24
exactly what to do with it, dropped it in the pocket of his raincoat and torgot
all about it. A few weeks later, urgent business called him to an isolated
section of the county. He donned the raincoat, mounted his horse, and started
out around midnight.
By wee hours of the morning he reached a strip of woods near Hallum,
noted as a nesting place of hoot owls. The darkness was so intense he had to
trust the instinct of his horse for guidance. Suddenly a big tree loomed directly
ahead. The horse stopped. A big old hoot owl hooted defiantly, “Who? Who?
Who are you?” Ordinarily Mr. Gray was not afraid of men or beast. But, as he
confessed later, the situation seemed too supernatural to suit him. He felt his
spine tingle and his hair rise on end. At that moment Mr. Gray reached instinc-
tively for a weapon. As his hand slid into the pocket of his raincoat he felt the
death hood of the man he had hanged. The unexpected shock restored his
confidence, and he was his old self again. So he spurred his horse forward and
stopped directly under where the old owl was perched beside a hole in the tree.
Standing in the stirrups, he reached up and dropped Shuck’s death hood into
the hole.
Crime in America before 1900
Sources and Documents
Il
A Narration of the Crimes of
John L. Jackson
The Great Western Desperado,
Murderer and Burglar
1855
26
Introduction
Crime is crime, whether committed by a bumbling CIA agent with a poor
cover, by a skilled con man such as Gaston B. Means, or professionals such as
a Floyd, a Barker, or a Dillinger. We can be grimly amused when no major
damage is done to society in a caper such as Means’ when he persuaded Mrs.
Evelyn Walsh McClean to give him $100,000 to ransom the Lindberg baby
(about which he knew naught).
Jackson, born about 1830 in Garrard or possibly Lincoln County,
Kentucky, was a combination of Dillinger and Means, cussed and mean as a
snake, but suave and charming when it suited his purposes. After a career of
violence in Saint Louis, New Orleans, and Nicaragua, he returned to his
(probably) native Lancaster in Garrard County and won the hand of a
seventeen-year-old who would have been eligible for an elegant debutante ball
in Lexington. His criminal instincts made him victimize both her and her
family. By 1855 Jackson had at least five murders to his credit, compounded
with all manner of other rascality.
The rather poorly organized narrative begins with a statement of Jackson's
incarceration for murder in Lexington in 1855. “Chapter 2” is appended with
copies of reward notices after his escape on 5 August 1855. Since the first part
is quoted from an article in the Saint Louis Morning Herald of 1 July 1855,
“Chapter 2” was probably added by a Kentucky writer. The bibliographical
history of the text and the work reproduced here is obscure. It was probably
printed in Lancaster or Lexington, and it would not contribute much to the
history of printing in Kentucky to try to run it down. It would be vastly more
interesting to know what happened to Jackson after he escaped from jail in
Lexington.
Among Jackson's adventures was participation in Narciso Lépez’ abortive
filibustering expedition to Cuba. It was probably the second one of 1850, since
Lépez (and some Kentucky companions) were caught and executed in the third
and last one in 1851. Then Jackson turned up in Nicaragua about 1851 or 1852,
a precursor of William Walker and his band of adventurers. In the general
history books Walker's motives were those of a power-mad neo-conquistador,
possibly mixed with greed and desire for gain at any cost; but Jackson was
simply a downright bandit, preying on the thriving overland transport
agencies taking California-bound emigrants to the Pacific ports. We need to
know more detail about the U.S. scoundrels in Central America and how they
created an uncomplimentary image of the yanqui (Northern and Southern) in
these parts. It all began almost a century and a half ago.
There are all sorts of sidelights on manners and customs of the last century.
The “negro ball” that Jackson planned to pacify his illegally acquired slaves is
a custom documented elsewhere in the often sordid archives of slavery. It is
revealing for attitudes of the last century that Jackson’s first crimes are
emphasized as the murder of two white men, whereas his stabbing of a Negro
in Saint Louis is simply recorded as one more of his felonies. Historians of
slavery will neglect this work at their own peril.
27
Jackson's only honest employment was in a printing office. There are a few
notes on composition and presswork, nothing that adds anything to the
history of printing. It is embarrassing to a typophile that we should have had
such a knavish picaro in our ranks. Tramp printers and lushes we have had in
abundance, but few of Jackson's deeply dyed rascality.
The narratives of nineteenth century criminals almost invariably begin
with a wayward childhood. Jackson was once a wild little fellow in Crab
Orchard (near Paint Lick in southern Garrard County, the Uncle Tom
country). He once burned a house belonging to his uncle, then went from bad
to worse and earned a reputation as one of the typical bad men operating in
the upper South before the War. Unfortunately, we don’t know whether
Jackson was ever caught, hence have no description of the trial and hanging or
the conventional admonition to possibly wayward young men.
The text here is not diplomatic. Orthography, grammar, and general
inconsistency in the original are execrable. Obvious typographical errors have
been corrected. Inconsistencies in spelling, especially of proper names, have
been made consistent. Confusing punctuation has been adjusted. Faulty syntax
and grammatical errors have generally been left. The pamphlet certainly is
hardly worth the efforts of a skilled textual critic. In this case, as in others in
the series, originals are located in McDade’s The Annals of Murder as well as
in the National Union Catalog, and the reader who wants to struggle with the
original is welcome to order an electrostatic copy.
The reader is urged not to be concerned about the editing of the text. Read
this sensational thing and enjoy it. It’s a lot more fun than the junk on
television.
Lawrence S. Thompson
Lexington, Kentucky
February, 1981
54
that she and her connections will grant me their forgiveness; a circumstance
which will afford me the greatest earthly happiness—will be a sweet and
satisfactory consolation in the trying hour of death! that cannot but appall the
stoutest heart, though clothed with innocence, and surrounded with friends
and connections. What then shall be my feelings—where is that tongue or
where that pen which could describe them—with what degree of fortitude
shall I meet that grim messenger, with my hands stained with the blood of a
friend, who had never done me the slightest earthly injury!
“I now take this opportunity, in the presence of my God, and in the face of
the world, thus publicly to implore the forgiveness of mankind in general, and
to declare that I bear naught of prejudice or malice against any. I most
sincerely forgive the court, the jury, the prosecutor, and the witnesses who
appeared against me; from a full conviction, that each treated me with all that
candor and humanity, which, under the circumstances, I had a right to expect.
Should I be so fortunate as to obtain the forgiveness of those whom I have
most injured, my next object shall be that of endeavoring to make my peace
with God; so as to meet death with Christian fortitude—And to obtain this, I
have a hope superior to any other earthly consideration. On the following
declarations of my Saviour, I shall not only repose in confidence, but with
rapture: —“Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall
be opened unto you.” I trust and pray that though my sins be as scarlet, he will
make them white as snow—though they be red like crimson, they shall be like
wool. In short, I will spend the remainder of my days in penitence and
devotion, so that I may die the death of a Christian.”
Execution
On the morning of the 8th of June, the day appointed for the execution, at
an early hour, the people began to collect; and between 12 and 1 o'clock the
concourse was very great. About one o'clock, two rifle companies, which had
been ordered out upon the occasion, were marched to the jail; when, after
some preparatory regulations were made, the prisoner was brought forth,
attended by the sheriff and two clergymen of the Baptist affiliation,
surrounded by the rifle companies, and conducted to the gallows; where he
mounted a wagon drawn up for the purpose. The sheriff and clergymen also
mounted with him. Each of the clergymen spoke a few minutes, in the most
pathetic and impressive language, and went to prayer with him. The prisoner
was then asked whether he had anything further to communicate. He
answered in a negative, bowed to the people, and at half past one o'clock, was
launched into an awful eternity.
53
surpassed.
The Murder
The particular circumstances of committing the murder, as related by
himself, are these: —After passing Limestone, on the way to Cincinnati, his
mind was constantly harrassed with the temptation to murder Mr. Farmer,
and take possession of his property. An opportunity offered by Farmer's lying
on his back asleep in the boat, and no boat or human being near at the
time—that after combating with the temptation a long while, he at last lifted
an ax and held it for the space of a minute over his head, and at length struck
the fatal blow between his eyebrow and hair—when the poor creature opened
his eyes, and looking wishfully at him, cried out, “Lord! Lord! See Lord!” and
immediately expired. He wrapped the body in a blanket, tied it round the neck
and feet, and threw it overboard. He passed the night in cleaning the boat, and
afterwards assumed the name of Farmer, and disposed of the property
principally at the Red-banks, Henderson county, Kentucky.
Confession
The following is a literal copy of the confession of the prisoner, in court,
which was written by one of this counsel, and read at his special request, when
asked if he had anything to say why judgment should not be pronounced
against him.
“T am called upon to say, why sentence of death should not be pronounced
on me according to law. I have been indulged with a fair and impartial trial : a
jury of my country, of my own choice and selection, after most patiently
hearing the evidence, the law and the arguments, have with candor and with
great justice, pronounced me guilty of being the murderer of John Farmer. The
justness of the charge, the correctness of the verdict, and the consciousness of
guilt, render it impossible that I should say aught against the court
pronouncing that judgment. The near approach of death, that enemy and
terror of man, and the great uncertainty of what is beyond the grave, have at
length awakened me to a due sense of feeling. But however galled with the
chains, and worn out with a long and tedious imprisonment—however
satiated in viewing the walls of a cold, a dark and loathsome prison—however
like a torrent new dangers and difficulties have rushed upon me—however
borne down with grief and alarmed with my situation—however many my
crimes—however dark and unnatural their nature, and crimson their
color—there is a circumstance which gives me more pain than all : I now
behold, dressed in weeds of mourning, her, whom with one fatal stroke, I
made a widow, her whose children I orphanized, and whose property I
converted to the most wicked and fraudulent purposes. Candor now compels
me to acknowledge, that in me she beholds the murderer of her husband, he
who was the companion of her bosom, the father of her children; their best
and dearest friend. And however to be regretted the circumstance—however
irreparable the loss, that which is passed is not to be recalled. And inasmuch as
I am in a few hours to atone for the offence with my blood, I trust and hope
This edition consists of
350 copies, of which 300
are numbered and for sale.
This is number i 5 4
$9.00
52
he was murdered when asleep, by the owner of another boat, which lashed to
them that night. It was also proved and admitted, that he was found in
possession of the said boat and goods at the Red banks on the Ohio—that he
called himself John Farmer—that he was making sale of the goods at reduced
prices; —which gave rise to those suspicions which led to his arrest. A body,
supposed to be Farmer's, was positively proven to have been found dead, by
one witness, bearing the most evident marks of violence. But the identity
thereof was rendered extremely doubtful, from two circumstances: —the linen
in which the body was found, was marked with the letters G. K. and the letter
K was also on the small knife, found in his pocket. There was, however, some
strong corroborating testimony: It appeared from several respectable
witnesses, that the size, the age, the color of the hair and form of the mouth
and teeth, of this dead body, corresponded with those of John Farmer.
From this evidence, the attorney for the commonwealth, urged to the court
and jury, with his usual ability, but with candor and humanity, that though he
had not been able to produce a single witness who saw the fact; yet that that
circumstantial proof which he had adduced, announced to a violent and
irresistable presumption, and from which no other reasonable conclusion
could be drawn, than that the prisoner at the bar was the murderer of John
Farmer, and consequently guilty of all the material averments in the
indictment.
On the contrary, it was insisted, for the prisoner, that the body of Farmer
was not proven to have been found dead—that the only marks by which it
could have been identified in that mutilated state, proved it to be the body of a
very different person. That laying this part of the evidence out of the question,
the only proof which remained, respecting the death of Farmer, was the
confessions of the prisoner, which, when taken together, purged him of the
fact. It was also urged, that notwithstanding his conduct had been fraudulent
and highly reprehensible, in assuming the name of Farmer, and in taking
possession of the boat and goods, still it was not a crime punishable with
death; nor did it prove him a murderer. — It might consign him to everlasting
infamy, and for a time, to the penitentiary house : but that he must be
convicted on an indictment charging him with that offense. That under all the
circumstances, taken in a legal, if not moral point of view, doubts did exist,
and that it was one of those extraordinary cases, in which the jury were bound
by law to acquit, though strongly impressed with the guilt of the prisoner.
During this trial, which lasted several days, a greater concourse of
spectators than usual attended, all of whom appeared to be transported with
indignation against the prisoner; so much so that there was every reason to
expect, a fair and impartial trial could hardly be expected. I would not be
understood as intending to censure the court and jury who sat on this
particular trial. The jury was composed of men of the first respectability in the
county, and as evidence of their humanity and impartiality, they appeared
much affected with the circumstance of their being compelled, from the
evidence, to pronounce a verdict of guilt. The two assistant judges who
presided, discharged their duty with impartiality, dignity and ability. It was,
however, matter of regret, that they were deprived of the services of the circuit
judge, who for practical experience and soundness of judgment, is not
NAME
225.
226.
227.
228.
229.
Willie Waters
Arvil Rice
Charles H. Smith
Jack Davis
Edward Higgins
COUNTY
RACE TRIED IN
Jefferson
Bell
Lyon
Leslie
Mercer
AppendixB 331
DATE
March, 1939
July, 1939
July, 1939
July, 1939
July, 1939
REASON
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11/17/1916 Harry Garrison executed for murder of Luella Crowder
Kyentucy Post source that date date of crime 7/29/1915
Covington Journal (KY) 9/10/1853 Robert A Robertson executed for murlder
of Moses Gard, at Alexandria, KY. Date of exeuction 9/3/53
Richard H Shuck executed 7/28/1877 in Kentucky source Kentucky Post that dated
W.B. Watson executed 9/28/1866 in Kentucky for muder of Almon Mentor
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5
This crime was perpetrated by some, the names of whom I do not now
remember. Some of the band of which I had lately become a member were
officiating, and I think that Jackson Simmons, David Carter, assisted by my-
self, were the ones that put him in the river. Our work being completed, we
started for our homes. The clouds had broken, with now and then a star
peeping from the clear spots in the sky, whose dazzling brightness seemed to
bespeak our guilt. The wind that was whistling through the forest appeared to
be telling in more than audible accents the disapproval of heaven, and sealing
us as demons not fit to be the associates of the damned in hell. But I know the
reader is weary. | will therefore direct his attention to something that will
perhaps get his mind in a measure suited to listen to the revolting scenes of a
murderer's life.
On Saturday, during the month of August, in the year 1871, there being a
number of the Ku-Klux at Lockport, Henry County, and, as was their custom,
imbibing freely of intoxicating liquor, it was decided that something must be
done the ensuing night. What should it be? Many ideas were advanced before
the final conclusion was reached. There lived a man in the Six-Mile Hills who
was indolent and addicted to drunkenness, giving his family but little of his
attention, and of which they greatly stood in need. We concluded that we
would wait upon him that night, and see what he had to say. The place for
meeting agreed upon, we all left for home, made ready, and met according to
arrangement. We took up our march for the place designated, having no
detentions on the way save that of stopping a few times to assuage our thirst
with a little old Bourbon made in Owen County. We soon arrived at the place,
found the family at home but asleep. The door was easy to enter, being
fastened with an old-fashioned wooden latch raised by a string. We entered,
walked quietly to the bed, and caught him by the nose to raise him. The
sudden checking of his breath, and the hasty manner in which we brought him
to a sitting posture, alarmed him so desperately that he roared for help. We
placed our hands over his mouth and told him he must not halloo. He then
began to beg, and asked us if we were going to kill him. We told him no, that
we were only going to paint his back a little. He wished to know what for, as
he had been quiet in his neighborhood. We told him he had been a little too
quiet in some respects; we wanted him to be more active; it would be good for
his health. We wanted him to go to work and earn something with which to
feed and clothe his family. In the meantime his wife had gotten up and was
mad and becoming abusive. We told her to be quiet, or we would paint her a
little too, which brought her to a stand-still.
We escorted the man about twenty or thirty yards from the house and
began to strip him. He implored us not to lash him, that he would certainly go
to work and do his duty if we would excuse him that time. We told him his
promises were reasonable, but we thought a little trimming would buoy him
up a little, and cause him not to give us any more trouble. We had prepared
some willows for the purpose. We appointed two to hold him, while another
did the whipping. The work began, with the understanding that it should not
be severe. It was soon completed, and we retired, leaving him to soliloquize
upon what should be his future course of life. The chastisement had a good
effect, causing him to quit the tippling-shops and give himself to industry,
which was the means of causing him to prosper. The Ku-Klux did some good
6
acts, but overbalanced their good ones with some too damnable to be
countenanced by the heathen.
Murder on Six-Mile
I presume the reader's mind has, by the relation of the preceding, become
sufficiently composed to hear the relation of another of the deeds of atrocity in
which the author of this confession assisted. During the year 1872, I think, I
was at Louisville, in company with Robert Goodrich, Jackson Simmons, and
David Carter, three of the band of which I was a member, and there fell in
company with a gentleman who had been transacting some business for his
widowed sister with the government, and had drawn a considerable amount of
“money, and was then on his way to pay the same to her. This was just such
information as we were waiting for and seeking. We put our wits to work to
devise a plan by which we could obtain it and escape detection. To rob him in
the city would be a risk that would probably result in our detection; con-
sequently the work must be done at some other point. Knowing that it was his
design to come up on the train the following morning, and if he did, there
would be but little chance for such work from the deposit to his home in
daytime, we proposed to him to remain until evening, and we would all go to-
gether. Being his acquaintances he readily consented, and remained. That
much accomplished, we then fixed our plans as opportunity offered so as not
to excite his suspicion. The usual time of the arrival of the train at Pleasure-
ville, at which point we expected to get off, was about four o'clock in the
evening, and the distance from that point to the home of this man was some
eight or nine miles, entirely on the public road; but we, being afoot, would
bring dark upon us before we could reach Six-Mile Creek. We therefore
planned our work in the following manner: On the southeast side of the said
creek, and near the side of the road where we had to pass, was a noted cavern,
and that was the place selected to accomplish our design. We landed at the
deposit at the usual hour, disembarked, and started on our journey. Having a
good supply of whisky, we drank and traveled slowly, night coming upon us
before we reached the creek. Now to rob him and let him escape with his life
would not do, as he was acquainted with us all, and would certainly have us
arrested; so it was determined to kill him, and cast his body, satchel, and all
except his money, into the cavern, which was to be done in the following
manner: When we came near this cave we were to feign that we heard some-
thing in it, and get him to looking down into it, and while he was in that act
shoot him, rifle his pockets, and get away quickly.
The plan was complete, and worked as we anticipated it would. Arriving
at the cave, we made a sudden halt as if surprised, and remarked that we heard
something in it, which drew the attention of all, and some of the boys said,
“Let's look in it”; and so we marched up to it, accompanied by this man, and
while he was in a stooping posture, Jackson Simmons, being by his side, slyly
placed a pistol near the rear of his head and killed him dead at a single fire;
after which his pockets were hastily relieved of all that was valuable, and the
body, with his valise, were cast headlong into the yawning abyss. It fell with a
crash that echoed back, and inspired an awe that would have made the blood
run chill of any but such as had had their consciences seared by the repetition
of crime. Of such men were the few who had launched another of their fellow-
But I know the reader's heart is growing sick at the depicting of this murder
committed in cold blood. I will therefore give you some facts relative to its
author, and then turn my pen to the relation of one still more daring and
heinous.
Robert Goodrich is a native of Henry County, State of Kentucky; is about
35 or 40 years of age; is about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high; is of fair complexion,
with auburn hair, and has something in his appearance that depicts cowardice;
but when possessed of power over anyone's life, he commits the most inhuman
murders without compunction.
Murder of John O’Nan
On Friday night, during the latter part of July or the first of August, 1871, a
collection of some ten or twelve, including myself, gathered near Harper's
Ferry, where the proposed victim had been decoyed for the purpose of
disposing of him, and, after consultation, it was agreed that we would take
him to the Kentucky river, kill him, and tie a rock to him and feed him to the
fish. This agreed upon, we started on our journey to complete the hellish
design. The night was one of unusual darkness, and before we had proceeded
far on our way one of the most fearful clouds that ever curtained the heavens
began to arise. But little wind being connected with it, it rose slowly and ©
steadily, and every moment seemed to grow darker, until nothing could be
seen save the flashes of lightning that so vividly lit the heavens, followed by
peal after another of thunder that seemed to be speaking the disapproval of the
choir of heaven, in tones that were truly appalling; so much so, that any other
than heaven-daring demons would have relented, gave up their purpose, and
sought safety in some secluded place, where they might have asked pardon at
the hands of Him who seeth all things. But nothing daunted, having our brains
well charged by whisky, we feared nothing, but pressed on to complete the
mission for which we started. Having arrived at the destined place, prepara-
tion for the completion of the work began. The night was so dark we had some
difficulty in finding a suitable rock for the purpose; and how to obtain a rope,
not having brought one, was another perplexity. But we soon found one; and
now for dispatching the victim. How should it be done was then the question.
Should he be killed by a lick, or should he be shot? At that juncture some of
the party said: ‘Shoot the damned son-of-a-bitch, and make quick work of it.”
At that moment flash went a pistol; but the shot was not aimed right, and
struck him on the arm and broke it. Then began the most touching implorings
that ever I heard fall from the lips of man to spare his life. He begged that if we
could not spare his life to give him time to pray. This was only answered,
“Damn you, there is no time for praying now.”
It was then concluded, that, as the shot had not killed him, they would put
him into the river alive. The rock being already tied to the rope, it was speedily
lashed around his neck, and he was roughly hauled into the boat and carried to
as near the centre of the river as could be guessed, and plunged headlong into
it. His last words were appeals to us for mercy, and that we ought to give him
time to pray. He sank suddenly, and the rising bubbles seemed to cry to God
for mercy.
7
men into eternity without a moment's warning, and while, as he thought, in
the company of his friends. Having completed the well-planned work, we set
our for home. The night was clear and unusually calm. The stars seemed to
shine with more than usual brightness. Naught could be heard but the bark of
the sleepless watch-dog which saluted our ears with its familiar sound. And the
owls and night-hawks seemed to be unusually full of glee, saluting our ears
with “Wa-o-o” and chantings that spoke in tones of solemnity the disapproval
of heaven. But being accustomed to imbruing our hands in our fellow-man’s
blood, we even dared the very hosts of our Maker, and frowned at the dire
punishment which is to be awarded the wicked as being a farce and wholly
untrue; harboring the unreasonable notion that there is nothing of man after
he closes his career on the present earth; and the one that lives the easiest, no
matter how he procures the means, enjoys the most happiness. But ah! my
thoughts have changed, which will be fully set forth in another chapter.
