Fred King (black) attempted rape 1902, 10/8 Curtis Brown (black) murder
1902, 10/8 Garfield Burley (black) murder 1913, 11/7, John Talley (black) attempted rape

Electrocutions by the state from Dyer County:
1916, 7/6 Julius Morgan* (black) rape.
1940, 9/4 William Henry (white) murder

*The first electrocution carried out in the State of Tennessee

e, | 1 nobleman
“meu sor Lieutenant
» Bend.

"brick jail. The third
roof costing about
. the Pauley Jail and
story brick building
5 was the architect.

Rating
‘102 jails)

tionally certified
od

ni & cheese, peaches,

©s (black) murder

(black) murder

FENTRESS COUNTY

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he wl
© ne
{ i

!
\7

County seat: Jamestown, Tennessee 38556 5
Population: 14,600

Fentress County was established in 1823; named for James Fentress, speaker of the
Tennessee House of Representatives. Jamestown was also named for James Fentress.

The first jail was built in 1827. Specifications for the jail were written by one of the
commissioners, John M. Clemons, the father of Samuel Clemons, “Mark Twain.’’ See
appendix 2.

A two-story building of native stone with the sheriff's quarters in the front part of the jail was
built in 1906. Renovated in 1956, it was replaced in the spring of 1979. This new jail abuts the |
recently renovated courthouse. Living areas have exterior lighting and views; escape doors are
electrically controlled. Construction costs amounted to approximately $300,000. John A. :
Preston Associates of Nashville was the architect. | |

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 14 29 5 21 80th
1977 14 24 2 14 Not certified
1978 15 23 4 9 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 6, 11:30, 5:30.—Meal not ascertained

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 4 1976-77 9
1974-75 Z 1977-78 5 (male)
1975-76 5 (white)

Lynchings: None recorded for Fentress County

Electrocutions by the state from Fentress County: 1938, 3/28 Harley Evans (white) murder

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FAYETTE COUNTY

County seat: Somerville, Tennessee 38068 — Boo
Population: 25,000

Fayette County was established in 1824; named for Marquis de Lafayette, French nobleman
and distinguished soldier of the Revolutionary War. The county seat was named for Lieutenant
Robert Somerville who was killed in 1814 at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

The first jail was built of logs in 1825 followed in 1838 by a substantial brick jail. The third
jail, built in 1873, was a “handsome” two-story brick building with a tin roof costing about
$20,000. This jail was burned in 1886. The fourth jail was built in 1886 by the Pauley Jail and
Manufacturing Company of St. Louis for $8,500. The present jail, a two-story brick building
with small windows, was built in 1954. Mahan and Shappley of Memphis was the architect.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 34 48 30 30 64th
1977 34 50 25 30 Conditionally certified

1978 34 30 12 25 Certified

Meals: Twice a day at 8 and 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of macaroni & cheese, peaches,
chili, cornbread

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1973-7 3 1976-77 i]
1974-75 rf 1977-78 20. (male)
1975-76 6 (3 white, 3 black)

Lynchings in Fayette County:
1894, 8/12 William Nershbred (black) rape 1915, 4/28 Thomas Brooks (black) murder
1895, 10/15 Jeff Ellis (black) murder

Legal hanging by the state from Fayette County: 1912, 9/4 Sidney Dunlap (black) murder

Bey OR een GG

FENTR

County seat:

Fentress C:
Tennessee Hi

The first ja
commissione:
appendix 2.

A two-stors
built in 1906.
recently reno:
electrically c:
Preston Asso:

jail Inspector's
197
197

T1971

Meals: Three

Prisoners sent
1973-74
1974—73°%
1975—76 |

Lynchings: Nov

Electrocutions

DICKSON COUNTY.

County seat: Charlotte, Tennessee 37036 a | ‘a rey y rey
Population: 28,300

Dickson County was established in 1803; named for Dr. William Dickson, a Nashville
physician. The county seat was named for Charlotte Robertson, wife of James Robertson, the
“Father of Middle Tennessee.”’

The first jail, built in 1804, was destroyed along with the courthouse in the tornado of 1830.
Although the roof was blown thirty miles away, the jail was empty at the time and the jailer
escaped injury. This jail was a two-story brick building with quarters for the sheriff's family;
construction costs were $4,000. A new jail was built similar in style and cost. The present jail,
built in 1940, was renovated in 1964. The sheriff no longer lives in the jail.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 45 50 20 30 94th
1977 45 55 17 36 Not certified
1978 45 60 30 35 Non-certified

Meals: Twice a day at 7 and 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of meatloaf, lima beans, white
beans, potatoes, turnip greens, cornbread

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 5 1976-77 12
1974-75 8 1977-78 7
1975-76 2 (1 white, 1 black)

(5 male, 2 female)

Lynchings in Dickson County:
1892, 7/25 J.H. Wynne (white) murder
1894, 7/7 James Ball (black) murder
1894, 7/14 William Bell (black) barn burning

1935, 11/4 Baxter Bell (black) for striking a
white woman in a ‘‘negro bar.’’ Shot
by five men who took him from the
constable.

Examples of early sentences:
1830 First prisoner sent to the penitentiary for whipping his wife
1833 Wiley, a black slave, hanged for murder of his master
1845 John Luther penitentiary for four years for harboring slaves
1857 Willie Johnson penitentiary 6 years for murder
1857 Sanford Higgs, Henry and Andrew Elridge penitentiary 15 years for murder and arson
1866 Thomas Smith penitentiary for stealing a hog
1867. Willis Holt and Wesley Hood penitentiary 15 years for stealing a horse
1870 Nathan Brown (black) penitentiary ten years for murder

DYER

County sea

Dyer Co:
War of 18

The first
1842, was
$400,000.
Cénstructio

Jail Inspecic

Meals: Tw"
t

wh
Prisoners Se
1973-7
1974-7
1975—7

Lynchings
EIOT;
1902, 10

Electroculic
1916, 7/!
1940, 9

*The first ele

906 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. STEWART COUNTY. 907

Jesse Parchmen, 1854-56; E. F. Bogard, 1856-65; W. T. Keel, 1865- | Tn 1839 William Merrill was sent to the penitentiary for three years

79; P. T. Wafford, 1870-72; George Brandon, 1872-74; OG. Ralls, | : ili
1874-76: W.C. Biggs, 1876-78; J. A. Townsen d, 1878-79: W. N. Par. | committing an assault and battery, and Elizabeth and Joel McLemon

ker, 1879-81; C. B. Cobb, 1881-82; Charles A. Wolf, 1882-83: G. W. | were Sranted a ‘divorce, Martin Armington was given eight years
Bufford, 1883-84; ©. C. Ralls, 1884-86, Registers—Yancy Thornton, | i
1804-09; Thomas Clinton, 1809-11; Joel Williams, 1811-13; Yancy
Thornton, 1813-14; John Bailey, 1814-20; David Hogan, 1820-24;
Christopher C. Clements, 1824-36; John Richards, 1836-39 ; Hiram
Valentine, 1839-45; Thomas M. Atkins, 1845-50; R. T. Daniel, 1850-
d4; S. W. Puckett, 1854-63; Hamilton Settle, 1863-66; Thomas Mar-
tin, 1866-69; James P. Flood, 1869-70; William Cook, 1870-74; Will-
iam C. Weaks, 1874-86.

While there remains nothing but odd papers of a miscellaneous na-
ture on file to testify to the past, a circuit court in some form or other
existed in Stewart County as early as 1814 or 1815; yet nothing as to
the names of the officers or proceedings of such court can be learned at
this late date. The first session of the circuit court held of which there
remains a record, was begun and held at the court house in Dover, on
Monday, March, 23, 1835, which was presided over by the Hon. Lums-
ford M. Bramblett, he holding the court in interchange with the regular
judge, Hon. Parry W. Humphreys. W. Williams was the clerk, and
Henry L. Atkins sheriff of the court at that time. Among the transac-
tions of the court during 1835 was the sending of Reuben and Larkin
Times to the penitentiary for three years each upon being convicted of
horse-stealing, and imposing a fine of $25 upon Willie Sills for an assault
with murderous intent. Judge Humphreys’ term as such expiring with
the year, the grand jury prepared and presented to the able jurist a vale-
dictory address, setting forth the esteem in which he was held by the citi-
zens in general, and the regret of all at his departure.

The circuit court convened for the first time after its reorganization
provided for by the “new” constitution of 1834 on Monday, March 14,
1836, with Hon. Mortimer H; Martin on the bench, William K. Turner,
solicitor, Philander Priestly, clerk, and Henry L. Atkins, sheriff. Dur.
ing 1836 James Dunn was sent to jail for 30 days ona charge of petit
larceny, and on charges of grand larceny Nasslett Dougherty and Mar-
tin Armington were sent to the penitentiary for one and three years re-
spectively, In 1837 Willie Sills was tried on the charge of kidnaping
a woman of color, but was acquitted. James Sampson was convicted of
malicious stabbing and sent to the penitentiary for three years. William
W. Perry got twelve years for committing a rape, and for stealing a
horse William H. Randolph was given four years,

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crowd, on the 4th day of December, { John Brigham, on the charge of
forgery, was sentenced to three’ years’ imprisonment in 1847, and in
1848 Jacob Barber was sent to jail for larceny, and a divorce was granted
to William and Elizabeth Davis. In 1850 Alexander Debuse was given
three years’ imprisonment on being convicted of horse stealing, and in
1851 William ©. Jobes, M. J. Andrews, M. T. Duncan and Thomas
Stalls, were each fined $5 for fighting chickens, In 1855 Holmes Harris
was fined $5 for an assault and battery; Patrick Huflin, $50 for an assault
NO with intent to kill; John McBride sent to the penitentiary for three

In 1867 Ben Carter (colored) was sent to the penitentiary for three
years on charge of perjury, and Robert Blair sent for ten years upon con-
Viction of murder; J. A. Glasgow was acquitted of the murder of Peter
Gray in 1868, and in the following year J. M. Watson was given three
years’ imprisonment on a charge of grand larceny, and for horse stealine

932 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

1871, and sent to the penitentiary for ten years, and at the following
July term Henry White was sent to the penitentiary for life for the mur-
der of Stanford Donnegan. At the March term, 1876, Jesse Dowing,
colored, was sent to the penitentiary for sixteen years upon a charge of
ku-klux. William Still was sent to the penitentiary for three years on
the charge of grand larceny at the July term, 1879, and was tried and
convicted on the same charge at the March term, 1880, and sent back for
three years more. Andrew White was tried at the March term, 1881, on
the charge of larceny and sent to the penitentiary for sixteen years, and
at the following term White was tried on the charge of murdering James
Clardy and was convicted and sentenced to be hung, but his sentence was
commuted by the governor to.imprisonment in the penitentiary for life.
At the March term, 1885, Warren Bishop was sent to jail for ten days
for committing manslaughter, and at the following November term Jett
Clark was sent to the penitentiary for ten years for murder, and John
Grace was convicted of the murder of D. W. Price and sent to the peni-
tentiary for five years.

The following is a list of the officers of the Dickson County Circuit
Court from the organization of the court to the present time: Judges—
Mortimer A. Martin, from 1836-52; W. W. Pepper from 1852-61;
Thomas W. Wisdom from 1861 to the breaking out of the war, and
presided over the first term of court after civil law was restored in
1865; John Alex. Campbell from 1865-69; James E. Rice from 1869
-78; Joseph C. Stork from 1878 until the present time, and is the
present incumbent. Attorney-generals—William K. Turner from 1836
-42: W. B. Johnson, 1842-48; V. S. Allen, 1848-50; J. M. Quarles,
1850-58; W. E. Lowe, 1858-62, James E. Rice, 1865-69; W. Jz
Broaddus, 1869-70; T. C. Milligan, 1870-78; B. D. Bell, 1878 until
present time. Clerks—John C. Collier, 1836-42; Robert McNeiley,
1842-62; James E. Justice, by appointment, 1865-66; H. C. Collier,
1866-70; J. A. Dodson, 1870-86. Dickson County is now in the Tenth
Judicial District, which is composed of the counties of Robertson, Mont-
gomery, Dickson, Stewart, Sumner and Houston. Many eminent lawyers
practiced before the Charlotte bar between the thirties and sixties; men
who made their mark as jurists, statesmen and politicians. Among the
local lawyers of the above period were John C. Collier, W. H. Dortch,
John Montgomery, John Reed, S. L. and James Finley, Robert and
Thomas MeNeiley, Lucien B. Chase and A. G. Williams, all of whom
ranked well in their profession, The attorneys of the present are
Thomas Morris, Jacob Leach, W. L. Grigsby and Hardin Leach.

eee y FY » 8

4 , ; |
DICKSON COUNTY. 4

the General Assembly in 1836, but was held in Clarksville, Montgome:
County, until October, 1737, at which time the court and records we:
removed to Charlotte, and the first session held in June of the followir
year, which was presided over by Judge Hamilton, chancellor of tl
Twelfth Chancery District. Judge Hamilton was succeeded by Judg
Andrew McCampbell, who served until 1846 and was succeeded at th
time by Judge Jesse H. Cahal. Judge Cahal served until 1850; Jud
A. O. P. Nicholson from 1850-51; Judge John S. Brien from 1851-5:
Judge Samuel D. Frierson from March, 1854, to October, 1854; Juds
Stephen Pavatt from 1854-66; Judge R. H. Rose from 1866-68; Juds
J. W. Doherty from 1868-71; Judge G. H. Nixon, from 1871-86, ar
is the present incumbent and candidate for reelection. Chancery cler!
and masters have served as follows: William A. Dortch, 1837-39; Joh
C. Collier, 1839-54; Henry C. Collier, 1854-66; R. M. Baldwin, 186
71; Henry C. Collier, 1871-81; W. L. Grigsby, 1881 to the present tim
and has five years more of his term yet to serve.

The other county officers of Dickson County who have served sin
its organization: Sheriffs—Robert Weakley, 1804-06; David Hoga
1806-08; Michael Malton, 1808-10; Edward Pearsall, 1810-11; Jam
Read, 1811-13; Drury Christian, 1813-19; Richard Batson, 1819-2)
David McAdoo, 1825-26; William Hightower, 1826-28; George Smit
1828-35; Robert Livingston, 1835-38; George W. Tatum, 1838-4
Thomas McMurry, 1840-46; W. J. Mathis, 1846-52; W. L. Whit
1852-53; G. W. Clarke, 1853-54; J. W. Hutton, 1854-60; John ©
Walker, 1860-61; Eli Wylie, 1861-65; M. G. Harris, 1865 (served on
two weeks); W. G. McMahan, 1865-66; D. L. Matlock, 1866-72; J. \
Hutton, 1872-77; W. M. Kirk, 1877-82; Rufus Ferfee, 1882-84; S. ]
Grigsby, 1884-86, and the present incumbent and is a candidate f
re-election. County registers—James Walker, 1804-16; Malton Dic
son, 1816-23; Richard Waugh, 1823-42; Henry A. Bibb, 1842-48; |
L. Leach, served one month in 1848; E. E. Larkins, 1848-56; J. -
Priestly, 1856-60; E. E. Larkins, 1860-74; Henry A. Bibbs, 1874-8
and is the present incumbent and candidate for re-election. County su
veyors—Thomas Williams, 1824-29; Malton Dickson, 1829-33; Sellm:
Edwards, 1833-45; David Gray, 1845-51; Willis Roberts, 1851-5
Sellman Edwards, 1852-54; Peter Jackson, 1854-58; A. Myatt, 185:
69; Peter Jackson, 1869-73; Robert Martin, 1873-85; W. G. McMilla
1885-86, and is the present incumbent. State senators—Duncan Ste
art, 1805-07; Parry W. Humphreys, 1807-09; John Shelby, 1809-1
James B. Reynolds, 1811-15; Robert West, 1815-17; Sterling Brews

tow
+ +a + a 4040 3+ es . an 1008 Es

928 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

Weakley; register, James Walker; commissioner of revenue, Robert
Drake; county trustee, John Larkins; wood ranger, William Caldwell;
coroner, John Hall; all of whom were qualified and entered upon the

to appoint Ezekiel Norris, general, and James Fentress special guard-
ian of John Davis, son of John Davis, deceased, and to order a road
laid off leading from Yellow Creek to the Montgomery County line, on
the middle fork of Barton’s Creek.

The following jury was appointed to serve at the following June
court of pleas and quarter sessions: John Burton, Redner Adams,
William Brasier, William Runland, Howel Adams, Andrew Giffin, Rob-
ert Nesbitt, Thomas Simpson, Samuel Walker, Simeon Walker, James
Ross, Lewis Russell, John Larkins, Jr., Robert Stington, John Wards
Moses Smith, Nathan Nesbitt, Hugh Robertson, Samuel Hartly, Mat-
thew Gilmore, Edward Lucas, Cornelius Magraw, Andrew Caldwell, Bur-
gess Harris, John Holland, Robert N orris, William Moore, Samuel Par-
ker, Thomas Mitchell, James Woods, Earl Hutchen, Thomas Napier,

¥
discharge of their official duties. One of the first acts of the court was :

Stephen Ward, Levi Hand, Michael Dickson, William McKnight, Charles /

Walker and John Davidson, and out of the above a grand jury of four-
teen and a foreman were selected at the meeting of court.

At the June term of the county court the prices regulating the Har-
peth River ferry, were established. For man and horse, 124 cents; sin-
gle horse, 64 cents; footman, 64 cents; sheep and hogs per head, 14 cents;
wagon and team, $1; two-wheel carriages, 50 cents; cattle per head, 64
‘cents. Indictments were returned by the grand jury at this term as fol.
lows: David Ross, rescuing; William Carrin, trespass and assault and
battery; John Craft, assault and battery.

From the year 1808 until the year 1815 there are no records to show
the proceedings of the county court, but during that time the commis.
sion appointed by the said act carried out the instructions contained
therein and selected a county site at what is now Charlotte. The land
was owned by Charles Stewart, who, in 1808, donated fifty acres to the
commission upon which to locate the county site, and lay off a town,
which was christened Charlotte. Upon being platted the lots were sold
to the highest bidders, and with the money derived from the sale the
public buildings were erected. Just when these buildings were complet-
ed cannot at this late day be ascertained, as the records of the county
court between the years 1808 and 1817 have been lost or destroyed.
However, it was some time between 1810 and 1812fthat the buildings
were finished and moved into. The court house, a large substantial
brick, was erected at a cost of between $10,000 and $12,000. It was

NY
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\_ the surrounding -hillsides and elimhad wn inte tha wnt

DICKSON COUNTY, 929

square in shape, two stories in height, the county offices being below on
the first floor, and the whole of the second floor being used as a court
room. There were four entrances to the building, all opening into a
large hall. A large circular belfry surmounted the roof. The jail was
also a two-story brick building, being also a sheriff's residence, and cost
about $4,000. Both the court house and jail were destroyed by the storm
of 1830, but were rebuilt by the county court, during the following year,
in the same places and in the same style and manner, and at about the
same cost. The sessions of the court were held in the public school
house until the new buildings were erected. Peter Seals was the first
man sent to the State prison from Dickson County, and he was sent
there by the county court in 1830, for whipping his wife.

Previous to 1836 the poor of the county were kept by different indi-
viduals in the separate civil districts, at the expense of the county, ap-
propriations being made from time to time by the county court. In the
above year the court passed an order for the purchase of ground and the
erection of necessary buildings to be used as a county asylum. The
ground was purchased at a point about two miles from Charlotte, on the
Dickson road, upon which was erected a comfortable log house, at
a cost of about $400; the house was found to be inadequate of recent
years, and in 1870 the court passed another order for the sale of the
property, and for the purchase of a suitable tract of land situated four
miles from Charlotte, on the N ashville road, upon which were erected a
number of small log. houses for the accommodation of the overseer and
paupers. The land and buildings cost upward of $25,000.

A bit of interesting history was enacted by the county court in 1833,
which has few precedents in the State of Tennessee. It was as follows:
On the 25th of November, 1833, William C. Bird, a white man and a
patrol, was assaulted by one Wiley, a slave, with a club and murdered,
Wiley was soon afterward arrestel, and the county court convened in
special session on the 19th of December of the same year for the purpose
of trying the slave on the charge of murder. The trial was by jury, and

lasted three days, a verdict of guilty being returned on the third day,

fixing the penalty at death by hanging. The charge was read to the
negro, and the day of his execution being set for December 28, following,
he was remanded to jail. On the appointed day Wiley was taken from
jail and placed in a cart and conveyed to the place of execution. The gal-
lows had been erected the previous day at a point about half a mile east
of Charlotte, and was in the shape of two upright posts and a cross piece,
to which the rope was attached. Several thousand people gathered on

ee : é

930 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

witness the hanging. Slave owners took their slaves to see the negro
hung, hoping thereby to give them a terrible lesson and warning. The
cart bearing the doomed man was driven between the two uprights, the
noose was placed around the slave’s neck, and the driver was instructed
to ‘drive up the cart,” and the negro was jerked into eternity. An aged
darkey preached a funeral sermon over the remains, and delivered a sol-
emn warning to his brethren.

In 1836 the State Legislature passed an act creating the circuit
court, and one reorganizing and reconstructing the county courts of the
State. Previous to this time the county court had jurisdiction in any
and all cases, both criminal, civil and probate. But by the require-
ments of this act of the Legislature, the jurisdiction of the county court
was limited to county affairs, the circuit and chancery court being
yiven jurisdiction over all cases of justice and equity. The county court
clerks have been as follows from the organization of the county to the
present: David Dickson, from 1804-13; Fiel Farrar, 1813-36; William
Hightower, 1836-42; Thomas J. Kelley, 1842-43; Thomas McNeiley,
L$43-59; Thomas C, Morris, 1859-65; F. M. Binkley, 1865-70; Thomas
K. Grigsby, 1870-86, and is a candidate for re-election,

From some time during the year 1819 until about 1821 or 1822, the
Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee held regular sessions at
charlotte. The records of this court, or at least of its sessions held in
Charlotte, have been lost, and as there are no citizens whose memory is
lear on the subject, it is impossible to give any account of the proceed-

ngs. ‘The judges were three in number, and were probably Haywood,
Smmerson and Catron.

The Circuit Court of Dickson County, in common with similar courts
hroughout the State, was established by an act of the Legislature of
fennessee passed January 25, 1836. By this act Dickson County was
laced in the Seventh Judicial District, of which Hon. Mortimer <A.
Martin was judge, and William K. Turner was attorney-general.
-revious to that time the county court had full jurisdiction in all cases,
oth criminal and civil. During the war of the Rebellion the records of
he circuit court were damaged and destroyed to a considerable extent,
nd of the first three years’ proceedings of the court there is now no
ecord, the dockets and minute books being entirely lost. The first ses-
ion of the court, of which there is a record, was held in the court house
t Charlotte, beginning on the second Monday of June, 1839, over which
udge Martin presided. The first grand jury,of which there is a
ecord, also met at this term of court, and was composed of the following
entlemen: Willie Bothrop, John S. Spencer, William Willey, David

DICKSON COUNTY. 931

Frazier, William White, Jesse Graham, Elisha Lloyd, James Loggins,
Lawson Gunn, Thomas McMurry, Josiah Ferrill and Berryman §S.
Walker, of which Willie Bothrop was chosen foreman. Among the
indictments returned by this. grand jury were one against Warren Hill
for drunkenness, and James Bruce for assault and battery. Jesse Norris
was convicted of grand larceny at the February term, 1842, and sent to
the penitentiary for three years. At the February term, 1843, Richard
Hutson was sent to the penitentiary for three years on the charge of
horse stealing. At the June term of the same year Henry D. James was
sent to the county jail for one hour on being convicted of the charge of
rescue. Aaron D. Cochran was convicted of usury at the February term,
1844, and fined $25, while at the following term William H. Nichols and
William Baker were tried and acquitted of the charge of murder.

From the October term, 1845, until the June term, 1855, the records
are missing. At the latter date John Luther was sent to the penitentiary
for four years for harboring slaves, Scarborough Penticost was acquitted
of the charge of killing of one Edwards, and the entire family of Samuel
H. Moran, including himself, wife and four children, were bound over to
keep the peace for twelve months, each one being required to give $500
bond.

Willis Johnson was tried and convicted of the murder of John Welsh
at the February term, 1857, and sent to the penitentiary for six years.
P. H. Hamilton was convicted of forgery at the February term, 1859, and
sent to the penitentiary for three years, and at the following term Sanford
Higgs, Henry and Andrew Elridge were convicted on the double charge
of murder and arson and each sent to the penitentiary for fifteen years.
At the October term, 1861, John H. and W. J. H. Ross and D. A. Gallighy
were convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to be hung.
Their case was taken to the supreme court at Nashville, and the prison-
ers were liberated by the Federal soldiers when that city was captured
during the war. Beginning with May, 1862, the circuit court transacted
little or no business for several terms, and were finally abandoned and
were not opened again until after the close of the war, when the first ses-
sion was held in June, 1866. At that term Thomas Smith was sent to
the penitentiary for stealing a hog. Atthe February term, 1867, Willis
Holt and Wesley Hood were each sent to the penitentiary for fifteen
years for stealing a horse. Betty Nixon was convicted of grand larceny
at the October term, 1868, and sent to the penitentiary for one year.
Nathan Bowan, colored, was convicted of the murder of Robert Collins at
the June term, 1870, and sent to the penitentiary for ten years. Samuel
Porter was convicted of the murder of Jack Snowden at the March term,

County seat: Huntingdon, Tennessee 38344 .# wea
Population: 27,400

Carroll County was established in 1821; named for William Carroll, governor of Tennessee
(1821-1827 and 1829-35). Under his administration the penal code was revised and the
penitentiary system was established.