Having given the reader as near as practicable a true delineation of the
murders committed during the years 1871 and 1872, in connection with some
other incidents suitable to amuse and draw his mind from the horrid reflec-
tions that must certainly characterize it at the rehearsal of such daring and
damning deeds of inhumanity as the three just described, I will call his atten-
tion to one even more dire, and one that will throw a stigma on Henry County
that nothing but the stream of time can erase or wash away.
Murder of the son of John James
Between Lockport and Hardin's Bottom -- the two places being about six
miles apart -- meanders a small rivulet, running almost directly east, and
flowing from the west. At the season when the crime was committed the scenes
presented along its shores were exceedingly picturesque. The trees, with leaves
almost full size, and myriads of flowers with variegated tints, would seem to
direct the mind of man from everything that had the least semblance of sin,
and cause the emotions of his heart to exult in thanks to an all-wise Creator
who had made them, and placed him as a sojourner in their midst, and blessed
him with the gifts requisite for their enjoyment. Let us carry the reader’s mind
a little nearer the scene to which I propose directing him.
At or near the source of this little stream lived a man who, though not
possessing the industry and perseverance that should characterize one who
proposes to get his living by the sweat of his brow, yet lived in a frugal and
quiet manner. Having been married the second time, and his second wife not
filling the place of a stepmother as she should, in a Christian point of view, the
son of the first wife, being some seventeen years of age, felt unwilling to bear
the impositions of the stepmother, and resolved to run away. Being destitute
of means by which to defray expenses, he disclosed his designs to Robert
Goodrich, David Carter, and Jackson Simmons, two of whom were brothers-
in-law to his father. They were cognizant of the fact that the father of the boy
was the possessor of fifty-six dollars, and induced him to steal the same from
his father. They promised to assist him in making his escape. The boy
consented, and knowing the money was deposited in a bureau drawer, sought
an opportunity to get it, which soon presented itself. He thought it would be
too bad to rob his father of the whole amount, and therefore only took
29
A Narration of the Crimes of John L. Jackson
The following article appeared in the St. Louis Herald of the 1st of July
1855, giving a brief sketch of the character of John L. Jackson and the life he
has lived.
The author remarks that he is not familiar with his “eventful career”; this
must be true as the most prominent traits of the individual he speaks of are
omitted. In justice to Mr. Jackson I deem it due to him and the public, that
some inaccuracies of the Herald should be corrected, and the more prominent
traits of his character, receive their just tribute.
Morning Herald
St. Louis: Sunday Morning, July 1
John L. Jackson
The man whose name heads this article is now confined in the Lexington,
Ky. jail, on a charge of murdering a deputy sheriff, who attempted to arrest
him. We regard this man as one of the most daring desperadoes we have ever
met, fearing nothing under heaven, and yet with all possessing many good
qualities. We are not familiar with the entire history of his eventful career, but
as his name has gone forth to all parts of the Union, on the telegraph wires,
and if regarded as worthy of such distinction, we will narrate all the little
killing and shooting affairs we have heard of him being connected with.
When we first became acquainted with him, he was an apprentice in the
office of the Reporter, on Locust Street. The boys in that office were all a good
set of fellows, yet were generally considered a “rather hard lot”. We were
informed that Jackson's parents were very wealthy, and that they resided in
Kentucky, but that Jackson had been forced to leave there on account of
having killed a man in the place where they resided. He came to this city and
engaged himself as an apprentice with Shadrach Penn, Esq., deceased, in the
Reporter office, and soon became a very expert printer and fast workman. The
boys in that office, every day or two, were in the habit of getting into some
difficulty or quarrel, and when the police officers were sent in pursuit of them
Jackson invariably took all the blame on his own shoulders. He would boldly
assert that he did all the damage, that the others were innocent, and then he
would make his escape to Illinoistown, where he would remain till the affair
blew over, and was forgotten, then he returned to his work again. He never
was known to permit any person to suffer, who happened to be in his
company, when a depredation of any kind was committed, or a fight in which
they might be parties. Yet with all his good qualties, that is, seeking to screen
and shield his associates, he was none the less a rowdy. Time rolled on, and he
went to work in the Reveille office, as a journeyman printer, and for a long
time, was a favorite with his employers. One evening as he was passing, out of
the office, and in crossing Shark alley, a very large stout man, named
Thurston, we believe, attacked him with a club. Jackson drew a bowie knife,
and literally cut him to pieces. He acted in self defense. He had a difficulty a
short time after the occurrence with another printer in the same office. The
other printer armed himself with a revolver, went into his office and presented
30
the pistol at Jackson. We were in the office at the time, and saw Jackson seated
on a stool distributing his case. Throwing type into case, Jackson remained
perfectly calm and composed, even whilst the pistol was presented to his head,
and cursed and abused the man who held it in the worst possible way. He
denounced the man holding the pistol as a coward, and dared him to fire. Both
of them remained in that position for about five minutes, when Jackson
reached his hand under his case to get hold of his revolver, which he had
always prepared and in that place when at work. The other person saw the
movement and left the office in a hurry.
Shortly after this, he left the Reveille, and went to work in the Organ
office. The forms of the Reveille were knocked into “pi” one morning, and
some persons accused Jackson with knowing something about it. The man
who accused him, met Jackson on Main Street a few days afterwards, and was
forced to retract and beg his pardon, with a pistol at his breast, in the presence
of a large crowd of people. We never were more astonished than when we
heard that Jackson had not shot the man. The reason he gave for not shooting
him, was that the man was too mean to die by his hand.
The next scrape we heard of him being engaged in was at the Empire,
corner of Third and Pine Streets, when he deliberately fired six times at a man,
without hitting him, then threw the revolver at his head, turned round to a
wash stand, washed his hands, and walked off about his business. The person
he shot at had some slight difficulty with him a few moments previous.
Jackson went into the bar-room, got his pistol from the bar-keeper who had it
in his charge, walked out to the Pine Street porch, (the house stood upon a
bank,) and commenced firing at him. A small post stood near the man, and all
that saved him was dodging from one side of the post to the other, so as to
baffle Jackson's aim. Four of the pistol balls struck the post and lodged in it.
The next affair we hear of, is a difficulty with the book-keeper at the
Organ, about his wages. When he left the Reveille he was indebted to that
office, and the proprietors garnisheed his wages in the Organ. The counting
room was in the second story. He provided himself with a cowhide, and with a
pistol in the other hand, he entered the office and administered a severe
cowhiding to the book-keeper, who had refused to pay him his wages, it
having been garnisheed. After cow-hiding him, Jackson caught hold of him by
the back of the neck and commenced pushing him out of the window. The
book-keeper knowing the desperado he had to deal with, and that if he was
thrown out of the window, he would be killed, proposed to pay the wages due,
which he did, and Jackson left.
Next we hear of a negro man being killed on Fourth Street, by someone of a
party of four persons, one of whom was Jackson. And Jackson's bowie knife,
with his initials on it, was found sticking in the body of the negro. All four
men were arrested, and Jackson was put on trial. He produced testimony to
effect, that he had loaned his bowie-knife to another person that evening, and
did not have it in his possession afterwards. He was, therefore, acquitted, and
the others put on trial. The State wished to make a witness of Jackson, so as to
ascertain who the person was he had loaned his knife to, but before they could
do so, he left for New Orleans. From Orleans a dispatch was sent in a few
A NARRATION
The Crimes
of
John L. Jackson
The Great Western Desperado, Murderer
and Burglar
By a citizen of Lancaster, Ky.
1855
31
days, signed by a police officer, that Jackson had come to that city and died of
yellow fever. As a matter of course, he paid the officer to send the dispatch, to
prevent his being sent after, to be used as a witness against his associates.
Time rolls on, the negro killing affair is forgotten, and the parties are all
discharged, when we hear of Lieutenant John L. Jackson, in the Lopez Cuban
Expedition. He had, in the meantime, got into some other shooting scrape in
New Orleans, and the police were after him. So he reported one of the persons
shot by the Cuban authorities, as John L. Jackson. We heard nothing more of
him, and actually thought him dead, till we heard of this late killing affair in
Kentucky. Jackson is a small man, not over five feet six inches in height, spare
built and thin visage. He was not a man of any physical strength, but he
possessed ample courage to make up for the deficiency when it became
necessary, or his mind led him to play the desperado. With all his faults, Jack,
as he was familiarly called, was a good clever fellow, but he lived the life of a
desperado; it is quite likely he will now pay the penalty, in terminating his
career on the gallows.
The maiden name of John’s mother, was Frederici, she was born in
Pennsylvania and married Jackson, by whom she had four children, two
daughters, and two sons; after her marriage, she resided in New York, where
her husband died, leaving her destitute of the means of subsistence. She with
her four children were brought to Lincoln County, Ky., by a brother, whose
charity and benevolence they shared, until, Mrs. Jackson married a poor
industrious mechanic; the family always looked to their Uncle for advice, who
acted as a father to them.
John was about thirteen years of age, when he came to Ky.; he lived with
his Uncle in the town of Crab Orchard, Ky., and shortly after his arrival, he
committed an act, as confessed by himself long afterwards, which showed that
he had a wicked and depraved heart, and one fatally bent on midnight deeds.
A fight took place in his presence, between several boys of the country, on
one side, and the Crab Orchard boys on the other; he was a comparative
stranger to both sides; but as he lived in town, he had a feeling for those, who
were to be his daily associates; meeting a fair chance, he drew his knife and
severely cut and wounded a country lad, slipped his knife in his pocket, and no
one except himself knew the author of the deed.
His Uncle owned a farm two or three miles from Town and had incurred
the ill will of John in consequence of reprimands for derelictions of duty; to
revenge himself, he set fire to, and burned his Uncle’s farm house.
He become offended at Mr. Mark Hardin, a man of mature years, and
pacific disposition; while yet a lad, secreted himself one night, with a deadly
weapon, and struck Hardin in the lower part of the forehead a dangerous blow
inflicting a severe wound, and one that would have proved mortal in many
places of the head.
He left Crab Orchard and commenced learning the tailor’s trade in
Lancaster, Ky., with George W. Smith, the man he last killed. He was then
_
SYNOPSIS OF WORK PROGRESS FOR THE STATE OF KENTUCKY AS OF DECEMBER 12, 1977.
° »
COUNTIES
Adair
Allen
Anderson
Ballard
Barren
Bath
Bell
Boone
Bourbon
Boyd
Boyle
Bracken
Breathitt
Breckinridge
Bullitt
Butler
Caldwell
Calloway
Campbell
Carlisle
Carroll
Carter
Casey
Christian
Clark
Clay
Clinton
Crittenden
Cumberland
Daviess
Edmondson
Elliott
Estill
Fayette
Fleming
Floyd
Franklin
Fulton
Gallatin
Garrard
Grant
Graves
Grayson
Green
Greenup
Hancock
Hardin
Harlan
Harrison
Hart
Henderson
Henry
Hickman
Hopkins
Jackson
HANGINGS PRIOR TO 1911
Verified Documented
OCOOWOF OF KWONnNOONMRFOOOKM KF RK NK OF KF WRF OOF?)
[od
OH ODOUR KF KF ON AK FNUWNOOKFKFNEE
DOOOFOFOONORPOORFRFPOOFRFRFNOOONOFOFROOOOCOONOOOOOCOCOOFPFrF OO OWOO0O0N
ELECTROCUTIONS AFTER 1911
Verified
| saad
OFOOKORPWMOOS _ COPGCOPRMONN HOM OCOOSC NSPE HRM BORK HOONWOMONOO9S
Dacumented
oocooorOoOroOoOOoOCOCOOCOCO0oO0oO0oO0C0oO0CO0OoOwooorFOOCOOONOOCOOrF OOOOoOOCOOCOrF O0oOrFOoOoCoo°oOoOOoOOoOOoO SO
HANGINGS AFTER 1911
Verif&ed Documented
Oo
onmnoooooo°oo°c°o°o°0o°0°o Oo
ooonooorcoco°0co0o°oc°c°o°oe°coo°o od oroo°o°coeooo0 9000 ©
PMolohohohohohohohohohohoholololhelolohonololololololokololoRololelolohono Lolo lololoRohoko koko hololokolokononeo)
TOTALS
Ver,
he
OR OFWO KRW H KNW eHYOF,MWNEK NOWWwWWwWE AW O0O0O FD
Ww
~
ONOVOKF NEN ARF RKFNWWOONNNOWEFOV
Doe,
ODOVODONONDOONDOKFOOKFKOORFKRUNOOOWDOOF,NODOOOONOOOCOOFOORFNOOOWOOOON
PAGE THREE = KENTUEKY SYNOPSIS AS OF DECEMBER 12, 1977
Warren
Washington
Wayne
Webster
Whitley
wolfe
Wwoodford
TOTALS:
@) ) 0 0 9) 0 @) 9)
1 1 0 6) fe) 0 pa 1
h 1 9) 0 0 0 mM 1
6) @) ) 0 fe) 0 6) 0
0 0 1 @) 9) @) 1 9)
0 6) 0 @) 0 0 0 0
fe) 9) 1 0 0 ) 1 6)
15 LR 170 52 9 3 32h = 101
»*
PAGE TWO = KENTUCKY SYNOPSIS AS OF DECEMBER 12, 1977
=
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ro) no ® ® a0 RR w OoNw OS SO0% Dw oO XO (ome 2) dP ri Oo of Ov QH 00 to G
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4
a
dig away the dirt. When he finished there was a two-inch space
between the earth and the dangling form.
The Finley hanging profoundly shocked the citizenry of
Floyd County and as the condemned man had prophesied no
death by hanging was ever inflicted again.
The years passed, population grew slowly, the railway came.
‘Mines were opened and roads built. The “outside” came in and |
the blending of the “outsiders” and the natives of Big Sandy
progressed. New people, new mores, new ways. The old went
quickly enough but for awhile the mountain manse and the
modern home stood side by side.
It was a new generation that collided with want and hun-
ger in the thirties. The fathers of this crisis generation had
_fought need and necessity from the vantage point of the land.
Many of the new generation remembered their rearing, went
back wherever they could to the land again. Many couldn’t.
How well each fared was determined not by effort but by eco-
nomic dislocations that governed the day. All were bitter, con-
fused, afraid and angry.
Crime increased and the courts clogged. In 1930 the Cir-
cuit Court costs of Floyd County to the state exclusive of salaries
was $44,203.13, a figure exceeded only by populous Jefferson
county. The Federal District Court for Eastern Kentucky, pre-
sided over by Judge A.M. J. Cochran, held in jail one-fourth
of all the juveniles with court cases in the entire nation, most
of the teen-agers being charged with violation of the national
prohibition laws.?? |
The Floyd,County grand jury in a report to the Hon. C.
B. Wheeler on May 1, 1931, noted that it had been in session
23 days, had examined 279 witnesses and made 143 true bills.
There probably would have been more indictments but the in-
quisitors noted “that so many people summoned actually do
not, have funds with which to come to town....” Judge Wheeler,
pressed with the duty of punishing law violators at a time of
oreat deprivation, was commended by the jurors for his patient
efforts to enforce the law “without having families who are
in need of their husband and father at home deprived of the
meat and bread that he may bring to them if left at home.”
892
TON SOON CORALS Se TS
pee a -
C6 ar 8 pa
a ee
serait
ihc ea ele aR ES a analReane tne pes acho |
i Wa
Bo seen ow 0
24 ,
= ees
nA POON TATE Nea AE Sis
As 2S Rohn ry cet Baas ea hin et
April 1933 grand jury stated that there was 2
‘permitted to carry their pistols.
Bold type in the Floyd County Times, December 11, 1931,
carried headlines on eight crime stories. Docketed for the Jan-
uary term, 1932, Floyd Circuit Court were 11 murder trials with
18 defendants. .
The grand juries of the period noted in their reports the
prevalence of crime and the increasing disrespect tor law. “Lhe
le
amount of lawlessness” but that a lot of it was chargeable to
the deputy officers. It was the opinion of that body that “Floyd
county at this time is blessed or cursed with too many “Pistol
Deputies’, who were holding office for the ‘purpose of being
999
wwctAernak
cOnsigeiacs
It was the special grand jury of the October term of Floyd
Circuit Court empanelled by Circuit Judge John W. Caudill
to investigate major crimes that spelled out lawlessness in the
county. It said that “a great crime wave is existing throughout
Floyd county” and it pointed specifically to one community doml-
nated by outlaws. “We find that a state of lawlessness exists
at Melvin. in this county almost wnparrelled in the history of
this county. Good men and women, as well as bad ones, testi-
fied .. . that they were afraid to tell the truth and almost afraid
for the children to go to school. Some promised if the noto-
rious outlaws could be brought to the bar of justice and incarcer-
ated in prison so that the lives of the people in that community
would be safe they would be glad indeed to disclose all facts
known and to assist legal authorities in hunting down and bring-
ing to the bar of justice all the public enemies.” The report
concluded with the statement that it was an “easy matter for
criminals to be released or liberated on straw bonds and requests
that officials authorized to take bonds be required to comply with
the strict letter of the law.”
There were theft and holdups, then outlawry beg; n to.
rear its head. Men along the Johnson-Lawrence county line :bur--.
rowed into the mine-scarred valleys, lived a Robin Hood“ exis
ence, chased often by a citizens’ mutual protection group organ-
ized at Richardson.
“Sparsely inhabited, heavily wooded and catacombed with
abandoned coal mines, the 20,000 acres of company lands on
Nat’s Creek and at Chestnut provided an excellent site for the
base of operations of outlaws and it is said that a gang of ten
o00
Bike ie takki ia tc uaads bane ati lasik gui
4
:
=
8
—
a,
‘s
A eatatl
extreme low of the tio preceding years and credit flowed More
freely through the channels of trade.
thaawy o¢] t Cyt] Varn.
The people of East Kentucky, to whom the post Civil
1 . Iv ac hire af wi. and kx
Greenbacks were reme merce Only as bits of lecend, and +}
> an
Cleveland depression but an incident in more thani'a century o:
7 a atk n } an tas Pre vears ha;
stern history, c ould now look back on “S2n, -tibtes years that
79 al
dwarfed all the ‘‘hard times” the mountain va!
2. CRIME .
The turmoil of civil strife ended in 1865 but renegade
soldiers and ‘‘bush-whackers’ refused to conform to the rule
of law and’ order that was returning t to Big Sandy. Many of
them were wanted by the courts for crimes and -they evaded the
stern hand of justice ‘tor months | by a lugitive existence.
Others had been reared in an atmos sphere of war and law-
lessness and turned easily to crime-in the decade that followed.
The Regulators and The Mules ‘names
groups), and the duly constituted authorities final! y beg es an to
reduce the outlaws and bring security to the va illey in. the iate
seventies. In the eighties major crimes, except for feudal .
ders mostly along the periphery of the Big Sandy, were singularis
a ee ee
The most noted exception to the almost crime free ek 2 tles
T }
in Floyd County was the accidental killin ig of Fene Hunt bs
Gus Finley, at the ‘pre ent Harold in 1884. Both were in thei
net
Oo ®
os
—~ te
my H
ei
m
Lae
teens, Finley approaching twenty, Hunt several Feams
Finley, drinking and armed with a revolver, had an alter-
cation with John R. Degley, who knocked him down and sought
to avoid any further trouble by walking away. Finley arose
from the ground, wobbly from drink and physical shock, and
seeing a man’s form he mistook for Degley, fired and killed Hunt.
The bystanders agreed that Hunt was accidentally killed. In
the tense, tragic’ moment as Finley stood there with the smoking
- revolver in his hand, he was told that he had killed the wrong
man. He answered:
“Gus will shoot.”
the gallows.
The words sent him tc
He was tried in Prestonsburg at a term of the seen
Judicial District ‘Circuit Court, Judge John M. Rice presidin:
most of the aus prominent men of the town and countrysic:
The prosecution kept hammering those fateful w ond, ‘Gus wil
590
(local: names for vigil ante
{
Se ae
1 ha 2 nr a re P a"
snoot,” at the jury and i they brows
.
akeake teow
Hialisilioc, September 16, 1884.10
Remanded to jail, awailing the usezOuaisle pcnaity of the
| law, he began to -aaate the syii; sGinny Os ie people, chicii
4. because he wa $ young and resigned to iis door. He was taxen
+ to Catleitsburg for safekeeping bui was returned. De uty Jailer
* So slomon DeRossett took him Swithning in the. river after mid-
t. night. They swam, ran races, chased each ouier in the moon-
t
lit water. He re;
et
ured with DeRosseii to
Qttn- aA as
> J
deel to escape, havine
& given the deputy his pledged wor
old was erected at the back or town
near the present Prestonsh sure fire department building, anc
April 17, 1885, was design ated as the day of execution.
In the meantime ences W.R. Harris resigned rather than
St at Tenth wadal . . |
Mijict the déa i penaity, i B. 7 May Was induced to succeed
ym othe KFan tie = } ton Vanity ¢ ul 3 f WoA et actiyal|e:
41iink OO: tile CONaGiItION that 3 a 1 deputy COUId Ounad to 2a tually
i tl ran dd j - i Finley Joa; Tal.
‘ pen eye tran ¢ tr that would senda Finley to death. Jake
r a. awlnyess 4Ty— px ‘am Aiwd «cox
Elolifield ae CCG uA ei tOlii} wile execution and Was made der SUL ty
} a ne hore “—t) Veen yy a As whe
f SHCTILG In Cael Se Ox.ail arrancemenis,
a 7
ATG th Tay: asady-e-d on
¢ Wien tie aay arrived Ca
speak.
» @ great throng invaded the tiny ham-
‘let of Prest onsburg to see the county’ s first and last legal death
iby hanging. Finley was allowed to sing the verses of a song he
requested. Closi; ng the song sung in a minor key, he besan to
“Tm being made an ex -xample of and I’ll be the last man
¥ The condemned man fell through the trap
aing my hands. Let’s get it over with.” Holifield adjusted the
iti black hood. Those of the ereat crowd who were
astanding on the outer rim of the assem blage and couldn’t see the
ideath drop, knew of it when those in front turned their heads
‘away and pressed backwards as if to shut out the sight of the
p-door. The toes
bi his shoes touched the o ground. The body began to turn, the
Fope twisting under .the impetus of those frantic, ever-reaching
came forward and began ¢o
{
feet, An official seized a shovel,
391
‘.
. ee — oo.
tac IM & Verdict Ge acath oy
the jail without any
i.
Judge Rice had set the date, December 5, 1884, to carry
out the decree of hangine, but appeals foi een brought
@ pocponciment. Finally, Governor J. Proctor Knoit havine
refused to interfere, a scatio]
he ae
ever hanged in Floyd County.” he prophesied. Turning to Holi-
‘field he held up his manacled hands and said: “These, are hurts:
.
Foe
2
aati aca a? 8 js Ree byt aR *
Boclg duaita bo sR our et Shee oi ab oa Ss eae eee
ic baad epee ee PR ae ee RCT eT eee eee
Ete eee, ee
i]
Kentucky’s Last Frontier
by
Henry P. Scali
+a Dad i} a4 vw, - f a3] if 1. aly
Foreward by Thomas D. Clark
Second Edition
Corrected and with Photos and full Index added
Tho__Kentucxy | | .
‘FEBRUARY 1974 |
Pikeville College Press
of the
Appalachian Studies Center
Pikeville, Kentucky
1972
SH 4)
tempannamnges ech
at eee ee
it a Pi tie whe
Executions in Kentucky since 1911
Raymond Ellison White Muhlenberg Wilful Murder Feb, 24, 1950
Columbus Webb | White Martin Wilful Murder June 16, 1950
Albert Shelkels Negro Jefferson Armed Robbery June 8, 1951
149 James I. Robinson White Jefferson Wilful Murder Jan, 18, 1952
150 Earl D, Bircham White Jefferson Wilful Murder Feb, 1, 1952
151 Jessie Lee Quarles Negro Christian Wilful Murder April 4, 1952
152 Roosevelt Spears White Campbell Wilful Murder Feb, 27, 1953
153 Thomas William Reed Negro Jefferson | Wilful Murder June 4, 1954
154. Roy Tarrance \/ White Jefferson Wilful Murder Mar. 18, 1955
155 Leonard Tarrance V White Jefferson Wilful Murder Mar, 18, 1955
156 Ed Milam Negro Christian Wilful Murder Sept. 16, 1955
157 Chester Merrifield White Jefferson Wilful Murder Dec, 23,.1955 |
158 David Nichols Negro Jefferson Wilful Murder Dec, 23, 1955
159 James Franklin Bowman Negro Jefferson Wilful Murder Nov. 30, 1956
160 Charles C. DeBerry Negro Jefferson Wilful Murder Nov. 30, 1956
161, Robert Lee Sheckles Negro Jefferson Rape Nov, 50, 1956
| 162 Keily Moss a White Henderson Wilful Murder Mar. 2, 1962
163 Arnold Bascom Alcorn White Jefferson Murder beech
Row July 1, 197¢
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
431
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
¢
Jess Sanders
Otis Peter Smith
McCoy Combs
Burnett Sexton
Robert Anderson v
Tom Penny
a
Raymond S, BaxterV
Ernest Trent
William Carson Gray
Archie Simpson
Tommy Nelson
Thomas Bass
Carl Fox
Ed Hambrick
Anderson Adkins
Thomas Earl Warner
Arthur Jones
Edward Calhoun
Earl L. Tungett
Luther Williams
Jasper Nease
Daniel T. McPeak
Charlie Pool
Herbert H. Workman
Lawrence B, Lightfoot
Executions in Kentucky since 1911
Negro
Negro
White
White
White
White
White
White
Negro
Negro
White
Negro
Negro
Negro
White
Negro
Negro
White
White
Negro
White
White
Negro
White
White
Jefferson
Jefferson
Perry
Perry
Fayette
Fayette
Fayette
Breathitt
Fayette
Fayette
Pike
Jefferson
Campbell
Campbell
Pike
Mason
Mason
Garrard
Lyon
Pulaski
Jefferson
Jefferson
Christian
Jefferson
Campbell
Murder
Murder
Murder
Murder
Murder
Murder
Murder
Wilful Murder
Murder
Murder
Murder
Murder
Rape
Rape
Wilful Murder
Wilful Murder
Wilful Murder
Murder
Wilful Murder
Wilful Murder
Armed Robbery
Armed Robbery
Murder
Armed Robbery
Wilful Murder
Aug, 28, 1942
Aug, 28, 1942
Jan, 15, 19-43
Jan, 15, 1943
Feb, 26, 1943
Feb, 26, 1943
Feb, 26, 1943
Feb, 26,1943 —
June 25, 1943
June 25,1943 _
Mar, 16,1945
Mar, 16, 1945
Apr, 6, 1945
May 25, 1945
Mar. 15, 1946
Mar, 22, 1946
Mar, 22, 1946
May 24, 1946
July 11, 1947
Feb, 27, 1948
July 30,1948
Nov. 5, 1948
Jan, 28, 1949
Mar. 4, 1949
June 24, 194°
a
KENTUCKY .
Slave BILL € James) BM12 Woodford
Murder, WF 7~30-1791
Slave ISABELLE BF15 Bourbon
Murder, 2W 8-8-1814
STEPTER, William Henry WM17 Greenup
Murder, WF 6~5-1847
SUSAN BF12 or 13/13 Henry
Murder, WM3 2~7~1868
MILLER, William BM16 Oldham
Rape, WF 27~3-1899
GREEN, Royal BM1L7/17 or 18 Daviess
Murder, WM 2-17-1905
PEARSALL, James BM16/18 Fayette
Rape, WF58 7-67-1906
MATHIS, Allen BM16 Graves
Rape, WF 7731-1906
THOMPSON, Earl BM17 Grant
Rape, WF 1-7-1910
WHITE, James BM16 Bell
Rape, WF14 1-30-1911
WILLIAMS, Silas BM16/17 Woodford
Murder/Rape, 2WF80&? 3-21-1913
BURNAM, Eugene BM15/18 Fayette
Rape, WF22 3~-27~1942
SEXTON, Burnett WM17/18 or 19 Perry
Murder, WM 1-15-1943
GRAY, William Carson BM17/18 Fayette
Murder, WM66 6-25-1943
FOX, Carl BM17/18 Campbell
Rape, WF 4-6-1945
JONES, Arthur BM16/18 Mason
Murder, WM80O 3~22-1946
kentucky Corrections
[§5b. Negr Ned. Ballard County, Correct date 1s Novenber 24, 1854
Slave of Mrs. Susan Thompsogé Valuation $1150. Convicted
of Voluntary Mans hugh rer. Fer Balled County Creu? Court
Order Book, October Terof 1854. pages 175 +104. See also
State Audifor’s Report, Siscal fear 1854¢-1§55 which notes.
Payment of $1150 7b the owner of Negro Ned, & Stave exgetited
Mn Ballard County.
/$56 Negro Levi. Bourbon County. Correct date 1s Novembeh 24, [§54, Levi
aged ‘about sixteen’. Condémned tor Ming Jtanna Cleara.
Co- defendant Neyo hip » ged Véss thin tiurreen ’ also C0” -
demned but had Sentence commhed Per The Western Chzen
(newspaper) 9/20/54 3:1 k flaf[S¥ 3:1 See also State
Auditor's Report, Fiscal Yl [854-1885 whith najes payment
of $700 to the owner of Negro Levi, a sfave executed in Gourbon
County: sé
[$55 Negro John. Boyle County . Correct date 1s Oehiber 13, 1854. Slave of RH.
Caldwell, Rope. Per Boyle otty Ciraut Court Order ook,
pee Term 1854 pages, Vo- 108 . See also State Mudifors Kyor?
ir
Hiscal yeer 1854-466 yhich notes Payment of $900 70 the omer
of M qv John,
Abbe executed sn Gayle County.
[856 Negro Henry Caldwe! ountTy. Correct date /s Apel, (85%. The Lowusuille
Negro ferry Daily otirna. 3/33/54 3:1 reports the dual Conviction of Henry
b ey » tor Kile their master, Wiley rere, They were at work
Z
th a tel when Mr ney Took a rope to (6 vy tir dsobedience .
When he ordered Henry St hin SCUfF Le! ensued The two
Saves Strunghed Mr. Keatnty WHE The rope. The actial trial record
3 lost, However aby see the State Puditer's Keport for Ascal year
/854~[855 which fers Poyments oF SF 8L0 apiece hy Minny 4
ferry Two slaves bxecufed wn Calduch Cot
14
being burned, and that the remains of a man had been found in the ashes of the
building. I went over there and found a lot of persons collected, one of whom
was John Weiser. He called me on one side and told me that Sam Goodrich had
done the shooting. He told me that he, Sam Goodrich, and Ben Goodrich,
were in Sam Goodrich’s tobacco patch at work, Parish came along, and
stopped and talked with them awhile, and then they all went to a spring
nearby to get a drink of water. There Parish and Sam Goodrich got into a
quarrel when Sam Goodrich went to his house and got a pistol and came back
and shot Parish. Parish was sitting down breaking up little sticks and talking
to the others when Sam Goodrich slipped up behind him and shot him in the
back of the head. The spring where the murder took place was in a little ravine
about 500 yards from the river, in Brown's bottom. After the murder, they left
the body there till night, and then Weiser, Sam Goodrich, and Joe Goodrich
carried the body to the school-house -- which was about 300 yards distant, and
put it into the house and burned the building. Parish’s remains were found to
be almost entirely consumed, or so badly disfigured by the flames that he
could only be recognized by a couple of teeth that were missing, and an old
knife and a pair of suspender buckles.
After the inquest, I started to go home, when I was stopped by one of the
crowd and told I was suspected of the crime. | did not feel much apprehension
at the time, as I believed the clan would get me out of it, as they were bound to
do by their oaths. I was arrested there and taken to Owenton, and had an
examining trial before the County Judge. When I was searched they found the
Jack Johnson note and a counterfeit five dollar bill, which was identified as
having belonged to Parish. This, however, was a mistake, as I before said.
Parish never had had this bill, and it had been in my possession for a consider-
able time. None of the clan appeared in my defense, and | was held over in a
bond of $5,000 which I was unable to give, and consequently had to go to jail.
At the fall term of the Owen Criminal Court I was indicted and tried on the
charge of murder. The case was hurried through very rapidly. I had no
counsel, and no money to employ any, consequently the court appointed
counsel to make my defense. Counsel was also employed by someone to assist
the Commonwealth's Attorney in the prosecution.
The Jack Johnson note being found in my possession, and the counterfeit
five dollar bill, which was identified (wrongfully) as Parish’s being also found
in my possession, and my late trip to Owenton that night, were circumstances
I could not possibly explain, except by my own testimony, which, of course,
was not allowed. The case was submitted to the jury with the evidence all on
one side, who retired, and in a very few minutes returned a verdict of guilty,
and fixed my punishment at death. Being thus deserted by the clan, who were
the only men upon whom I could rely, with the public strongly incensed
against me, as nearly everybody seemed to think me guilty, it was thought |
would be lynched, and therefore I was sent to the jail at Frankfort to remain
until my execution. It is proper here for me to say that this clan were men,
none of whom were under the tongue of good repute. Old Jim Simmons, the
organizer and chief, is a very bad man and has been noted all his life for his
evil deeds. He has pretended to be crazy for the last fifteen years and boasted
to me that he had merely pretended so in order to deceive the people, and
better carry out his villainies.
12
rolled away, and that anxious desire, characteristic of those united by the ties
of nature and bonds of relationship, still clings to them. Perhaps a fond mother
is from time to time, kneeling at the altar, and pouring out her soul in prayer
to God for the protection and final return of her son, with that earnestness of
pleading which none but a mother can possess. A sister may be watching and
waiting for the return of a brother with that anxiety and solicitude that none
but a sister feels. But their suspense will be changed to deep mourning when
the sad information greets their ears that their long absent son and brother has
fallen victim to the Henry County cut-throats, and been ushered into eternity
without a moment's warning, and who awaits their coming in a world where
the cares of a sinful life will not burden them, and where their union will be
final and unbroken.
Ku-Klux Deviltry
As the reader will no doubt expect to hear of some remarkable things done
by the Ku-Klux, I will quiet their expectations by telling them that but little
was done while I was with them, save the shipping of a negro occasionally,
and one or two white men who were indolent and would not provide for their
families.
While speaking of the Ku-Klux, I will relate one little thing that occurred
during one of our raids. We were returning from visiting some negroes on Flat
Creek; and having notice of a certain lady immediately on our way who kept a
very unclean and ill-regulated house, we determined to stop and clean up for
her. We were not disappointed in our information relative to the house. We
allotted the work in proportion to the number we had in our company. Some
were to scour the floor, some the cooking vessels, others the milk vessels,
while others were to attend to the washing and cleansing the woman’s face,
neck and ears. They procured some corn-cobs and commenced the execution
of their allotted work. The lady heartily protested, and begged leave to attend
to her person herself; but the boys were determined that she should at least
~ once have a clean face and neck. They went to work with their cobs and soon
completed their task. In the meantime the other work was progressing, and
was soon completed. We then parted with her, leaving her with many good
wishes and hope of her future prosperity.
Disappointment
During the year 1874 a proposition was made to me by two of the
Goodrichs and Jackson Simmons to murder William Wainscott, who was then
residing in Brown's Bottom, Owen County, near me, to which proposition I
refused to accede. I informed them that said Wainscott had brought about
eight hundred dollars from the city. They replied, “We will go to him to-
night.” I told them I would not assist, as I lived so near him. This was early in
the morning, and during the day some of the party learned that he had paid all
his money out to some man in Gratz. This was the cause of his life being
spared. William Wainscott is yet a resident of Owen County, and I have no
doubt that he feels thankful that he was at that time the object of God's special
providence.
13
It was during the year 1874 that my wife died. This hurt me worse than
anything that ever happened to me. She died happy, imploring me to become a
Christian, and try to meet her in heaven. Her appeals had a good effect upon
me, and I resolved to change my course of life; but temptation soon presented
itself again, and I yielded, and became reckless, which has, as you see, resulted
in my ruin.
Murder of Parish
Nelson Parish was murdered on the 26th day of July, 1876. It was a
beautiful day. The sun shone brilliantly, and there was not a cloud in the sky.
About ten days previous to this, Sam Goodrich and Joseph Goodrich and
proposed to me to murder Parish, and then take possession of his crop. I
refused to do this, and told them I would have nothing to do with it. I told
them that Parish was my father-in-law, and I could not be guilty of such a
horrible crime as to murder the father of my wife and the grandfather of my
little children. They then told me I must get out of that bottom, and stay out of
it. From this time on I felt a great uneasiness on account of Parish; and though
my oath had bound me not to reveal anything which was said or done by the
clan, and I knew they would kill me if I told anything, still I told Parish he was
in danger, and begged him to leave, although I did not tell him what the
danger was.
On that fatal 26th of July, Parish, his son Wesley, and I went into Parish’s
tobacco patch to work. Parish and I left the patch and went to the house for
some water. He asked the time. I went upstairs and looked at my watch in my
trunk. It was ten o'clock. I took some apples and went downstairs. Parish and
I went to the barn and stayed there five or ten minutes talking. Then I returned
to the house and got a lot of clover, which I had cut that morning for my
horse. When I again entered the house, Parish was putting on a clean shirt. He
brushed his coat, and told me that he was going to Henry County. This was
the last I saw of him.
On that morning Parish and I had had a settlement, and he had fallen in my
debt $72, and he had given me a note on Jack Johnson for $65 as part payment;
and he also paid me $10 in money. The $5 counterfeit note I had had for some
time previous to this, and therefore I did not get it from Parish. Robert
Goodrich gave me three counterfeits at one time, and I passed them all but this
one. Parish agreed to sell his crop to me for $250 and leave. I agreed to do it.
After Parish left I went to Gratz, arriving there about 11 o'clock, and spent the
day there drinking. I concluded to go to Owenton that evening to see if I could
- sell the Jack Johnson note, for I wanted money to pay Mr. Parish for his crop
of tobacco. I passed Jim Kemper’s on my way, and arrived there about one
hour before sunset, and took supper there. I stayed there about half an hour,
and then started for Owenton. I was taken sick on the road, and went into an
orchard on the roadside, hitched my horse, sat down and went to sleep. When
I woke it was late in the night and my horse was loose. I found him after
awhile, and then started on to Owenton, and arrived there between 11 and 12
o'clock that night. On my way | saw the light from a burning building, but did
not know at the time it was the school-house, which it turned out to be. The
next morning I returned home and heard about the school-house near Gratz
15
My case was taken to the Court of Appeals. I did not have money enough
to pay the tax on the appeal, which was one dollar, and consequently a sub-
scription was made by several of the lawyers of Frankfort to give me a chance
to file the record. The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the lower
Court, and overruled a petition for rehearing. The jury refused to sign my
petition for a commutation of the sentence, the governor refused to pardon,
and I found myself at last a doomed and ruined man.
The Execution
On the stepping forth of the prisoner, the cry was heard from the
assembled multitude, “Here he comes.” He was escorted by his minister and
Sheriff Gray to the wagon in which he was to take his last ride; and after
taking a hasty glance at the surrounding company, started for the gallows
escorted by one hundred guards. Arriving at the destined point at ten minutes
past one, he ascended the fatal platform and announced his desire to give the
true facts in the Parish murder, as related to him by one of the participants. He
said a few words declaring his innocence, when he was interrupted by a heavy
fall of rain, and ceased talking. John James then ascended the steps to inquire
about the murder of his son. William Smoot was then called for, and came
forward, desiring Shuck to correct the mind of the people relative to his being
connected with the robbery of a man by the name of Baer, from Madison.
Shuck said the report was unfounded; that Robert Goodrich, Joe Goodrich,
and Jackson Simmons were guilty of that robbery, as stated to him by Robert
Goodrich. The rain was yet pouring in torrents, and the prisoner took refuge
under an umbrella with the sheriff and the attending preacher. The rain
continued to fall until the time was nearly expired. Shuck then resumed the
Parish case, by saying that there were men within the sound of his voice who
had sworn falsely against him, and could release him if they would try. One of
said witnesses had been honest enough to come and acknowledge he had
sworn falsely in his trial. The time then being within eight minutes of
expiration, he ceased, and prayer was offered by Brother Humphrey, and
then, by request of the prisoner, Mr. Humphrey sang the beautiful hymn: “Oh
think of the friends over there”, at the close of which the preacher and sheriff
bid him farewell. Shuck said that there were but three persons on earth that he
regretted leaving, two of whom were his children, and the other he would not
name. When the sound of the axe was heard he begged them not to hang him,
for he was innocent of that crime, and when the platform fell, was praying the
Lord to have mercy on his soul.
This last appeal from one ready to drop into eternity caused such an excite-
ment in the dense crowd that were gathered around, anxious to hear all he had
to say, as to cause them to make a sudden movement toward the stand,
creating such an excitement among the guards that they were thrown into
proper position by the peremptory commands of the officers, creating a
sudden panic among some two or three hundred persons who were collected
inside of an adjoining field and causing them to run pell-mell towards a ravine
in their rear for safety.
Evidence
B. G. Morgan being called, stated: that he knew Parish and Shuck; saw
43
conjunction with the former guardian, and on the 14th day of August 1854
signed the bond of which the following is a copy.
State of Kentucky
Garrard County.
August County Court 1854
} To wit
At a County Court began and held for the County of Garrard at the Court
House thereof in the town of Lancaster on Monday, the 14th day of August
1854.
Present.
Hon. James H. Letcher, Presiding Judge
Bascomb Taylor, infant orphan of Sarah Taylor decd, being 14 years of
age, this day come into court and make choice of John L. Jackson as his
guardian, who is appointed such by this Court, who thereupon together with
William R. Taylor, Joshua Burdett, Geo. F. Burdett, Jr. and Geo. W. Smith,
do promise to pay the Commonwealth of Kentucky the sum of $6000.00
current money the payment of which well and truly to be made, we bind our-
selves, our heirs, etc. jointly, severally and firmly by these presents; sealed and
dated this 14th day of August 1854.
The condition of this obligation is that whereas the above John L. Jackson
has this day been appointed Guardian to Bascomb Taylor. Now should the
said John L. Jackson diligently collect all the money and estate which the said
Bascomb Taylor is entitled to and account for and pay the same to the said
Bascomb Taylor as the law requires; and in all things truly and faithfully
perform the duties of said office of Guardian according to law, then this
' obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force.
John L. Jackson [seal]
W.R. Taylor [seal]
J. Burdett [seal]
Geo. F. Burdett [seal]
Geo. W. Smith [seal]
State of Kentucky ;
Garrard County. } To wit:
I William B. Mason, Clerk of the Garrard County Court, do certify that
the foregoing is a true copy of the order appointing John L. Jackson Guardian
of Bascomb Taylor; and the bond executed by said Jackson and others from
the records of my office.
Given under my hand this 13th day of June 1855.
William B. Mason, Clk.
By Jas. A. Anderson, D.C.
Jackson left Lancaster in company with his ward and brother-in-law the
last of October 1855, for the purpose of getting his wife’s and his ward's
negroes.
Bascomb’s relatives in Virginia caused one of his negroes to be sent to Ky.
41
Whereas it has been made known to me, that John L. Jackson, who was
confined in the county jail of Fayette County for the murder of G. W. Smith of
Garrard County, on the 12th day of June, 1855, escaped from the Jail of said
County, fled from justice and is now going at large.
Now, therefore I, Lazarus W. Powell, Governor of the Commonwealth
aforesaid, do hereby offer a reward of Four Hundred dollars for the apprehen-
sion of the said John L. Jackson, and his delivery to the Jailor of Fayette
County, within one year from the date hereof.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the Commonwealth to be affixed, done at Frankfort, the 9th day of August,
1855 and in the 64th year of the Commonwealth.
L. W. Powell
By the Governor
Grant Green, Sect. of State
$500 Reward
John L. Jackson murdered my husband, George W. Smith, in Lexington,
Ky., on the 12th of June 1855, under the most aggravated circumstances,
leaving me with a large family of small children and has escaped from the Jail
of Fayette County, Ky.