There have been five jails in Carroll County. The first small jail, from which prisoners
frequently escaped, was built in 1824 of hewed logs. The second jail, built by Samuel Ingram,
was later converted into a residence. The third jail was built in 1875 for $11,000. This jail, a
two-story brick building, had five cells for prisoners and quarters for the sheriff. A two-story
brick jail was built in 1912 and renovated in 1972. The present jail, located ona large tract of
land outside of town on Highway 70 East, was built in 1978 by the Barger Construction
Company of Huntingdon. The County Emergency Service and Civil Defense Office occupy the
first floor; the jail is on the second. Small windows provide ventilation and light, and there is a
generous exercise area. The jail has a large modern communications center with television
monitors.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 35 34 4 20 101st
1977 35 30 10 14 Not certified

1978 59 35 20 30 Non-certitied

Meals: Twice a day at 7 and 3.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of meat loaf, brown beans, potato
salad, bread, cookies, iced tea

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 i 1976-77 3
1974-75 1 1977-78 5 (3 male, 2 female)
1975-76 6)

Lynchings in Carroll County:
1896, 11/15 Charles Allen (black) rape:
1896, 11/19 Samuel McDonald (black) threats

1901, 10/4 Walter McClennon. (black)
assaulting a white man

Legak Hangings in Carroll County:
1847. F.Q. (black) murder of a widow lady
1884 C.P. (black) murder of F.P. (black)

On April 18, 1931, Mrs. Pearlie Gooch Butler, wife of Sheriff J.C. Butler, turned back a
lynch mob who was after a prisoner accused of killing a police officer in Gibson county. For
this heroic act, Mrs. Butler (age 91 in 1978) was awarded a medal by the Tennessee
Commission on Interracial Cooperation. .

CARTER

County seat: Et!
Po

Carter County v
State of Franklin.

The first jail, bt
jail, built in 1906
sheriff which has
covered by heavy:
occupancy in the
National Clearing
Illinois. Plans cal!
the roof. Beeson,

Jail Inspector’s Re}

1976
1977
1978

Meals: Three time
beans, pe

Prisoners sent to t!
1973—74 /
1974-75
1975-76 22

Lynchings: None 1
Electrocutions by

In October 19
prisoners were St
jatlers interfered
and that the food :
of support.’’*

*Report in the Bristo!

CARTER COUNTY

County seat: Elizabethton, Tennessee 37643 , Beare ss \ ror Ny
zovernor of Tennessee Population: 47,600
was revised and the

Carter County was established in 1796; named for Landon Carter, Secretary of State of the

rom which prisoners State of Franklin. Elizabethton was named for Landon Carter's wile.

‘ilt by Samuel Ingram, The first jail, built of logs, was replaced by the second jail in 1837. The present two-story
+ $11,000. This jail, a jail, built in 1900, is attached to the rear of the courthouse and contained a residence for the
he sheriff. A two-story sheriff which has since been converted into offices. The cell area has very large windows
ated on a large tract of covered by heavy grating. A new county jail is under construction and will be ready for
° Barger Construction occupancy in the spring of 1980. This building is designed to meet the standards of the
nse Office occupy the National Clearing House for Criminal Justice Planning and Architecture at the University of
nd _and there is a Illinois. Plans call for single cells, for windows in the cell-blocks and for an exercise area on
ce vith television the roof. Beeson, Lusk and Jones of Johnson City are the architects.

Rating jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating

(102 jails) Capacity High Low — Average (102 jails)

10 1st 1976 63 75 30 45 Ost

Not certified 1977 63 45 18 23 Not certified
Non-certified 1978 74 68 16 34 Non-certified
oaf, brown beans, potato Meals: Three times a day at 7, 12, 5.—-A supper served in 1978 consisted of meat loaf, potatoes, green

| beans, peaches

| Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 7 1976-77 13
ale; 2 female) 1974-75. 8 1977-78 13. (male)
1975-76 22 (white)

Lynchings: None recorded for Carter County
* McClennon (black)

i ; Electrocutions by the state from Carter County: 1939, 1/11 White Miller Tellett (white) murder i
‘ting a white man aa

In October 1978 a civil suit was filed by a Carter County jail inmate who claimed that i
prisoners were subjected to “cruel and inhuman treatment.”” Specific charges were that the |
jailers interfered with outgoing and incoming mail, that prisoners were denied medical care, |
and that the food was “unfit for human consumption.” 15 other prisoners signed this “affidavit
Butler, turned back a of support.’”* |
in Gibson county. For I

dal by the Tennessee a oe
*Report in the Bristol Virginia-Tennesseean October 31, 1978.

gist

CAMPBELL COUNTY fi
fi

i
|
/

<
L

County seat: Jacksboro, Tennessee 37757
Population: 32,100

Campbell County was established in 1806; named for Colonel Arthur Campbell,
commander of the 70th Regiment of the Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War and
commissioner for the negotiation of the Indian Treaties of 1781.

The first jail was built of stone in 1808 and was used until the Civil War. The second jail was
built in 1868. The present jail was built of brick in 1962.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 50 25 6 25 58th
1977 50 35 8 21 Not certified
1978 51 26 6 20 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 7:30, 12 & 5.—A supper in 1978 consisted of bologna & cheese
sandwiches, peaches and milk

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 10 1976-77 11
1974-75 12 1977-78 iO) (9 male, | female)
1975-76 17, ( white, 16 black)

Lynchings in Campbell County:
1892, 7/29. Andy Beshears (white) rape 1893, 2/26 Joseph Hayne (black) rape
1892, 7/29) John Willis (white) rape 1893, 3/19 Jessie Jones (black) murder
1892, 12/7. “Negro tramp” (black) rape 1894, 2/11) Henry McGreeg (black) rape
1892, 12/7. “White man’ (white) rape 1903, 6/24 Charles Jones (black) rape

County seat: W
Pr

Cannon Count
War and the VW
(1814-1817 and
changed to Wor

The first jail, &
Stones River in !
present stone jai
and living quar

Jail Inspector's Re
1976
1977
1978

Meals: Three tit

macaron:

Prisoners 6eat to
1973
1974
1975

ivnchings

| Arthur Campbell,
‘olutionary War and

-. The second jail was

Rating
(102 jails)
58th
Not certified
Non-certified

of bologna & cheese

ale, 1 female)

iyne (black) rape
's (black) murder
Greeg (black) rape
nes (black) rape

CANNON COUNTY

County seat: Woodbury, Tennessee 37190 .#
Population: 9,400

Cannon County was established in 1836; named for Newton Cannon, veteran of the Creek
War and the War of 1812, governor of Tennessee (1835-1839), and U.S. congressman
(1814-1817 and 1821-1827). Originally named Danville, the name of the county seat was
changed to Woodbury in honor of General Levi Woodbury.

The first jail, built of brick in 1836 by William Bates, was washed away in a freshet of the
Stones River in 1850. The second jail, built of brick in 1852, was used until 1880 when the
present stone jail was built. This jail was renovated in 1975 by the addition of sheriff's offices
and living quarters.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low — Average (102 jails)
1976 8 16 3 6 81st
1977 11 17 0 3 Not certified
1978 11 14 1 3 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 7:30, 11:30, 6.-—A supper served in 1978 consisted of green beans, stew,

macaroni & cheese, slaw, rolls, applesauce, tea

Prisoners sent to state prison. facilities:
1973-74 2 1976-77 3
1974-75 14 1977-78 3 (males)
1975-76 2. (white)

Lynchings in Cannon County: 1892, 7/1 Thomas Lillard (black) rape

ne Sr se ee ae a PSL ee ao ane . : : ; . ee a
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a NAME COLOR NUMBER e032 CRIME =. COUNTY 22° DATE ELECTROCUTED =. aes
iS ee Sonaa ree — ae: ee ee
: s Jo2 McKay C Notes tee Murder Ist D. Shelby 4-10-39
» willie James Smith OSS ee a ee ee Murder Ist D. Shelby 4-19-39
C. €. Mabdley C Bee Pie Rape Shelby 3-15-46
william Henry W = MurderisteDv-s: Dyer 9-4-£9
vemes Goodwin C eet ee Murder-Ist.p: Snelby 9-4-£9
Van Gilmore c 35427 - Rape Shelby 4-1-4]
Carl Leonard Cole C »- 35/37-23 oes Murder 1st@p: ' Shelby 7-24-4]
lee Willie Porter C 35/385 ee iurder Ist D. Madison 7-24-43
x Halter Ree C (35751> ss Murder ist D. Hamilton 7-18-43
: Lawrence Vest C 35779 Murder Ist D. Montcomery 7-20-41
Roy Wakden Ws 35125 — Rape 2 Knox 2-13-42
Ernest Dixon W 35119 22 Rape Knox 2-14-42
Jonn Dockey W 35120 => = ~. Rape Knox * 2-14-42
Jvonn Henry Goode C 36367 Murder Ist D. Shelby 3-20-42
Clarence May W 35906 : Murder Ist D. Polk 3-20-42
William Hedden Mi 36338 Murder Ist D. Polk 3-30-43
“Marshall Spicgher | YW 37227 Murder 1st D. Shelby 7-15-43
ReDert Cannon / C 37304 Murder Ist D. Shelby 3-30-43
James F. Tucker lJ 3/357 3 Murder Ist D. Davidson 7-15-43
NRobert ral] C 37765 Murder Ist D: Hamilton 12-15-24
George Hambuck 6 38083 Murder Ist D..s Davidson 4-24-25
inomas Walke o 38583 Murder Ist D. Shelby 3-1-46
Johnnie Outlow 32583 Murder Ist D. Shelby 3-1-46
Ceorce Douglas 2 38586 Rape Shelby 7-5-46
Billy Dixon I, 38599 Rape Montgomery 7-16-45
John H. Lutfman ly 38007 Murder Ist D. Stevart 8-36-25
Navin nicks W 39482 Murder -1st2D: Stewart 8-35-45
Fred Jackson C 39286 Murder 1st -D- Snelby 8-11-47 :
a Albert Duboise yi 33963 ‘Murcer Ist D; Rutherford 4-15-47 ;
John Hodae, Jr. C 35504 Rape Davidson 6-19-47 :
James Sandusky \ 41124 Hurder Ist D. Hickman 4-22-23
Jonn xelley | 41125 Murder: Ist D_ Hickman _ 4-22-48 :
-aerei. J.C. Turner G 40994 Rape Davidson €-31-48
we feces Scribner C 40995 Rape Pavidson 5-31-25
w"omry Howard G 40996 Rape Davidson 8-31-43
Bonnie Thompson C Aijo4 Murder Ist D. Bradley 2217229
Bruce Edvard Watson C A0979 Rape Snelby o-20-45
Paul Lacy C 42770 Murder Ist D, Maury 12-35-49
Clyde Steele C 42182 : Rane Kno: 1-24-50 ;
—Senuel L. Yoss Cc £6339 Murder Lavicson £-15-85 :
™ Harry Kirkendall C 47185 Murcer Wilsen G-1-55
harlie Sullins HW 47187 Murder Nilson o=is59

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anes S82nn C Murder ¥nox 2-5-2324
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ee lowls rai? C Murder Knox 2-26-34
rarcy Smith C Rape Shelby £-4-34
cesser Grahem C Rape Shelby 4-£-34
Frank May's - C Rape - Shelby 4-4-34
| ohn Deal C = Murder Shelby 9-15-34
-cames Pillow C ; -. Murder Shelby 9-15-3
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po touis Wiilis C Murder Davidson 1-28-36
me Biil Leo \! 4urder Monroe 1-21-36
Po Walter Kennecy ‘ WJ Murder 1st D. Anderson 1-21-36
| Bnderson Berry C 27835 Murder ist D. Lincoin. 3-17-37
Janes Smith c 27836 Murder Ist D. Lincoin g- 14-36
Eimer Barrett C 28190 Murder ist D. KnOx 11-18-36
Fynest Womack C 20934 Murder ist D. Warren A-10-356
/ Gus NeCoig vl 25361 Murder Ist D. Union 4-8-3/
Jemes Taylor C 28536 Rape | Davidson 3-15-37
Curiey fallard C 26749 Murder ist D. Sullivan 8-14-35
--Heward Dunn si 28586 Murder Davicson A-30-37
Wi jiiam Farmer i 28536] Murcer Bavidson £-30-37
Jexes Clarky” [ 29104 Murcer Ist D. Sne lb 8-14-36
Jon Franxiin C 29443 Murder Davidson 3-18-3
Pred Richey i! 204aa vurder Davidson 3-10-37
Poy Wl. Eatmon Yi 290/72 Murder Shelby 4-16-3
| oomes.urner C 29868 Murder 3 Snelby 5-5-3/
Jirrie Lee Parish C 30435 A&8 W/Int to Bavidson 8-39-37
- Ravis oe ;
Rys McKenney G 33029 Murder - Shelby £-15-38
Farnest Stanley C 29515 -Murdersist D- Morgan 1-10-39
frthur Mosby c 38122 Rape. Snel by 7-25-38
“nite Miller#ztpl ett rH 37513 = Murder ist D. Carter 1-11-39
Clyce Willis 36230 Rane-= = KNOX 1-10-40
widiie. Willies € Mordersist=D: Davicson 4-15-39
Herman donnson o Murder ist D. Davidson 3-28-39
Frank Murra G . Murder Ist D. Davidson 3-28-39
Hariey Evans \] 31323 “Wurder- ist D. Feniress 3-28-39
Hudert Harris ‘s - -Murder Ist D. Davidson 4-£-39
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TENNESSEE

| CRAB, George WM, 17 Davidson (M)
Murder, WM L=26-1866

KNIGHT, James WM, 17 Davidson (M)
Murder, WM 1-26-1866

LYSAUGHT, James WM, 17 Davidson (M)
Murder, WM 1-26-1866

HOWELL, George BM, 16 Greene
Murder, WM 9-5-1878

COX, Clarence WM, 15/16 Union
Murder, WM90, WF76 12-22-1894

MAPP, George BM, 17/20 Hamilton
Murder, WM 1-11-1895

| TEMPLES, Leo BM, 1? Davidson
Rape, WF7 12-19-1912

JACKSON, Cyrenas BM, 17/18 Hamilton
Murder, WM19; Rape, WF 8-3-1921

JACKSON, Fred BM, 16/18 Shelby

Murder, 2WM1,3; Rape, WF 8-11-1947

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EVER toa wes |
(615) 698-9666 uy :
TELEPHONE igh ‘ CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE 37406

TEE

WALTER W. SMART

COMMISSIONER OF FIRE AND POLICE

City of Chattanonga

OFFICE OF

L. T. ‘‘TOM’’ KENNEDY

CHIEF OF POLICE

94TH SESSION

January 19, 1982

- Ronald C.-Van Raalte
‘ P.O. Box 584
Arlington Heights, IL 60006

Dear Mr. Van Raalte:

In response to your letter I am enclosing the information you
requested. All the facts we have concerning these officers deaths
are included. Where there was no information on details such as

exact weapon used or race of offender, disposition or survivor benefits

I gave only the facts I was sure of.

Prior to 1935 there were no retirement benefits, nor any survivor
benefits. In the years since 1935 any officer that dies as a result
of on duty injuries, the surviving spouse or children under 18 will

receive the officers pension plus a cash sum from insurance carried on

S each officer.

Sincerely,

Chief of Polide

LTK/pp

a — eS 2

County seat: Clinton, Tennessee 37716 fohil Ay } a ak She Ld
Population: 65,900 2 LI Ee Pry U9

Anderson County was established in 1801; named for Senator Joseph Anderson. Originally
named Burrville for Aaron Burr, the name of the county seat was changed in 1809 to Clinton
in honor of George Clinton, Vice President of the United States under Presidents Jefferson and
Madison.

The first log jail was built in 1802. Prior to the building of the second jail in 1832, prisoners
were taken to Knoxville for safekeeping. The ‘Tennessee Private Acts’” records that jail bonds
were issued in 1889 and again in 1931 for the building of jails. The present jail is located on
the third floor of the courthouse with access through the rear entrance. This courthouse was

built in 1966-67. Martin J. Lide of Birmingham, Alabama, was the architect; Davis Brothers,
contractor.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 ro. 51 5 23 50th
1977 75 35 im 21 Conditionally certified
1978 75 54 im 31 Certified

Meals: Three times a day at 7:30, 11, 4:30.

——A supper served in 1978 consisted of fish sticks, french
fries, bread & coffee

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1973-74 1 1976-77 18
1974-75 I 1977-78 21

(20 male, 1 female)
1975-76 28 (25 white, 3 black)

Lynchings: None recorded in Anderson County

Electrocutions by the state from Anderson County:
1922, 3/1 Otto Stephens (white) murder 1922, 3/1
1922, 3/1 Charles Petree (white) murder
1922, 3/1 John B. McClure (white) murder

Tom Christmas (white) murder
1922, 4/11. Granville Bunch (white) murder
1936, 1/21 Walter Kennedy (white) murder

The first indictment recorded in Anderson County was brought against aman who was fined
twenty-five cents. in June 1804, one Isaac Crane was placed in the stocks for two hours for
contempt of court. He persisted in disorderly conduct and was sent to jail.

BEDFORD COUNTY

County seat: Shelbyville, Tennessee 37160
Population: 26,800
?

Bedford County was established in 1807; named for Thomas Bedford, Jr., an officer in the
Revolutionary War, who moved to Tennessee around 1795. Shelbyville was named for
Colonel Isaac Shelby.

The first jail was built in 1807. Several other jails were built, all of small consequence, until
the present jail was built in 1866 for $35,000. At the time this two-story jail, built of solid
stone, was considered one of the more secure jails in the state and one of the handsomest and
most conspicuous buildings in Shelbyville. Narrow slits, six inches by eight feet, in the thick
stone walls are the only windows. Cells have small slits in solid iron doors through which the
jailer may look into the cells. This jail is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census — Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 52 49 21 35 {02nd
1977 52 52 18 30 Not certified
1978 52 35 25 20 Non-certified

Meals: Twice a day at 8 and 3.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of turnip greens, white beans,
cornbread

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 9 1976-77 8
1974-75 14 1977-78 6 (3 male, 3 female)
1975-76 9 (5 white, 4 black)

Lynchings in Bedford County:
1892, 6/2. Thomas Bates (white) wife murder
1895, 9/3 Jerry Johnson (black) insults
1912, 2/19 Walter Grer (black) murder
1912, 2/19 David Neal (black) murder
1912, 2/19 Green Bowman (black) murder

Electrocutions by the state from Bedford County:
1936, 8/22 Ernest K. Harris (black) rape

Bedford County jail remains as a grim reminder of the past in jail construction and
conception. As a law official remarked to us, ‘There are no pretties for the prisoners. If
someone commits a crime in Bedford County we want him to wish he hadn't.”

The courthouse in Shelbyville was burned by an angry lynch mob in 1934 when their
intended victim was saved by being dressed as a member of the National Guard and taken
through the mob to a safer location in another county jail.

electrocutions was furnished by John N. Lozier of the Southern Prison Ministry and was
compiled in 1968 by Negley K. Teeters and Charles |. Zilbulka.

Ihe office of the Jail Inspector grew out of action taken by the 90th General Assembly in

1973. Concerned about the deplorable, substandard and unequal conditions existing in many
jails, the Assembly passed legislation (Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 41-1144) which
requires the Department of Correction to set minimum standards for local jails and to conduct
an annual inspection of each jail. Two jail inspectors, Mr. Thomas Woodson and Mr. L. E.
Royston, were most helpful. They encouraged us to overcome our initial reticence in visiting
jails and pointed out, quite correctly, that local law enforcement folk usually appreciate
interest shown in their facilities and in their difficult problems. The sheriffs, as elected
officials, inherit the jail’s problems and are often frustrated and distressed by them. The jails are
under the fiscal and legal control of the county courts and must compete for budgets. One
positive result of the jail inspector’s program has been increased funding for jail improvements
including federal grants to twenty-eight jails since 1977 through the Law Enforcement
Assistance Agency. Another result has been the initiation of training for jail personnel, 78% of
whom in Tennessee have received no training. in corrections.

Ihe Jail Inspector's Reports help to pinpoint problem areas in the jails. “Certification” is
based on cleanliness, maintenance, sanitation, safety, record-keeping and administration.
Overcrowding or the age of the building is not a factor in certification. {In 1978 fifty-three
percent of the county facilities were ‘Certified’; forty-seven percent were ‘‘Non-certified.”’
(See appendix 1.) A “Certified’’ jail receives $8 per day for housing a state prisoner while a
“Non-certified jail” receives $6 per day. There is still much to be done before all the jails meet
minimum standards for the decent housing of human beings in our democracy,

The figures which show the number of prisoners sent from each county to the state seem to
illustrate, as might be expected, a direct relationship between the population and the instance
of serious crime. The counties with the small populations have a problem of an entirely
different order of magnitude from that of the urban counties. For example, the yearly increase
in prisoners sent to the state from Shelby County is alarming. The level of unemployment is
probably a contributing factor. :

The last recorded lynching in Tennessee occurred in Bledsoe County, Pikeville, in 1944.
From 1882 to 1944 there were 251 lynchings in Tennessee; 204 were blacks and 47 were
whites. There is no record of the many lynchings that were prevented by the often heroic
actions of law enforcement officers and other citizens.

Legal executions were moved from the counties to the state facilities in Nashville in 1909.
Prison Reports record ten hangings by the state from 1909 to 1915. Electrocutions began in
Tennessee in 1916 and the last electrocution occurred in 1960. One hundred and twenty-five
prisoners were electrocuted between 1916 and 1960; 85 were blacks and 40 were whites.

In the two hundred year history of Tennessee, great changes have come about in the
dispensing of justice. Gone are the stocks, the pillory and 39 lashes to the bare back. Gone is
the branding, the cropping of the ears and the jailing of debtors. Gone are the public hangings
often carried out in the carnival atmosphere of a ‘Roman holiday.’’ Gone too are the
lynchings and, for the past nineteen years, executions by the state. In spite of the changes that
have been made, problems that remain unsolved are major ones.

As a result of our travels about the state, we offer the following observations:

We were surprised to find the number of new jails built in recent years: 24 in the 1960s and
26 in the 1970s. A disturbing feature is that many of the new jails have been built, for security
and economy, without windows or outside exercise areas. In these modern dungeons a
prisoner may not know day from night, the weather conditions, or the seasons of the year. In
fact, under these conditions, some persons may begin to act like caged animals, pacing back
and forth in their cells; others may hallucinate or further lose touch with reality, Dependence
on an artificially controlled environment may not only affect. the natural rhythm and
personality of the prisoner but may even be lethal as was tragically demonstrated by the deaths
of forty-two people at the Maury County Jail in 1977. Fumes from the polyurethane padding
on the walls of a padded cell, set afire by a cigarette in the hands of a disturbed youth, could
not be ventilated in time to prevent asphyxiation.

in working uw:
with whom we
appreciate the c
handling one o'
community, litt’
power over anc
introduction ot
remote contro!
prisoner. A jailc
risk from assaul
side in this dati
quite thin.

We learned |
disposition of
make a farce of
concept of “hb.
constitution, ti
during the long
able to find, ws
crimes. We gai
county to coun:
hor example, v
sentence in Mic
not appear to !

We are enco
both inside anc
Irving to Upera
“system.” We
needed change

This book pr
sense a defini:
jails. It is offer
county jails an
been suggestec
honest and nui
on the jails. Th
county jails ai

Sophie and Py
August 1979

sembly in
°g in many
~44) which
‘9 conduct
par: k, E.
in visiting
appreciate
as elected
he jails are
‘Igets. One
orovements
forcement
el, 78% of

cation” is
i nistration.
fifty-three
certified.”
ver While a
jails meet
ry,
ile seem to
‘e Instance
in. entirely
ly increase
yoyment is

in 1944,
id 47 were
‘ler iC

in 1909,
‘5 began in
wventy-five
—-re whites.
out in the
k, Gone is
- hangings
0 are the
‘anges that

ns:
1960s and
‘or security
‘ungeons a
he year, In
acing back
pendence
rythm and
the deaths
‘© padding
vuth, could

In working up the materials for this book we found courteous acceptance from the sheriffs
with whom we were able to talk and from other officials in the penal system. We have come to
appreciate the emotionally difficult and complicated job of the jailers. They are charged with
handling one of society’s major unresolved problems with often inadequate support from the
community, litte training, and minimum wages. It 1s difficult when one has complete physical
power over another, as the jailers do over their prisoners, not to abuse this power. The recent
introduction of technological gadgets, such as speaker systems across bullet-proof glass and
remote control of cell doors, would seem to further dehumanize the jailer as well as the
prisoner. A jailer is locked up with his prisoners for a long shift every day. He is constantly at
risk from assault by the prisoners. it is often one long con game and can be played by either
side in this daily confrontation. In time the line between the jailer and the jailee may become
quite thin.

We learned that the period of waiting in jail between arrest of the suspect and the final
disposition of the case averages from nine months to one year in Tennessee. This seems to
make a farce of the honored tradition of presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the
concept of “habeas corpus’’, with the promise of a speedy trial, as guaranteed in. the
constitution. It is a grim reality that mainly the poor are the ones who remain incarcerated
during the long pretrial months. We should like to have included for comparison, but were not
able to find, what sentences across the state were actually handed down for a list of major
crimes. We gained an impression that sentencing for the same crime varies considerably from
county to county. The practice of plea bargaining apparently contributes to this discrepancy.
For example, we were told by officials in corrections that a crime that would merit a ten year
sentence in Middle Tennessee might receive twenty years in East or West Tennessee. This does
not appear to be even-handed justice.

We are encouraged to find that these concerns over the county jails are shared by persons
both inside and ouside the penal system. We met government officials deeply committed to
trying to upgrade the facilities and the personnel in the county jails by working within the
“‘system.”’ We also met volunteer groups who serve as prisoner advocates, working to bring
needed changes and to see that justice is done with more compassion for individual prisoners.

This book presents what two citizens have observed about the county jails. This is in no
sense a definitive work on the penal system or a complete study of the problems of the county
jails. It is offered to the public in the hope that more people will become interested in the
county jails and their problems. We hope that ordinary citizens will visit county jails. As has
been suggested, Jesus enjoined us to ‘‘visit the prisons” primarily to keep the jailers more
honest and humane. In a democracy the sharp glare of publicity needs to be shined constantly
on the jails. This book hopes to help in this ongoing process of raising public awareness of the
county jails and how deviants in a free society are handled on the local level.

Sophie and Paul Crane
August 1979

|
|
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‘ 7 AYE 11904
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VARIOUS MEMBHIS TENNESSEE HANGINGS (6)

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1. Officer James Wiggins - Shot and killed April 28, 1879. Wiggins
and two other officers were responding to a disorder call at a
local tavern and had chased the men down the street to a house
on the corner. Wiggins spotted one of the men and as he approached
him the man, later identified as Robert Scott, shot him in the
head with a pistol. The officer died on the spot. The suspect
was captured and held for trial but escaped and was never found.

The police commission awarded Mrs. Wiggins Tour months salary, a
total of S60. 00.

2. Officer David C. Musgrove - Shot and killed December 19, 1890.
Officer Musgrove had gone to a local saloon to serve a theft warrant

on a Jesse Frierson. When Musgrove attempted to serve (fe warrant, ) AL
/9/Sf

Frierson shot the officer after a brief struggle with a pistol.
The suspect also wounded escaped but was captured later. rierson
was convicted and Janged for his offense on January Rig LOGh

Officer Clarence Livingston - Shot and killed by unknown parties

on August 31, 1912. Officer Livingston had responded to a burglary
call at a saloon around midnight on the 3lst of August 1912.
Livingston was a mounted patrol officer and arrived on the scene in
time to apprehend two black males. As he went to question one of
them, the other shot the officer in the stomach with a handgun.

The suspects escaped and were never identified. Officer Livingston
died in surgery a few hours later. _The Chattanooga Times newspaper
started a fund for the widow and with these funds a house was —

purchased and the balance given to her in cash. os
ea; \

4. Officer James W. Duggan - Shot and killed June 22, 1921. Duggan and
two other officers were attempting to arrest one , Mat Hays, on a warrant.
While searching the house for Hays, Hays shot Officer Duggan from hiding
and was killed by the other two officers after a short gunfight. Hays
was armed with a handgun.

Oe nneaed

5. Officer J. H. Cornett - Shot and killed November 4, 1931. Cornett was
killed by Elmer Carter. Carter was in an argument with a woman and
was drunk. When the officer walked up, Carter shot Cornett three
times with a colt .45 cal. revolver. Carter was captured some hours

i later without incident. cia unease

6. Officer J. G. Shirley - Shot four days later November 8, 1931. Shirley
was shot and killed answering a disorder cal] as he and his partner
entered the house. Shirley was shot by Bud Weems. Weems stated that
"My gun is as good as yours", Weems was killed by Officer Shirley's

_partner, Officer Aaron Robertson. ry

7. Officer W. J. Mashburn - Shot and killed while walking his beat on
July 15th, 1932. He had approached a disorder and shgoting in the street.
O. W. Curtis had fired a shot and when he saw Mashburn he shot at him.
During a short gun-battle, Mashburn was shot and died but not before

he mortally wounded Curtis.
cidememieeeaenne ema ical

Acordia to Meunplais Dee 3(ai|69
gecesi

page 4, he only previous hn Meuphis
wWEene *
August, I<bo * Spover : Hire om neck oF ground

musdor OF a water neuned Green by Stable tha fin dh

ds hase om President's (sland

mcd by junction oF Mississippt aud Wolf Rivers

5-F-(SG\ tue s named Moses + (Sanc
wire egecuted on the is Farxarounds, [Saac for
murder of Me. Gibem Bowen, overseer of Col. FR.

nawed Giscomo Passagno,

Sledge. Moses far surBer Of itifian OM en- Grinder

I-1-IS1Ib Bill Williams.

He was taken to Bartlett ma
Mewphis fov his execution.

age “0 years
fcd (1 aah

Aceonting to The Meuphis Daily Appeel 1/6/16 122

special Train from

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os | 798
COUNTY.
792 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. ——
; ion of a white man in Montgomery
ed outrage on the person of the wife of Dr. Bellamy, Morrow’s sister. hanged. This was the a cae a cutions before this, all of col-
. The verdict of the jury in this case was “guilty,” as to all three, and they County. There had been four leg

i ; n two cases. of
were sentenced to imprisonment for life. An appeal was taken to the ored men. Besides these legal isis poeta ci an ‘ead auat wan
supreme court, which remanded the case to this court on account of the lynching, both of negroes. The = aaa employer, William Harris,
refusal to grant a severance. Shortly after the disposition of this case that of William Gray, who had ie oe ioe jane : up tobacco in a
Ben Morrow was tried for the murder of Tom Sleigh, and was acquitted an employe of cenarrnaan a ae Li seta out of the Clarksville
on the ground of self-defense. He at once returned to his family in N meine ae of age eee q pedeiet New Providence, a jury of
Kansas. jail by a number o .

Then came the trial of William, Charles and Ransom Morrow for the- . ies men improvised, which found him guilty and sentenced him to

: old colored
murder of Dick Overton in August, 1883. Dick Overton, a young ne death. The other case was that of Winston Anderson, an -

gro,

ed
had been working for some time for Ransom Morrow, who owed him man, who attempted - outrage ge ee se — ‘Raviteenll oe
about $65. Of this Morrow paid $10, with which Overton bought some farmer living some distance east 4 = ia a. Sie visa Gaieaer®
new clothes. A few days afterward Overton disappeared, and the Mor- ie attempt failed and the flight of Anc dk a “ail taken out by a mob
rows said he had gone to Alabama, as he had said upon attempting to Ni captured, brought back, put in we nacsgte am oul Gai tan Wino,
settle with Morrow that he desired to go to. that State. Nothing was ~ ' of ings 0 = Sere? nape bos
heard of him for eight months, or until May, 1884, when a skeleton was pike. 1s was 1n . . re under
discovered in “Hell s Hole,” a deep cavity, the bottom of which a bold The chancery court was established in wa die, tee paki
and rapid stream runs, about forty feet within Bellamy’s Cave. From an act of the Legislature passed seen, 21. 1840. The chancellor
William Morrow’s own confession it appeared that he had asked Overton X held in Montgomery County was September 21,
to remain with his children on the day of the murder, while he and his

wife went to church, but that he, pretending to be sick, returned to the “
house where he heard a noise, and opening the door came to the conclu-

sion that Overton had attempted an outrage on the person of his (Mor-

and J. N. Johnson, deputy clerk. The first case before this court was

was the Hon. Andrew McCampbell; P. Priestly was clerk and master,
S that of John James and wife vs. Axwum, Wallace etal. The first appeal

was that of Mary P. Persons vs. Benjamin P. Persons, for divorce, 2
complainant taking an appeal on the pauper’s oath. The first judgment
rendered was in the case of Richard Browder vs. D. Hoozer. The judg-
ment was against the complainant and Thomas Green, his security, for

$154.93. The session lasted two days, on the first of which there were
\§ six cases and on the second nineteen. The first case in which a widow

> was allowed dower was that of Priscilla Parker vs. William Parker and

row’s) three-year old daughter. Morrow thereupon knocked him down,
bound him with a rope and marched him to the mouth of Bellamy’s
Cave, about a mile distant, where he shot him to death. The next after-
noon he and his brother Charles hurled the body down the rude slide
that runs along the right side of the funnel shaped entrance to the cave,
and thence down the slippery incline around the jutting rocks into “ Hell’s
Hole.” A point of the jutting rocks caught the coat on Overton’s body
as it hurried along on the slippery slide and held it fast until it was dis- by the
covered by Deputy Sheriff Taylor, who brought it to the light of day, VY} The first chancellor, Hon. = erst ese ee chee at 29,
when it was identified by the new clothing bought just before the com- . Hon. Terry H. Cahal, in April, ,W

| . ing October 28, 1848, the Hon.
mission of the horrible crime. The trial of the three persons being con- | TS 1848, and during the next term, commencing Oc
cluded the judge instructed that as to Ransom and Charles Morrow there

Thomas Myers. The first trial by jury was March 25, 1842, in the
case of Benjamin E. Orgain and Griffin Orgain vs. A. D. Ramey ef al.

Bromfield L. Ridly sat by er with oo . ea
was no evidence of their having been accessories before the fact, and the 3 Hon. A. O. P. Nicholson then, April . _ Laman . ie teieeann.
case went to the jury as to William Morrow. Their verdict was “ guilty RA sion, signed by Gov. Neill S., Brown, an lhe nak ae " pe ng |
of murder in the first degree,” and Morrow was sentenced to be hanged aN Chancellor Cahal then held court on cto : is a. of ce
J anuary 30, 1885. He appealed to the supreme court, which sustained : : 1850. The Hon. & O. P. Nicholson t ne ee aie
the finding of this court, and'the day of execution was fixed for May 17. until April 26, 1851, and was then succeeded by

hon ber 15:°1881,
Gov. Bate granted a respite until June 19, 1885, on which day he was chancellor of the middle division of Tennessee from December 15

eee ee ee ay

HISTORY OF ‘TENNESSEE.

Oliver Wallace, William Richie, Samuel Hindman, Moses Brooks, George

Walker, David Walker, George Stout, Willam Trimble, Jeremiah J eftrey,
John Steel, William Lea, Robert Kirkpatrick, Thomas Milliken, Thomas
Richie, George Hayes and James Cunningham. The jury immediately

returned an indictment for murder against Abongphohigo, an Indian of

the Creek Nation, late of the town of Zookcaucaugee or Punk Knob on
Oakfuskey River. John Rhea was appointed to defend him, and John
Carey was sworn as interpreter. The jury was composed of Andrew ‘W.
Campbell, William Sharpe, Nicholas Neal, Thomas Robison, J oseph
Brooks, Alexander Cole, M. Pruett, James Milliken, Thomas Inglis,
James Walker, John Kerr and Thomas Bounds. The trial lasted only
one day, and a verdict of guilty was promptly returned. Four days.
later the prisoner was executed by the sheriff of Knox County.

Some of the penalties imposed by the laws at that time would now be
considered barbarous. At the October term, 1795, of the superior court,
Michael Johnson, of Jefferson County, was found guilty of stealing a
horse of the value of $50, and for this offense received the following
sentence. ‘‘ Itis ordered that the said Michael Johnson shall stand in the
pillory one hour, and shall be branded, whipped on his bare back with
thirty-nine lashes well laid on, and at the same time shall have both his
ears nailed to the pillory and cut off, and shall be branded on the right
cheek with the letter H of the length of three-fourths of an inch, and
of the breadth of one-half inch, and on the left cheek with the letter T
of the same dimensions as the letter H in a plain and visible manner,
and that the sheriff of Knox County see this sentence put into execution on
Tuesday, the 20th inst., between the hours of 12 and 2 o'clock in the after-
noon.’ This penalty was deemed too light, and two or three years later the
crimes of horse stealing, burglary, arson, etc., were made ‘punishable by
death. In 1797, at the April term of the superior court, Robert Parker,

of Grainger County, was convicted of stealing 500 Spanish milled del pe

lars from Thomas Humes, and was executed on the 28th of the same
month. As there was no appeal from the decisions of this court, pun-
ishment for crime was promptly administered.

The custom of granting benefit of clergy under the old English
common law, a rare occurrence in America, still obtained in this court,
and through it many criminals escaped the severe penalties of the law.
As the statutes provided that for a second offense benefit of clergy should
not be granted, to prevent a repetition of the plea, it was customary to
brand upon the thumb, the criminal pleading its protection. The follow-
ing examples serve to illustrate this custom. April 22, 1797, Caleb Carter
was convicted of carrying away by force of arms from one Jonathan

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KNOX COUNTY. 817 |

Boggle—“ one straight coat pattern of the value of $8, one silk handker-
chief of the value of $2, and $1.50 in cash. Being asked if he had
aught to say why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon him,
prayed the benefit of clergy, which was granted him. Therefore the
sentence of the law pronounced by the court is that he be branded upon
the brawn of the thumb with the letter T.” At the same term of the
court Benjamin Stephens was tried on an indictment for “ stealing from
Patrick Ninny, of Jefferson County, one piece of gingham containing six
yards, at the price of five shillings per yard, the whole piece being equal
in value to four Spanish milled dollars.” He was found guilty, and had
he not plead the benefit of clergy would have been sentenced to death.
He took the advantage of that plea, however, and was simply branded
upon the thumb. At the next term of the court Hugh Washburn also
escaped the death penalty by pleading the benefit of clergy. To what
persons the benefit of clergy might be granted in this court is not now
known, but it is certain that it was restricted to a certain class. Consid-
ering the severity of the punishment, however, and the comparative
insignificance of many of the offenses, it is not to be wondered at that
the courts were willing to grant that plea without a too rigid examina-
tion as to the petitioner’s right to its protection.

On January 1, 1831, with the opening of the penitentiary, a new
penal code went into effect, and the whipping post, pillory, and branding
iron as instruments of punishment, were abandoned. The first represen-
tatives to the penitentiary from Knox County were Abraham and Silas
Conley convicted of stealing property to the value of $2 and $3
respectively, for which they were sentenced to one year’s imprisonment.

In 1810 circuit courts were established, and the superior court of law
and equity was superseded by the supreme court of errors and appeal.
The Jatter court was organized at Knoxville on May 28, 1810, by Hugh
L. White and George W. Campbell, judges of the supreme court, and
William Cocke, judge of the first cireuit. Thomas Emmerson was chosen
clerk and so continued until 1816, when he was succeeded by Hugh
Brown,who filled the office for many years. The circuit court was organ-
ized about the same time as the supreme court by James Trimble, judge
of the second circuit, who appointed F, A. Ramsey as clerk. In 1816
Judge Trimble was succeeded by Edward Scott, who continued upon the
bench continuously until 1844. The chancery court was not organized
until April, 1832. The first chancellor was William B. Reese, who con-
tinued until the reorganization of the courts under the new constitution
in 1836, when he was elected to the supreme bench, and was succeeded
by Thomas L. Williams.

~” .

790 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

terfeit money, and was disposed of in the same way. The June term com-
menced on the 7th of the month, and opened with the indictment of
Franklin ©. Trice for killing Andrew MeNichol on the 13th of July,
1845, was found guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to
the penitentiary for fourteen years. A new trial was, however, granted,
and he was bound over to the next term of court in the sum of $7,500.
On the 5th of February, 1850, William Emerson was sentenced to eleven
years in the penitentiary for stealing a slave. From the 6th of October,
1851, the Hp. Cave Johnson, one of the judges of the circuit court of
the State, commenced a term of this court which lasted until October 14,
1851, by special request and interchange with J udge Turner. The trans-
actions of this court appear to have little historic interest during the first
few years after its establishment. Ata general election for judges and
attorney-general held in the State May 25, 1854, the Hon. William K.
Turner was again elected judge of this court. He was commissioned
June 2, by Andrew J ohnson, governor. The district was then composed
of Davidson, Rutherford and Montgomery Counties. The first day of the
term was June 6. The attorney-general was James M. Quarles, but
Thomas W. Wisdom was appointed attorney-general pro tem. in all cases
in which Mr. Quarles had been employed to defend.

Tuesday, January 28, 1862, was the last day Judge Turner presided
in this court. He was followed by Judge Thomas W. Wisdom, who pre-
sided January 29, 1862, and this was the last day this court was in
session before the breaking up of all business in this county by the war.
This court met for the first time after the war, Monday, May 22, 1865,
the time appointed by law for holding the criminal court in Montgomery
County. Present and presiding the Hon. J. O. Shackelford, by special
request and interchange with the Hon. Theodore N. Frazier. No at-
torney-general beirlz present, J. E. Rice was appointed attorney-general

me, and was succeeded on the second
Monday in September, 1865, by the Hon. John A. Campbell, who on
January 8, 1866, became also judge of the circuit court,

This court was again established by an act of the Legislature passed
his. act provided for the establish.

omery County, and fixed its jurisdic.

f the county. The sécond section of
this act provided “that the said court has all the

f Montgomery, to the
The third section provides for

_ —

MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 791

|
the trans‘er of all bills of indictment and presentment anc rm pepers be
proceedings appertaining to criminal matters. On the ith o ep Tae
1870, the Hon. T. W. King presented his commission as judge o
meek having been commissioned September 1, by Gov. » W. C. ene
and elected August 4, preceding. During Judge King’s kam on =
ruary 1, 1871, the judge of the Criminal Court of Montgomery pres
was authorized by the Legislature to hold circuit court in Houston, : ze: |
authority lasted until March 26, 1877, when migepion County phe P —
back in the Tenth Judicial Circuit. Judge King’s last day on t 1e ate
of this court was February 20, 1873. The Hon. James E. Pa .
court by interchange with Judge King from April 28 to a le meer
present judge, Hon. Charles W. Tyler's first term began October : i

The most important murder trials in the history of the gees i
curred during Judge Tyler’s term. Jim Brown (colored) was ki re
1877, for which crime Dr. Peter F. Bellamy, son-in-law of a in
row, was tried in 1878 and acquitted. Tom Sleigh was killed in ; ;
and Dick Overton (colored) in August, 1883. For this last a er
William and Charles Morrow, brothers, and sons of Ransom orto
were given preliminary trials in 1884, and Ransom Morrow and his i
William had their examining trial for the killing of Jim eee Dr.
Bellamy was again arrested and held without bail, oe ws
an accessory to the murder of Brown, . These arrests and ¢ gr bs .
telegraphed all over the country, and attracted the attention es .
Morrow, who had been living in Seneca, Kas., since the ‘killing eo) =
Sleigh in 1878. Ben wrote his father, the letter was pean -
hiding place thus found out, and he was brought back to Mon ae
County and lodged in jail with his father, brother William i
Morrow having been admitted to bail), and brother in-law, Dr. : ei
The trial of William Morrow for the murder of Jim Brown, and o aa
som Morrow and Dr. Bellamy, as accessories, came first, Judge ee a
W. Tyler on the bench. A severance being denied all three were “te
together. Jim Brown, who Was an old and decrepit colored man, sy
with his wife about 300 yards from Dr. Bellamy’s house; Dr. Be nal
wanted the house in which Brown lived, but Brown — to move unti
the end of the year. While at work in the “coalings Brown was ap-
proached by William Morrow, who asked him if he had seen = boat
lings, and then told him he was going to kill him. He immediately s -
Brown in the head and then in the neck, after which shot he fell. e
then fired four more bullets into the fallen man’s head. This was =
cording to the testimony of James Pacaud, to whom Morrow had ae
the circumstances. The reason assigned for the murder was an attempt-

.
*

784 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

The first murder trial in the county, of which there is any record, oc-,

curred March 30, 1807. It was before a called court, consisting of the
Wpful. Robert Prince, Thomas Smith, Hugh McClure, John Blair,
Samuel Gattis, James Stewart, Esqrs., and Hugh F. Bell, Moses Old-
ham, Sr., James Hambleton and John Marshall, four free-holders, hold-
ing slaves. The person tried was a negro man named Moses. He was
charged with the willful and malicious murder of Samuel Minott. Being
led to the bar by the sheriff, arraigned and charged with the crime, he
pleaded “not guilty.” “The court then proceeded to well and truly try
the prisoner, and having heard the evidence declared upon their oaths,
that they found the negro man, Moses, guilty of willful murder, and it
was considered by the said court that the said Moses be taken back to
whence he came, and thence to be conveyed to the place of execution and
there to be hung by the neck until he is dead, dead, dead; and then to
have his head cut off and the head to be set upon a pole, and the sheriff
of Montgomery County is directed to put this judgment into éxecution
this day, between the hours of two and three o'clock.” To this entry are
appended the signatures of all the justices and the freeholders constituting
the court. Moses was executed in the flat between Franklin and Main
Streets, and the head placed upon a pole, set up on the corner of Main
and Fourth Streets where it remained until the flesh disappeared and the
skull became bleached with the sun. On the 19th of September James H.

Russell was admitted to practice law in this court. The first case of tres-
pass vt et armis was that of Samuel Vance and John Bradley, surviving
partners of Vance, King and Bradley, vs. Samuel Thornton. The jury
decided the defendant guilty, The first trial for disturbing the public
worship was that of the State vs. Duncan Stewart J uly 19,1810. The
defendant pleaded “guilty” and was fined 1 cent and costs. The first
slander case was that of Stephen Cocke vs. James Tribble, J uly 21, 1810.

The defendant made default and the court decided that the plaintiff re-
cover such damages as had been by him sustained by reason of the
utterance of the several false, scandalous and opprobrious words, the
damages to be assessed by a jury at the next term of court. The first
cease of a free colored person being bound out during minority was that

of Ester Irwin April 16, 1811. She was of a bright mulatto golor, about

sixteen years old and was the daughter of a “free white woman.” ‘She

was bound out as an apprentice to Elisha Willis. During the various

terms of 1820, most of the criminal cases were for assault and battery

and bastardy, and the civil business consisted mainly in the ordering of

the registration of deeds of conveyance of land. The first case of

assumpsit was tried April 20, 1820. The first case of indictment for

J LL

se,
ee yy

,/ Ne to.

Vadus

“A

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——t o

MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 785
keeping a tippling house was July 26, 1831, against John B. Green, who
was fined $5 and costs. Among the early usury cases was that of the
State vs. Asa W. Hooper, who was adjudged guilty.

On the 10th of April, 1832, important action was taken in reference
to the classification of the roads of the county. Those of the first class
were as follows: That from Clarksville to Russellville; that from Clarks-
ville to Hopkinsville; that from Clarksville by Simmon’s ferry and the
Stubb’s ferry road toward Reynoldsburg; from Clarksville to Charlotte;
from Clarksville to Nashville by Sanford Wilson’s and Henry Williams’ ;
from Clarksville to the Robertson County line at Shanklin’s by way of
Joseph Ligon’s; that from Hopkinsville to Nashville by way of Port
Royal; that from Clarksville to Dover; from the mouth of Red River to
Wheatley’s mill, and from the iron works to the Kentucky line; from
Clarksville to Port Royal by John Edmonston’s old place, and that from
the Red River bridge to Benton; all other roads to be second class until
otherwise ordered by the court.

For a number of years after this court began to consist of more than
three justices of the peace it was customary, upon convening at the be-
ginning of each quarter session, first to elect a chairman and then being
thus organized to elect a“court of quorum” to transact the business of
the court. For instance at the January term,‘1848, N. F. Trice was
elected chairman, and himself together with Joseph Pollard and F. Ra-
mey, were chosen the “court of quorum.” This arrangement lasted un-
til the going into effect of the law under which a county judge was elected,
who since then has taken the place of the “court of quorum.” The first
judge of the county court was the Hon. Thomas W. Wisdom, who was
elected at a general election held all over the State for county judges,
May 3, 1856. Judge Wisdom’s commission was signed by F. N. W.
Burton, secretary of State, and by Andrew Johnson, governor, in May,
and presented to the county court June 2, 1856. Judge Wisdom took
the oath of office before the Hon. W. R. Turner, who was then judge of
the criminal court. Judge Wisdqm served as judge of this court until
April 5, 1858, when he was succeeded by the Hon. H. S. Kimble who
presided until February 8, 1862. This was the day on which the last
- session of the court was held under the old order of things, before the
three years of chaos caused by the civil war.

The next meeting of this court was held. February 6, 1865, upon
which occasion the Hon. L. M. Bentley presided, The first business of
the court under Judge Bentley was to receive from Berry Lyle his certifi-
cate of election as sheriff of the county, signed by I. O. Shackleford,
special sheriff. Thesalary of the county judge was fixed October 23, 1865,

Gibson, veteran of the

ost of $121. The second
ev hird jail, similar
bui.. ._. $16,700 on the
in 1881 for $14,000. In
-ed that the county could
‘and the contract was let
-ompleted in 1932. The
. city hall was built.

Rating
(102 jails)
67th
Not certified
Non-certified

sisted of hamburger, slaw,

+1 male, 2 female)

n (black) rape
sooth (black) attempted

aner (black) rape

GILES COUNTY

County seat: Pulaski, Tennessee 38478
Population: 23,400

Giles County was established in 1809; named for Senator William B. Giles of Virginia. The
county seat was named for Count Kazimierz Pulaski, a Polish hero of the American
Revolution.