Jackson has been a pirate and burglar, has lived in Greytown eighteen
months, and my husband was the fifth man he has certainly murdered, the
number of other he has killed formerly is not known, should he be arrested,
the utmost diligence will be required to secure him, as he escaped from one of
the best Jails in Kentucky.
He stand indicated for a burglary in Garrard County, and other felonies
can be established in Garrard against him, the Governor of Ky. and the Jailor
of Fayette offer a reward of $500 for his apprehension and delivery to the Jailor
Fayette County, Ky., and I will in addition give $500 for his arrest and
delivery to the Jailor of Garrard County.
He understands disguising himself and was disguised when he escaped, in
such a manner that his most intimate acquaintances could not recognize him,
he has heretofore used a red or sandy wig and false whiskers, and will
probably use such again.
Lancaster, Ky., August 10th, 1855 Elizabeth Smith
Description
Jackson is a small man five feet 6 or 7 inches high, thin visage, rather
prominent nose, with a keen large greyish white eye, and looks one straight in
the face, light hair and very light beard, light complexion, rather inclined to be
sallow, having the appearance of a man recovering from a spell of sickness, his
mouth large, high forehead, but not prominent, broad across the shoulders for
one so sparely made, with a long neck, stands erect.
CS ee Re ee ae ee ae ee
40
in the fact, that being bold, fearless, resolute and with a considerable intellect
he has made it his business to plunder merchant vessels and then to condescend
to the low and pitiful act of stealing glass tumblers and “German silver
spoons’.
The “career” of Jackson in the language of the Herald has been an “eventful”
one, what will be its “termination” is known only to an overruling Providence.
If he should at any time make a full confession of his Career, and the life he
has lived, it will doubtless be full of romance, and present an awful picture of
the depravity of human nature.
Chapter 2
Jackson’s escape from jail and facts relative to his killing Smith.
It was not my intention to mention the circumstances connected with the
murder of Smith by Jackson at the time of writing the former part of this
narrative; but since it was put to press, however, the following advertisement
appeared.
$100.00 Reward
Escaped from the Jail of Fayette County, on Sunday evening, August 5th,
1855, John L. Jackson, who was committed for the murder of G. W. Smith of
Garrard County on the 12th of June 1855, at the Phoenix Hotel, in the City of
Lexington.
Said Jackson is about 5 feet 8 inches high with dark hair, light complexion
and weighs about 130 pounds. There are various charges preferred against said
Jackson, for offenses committed against the law in. St. Louis, Mo., in
Garrard County, Ky., and elsewhere. He is a man of desperate character, and
quite intelligent, by profession he is a printer.
The key of the cell was stolen from a private room of my residence, im-
mediately connected with the Jail between the hours of 3 and 4 o'clock P.M. by
some person who opened the door and enabled him to escape.
The above reward will be paid for his arrest and return to me in Lexington
or secured in any Jail so that I get him.
B. C. Blincoe,
Aug. 8th, 1855 Jailer of Fayette County
Proclamation by the Governor
$400 Reward
In the name and by the authority of the Commonwealth of Ky.
42
Reserved in conversation and exceedingly watchful and suspicious, his
mind is not cultivated, but he has travelled much and converses with intel-
ligence, and presents the appearance of a retiring pleasing modest gentleman.
He is a printer by profession and has worked at the trade in the offices of
the Reporter, Organ and Reveille, St. Louis, Mo., and in the office of the
- Picayune, New Orleans.
He was published in the Picayune in 1849 as having died of cholera, and in
the same year a Police Officer of New Orleans telegraphed to St. Louis he had
died of yellow fever. He had himself reported as executed for crimes
committed on the Island of Cuba. Jackson is a desperate fellow full of cunning
and adroitness, and will doubtless disguise himself.
It is considered doubtful whether Jackson will ever be brought to justice for
his many crimes, and to do his character full justice his conduct in the affair
with Smith, and the facts connected with his escape will be noticed.
Jackson's conduct since his return to Lancaster in 1853, so far as it was
manifested to the public was not discreditable to him and those who were
apprised of his crimes during infancy, he took great pains to convince that
time, age, reflection and experience had wrought an entire change in his
nature, and he was successful, they believed that he from a wild and wayward
youth had become an honest citizen, and a respectable modest gentleman.
The citizens of Lancaster, particularly the persons under Jackson's age who
were not familiar with his early history, associated with him as their equal,
and some of them on terms of intimacy; the publications relative to his
conduct in St. Louis in 1846 were forgotten and after his return in 1853, until
the murder of Smith, he had not been in a fight, and no violation of Law by
him since his departure years previous, was brought to light against him.
The wife of Jackson had one brother, Bascomb Taylor, who interested by
descent through his mother’s property, estimated at $4000, the most of which
was situated in Virginia. One of the uncles of Bascomb Taylor, who was
considered solvent was the Guardian to Bascomb, and not wishing to go to
Va. after his property, consisting of five slaves and the proceeds of the sale of
some land, desired Jackson to become his Guardian, as he intended going to
get his wife’s property, with the view of bringing it to Ky.; but before Jackson
could be appointed guardian, he was required to execute bond with approved
surety in the penalty of $6000.
The uncle of Jackson's wife and guardian to her brother being a gentleman
of high character and supposed at that time to be worth about $5000.00
applied to some gentlemen and explained the circumstances, and solicited
them to become jointly with him the sureties of Jackson, in a bond that would
be required before becoming guardian, and agreed at the same time to
indemnify them against any loss or damage, and promising to see that the
guardianship was properly attended to.
The gentlemen yielded to the solicitations, and become the sureties in
. [ Dor. No. 1.
- ‘279,293°28
; 455 31
: 12 00
ction,
. 5,048 77
- 27 00
6,744 13
and delivering them
arged with felony, as
- ¢ 400 00
< him
arged
| - 100 00
im to
1 with
. : 200 00
jm to
| with ‘
‘ : 100 00
yerin
arge
- 200 00
- - - - 1,000 00
- - - 325 00
- - - 91 77
- - - 1,382 86
ected, &c., - - 170,004 59
- - . - ‘3,230 75
- - 3,230 75
Reig 5M, 1,785 96
- 5,016 71
337 10
37 89
61 81
36 45
44 09
97 24
59 64
30 13
4 35 6,016 71 462,072 20
UREN RTT
AUDITOR’S REPORT.
Doc. No. 1.J
No. 3—Continued.
Amounts brought forward, - - $ 1,004 35 $ 5,016 71
Board of Internal Improvements, : 18 85
Librarian, - - > 7 : - 28 23
Public Printer, — - : 135 01
Adjutant General, . - : 25 45
Quarter Master General, . - 10 00
—-— $ 1,221 89
{= Balance on hand 10th October, 1855, - - —- 3,794 82
For shaves executed:
Por warrants drawn under this head:
Slave John, hung bo order of the Boyle circnit court, - * 900 00
Slave Ned, hung by order of the Ballard circuit court, - 1,150 60
Slave George, hung by order of the Trigg circuit court, 1,100 00
Slave Levi, hung by order of the Bourbon circuit court, 900 00
Slave Perry, hung by order of the Caldwell circuit court, 1,000 00
Slave Henry, hung by order of the Caldwell circuit court, 1,000 00
Slave Martha, hung by order of the Trigg circuit court, 700 00
—. Total, - - - - - - 7 - “
For amounts paid by Sheriffs in aid of the Jury Fund:
For warrants drawn under this head:
Being amounts paid by Sheriffsin aid of the jury fund, by order of the
Circuit Courts, where the jury fund proper was exhausted, - :
16
$ 462,072 20 E. bia
o,
be * we ’ |
Po wi D rd
ee, bas 3
oe
ie ay
ae 4
E |
6,703 Gl. Oh Untes gore
For School Fund:
For warrants drawn under this head.
Adair, - - - : - - - $ 1,845 20
Allen, - et - - - Os 1,578 50
Anderson, - - - - - : beats ue
Boyle, - 7 7 , - - - 1,1
Bracken, - - - - - - 1,580 60 Poe. Wo \
Bullitt, - - : - - . - 1,066 10
Bourbon, - - - - - 7717 00
Barren, : “2 Me ~ r 3,294 90 QR x
Breckinridge, - “ = = 1,628 70
Boone, - - - - Ma - 1,435 00
Breathitt, - - : oS 856 10
Ballard, - - . - - ~- . 683 20 singe
cic TN ee 91210 | Lunas
Butl er, i 45 re a = - be
Christian, - - - - :
Clark, - - - - - -
1
Campbell, - - - - - - 2,328 90 :
Gilded ee lke 1,069 GO oAk Sot & 9.
1
Carroll, - . - - - - 153 20
Casey, - 2 : - - - 1,321 60 donk ES ‘
Clinton, - - - : - - 1,266 20
Cumberland, _ - - - - - 1,174 60
Carter, - - - - - - - 1,442 00
Crittenden, - -— - - = = 1,079 40.
Calloway, - - : - - - 1,675 80
Clay, - - - - - - 942 90
Daviess, - : - - - 1,173 20
Edmonson, - - - - - 968 80
Estill, - - - - - ae ° . 1,383 90 -
Franklin, = - - - - -— 1,188 60
Fayette, - - ote - ise 1,918 00
" Floyd, - - : - mi a - 1,555 40
Fieming, - - - - - - 2,399 60
Fulton, - : - - - - 627 90
Gallatin, - - - oe - 956 20
ed
$ 48,395 80
‘
4
Amounts carried forward,
Kay, Beer
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yes
.
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——$—_
$ 475,525 81
oe fac) Nr
: e a 4
BEGLEY, Thomas, Jr., and CALLAHAN, Isaac, white, hanged at Barbourville,
Kentucky, on May 17, 1817.
BAKER, William, hanged at Manchester, Ky., on 1-15-1850,
They Hanged
the. Fiddler
and
Other Stories From “It Happened Here”
[including some unpublished works by the author]
By
JESS D. WILSON
Illustrated
Kentucke Imprints
Berea, Kentucky 40403
1978
Fee % a
14 When They Hanged The Fiddler
right-of-way for the proposed electric line. I followed him down
to where the crew was working and when I got back to the
house, I had a job working for an engineering company
contracted by the Jackson County RECC.
After two years working with the engineering company, I
was asked to work for the Cooperative. This was 29 years ago.
The point of this rambling story is that it is the story of
many of us. A young man or woman has no clear guide as to
what he should do to get what he wants out of life. The road is
found by trying one thing and then another.
Those who want a lot out of life and are willing to work
hard to get it are often faced with two choices: do we stay here
or go where jobs are more plentiful?
People not born in these hills find it hard to understand a
mountain man’s desire to come back to the place where he was
born.
There are those who stay here and by hard work make a
good living. There are those who vaccilate between the two and
spend a lifetime, a few years away and a few years back home.
There are those who break all ties and go and never look
back and then there are those who go and spend a lifetime
always wanting to come back. They raise children who never
understand this strange urge their parents have for a land of
. rugged hills.
Then there are some children and grandchildren who, on
their own, seek and find a way back to the hills of their
ancestors.
Knowing what an obstacle this urge can be, Ruth and I
raised our own children on an “island” so to speak so that the
choice would be easier for them. Our own children scattered to
New York, Texas and California, but in the mean time, we
found and befriended a score of young people from all over the
nation who wanted to live and to make a living in the hills. Some
of these have made good here and have added much to making
this a better place to live and work. _
These freakish turns of events have convinced me that if
my father had had the wisdom of Solomon he could not have
given me better advice than “plant the Willie Hollow to corn.”
My grandmother Pigg was the sort of person who could
“live on a flat rock and have meat to sell.” A favorite saying of
hers was, “Every man has his own row to hoe.” I think this is
what I learned in the Willie Hollow.
When They Hanged The Fiddler “15
WHEN THEY HANGED THE FIDDLER
There is an old fiddle tune called ‘““The Last of Callahan.” I
can’t whistle the tune. because I don’t recall ever hearing it, but I
can tell you the story of the events behind it. In fact if the events
that named the tune had not happened, I probably would not be
here to tell the tale. >
In the year 1816, a David Newberry was found murdered at a
place since known as Newberry Hill. As you travel east on the
Daniel Boone Parkway from Manchester toward Hyden, vou go
up Pace’s Creek and down Hector. Near the mouth of Hector you
turn right through a gap in NEWBERRY HILL and cross the
Red Bird River and valley and go up Big Creek into Leslie
County.
Three men were arrested and charged with the murder. of
David Newberry. They were: ISAAC CALLAHAN, THOMAS
BEGLEY, JR. and ACHILLES GIBSON.
The examining trial was held at Manchester, July Term 1816,
The following witnesses were present: JOHN GILBERT,
JESSE ROBERTS, JEREMIAH YORK, PLEASANT WIL-
SON, MASSIE HACKER, JOHN MUNCY, HENRY SIZE-
MORE and SUSANNAH CALLAHAN.
It was almost like a family reunion of my ancestors, a hundred
and two years before I was born.
ISAAC CALLAHAN had married (1810) Mahala Wilson, a
sister to my great, great grandfather John Wilson. John Wilson
had married (1812) Rachel Roberts, a daughter of JESSE
ROBERTS. MASSIE HACKER had two sons that would marry
sisters to Rachel Roberts: Samuel Hacker to China Roberts in
1823 and Clayborne Hacker to Action Roberts in 1824.
PLEASANT WILSON was a brother to John Wilson, my great,
great grandfather, and to Mahala, who had married CAI LA-
HAN. The Wilsons were children of Philip and Rebecca Wilson,
who had moved trom North Carolina, some tifteen or more years
before. They lived on Red Bird River near the mouth of Elector,
within a mile of the scene of the murder. JESSE ROBERTS and
his wife, Nancy Anderson, lived on Big Creek.
JEREMIAH YORK was one of my great, great grandfathers.
All of the above kinfolk were on my grandfather Alford Wilson’s |
SF mith dk at al
osnsnaldilyes
ne
ap 4 / bey, inl
(eller fy eri dee
THE “et AND CONFESS]
O° THs YOUNG FELON oe, | Me
Edward W. wn Me
W no was Exrcurep mn Estite County, Kentucky on THY
20TH Day or May, 1857, vox trux Moroer or
JAMES M. LAND AND JFSSE ARVINE
GIVING A MINUTE DETAIL OF THK
Commission of Four Distinct Murders, Many
Thefts. Forgeries and Counterfeiting
Se ALSO sss
THO COURTSIMIP AND MARRIAGE FO
SIX DIFFERENT YOUNG FEMALES
Be FORK THE FREON ATIAINED bak AGe OF 21 YRaRs
|
|
|
——— TOGETHER Wilh WiIs-———
Address Made at the Gallows
on THR-——
DAY OF HIS EXECUTION
A Reprint of the Origine! Confession
Printed By
The Enterprise Printing Company
Incosporated
Beattyville, Kentucky
For E.dward Kincaid
Sam McGee
Kermit R, Pope
Richard Gaines
John Young
Wm, "Bad Bill'"’ Waters
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Zarve Buton
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Will Chaney
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Francis Glenday
Wiley Graves
Charlie Williams
James Smith
Bill Young
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Alfred Drake
Executions in Kentucky since 1911
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James Russell Woodford Negro
McCracken
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April 7, 1933
April 14,193¢
April 14,1938
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96
97
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100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
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112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
Homer “Young
George B. Underwood
Sam Franklin
Arnold Clift
Perry Marion
Troy Triplett
Parkie Denny
Leonard "Sank" Mosley
Sylvester Warner
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Jack Davis
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Ernest Houston
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Grover Chism
Bill Smiddy
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Robert Williams
James Lee Robertson
Executions in Kentucky since 1911
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White
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White
White
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White
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Negro
Bell
Bullitt
Jefferson
Laurel
Laurel
Letcher
Madison
Meade
Casey
Estill
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Jefferson
Bell
Lyon
Leslie
Mercer
Jefferson
Jei{ferson
McCracken
Hardin
Whitley
Jefferson
Fayette
Fayette
Fayette
Murder
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Armed Robbery
Murder
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Murder
Rape
Murder
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Murder
Murder
Murder
Murder
Rape
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Murder
Murder
Murder
Rape
Rape
Murder
June 5, 1936
Feb, 19, 1937
Mar, 19, 1937
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Harry Armond
Edward Lake
Elisha Sloan
John Baker
Roger Brannon
Smokey Harry
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Red Seymoure
Hascue Dockery
Milford Lawson
Willie Moore
James Howard
Clarence McQueen
Carl Hoard
Ivan Hutsell
Ballard Ratcliffe
Richard Edmonds
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A. B. "Pegleg'"' Cooksey
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Frank Carson
Exccutions in Kentucky since 1911
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Jefferson
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Nelson
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(Died
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(Chair
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July 3, 1925
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April 29, 1932
Dec, 17, 1932
Apr. 7, 1933
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3]
32
33
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40
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42
43
44
45
46
47
Harry Garrison
John H. Blue
Melvin Collins
James Lawlwe
Pat Carney
James Howard
Lennis Hones
Lube Martin
Charles Music
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Dave Brown
Tom Nichols
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Executions in Kentucky sinee 1911
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Criminal Asslt,
Murder
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Nov, 17, 191
Aug. 10, 191’
July 12,1911
Feb, 21, 191¢
Feb, 21, 1919
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May 15, 1923
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Mar.7, 1924
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Mar, 20, 1925
June 26,1925
June 26, 1925
June 26,1925 |
a
¥ Crime in America before 1900
Sources and Documents
Edited by Lawrence S. Thompson
II
Confession of Richard H. Shuck
A Member of the Owen and Henry County
Marauders
State of Kentucky
1877
Ill
A Narration of the Crimes of
John L. Jackson
The Great Western Desperado, Murderer
and Burglar
1855
IV
Concise Statement of the
Trial and Confession of
William Clutter
1810
Lexington, Ky.
The Gallows Press
Russell Lutes, Publisher
1981
Crime in America before 1900
Sources and Documents
Edited by Lawrence S. Thompson
II
Confession of Richard H. Shuck
A Member of the Owen and Henry County
Marauders
State of Kentucky
1877
III
A Narration of the Crimes of
John L. Jackson
The Great Western Desperado, Murderer
and Burglar
1855
IV
Concise Statement of the
Trial and Confession of
William Clutter
1810
Lexington, Ky.
The Gallows Press
Russell Lutes, Publisher
1981
Copyright 1981
by
Russell Lutes, Publisher
The Gallows Press
807 Euclid Avenue
Lexington, Kentucky 40502
Introduction
Like most bad men who were ultimately brought to justice, Richard H.
Shuck (1851-1877) of Henry County, Kentucky, was the male counterpart of
the junge Bettschwester, alte Betschwester (young bed sister, old praying
sister’). His pre-gallows confession tells of early disobedience to his parents
and descent into the depths of rustic crime, concluding with a long “advice to
young men”, supposedly written by him just before he was hanged in
Owenton, Kentucky.
Shuck’s association with the ‘“Ku-Klux” is a significant aspect of his
criminal career. The “Klan” in Kentucky, the border states, and the Middle
West after the War, just as the modern Klan, is simply a cover for
hooliganism. In Shuck’s day the Klan in the lower South was primarily an
organization of ex-Confederates to reach their objectives of regaining civil
rights and establishing white supremacy. The methods of both were
reprehensible, but at least the aims of the Southern Klan did not involve
simply crime and terrorism. There was loose regional organization of the
Southern Klan, but the “Klan” north of Kentucky and Arkansas consisted
simply of wool-hat outlaws who might have taken any other name.
Shuck makes the feeble excuse that he was trapped into allegiance with the
northern Kentucky variety of the Klan. In a couple of places in the narrative
there is an implausible effort to excuse the gang's activities. In 1871 Shuck and
his accomplices flogged a man at Six-Mile Hills in Henry County for drinking
too much and neglecting his family and farm. Again, under the caption of
“Ku-Klux Deviltry”, Shuck tells how the band cleaned up the home of an
untidy housewife and scrubbed her neck and ears with corn cobs. The
contemporary Klan has much the same crude program. A classic example is a
recent newspaper photograph of a little girl of some six years old, in a Klan
costume, presenting a radio to an aged black couple. Her redneck father stands
proudly by, a thumb in his single gallus, and is quoted in the caption: “We do
nice things for good niggers.”
Although the Library of Congress enters the work under Shuck’s name, it is
unlikely that a man facing eternity, with minimal education, could have
contributed much to the actual composition. Fears (otherwise unidentified at
this time) probably wrote the entire work and was probably solely responsible
for some parts, for example, the section on “Advice to Young Men’. It is
reasonably sure that Fears elaborated considerably on the information he
received from Shuck and used other sources such as court records. He may
have been an attorney and was surely a person familiar with local tradition in
Henry and Owen Counties. The section on the fate of Shuck’s hanging hood is
the stuff from which folk tradition is moulded.
Fears is also most likely the author of the doggerel verses at the end of the
“Advice to Young Men’. It has no elements of the folksong such as we find in
other modern Kentucky ballads such as those on Floyd Collins or General
Denhart. Fears is able to write grammatical English, contrary to the obvious
deficiencies of the authors of some other “trials and confessions”. His prose
Crime in America before 1900
Sources and Documents
II
Confession of Richard H. Shuck
A Member of the Owen and Henry County
Marauders
State of Kentucky
1877
narrative moves fairly rapidly, but the style is pedestrian. The few efforts at
rhetoric fall flat, and the conventional descriptions of nature add nothing to
the story. Fears’ knowledge of history leaves much to be desired. In the section
on the Galligan murder he refers to “the days of the Crusaders, when the
hellish Inquisition was exterminating the Christians”.
The narrative is one of unmitigated violence and treachery. Shuck himself
and his confederates would probably have been the object of vigilante action
by a Klan in the style of the contemporary one. Shuck (or Fears?) points out
that the gang was made up mainly of bullies who could be set to flight by a
courageous person, as in the incident of the raid on the apple orchard opposite
the small town of Lockport. In the same sense it is pertinent to note that many
of the robberies and murders were committed for paltry sums, perhaps less
than a hundred dollars, rewards of crime which sophisiticated hoodlums
would have scorned even in the last century. Here is the story of small-town
bad boys. The final irony is that Shuck, after a short life of crime, was
executed for an act committed not by him but by his accomplices, none of
whom even helped him secure counsel.
This and other confessions are clearly addressed to audiences that were
titillated by blood and gore. In the story of the Baer robbery the author writes,
“I know the reader is somewhat disappointed in not finding the above robbery
end in murder...” Disappointed? We simply expect it, just as most soap opera
addicts can figure out the next episode.