Giles County has had six jails. The first was a rough log house erected in Lewis Kirk’s yard in
1810 where misdemeanants were kept while felons were sent to Maury and Williamson
counties. The second jail, built of logs in 1811, burned and was replaced in 1814 by a brick
jail constructed by Phillip B. Maney. This jail caught fire when someone carelessly emptied
his pipe into some shavings. Phillip B. Maney also built the fourth jail which was destroyed by
retreating Confederate troops toward the end of the Civil War. The fifth jail was a “handsome’’
brick building, built in 1867 for $25,000. This jail provided an apartment for the sheriff’s
family and had ten well-constructed cells with necessary corridors. The present two-story
brick jail was built in 1964.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 4] 35 Z 18 33rd
1977 41 35 2 18 Not certified

1978 4] 20 10 15 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 6, 12, 5:30.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of salmon, potatoes,
beans, cornbread

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 6 1976-77 9
1974-75 10 1977-78 7 (males)
1975-76 8 (4 whites, 4 blacks)

Lynchings: None recorded for Giles County

Electrocutions by the state from Giles County:
1918, 7/8 J. D. Williams (black) rape
1918, 7/8 Eddie Olsup (black) rape

Examples of early sentences:
1830 Arthur Jarnigor 39 lashes on the bare back, 1871 Green Turner hung horse stealing
jail one week, pillory 2 hrs. each morning 1872 Jordan Petty 14 years murder
for 3 consecutive days for forgery 1872 Jack McGuire 21 years horse stealing
1837 Isaac Dale hung murder 1877 Mat Pendegrass 6 months horse stealing
1855 Martin, a slave, hung murder 1877 Ben Eddins 3 years horse stealing

While the jail was in Kirk’s yard a good fiddler was once imprisoned for some small offense.
Whenever there was a party in town, some of the townfolk would slip out at night, raise a
corner of the jail, and release the fiddler. When the party was over, the prisoner returned to his
quarters in the jail.

1863, Sam Davis, a Confederate Scout, was held in the jail until hung.

GIBSON COUNTY Lea, aye Loe

County seat: Trenton, Tennessee 38382
Population: 47,800

Gibson County was established in 1823; named for Colonel John Gibson, veteran of the
Creek War and the Natchez Expedition.

Gibson County has had six jails. The first jail was built of logs at a cost of $121. The second
jail, built in 1826, was destroyed by fire during the Civil War. After the war a third jail, similar
to the second, was built. In 1875 a large and commodius jail was built for $16,700 on the
northwest corner of the courthouse square. The fifth jail was built in 1881 for $14,000. In
1929 the Grand Jury condemned this jail while the Circuit Judge advised that the county could
not escape building a new jail. A site was purchased for about $2,100 and the contract was let
to S.W. Blivens of Dyersburg, Tennessee for $45,000. The jail was completed in 1932. The
city of Trenton used the old jail for a city hall until the present city hall was built.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 89 90 50 50 67th
1977 89 78 44 44 Not certified
1978 95 85 54 65 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 6, 11:30, 5.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of hamburger, slaw,
pickles, pinto beans, light bread

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 26 1976-77 33
1974—75 33 1977-78 33 (31 male, 2 female)
1975-76 35. (18 white, 17 black)

Lynchings in Gibson County:
1890, 8/18 Thomas Woodward (black) robbery 1896, 6/30 Unknown (black) rape
1890, 8/21 Fox Henderson (black) robbery 1919, 10/26 Henry Booth (black} attempted
1891, 6/5 Thompson (black) murder rape

Legal hanging by the state from Gibson County: 1912, 1/13. Tom Kenner (black) rape

GIL

County s

Giles ¢
county
Revoluti:

Giles ¢
1810 wi
counties.
jail cons!
his pipe
retreatins
brick bu
family a:
brick jai!

Jail Inspe:

Meals:

Prisoners
1973
1974

S75
Lynching

Electrocut
1918,
1918,

Examples
1830 ¢

tr
1837 |
1855

Whilk
Whene
corner ©
quarters

1863,

FRANKLIN COUNTY

County seat: Winchester, Tennessee 37398
Population: 30,400

Franklin County was established in 1807; named for Benjamin Franklin. The county seat
was named for General James Winchester. The land for the county seat was purchased in
1812 for one dollar from Christopher Bullard.

Franklin County has had five jails. The first jail was built in 1813 but, ala celebration of the
completion, “‘hilarity’” reached greater proportions than planned and the jail was consumed
by fire during the night. The second jail, built in 1814 with funds from a lottery, was sold in
1855 for $300 after being condemned as “insecure.” The third jail, built by John Steele of
Lincoln County, was occupied by the sheriff and his prisoners. This jail burned. The fourth
jail, built in 1897 on the banks of Boiling Fork Creek, has been transformed into the Franklin
County Historical Society Jail Museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The sheriff's quarters were in the front of this two-story brick building and there was a dungeon
underground. Steel cages still stand in the cell-block area where carvings and inscriptions
have been preserved on the walls. The present jail was built in 1974 of brick and is approved
for housing federal prisoners. Hart, Freeland and Roberts of Nashville was the architect.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity — High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 30 3] 19 25 46th
1977 30 40 13 20 Certified
1978 30 32 12 20 Non-certified
Meals: Three times a day at 7:30, 12, 5.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of beans, cornbread, turnip
greens
Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 6 1976-77 17
1974-75 8 1977-78 8 (7 male, 1 female)

1975-76 7 (5 whites 2 blacks)
Lynchings in Franklin County:

1821 Adkins (or Adkinson) killing wife with a shoe last
1865 Rolly Datson, bushwhacker, murderer and desperado, taken from the jail
and hung from a tree in the jail yard
1871 Three blacks hanged under a bridge near the jail for the burning of
a church at Hawkerville
1882 Henry Huddleston (black) rape of a white woman
1901 Henry Noles (black) murder

1918, 2/10 G.W. Lynch (black) aiding Mclilheron (black) to escape
1918, 2/12 Jim Mcllheron (black) double murder

ei i eth ti aa

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PS ee een ne

County seat:

Rutledge, Tennessee
Population: 16,900

GRAINGER COUNTY

37861 ‘

complex which was constructed for $300,000 in 1949.

Jail Inspector's Report:

Capacity
1976 18
1977 18
1978 19

Daily Census

High Low
18 2
19 7

Average
12
12

Grainger County was established in 1796; named for Mary Grainger, wife of William
Blount. The county seat was named for George Rutledge, a prominent pioneer.

The first jail, built by Jonathan Williams, was located at the rear of the courthouse. A second
jail was built in 1822 and a third one in 1845. The present jail is part of the courthouse

Rating
(102 jails)
98th
Not certified
Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 7, 11:30, 5.—-Food catered by the Down Home Restaurant. Typical lunch:

1973-74
1974-75
1975-76

1889, 4/7
1889, 4/7

0
|
8 (whites)

Lynchings in Grainger County:

John Woltenberger (whit

mashed potatoes, beans, applesauce, biscuit

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1976-77
1977-78

e) murder

Daniel Beeler (white) murder

1890, 4/5

(males)

Unknown male (white) murder

GREE!

County seat:

Greene Co
veteran of tt

The first ja:
Spring aroun:
puncheon fic
first one but
erected on D
was built aro
iON Was ad:
overflow. The
and is paint

Jail Inspector's
197
197
19)

Meals: Three
green:

Prisoners sent

Lynchings: Ne

822 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

1849. The committee that drew up the memorial of his death consisted of
Judge John Read, Hervey Brown, Samuel McClanahan, A. W. O. Totten,
Micajah Bullock and Milton Brown. Adam Huntsman served as State
senator, was a member of the constitutional convention of 1834, and a
member of Congress. He beat the celebrated Davy Crockett in the last
race Crockett ever ran. Huntsman was never beaten for office. Andrew
L. Martin began practice in Jackson in 1825 and 1826, He was widely
known as a lawyer and politician. He moved to Mississippi between 1840
and 1850. William Stoddert, one of the ablest and best known lawyers
of the Jackson bar, began practice in 1822 and continued until his death
recently. Milton Brown first became known to the profession in 1832.
He was a law partner of Wm. Stoddert, and by many was considered the
ablest man ever before the Jackson courts. Samuel McClanahan was an
eminent lawyer, and began practice at Jackson about 1834. Other attor-
neys were William Anderson, Austin King, James Jones, Daniel Thomas,
T. A. Warren, A. C. Hall, D. W. Maury, Robert Hughes, Wm. Arnold,
John W. Cocke, W. B. Miller, P. M. Miller, Stokely D. Hays, Wm.
Arnold and Robert Hodge.

Judge John Read received his commission as circuit judge in 1840,
and held that position till the courts were closed by the war in 1862.
Judge Read was a man of a clear judicial mind, firm, upright and honest.
He was plain in his dress, but affable in manner. About the time of
Judge Read’s coming upon the stage there came a class of eminent
lawyers. Alex B. Bradford was succeeded as attorney-general, for the
time being, by Henry W. McCorry in 1836. and he by Wm. N. Porter in
1837, and he by Wm. B. Miller, till 1840, who moved away, and Joseph
H. Talbot received his commission from Gov. Polk, on April 23, 1840.
Timothy P. Scurlock became attorney-general in 1846, and continued in
office up to the war.

The third legal hanging in Madison occurred about 1838. It wasa
an named Reiley, for the murder of a man named Willis. The killing
occurred about ten miles east of J ackson, and the execution followed in
due time and form. The court of 1838 sent S. R. Smith and Burwell
Clark each to the penitentiary for three years, for forgery, B. W. H.
edares three years for larceny. A very exciting suit, in which money,
lent and social influence were involved, was the suit of J. L. Tarbutton
against W. M. Price, for the seduction of his daughter. The case was
begun in April, 1837. The best legal talent was employed in the suit.
It was taken to Haywood County, where it was compromised. The
plaintiff recovered $1,000 and costs. The suit of Sanders vs. Stores in a
case of ejectment lasted from 1840 to 1848: also the suit of Cala ne

MADISON COUNTY. 823

Sanders. The case grew out of the purchase of a negro by the former from
the latter. Itwas alleged that Sanders had sold the plaintiff an unsound
negro. The case lasted from 1844 to 1848. In May, 1859, A. Williams was
found guilty of “ rape” and was sentenced to the penitentiary for twenty-one
years. The last court before the war was held in May, 1861, with Judge
Read presiding. The jury summoned consisted of J. W. Sharp, A. B.
Goodwin, B. Withers, Thomas Caanpbell, W. H. Brown, F. G. Gibbs, J.
B. Cole, J. P. Thomas, J. M. Greer, W. M. Tidwell and Henry Glenn.
In 1849, August 23, Adam Huntsman, before mentioned, died. A com-
mittee consisting of Hervey Brown, Judge John Read, Samuel McClana-
han, A. W. O. Totten, Micajah Bullock and Milton Brown drew up suit-
able memorials. David Reid died August 27, 1858. A memorial of his
death was also spread upon record. The courts were reopened after the
war by Geo. W. Reeves as judge; G. G. Perkins, sheriff, and Sion W.
Boon, ‘on November 20, 1865. In 1866 Wm. P. Bond received his com-
mission as judge, and Wm. F. Tally, attorney-general.

Numerous suits followed soon after the war, some of which sprang
from bitterness and were engendered by the war. Happily these diffi-
culties soon passed away. On April 25, 1874, Milton McLane shot and
killed Thaddeus Pope. McLane was arrested, tried, convicted, and on
January 7, 1876, was executed before an immense throng. The stoicism
manifested by the defendant throughout the entire proceedings was
remarkable. On July 13, 1876, Millard Filmore Wilson (colored) mur-
dered Capt. Newton C. Perkins, and on the anniversary of his crime was
executed.

Judge Milton Brown died in October, 1882. He was born in Leb-
anon, Ohio, in 1804, and came to Jackson some time after the organiza-
tion, and shone like a meteor for more than half a century. His name
vividly calls up recollections of Martin Huntsman, Read, Haskell, Ca-
ruthers, McClanahan, Totten, Scurlock, Stephens, Bullock, Miller, and
many others. The bar of Jackson has long been represented by an
eminent class of attorneys. Being, as it is, a central point for West
Tennessee, a vast amount of litigation has been had before it. Fifty
trials for murder seem large, yet it is not, compared with other portions
of the country, and the area embraced in its range. No morbid desire
induced this statement, but it simply stands as a truth. The criminality
of these offenses ranges from the greatest to the most trivial.

») From the rule book appears the first suit from the Madison County
Chancery Court in 1825. Itwas a suit of John Henderson, James Cald-
well and Wm. Miller against John Overton. The court was then held at

Huntinedan and thara annaar tha danacitians af Tamac Mallarv. An-

820 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

vious to the treaty of October 19, 1818. The first settlers entered the county about 1820.
It is not Known who was the first to enter the county. W.S. Wisdon, the great financier
of the county, arrived in it in 1821. He was one of the most widely known men in the
county. He was county court clerk from 1832 to 1836. He died in Purdy in 1871 ‘full of
years and honors.” Benjamin Wright, father of Gen. Marcus J. Wright and others of
that distinguished family, came to the county in 1823. He was a soldier in the Creek
war, also in the Mexican war. “Maclin Cross was one of the earliest settlers of the county,
and was circuit court clerk from the organization till 1836. He was a lawyer, business
man and politician. He left several sons. Dr. William Barnett was a prominent phy-
sician of Purdy, and originally from Williamson Country: Joseph Barnett. county court
clerk from 1824 to 1828, wag a brother of Dr. William Barnett. R. S. Harwell was one of
the first business men of Purdy, and was for half a century identified with the commercial
interests of the place. Daniel Hill with his eight sons and their families, two sons-in-law
and families, [saac Coffman and Thomas Griffin, old Ben Walker, William Beatty, Sam-
uel Houston, the Wilson and Rankin families, all came to the county in 1828, and settled
in what is known as the Hill settlement, north of Purdy. They were from Jefferson
County, Tenn. These pioneers formed a neighborhood of excellent citizens. The Hill
family were long known for their extreme longevity. Jacob Jackson, a North Carolinian,
and a soldier of the Creek war, came to McNairy County in 1826, where he lived till his
death in 1880. He was for thirty years a justice of the peace. John Hamm, originally
from South Carolina, moved to Kentucky, thence to Middle Tennessee, and in 1826 to
McNairy County, and settled in the neighborhood of Rumor. He left a large family, the
most of whom settled in the same county, and have since been identified with its interest.
The senior member of the above mentioned family served four years in the Revolutionary
war.
Archibald Houston, another Revolutionary soldier, moved to McNairy County from
Pennsylvania in 1822. He was a man of great moral worth, and remained in the county
till his death in 1887. John and Samuel Chambers were natives of South Carolina, the
former coming to the county in 1820, and the latter in 1821.. John Chambers first settled
on Ow) Creek, and later on Chambers Creek, to which he gave his name. He was con-
nected with the organization of the county. Samuel Chambers also settled on Chambers
Creek in the south part of the county, where he resided until his death in 1858. John,
the brother; died in 1857. Abram Lorance, a native of North Carolina, came to McNairy
in 1824, and,settled in the north part of the county. He was a farmer by occupation, of
unassuming mien, but held several important offices. He lived to a green old age. John
Weaver came to McNairy from North Carolina in 1824, and settled in the northweat part
of, the county; he was a soldier of the Creek war, and was one of the hardy pioneera who
helped to clear away the forest; he raised a large family, the most of whom still reside in
the county. Javan Cox came to the county in 1826; he, too, was @ Revolutionary soldier-
John Maxedon, son-in-law of the above, also came to the county in 1826, and settled first
in the north part of the county, but in 1829 he moved and settled near Bethel Springs.
William Cason came from Middle Tennessee, and settled in the northwest part of McNairy
County in 1826. He opened there a farm, where he reared an intelligent and honorable
family. William T. Anderson came to McNairy County in 1822, and settled in the north
part of the county. He opened a farm, and for atime managed a small still-house. As
prosperity smiled on him he increased his lands and opened a store. He was a man of
sterling integrity, and, at the outbreak of the war, was quite wealthy. Lindsey Saunders
was a native of North Carolina; he came to McNairy in 1825; he held several positions of
trust and profit; he was an unconditional Union man, and was endowed with “vision
prophetic” on the question of secession, as is shown from his will as given elsewhere. A.
A. Saunders, the fifth county court clerk, was a prominent minister of the Missionary
Baptists. Hon. James Warren came to the county in 1827, where he bas since resided.

McNairy County, like all West Tennessee, belonged to the Chickasaw Indians pre- ZO |
-

He has lived longer in the county than any man now living init. He has three times”

represented his county in the Legislature. The families of McCann, Beard, McCullar,

M’NAIRY COUNTY, 821

Walsh, Ferguson, Dorion, Wilkinson, Rains and Stovail, had all settled in the county
before 1827. Since it is the province of this article to give priority rather than promi-
nence, there has been no order followed in speaking of them. From an article on “earl
settlers” of McNairy County from the pen of Hon. James Warren, above mentioned, the
chi settlers are mentioned as prominent in the county in 1897:
Zast partof the county—Beck, Erwin. Gilchrist, Jones, K

Sanders, Veal and Wilson. Southeast—Atking, Tick Redes Mocs tite
Donald. Dameron, Ealum, Forris. Michie, Sharp, Stubblefield and Wardlow Senta
Barnhill, Chambers, Graham, Hooker, Hamm, Houston, Huggins, Littlejohn, Prather,
Ramer, Springer, Boatman, Darby, Jeans, Forsyth, Henderson, Horn McCullough,
Mecks, Rains. Rotin and Simpson. Southwest—Derryberry, Flowers, Veekennis Gooch,
Kirk, Lock, McGuin, Nuil and Young. West—Bradshaw, Dillon, Hornbuckle Kernedie,
Laughlin, Lockman, McIntire, Moore. Robertson, Saunders. Stovali, Turner Weettas
and Wilson. Northwest—Clayton, Cobb, Clemons, Floyd, Garner, Buret Jelitin Mer.
chison, Maness, Rowsey, Rankin, Smith, Schoffield, Stewart, Burkhead Bryant Cease,
Deaton, Estes, Hodges, Jolinson, Muse, McIntire, O'Neal, Randolph, Wambie Wade and
Weaver. North—Beard, Bullinger, Fowler, Hallis, {ngraham, Jones, Kirby, Lawrence
McHolstead, Plunk, Putuam, Patterson, Robinson, Robbins, Sipes, Smith Sells Sedford,
Walsh and Ward. Northeast—Blackshenr, Basinger. Combs, Carroll " Cochran Cox,
Hardin, Kemp, Landreth, Merrill, Massengill, Phillips, Parrish, Riggs " Stanley Sewell
Scott, Swain, Anderson, Bishop. Clark, Finley. Morrow, Oldham, Pitts Smith ‘Shelton
ane “Ta Central—Adams, Barnes, Brooks, Bell, Beatty, Crump. Devault, Denny,
in a iin Murray, McAlpin, Magill, Sweat, Surratt, Tatum,
The loss by fire of the minute books of both the circuit and county court, renders it
impossible to give the history of them previous to 1858. It is probable that Sechen, Has-
kell was the first circuit judge and Alex B. Bradford was the attorney-general. In 1858
Elijah Walker was circuit judge and Lee M. Bently prosecuting attorney. The usual
indictments for ‘‘larceny,’’ “A & B,” “ presentmeats,”’ etc., followed by ‘‘not guilty,”
nollied, etc., are seen. enry, siave of J. P. Erwin, was indicted for killing “ Diana

Erwin, a free, white woman.” The offense was committed April 22, 1860, by strikingthe 7

Victim over the head with a billet of wood. The case came before the followin; :
Se ES John Cannon, Wm. Vertrees, Samuel Irvine, Benjamin se 7
. ‘hi ae - . Young: G- W. Prewett, J. C. Goodman, F. F. Carroll, Joseph Roark and
se oc - July 12, 1860. and he was sentenced to hang Tuesday September 7, 1860.
e execution was duly carried out on that day. Being the first legal hanging in th

county, it drew an immense concourse to witness the scene. | - ee
The following will of Lindsey Sanders and wife, written in 1857, seems somewhat
Prophetic: ‘“ Lindsey Sanders and wife, Mary Ann Sanders, who hove accumulated their
— under the auspices of high Heaven, and the protection of the laws of our county,
ees igi ~ betes and agree that no avowed infidel, atheist, deist, disunionist or seces-
nate ae _ is sg same thing, shall ever be a beneficiary of our estate. We believe that
foo ce 7 we , Inte igent being so low and depraved in morals, so much under the domin-
ms atan as to dispute the natural evidence of a Supreme Ruler and Creator and that
€ has revealed this will to man, or deny our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is unworthy

ro epee: . And any American citizen so low and depraved in politics, so wanting in
rare fad our glorious Union as to desire a dissolution or a separation of our State from our
Nations cy is pot only wholly unworthy of enjoying the good things afforded by the
peers sere ut should be driven from the American soil.’”’ Tt further recites that if
al ce 7 ao should forget themselves as to marry & disunionist or secessionist or
= ee excluded by this will, that one is no longer a beneficiary of it. It further ex-
Pee ny one from its benefits if they resort to Jaw for settlement of the estate. The
esires of Mr. Sanders were never fully carried out.

A very exciting case was that of M. J. Braden against’ John W. Stump. This

0° .

800 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

when slave property reached its maximum, the lands were given in at 899,700 acres and val-
ued at $1,134,021; town lots at 144 and valued at $69,820; slaves at 1,419 and $1,001,075 in
In 1868 the land was given in at 273,100 acres, and valued at $1,432,528, anda
total of taxables $1,983,419. In 1870 the land, according to assessment, was 370,768 acres,
and valued at $1,642,144, and the total property at $1,650,687. In 1882 the land was 373,.
390 acres, valued at $1,584,820, while in 1886 the land was given at 312,480 acres, and val-
ued at $1,090,227; town lots were 81 and valued at $47,090. The total value of all prop-
erty was $1,198,998. The variation in area is accounted for in incorrect assessments and in
the reduction of the area by new counties and additions to old ones.

The first court in the county met on the fourth Monday in December, 1821, at the
house of Samuel Wilson. What was done at this court, or of whom it was composed
can not now be learned,-as all records previous to 1840 have been destroyed. The appoint-
ment of county oflicers and the approval of their bonds doubtless received their first at-
tention. John A. Wilson was chosen the first couaty court clerk, and he held that position
till 1835, when he wassuccecded by Jesse Taylor, who held the position until 1859, when he /
gave place to A. H. Rhodes who held the office until 1878, when C. R. Scott was elected
und held the office until 1886, at which time J. A. Teague was elected to that office.
These men were all so long connected with the office that u mere mention of their names
is a sufficient history of them.
ns The first csmake register was, perhaps, O. H. King, who served until 1832, when he
was succeeded by 8S. A. Orton who in turn wassucceeded by John H. White, but just
what date is not clear. White served till 1844, when he gave place to John Smith who
served till 1856, when J. A. Henry was elected and served till his death, in 1884, thus
serving twenty-eight years. On his death Maj. T. A. Smith was appointed to fill the
vacancy, and was elected to the place in 1886. E. H. Tarrant was, perhaps, the first
circuit clerk and served till 1836, when he was succeeded by Addison Pyle, who served
till 1840, when R. B. Jones was elected and held the office till 1865. James Priddy was
then elected and served till 1870, when E. J. Timberlake held the office till 1874, and was
succeeded by I. T. Bell, who held the office until 1878. J. A. Teague held the office from
1878. till 1882, when W. R. Britt was chosen and held the office till 1886, and then gave
place to J. R. Wilkerson, who was elected at that time.

John T. Harmon was chosen sieriff at the organization and served till 1826, when he
was succeeded by Robert Marshall, who held the office probably till 1830 when 8. M.
Carson was elected and held the office till 1837, when R. B. Jones was elected sheriff and
held the office till 1840, when John Howell was elected and served one term. G. H. Buck
was sheriff from 1842 to 1844. John Howell was again elected and served until 1846,
when W. B. Hall was elected and served oneterm. W. H. Sheiby became sheriff and served
from 1848 to 1852. when A. H. Rhodes was elected and served two terms. J. H. Gilbraith
was elected in 1856 and held the office till 1860, when Levi McEwen was elected and held
it till the war. A. E. Aydelott was elected sheriff in 1864 and was succeeded by R. J.
Dyer in 1866, who served till 1868, when G. W. Moss was elected, but resigned in April,
1869, when J. A. Teague was elected to fill the vacancy. A. E. Aydelott was again elected
in 1871 and served till 1774. J. M. Wadly was then elected and served till 1878, when he
was succeeded by A. G. Douglass, who gave place to G. W. Essary in 1882. The latter
served till 1886 and was succeeded by H. C. Lindsey.

Joshua Haskell was, perhaps, the first circuit judge. In 1888 John Read, of Jackson,
became judge and served till 1861, when he resigned on account of failing health. Courts
were held by special judges till they were closed by the war. On the reorganization
Fielding Hurst was made judge and was succeeded by F. P. Bond, who in turn was suc-
ceeded by L. L. Hawkins in 1867. In 1873 T. P. Bateman became circuit judge and served
in that position till 1886 when he was.succeeded by Levi S. Woods, the present judge:

value.

established May 6, 1844. Judge Andrew McCampbell was made the chancellor and served

NY
N
:

Fe
4

The Chancery District, composed of Henderson, Perry and McNairy Counties, was “ SS

till 1848, when he was succeeded by Calvin Jones who heid the office till 1854. Stephen C.
Pavatt then became chancellor and served till August, 1861.

R. H. Rose held the office of

- ae

HENDERSON COUNTY. 801
chancellor from 1866 to 1868 when he was succeeded by J. W. Doherty. G. H. Nixon
was clected in 1870 and held the office till 1886, when he was succeeded by A. G. Hawkins.
On the organization of the chancery court J. W. G. Jones was appointed clerk and master
and held that place till 1866, when Owen Haney was appointed to the place and held it
till 1872, when Jones was again appointed to the place, which he held till 1878. In 1878
W. F. Brooks was appointed to the place, which he has since held.

The first lawyers whose names appear were H. H. Hopkins, Wm. L. Petty, and
James A. Heaslet. In 1826 or 1827 Micajah Bullock began practice at the Lexington
bar, where he was prominent for nearly halfacentury. The first criminal execution in
the county was the execution of a slave woman for the drowning of s child of Dr. John
A. Wilson. The woman was his own slave. [ax very exciting trial was the case of the
State against Milton Reiley for the murder of William (Bud) Willis. The killing occurred
at Independence. The trial was moved to Jackson, where he was convicted and executed
on June 9, 1849.) The lawyers prominent before the bar at this time were the Hawkins’,
Bullock, Allen, Brasher, Adam Huntsman, Samuel McClanahan, A. G. McDougal,
James Scott, Elijah Walker, T. P. Scurlock, J. C. Totten, Milton Brown, W. F. Doherty,
J. H. Swayne. W. Beloate, H. Foster, Williams, Gillespie, A. G. Shrewsbury and others.
Hon. John M. Taylor began the practice of the law about the opening of the war. A case
of some interest occurred in December, 1859, in which Ben F. Page, by his next friend
Sam. N. Anderson, sued Sam. C. Wheatley for slander. The jury, N. T. Buckley, J. P.
Cross, J. M. Stubblefield, T. Barr, A. B. Jones, W. H. Jordan, J. N. Small, N. C. Epay,
T. N. Black, 8. H. Holmes and Wm. Wood, gave judgment for $2,344.58}. Aaron Curtis
was convicted of manslaughter for killing Calvin Barnett, and given a sentence of seven
years to the penitentiary. In 1860 Wilson Tidwell and John Barnett cach received three

year sentences for larceny, and Columbus Phillips the same time for mule stealing. A
number of suits were brought against parties for killing during the period of the war.
These parties were generally acquitted or driven from the country by the indictments

standing against them. A very interesting suit in the chancery court was brought by

Brown & Parrish enjoining the formation of the new county, Chester, which was at-

tempted to be established in 1872. A case of much loca] interest began in 1883 on the

repealing of the old charter and the attempt to establish a taxing district at Lexington.
Without going into details, it need only be said no taxing district was formed, and that
the city is without acharter. The fight grew out of the question of whisky or no whisky.

The attorneys of Lexington now are Hon. John M. Taylor, Judge L. 8S. Woods, R. H.

Thorn, W. T. Logan, W. B. Ware, T. Davis and Arthur Pearce.

The military history of Henderson County properly begins with the late civil war
although quite a number went from this county to the Mexican war.

At the clection held on June 8, 1861, Henderson, Carroll, Decatur and Weakley were
the only counties in West Tennessee that voted against secession. The vote of Henderson
County was 810 for “ separation,’’ and 1,013 for “no separation;’ but when the final
clash of arms came the county was largely insympathy with the South. The first full
companies for the Confederate service were four companies raised for the Twenty-seventh
Tennessee (Confederate) Regiment. This regiment rendezvoused at Trenton in the sum-
mer of 1861. B. H. Brown, it is believed, raised the first of four companies from Hender-
son County for this regiment. His company was known asthe sharpshooters. The cap-
tains of the four companies were C. H. Williams, whose company was called the ‘ Felix
Rebels,” B. H. Brown, of the sharpshooters, Richard Barham and S. A. Sayle. On the
organization of the regiment C. H. (Kit) Williams was elected colonel; B. H. Brown, lieu-
tenant-colonel; Samuel Love, major; — Smith, adjutant; Robt. Wilkerson, sergeant-
major; D. A. McKamey, surgeon and J. R. Wingo, assistant surgeon. On the election of
Williams to be colonel, W. P. Timberlake was elected captain of his company, and on the
election of Capt. Brown to the lieutenant-colonelcy, John M. Taylor became captain of
hiscompany. The regiment numbered about 1,000 men and was put in camp of instruc-
tion at Trenton for a time for discipline, but soon moved to Henderson Station on the

820 HISTORY,"OF TENNESSER.

and Equity for the Highth Circuit.” A commission was issued by Gen. \

Carroll to J udge Joshua Haskell, on November 14,1821. The oath was

administered to Judge Haskell by John Smith, presiding justice of the \
court of pleas and quarter sessions of Rutherford County. The court NN
held its first session at Alexander's office, where the county court met,
on April 14, 1822. The officers of the court, besides Judge Haskell, IN
were Thomas Shannon, sheriff, and Beverly Randolph, circuit clerk. The
first grand jury consisted of Adam R. Alexander, foreman; J. T. Porter,
Wm. E. Butler, Duncan McIver, Ezekiel B. McCoy, Wm. L. Davis, W.
©. Love, W. C. Mitchell, Benjamin White, Wm. Doak, Geo. Todd, Roland
Chandler and Drury Belter. On the organization of the court, the

following attorneys were admitted: J. W. Cocke, Alex. B. Bradford, .

j
4
'

James Jones, Robert Hughes and Archibald (. Hall. Judge Haskell

remained on the bench till 1840, when he was succeeded by Judge John
Read. Judge Haskell lived at “Haskell Hill,” in Jackson, and wasa * “q
man highly respected for his character, courtly bearing and pleasant
manners. He was thefather of Wm. T. Haskell, one of Tennessee's great- i
est orators. Alex. B. Bradford, the first solicitor-general was a very
popular attorney. He moved to Mississippi in 1834. J oseph Talbot, ;
the second solicitor-general, was considered a very able prosecutor, and

more than an average lawyer. The first cases in the circuit court were

the cases of Wm. Newsom against J. B. Hogg, and Rob H. Dyer and
Jonathan Curren against Robert H. Dyer. Both were cases of debt. ~~
The first State case was the State against Squire Dawson, on an appeal

from the county court, for petit larceny. The decision was to the effect ~ * h
that Dawson should receive twenty lashes on the bare back, well laid on. i
This occurred on October 22,
kind ordered.

1822, and was the first punishment of the
The first divorce suits were filled by Patsey Dunn against
Joseph Dunn and James Ricketts against Jenny, his wife. The former

case was stricken from the docket, and the latter granted. In 1823 G. B.
Chambers obtained 12} cents damage against L. D. Waddel in a sult
fordamages. Fines were inflicted for betting on cards, roulette, “bazoon ”
and the wheel of fortune. The first case of horse stealing was the case
(of the State against Adam Lowry, on November 28, 1824. The jury in N
the case were J. B. Cross, Robert Lowing, H. G. Connally, W. Ray, H. \
W. James, Wm. Espy, William Nichols, Gabriel Chandler, James A. :
Edwards and Robert Hasster. This was before the penitentiary law,
and the punishment in this case was that Lowry should be taken to the
public whipping post, and there receive thirty-nine lashes, be branded
upon the brawn of the thumb with “H. T.,” should be sent to jail for
thirty days, and made to stand in the pillory two hours of every three

, _* 821
MADISON COUNTY.

f
days out of seven, be rendered infamous, and be made to pay the cost o

7 Wiel aoc trial began in October, 1826, and ended January 31,
The case was the State against Thomas Jameson,
for the murder of Francis Sanders. Jameson was an oon ana
or for the hand of Sanders’ daughter. The murder was ee aie
the purpose of securing the wished for prize. The prisoner was

1827, in conviction.

when he should be taken to a convenient place near J sasha mi row
hung by the neck until dead. The ore was oo ee
i Jackson. A negro was also execu ne ice.
ve , wane of the same oa James i eae #9 i meet Ay 28
s convicted of manslaughter and ordered to pa
aay ae of his prosecution, also to be branded on the thumb hss Pee
letter “‘M.”’ The first case to the penitentiary after the ri me
E Noor tetas law, was William Morgan, convicted of horse ine ing. Ba
rN was convicted J anuary 23, 1834, and sentenced a rene : ot ra
: and was rendered infamous. A motion for a new trial, "
} was overruled. On July 24, 1834, was ended a sui
\ tes oT oe throughout the State. It was the suit of the ann
against John A. Murrell, for negro stealing. Whether guilty ° ae
guilty, he was accused of almost every crime known to oe iti a
\ endar. The jurymen in the well known case were Josep ee
Robertson, J. G. Snodgrass, Henry Tate, Samuel Lancaster, € mg! gs
Spurlock, David Robertson, John Rodgers, David McKnight, ; a a
row, Jacob Sneed and James Elrod. Murrell was sentenee sess’
itentiary for a term of ten years. He was defended by Mi an ie
All motions for new trials and arrest of judgment were een ed. Riss
abeth Murrell, sister of the above, was convicted of larceny F ne
for one year, but was recommended for mercy and received : aa
fine. The attorneys to 1834, in addition to those a. 2 fa _
were John Wyatt, who died in 1824. A committee consisting z ‘ a
Talbot, Alfred Murray and Adam Huntsman, said he bi oe Pit
brightest ornaments and best brothers.” On June 17, 18 Me iste _
Benjamin Gillespie, Hugh W. Dunlap and Andrew jars er
mitted to the bar, and June 27, 1824, M. A. McKenzie. These me a
only fairly well known to the Jackson bar. Adam aere -_ an
ablest statute lawyers Jackson ever had, was a native of lee Poa
moved to Knoxville in early life, where he read law with : = er
Williams. He moved to Monroe County, where he ame 2 : *
when he came to Jackson, where he remained till his death on August 20,

ed to jail to remain till May 4, 1827, between 10 A. M. and 2 P. TaN

CHESTE

ie a tn cet a ‘

County seat:

Chester Cou:
changed in hor:
was named for

Chester Court
building, forty-«
was built for $1.
Public Safety an
shelter if needer.
depends on co!
architect; Ed W"

jail Inspector's |
1976
1977
1978

Meals: Three &
brocco!

Prisoners sent to
1973-74
1974-75
1975~—76

Lynchings in C!

County seat: Ashland City, Tennessee 37015 & |
Population: 18,900

Cheatham County was established in 1856; named for Edward S. Cheatham, speaker of the
Tennessee Legislature (1855-1861).

The first jail, a small substantial log structure, was built in 1856. The second jail, twenty feet
by twenty-six feet, was built around 1886 for $2,114.70. The present jail was built in 1937
and renovated in 1976-77.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 22 35 8 15 73rd
1977 50 42 25 28 Not certified
1978 30 38 9 15 Non-certified

Meals: Twice a day at 7:30 & 4:30.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of white beans, turnip greens,
boiled eggs, corn, pear halves, cornbread

Prisoners sent to state prison facilities:
1973-74 4 ‘ 9
1974-75 8) 7 19 (17 male, 2 female)
1975-76 4 (3 white, 1 black)

Lynchings: None recorded tor Cheatham County

im, speaker of the

id jail, twenty feet
was built in 1937

Rating

)2 jails)

d
certified
certified

beans, turnip greens,

2 female)

CHESTER COUNTY

County seat: Henderson, Tennessee 38340 | | is
Population: 12,100

Chester County was established in 1879; first named Wisdom County, the name was
changed in honor of Colonel Robert |. Chester, veteran of the War of 1812. The county seat
was named for Colonel James Henderson, veteran of the War of 1812.

Chester County has had three jails. The first jail was replaced in 1886 by a two-story

building, forty-eight by twenty feet, containing two cells and quarters for the sheriff. This jail
was built for $1,900 by J|.M. Wheatley. The present jail is located in the basement area of the
Public Safety and Law Enforcement Building constructed in 1975. Built to serve as a fall-out
shelter if needed and funded in part by Civil Defense funds, the jail area has no windows and
depends on controlled light and ventilation. Hart, Freeland and Roberts of Jackson was the
architect; Ed Weaver Construction Company of Jackson, contractor. The cost was $434,000.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low — Average (102 jails)
1976 im 12 ] 5 12th
1977 11 17 1 6 Certified
1978 11 16 3 10 Certified

Meals: Three times a day at 7, 12, 6.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of barbecue chicken,
broccoli, peas, baked potato, banana pudding, tea, water, coffee

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities: -
1973-74 1 1976-77 2
1974-75 3 1977-78 3 (male)
1975~76 3 (1 white, 2 black)

Lynchings in Chester County: 1899, 4/18 A.M. Larme (white) murder

oa. ay cabana

winstene Pinata H \

siborne, governor of
_ congressman from

ucted with a double
the top floor of the

Rating
(102 jails)
Sth

‘tot certified
Jon-certified

| of greens, cornbread,

», 1 female)

ycutt was hanged for

CLAY COUNTY

Counly seat: Celina, Tennessee 38551
Population: 6,900

Clay County was established in 1870; named for Henry Clay, U.S. congressman and
senator from Kentucky, speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary of State under
President John Quincy Adams, and three times candidate for President of the United States.
Celina was named for the daughter of the pioneer educator, Moses Fisk.

The first jail was built of logs in 1873 for $989.22 by W.H. Watts. This jail burned in 1895.
The fire was set by a woman prisoner who almost burned to death. The second jail was built in
1896. William Hull, father of Cordell Hull (Secretary of State under President Franklin
Roosevelt), served on the building committee. The present jail, built in 1966, is a one-story
brick building with sheriff's quarters attached, has small windows, and is located near the
Cumberland River.

Jail Inspector's Report: Datly Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 Es) 14 | 2 47th
1977 15 20 1 4 Not certified

1978 15 19 0 5 Certified*

Meals: Three times a day at 7, 11:30, 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of ham, potatoes, green
beans, bread, fruit cocktail, coffee

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1973-74 0 1976-77 0
1974-75 4 1977-78 0
1975-76 0

Lynchings: None recorded for Clay County

One of the most notable cases in Clay County was the bringing to justice in 1942 of Lee
Jones eighteen years after a hit and run accident. The son of the victim relentlessly tracked
down this killer of his father.

‘Certification suspended until polyurethane mattresses are replaced.

if... Me : :

ha eee partis ,
% DHA Ray. aU,
peg po eee

Pree y wee
Me cra ace ee ROP EN tI:
"™AtNramaeetacen, Sey
Pe a icties x

gtrres

oe bit
ey ie

}

ea
ef
ty
ta i

CLAIBORNE COUNTY}
; ne Ped

County seat: Tazewell, Tennessee 37879
Population: 26,400

Claiborne County was established in 1801; named for William C. Claiborne, governor of
the Mississippi Territory, judge of the Superior Court of Tennessee, U.S. congressman from
Tennessee, and, later, governor of Louisiana.

The first jail was built in 1804. The second, built in 1819, was constructed with a double
wall, stone on the outside and frame inside. The present jail occupies the top floor of the
courthouse which was built in 1932 for approximately $150,000.

Daily Census Rating
Capacity High low — Average (102 jails)
1976 66 32 3 15 85th
19OL7 66 35 8 16 Not certified
1978 56 32 2 6 Non-certified

Jail Inspector's Report:

Meals: Three times a day at 7:30, 11, 4:30.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of greens, cornbread,
pudding, beans, sweet potatoes.

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1973-74 6 1976-77 7
1974-75 5 1977-78 8 (7 male, 1 female)
1

1975-76 (white)
Lynchings in Claiborne County: 1891 3/26 Thomas Huntley (black) murder

The last legal hanging in the county was in 1875 when Ananias Honeycutt was hanged for
murder.

CLAY CC

County seat: Ce!
Pon

Clay County
senator from Ken!
President John Qu:
Celina was name

The first jail wa:
The fire was set by
1896. William #
Roosevelt), served
brick building wit
Cumberland Riv:

Jail Inspector's Rep

1976
1977
1978

Meals: Three time:
beans, bre

Prisoners sent to {
1973—74
1974-75
1975-76

Lynchings: None :

One of the moa
Jones eighteen y:
down this killer

*Certification suspend

me Keminder Ut F

Saloon No. 10 in Dead-
. 2, 1876.

n McCall and Sitts were
en. : :

+ Egan was hanged in
Is July 13, 1882, for the
ing of his wife.

Jear, hanged at Yankton
1882, for murdering a

pioneer settler in Sully County in

1879.
James Layton Gilmore, hanged

~at Deadwood Dec. 15, 1882, for

killing a man in a quarrel in a
freighters’ camp on the old Fort
Pierre-Deadwood trail.

Nathaniel Thompson, hanged at
De Smet in October of 1893, for

ach
aot

killing his wife.

Jay Hicks, hanged at Sturgis in

December 1893, for the robbery-
murder of a Meade County
rancher. :
Chief Two Sticks, who took part
in Custer’s last stand, hanged at
Deadwood Dec. 28, 1894, for in-
stigating the slaying of three
cowboys during an Indian
uprising.

Charles Brown, hanged at
Deadwood ‘July 14, 1897, for
murder-robberv of a Deadwood
woman.

Ernest Loveswar, hanged at
Sturgis Sept. 19, 1902, for the
murder. of two Meade County

‘ homesteaders.

George Bear, hanged at Sioux
Falls Dec. 5, 1902, for murder.

Emil Victor, hanged at Aber-
deen Nov. 16, 1909, for the murder

” of three persons.

Joseph Richman, hanged at

} Bison Dec. 3, 1913, for murdering
, a mother and her daughter.

The first execution in Min-

_ nehaha County of Egan had a
unique twist. Egan, a native Irish-

man, was hung on a Thursday to
accommodate a weekly
newspaper that was published on
Fridays.

It took the hangman three tries

* to kill Egan that day.

“| The Law A-29- 16

In 1915 South Dakota repealed
‘ the capital punishment law and it
- wasn’t until 1939, when the state

was shocked at the brutal kidnap-

' murder of a 15-year-old Sioux
- Falls girl, that the law was put

back on the books.
From 1939 on groups argued
against the law saying it was

. inhumane and not a deterrent to
' crime a :

In 1965 another attempt was

made to abolish the law with the
argument that the death penalty
: should have two purposes; one to

protect society and the other to

: rehabilitate the criminal. They
- gaid, ‘You can’t rehabilitate a
‘dead man.”

Deadly Tales

Several men have been sen-

' tenced to death but later had their |
sentences commuted to life in

prison.

_ The execution of Sitts is still
‘ fresh on the minds of people in-
. volved with the task.

Barney Plymate, retired guard

‘ at the penitentiary, remembers
~ the event. ;

“Thirty to 40 people including
the doctors and press were there.
The one thing I remember is the
kick he said he got out of killing
the men he did,” Plymate said.

Sitts was convicted of killing a

_ South Dakota state agent and a

IVUA sUlis PINs ewe

Sun., Feb. 29, 1976

Butte County sheriff near
Spearfish, four days after he
escaped from ‘the Hennepin
County jail in Minnesota in 1945.
“The night we went up to
prepare him for execution we had
to wake him up. He_ was
sleeping,’’ Plymate said. ‘‘He ate
a big hearty meal that day, too.”’
The chair itself has a history all
its own,” according to Plymate. .-
Originally the state had to
borrow an electric. chair from
another state. They had borrowed

-one from Illinois years before the
-Sitts execution but it was never

used.

What was used, however, was
the design of the chair. Plymate
said an engineer measured the
Illinois chair carefully and or-
dered the parts duplicated piece
by piece by the prisoners in their
respective shops.

“The (pieces) were all put
away until they were all done and
then pieced together. The
prisoners weren’t even aware of
what they were making,” he said.

Acting U.S. marshal George
Tennyson said that if a federal
hanging were ordered, he would
have to personally hang the
prisoner. The rule is still-on the
books, he said.

ety TOL BROWN
Ar) i: Laser Staff Writer
freer in the dar’ caverns of the
Sooith Dakota Penitentiary under
| 1 gray striped cloth is. a
| forepoding piece of furniture
| cudled the eiectric chair.
| The huge heavy chair was used
| enty once for its deadly mission in
| :947, For the last few years it has
eceupied space in the storage
-agm at the penitentiary.
Its only victim was George
5 its, who killed three men, in-
ciuding two South Dakota law
officers. Sitts had killed a Min-
ssapolis liquor store clerk in a
roldup for which he was being
held in Minnesota. He escaped
aad killed the South Dakotans
during his flight through the
si ale.
was electrocuted April 8,
$947, :
' The room where he was
.ceuted is now a storage room
or the prison hospital and death
ow now serves as a general
storaye area.
The death penalty has been, at
east, temporarily stopped by the

courts, but the memories of past
executions in the state remain.

Thirteen men have been put to
death for crimes in South Dakota,
but none since 1947.

A decision from the U.S.
Supreme Court is expected early
this year as to the legality ofthe
death penalty. In 1973 the high.
court ruled capital punishment !
could not be handled in an in-
discriminate manner as before.
Since the ruling, states have been
unwilling to execute anyone even
though many men are now on
‘‘death row’’ in prisons
throughout the country.

No one currently is awaiting
execution in South Dakcta, but
other states continue to give the
death penalty in some cases. The
recently convicted mass slayer in
Nebraska, Erwin Simants, has
been sentenced to die.

The history of executions in the
state dates back to the hanging of

Jack McCall in Yankton on March .

1, 1877, for the murder of Wild Bill

Hickok. i
The killing, one of the more

famous in western folklore, took

mioctnic Chair St

bad dues
place in Saloon No. 10 in Dead-
wood Aug. 2, 1876.

Between McCall and Sitts were
1] other men. :

Thomas Egan was hanged in
Sioux Falls July 13, 1882, for the
brutal killing of his wife.

Brave Bear, hanged at Yankton
Nov. 15, 1882, for murdering a

a AN oa ar if on
WW ad jal \sad We §

pioneer settler in Sully Cou.

1875.

James Layton Gilrnore, ha:
at Deadwood Dec. 15, 4882
killing a man in a quarrel} ;
freighters’ camp on the old }
Pierre-Deadwood trail.

Nathaniel Thompson, haree
De Smet in October of 1853,

i thw eatin
hn

HANCOCK COUNTY ; us

County seat: Sneedvilie, Tennessee 37869
Population: 6,700

Hancock County was established in 1844; named for John Hancock whose famous
signature was the first affixed to the Declaration of Independence. Originally named Greasy
Rock, the name of the county seat was changed to honor L. T. Sneed, the lawyer who
successfully defended the county against Hawkins County in a dispute over the county line.

A temporary jail was built in 1850. The present jail was built in 1860. This two-story brick
jail, painted red; has the sheriff's office on the first floor while the prisoners are kept in an iron

jail, the oldest one still in use in Tennessee, is said to be the oldest building in Sneedville and
is on the National Register of Historic Places. ;

! Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census * | Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 i] 23 3 8 83rd
1977 9 15 2 Bo Not certified
1978 8 20 2 8 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 8:30, 12, 5:30.—A supper in 1978 consisted of sandwiches, applesauce,
milk

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 ie 19
1974-75 0 19
1975-76 4 (white)

6-77 5
7-78 8 (male)

Lynchings: None recorded for Hancock County

cage on the second floor. A small enclosed room houses female or juvenile prisoners. This -

County seat:

Hardeman
who served \
Town, was |

The first ja’
stands as an
House.’ The
built in 1836
in 1875, was |
financea by t
Hart, Freela:

Jail Inspector s

et ed

Meals: Twic
cornt

Prisoners sen
197 3—74
1974-75
1975-76

Lynchings ir

Executions b

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ABOLISHED

Education of French Prisoners.—

The following statistics concerning prisoners in French prisons show the situation
as to the education of prisoners in the years 1911 and 1912:

1911 1912
Men Women Men Women

MAT iia ccrectanennecnousteecicesctssomcsttecosse 595 225 564 249
PIG 00. TORAH OMIA (2.2. cnceicnccceenee sas 514 30 566 34
Able to read and write... 1247 181 1208 172
Able to read, write and “cipher”... 2933 120 3260 149
Having completed the grades........................ 509 22 628 29
Having had more than the grades................ 152 1 208

—From Revue Penitentiaire et de Droit Penal, January, 1915.

J. I. Gituin,
University of Wisconsin.

Capital Punishment Abolished in Tennessee.—The supreme court of the state
has handed down a decision which, in effect, sustains the validity of the Bowers
law abolishing capital punishment. This means that there will be no more legal
killings in Tennessee, that the archaic law of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
and a life for a life, is no longer operative in this state, that the policy of the state
will henceforth be to protect society rather than to retaliate upon men who commit
murder.