Lawrence S. Thompson
Lexington, Kentucky
February, 1981
Supplement
What Became of Dick Shuck’s Hanging Hood
Mrs. Rena L. Yancey, of Glencoe, Ky., sent the story of the hanging hood
that shrouded Dick Shuck’s face on the day of his execution to Allan Trout’s
Trotline in the Louisville Courier-Journal. With her permission, part of her
story follows. The story was related to her by the widow of Sheriff Thomas
Gray, the official hangman. Mrs. Gray was Mrs. Yancey’s mother-in-law, and
she lived with Mrs. Yancey from the time of her husband's death in 1907 until
her own death in 1937 at the age of 91.
Shuck’s confession from the gallows identified a notorious gang that for
sixteen years had been terrorizing the Kentucky river country between Frank-
fort and Carrollton. This confession led to the arrest of four of the gang --
“King Jim’ Simmons, the leader; his son-in-law, Bob Goodrich, and two of
Bob’s brothers, Joe and Sam. Forty days after July 27, 1877, the day Shuck was
hung, a mob of citizens stormed the Henry County jail, seized “King Jim” and
his three confederates, and hung them from the bridge over Drennon Creek at
the edge of New Castle.
The gallows on which Shuck was hanged was built a mile from Owenton
on the Gratz pike. On the day of execution a crowd a half mile square was
packed around the scaffold, and along the road back to town, to the public
square. Shortly after noon Shuck, Sheriff Gray, and the Rev. C. M.
Humphrey, a Methodist minister, mounted a spring wagon at the jail and
started for the place of execution. Armed troops with fixed bayonets forced a
passage through the crowd. Shuck sat on top of a coffin for his last ride. They
arrived at the scaffold at 12:45, at 12:50 Sheriff Gray read the death warrant.
Then Shuck started his confession which was shortly interrupted by a
torrential downpour of rain, the awful black storm clouds opened and spilled
their fury on the scene of vengeance below. The minister opened his umbrella
and Shuck and Sheriff Gray moved under it, and for twenty-five minutes the
trio. stood there in sheltered but tense silence.
The rain ceased, and at a suggestion from the crowd Sheriff Gray lowered
the rope a trifle. He put a black hood over Shuck’s face and fitted the noose
snugly around his neck. The Sheriff had thought of resigning rather than
officiate at the execution, but Shuck prevailed against that, saying he would
rather be hanged by a friend. “Goodbye, Tom,” said Shuck. “Farewell, Dick,”
said Sheriff Gray as he kicked away the first prop, then the second, that
supported the death trap. Shuck’s body dangled 26 minutes and 45 seconds
before they cut it down.
Sheriff Tom Gray lived near the Yancey home on Possum Ridge in Owen
County. He knew many unique stories and perhaps the strangest of them all
involved Mr. Gray himself. It occurred right after he, as high sheriff, officiated
at the hanging of Dick Shuck. This is the story. ‘“As was the custom at legal
hangings, they cut Shuck down and laid him in the coffin he had ridden on to
the scaffold. Sheriff Gray took the hood off Shuck’s face and, not knowing
22
O, welcome death, how sweet thou art,
When I shall no longer feel the smart!
I've three days yet to meditate
Upon the horrors of my fate.
And then my soul must fly
To darkest night or brightest sky;
And there it must forever stay
To wait the fearful judgment day.
Come, stand around me young and bold,
And see me meet death so cold.
My youthful heart is so chaste
I do not fear to meet the Saviour’s face.
Young men, receive my admonitions,
And shun all wicked propositions.
Now I| must bid you all farewell:
Remember my advice, and it to others tell.
Lawler’s Eulogy
To all who may chance to see this document, I wish to present to your
favorable consideration Robert W. Lawler, of Frankfort, and James Lineback,
of Owenton, jailers of said places. While they did their whole duty in regard to
my safe custody, yet they treated me with the humanity and kindness that all
brave men should bestow upon a helpless, subdued prisoner, regardless of
what his crimes may be; and it is my dying wish that if the vicissitudes of this
uncertain life should ever throw them upon the bounty of any of my friends,
that they will remember their attention to me, during my forlorn captivity,
while under their control, treating me with that kindness and forbearance that
a father would extend to a son if placed in a similar condition. I hope all good
men will remember and requite their kindness, if it should ever be their
privilege.
Richard H. Shuck
Owenton, July 17, 1877
Mr. Lawler. Dear Sir: I thank you very kindly for your good treatment
whilst I stayed with you. Tell all of your family “howdy” for me, and tell them
all goodbye for me. I am agoing to a better world than this. I will soon go
home to live always, and I want you all to meet me on the beautiful shore
where parting is no more. I will soon be with my dear companion who is now
at rest. So no more for this time. Remember me, you and all. Goodbye
forever. Love, peace, good will to you all.
Richard H. Shuck
To Robert W. Lawler, Jailer
21
deplorable as it is. What a heartrending thought, to be cut off in the morning
of life, and in the enjoyment of vigorous health! But I have violated the laws of
my country, and must suffer the penalty, which I acknowledge is just. It is but
natural for any person to try to avoid punishment, even though it be just.
Young reader, if all crimes were to go unpunished, our government would
soon come to dissolution and relapse into heathenism.
Now, my brothers and sisters, these are the dying words of your
unfortunate companion. There are some of you old enough to know how to
behave yourselves, and I wish you to so act as that your conduct will be an
example of morality to your younger brothers and sisters, who are less
conscious of right and wrong. There are some of you who are in the habit of
profane swearing. Now, the last request of a dying brother is, to quit that
practice; for it will lead to greater evils. Do not let this admonition remain
unheeded. Let me implore you to try to meet your Saviour in peace. Do not
put it off, for you may be called away in the dawn of youth without a
moment's warning. Remember that we have no lease on life; consequently do
not put it off until it is too late, but seek the Lord while you are young; falter
not at the first effort, but persevere.
Now my dear father, mother, brothers and sisters, when you read this I
shall be in the cold and silent grave; but oh! forgive a dying son, for the grief
brought upon your gray hairs by his recklessness. I cannot say more, but fare-
well forever, and may God bless you, my dear little children, and brothers and
sisters, and prepare you all to meet Him in peace when He shall come to judge
the world. This is the prayer of your unworthy but affectionate dying son.
Young men and veterans too,
Give heed to the words I say to you;
And may you to them ever cling,
For they will guide you through a world of sin.
For murder I am now convicted,
And in a dark dungeon bound and weighted,
Where I am compelled to lie
Until the twenty-seventh of July.
And I leave my dungeon berth,
To be consigned to mother earth.
My spirit will then arise to eternal light,
Or sink to endless night.
Come see me meet a youthful end,
With trouble then no more to blend.
I do not fear to die, and fly
To meet my Saviour in the sky.
My sins are great, I do confess,
But my Saviour is all righteousness
Then on His goodness I rely
Now, and when I come to die.
20
have assisted in the perpetration of such enormous crimes. Yet it is true, and I
must pay for them by being taken from all the enjoyments of this world,
chained down in a loathsome dungeon, not to come out until I start to the fatal
and awful platform, there to meet an ignominious death.
It seems hard that one should have to part with all his friends and
playmates, just after passing the bloom of youth; but I hope my fate will be a
warning to the rising generation, and deter them from following my example. I
would say, young reader, the only way to avoid it is to shun bad company,
abhor bad example, and act honestly toward all persons. Think of my fate, I
must soon pass from time to a never-ending eternity: I will not say without
hope, for as long as there is life there is a glimmer of hope. However great the
sinner, there is still a greater Saviour; and may He have mercy on my soul.
Alas! I must very soon be hurled into eternity, and that, too, by a fearful and
ignominious death. Oh, young reader, before that time let me warn you
against the commission of crime, and of evil habits of all kinds, that you may
not have to share the fate which I must soon suffer. Shun this by acting
honestly toward all persons, and endeavor to avoid the paths of vice and
immorality. By doing so you will gain the love and esteem of all with whom
you form an acquaintance. I care not how successful you may be in indulging
in evil habits, they will be very sure to render you unhappy. When you get
into the company of those whom you know to be honest, you will feel uncom-
fortable, because your guilt will be burdensome to you while in their presence.
How different are the innocent. They breathe the air of freedom, the value
of which is inexpressable. What is life without freedom? Liberty is one of the
greatest blessings vouchsafed to us by an all-wise Benefactor. I desire you,
young friends, to appreciate its value without having to be confined inside the
walls of a dark and gloomy jail, as I have been for the past ten or eleven
months. I am not speaking from imagination, but from woeful experience. I
once enjoyed freedom and innocent life. I have also lived in wickedness and
crime, the latter bringing me, as you will soon see, to an early grave -- cutting
me off from all the enjoyments of life -- from children, father, mother,
brothers and sisters, while almost in the bloom of my youth.
If I had taken the advice which I am this day giving to you, my young
friends, | might now have been free as air, and an honor to my relatives; but
alas! instead of that, I leave a stain upon them that probably time can never
efface. Young friends, I desire this to be a warning to you, and keep you from
being led captive by this world’s allurements or the temptations of the wicked;
for if you do, you will come to dishonor, and finally to destruction.
I have told you that my present condition is the result of disobedience to
parents, and it is unquestionably true. Therefore, let me implore you to be
submissive to your parents in all things. By so doing you will insure their and
your own happiness. Reflect for a moment what would be more displeasing to
a parent than the willful disobedience of a child. Young reader, let me impress
upon your mind the importance of the counsel which I am now giving you; for
if you take one step toward crime you will soon become hardened to it; so
much so that you will not shrink from the commission of any crime, no matter
what its character, and thus you will soon be fitted to share my fate, sad and
44
before Jackson's appointment.
Jackson arrived in Virginia where the property was and after having
remained there for some time, he disappeared in the night with two of the
negroes of his brother-in-law, in company with a negro trader.
Jackson a few days before he disappeared with the negroes, wrote a letter
to a friend in Lancaster and requested him to run off the negro of Bascomb in
Kentucky, and keep him secreted until he could get him. This negro is worth
$1000.
Bascomb became alarmed for fear he would lose his property, and applied
to an attorney at law, who sued out an attachment for the slaves, and by
telegraphic dispatches, etc.; endeavored to get the slaves.
Bascomb’s Lawyer sent a telegraphic dispatch to a Lawyer in Lancaster
apprising him of the facts, and asking him to take steps to secure the slave of
Bascomb in Kentucky from the reach of Jackson.
The letter from Jackson to his friend arrived in the same mail with the
dispatch; the Lawyer in Lancaster was absent, and so was the friend of
Jackson.
The brother-in-law of Jackson was in the Post Office on the arrival of the
mail and knew Jackson's handwriting and supposing it related to his health;
the time he would return, etc., took the liberty of opening the letter and to his
astonishment discovered the facts before mentioned, being one of the sureties
and being solicitous to redeem his promise, he notified his co-sureties of the
fact and the negro in Ky. was secured.
Jackson after having been absent several days from where he left his ward
in Va. and his wife's slaves and finding that he could not elude the pursuit of
the lawyer employed by Bascomb, he returned, convinced Bascomb that his
intentions were to bring the slaves to Kentucky and not to sell them.
He sold in Virginia two of the slaves belonging to Bascomb, but before the
purchaser paid for them he ascertained the condition of the title and refused
payment, the slaves were left in possession of the gentleman; Jackson agreeing
to have the sale confirmed by a decree of Court.
He returned about Christmas last to Lancaster, with two of Bascomb’s
slaves and three of his wife’s, he was apprised of the letters received in
Lancaster concerning his conduct in Va., and his explanation of his conduct
was that his wife’s friends were about to prevent him bringing Bascomb’s
slaves to Ky., and he determined to do it secretly rather than be defeated.
He told his sureties that the negroes he had sold, were indisposed and
couldn't travel, and he hired a gentleman to keep them until the weather
become settled, and would then have them brought to Ky.
The sureties kept up a correspondence with the lawyer Mr. W— of Va.
45
who informed them of the sale of the slaves by Jackson, and at the time he was
telling his sureties the slaves were left on Bailment, they had letters in their
possession contradicting his statements, they did not communicate that fact to
him and he believed until a few days before he killed Smith that they were
ignorant of the sale, etc.
The sureties except Taylor immediately after Jackson returned expressed
apprehension of trouble about their suretyship, and desired to be released
from their bond, and frequently consulted on the subject.
Smith then related to the other sureties the early crimes of Jackson (who
were at that time ignorant of them,) and said he was satisfied that Jackson had
deceived him, that since his return to Lancaster in 1853, his conduct was so
exemplary he believed that he had thoroughly reformed; but from his
fraudulent conduct about the negroes he had led the life of a villain ever since
he left him when a boy, and that the apparent and much desired reformation
was hypocracy and deceit.
The sureties desired to be released without difficulty and kept Jackson’s
conduct in Va. as secret as possible, and asked him to give other sureties,
which he promised from time to time to do.
The matters remained in that condition until about the Ist of May last
when W. R. Taylor, the brother-in-law of Jackson, failed in business, and
fairly and honestly give up all his property to his creditors; as he was the cause
of the persons becoming Jackson's surety, when he could no longer indemnify
them, as he had promised, he wished them released, and so informed Jackson.
The sureties after Taylor failed determined to apply to the Courts of justice
and ask a release on legal grounds, and so advised Jackson in the most polite
manner, after having tried other measures for months.
Jackson commenced denouncing his sureties as ‘dirty dogs” behind their
backs as soon as he learned they would have him removed, and used many
harsh expressions about them and threatened vengeance on them, and
particularly so far as Smith was concerned.
The Saturday before Smith was killed, he gave Jackson notice that he
would apply to the Garrard County Court for his removal as Guardian.
The night after the notice was executed on Jackson, he caused an unlawful
assembly of slaves to collect at the house of a Free Negro in Lancaster under
the pretext of having a ball; remarking to an associate that he had gotten up
the Negro ball, for the benefit of these men, and it was his ball.
Jackson knew, that as Marshal it was Smith’s duty to disperse the slaves,
and remarked to an acquaintance (showing him at the same time a deadly
instrument used only by midnight assassins called a “colt”, but if Smith came
to break up the Negro Ball, he would hurt him, and that badly and do worse to
him.
46
Smith hearing of the Negro Ball, and not knowing its object, or Jackson’s
intentions, walked in and ordered the Negroes to leave. Jackson told the
Negroes to remain, it was his ball. Smith got so close to him, that Jackson
discovered Smith's chances were equal with his, and he abandoned the conflict
and the Negroes left.
Smith was informed of Jackson’s threats the next day, and he notified the
other sureties, and they on consultation determined to attach the Negroes to
prevent Jackson from removing them, as they were convinced that his
intentions were desperate.
They sued out an attachment early Monday morning, June 11th, 1855, to
attach the Negroes belonging to Bascomb, one of them was in the country
about six miles from Lancaster, one in Jackson's possession and the other at
Danville, Ky.
The summons was delivered to Jackson before the attachment was levied,
and in ten minutes afterwards the Sheriff went to Jackson's to get the Negro
there, and Jackson had slipped the Negro off, and put another about his size in
his stead, and directed him to call his name “Harrison” if the Sheriff called
there and asked his name, the Negro done so, and the Sheriff took him in
possession, that being the name of the Negro mentioned in the process, and he
retained him in possession some time, and was just on the eve of putting him in
jail when he discovered the mistake practiced on him.
Jackson had run Harrison off through a young lad to a retired place in the
Knobs, twenty miles distant from Lancaster, and the object in placing the
other boy in Harrison's place was to give his agent time to get Harrison out of
reach.
This being accomplished he went to the Clerk’s Office and examined the
petition on which the attachment was granted, and learned that an attachment
had been issued to Boyle County.
The attachment to Boyle was taken immediately to the Sheriff of that
County, by one of the sureties who had been gone two hours before Jackson
. learned it, he mounted a horse a few minutes after 12 o'clock A.M. went to
Danville, a distance of 12 miles, and got the Negro when in sight of the Sheriff
with the attachment, and slipped her out a back way and arrived at Lexington
before sunset that evening, having missed the road, travelling forty miles from
Danville to Lexington.
The Negro was carried to Lexington, secreted in a buggy, and left at a
house of ill fame near the Lunatic Asylum.
Smith was informed that Jackson had followed the gentleman to Danville
who took the attachment, and he informed one of his relatives of it, who asked
Smith and another relative, to go to Danville and see that Jackson done no
mischief, and get the Negro if possible; Jackson had left before Smith reached
Danville and he followed on to get the Negro, reaching Lexington about
midnight, accompanied by his friend from Lancaster.
47
He applied to a Lawyer and obtained an attachment for the slave, and
found out that Jackson was at Curd’s Hotel; the gentleman with Smith called
at Curd’s Hotel before day, and advised Jackson to give up the Negro, as a
correct man should do; he declined doing so, and asked where he and Smith
stopped, he was informed at the Phoenix Hotel.
Jackson called at the Phoenix Hotel just after daylight that morning,
looked over the register and asked to be shown to Smith’s room. He was
conducted to the room, and before reaching the door he drew his pistol and
approached the room ready for shooting. —Smith was not in, but in company
with the Sheriff watching the Railroad Depot for the Negro. Jackson left the
hotel, and in a few minutes Smith walked in, and was notified that a
gentleman had been there inquiring for him, and had been to his room. Smith
asked his name, and the Bar Keeper did not know it. At that moment Jackson
walked in the room, Smith was told there was the man! Smith spoke to him
and he refused to speak, the difficulty then occurred, in which Smith received
two pistol shots, one in the hand and the other in the lower part of the
stomach.
The statements contained in this narrative are not fiction but literal truths,
and written from a personal knowledge of many of the facts and the others were
derived from those who have known Jackson since he moved to Ky. when a
boy.
The fate of Smith is to be lamented. He became the surety of Jackson
without fee or reward, and could in no event expect to be profited by lending
the use of his name or one that he believed in his youth had been wild and
imprudent, but as he believed had become a man of principle, honor, prudence
and discretion.
He learned his error, but alas it was too late, the network had been inter-
woven in such a manner, that he had to stand with his arms folded and see his
wife and little prattling infants robbed of the means of subsistence, or act, and
in acting as authorized by the laws of his country and as every honest heart
sanctions, he lost his life’s blood, and the man who shed it is now a fugitive
from justice.
If there is feeling in the land that desires to see violated law executed, and
justice done to the most notorious Felon and Murderer in the United States, let
that feeling be manifested in unceasing efforts to arrest John L. Jackson.
1855 Lancaster
16 When They Hanged The Fiddler
side of the family.
JOHN GILBERT was a half-brother to Felix Gilbert, a great
grandfather of Nancy Baker-Wilson, my father’s mother.
JOHN MUNCY was a great, great grandfather of my mother,
Rebecca (Pigg) Wilson.
There is a good likelihood that Thomas Begley, Jr., was a
cousin to the Henry Begley that married (1813) Betsy Roberts,
another daughter of great, great, great grandfather, JESSE
ROBERTS. ‘
It appears from the court records that the evidence against
ISAAC CALLAHAN, THOMAS BEGLEY, JR. and ACHIL-
LES GIBSON was circumstantial. ACHILLES GIBSON may
have given evidence for the prosecution. He was tried in Clay
County Court and released.* Achilles was married to a sister to
Thomas Begley, Jr.
The families of Callahan and Begley managed to get a
postponement of their trial until they got a state law passed
giving them the choice of being tried in Clay or Knox County.
They chose to be tried in Knox County.
The levy (taxes) collected by Clay County in 1816 amounted to
$650.00, $278.00 of this was spent to hire special guards for
Callahan, Begley and Gibson.
The most damaging evidence against them was that the
murdered man, David Newberry, was a witness against them in
another case. They had been heard to threaten Newberry. Some
say that the real trouble had started in THE OLD CATTLE
WAR.
THE OLD CATTLE WAR isa long story that I shall tell at
another time. I shall only say here that Samuel Davidson, a
brother to my great, great, great grandfather, John Davidson,
was a leader in the Cattle War.
ISAAC CALLAHAN and THOMAS BEGLEY, JR. were tried
in Knox County court and were sentenced to be hanged at
Barbourville, Saturday, May 17, 1817.
* Some sources of information seem to indicate that Achilles
Gibson was hanged with Callahan and Begley.
| When They Hanged The Fiddler AT
Isaac Callahan was a fiddle player.. When the sheriff went to
measure the condemned men so as to have their coffins made,
Isaac was fiddling and the prisoners were dancing. One of them
called out, ‘“Three feet and a chaw of tobacco, that how tall we
”
are:
There are several variations of the story of the hanging, butall
agree that Isaac Callahan played his fiddle for the crowd before
he was hanged. Now, whether he played a slow and solemn dirge
or a foot stomping jig, I do not know. They say he challenged
anyone else to play the tune as well. When no one offered to try,
he broke the fiddle and they hanged him. ;
Some say that sound never ceases, that it goes on and on,
forever. Perhaps somewhere there still waifs in the outer ether
some lingering refrain of ‘“The Last of Callahan.”’
Perhaps it was because of these events that my great, great
grandparents: John Wilson and wife, Rachel Roberts; Jeremiah
York and wife, Elizabeth Clark moved in 1817 to adjoining
farms on Cow Creek in now Owsley County. The Wilson's son,
another Pleasant, married the York’s daughter, Bettie and they
became parents in 1840 of my grandfather, Alford Wilson or I
would not have been born to write this tale.
SOURCES: The Diary of Rev. John J. Dickey; Roy White's
History of Clay County, serialized in the Manchester Guardian
in 1932; James F. Bowman’s, The Philip Wilson Family of
Owsley County, Kentucky (manuscript) Kentucky Historical
Society and family traditions.
THE HANGING OF WILLIAM BAKER
In Clay County Circuit Court, June term 1848, indictments
were made against William and Matilda Baker charging that
they had murdered one Frank Prewett by striking him on the
side of the head with an axe and then cuting off his head.
There are many different stories about this killing.
Most of the stories alleged that Matilda killed Prewett,
striking him with either a shoemaker’s last or with an axe.
9 -
20 When They Hanged The Fiddler
_ William’s final resting place is on the foot of the point
between the right hand.fork of Buffalo Creek and Gabriel’s
fork. Boston probably lived here at that time. (See May 1977
issue.)
One of the other two graves beside William’s may be that of ©
his mother, Sarah Rogers, who died about 1843.
A descendant told methat Boston and his family used the
hanging-rope as a plow-line until they wore it out.
I have also heard that Boston gave the noose to his 13-year-
old son, George (Baldy) and said, “Son, remember your
brother William and don’t end up the same way.”
William was born February 4, 1822,and as far as I can
determine, he was the first child born to his parents. If I am
correct in my information about the Bakers, William was my
third cousin, twice removed, or 1/128 kin.
NOTE: Most of this story.is from tales handed down for
the last 137 years, so, should be taken with a grain of salt.
However, the time, place, nature of the indictment and the
date of hanging are a matter of record in Clay County Court
records and were published November 4, 1932, in the
Manchester Guardian, a weekly-newspaper. :
A READER WRITES
5-18-1977
Mistletoe, Kentucky 41351
Mr. Wilkon.
Your picture of the grave of William Baker (see May 1977
issue) brought back memories of long ago stories told about
Baker killing Pruitt at Pruitt Branch and carried his body off
into the woods on the back of a white steer.
When William was hanged in Manchester, his father
(Boston) brought William’s body down the river in a boat to
the month of Buffalo Creek. He then hauled it up Buffaio
Creek (to the mouth of ey in a sled pulled by a white
Steet.
My question is: Was it the same white steer? The ghost of a
white steer has been seen on Pruitt Branch. We used to live
four (4) miles above Pruitt Branch until we moved to Owsley
County in 1936.
Mrs. D.B. Robertson
(Delia Allen Robertson)
When They Hanged The Fiddler Pa
1857, AGOOD MAST YEAR
George Baker was the county attorney in‘Clay County from
1888 until he was killed in 1898, an incident in the
Baker-Howard Feud.
George Baker, known as “Baldy”’ George,was born February
20, 1837, a son of Robert “Boston” Baker, born 1800 and his
first wife Sarah Rogers.
Boston married Sarah, in Clay County, July 25, 1820.
She died about 1843.
Boston’s second marriage, about 1844, probably in Owsley
County, was to Polly Couch. She died about 1846. I don’t
think he had any children by her.
His third marriage, in Owsley County, September 2, 1847
was to Hettie Cornett.
Boston had about 15 children. He was a Union soldier
1863 to 1864. He died on Crane Creek Clay County, April 2,
1871. Hettie died December 14, 1881.
In 1889, George Baker made an affidavit to the U.S. Bureau
of Pensions as to the birthdays of his half-brothers, children of
Hettie.
He said that he remembered that John Baker was born in
the year 1857 on January 20th.
The reason he remembered that it was the year 1857 was
because that had been a “‘good mast year’
A “good mast year” was a fall and winter when there were
plenty of acorns and beech-nuts in the woods where farmers
fattened their hogs.
He did not say whether it was the fall and winter of
1856-57 or 1857-58. I don’t suppose it mattered because I
doubt if anyone in the U.S. Bureau of Pensions would have
known what a ‘‘good mast year” was, anyway.
18 When They Hanged The Fiddler
One story says that she knocked him out and thinking she
had killed him, dragged the body under the floor of their
cabin. Later, her brother came to the house and when Prewett
was heard groaning, the brother went under the floor and
completed the job.
Most stories agree that when William came home, Matilda
told him what had happened. William helped dispose of the
body by hauling-it off on the back of a white steer and Matilda
carried the head.
The body was buried under some eves beside a fallen tree.
When a dog carried the head to someone’s house the next
spring, the murder was discovered. That the indictment was
made at the June term of Court in 1848 would indicate that
the murder may have happened in late 1847.
The indictment against Matilda was transferred to the
Owsley County Court where she was tried and acquitted. One
story is that she made a death-bed confession that it was she,
not William, that did the murder.
The case against William was not tried until es term
in 1849. He was sentenced to be hanged on the {5th day of
January 1850.
That oxen were used to carry off the body is indicated by
an unsigned affidavit wherein William Baker, in asking for a
continuance of his case, alleged that ““The oxen were not at
his home on the morning Prewett was supposed to have been
murdered nor for several days thereafter, and that he could
prove that the blood on the doorstep was from a hog which
he had killed.”
Someone told me that when William was hanged at
Manchester he said on the scaffold, ‘‘A man will die for the
love of a woman.’
Several have told me that when William started to say
something, that his father, Robert “Boston” Baker, shouted
up to him from the foot of the scaffold, “Die like a man, son,
die with it in you.”
Most any old person living on the South Fork of the
Kentucky River or on Buffalo Creek will tell you that
Boston put his son’s body in a coffin and loaded the coffin
on a boat or canoe and took it down the river. He used the
hanging-rope to tie the boat to a tree that night while he and
the party with him attended an all night dance at a
schoolhouse.
One of the men at the party was barefooted and it is hard
en ar eR
When They Hanged The Fiddler 19
Lucian Burch of Booneville and [ at the grave of William
Baker at the mouth of Gabriel Creek on the right hand fork of
Buffalo.
- William was hanged in Manchester January 15, 1850 for the
murder of a Prewitt. William was a son of Robert ‘Boston’
Baker, a second cousin to my great grandfather Andy Baker.
to square-dance without shoes, so he went out and removed
William’s shoes and danced in them that night. No mention is
made of whether or not Wiiliam’s shoes were returned to him.
The next morning, the party moved on down river to the
mouth of upper Buffalo, Owsley County, where the coffin was
loaded on a sled pulled by (white)? oxen.
tga |
FO FES
a a x
Rac
NE OPUS
THIS IS YOUR COOPERATIVE
(Continued from 16a) —
DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICE BY
COOPERATIVE
“The Cooperative may/shall refuse or discontinue to
serve a member under the following conditions:
1. For non-compliance with its rules and regulations.
2. When a dangerous condition is found to exist on the
member’s premises. :
3. When a member refuses or neglects to provide
reasonable access to the premises for the purpose of
installation, operation, meter reading maintenance
or removal of Cooperative property.
4. For non-payment of any indebtedness due the
Cooperative.
5. For failure to comply with the provisions of the
wiring codes.
IT HAPPENED HERE
(Continued from 16c)
5
TALES OF OUR GRANDFATHERS
John D. Shepard of Rockcastle County is a grandson of
Private George W. Shepard, who joined the Union Army Ih
1861 at the age of 50 years. My grandfather, Alford Wilson,
Joined the same company at age 21. They served together for
three years, the older man looking out for the younger. They
lived as neighbors after the war. |
John D.’s grandfather died before he was born. My
grandfather died before | was born. Now, most of what John
D. knows about his grandfather, George W. Shepard, he
learned from my grandfather. A lot of what | know about my
grandfather, Alford Wiison, was told to me by John D.
Shepard.
MARY T. BREWER, BARD OF OOTEN
Those of us who are fortunate to have met Mary T. Brewer of
Wooten (old timers called it Ooten) in Leslie County would
hardly picture her leading a square dance, however, we know
that her wit and humor is as lively as any fiddle tune ever played.
She has flattered me by writing a poem about the title story in
my recently published book. In her letter she wrote:
16d
6. For fraudulent or illegal use of service. When the
Cooperative has discovered evidence that by fraudu-
lent or illegal means a member has obtained
unauthorized service or has diverted the service for
unauthorized use or has obtained service without
same being properly measured, the service to the
customer shall be discontinued without notice, The
Cooperative will not restore service until the cus-
tomer has complied with all rules of the Cooperative
and regulations of the Public Service Commission
and the Cooperative has been reimbursed for the
estimated amount of the service rendered including
the initial disconnection and the cost to the Coopera-
tive incurred by reason of the fraudulent use.”’
Rt. 2, Box 703
Wooten, Kentucky 41776
Mr. Wilson:
Your book is a treasure. You are a real jewel of a person
yourself, to have the depth of understanding and God-given
ability to write down these things that need to be preserved in
such an interesting way.
May God continue to bless you in your life and work. Happy
New Year!
Mary T. Brewer
WHEN THEY HANGED OLD CALLAHAN
BY MARY T. BREWER
Dedicated. to Jess Wilson who told the tale in his memorable
book WHEN THEY HANGED THE FIDDLER,
They hanged the fiddler, so goes the tale
_Of that gruesome but strangest affair;
How three were condemned and three men were
hanged
And how the last one fiddled there.
The scaffold was built, strong, sturdy and tall.
With the hangman’s rope fastened in place
And round them the people, while the fiddle tune
played,
Bid @-wild and lively dance pace.
The lumber for coffins was brought to the site;
“How long must they be and how wide?”
“We be three feet and a ‘hacker-chaw tall!’
The doomed men called out in reply.
Two men were hanged and laid to the ground
While Callahan played the death-knell,
Then upon the scaffold he challenged the crowd
To come play the fiddle as well.
But none took the dare and fear gripped them all
As they gathered much closer around.
With a shout Old Callahan struck the handrail,
Broke the fiddle as the trap-door dropped down.
Now tales of the past may be forgotten and fade,
Lose much of their glory and shine,
But Old Callahan’s tune can still be heard
As it echoes forever throrigh Time.
Thank you, Mary T. Brewer. Mr. C. C. Nolan of Rt. 2,
Madison, Indiana 47250, wrote me that he heard the tune, ‘’The
Last of Callahan,” that he playéd at his hanging. He also wrote
“if lam ever in whistling distance of you, I'll whistle it for you.”
So, Ms. Brewer, if C. A. Nolan comes back to Kentucky, which
he has threatened to do for years, he and I will come to Wooten
and see if-we can sing your poem to the tune of “The Last of
Callahan.”
2
their work. I watched their manoeuvers, saw them dispose of the body by
throwing it into a ravine, and then secrete his goods in a hollow log. I then
started for home, and passing near the copse where the murder was
committed, I came upon the same parties again. The first thought that entered
my mind, on meeting them again, was that they would take my life, in order to
prevent me exposing them. But they had no weapons except an axe, and |
resolved to use my gun for protection. They spoke to me friendly, and said:
“Dick, we are good friends of yours, and if you wish to escape trouble, you
must become a member of our band. We killed that peddler for his money; and
we will give you twenty-five dollars now, and if you divulge anything we have
told, or that you have seen us do, your life will pay the forfeit.” They told me
when I was ready to be sworn in to let them know and they would have it
attended to. I accepted the proffered twenty-five dollars, promised secrecy,
and started for home. I went directly home; remained there some time; but
nothing seemed to enter my mind but the scene that I had just witnessed.
I thought of the dangers attending the situation in which I then stood, and
the probable dangers to which I would be exposed after becoming a member of
such a band; and the more I thought about it, the more fearful I became. It
seemed that I had lost my natural mind. Imaginary fear took full possession of
me, and I said to my wife that I did not feel like staying at home that night, and
if she was willing, we would go to a neighbor's and stay. She consented, and
we made the necessary preparations and started. On the way I told my wife
what had happened, and the threats the Goodrichs had made against me if I
divulged it. She was surprised to hear it, but told me to never say anything
about it, as they would certainly kill me if I did. A long and weary night was
passed, during which my sleep was broken and interrupted by the cries and
appeals for mercy of him who had met an untimely death. I tried every means
for some time to control my feelings, and to rid myself of contemplating the
danger to which I was exposed, by being cognizant of the murder, and the
parties that perpetrated it; but nothing seemed to quiet me, and | resolved to
leave the neighborhood.
I went to Eminence, Henry County, rented a house, and moved
immediately; but I had not been there long before Jos. Goodrich visited me,
and told me he knew I had left his neighborhood through fear; and if 1 would
return and become a member of their band, I would not be molested, and |
could make money by doing so. I consented; went down and was sworn in by
their chief, and immediately made preparations to move on my father’s farm.
The sudden and mysterious disappearance of the peddler was the general
talk of the surrounding country. The supposition was that he had been
murdered by the Ku-Klux, which was gratifying to the Goodrichs. The facts
connected with the murder, as related to me by Robert Goodrich, after I
became a member of the band, are as follows: He stated that they were
clearing some land near the creek, the name of which has already been given,
and saw the peddler at a distance coming down the road. They immediately
resolved to kill him, if he seemed to have any money. They started for the road
on which he was traveling with an axe to do the work, but by a route that hid
them from his sight. The plan agreed upon to draw from him some infor-
mation relative to the amount of means in his possession was to introduce the
Confession
of
Richard H. Shuck
A Member of the
Owen and Henry County Marauders
of the
State of Kentucky
Written by Jesse Fears
Frankfort, Ky.
Printed at the Kentucky Yeoman Office
Major, Johnston and Barrett
1877
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877
For Jesse Fears
By Major, Johnston & Barrett.
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington
Confession
The author of this confession and exposure of a band of marauders located
in and near the little town of Lockport, on the Kentucky river, is a native of
Henry County, Kentucky.
I was born in the year 1851. My parents, though possessed of but a limited
education, were honest and frugal, and obtained the comforts of life by
industry and perserverance, on the small farm on which they have resided for
many years. Unfortunately, but few of the qualities that prompted them in
their course through life seemed to descend to their son. At an early age I
showed that I far excelled all the rest of the family in a peculiar low cunning,
especially in the faculty of invention, which enabled me to have a story ready
for any emergency.
Being guilty of many acts of disobedience, I was sharply reprimanded by
my parents and often received the lash. At an early age the remarkable talent
for living without work seemed to overbalance all others, and I resolved that,
when freed from the control of my parents, I would adopt some mode of
obtaining a support other than digging it out of the ground.
Time passed slowly away, bringing me nearer and nearer manhood.
Temptation after temptation presented itself, and I often engaged in the evils
practiced by the gambler and visitor of drunken hovels, regardless of the
constant rebukings and warnings of my parents to shun bad company, as a
persistence in such practices would result in my ruin. But I was incredulous
and gave but little heed to their appeals; and now, with a heart ready to over-
flow with sorrow, I acknowledge their predictions verified. Disobedience to
my father and mother is the parent stem from which spring all the crimes I
have committed, or been associated with others in committing. Had I given
heed to their persuasions and advice, I would have escaped the untimely and
ignominious death that now awaits me, the consummation of which will render
the remainder of their days a burden, and bring their gray hairs with sorrow to
the grave.
About the time I arrived at manhood, the notorious Ku-Klux came into
notice in my neighborhood. It being an institution that invited all grades of
persons into its ranks, an opportunity was soon afforded me to become a
member. I joined them in the year 1871, but had little to do with their raids,
excusing myself on account of the health of my wife, to whom I was married
during the same year. This was an eventful year of my life. It was in this year
that, by accident, I became associated with the band heretofore spoken of.
Being out squirrel hunting on Six-Mile Creek, I suddenly came upon Joseph
Goodrich and Robert Goodrich, who were about completing the murder of a
peddler, the name of whom I cannot tell. It was the first murder I had ever
witnessed, and it made me shudder and the blood to almost chill in my veins. I
asked them what was the matter, or what had happened. They replied, it was
none of my business, and ordered me to get away from there damned quick,
which order was immediately obeyed; but desiring to see the termination of
the act, and to learn the cause of the murder, I crept round on the hillside near
them, but concealed from their sight, to a point commanding a full view of
3
subject of Ku-Kluxry, and the depredations committed by them; and if it drew
from him the desired information, they were to carelessly walk along with him
to near the entrance of a certain thicket, and then ask to purchase some of his
goods. Bob said the plan acted like a charm. After being told of some of the
depredations done by the Ku-Klux, the peddler remarked that he would not
like to meet them in his present situation, from which it was evident that he
had money. They were then nearing the place sought for as a suitable point to
carry their plans into effect. Joe asked him what he was peddling. He replied
that he had a variety of articles. Telling him they would like to purchase some
things, he found a convenient place to sit down on a log, which was near the
edge of the copse spoken of above, and began to unfold his goods. Joe got his
attention closely directed to the sale of some article, while Bob carelessly
stepped to his rear and prepared to strike him with the axe, dealing him a blow
that served only to stun him. He threw up his hands and implored for mercy,
beseeching them to take all he had, but to spare his life for the sake of his wife
and children. A second blow was dealt him, which had the desired effect --
mashing his skull, and causing instant death. They hastily carried the body to
the ravine near the centre of the thicket, searched his pockets, and obtained
three hundred and seventy-two dollars. They hid the goods, and after the
mysterious disappearance ceased to be talked about, used them in their
families.
Such was the murder of an unsuspecting man; and, to eternal disgrace of
American justice, neither of the perpetrators has yet been punished; but the
vengeance of heaven will not spare them. The crime was committed in day-
light, under a clear sky and a bright October sun. The weather was pleasant,
and the leaves were yet hanging on the trees, but had begun to assume the hue
that saddens the feelings of the natural man at the recession of summer; with
now and then one loosing its hold of the parent stem and slowly gliding to the
earth, seeming to announce the awe of the Maker of heaven and earth that the
workmanship of his hands could become so utterly void of humanity as to
commit deeds at which the demons of hell would revolt.
I have given you the facts, as near as I can remember, that made me a
member of this notorious band. From that time I became reckless, not caring
what I did so I could evade the law. The drinking-saloon and the card-table
were my constant resorts, depending almost entirely on the means
accumulated by robbery and murder for a support; resorting to labor only
enough to keep the people from suspecting that I was obtaining a living by
theft or robbery.
My father, I think, suspected I was acting badly, and often told me he was
fearful I would come to some bad end. I would reply: “O hush, Father; do not
talk to me now.”
Having now given you a brief history of my life from boyhood up to the
time of my becoming a member of the band referred to, and the means that
caused me to become connected with a murder as replete with atrocity as any
now on record, I| will try to give you a brief history of the workings of the
institution after I became associated with it.
33
the following was received.
St. Louis June 24th, 1855
I examined the records of the Criminal Courts, from the year 1846 down to
the year 1852. I found one indictment against Jackson, for an assault with
intent to kill one Sherman Thurston, but that indictment was dismissed by the
prosecuting attorney, and I learn that it was done because Thurston, the
witness had disappeared, I suppose he had been bought off, or put out of the
way by Jackson.
Jackson is looked upon, here, as the worst of characters; capable of murder
in the most aggravated forms; he had his death announced in the papers as
having died of Cholera, after he left here.
Jackson has stated that he killed two white men in St. Louis, one must have
been Thurston, and that accounts for his failing to appear as a witness to
sustain the indictment found vs. Jackson.
The Herald must be in error, when it says that Jackson was acquitted for
killing the negro, and also when he states that Jackson left St. Louis to avoid
being used as a witness to prove the person to whom he had loaned his bowie
knife the evening before it was found sticking in the negro, and to avoid being
“sent after as a witness” caused a Police Officer to send a telegraphic dispatch
to St. Louis, stating that he had died of yellow fever.
It is well known, that the Court of one State, cannot by their process,
compell the attendance of witnesses resident in another State, and have no
authority to send their process out of the State, for such witnesses under any
possible state of case, hence, Jackson could be in no danger of being “sent after
as a witness”; the “sending after” would have been for another purpose; this
conclusion is fortified by a letter from a gentleman of high character who was
raised in Ky., now a resident of St. Louis, dated “St. Louis, June 30th, 1855”,
and containing the following sentence: “Shortly after the affray with
Thurston, a negro was found on the street, dead with a knife sticking in him,
the knife was identified as Jackson's; Jackson left the city before he could be
arrested, for New Orleans, a telegraphic dispatch was received here from a
Police Officer, in New Orleans stating that Jackson was dead.”
It having become necessary to subserve the ends of justice, and to enable
honest men to get their own property, to search Jackson’s house, since his
present confinement in Jail; during the search the most startling developments
were made ever witnessed in the interior of Ky., of which | will hereafter
explain, suffice it to say for the present that a number of letters, etc. were
found by the officer who made the search, who believing that they would aid
in leading to the detection of the guilty, took them in his possession, and
through his politeness. I have been permitted to make some extracts, some of
which will throw light as to the manner Jackson left St. Louis. The initials only
will be used with the true dates, thereby avoiding the use of honest men’s
names, should Jackson's comrades have assumed the names of such.
34
St. Louis May 18th, 1850
Dear Jackson:
I am glad to hear that you have reformed and hope you may stick to it, and
I would advise you to stay where you are, for like myself, you have but few
friends here, there has been a good deal said about you, since you left, I let in
at one ear and out at the other. Marshal Phelps said if he had his way, you
never should have left this city. You must write to me, anything I can do for
you I will.
Yours, with Respect,
C.C.G.
The conduct of Jackson in St. Louis, is probably true, as far as detailed by
the Herald, except in the instances already referred to and such as will be here-
after mentioned; though the Herald does not pretend to do more “than narrate
all the little killing and shooting affairs we have heard of him being connected
with.”
The number of burglaries, and robberies he may have committed while in
St. Louis, he does not pretend to allude to, from his proficiency in that branch
of business in his youth, when of ripe experience in company with adepts in
such occupations, if the truth could be brought to light, it would make an
honest community feel that great security was added to their lives and
property by the removal of such a character from their midst.
To show that he had not reformed, as respects robberies, since he left Ky., I
will insert a Telegraphic dispatch, dated St. Louis, June 23rd, 1855. “After
John L. Jackson was discharged from jail on the charge of murder, he
committed a robbery on Mr. Robert McBlennis; has not been in St. Louis
since.
Francis Molair
City Marshall
I will copy parts of other letters found in his possession, which show that
while in St. Louis, he was connected with a regular band of thieves and
burglars, who were operating upon a systematic plan.
Columbia, Boone County June 8th
Sir:—On Saturday last, the mounted volunteers from St. Louis passed
through here, under the command of McNair & bound for Santa Fee. C. R.
took dinner with me and C. P. C. spent the evening and entertained me with
the beauties of Army life.
Mr. C. requested me to send you the two keys which you will return to
their respective places by his request.
Mr. C. sends his best respects to you, requests you to give the same to all
his friends.
Your most Obedient Servant, “A.C.”
32
about fourteen years of age; he lived in Lancaster but a short time until he
committed a burglary, by breaking open and entering the store of James
Kinnaird Esq., and taking out of the drawers, all the money he could find—cir-
cumstances fixed suspicion upon him, and the next day his trunk was
examined and the money found in it and identified. Smith with whom he was
learning his trade, chastised him for his conduct; a prosecution was prevented
on account of his infancy; he ran off and left Smith for having been dealt with
as he deserved.