The bill was passed at the last session of the legislature. Governor Rye vetoed
it, but before doing that he had held it on his desk more than five days, the time
allowed under ordinary circumstances for vetoing a bill. The legislature was in
recess, and the governor held that the five days did not begin to run until the legis-
lature was again in daily session. He was sustained in that contention by some of
the lower courts. The contention of the friends of the Bowers bill was that the
legislature, though in recess, was still in session, that the machinery was in oper-
ation, that the governor could at any time have placed the vetoed bill in the hands
of the clerk, and that the fact of a recess did not operate to extend the time during
which a veto might be made. That contention the supreme court upholds, declar-
ing that the bill became a law without the governor’s signature justas if he had
permanently refused to sign.

The conduct of the governor toward the Bowers law has been always eminently
fair. He has allowed no executions to take place pending a final determination of
the status of the law. In one case, notable, he has granted extension after extension
of time in order that the condemned man might have the benefit of a possible
change in status. This man will now escape death, his sentence being automatically
commuted to life imprisonment.

Mr. Duke Bowers of Memphis, to whose unflagging interest in the law its
passage was due, who spent his time and his money without stint in working up
a public opinion that would sanction the law, is to be congratulated upon the happy
termination of the legal proceedings.—F rpm the Nashville Tennessecan, Jan. 9, 1916.

1467 Convicts on Mississippi Farms.—There are now 1,476 convicts on the

Y Chinen SE LSS CRE

lie

¥]
oe ae | dak CP eke
i 4

Was «
auth:
of la:
Force
deve!
Act,
creat
fresh ;
under
Was ¢
where!
two n
the Ly
was le!:
of th
on the
consti!
have ;
ex-offic
The «

848 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

jurisdiction over many of the civil and nearly all the cases of misde-
meanor. The county court was organized in July, 1796, at which time
Samuel Donelson was appointed county solicitor. The first grand jury
assembled at the October term in that year, and was composed of the fol-
lowing men: Jonathan Price, Jesse Martin, Joseph Carmack, Moses
Boren, John Crane, Nimrod McIntosh, John Johnson, William Byrd,
James W. Stark, William Duncan, John Husk and Archer Cheatham,
Jr. The petit jurors at the same term were Philip Parchment, Joseph
Payne, Robert Lancaster, Walter Stark, James Yates, John Powers,
William Briscoe, Charles McIntosh, Isaac Fleming, Moses Brown, John
Couts and Thomas Yates. In the earlier history of the courts the most
of the indictments were for assault and battery, of which there were a
great number. The first person tried was James Stewart, who was con-
victed of committing an assault and battery upon the body of Isaac
Brown ‘at the race-paths in the Barrens’? September 25, 1796. The
latter was a frequent offender himself, and a short time after he with four
others were found guilty of the same offense. It seems to have been a
sort of free fight, of which the result was not serious, as the fines as-
sessed ranged from 1 to 6 cents. The numerous public gatherings of all
kinds, militia musters, political meetings and elections, at all of which
whisky was freely imbibed, afforded frequent opportunities for working
off surperfluous energy and cultivating the manly art. The results of
these pugilistic encounters were not more serious than blackened eyes
and sore craniums, as the use of weapons was very rare. The first at-
torneys licensed by the county court were Robert Seacy, Parry W.
Humphreys, L. D. Powell, James R. McMeans, Ephraim T. Payne and
Patrick Darby. The last named became notorious for working up liti-
gation over land titles, agreeing to manage the cases for a share of the
profits. - He carried this to such an extent that a law was passed by the
General Assembly in 1819 to prevent his further operations.

The circuit court was organized April 10, 1810, by Judge Parry W.
Humphreys, who appointed Thomas Johnson, clerk of the court. For
several years no cases of especial interest were tried. Though several
indictments for murder were found there were no convictions. Previous
to the organization of this court, however, two citizens of the county
paid the death penalty for murder. They were Charles Pickering, the
jailer at Springfield, and Thornton, a tailor. One of the prisoners, named
Gardner, who was placed at work outside of the jail, escaped to Mont-
gomery County. He was followed by Pickering and Thornton who
captured him, and having pinioned his arms and fastened him to their
saddles, compelled ra to walk behind. They then increased the speed

7 Ne

1 \e
1 Ye
\

ROBERTSON COUNTY. 849
of their horses until Gardner was thrown down and dragged to death,
They were arrested and taken to Davidson County, where they were
tried, convicted and hanged. Their bodies were brought back to Spring-
field for interment.

The first representative of the county to the penitentiary was a half-
witted boy, Edwin Clark, who was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment
for stealing a pocket handkerchief valued at 5 cents. For many years
nearly all the attorneys who practiced in this county resided at Nashville
or Clarksville. Among them were Cave and Wiley B. Johnson, O. B.
Hays, Bennett Searcy, William K. Turner, W. L. Brown, N. H. Allen,
George C. Boyd and many others. The first lawyer to locate in Spring-
field was Thornton A. Cook. He had only a limited practice and spent
the greater part of his time in repairing clocks and watches. H. S.
Kimble and William H. Dortch also resided in the town and practiced
law for a short time during the “thirties.” In 1840 W. W. Pepper
entered the profession. He had previously worked at the blacksmith’s
trade with his father, and had only a limited education, but being
possessed of great native ability and fine practical sense, he achieved
considerable success as a lawyer. In 1851 he was elected judge of this
judicial circuit by the Legislature. and after the change in the Constitu-
tion was elected to the office by the people, a position which he filled
until his death in 1861. He possessed by nature a judicial mind and
his rulings gave general satisfaction to the bar. Judge Pepper suc-
ceeded Mortimer A. Martin on the bench. Martin was a native of Sum-
ner County and the son of an able Methodist preacher. After acquiring
a practical education he studied law; settled first at Springfield, but
soon after removed to Clarksville, where he lived until his death.
Though not extensively read he was an able lawyer, his strong native
sense enabling him to grasp the salient points of a case and to arrive at
correct conclusions by mental analysis. In his ‘‘ Reminiscences of the
Clarksville Bar,” G. A. Henry says of him: “ He was an able and incor
ruptible judge and gave such satisfaction on the judgment seat that the
bar and country felt that his place could hardly be filled when he died.
His habit was to be attentive to the reading of the declaration and the
pleas, and he saw in a moment the legal point in controversy. His
instructions to the jury were as clear as a sunbeam, and candidly and
fairly stated in language so plain that the jury easily understood the

case and rarely failed to render a satisfactory judgment. He used to
say some one of the judges, perhaps Judge Turley, said of his opinions,
if he did not know what the law was he guessed better than any man he

knew. In view of all this I say he was a lawyer by nature, and the
sh nak. ptt Snathmmy Sox Teg, Bibs tin 2

850 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

The predecessor of Martin was Parry W. Humphreys, who organized
the court, and who served as a circuit judge for fifteen years. A brief
sketch of him appears in another chapter of this work. During 1841
and the following year Joseph C. Stark, Washington B. Lowe and John
E. Garner, all destined to become eminent in the profession, located in
Springfield for the practice of law. The first named is now judge of
the Tenth Judicial Circuit, having been elected in 1878. He is a man
of very equable and conservative character, and is disposed to be some-
what lenient when dealing with the frailties of humanity. He hada
high reputation as a counselor and advocate, and on the bench his de-
cisions and rulings are generally satisfactory to the bar. Maj. Lowe
was a man of great force and decision of character, and though some-
what eccentric possessed all the qualities which constitute a successful
practitioner. He was elected attorney-general for the district in 1856,
and discharged the duties of his office very ereditably to himself until
the war. He immediately entered the service, and was killed at the bat-
tle of Munfordville, Ky. John E. Garner ranks among the best advo-
cates in Tennessee. He has a remarkably retentive memory and untir-
ing energy; is shrewd, active, and quick to grasp the strong points of
acase. Placed on the defense in criminal cases he probably has no superior
and few equals in -the State. He is skilled in working up testimony and
examining witnesses, and though not eloquent, is a logical reasoner and
a thoroughly effective speaker. Of the many important trials in the his-
tory of the county only a few can here be mentioned. A case which
created great interest throughout the county was that of Strain vs. Wal-
ton, in which the plaintiff, Miss Tabitha Strain, charged Dr. Thomas J.
Walton with breach of promise of the marriage contract and seduction.
Damages to the amount of $25,000 were claimed, and judgment for $9,-
000 was rendered. In summing up the evidence in this case Maj.
Henry, of Clarksville, is said to have made one of the greatest efforts of
his life. This occurred at the February term, 1845. Another case
which excited wide-spread interest was that of the State vs. Capt. S. R.
and Ben Simpson. Capt. Simpson and his son were indicted for the
murder of S. H. Benton, a prominent attorney of Springfield, on June
29, 1869. A feud had existed between the parties for some time, grow-
ing out of domestic difficulties. Benton met Simpson and his son at
their shop, and during the altercation which ensued the former was shot.
A change of venue to Sumner County was obtained, and the trial re-
sulted in the acquittal of the defendants.

At a special term of the court held in March, 1870, Thomas Clinard
and Richard Burgess were tried for the murder of a man by the name of

ABOU NRMRvC I tc dA

Mh mreeitssiscn '

ROBERTSON COUNTY. 851

Smith. Clinard became possessed of the idea that Smith had ‘bewitched
him, and according to his statement of the case he, with the assistance
of Burgess, attempted to arrest Smith. The latter drew a revolver and
fired, when Clinard emptied both barrels of his shot-gun into him.
During the trial the subject of witchcraft was thoroughly discussed, and
the jury were probably somewhat influenced by their own superstitions.
A verdict of not guilty was returned.

In February, 1872, the body of an old Welshman, Thomas Nicholas,
was found secreted in a ravine in the edge of town. It was evident that
he had been murdered. Certain statements made by Hiram Poole and
C. J. Mahaffy fixed the crime upon them, and they were arrested. Cir-
cumstances also pointed to them as the perpetrators of the deed. The
first trial resulted in a verdict of murder in the first degree. The case
was appealed to the supreme court and was remanded for another hear-
ing. On the second trial the case was severed, but the jury failed to
agree upon a verdict in either case. A third trial was had, which result-
ed in each being sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of ten years.
The defense was conducted by John E. and A. E. Gamer, of Springfield,
and John F. House, of Clarksville.

A murder, the details of which are too revolting to be described, was
committed August 30, 1880. L. S. La Prade, a bachelor, living en-
tirely alone, near the village of Saddlersville, was supposed to have re-
ceived a large sum of money from an estate in France, and it was
thought that he had secreted it in his house. A conspiracy was formed
by a number of negroes to rob him. They went to his house, and call-
ing him to the door they threw a rope around his neck and dragged him
out into the yard. To make him tell where his money was secreted
they tortured him in every way which fiendish avarice and malignity
could invent. He repeatedly told them that he had no money, but this
only served to enrage them. After completing their barbarous work
they threw the body into a sink-hole, where it was found about ten days
afterward. Steps were at once taken to discover the perpetrators of the
crime, and Jack Bell and Arch Jamison were arrested. They were
lodged in the jail at Springfield, from which, on September 11, they were
taken by a mob and hanged in a grove, about five miles west of town.
Soon after seven other negroes were arrested for the same crime, and
their case came up for a hearing at the February term of the circuit
court. Two of them, William Murphy and Andrew Duffy, turned State’s
evidence and were released. On February 14, 1881, while the trial was
in progress, a mob of twenty-five or thirty men surrounded the jail and
demanded the prisoners. Judge Stark and Atty.-Gen. Bell appealed to

814 HISTORY OF "TENNESSEE.
ary, 1878,a part of the Sixteenth was united intothe Twenty-second, and
in October, 1879, the Twenty-third was formed from a part of the Seven-
teenth. In January, 1886, a suburb of Knoxville known as the West End
was constituted the Twenty-fourth Civil District.

The following is a list of the officers of Knox County from its organ-
ization.

Sheritis— Robert Houston, 17 92-1802; John Love, 1802-08 ; Joseph
Love, 1803-14; John Calloway, 1814-26; George M. White, 1826-34;
William Dunlap, 1834-38; Samuel McCammon, 1838-50; William Craig,
1850-56; William P. Crippin, 1856-62: William H. Swan, 1862-64;
Marcus D. Bearden, 1864-70; V. F. Gossett, 1870-74; M. D. Swan,
1874-76; Alexander Reeder, 1876-80; C. B, Gossett, 1880-82; Homer
Gilmore, 1882-86; J. K. Lones, 1886.

Clerks of the county court—Charles McClung, 1792-1834; George
M. White, 1834—36; Moses M. Swan, 1836-44; George W. C. Cox, 1844
-56; William Craig, 1856-66; William Rule, 1866-71; J. S. A. Blang,
1871-74; J. F. J. Lewis, 1574-86; John W. Conner, 1886.

Trustees—Samuel Newell, 1793-94; Charles McClung, 1794-1806;
John Hillsman, 1806-12; Robert Houston, 1812-30; Samuel Love, 1830
-38; George W. C. Cox, 1838-44; William McCammon, 1844-52; Sam-
uel McCammon, 1852-54; Hiram Barry, 1854-68; H. L. W. Mynatt,
1868-70; James S. Boyd, 1870-72; B. F. Bearden, 1872-76; W. A. An-
derson, 1876-78: W. H. Swan. 1878-82; B. F. Bearden, 1882-84; J. A.
Swan, 1884.

Registers—Thomas Chapman, 1792-1803; Samuel G. Ramsey, 1803-
17; J. G. M. Ramsey, 1817—; J. G. M. Ramsey, 1829-36; W. RB.
Bowen, 1836-40; Henry B. Newman, 1840-48; J. C. Luttrell, 1848-56;
A. S. Hudiburg, from January to March, 1856; R. H. Campbell, 1856-
60; T. J. Burkhart, 1860-64; A. T. Cottrell, 1864-68; R. L. Hall,
1868-69; L. H. Bowlus, 1869-70; Charles Morrow; 1870-82; W. R
Carter, 1882.

Clerks of the cireuit court—F. A. Ramsey, 1810-20; William
Swan, 1820-36; George M. White, 1836-52; M. L. Hall, 1852-64;
Stephen H. Smith, 1864-66; W. R. McBath, 1866-70; E. W. Adkins,
1870-82; W. B. Ford, 1882. ;

Clerks of the criminal court—H. (©. Tarwater, 1870-73; W. H.
Swan, 1873-74; George L. Maloney, 1874-82; W. F. Gibbs, 1882.

Clerks and masters of the chancery court— W. B. A. Ramsey,
1832-48; Hugh L. McClung, 1848-57; Samuel A. White, 1857-59;
David A. Deaderick, 1859-70; M. L. Patterson, 1870-82: 8S. P. Evans,
1882.

“KNOX COUNTY. 815 °

As has been stated the court of pleas and quarter sessions of Knox
County was organized July 16,1792. At this time as well as for
many years after, this court besides transacting public business, had
original jurisdiction in minor civil and criminal cases, and appellate
Jurisdiction in all cases from justices’ courts. The first case tried was
that of William Burden vs. William Cavanaugh on appeal. The
jury were John Coulter, William Rhea, Joseph Black, William Trimble,
Samuel Doak, Moses Justice, Andrew Boyle, Samuel Boyle, Robert
Gamble, Joseph Weldon, John McIntire and Pearson Brock, who re-
turned a verdict for the Defendent. It was therefore considered by the
court “that the Plaintiff take nothing by his plaint aforesaid, but for his
falce clamour be in mercy, and the said Defendent go hence without day,
and recover against the said Plaintiff his costs by him about his defence
in this behalf expended.”

This court continued to try causes of minor importance until the
adoption of the constitution of 1834 when this part of its duties was
transferred to the circuit court.

On March 13, 1793, Gov. Blount issued an ordinance creating
Knox and Jefferson Counties a judicial district by the name of Ham-
ilton, and during the following October the superior court was organ-
ized by David Campbell, who appointed Francis A. Ramsey clerk of the
law court, and Samuel Mitchell clerk and master in equity. The for-
mer continued in his position until the discontinuance of the court in
1810. The latter was succeeded in 1797 by J oseph Greer, who, the year
before, had been chosen one of the presidential electors. He continued as
clerk and master until 1810.

During the first two or three terms of this court the transactions
were unimportant. The first trial for a capital offense was begun and
held in accordance with the following proclamation:

WILLIAM BLountT, GOVERNOR IN AND OVER THE TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA SOUTH OF THE RIVER OHIO,

To David Campbell, John Me Nuiry and Joseph Anderson, judges in and for suid territory

(rreeting:

I do authorize you, any two or either of you, to hold a court of oyer and terminer
and general jail delivery at Knoxville. to commence on the first day of August next, and to
continue the same by adjournment from day to day, not exceeding three days, for the
trial of «a Creek Indian. apprehende | on suspicion of being guilty of the murder of John
Ish, a citizen of the United States, resident in this Territory, to hear, try and determine to
give judgment and award execution thereon. .

Given under my hand and seal at Knoxville this 29th day of July. 1794.

By the Governor,
WiiuraM Buiount.

HuGa L. Wurre.

Judge Anderson issued an order to Robert Houston, sheriff of Knox
County, who returned a venire facias of forty men, from whom the fol-
lowing gran | jury was chosen: John Patterson, foreman; Andrew Hannah,

852 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

the crowd, who, after exacting promises of a speedy trial, dispersed. On
the following Friday, February 18, as the prisoners were leaving the
court room, after an evening session, a mob took them from the guards
and hanged them to the east balcony of the court house. The men hung
were Jim Elder, Jim Higgins, Bob Thweat, Lum Small and Sock Mal-
lory. Although the best citizens of the county deplored the lynching,
yet all believed that the victims received their just deserts.

Probably the most ably contested case in the history of the county
was that in which S. B. Hopkins was tried for the murder of Dr. John
W. Nuckolls. The latter married Hopkins’ sister. After living unhap-
pily together for a time they separated. A difficulty arose concerning
the custody of their child, which culminated in Nuckolls attempting to
shoot his father-in-law. The defendant, 8. B. Hopkins, was then residing
in Nashville and upon learning of Nuckolls attempt upon the old gen-
tleman’s life, came to Springfield armed with a double-barreled shot-gun.
The next morning, Feburary 28, 1882, as Dr. Nuckolls was passing
down the street leading to the depot, he was shot by Hopkins ; the
prosecution claimed from the window of a saloon. The theory advanced
by the defense was that Hopkins was on the sidewalk, and that Nuckolls
was shot while attempting to draw his revolver. No one saw the shot
fired, and much conflicting testimony was produced. The case was tried,
on a change of venue, in Davidson County, and resulted in ‘the acquittal
of the defendant. Much popular indignation was aroused by the verdict,
as Hopkins had a bad reputation, and had been acquitted of the murder
of E. C. Kirk, a few years before. The principal attorneys for the de-
fense were A. J. Caldwell, J. M. Quarles and John E. and A. E. Garner.
The prosecution was assisted by Col. J. J. Turner, of Gallatin, and sev-
eral others. Of the many persons tried for murder in this county only
one has been executed under sentence from the court. at one was
Ned, a negro, hanged for the murder of his master, David Walton, in
1851.) Eleven have, however, been disposed of by lynch law. For three
years during the civil war, from February, 1862, to February, 1865, no
session of the circuit court was held. At the close of that period, owing
to the great revolution which had taken place in society and the unset-
tled condition of the country, a large amount of litigation arose and
many crimes were committed. During the past few years, however, the
amount of legal business in this county has been small.

The Robertson County bar will compare favorably in point of ability
with that of any other county. Only a brief mention of its members can
be made. John KE. and A. E. Garner are both prominent. The former
has already been mentioned. A. E. Garner in character is similar to his

>
.
<

ROBERTSON COUNTY. 853
father. He is a close student, and is thoroughly acquainted with all
branches of his profession. He is indefatigable in his efforts for his
client, and in presenting his cases has few equals. He is a close reasoner
and an effective speaker, and has met with eminent success in his prac-
tice in both the circuit and supreme court. John W. Judd has been
engaged in the practice of his profession for twenty years, and is one of
the best read lawyers at the bar. He is a man of great force of
character and is plain and open in his dealings. As a speaker he is
exact, logical, and talks to the point. E. A. Hicks is the next oldest
member of the bar. He is a pleasant and affable gentleman, possesses a
high sense of honor, and never condescends to petty deceptions or legal
quibbles to gain advantage over an opponent. He hasagood general edu-
cation and his knowledge of the law is extensive. Louis T. Cobbs is a com-
paratively young man in the profession, but is rapidly gaining an envia-
ble reputation as an advocate. He possesses considerable ability as an or-
ator, and is considered the most eloquent member of the Robertson County
bar. H.C. Crunk, while continuing the practice of law, has also held
various offices since locating in Springfield in 1875, and is now clerk and
master of the chancery court. He is a man of fine talents and pos-
sesses an incisive mind, quick and lively perceptive powers, and a sound
and discriminating judgment. He is an effective speaker, possessing a
power of irony and ridicule rarely excelled. John L. Stark, W. W. Pep-
per and Joel B. Fort are all men of good ability, but have been engaged
in practice but a short time, and, in a measure, have their professional
reputations to make.

The judges who occupied the bench from 1861 to 1878 were Thomas
Wisdom, John A. Campbell and James E. Rice. At the death of W. W.
Pepper Judge Wisdom succeeded him, and continued until 1866, but
owing to the suspension of the courts for three years of that period, pre-
sided at only a few terms. Upon the reorganization of the courts John
A. Campbell was appointed to the office by Gov. Brownlow. He was
considered one of the ablest men who ever filled the position; was well
read, straightforward and impartial. Judge Rice, who had been State’s

\\ attorney under Campbell, was chosen to the office at the next election.
NS A Though personally well liked, he was not a strong man on the bench.

en
F

From the Indian wars of the frontier to the Rebellion the people of

\ Robertson County never failed to respond when called upon to furnish
_ troops to protect their homes or to maintain their rights, and m common

y ~
4

with other Tennesseeans these troops have proved their valor on almost
every American battle-field of this century. The constant warfare with
the Indians, and the many trials of marksmanship in hunting and shoot-

General William Lee
's Nash Revolutionary

© courthouse square.
of solid stone to make
tone in 1803. A third
year, itagain burned.
| was located south of
th). Thomas Gibel and
id located on Second

Avenue North. When the new courthouse was built in 1937, jail facilities were located on the
top floor. This building cost approximately $2,000,000 and was funded in part by the Federal
Emergency Administration of Public Works. Emmons Woolwine of Nashville and Frederick C.,
Hirons of New York were the architects. The present jail was built in 1950 behind the Public
Safety Building on Second Avenue North. Overcrowding of this facility has been a serious
problem. Some relief was gained in 1976 by the building of a small facility nearby to house
juvenile offenders and drunks as well as the sheriff's offices. The Davidson County Jail is
approved to accommodate federal prisoners.

Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 CHAS: 516 284 350 36th
1977 310 585 200 220 Certified
1978 356 275. 180 245 Certified

Jail Inspector’s Report:

Three times a day at 6, 11, 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of liver & onions, gravy,
mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread, pear halves, fruit drink (lunch and suppers are
prepared at the Workhouse)

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1973-74
1974-75
1975-76

162
166
250 (110 white, 140 black)

Lynchings in Davidson County:

1892, 4/28
1892, 4/30
16925 1203
1924, 12/15

Henry Griggard (black) rape
Eph Groggard (black) rape
“A black man’ rape

Samuel Smith (black) murder

1976-77
1977-78

258 (11% crimes in state)
246 (222 males, 24 females)

and attempted robbery

Legal hanging by the state from Davidson County: 1913, 5/9 Pat Mulloy (black) murder

Electrocutions by the state from Davidson County:
1919, 5/31 Frank Ewing (black) rape
1927, 11/10 Herman Coggin (white) rape
1928, 6/9 Will Terrell (black) rape
1928, 8/22 Henry Brown (black) rape
1933, 7/3 John T. Shaw (black) murder
1936, 1/28 Louis Willis (black) murder
1937, 3/15 James Taylor (black) rape
1937, 3/18 Tom Franklin (black) murder
1937, 4/30 Howard Dunn (white) murder 1948, 8/31
1937, 4/30 William Farmer (white) murder 1955, 4/15
1937, 8/9 Jimmie Parrish (black) A.W.ILR.* 1955, 9/15
1937, 8/10 Fred Richey (white) A.W.I.R.* = 1957, 9/15
1939, 3/28 Herman Johnson (black) murder

*A.W.1.R.: Assault With Intent to Rape

Frank Murray (black) murder
Hubert Harris (black) murder
Willie Williams (black) murder
James F. Tucker (white) murder
George Hambuck (black) murder
John Hodge, Jr. (black) rape
W.J.C. Turner (black) rape
James Scribner (black) rape
Tommy Howard (black) rape
Samuel L. Voss (black) murder
Robert Crenshaw (black) rape
Jimmy Allen (black) murder

1939, 3/28
1939, 4/4

1939, 4/15
1943, 7/15
1945, 4/24
1947, 6/19
1948, 8/31
1948, 8/31

Roe kis iit SE ai ARO ,

i
i

DECATUR COUNTY;

County seat: Decaturville, Tennessee 38329
Population: 10,000

Decatur County was established in 1845; named for Commodore Stephen Decatur, hero of
the War with Tripoli and veteran of the War of 1812.