He next, through a relative obtained a situation in the office of the
Observer & Reporter of Lexington, Ky. Possessing a sprightly appearance, and
being a handy chap, became the carrier of the papers to the city subscribers; he
obtained a list of subscribers on his own account; delivered the papers, and
collected the money and appropriated it to his own use, without the know-
ledge or consent of the owners of the paper.
He returned to Crab Orchard and committed a robbery from the store of
A. Shanks Esq. by feloniously taking and carrying away one hundred and
twenty dollars; he fled, and Shanks was about having him pursued, and his
Uncle paid the money to prevent shame and disgrace being brought upon him,
notwithstanding his base ingratitude to him, still hoping he would reform;
would to God his hopes could have been realized.
The Louisville Journal of June 1846 copied an article from the St. Louis
New Era, in which it was stated, that John L. Jackson, had dangerously
wounded a Mr. Wiligham, and on his examining trial he was required to give
$10,000 bail, and in default thereof, was lodged in Jail. I have no files of either
paper and state it from recollection.
That Jackson acted in self defense in the affray with Thurston must be in-
correct; it was probably Wiligham, he cut with a bowie knife, who assaulted
him with a club, and in that affair acted in self defense.
He related his adventures with these two men in St. Louis, to a gentleman
in Garrard County, Ky., since his return in 1853; he stated that one of the men
assaulted him with a club for breaking the glass windows of his house, and he
drew his bowie knife and inflicted on him a mortal wound.
It consumed most of his surplus change, to get clear of this difficulty, yet he
was successful.
Sherman Thurston was quite a large man, and to use Jackson’s own words
“was a bully, and was obtained by him to do his dirty work for which he paid
him well.” After the wounding with the bowie knife, he became short of funds,
and could not pay Thurston his usual fees, who became petulent, and
manifested unkind feelings for him, and knowing the man he had to deal with,
he took the start of Thurston, and they exchanged between them nine pistol
shots.
In answer to a communication addressed to a member of the St. Louis bar
of high character, as a gentleman and jurist on the subject of his crimes there,
35
Addressed on the back, thus, “Mr. John L. Jackson at the Reveille office,
Politeness of Mr. R. D. B.”
A note in pencil without location or date reads thus:
Jack:
I send the key enclosed, should the chain turn up I will let you know if I
can. Good-bye old fellow and may God be with you.
Your Friend
T. F.H.
There was found in his possession a Wig of red or sandy hair that gives one
the appearance of a loafer in the morning, who had been turned out of a Hotel
for drunkenness, the night before and had made his bed in the streets, the hair
in front so completely covers the forehead in a disheveled manner, as to
destroy all identity of the features of the face. It disfigures an intimate
acquaintance to such an extent to put it on that with a change of dress he could
not be recognized ten stops, and is suited only for the midnight assassin and
burglar.
He had with the letters above quoted a book presenting the appearance of a
daily diary, with an Almanac in French for 1850 in the first part of it; blank
leaves for each day in the year for memorandums, opposite to each is the name
of persons with figures opposite their names; about forty pages in the back of
it contain the names of the principle Bankers, Justices of the Peace, and Police
Officers with figures opposite their names, in the middle of the names of the
Policemen are different letters, sometimes a small “r’ and then a capital “F”,
“D” or “E” and “O”; on the title page are to be found these words “From M.
Ranney. to a friend.”
Dec. 14th, 1849
The first five pages being the first days of January 1850, are filled with
simple notes part of the first is as follows “Sick headache, better about noon,
went with Sarah to get her daguerretype—not a good one (Mcguire) paid bill
for shoes to Frank (Camp 11) Saw Louise, I paid Eggs at Davis, home about
it.
It would look to a casual observer that these five pages are written, a
number of erasures appear in them, but on being closely examined they prove
to be engraved or lithographed, and with a magnifying glass, it is obvious that
it was not done with a pen or pencil.
This book has beer. examined by a number of educated Frenchmen who
state that they had never before seen such a book.
The book, with the letters to Jackson, were all found in an iron case trunk,
with a lock so secure that it could not be opened with the key, by anyone who
did not understand it, the trunk contained no clothing and but few other
articles.
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© Crime in America before 1900 |
Sources and Documents
Edited by Lawrence S. Thompson
I]
Confession of Richard H. Shuck
wy A Member of the Owen and Henry County
Marauders
State of Kentucky
1877
Il
A Narration of the Crimes of
John L. Jackson
The Great Western Desperado, Murderer
and Burglar
1855
IV
Concise Statement of the
Trial and Confession of
William Clutter
1810
Lexington, Ky.
The Gallows Press
Russell Lutes, Publisher
198]
Crime in America before 1900:
Sources and Documents
Edited by Lawrence S. Thompson
Three new titles in this series, each with a separate introduction by the
general editor, are offered under a single cover. All are set in Kentucky, al-
though No. III (The Crimes of John L. Jackson) also describes his adventures in
St. Louis, New Orleans, Cuba, and Nicaragua in the 1850s, and No. IV (Trial
and Confession of William Clutter) deals with a murder on an Ohio River flat-
boat in the first decade of the last century. No. II (Confession of Richard H.
Shuck) contains a good deal of material on the Ku Klux Klan in northern
Kentucky. The new titles are:
Il. Confession of Richard H. Shuck, a Member of the Owen and Henry
County Marauders, State of Kentucky.
Ill. A Narration of the Crimes of John L. Jackson, the Great Western Des-
perado, Murderer and Burglar, 1855.
IV. Concise Statement of the Trial and Confession of William Clutter. 1810.
No. I, The History and Confession of the Young Felon Edward W.
Hawkins (1856, published ca. 1880), deals with the criminal career of a youth
who committed four murders and married six different young females, and
who paid for his crimes on the gallows a few months before his twenty-first
birthday. Here are what some reviewers have said about it:
“The young Estill Countian’s tale reads like a picaresque novel.”
--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society.
“A rare old pamphlet reprinted with a modern and excellent introduction
by Lawrence S. Thompson.” --Lexington Herald-Leader
“Thompson’s introduction suggests read it to believe it -- or not believe it!”
--Louisville Courier-Journal
A Desperado in Appalachia, Kentucky,
Ohio, Missouri, and Kansas
in the 1850s
(Crime in America before 1900: Sources and Documents, 1)
The History and Confession of the Young Felon, Edward W. Hawkins, Who Was Executed in
Estill County, Kentucky, on the 29th Day of May, 1857, for the Murder of James M. Land and
Jesse Arvine is the personal narrative of a mountain boy who went bad with a vengeance. He stole
fish hooks and watermelons as a little fellow, then had a varied career of considerably more
serious crime from Cincinnati to Leavenworth. His six polygamous marriages before the age of
twenty-one provide a more lurid tale than anything in contemporary soap opera (yet in the genteel
language of the age).
Hawkins was one of the few true desperados and picaros of Appalachia, where most of the
traditional violence has been a matter of family feuding. Over and above the sensational account
reprinted here, there is a significant picture of manners and customs of mid-America in the decade
before the War Between the States.
This reprint is the first of a projected series on “Crime in America before 1900; Sources and
Documents”. Many of the very scarce items listed in McDade’s Annals of Murder will be included,
but there will also be others. Insofar as possible, they will be grouped by state or region, and
subscriptions may be entered for the entire series or for states or regions only. Subscribers to the
series, or parts of it, will receive a discount of 15 percent from the cost of a single item.
Russell Lutes
807 Euclid Avenue
Lexington, Kentucky 40502
Send copies of The History and Confession of Edward M. Hawkins at $7.50 per
copy, plus postage.
Send The History and Confession of Edward M. Hawkins with 15 percent discount and
enter my subscription for the series of “Crime in America before 1900: Sources and
Documents”. It is understood that prices will vary for each number in the series and that
postage will be included in the invoice.
Send The History and Confession of Edward M. Hawkins with my subscription for those
parts of the series that deal with the following states and/or regions:
. It is understood that prices will vary for each number and that postage will be
included in the invoice.
Name
Street or RR
City, state and zip
Individuals in Kentucky will be billed for 5 percent sales tax. Institutions in Kentucky should
indicate sales tax exemption number.
MEN ELECTROCUTED IN KENTUCKY SINCE THE ELECTRIC CHAIR WAS INSTALUED
AT THE KENTUCKY STATE PENITENTIARY AT EDDYVILLE, KENTUCKY IN 1911
NAME COLOR COUNTY CRIME DATE
James Buckner Negro Marion Murder July 8, 1911
Sandy Penman Negro Lincoln Criminal Asslt. Aug. 5, 1911
Oliver Locks Negro Jefferson Murder Aug.22, 1911
Matthew Kelly Negro Jefferson Murder Sept, 26, 1914
Charles Howard Negro Franklin Murder Jan, 31,1912
Willard Richardson White Carlisle Murder Apr, 19, 1912
Cal Miracle White Bell Murder Aug. 31, 1912
Charles Smith | Negro Mason Murder Sept, 27, 1912
James Smith Negro Mason Murder Sept. 27, 151.2
James Ellis White Pulaski Murder | Nov, 22, 1912
Silas Williams Negro Woodford Murder Mar, 21, 1913
William Wilson Negro Jefferson Murder Mar, 24, 1913
John Bowman White Marion Criminal AssIt, Apr. 11, 1913
Isom Tolferras Negro Todd Criminal Asslt. Apr. 18, 1913
Jim Brown Negro Clark Murder Apr, 25, 1912
Tom Martin Negro Shelby Murder June 20, 1913
Tom Lawson Negro Shelby Murder June 20, 1913
General May White Laurel Murder June 27, 1913
Turner Graham White Hardin Murder July 30,1915
Will Lane Negro Bell Murder July 30,1915
Wallace Smithers Negro Clark Criminal Asslt. Sept. 3, 1915
John Henry (Black Texas) Negro Boyd Murder Nov, 19, 1915
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tense crowd knew that Sammons was two votes ahead and poll
closing time was near. Green Conn examined his- watch and
announced that it was closing time. Others disputed it,. argued
that there were several minutes left.
Suddenly guns blazed in the tight confines of the room,
men and women scrambled for safety, some through the windows.
There was a lull for a moment and then the guns boomed again.
It was calculated that a total of thirty shots were fired. Wayne
Click and Wilburn Conn were killed outright. Green, Mimms,
and Millard Conn died from wounds that night. Three others
were seriously wounded but survived.
Nearly a year before the tragedy of Prater Creek the prophecy _
of Gus Finley impinged on men’s thoughts as they discussed
the fate of Ishmael Scott. He assassinated Martin Stephens,
Garrett merchant, August 5, 1932, in his doorway as he stood
there with a child in his arms.
Hanging as a deterrent to crime had been abolished in
Kentucky and death by electrocution substituted. Persons, know-
ing the heinous nature of Scott’s crime, felt that capital punish-
ment should be exacted but many of a superstitious bent re-
called the prophesy of Finley. Scott’s fate was not decided by
a Floyd County jury. The case had received much publicity
and the deceased was so widely related that it was impossible
to procure a jury in the county. Twelve men from Pike County
sentenced Scott on Thanksgiving Day, 1932, to death in the
electric chair. Judge C.B. Wheeler set the date for execution,
March 9, 1933. Appeals and applications to the governor for
clemency failing, he went to his death at Eddyville prison, No-
vember 3, 1933.
Crime and poverty, whether twin evils or vagrant socio-
logical wanderers that met opportunely in the section, began to
retreat from the scene in a few years. By the early forties many
of the major crimes were more and more infrequent. Another
decade and the old grand jury term, crowded with witnesses and
prolific of true bills, waned to a perfunctory three or four-day
session. a
At one 1955 term of the Floyd Circuit Court, presided over
by Judge Edward P. Hill, not a single charge of homicide was
.
1
on the docket.
398
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ticd into the street, spreading the alarm. The bandits seized
$4,000 in cash, ran out to a waiting car, took only time to jump
om the running board and fled towards Jones Fork, amid the
dre of townsmen. A posse found the car abandoned on Jones |
.
Fork and captured the men, one wounded, in the hills of Bal]
Fork of Troublesome Creek.17 .
Big time gangsters had come to the hills and a posse had
demonstrated how to deal with them. But murder, a crime
far more heinous than bank robbery, stalked along the roads,
sometimes abetted by alcohol, sometimes not. Ellis Howard,
Floyd County Tax Commissioner, and two men rode toward
home on the Middle Creek road on the night of November 5,
1932. Next morning Lonnie Robinson and his wife found the
blood stained body of Howard lying in the road. He had been
stabbed to death. Bank robbers with their fleeing bandits and |
pursuing posses are melodrama at times. Murder with a knife
on a lonely road at night carries with it no compensatory dra-
matics.
On December 7, 1932, there was melodrama again. ‘Two
men entered the Floyd County Bank at Allen and pointed a gun
at Cashier W.K. Allen. He refused to be intimidated by the
threatening weapon and grabbing a eun of his own he started
firing at the bandits who fled. Jumping in a Waiting automo-
bile, they drove hurriedly across the Allen bridge, turned north
on.the highway. At the Banner May Curve, a mile down river
from Allen, they swung far out to the left of the road and struck
a horseman, Walter Wallen. Horse and rider went down but
the car rolled into the field.18 The bandits, some said there were
three in the car, disengaged themselves from the wreck and fled
to the hills surrounding the W. D. Martin Branch above Allen.
‘There Leffie Hobson, an Auxier native, was captured by a posse
of.50 men in the woodlands. :
Sunday, January 29, 1933, while Jailer W. A. Dingus was
away, Hobson and Ancil Worley, who was under a sentence for
homicide, knocked on the outer door of the cell rooms. When
Deputy Jailer Bud Tackett opened it he stared into the barrel
of a pistol behind which stood the Auxier bandit. A tussle en-
sued between the two but both prisoners escaped. An auto-
mobile had been cruising around the courthouse block all eve-
396
ee aereee
samp d®, vi .
ey ale SEN ODIO do dnc ta
Balko ae
ning and when the fleecing men came out they entered it and
sped away. Worley was recaptured in Bell County in August,
but Hobson evaded arrest for sometime. He was finally recap-
tured in Ohio, brought back to Kentucky, and received a prison
term of ten years.
Jobs being few in the depression, the profession of teach-
ing was looked upon as a sure avenue to escape the deprivations
of unemployment. Since the employment of teachers was made
by a trustee of the subdistrict, elected by popular, viva voce vote,
many of the prominent local families sought to elect a friend
in order to secure the employment of a member of the family.
Some times, too, the applicant for a teaching position held no
certificate and was required to pass a rigid examination at the
county seat from questions prepared by the State Board of Edu-
cation. Many bribed their way through the examinations as
they bribed the trustee later.
It was trustee elections that generated more local friction
than any other conceivable competition in a community. Here
pitted against each other were prominent families and their ad-
herents, with the teaching positions as the avowed prize. As
the campaigns progressed family prestige loomed larger and
larger in the petty struggles. Election day was often a fiercely
contested solicitation and registration of the electorate will.
It was at the Prater Creek schoolhouse, July 1, 1933, that
the culmination of local hates and clashing family wills wrought
such a tragic finale to a campaign for trustee that the next legis-
lature abolished viva voce voting in school elections and substi-
tuted the secret ballot and later the election of local subdistrict
trustees entirely.
Sol Sammons and Arnold Robinette were candidates for
trustee of the local school system which employed usually three
teachers. Arrayed behind each candidate were the teachers they
favored and the related families. Two or three of the more
numerous family aggregations were split, adding to the spirit of
rivalry.
Voting took place in a room of the local schoolhouse.
Crowded into the building, watching the c a close race,
were nearly half a hundred spectators. Many others were out-
side, attending to the business of procuring ~otes. Inside, the
397
«
A ha a wy:
sa aot tS
pai ak as
rip ee
OO NOOO ee Cee Sa he
or eleven have their rendezvous in that region from which they
stage store, postoffice, and even train robberies.. During the past
x, awo stores, a postoffice, and a number of homes have been
a —
robbed. C. & O. manifest trains have been robbed a number
£ times in the section between Richardson and Offutt.’28
People not only had hungry bellies but hungry hearts. Un-
der compulsion they sought self-preservation to satisfy the former
in outlawry and took refuge in the church to appease the latter.
But the older churches had grown lethargic, their ancient foun-
dations too staid and restrained in the mercurial times. Great
numbers reverted to the religious expression of the Shouting
Methodist and the evangelizing Baptists cf the preceding gen-
eration and added to the rites long fasts, protracted emotional
sessions of song and prayer. “There was a difference, though,
The emotionalism of their fathers was channeled into avenues
of propriety and restrained by a moderate society. The old
churches, unable to cope with the strange yearnings of new chil-
dren, could but ring the ancient bells, the dying tones blending
with far off snatches of fast rhythm and hysterical prayers.
It was inevitable that at many places and with many groups
the new religious freedom would become license. Intoxicated
with an illusion of release from life’s cares, they wanted release
from death. They began to contemplate human sacrifices
and their resurrection through prayer.
An attempted consummation of their mad dreams occurred im
the hinterland farming community of Tomahawk, Martin Coun-
ty, on February 7, 1932, although it had lone been brooded over
in the depression-ridden coal camps. The black headline said,
“Cult Makes Human Sacrifice.” A shocked editorial writer of
a metropolitan paper, seeking an explanation, could but declare
that the people of the section were as primitive as in the days
of Abraham. Newspapermen and photographers poured into
Inez, five miles from Tomahawk, and ‘sent out reams of copy.
February snow blanketed the countryside when the Mills
family and their adherents assembled in a schoolhouse near
Thomahawk on a Saturday night. Leader of the strange new
cult was John H. Mills, 32, son of Mrs. Lucinda Mills, 72, who
accompanied her relatives to the services. Several children also
attended the night rites. The meeting broke up at a late hour
and all went to the home of Mrs. Mills on Rockhouse Creek.
394
Seapine Lira
el alia ta
Here services were resumed and continued through the
night, into and including Sunday, Sunday night, Monday and
through that night until Tuesday morning. The story of the
weird rites being practiced by the Mills cult spread and officers
went on Monday to investigate. They took the children away,
but allowed the others to continue their mad invocations.
Tuesday morning a man approached the Mills home and
broke open the door. He saw the aged Mrs. Mills lying dead
on the floor, a chain twisted around her neck and a votary of
the cult kneeling upon her body, holding an uplifted knife. Of-
ficers were summoned and all of the eight remaining worship-
pers were taken to jail in Inez. A spokesman said that they
were going to resurrect Mrs. Mills from the dead in three days.
Eight others were also slated for sacrifice.’
Newspaper crime headlines now broke down into smaller
type after the cult sacrifice story but they were still black. A
month later the Paintsville National Bank was robbed by bandits.
In May a local paper shouted a banner reminiscent of the western
frontier: “Two Slayers Evading Arrest in Floyd. Hills.” An
aged father shot his daughter to death just two days before she
was to leave for prison for killing her husband on Abner Fork
of Left Beaver Creek, and an aged Middle Creek farmer was
beaten to death with a hoe by an enraged neighbor. “Climax-
ing the crime orgy which has swept this county within the past
few days comes the report that... an 18-year-old boy killed his
brother on Buffalo Creek.”
March 16, 1932, three bandits, one carrying a sub-machine
gun and the other two armed with revolvers, entered the Paints-
ville National Bank, herded the seven employees and five cus-
tomers into the vault, crammed $31,000 in cash and bonds into
a sack, took R.L. Lyons, assistant cashier, along as a hostage
and fled in a car. Two blocks away they dumped Lyons unhur
in the street and continued out of town.?® ae
September 22, 1932, three other men, unmasked, walked
into the Bank of Hindman, forced the cashier, W.R. Smith,
and a visiting insurance man to lie on the floor. While they
were doing this in came Hillard H. Smith and the bandits cov-
ered him with a revolver. Smith snatched at the gun and the
two wrestled a moment, but since he couldn’t get the gun he
395
la-A9-1§51 Unidentified stave of Frederick cholis. Clark County.
HAs Name was Neqro Tort. correct date 152-007-1850.
Murdered his master. Fer Lark ty Oyu Court Order (hook
Specri/ Term, Dectimber 5, 1850 paje 228. See also State
Auditor's Repott tor fiscal year 1850-1851 which pports payment
F $600 tyr Negro fom, a Slave execu a Lark County.
_Sthde of Willian Leavy,
Murder. far Fayette Great Court Order Book,
June Jerm 1851, plge 127 ve also State Auditors :
Kept ter tcabyoar (850-18. holes 2 ent
of $790 Ke Myr Martin, & Shave execufed wn elle County.
/$50 Negra Martn Correct date 18 7-LI-
G-/-/849 Two Staves. Ther names wer arn and Hefty , talued at E00 and
Fayette County Creat Court lke
book, April Tem (849 ptges 519 +529: See also State
Auditor's Report for tiscalyear (848-154? which notes the
Payouts tor both of AY.
hy 956 Dan Hagen. fulton County, Corres dfe 1s Hly Vb, 1856. Ter falon
Cowuty Circuit lout Orb took, March Fer, f96. Lage 173:
[856 John Comely. Garrard County, Correct date 1s 12-19-1§ 56
fer Exetubve Journal of Covernar U19/56 which mores
—_ WSuance oF Death Warrany.
/-21-182) Pompey b Tom. Garvard County, Chaye dite to Fle st
Fer Exec. Jaanal of Cov. entry dated I/a0fa/ Which
| | hares /yprieve TW then~ and which also Stays that fompey
bthaged te Mp Why Dartield of Crh Canty and that
Tom belonged to Mr: Frederrchk Grown. They Killed 0 sada
Min hatred tarry Grown aes Clarge.
1872. Sohn Ryan
/858 George Hunter
3-Al-1856 | Gorham’
5- -1848 — Negress Lucy,
1864 bp Spratt
Grives county Correct date 1s 9-31-15 Jed
ber The May Held NWonitor 6/4/93 2:3 whith gives
a good retrospective accent. He Killed a Wass Owens.
Green County, Correct date 15 Ml-A5-18 57.
far Green County Gheut Court Order Gock, fugust
Term 1959 pages 254-45 7.
Correct name 1s ‘John Graham: See Kentucky Kepork
Monroe Vol. 16 pages 587-577.