The first jail, built around 1847 of bricks.and logs, burned in 1855. The second jail was a
replica of the first. Though reported badly out of repair by 1869, it was not replaced until
1884. This ‘‘fine’”’ brick jail incorporated quarters for the sheriff and had cells built of the most
improved pattern deemed entirely safe. The present jail was built for $30,000 in 1961 of
concrete blocks with brick veneer. The R. L. Wallace Construction Company was the builder.
The sheriff's home, a modern three bedroom residence, connects with the jail by a breezeway
and carport. This jail was renovated in 1977.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity Hig Low Average (102 jails)
1976 12 15 4 6 74th
1977 16 16 | 4 Certified
1978 16 15 2 6 Certified

Meals: Twice a day at 8 and 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of baked ham, mashed potatoes,
gravy, peas & carrots, bread, tea

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 6 1976-77 6
1974-75 ty 1977=78 6 (male)
1975=76 4 (white)

Lynchings in Decatur County:
1891, 6/19 Ben Walling (black) rape 1895, 4/25 unknown black unknown offense

Legal hanging by the state from Decatur County:
1912, 7/26 john Bailey (white) murder 1912, 7/26 George Shelton (white) murder

DEKALI
County seat:

DeKalb Cou
officer who ac:
Camden in 173

The first jail, |
| th
located on the :
square and a !

Jail Inspector’s R

1976
1977

1978

Meals: Three tu
tomato

Prisoners sent ta
1973-74
1974—75
1975-76

Lynchings in Dei

I eT geome
PER

Wnewrh teres

Saat

DAVIDSON COUNTY

County seat: Nashville, Tennessee 37200
Population: 451,200

Davidson County was established in 1783; named for Brigadier General William Lee
Davidson of North Carolina. Nashville was named for General Francis Nash Revolutionary
war hero.

The first jail in Nashville was built in 1784 on the east side of the courthouse square.
Eighteen feet square and built of logs, the jail was positioned on a slab of solid stone to make
escape more difficult. The second jail, thirty feet square, was built of stone in 1803. A third
jail, built in 1832, was destroyed by fire in 1848. Rebuilt the following year, it again burned.
Adolphus Heiman designed a new jail in 1852. Costing $25,000, this jail was located south of
the courthouse square on the east side of Water Street (First Avenue North). Thomas Gibel and
Asmus, architects, designed the next jail which was built in 1906 and located on Second

Avenue North, Whe
lop floor. This build:
Emergency Adminis:
Hirons of New Yor!
Safety Building on ‘
problem, Some rere
juvenile offenders

approved to accon

Jail Inspector's Report

1976
1977

1978

Meals: Three times «

mashed poia!

prepared al

Prisoners sent to the
1973-74 162
1974-75 166
1975-76 250

Lynchings in Davids
1892, 4/28 bie
1892, 4/30 Ep!
1892, 12/15 ar)
1924, 12/15 Sa

Legal hanging by th:

Electrocutions by th:
1919, 5/31 Fra:
1927, 11/10 He
1928, 6/9 Wil
1928, 8/22 Her
1933, “443 loh
1936, 1/28 Loi
1937, ° 3/15 Jam
1937, 3/18 Tar
1937, 4/30 9 He
1937, 4/30 Wi
1937, 8/9 Jin
1937, 8/10 Fre
1939, 3/28 He

*A W.LR.: Assault W

lep Jecatur, hero of

The second jail was a
was not replaced until
«cells built of the most
‘or $30,000 in 1961 of
“pany was the builder.
the jail by a breezeway

Rating
(102 jails)
74th
Certified
Certified

d ham, mashed potatoes,

tack unknown offense

elton (white) murder

DEKALB COUNTY

County seat: Smithville, Tennessee 37166
Population: 12,800

DeKalb County was established in 1837; named for Baron Johann DeKalb, a Bavarian
officer who accompanied LaFayette to America in 1777 and was killed in the Battle of
Camden in 1780.

The first jail, built in 1838, was replaced by a brick jail in 1840 for $2,500. The present jail,
located on the courthouse square, was built in 1959. This brick building has offices on the
square and a two-story cell-block in the rear.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity — High Low — Average (102 jails)
1976 31 29 10 15 61st
1977 31 32 11 22 Conditionally certified
1978 31 27 9 14 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 7:30, 11:30, 5.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of green beans, corn,
tomatoes, fruit salad, cornbread :

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 1 1976-77 6
1974-75 a. 1977-78 1 (male)
1975-76 5 (white)

Lynchings in DeKalb County: 1901, 4/2. Charles Davis (white) rape

908 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

Reuben Mathis got ten years. In’1873 Louis Malone was convicted of
grand larceny and imprisoned for three years, and the following year
Adaline Stone (colored) and Chip Ellison alias Woods (colored) were
sent to the penitentiary for two and three years respectively on charges
of murder; for killing a child Nathan Bachelor was condemned in 1875,
but an appeal to the supreme court being granted, he married the pros-

ecuting witness (the mother of the child) before the cause came up for |
trial, and thereby secured an acquittal. Th 1876 William and Frank |
Rolls were acquitted of the charge of murder, and Bill Mockbee and i
Jack Wilson (colored) were indicted for the murder of Wylie McClish. i
The murder was committed to secure a large amount of money the victim
was supposed to have on his person, he having announced in the hearing i

of the negroes that he was then on his way to Dover to receive consider-
able money. On his way home the negroes waylaid him, and cut his
head off with an ax, and for the crime secured but 10 cents in money,
that being all the murdered man had in his pockets. The negroes were
suspected, and were arrested while wearing clothing they took from the
murdered man. A mob took Wilson from the jail and lynched him, while
Mockbee was tried, convicted and executed at Dover for his part of the
crime.

Tm 1877 William Hull was found guilty of murder and sent to
the penitentiary for ten years, and afterward pardoned, while Ellison
Wood, for a similar offense, got off with two years’ imprisonment. In
1878 Robert Mockbee was convicted of infanticide, and sentenced to be
hung, but secured a new hearing and was imprisoned in the peniten-
tiary for seventeen years. In 1880 H. Mohr and George Cherry were
sent to the penitentiary for five and one years respectively, for larceny,
and in 1881 Alfred Hash, Mary Woods, George Baker, Nelson Bookman,

John Haley, James Barker and Wesley were’ given terms of imprison-
ment in the penitentiary for committing larceny. George Washington
Tolly and Moses Earhest (colored) were given one year each in the pen-
itentiary for larceny in 1883, and in 1884, Catherine Reed, Harrison

Cordle, Mack and Tom Shemwell and W. H. Collins, for larcenies, were N .BRANDON,
given terms of imprisonment, and in 1885 F. A. Roder, for an assault
and battery with intent to kill, was ‘fined $100, and Simon Evans, for STEWARD COUNTY.

forgery, was sent to the penitentiary for three years. In 1886 John
Smith was acquitted of the murder of F. A. Roder, the jury justifying
the act.

Some time in 1842 or 1843, Alsy Forsette, Lewis Turner, John Lee,
Buck Purdue and several others went to the house of Louis Lumsford to
capture a fugitive slave whom Lumsford was aiding to escape. Forsette

878 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
1885 was $3,992.53; total school, $6,872.03; total road, $585.41; and
the total amount of all taxes, $14,945.59.

The chairmen of the county court since the year 1842, that being as
far back as the records go, have been as follows: H. B. Traylor, 1842;
W. M. Carland, 1843; Whitberry White, 1844-46; James Yeates, 1847;
A. Warren, 1848-52; J. Yeates, 1853-54; W. White, 1855-58; J. M. Me-
Adoo, 1859; C. E. Harris, 1860-61; J. D. Foresse, 1862; C. E. Harris,
1863 (no court from January, 1863, until July, 1865); J. S. Spann,
1865; G. L. Nelson, 1866-67; J. M. McAdoo, 1868; George M. Tubb,
1869-76; T. B. Traylor, 1877-78; J. J. McCauley, 1879-84; J. M.
McAdoo, 1885; G. P. McCann, 1886. The county court clerks have
been as follows: D. P. Hudson, 1810-36; James Teas, 1836-40; Cole-
man E. Harris, 1840-52; Levi McCullum, 1852-60; W. W. Hobbs, 1860
—63 (no clerks between J anuary, 1863, and July, 1865); Levi McCullum,
1865-66; W. W. Hobbs, 1866-71, when he resigned to accept the office
of comptroller of State, to which he had been elected by the General As-
sembly then in session; G. M. Rogers, 1871-85; W. H. Meadon, 1885
-86., Registers: Hugh Dickson, 1810-14; John Thompson, 1814-25;
J. C. Morrison, 1825-35; Henry H. Marable, 1835-36; Ubane Harris,
1836-44; H. B. Traylor, 1844-48; R. P. McCreary, 1848-50; D. A. Mas-
sie, 1850-56; G. M. Rogers, 1856-66; John H. Anderson, 1866-78;
Henry H. Harris, 1878-82; J. P. Cowan, 1882-86. Sheriffs: B. B.
Spicer, 1836-42; Lemuel McCullum, 1842-44; B. B.: Spicer, 1844-48;
Edward Cowan, 1848-50; B. B. Spicer, 1850-56; J. P. Foresse, 1856—
58; B. B. Spicer, 1858-60; M. M. Massie, 1860-68; R. W. Coolie, 1868
—70; M. M. Box, 1870-74; W. A. Short, 1874-76; James P. White, 1876
-80; D. D. Collier, 1880-86. Representatives: D. B. ‘Thomas, 1865-66;
Dr. Henry Marable, 1867-68; James W. Harris, 1869-70; Ichabod
Farmer, 1871-72; H. M. McAdoo, 1873-74; N. C. Parrish, 1875-76; R.
J. Lawrence, 1877-78; Dr. J. M. Driver, 1879-82; D. B. Thomas, 1883—
84; John J. McCauley, 1885-86. State senators: F. C. Muse, 1865-66;
D. B. Thomas, 1867-70; S. L. Warren, 1871-72; Dr. W. A. Moodey,
1873-74;. Mitchell Trotter, 1875-76; H. M. McAdoo, 1877-78, and was
_ elected speaker of the Senate; Vernon F. Bibb, 1879-84; D. B. Thomas,
1885-86. Humphreys County has. a population of 12,000. In 1860
the population was 9,096; in 1870, 9,326; in 1880, 11,379. There are
288,000 acres of land in the county, 57,432 of which are improved. In
1885 there were in the county 3,808 head of horses and mules, 7,548
head of cattle, 6,930 head of sheep, and 22,062 head of hogs.
the same year the cereals produced were corn, 826,941 bushels; oats, 24, -
521 bushels; rye, 177 bushels; wheat, 25,371 bushels.

During ;

Y¥

HUMPHREYS COUNTY. 879
While the circuit court of Humphreys County was established by
act of the General Assembly in 1836, nothing can be learned of the pro-
ceedings of the court previous to 1860, as the records beyond that year
have been destroyed. From hearsay, however, it is learned that the court
tried, convicted and sentenced to death one Joe Bearden, some time during
the thirties, on a charge of willful and premeditated murder, and that
Bearden was subsequently hanged. No cases of importance were disposed
of by the court during the years of 1860 and 1861, and from 1862 until
the latter part of 1865, there were no sessions held. In 1866 L. D. Crock-
ett, was fined $5 for gaming; Jesse Gwinn was fined $15 for assault and
battery; Sarah and Stephen Cuman were divorced, and T. ‘G. Ferguson
was arrested for stealing a horse, but escaped from the officers. After-
ward, however, Ferguson was captured, and upon conviction was sent to.
the penitentiary for three years. In 1867 Turner B. Smith “was con-
victed of grand larceny and sent to the penitentiary for three years, and
Abner McCaslin was acquitted of the charge of murder after a long and
exciting trial. In 1868 John Dorsey was sent to jail for thirty minutes
upon the charge of larceny, and in 1869 James Beach was sent to the
penitentiary for one year for larceny, while Jep Thomas ‘and W. C.
Thomason were convicted of assault with intent to kill, and were sen-
tenced to penitentiary for the term of ten years each. In 1870 Mond
Wind was indicted and arrested on the charge of murder, but made his
escape from jail before his trial came off, and in the following year Will-
iam P. Pearce was indicted and arrested on the charge of malicious
murder, and he, too, made his escape from jail. J. A. Crowell was sent
to jail for twenty-four hours in 1872, upon being convicted of larceny,
and in 1873 John M. Doak was sent to prison for three years on convic-
tion of larceny. During the same year H. M. Little, circuit court clerk,
was fined $10 by the court for contempt, he failing to attend to the duties
of his office. In 1874 Hugh Collins, J. ©. Tullass, Uriah Harrison and
Hugh Collier, were each convicted separately of committing assault and
battery, and each fined $5 and costs, and George H. Winfrey was fined
$10 for contempt of court. In 1875 Wesley Batson and Thomas Nelson
(both colored) were sent to jail for one year for larceny, and the follow-
ing year Bill Williams was sentenced to the penitentiary for one year for
larceny, while Bale Wadkins was sent to jail for twelve months for mal-
icious stabbing. In 1878 James Brooks was sentenced to the penitentiary
for three years for larceny. John Boyer was tried for the murder of his
uncle, H. D. Boyer, and was acquitted, the jury bringing in a verdict of
justifiable homicide, and Bale Wadkins was sent to the penitentiary for
three years for slitting the ears of Nelson Goodrich. Bill York (colored )

_«
STEWART COUNTY. 909

was killed by Lumsford, and he in turn was killed by some one of the
attacking party. The slave made his escape, and Lee was afterward
tried for the killing of Lumsford and acquitted. In 1867 James Daugh-
herty killed a negro in Dover, and escaped the officers. In 1880, George
Washington (colored) killed a white man named John Fagan, and was
taken from jail by a mob and hanged abont half a mile from Calson
Bluff. In 1881 G. W. Burgett shot his wife and step-daughter, Maggie
Yates, and then committed suicide at Dover. The girl recovered from
her wounds but her mother died in a week’s time. J. E. Cook killed
Cynthia Glasgow, the wife of his neighbor, in 1884, and was mobbed a
few days afterward.

The judges who have presided over the circuit court since 1836 are
as follows: Mortimer H. Martin, 1836-52; W. W. Pepper, 1852-60:
Thomas W. Wisdom, 1860-65; John A. Campbell, 1865-70; James E.
Rice, 1870-78 ; Joseph C. Stark, 1878_86. Solicitor-generals: Nathaniel
A. MeNairy, 1804-06; J. B. Reynolds, 1806-08; George Washington
Marr, 1808-13; James R. McMeans, 1813-19; Cave Johnson, 1819-29;
William K. Turner, 1829-40; W. D. J ohnson, 1840-52; Valentine §.
Allen, 1852-54; James M. Quarles, 1854-58; W. E. Lowe, 1858-65;
James E. Rice, 1865-70; W. J. Broaddus, 1870-71; T. ©. Mulligan,
1871-78; B. D. Bell, 1878-86. Circuit court clerks: Philander Priestly,
1836-40; Z. T. Shamwell, 1840-48; §. W. Kelley, 1848-52; Thomas M.
Atkins, 1852 to 1856; A. B. Ross, 1856-70; W. J. Hagler, 1870-81;
A. G. Scarborough, 1881-82; Frank B.. Smith, 1882-86.

All the records of the chancery court were destroyed during the late
war, and the officers and proceedings of the court can be learned only
since that time. The first session of the court after the war was held
in June, 1865, by J. O. Shackleford. The office of clerk and master was
declared vacant, the incumbent, Clay Roberts, having been a captain in
the Confederate Army, and W. J. Broaddus was appointed to fill the va-
cancy. Chancellor Shackelford was succeeded by Thomas Barry in
1865, who served until 1868, when he was succeeded by James F. Louck,
who in 1869 was succeeded by Charles G. Smith. Judge Smith served -
until 1875, and was succeeded by Horace H. Lurton, who served until
1878 and was in turn succeeded by B. J. Darver. George E. Seay, the
present incumbent, was elected in August, 1878. Clerks and Masters:
W. J. Broaddus, 1865 to 1867; Charles P. Moore, 1867 to 1874; J. H.
Gatlin, 1874 to 1881; I. J. Brandon, 1881 to 1886.

The lawyers of Dover who practiced at the bar of her courts from the
early days to the present were as follows, in the order given as to time
of their practice: Nathaniel McNairy, Perry W. Thompson, J. B. Rey-

880 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

plead guilty to an indictment for arson, and was sent to the penitentiary
for two years, in 1879, and Sheriff White was allowed $69 for the employ-
ment for thirty days to guard the county jail, to prevent the liberation by
a mob of Sam O. Gwinn, who was in durance vile on a charge of counter-
feiting. Gwinn was afterward acquitted. In 1880 John Williams (colored )
was convicted, after a lengthy trial, of the premeditated and malicious
murder of his wife, and was sentenced to be hanged. The case was car-
ried to the supreme court, where the decision of the lower court was
affirmed, and Williams was returned to Waverly, where his death sen-
tence was pronounced. The day of execution was fixed for May 7, of the
same year, and the place at Waverly. The present sheriff was in office
at that time, and, under his directions, a scaffold was erected in the court
square, where the execution took place as prescribed by law. An immense
crowd of people came from milés around to witness the hanging, the peo-
ple being estimated at between 3,000 and 3,500. Williams met his death
with coolness, and rode from the jail to the scaffold on his coffin. During
the same year, Conrad Hardwick was convicted of committing a rape, and
was sent to penitentiary for ten years. In 1881 J erry Turner and Jerry
Jordan (colored) were sent to penitentiary for life on a charge of rape.
In 1882 Guss Wyley (colored) was convicted of buggery and sent to
penitentiary for one year. In 1883 John Brown was convicted of bigamy,
and imprisoned for two years, and in the following year, Tom Nelson.
Alexander Williams and Mingo Lowing, were each sent to penitentiary
for nine years for larceny. In 1886 Link Luffman was sent to jail ten
days and fined $25 for larceny, and Lewis Smalley was sent to the pen-
itentiary for one year for larceny.

The judges who have presided over the Humphreys Cireuit Court
and their terms have been as follows: William Fitzgerald, November 19,
1862, until the war closed the courts; Lucian I. Hawkins, 1865-70;
James E. Rice, 1870-78; Joe C. Stark, 1878-86. Attorney-generals:
L. L. Hawkins, 1860-62; John P. Dunlap, 1865-70; W. J. Broaddus,

1870; T C. Mulligan, 1870-78; B. D. Bell, 1878-86. Circuit clerks:

John N. Little, 1860-61; William P. R. Batson, 1861-62; John N.

Little, 1865-68; W. P. R. Batson, 1868-70; H. M. Little, 1870-73; G.
L. Harris, 1873-78; T. B. Traylor, 1878-86 and is the present incum-
bent.

The chancery court of Humphreys County was established in 1852,
by an act of the General Assembly, and the first session of the court was
opened at Waverly on September 9, 1852, and was presided over by
Hon. John S. Brien, chancellor for the middle division of Tennessee.
Judge Brien served until 1854, when he was succeeded by Judge 8. D.

eee ee

HUMPHREYS COUNTY. 881

Frierson, who served only a short time, being succeeded the same year
by Judge S. ©. Paritt, who served until 1861. R. H. Rose was the first
chancellor after the war, and he held the office until 1867, and was suc-
ceeded by James W. Doherty, who served until 1871, and was in turn
succeeded by the present incumbent, Judge George H. Nixon. Clerks
and masters: David R. Owen was appointed in 1852 and served until
1874, when the present incumbent, Rey. A. ©. Stockard, was appointed

Humphreys County has furnished soldiers for four different wars.
During the war of 1812 the militia, which for years before and after.
ward was kept in a perfect state of organization, was drawn upon exten-
sively, and quite a number were drafted and volunteered and fought with
Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans, one of whom (Dempsy
May) now lives to relate the many incidents of that memorable cam-
paign. While the militia men were all subject to the dratt, only squads
of eight were selected from each company by means of drawing tickets
from a hat or box, a lottery being held whenever a draft was ordered and
no entire company was taken, as it was necessary to keep up the home
organization for defense from the Indians, who were troublesome at that
time. Among the many from Humphreys County who served in the
above war were Dempsy May, David Bibb, W. H. Knight, William
Lomax, Henry Trinkley, Miles Turner, Samuel McFall, John V. Horner,
Selman Edwards, Kemp Crawley, Smith Medlock, Samuel McSwine,
Benjamin Medlock; Zachariah Baker, Lewis Baker, Able Rushing, Nel-
son Crosswell, Solomon Grices, Stephen O’Gwinn, Elisha Crosswell,
Levi Johnson, Jacob J ohnson, John Scholes and J ames Lewis, the latter
being captain of one of the companies.

Of the soldiers of the Seminole war of 1836 only the names of George:
Norman, Thomas Johnson and Perry Brown can be learned, and of the
Mexican war of 1846 only that of Col. Longford; though there were
many more enlisted and served in both, yet after diligent search and
many inquiries, other than those mentioned could not be secured.

For the great civil war Humphreys County furnished sufficient.
soldiers to the Confederacy to form a full regiment. All through the
latter part of 1860 and the early part of 1861 the war fever was high
and the excitement intense in Humphreys County, and long before the
cloud burst it was evident that when war was declared her citizens would
promptly array themselves on the side of the South. Much indignation
was occasioned by President Lincoln’s proclamation, issued April 15,
1861, calling for volunteers, and served only to prepare a hearty welcgme
for the call for volunteers which followed soon afterward; and when the
election was held, June 8, 1861, to take the sense of the peo »le on the

ocke, Revolutionary
on the French Broad
geon River.

1 1797. In 1838 the
d with small stones.
‘eon below entered
iltof stone in 1868,
© which was built in
“hitect; H. C. Fonde
h the prisoners may

Rating
102 jails)
‘th
* certified
»n-certified

», salmon patties, fruit

ales, 1 female)

an whose grandson
» from being sold.
‘nan. The story of his
‘nent on the frontier.
uinished by branding
‘to forehead or hand
es,

COFFEE COUNTY vitih

fei ie
ya }
County seat: Manchester, Tennessee 37355 é mae
Population: 35,300

Coffee County was established in 1836; named for Major General John Coffee, veteran of
the War of 1812, surveyor and close friend of Andrew jackson.

The first jail, built of brick in 1837, was destroyed by fire. In 1859 a brick and stone jail was
built at a cost of $6,000. The present Coffee County Jail and Workhouse, built in 1905 and
renovated in 1956, is approved for housing federal prisoners.

Jail Inspector’s Report:

Daily Census Rating |
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 44 90 40 55 49th
1977 44 109 50 60 Conditionally Certified
1978 44 75 37 55 Non-certified

Meals: Twice a day at 7 and 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of turnip greens, hominy,
black-eyed peas, cornbread

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 19
1974-75 18
1975-76 29

1976-77 33

1977-78 36 (32 male, 4 female)

(white)

Lynchings in Coffee County:

1891, 8/25 William Lewis (black) drunkenness

1892, 5/19 Charles Everett (black) attempted robbery
1895, 10/15 Eugene Vancy (black) rape

1905, 3/8 Ronce Gwyn (black) theft

1934, 6/24 Richard Wilkerson (black) striking a white man

Electrocutions by state from Coffee County: 1957, 5/6 Billy Thomas Gibbs (white) murder

Chronic overcrowding is a major problem in the Coffee County Jail.

COCKE COUNTY

County seat: Newport, Tennessee 37821 ee eee ts oae
Population: 28,500

Cocke County was.established in 1797; named for Senator William Cocke, Revolutionary
War veteran and U.S. senator. The county seat, first located at Oldtown on the French Broad
River, was moved in 1868 to Newport (then called Clifton) on the Pigeon River.

The first jail was a substantial rock structure, twenty feet square, built in 1797. In 1838 the
second jail was built with double walls of hewed logs, the interspace filled with small stones.
This two-story jail, with rooms for debtors above ground and a dungeon below entered
through a trap door, was torn down during the Civil War. The third jail, built of stone in 1868,
cost $4,000. The present jail is located on the top floor of the courthouse which was built in
1930 for $110,000. The firm of Manley and Young of Knoxville was the architect; H. C. Fonde
and Sons, the contractor. This jail has large barred windows through which the prisoners may
observe the local scene.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 76 30 ¥2 20 97th
1977 76 24 11 18 Not certified

1978 71 42 8 20 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 6, 11, 5.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of corn, salmon patties, fruit
cocktail, juice

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 8 1976-77 3
1974-75 5 1977-78 18 (17 males, 1 female)
1975-76 18° (white)

Lynchings: None recorded for Cocke County _

The first person to be hanged in Cocke County was a black woman whose grandson
drowned in the French Broad River while she was helping him escape from being sold.

On Nov. 12, 1880, Dan Potter was hung for the murder of Willis McMahan. The story of his
capture by Sheriff Creed Boyer is a classic heroic tale of crime and punishment on the frontier.

In the early days murder was punished by hanging. Manslaughter was punished by branding
with the letter ‘“M”’ plus time in the stocks. The hot branding iron was held to forehead or hand
while the sheriff repeated the words, ‘‘God save the State’ three times.

Ry Seer ner sees

| beekh

COFF

County sea

The first j
built aia ¢
renovated

Jail Inspecte

Meals: Tw
blac

Prisoners se
197 3--
1974-7

1975~7'

Lynchings i

1891, 8
1892, 5
1895, 10
1905 3
1934, &

Electrocution

Chronic

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ortified

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female)

CUMBERLAND COUNTY
aie

County seat: Crossville, Tennessee 38555 , (7 a
Population: 27,200 a ry

Cumberland County was established in 1855; named for the Cumberland Mountains which
were named for the Duke of Cumberland by Dr. Thomas Walker, an early explorer.

The sixth building to be built in Crossville was the jail. This one-story structure, built of logs
ten feet long and one foot square, was burned by guerrillas in 1864. A second jail, located on
the public square, underwent repairs in 1888 and, after deteriorating until it was considered

~an eyesore, was sold in 1898 for $10. A third jail, built in 1898, had cells guaranteed by the

builders to be “saw and file proof.” The present two-story jail, built in 1938, was renovated in
1978. The sheriff's offices are in the basement area. Large windows furnish light, ventilation
and an opportunity for prisoners to observe the activities on the public square.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 44 32 2 20 86th
1977 44 33 10 15 Not certified
1978 45 35 15 10 Non-certified

Meals: Twice a day at 8 and 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of pinto beans, meat loaf, boiled
potatoes, cornbread

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1973-74 7. ; 1976-77 7
1974-75 6 1977-78 4 (male)
1975--76 5 (white)

Lynchings: None recorded for Cumberland County

April 12, 1899 at 6:53 am. Hiram Hall was hanged before an “enormous” audience at
Crossville for the murder of his wife, 15-year-old Ida Hassler Hall.

CROCKETT COUNTY

County seat: Alamo, Tennessee 38001
Population: 14,600

Crockett County was established in 1871; named for David Crockett, famous frontiersman
and U.S. congressman, who was killed at the Alamo in Texas in 1836. Originally called
Cageville, the name of the county seat was charged to Alamo in 1872.

The first jail was built in 1874 for $10,000. This two-story brick jail had a residence for the
sheriff attached and was fitted with substantial cells considered as secure as any in the
country. The present one-story brick jail was built in 1961. Living quarters for the jailer are
included in the facility.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census © Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 32 31 13 21 68th
1977 32 27 5 15 Not Certified
1978 32 32 8 15 Non-certified

Meals Three times a day at 6, 11, 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of weiners, white beans,
cabbage, cornbread

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 1 1976-77 5
1974-75 4 1977-78 8 (7 male, 1 female)

1975-76 1 (white)

Lynchings in Crockett County:
1890, 3/6 Henry Williams (black) rape
1892, 8/27 Dennis Blackwell (black) attempted rape
1894, 3/6 Lampson Gregory (black) unknown cause
1929, 5/29 Joseph Boxley (black) rape

County se

Cumber'
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jail Inspect

Meals: Tv

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Prisoners +
1973-
1974-
1975-

Lynchings

April 4
Crossville

fst

Julius horgan
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Eddie Olsup
Frank Ewing
Winfred walker
Lorenzo Young

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1450 Monroe Avenue,
Memphis 4, Tenn,, March 22, 1950

Alfred D, Mynders,
Los«ing Hack Colum,
Chattanooga Times,
Chattanooza, Tenn.

Dear Mr. Mynders:

The recent excitement about the Chessman case in California
brings back phi me Baa last public execution (hanging) in Chattanooga,
which took place I believe a about 1893, bk Huck J ntmand -

A’nesro named Buddy ooten had committeed an cietisnabts
crime against a youmg girl. At that time there were no autemobiles,
and criminals could be traced by bloodhowidas Perry Phipps, who lived
at Hixson, had several bloodhounds. One, especial ily, calied Old Jnde,
was considered very fine, Mr, ! PRhibbs was called in, and placed Cid
Jude on the trail at the scene of the crime. The nevro evidently
realised that he shoulda put all the 4 cue pace reecneed and the
scene that he could, for it wa:
He was only tried, and sentence

Scott Hyde was Sheriff, and to him fell:the duty of carrying out
the mandate of the court. Thera was much dJiscussicn as to whether Sherif
Hyde should violate the Scriptural commandment "Thon shalt not kill.”

The Sheriff said. that he was the Sheriff, and so lons as it was the Sheriff

who was responsible for such duties, he would not shirk it off on any deputy. _
He caused a high scaffold to be orected at the corner of East End (now Central)
and McCallie Avenue, where Nixon's flower garden had been located, and where

ne Lovejoy Sanitarium was later erected,

On the appointed day a t¥emendous crowd assembled at the scaffold.
iy father took me to see the execution, I was then nine @ years old.
The crowd was sp big we stood down near the railroad where the McCallie

whet

Avenue Viaduct is loacted, pretty far away, but wa could see the scaffold
plainly, and the hanging came off promptly on time. Sheriff Hyde was
dy

commended highly for performing his duty. I believe he later moved to Idaho
and took ovér a sheep-raisinz D jee t of Judge Will Cummings.

5°
o

There was another hanging in Chattanooza that was public in a way,
which I narrowly missed, Zt believe xbout 1909. A negre, Ed Jo yansom, Rad
assanlted a young white woman at the FaES ae Hills Cemetary,.ant was tried
and found guilty before Judge San McRaynolis. General Mat thittaker was
| Attorney General, and Sutze Lewis Shapherd acted as Attorney for Johnson.
| After Johnson was convictad, his people employed a negro lawyer, who appealed
tothe Supreme Court, and Justice stone issued a stay of the hanging until the
“Supreme Court could review the evidence, That nisnt, Johnson was taken from
nis ¢ all at the Walnut Street Rail , rich heagad on the Walnut OtPeat Brida

I had worked late that night, and caught the last street ca>
to East Lake where I lived at the time. While waiting for the car, I
heard the pounding as the mob broke into the cell with a sledge hammer,
but did not realize what the noise meant until I read in the Times next
morning abeut the lynching. The case created a tremendous furor in
Washington. Sheriff Joseph Shipp and a number of suspected citizens,
among them W. Le. Marquet, were called to Washington and tried cither
for conplicity in the crime, or for having been part of the mob.
They were found guilty, I believe, of negligence, and were given a
small fine and imprisonment. Mr. Marquet was acquitted, but mest people
thought he had taken part, and he never denied it outright, would just
sort of grin when it was mentioned. et

There wes talk that because of the trial and iynching, the negroes
had plotted on a certain night to "get" Judge McReynolds and General Matt
Whitaker. Tha Judge was really alarmed. His good friend, Albert H, Rogers,
organised a party to go out and patrol the streets around the Judge's home,
wnich was on McCallie Avonne. I was one of the party. Armed with a
shotgim, I patrolled Palmetto Street all night from East Third to Ninth.

A couple of crowds of young negroes, headed toward Fast Ninth, were turned
back in a polite but firm manner, by telline them that the Judge wished no
trouble, and was determined there should be none, At Ninth Street I met

a policeman, Otto Crump, wio asked me to tell the Judge that it was the
quietest night he had ever seen on East Ninth Str et. On reporting back
to the Judge's home, I found General Whitaker sitting up in bed, talking

to his wife who was in Winchester, He was tellirz her not to worry about
him, as there w3s an arsenal of shotsms all around him, and men patrolling
the streetsin all directions, About daylight, Judge MeReynolds thanked

us all, and sent us home, :

i realize that many people are conscientiously opposed to capital
punishment because of the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill." But the Cood
Book also tells us that Cod said, too, "Whose sheddeth man's blood, by man
shall his blood be shed." If any man deserves capital punishment, Chessman
does. One of his victins died, ani another, a young woman, has spent her
life in an insane asylum, | :

Yours very truly,

de P. BROWN

"MYSTERY MAN TO SNUFF OUT LIVES, = TENNESSEE'S UNKNOWN ELECTROCUIONER TO PULL SWITCH FIVE
TIMES IN JANUARY. - Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 23, 1935. = (AP) = One month from yesterday, if
court orders are carried out, Tenness's 'mstery executioner’ will throw the electric chair
switch three times, And three days later, the state prison schedule calls for him to se-
clude himself in a dark chamber and snuff out two more lives, For 15 years this fellow has
WHMXAXNXAXAAMRUMARAXHUAKXAM performed such duties. But his identity is known to few per-
sons, 'Not even Governor McAlister knows who he is,' Dr. Ee W. Cooke, commissioner of
institutions, said today, 'I didn't know until a short while ago,' Tennessee law provides
that executions shall be 'arranged' by the prison warden. ‘But the wahden never reveals

his selection as executioner,' Dr. Cooke declared. 'I doubt if a half dozen persons know
the old fellow, He's been doing it 15 years, too,' Three white men, sonvicted for murder,
are secheduled to die January 21, Two negroes, also branded as murderers, are due to fol-
low January 2}, 'I wouldn't pull that switch for all the money in Tennessee,' Dr, Cooke
said. 'Capital punishment is barbaric, out-moded and useless,' ‘We go out there next
month and kill five persons,' he added, ‘And what does it mean? You say it's setting

an example, but that's wronge' Dr. Cocke, referring to crime as a disease, declared that
electrocution isn't setting an example for criminals because they're affected with a dis-
ease that prohibits making such impressions on them,.' He pointed out that Maine, which
never has had capital pungs&hment, has the lowest homicide rate in the nation. ‘If you want
to lessen crime, start at the high chair - not the electric chair,' advised the commissioner
who is also superintendent of a state hospital for nervous diseases.. Dr. Cocke would
sterilize most slayers and all habitual criminals and place them on a state-owned farm
fwhere they could earn their living, marry, live normal lives and be happy. ut there
wouldn't be an’ children from these people, ‘All persons in the penitentiary aren't
affected with the disease I call crime,' he explained. 'Some of them are victims of cir-
cumstance, Seventy-five per cent of them, though, are feeble minded or insane, I've

never seen a criminal that fears the electric chair, But I'Ll tell you what he is afraid
of = sterilization, Nine-tenths of the people with disagree with me, but from a scienti-
fic viewpoint, there's no argument." CLARION-LEDGER, Jackson, Mississippi, December 21),

1935 (hele)

‘. ~ 2
792 HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.

been $9,000, and according to the financial report of J. W. Williams, judge of the county
court, filed July 5, 1886, count y warrants had been issued between October 1, 1885, and
the date of his report amounting to $10,057.81; and the total amount received into the
treasury for the same time was $9, 291.61, leaving the county in debt in the sum of $766.20
at the date of said report.

The tax duplicate of the county for 1886 shows 337,930 acres of land assessed, and the
total taxable Property assessed at $1,687,170. And the amounts of taxes levied are as fol-
lows, to-wit: State, $5,061.51; county, $5,670.26; school, $8,948.84: highway, 2,580.75;
total, $22,211.16. Number of taxable polls, 2,435.

The first term of the county court* was held in the spring of 1808 at the house of Maj.
William Russell, near Cowan, where the county business was transacted until the seat of
justice was established at Winchester, and a place provided for holding the courts. The
courts were first held at Winchester about the year 1814, when the first court house was
completed. An act of the General Assembly passed October 16, 1812, provided “that the
county courts should be held in the county of Franklin on the third Mondays in February,
May, August and November;” and the sessions were accordingly held on those dates un-
til a subsequent act provided that the county courts in each and every county in the State
should be held “on the first Monday in every month.”

The “minute books”’ of the county court prior to year 1882 have been lost or
destroyed. The officers of this court are a county judge and the magistrates of the severa]
civil districts of the county. Prior to 1868 the county court was presided over by one of
their number elected as chairman, and since that date by a judge elected by the people-
This court continued to hold its sessions up to and including the June term, 1863, when,
on account of the war, it suspended action until April, 1865, since which time it has held
its regular sessions. J. N. McCutcheon served as judge of the county court from 1868 to
1870, and Judge J. W. Williams, the present incumbent, has held the office ever since.
There are no records of the circuit court in the county prior to the fourth Monday of January,
1824, when the court was held by Judge Nathaniel W. Williams. Nathaniel Hunt, Esq.,

was then the high sheriff and James Fulton attorney-general, and Jonathan Spyker
clerk. Judge Williams served one year, and was succeeded by Judge Charles F. Keith,
who served until 1880, when he was succceded by Judge J. C. Mitchell, who served a series
of years. On the 26th day of January, 1825, Robert L. Mitchell, then seventy years of
agc, appeared and filed an affidavit, attesting his services in the war of the Revolution.
In January, 1829, Samuel Suddarth was tried for manslaughter, found guilty, and
sentenced ‘‘to be forthwith branded on the brawn of the thumb of the left hand with the
letter M in the presence of the court, and that he be imprisoned in the jail of the county
six months, and to pay the costs of this prosecution, and to remain in jail until the same
be fully paid.”

The most dramatic and most lasting of all the historic episodes in the history of
Franklin County, was the killing of Tom Taul and the trial of Rufus K. Anderson as the

FRANKLIN COUNTY. 793

tion, childless. On her death bed she gave her property to her husband by adeed. After her
death the Andersons claimed that Taul had never been kind to her and that he had coerced
thedeed. Rufus K. Anderson, a young man of the highest notions of civil life, had gone to
Alabama before his sister’s marriage and before Col. Taul moved to Tennessee, and had nev-
er seen his brother-in-law, Tom Taul. After the death of his sister, he returned to Win-
chester,and asked to have Tom Taul pointed out to him, which being done, he walked across
the street to where Taul was standing, and shot and killed him. The trial came off in less
than a year and Col. Taul employed Col. Sam Laughlin, a most powerful prosecuting
lawyer, and other lawyers of distinction to prosecute Anderson, who was defended by
Hon. Felix Grundy, Hopkins L. Turney and other distinguished lawyers. By the time
the trial came on the whole county was divided under the respective banners of the con-
tending parties. The jury returned a verdict of “not guilty.” Whether the verdict was
just, or whether the jury was led to commit an error, will never be known with certainty.

The State of Tennessee vs. John Farris, was an action brought against the defen-
dent at the June term of 1830, for killing his slave named James. The trial took place at
the July term following. One hundred and thirty-four men were brought into court and
examined before twelve ‘‘good and lawful men”’ could be found competent to act as ju
rors. Able counsel was employed by the defendant, and the jury returned a verdict into
court of ‘not guilty.” The foregoing causes have been mentioned because of their his-
toric importance. There have been other murder trials, and many important civil cases,
which might be mentioned if space permitted. ;

In May, 1862, the circuit court convened for the last time until the close of the war. In
July, 1865, it again convened with Judge Wm. P. Hickerson on the bench, since which
time it has held its regular sessions. Judge J. J. Williams is now the presiding officer,

term is about to expire.

oe le tat records fiat of the chancery court are its proceedings in 1834, when L. M.
Bramlctt was chancellor. For a number of years following, this court was held at Win-
chester, for Franklin and Coffee Counties. Bloomfield L. Ridley.was chancellor from
1842 up to the late late civil war, as shown by the records. Only one session of this court
was held between 1861 and 1865. At the August term, 1865, John P. Steele presided as
chancellor, and served as such until 1870, since which time Hons. A. S. Marks, John W.
Burton andE. D. Hancock, have filled the office of chancellor, in the order named.

A few persons have been hanged in the county by due process of law, but a greate
number have probably been hanged without it. It is believed that the first hanging which
took place in the county, was that of Adkinson or Adkins, who killed his wife with a shoe
last. This occurred about the year 1821. Just after the close of the late civil war, Rolly
Dotson, a noted bushwhacker, murderer and desperado, was taken from the jail by an
organized body of men and hanged to a tree in the court yard until he was dead. Henry
Huddleston, colored, was hanged to the same tree in 1882, for sommitting » Tape on a
white woman. In 1871, three negroes were hanged under the bridge of the Boiling Fork,
at Winchester, for burning a church at Hawkerville. All these, excepting the first, were
without process of law. Other hangings, both legal and otherwise, have taken place within
the county.

Perhaps no county in the State has ever had, according to its population, such an able
bar as Winchester bas produced. <a

The eminent jurist, Judge Nathan Green, came from Virginia when he had reached
middle life, and settled on land owned by his uncle, John Faris. He was plain in dress, and
not known for two years as anything but afarmer. No little merriment took Place one
day when Mr. Farris brought Green into court to take charge of and conduct a law suit in
which the former was involved. The trial made the Jlawyer-farmer famous, and he at
once stepped to the head of the bar and in a short time became chancellor, and soon
thereafter a member of the supreme court, where he so long distinguished himself. This
was the home, for many years, of Tom Fletcher, one of the greatest criminal lawyers the
State has ever produced. He, like Green, came to the bar in middle life, after failing asa

Ce ere

EXCERPTS FROM GOODSPEED'S TENNESSEE HISTORIES.

From Hearn

Re: Tennessee Galvin & Moody (1869)
Details of their crimes.

Galvin: On 12-25-67 he got in a brawl at the
Delta Saloon in Memphis. A police of-
ficer named 'Fenton' came to break
it up whereupon Galvin started shooting.
Fenton was mortally wounded as was a
young boy in the street outside by a
stray bullet.

Moody: On 6-4-69 he killed a white man named
Capt. Perry by shooting jim in the
course of a burglary. He maintained
that an accomplice named 'Bedford' had
really shot the man.

The Memphis Daily Appeal 8/21/69 page 4

On another sheet, he notes that Moddy's first name
was Bamuel, that he was an ex-Slave aged 20, born
at LaGrange and that Galvin was white, 25, born in
Ireland, Same source,

t s niemmmunn ma
S g é a 4 : le ea eeeaetlade camel acin Til apiece
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naggatenc ORBAN 4
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. gem mothe pee!

BLOUNT COUNTY

County seat: Maryville, Tennessee 37801

Population: 75,500

Blount County was established in 1795; named for William Blount, governor of the
Territory South of the River Ohio. Maryville was named for Mary Grainger Blount, wife of
William Blount.

The first jail was built of logs in 1795 on a plot set aside for the courthouse and jail. The
second jail was built of logs in 1818. The third jail was built in 1848 with quarters for the
sheriff's family. Built by Samuel Pride and Barnes for $1,950, the walls around the cells were
twenty-two inches thick. This jail was converted into a residence on McCammon Avenue until
razed in 1976 lo make way for a bicentennial urban park. The fourth jail was built in 1900 for
$14,021.54 by Pauley and Company of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1957 a jail annex to the
courthouse was built for $300,000. A second annex to the courthouse was constructed in
1976 which contained, along with courtrooms and offices, new facilities for the jail.
Construction of this facility, plus remodeling of the 1957 jail area for other uses, Cost
$1,900,000. The firm of Lindsay and Maples of Knoxville was the architect: Hagan and

McMurray of Maryville, the contractor. The Blount County Jail is approved to accommodate
federal prisoners.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity — High Low Average (102. jails)
1976 76 47 13 30) 6th
1977 76 33 15 24 Certified
1978 76 49 19 29 Certified*

Meals: Three times a day at 7, 11:30, 4.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of pinto beans, greens,
pickles, cornbread, coffee

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 24 1976-77 24
197475 39 1977-78 22 (20 male, 2 female)
1975-76 44 (41 white, 3 black)

Lynchings in Blount County: 1892, 3/5 Charles Miller (white) murder

Legal Hangings in Blount County:
1814, 7/20 James Brice for stealing slaves.
1828, 9/26 Henry Lunsford, death of Arch Murphy by striking him at a log-rolling,
1839, 10/25 Charles Cox (slave) for killing owner of wife who had whipped her.

In 1887 a smallpox epidemic broke out among prisoners in the jail. Guards who had not
previously had smallpox were dismissed because they were not immune to the disease.

“Certification suspended. until polyurethane mattresses are replaced.

BRAD}

County seat:

Bradley Co
Regiment of |

The first jai)
second jail w.
Deplorable a
prisoners to at
construction «

Jail Inspector's

19)
197
197)

Meals: Three ¢'
and te

Prisoners sent |
1973-74
1974—75
1975~76

Lynchings in B

Electrocutions |
1922, 2/18
1949, 2/17
In March 15

illicit still.

for

rch

of pinto beans, greens,

't, governor of the
ager Blount, wife of

‘house and jail. The
vith quarters for the
ound the cells were
immon Avenue until
was built in 1900 for
a jail annex to the
’ was constructed in
ccilities for the jail.
r uses, cost
Hagan and
ed to accommodate

Rating
102 jails)
oth
Certified
Certified*

‘ale, 2 female)

a _log-rolling.
“ipped her.

suards who had not
1une to the disease.

BRADLEY COUNTY

County seat: Cleveland, Tennessee 37311
Population: 62,800

Bradley County was established in 1836; named for Colonel Edward Bradley of the 15th
Regiment of the Tennessee Volunteers in the War of 1812.

The first jail was built in 1839. Prior to this prisoners were sent to McMinn County. The
second jail was built in 1850. The present jail was built in 1935 and renovated in 1974.
Deplorable and unsafe conditions in this jail in 1978 required the temporary transfer of
prisoners to another county and resulted in a vote by the citizens of Bradley County for the
construction of a new jail.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 68 87 37 “. tah 88th
1977 68 103 ‘28 48 Not certified
1978 69 103 27 40 Non-certified

Meals: Three times a day at 7, 12, 6.—A supper in 1978 consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
and tea

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 31 1976-77 43
1974-75 44 1977-78 41 (36 male, 5 female)
1975~76 62 (59 white, 3 black)

Lynchings in Bradley County: 1889, 12/12 Willtam Carden (white) rape

Electrocutions by the state from Bradley County:
1922, 2/18 Ashbury Fields (white) murder
1949, 2/17 Bonnie Thompson (black) murder

In March 1922, Sheriff Israel Smith was shot by the Boring brothers while he was raiding an
iNicit still.

SS aie we. re =

BENTON COUNTY

County seat: Camden, Tennessee 38320 £ | |
Population: 13,400

Benton County was established in 1836; named for David Benton, an early settler and
veteran of the War of 1812.

Benton County has had five jails. Prisoners were sent to Humphreys County until 1837
when the first jail was built. This jail, built of logs, was twenty feet square and had double
walls about eight inches apart. The second jail, twenty feet by twenty-five feet, was built in
1847 for $1254.97 by Colonel irvin B. Carns. In 1866 prisoners set fire to the jail thinking they
might escape in the confusion. Instead they were almost roasted. The third jail, built by Amos
Corbitt, a local carpenter, was replaced in 1882 by a two-story brick building that cost about
$6,000. The present jail, a two-story brick building costing about $68,000, was built in 1949.
Each of the five jails has stood on town lot number 44. The present jail faces Rosemary Avenue
South and can be spotted from a distance by its large radio tower.

Jail Inspector's Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity = High Low Average (102 jails)
1976 20 15 3 3 95th
1977 20 12 4 6 Not certified

1978 20 14 0 A Non-certified

Meals: Twice a day at 7:30 and 4:30.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of meat loaf, potatoes, peas,
carrots

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:

1973-74 1 1976-77 1
1974-75 2 1977-78 5 (4 male, 1 female)
1975-76 0

Lynchings tn Benton County:
1922 10/20 Edmond Hartley (white) murder
1922 10/20 George Hartley (white) murder

These two men were taken by force from Sheriff l.G. Flowers by a mob of twenty-five men
from Eva, Tennessee. No one was prosecuted for this mob action.

BLEDS
County seat

The prese:
in the front
reached by

Jail Inspector
1G

1
15

Meals: Twi

Prisoners set

1973-74
1974-7
1975-7¢

Lynchings in
1893, 10/
1944, V1)

*This was the

'n early settler and

County until 1837
‘re and had double
e f vas built in

he | inking they

‘atl, built by Amos
!ing that cost about
_ was built in 1949,

Rosemary Avenue

Rating
(02 jails)
th
| certified
vi-certified

'oaf, potatoes, peas,

1 female)

of twenty-five men

; ‘ T can gener? ;
BLEDSOE TY, Beet ees
yooPTOR NN Aye LAL TY RAY RR LA
, pa (a iT 5 en sell ap KAI
P PL aa TS att Y Aa fet
’ : pd php? ks pres A F2) \ Hs
County seat: Pikeville, Tennessee 37367 Peeear aan HOw

Population: 8,500

Bledsoe County was established in 1807; named for Anthony Bledsoe, captain in the
Colonial Army of Virginia, major in the Revolutionary War, and colonel in the Tennessee
Militia. He was killed by Indians near his home in Sumner County in 1789. The county seat,
located at Old Madison, was moved to Pikeville in 1819. Pikeville was named for Zebulon
Montgomery Pike, soldier-explorer for whom Pike’s Peak was also named.

The present jail was built of stone in 1876 and renovated in 1973. The sheriff's family lives
in the front part of the jail; the cell-block is located on the second floor in the rear and is
reached by an outside iron staircase.

Jail Inspector’s Report: Daily Census Rating
Capacity High Low Average (102. jails)
1976 10 8 0) 5 92nd
1977 10 ans) 2 5 Not certified
1978 im 7 0 1-2 Non-certified

Meals: Twice a day at 7 and 6.—A supper served in 1978 consisted of cheeseburger and french fries

Prisoners sent to the state prison facilities:
1973-74 4 1976-77 2
1974-75 2 1977-78 i (male)
1975-76 3 (white)

Lynchings in Bledsoe County:
1893, 10/22. John Gamble (black) rape
1944, 11/23 James Scales* (black) murder

*This was the last recorded lynching in’ Tennessee

Metadata

Containers:: Box 36 (2-Documentation of Executions), Folder 16
Resource Type:: Document
Description:: Duncan Bonds executed on ca. 1825 in Tennessee (TN) Issac Dale executed on 1837 in Tennessee (TN)
Rights:: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Date Uploaded:: June 27, 2019

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Access:: The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.

Collection restrictions:: Access to this record group is unrestricted.
Collection terms of access:: The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.