\
+
4
Correct date 1s &1-1898, Ae Meade County Circuit
Court Order (Book, /S48 page (77
Montgomery Coun Correch name 4 Megro Cip ‘
Lorrect date 1s April, (863. Condemned for the (rme
of Aa gravated Assault — specifically the Walicreus
Shooting of @ white marr. Ler Menpyunury County Creat Cour?
brder iteok , December Term 1Sbed pages F4a- SY5 itch
holds Cyp tor Trral before the fharch /fb3 Fer of the
Court — which matutes tre missing, However lus execution
(n Ye3 x Cantitmed 0 Whe “upshot b the Stare fudilors
Report tir fiscal year /Sb-/§63 whieh records payweat
of $700 to 8: Spratt for tis Slave ‘Cap’ executed
Montgomery County.
18
Smoot to work for him. I asked him what Parish was going to do. He said he
had gone over to Bethlehem, in Henry County, to settle with Dr. Long for
some lumber, and was not coming back; I would never see him again. I asked
him what he was going to do with his corn. He said that Parish’s wife would
arrange about that, he supposed; he said he had bought Parish’s crop, horse
and plows, at two hundred and fifty dollars, and, tapping his side-pocket,
said, “I have one hundred of the money here to pay for it, and am going to
Owenton to get the balance.” He had some money with him; small change was
all I saw. Had some larger bills, but I don’t know of what denomination. He
took quite a number of drinks at Leech’s bar-room. I took one drink with him.
He said he was going to Jack Johnson’s that evening. I noticed something
peculiar about him at Gratz, but it was only that he was getting under the
influence of whisky. The next-time I saw Shuck he was at the burned school-
house on Friday morning. He looked dejected when he came up, and looked
and looked at the remains; turned and walked off across the road about
twenty feet; sat there on a log for awhile; then got up and started to walk off.
He just walked off like anyone else would have done. I stopped him and told
him he could not go. He asked me why. I told him just because he couldn’t;
that he was suspicioned of having killed Nelson Parish, and that he couldn't
leave. He seemed excited. I kept him in charge till in about half an hour a
constable came with a writ. I noticed the remains found there; they were the
remains of Nelson Parish. I knew them by the teeth which were broken out. I
would have known Nelson Parish’s remains had I seen them in the Gulf of
Mexico. I noticed teeth, ten in number, out of the body. Parish had two teeth
out on the right side, and in the same place as those out in the skull. The body
was so badly burned that none of the features could be recognized, and it was
very much contracted -- not more than four and a half feet long. The jaws were
entire. I don’t know that I would have taken them for Nelson Parish’s remains
on any other occasion. From the knife and buckles I would have taken it to be
Nelson Parish’s remains had I seen it in the Gulf of Mexico. Shuck took two
drinks in Gratz in twenty minutes, and he appeared to be getting drunk.
Susan Parish was then introduced: I am the wife of Nelson Parish. Shuck
married Mr. Parish’s daughter. He had been living there with us and working
with Mr. Parish. I saw my husband alive the last time on Wednesday morning,
before he disappeared, in last July. When he and Shuck left to go to work, I
told them that I had cooked enough dinner for them. Mr. Parish said that I had
better put it in the stove. Shuck was present. I never saw any remains; didn’t
go to look at them at the school-house. Mr. Parish had two teeth out; it was
the two teeth right in front; one was broken off shorter than the other. The
knife shown me is the knife which my husband had; I had it in my hand often.
Mr. Parish had about twenty-five dollars in his pocket-book. Tuesday evening
before I gave him a ten, five, and two dollar bill, four silver half dollars, and I
think he had five or six dollars other than that. I have not heard of him alive
since the last time I saw him. I know of no reason why he should have left
home. The buckles shown me are like the buckles my husband wore on his
suspenders.
Cross-examined. My husband and Shuck thought much of each other. I
have never heard of any ill-feeling between them. Mr. Parish left me once and
stayed away a year; it was on account of lies which he heard that made him
16
them go to the house together on Wednesday, the 26th of July last, between 10
and 11 o'clock, from the direction of the tobacco patch. They stayed in the
house about two minutes; then they came out, Parish in front, and went
towards the barn; saw them till they got to the barn, but did not see them
afterwards. A few minutes after they got out of my sight I heard a pistol shot
in the direction of the place where I afterwards saw blood, and saw weeds and
grass broken down. Parish lived two or three hundred yards from my house. I
went up to the school-house the next day; found it burned, and saw what
looked like human bones in the ashes. I was frightened, and ran down to
Weiser’s; was astonished; found a knife in the ashes; the one shown me; on the
same day before I had Parish’s knife in my hands; it was like this; I did not
notice any wear on the knife Parish had. Saw teeth out in the remains; don’t
know which teeth were out; always thought Parish had the two upper front
teeth out, and don’t know whether they were out on the right or left side; they
were not much shorter than the other teeth. Saw Shuck on the next day; he
came there and looked at the body, and walked off across the road and sat
down on a log; looked depressed and troubled; he got up directly and started
to walk off, and Ed Hord told him not to go; he made no further attempt to go.
I] looked at the body we found there in the ashes. In my judgment they were the
remains of Nelson Parish. I went down in to the corn-field; found where the
weeds were broken down; there was some blood on leaves, and some green
flies about; saw new tracks at the place; examined closely for tracks. This
place was at the head of a hollow, under a mulberry bush; the weeds were very
tall -- polkberry bushes and others. The school-house is surrounded by woods;
is three hundred yards from where the weeds were broken down. Saw a place
where it looked like a horse had been hitched up by the fence. Saw horse-
tracks at the fence, and the top rails were removed at one end. There was lint
on the tops of the rails -- not the lint of the rails, but cotton lint. I thought at
the time they were Parish’s remains. The remains that we found at the school-
house were burned, charred, and, in places, almost consumed. The back part
of the skull had crumbled off. It appeared as though one of the sills had been
under his head. There was some little flesh on the back of the remains. From
the place where I saw crisped boot or shoe heel, with iron tacks in it, to the top
of the head, it must have been the remains of a man about six feet tall; and the
feet and head were on a line lying crosswise the joists.
Cross-Examined. When Shuck came up to where the school-house was
burned and the body was, he did not appear as much agitated or frightened as
I did when I first went up there. He turned and walked off, and I turned and
ran off. I saw no tracks going toward the road from that place. Examined for
weeks, and only found tracks coming to the place from towards the road. I
had horses running out in the road there, and they frequently jumped over into
Parish’s field.
Mrs. Morgan was then called, and stated: I knew Nelson Parish and
Richard Shuck. Saw Parish alive the last time between 10 and 11 o'clock on
the 26th of July last. Saw him and Richard Shuck go to the house from towards
the tobacco patch together. They stayed in the house but a few minutes till
they came out, Parish in front, and walked down towards the barn, in direc-
tion of tobacco patch. In a few minutes Shuck came back alone and went into
the house. Went to the barn again with something under his arm. Saw him
17
then climb up the ladder and get corn to feed horse. He then came back to the
house, stayed only a few minutes, when he passed my house going to Wesley
Parish’s. He came back in a few minutes; stopped at our yard fence awhile as
he passed, and talked to one of the boys. I was on my porch with my husband,
who has just testified. Shuck shortly afterwards rode away from Nelson
Parish’s house.
Cross-Examined. Could not tell what the bundle was that Shuck had under
his arm when he went from the house to the barn. Could not distinguish it
might have been clover. After he and Parish went to the barn together, it was
but a few minutes till Shuck went back to the house. As he came back from
Wes Parish’s he was laughing and joking with the boys at our yard fence; he
bowed and spoke to me as he passed.
J. W. Parish was then called, and stated: Shuck and my father came from
the field together. I am Nelson Parish’s son. Was at home when they came. I
didn’t stay at home the night before. My mother was away washing. When
Shuck and my father came, Shuck went upstairs and opened his trunk, and
called down that it was ten o'clock. He kept a pistol in his trunk and a watch
also. When he came down he had some apples. Father and Shuck stayed at
home only a little while. Shuck said: “Let's go to work.” They started off,
father in front. Before they started Shuck told me to go to my brother Wesley's
and get dinner; that there was nothing cooked at home. When father and
Shuck left the house they started down towards the barn. In a few minutes
after they left I started off to my brother’s. Had got out of the house a short
distance, and heard a pistol or gun shot in the direction of where they had been
working. I went on to my brother's, and in about a half an hour Shuck came
up to my brother Wesley’s and told me to tell mother not to come home that
night; that pa had gone over to Bethlehem in Henry County, to settle with Dr.
Long for some lumber. Shuck told me he had brought pa’s tobacco crop. The
knife shown me looks like pa’s knife. I don’t remember on which side the teeth
were out in the jaw of the body. I saw it; there were two teeth shorter than the
others. Pa had two teeth broken off; don’t know which side they were on;
think on the left side. The buckles shown me are the buckles that pa wore; he
got the suspenders from Shuck about a year ago. The pistol shown me is
Shuck’s pistol, and the one he kept in his trunk. The broken teeth in the
remains were like those of my father.
Cross-examined. I can’t say whether the teeth were out in father’s jaw on
the right or left side; but they were out on one side or the other. I can’t say
whether those were the remains of my father or not; there were no features
that could be distinguished. I could not tell whether the teeth were burnt,
broke, or worn off in the remains.
E. B. Hord was then introduced, and stated: I know Nelson Parish; had
known him for a year; lived a mile from him. Saw Shuck Wednesday, 26th of
July last, at Leech’s (Leitch) Hotel in Gratz, nearly 12 o'clock. He said he had
bought Parish’s crop of tobacco; and then I asked him if he and Smoot had not
bought it in partnership. I knew they had been talking of buying it. He said he
had bought it out alone, and that Robert Smoot was not in with him; but he
said he expected he would have to rob me of a hand; that he was going to hire
19
go. I went to see him once or twice while he was away from me, in Shelby
County.
The evidence through the whole trial is similar to that already written -- all
entirely circumstantial.
Advice to Young Men
Having now given the reader a correct account of all the crimes with which
I was in anywise connected, or of which I had any knowledge, I now propose
giving young men and boys some advice that, if followed, will be beneficial to
them, and result in the establishment of a character that will insure the esteem
of all good and honest people.
In the first part of this work you have been informed of some of the
thoughts of my boyish days; the efforts to accomplish the ends then desired
has resulted in my ruin, and being the means of placing me where I now am --
in a loathesome dungeon, loaded with shackles. Oh, reader, let me admonish
you to read this book with care and attention. It may serve as a beacon by
which you may escape the wretched condition which I am now in --
incarcerated in a dungeon, with the images of my murdered fellow-men
haunting me day and night, and soon to be taken to the gallows, and there, in
the spring season of my life, to be hurled into the presence of an offended God,
who cannot look on sin with any allowance, especially upon whose life is more
heavily burdened with crime than any other so young.
I have already said that my parents were honest. I wish the reader to know
that my mother was a strict member of the Church, and a pious Christian.
Often admonishing me with tears in her eyes to cease my evil practices, and be
a good boy, reckless as I was and have been, young as I am in years but old in
crime, my heart's desire, as one ready to pass into eternity, is, that these lines
may be a warning to the youth of the country and if they are the means of
reclaiming one wayward youth from the paths of sin, it will be considered
ample ‘compensation for the exertions of your humble writer. Suffer me to
admonish you to be obedient to your parents, especially to your mother, who
gave you existence, and watched over you in your infancy, and whose soul is
wrapped up in your present and future happiness. My young reader, look fora
moment on my condition, then look back at the agonizings of a bereft mother,
that gave you existence, and has all her life given you the best of counsel, and
who would never participate in your guilt, be it what it might: would you then
be willing to bring her gray hairs with sorrow to the grave? Your answer is,
no, as a matter of course. Then let me caution you as to the company you
keep. Shun the gambler, the tippler, the profane swearer, and the idle and
dissolute of every grade. Young reader, suffer me to say to you that idleness is
the parent of vice. If you persist in it, you will be led from bad to worse, and
finally end in utter ruin. Little did 1 think, at this time last year, that, before the
coming of another August, I would have to meet the fate that now awaits. If I
had, and had taken warning by reflection, things would have been different
today from what they are. Alas! it is too late. The deeds which I have
committed in the bloom of my youth have to be atoned for on the scaffold --
requiring my life to pay the debt. It seems incredible that one of my age should
49
Introduction
The crime for which William Clutter was executed (presumably in 1810) is
a story of treachery and violence as reprehensible as any in the history of the
Commonwealth. The printed record is among the earliest in the genre in the
Ohio Valley, from a period when the Ohio River was as dangerous as was
formerly the Miami Country, where John Filson had host his scalp only a
quarter of a century earlier. By now, however, it was the violence of European
against European, not the conflict of paleface and Indian.
The victim, John Farmer, was but one of hundreds of honest merchants
and farmers who met their death at the hands of desperadoes who lurked in the
river's coves from the Forks to Cave-In-Rock. However, William Clutter, as
portrayed by the anonymous author of this slight pamphlet, appears not as a
professional bandit, but rather as one driven to crime by the circumstances of
his situation.
Some of the later “trials and confessions” are more lurid and at times
written with more verve, often allegedly from the pen of the scoundrel already
condemned to the gallows. It is doubtful that many felons whose neck was
about to be snapped were in a psychological condition to have written such
repentances and admonitions to potentially wayward young men, and
Clutter’s “confession” is most likely from another hand. Unfortunately, no
record can be found of the proceedings of the Clutter trial.
The name of Clutter’s attorney, possibly the author of the whole pamphlet,
is lost at this time. That the author was a lawyer is suggested strongly by his
respectfully polite remarks about the jury and the court. If he is ever identified,
he won't be recognized as a hitherto ignored Kentucky genius. There was no
nationally recognized Kentucky writer until the latter part of the nineteenth
century. But the author will be recognized as a writer who was properly
schooled in the current conventions of composition and rhetoric. There were
other competent writers in the Ohio Valley at the time, generally educated in
Philadelphia or Williamsburg. They were the real founders of the cultural
tradition in our region.
Lawrence S. Thompson
Lexington, Kentucky
February 1981
Crime in America before 1900
Sources and Documents
IV
Concise Statement of the
Trial and Confession of
William Clutter
1810
CONCISE STATEMENT
OF THE
TRIAL & CONFESSION
OF
WILLIAM CLUTTER,
WHO WAS EXECUTED
ON FRIDAY THE 8TH JUNE, 1810,
AT BOONE COURT-HOUSE, KENTUCKY
FOR THE
MURDER OF JOHN FARMER
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED
A SHORT SKETCH OF HIS LIFE
“The wages of sin is death." —Paul
CINCINNATI
FROM THE PRESS OF JOHN W. BROWNE COMPANY
1810
51
There has not taken place on these western waters, for several years past, an
event which has so much raised the sensibility of every description of citizens,
as that which we are now handing to the public. As crimes of such magnitude
seldom escape the vengeance of the law, so we cannot but adore the
providence of that God, who brings about the discovery of the perpetrators,
by the most simple means. When the conscience is truly awakened with a sense
of guilt, it can cnly be eased by a candid and open confession.
Sketch of His Life
William Clutter, the unhappy subject of these memoirs, was a native of the
state of Jersey. When an infant, he lost his mother, and in a few months was
committed to the care and direction of a cruel, barbarous and most un-
principled step-mother (a circumstance to which he attributes all his mis-
fortunes). Every step of his life, from about eight years of age, has been
marked with a series of petty thefts, frauds and felonies. His father’s family
removed to Pennsylvania in his infancy. He left his father’s house when he was
about 16 years of age, in a canoe which he had stolen, and descended the
Monongahela river. His father pursued and overtook him, and having made
satisfaction for the theft, it blew over. He again started, and in that rout stole
several articles from different persons; was once apprehended, but suffered to
escape. He married a young woman of good reputation, but was obliged to
leave her to escape the grasp of the law; and on his return, about eighteen
months afterwards, found she had just married another person. He afterwards
married another woman, but was obliged on the same account, to leave her
also. He formed an idea of going down the river to be out of the reach of
justice, and find some peace of mind, which the impressions of guilt and appre-
hension of punishment were continually harrassing. This led him to the Ohio
river; but instead of finding his ideas realized, instead of peace and safety, he
became the prey of new temptations, which terminated in bloodshed and
murder.
After the horrid transaction, he passed on down the river to the Red-banks,
in Henderson county, Kentucky, where he proceeded to dispose of the cargo at
such low prices he created suspicion. He was shortly afterwards arrested and
indicted for fraud and theft, being found in possession of Farmer's goods, and
property of Dr. L. C. Morris in care of the deceased and disposing of them,
and for stealing Farmer’s mare, but evidence of his guilt becoming stronger, a
nolle prosequi was entered by the attorney for the commonwealth, and he was
removed to Boone county, to take his trial for the murder.
The Trial
On his trial, it appeared in evidence, that at Pittsburgh he was hired by
John Farmer, to assist him in navigating his boat, which was laden with
merchandise, from that place to the mouth of Kentucky river. —That they
were the only persons on board the boat; —that the night they passed
Cincinnati, Farmer was murdered: but Clutter had always persisted in saying
ae eae
EM Ae. te»
328 Appendix B
NAME
108. Roger Warren
109. James Buckner
110. Sandy Penman
111. Oliver Locks
112. Mathew Kelly
113. Charles Howard
114. Willard Richardson
115. Cal Miracle
116. James Smith
117. Charles Smith
118. James Ellis
119. Silas Williams
120. William Wilson
121. John Bowman
122. Isom Tolferras
123. Jim Brown
124. Thomas Martin
125. Thomas Lawson
126. General May
127. Turner Graham
128. William Lane
129. Wallace Smithers
130. John Henry
131. James H. Blue
132. Harry Garrison
133. John H. Blue
134. Melvin Collins
135. James Lawlwe
136. Pat Carney
137. Jim Howard
138. Lennis Hones
139. Lube Martin
140. Charles Music
141. Will Lockett
142. Lee Ellison
143. Dave Brown
144. Tom Nichols
145. Benny Bibbs
146. Henry S. Banks
147. James Power
RACE
SUPP EMH ZMPHH SS SHOU HO HHH SSH KOK Ss HH Swe sw
COUNTY
TRIED IN
McCracken
Marion
Lincoln
Jefferson
Jefferson
Franklin
Carlisle
Bell
Mason
Mason
Pulaski
Woodford
Jefferson
Marion
Todd
Clark
Shelby
Shelby
Laurel
Hardin
Bell
Clark
Boyd
Jefferson
Campbell
Jefferson
Kenton
Kenton
Kenton
McCracken
Calloway
Calloway
Boyd
Fayette
Hopkins
Pike
Christian
Christian
Scott
Kenton
DATE
May, 1911
July, 1911
August, I91I
August, I9II
September, 1911
January, 1912
April, 1912
August, 1912
September, 1912
September, 1912
November, 1912
March, 1912
March, 1913
April, 1913
April, 1913
April, 1913
June, 1913
June, 1913
June, 1913
July, 1915
July, 1915
September, 1915
November, 1915
January, 1916
November, 1916
August, 1917
July, 1918
February, 1919
February, 1919
June, 1919
June, 1919
July, 1919
March, 1920
March, 1920
January, 1921
November, 1922
January, 1923
January, 1923
May, 1923
June, 1923
REASON
murder
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
rape
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
NAME
68. Alonzo Walling
69. George H. Weston
70. Thomas Hayden
71. Clarence Vinegar
72. Manual Morris
73. William Miller
74. John Franklin
75. Robert Brown
76. Robert Blanks
77. Will Tutt
78. Clarence Williams
79. Thomas Cole
80. Reuben Quinn
81. James Black
82. Claude O’Brien
83. Earl Whitney
84. Custer Gardner
85. John Hathaway
86. J. W. Bess
87. Roy Green
88. Robert Mathley
89. George Holland
90. William Vandalsen
91. Garth Tompkins
92. James Hanna
93. James Pearsall
94. Cornelius Johnson
95. Allen Mathias
96. Joseph Johnson
97. Thomas Stout
98. Jesse Fitzgerald
99. Benjamin Huffaker
too. Guy Lyon
1o1. W.R. “Polk” Fletcher
102. Harrison Alexander
103. Clarence Sturgeon
104. Earl Thompson
105. Floyd Frazier
106. Charles Howard
107. James White
RACE
wes rse sess rPrwrwrrwnwnervosedvservserseseerFrsetrrvrrestrFrPerrrs
COUNTY
TRIED IN
Campbell
McCracken
Ohio
Scott
Madison
Oldham
Barren
Barren
Graves
Graves
Bourbon
Hickman
Boyle
Jefferson
Fayette
Fayette
Hart
Clark
Fayette
Daviess
Daviess
Christian
Jefferson
Hopkins
Fayette
Fayette
Jefferson
Graves
Jefferson
Fayette
Knox
Lyon
Logan
Logan
Muhlenburg
Jefferson
Grant
Letcher
Bell
DATE
March, 1897
November, 1897
June, 1898
June, 1898
October, 1898
February, 1899
March, 1899
April, 1899
April, 1899
April, 1899
December, 1899
April, 1901
December, 1901
May, 1903
July, 1903
July, 1903
July, 1904
January, 1905
January, 1905
February, 1905
July, 1905
July, 1905
January, 1906
March, 1906
March, 1906
July, 1906
July, 1906
August, 1906
August, 1906
November, 1906
February, 1907
February, 1907
February, 1907
February, 1907
August, 1907
January, 1908
January, 1910
May, 1910
January, I9II
January, I9II
Appendix B 327
REASON
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
murder
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
rape
rape
murder
rape
murder
murder
rape
<<"
te
a sey
NAME
148. Will Chambers
149. Frank Thomas
150. George Weick
151. Charles Miller
152. Sid Davis
153. Leonard Griffin
154. Elmer Hall
155. Richard Newhouse
156. George Farrell
157. Harry Armond
158. Ray Ross
159. Ed Harris
160. Edward Lake
161. Elisha Sloan
162. John Baker
163. Roger Brannon
164. Smokey Harry
165. Raymond Davis
166. Bunyan Fleming
167. Nathan Bard
168. Charles P. Mitra
169. Red Seymoure
170. Hascue Dockery
171. Milford Lawson
172. Willie Moore
173. James Howard
174. Clarence McQueen
175. Carl Hoard
176. Ivan Hutsell
177. Ballard Ratcliffe
178. Richard Edmonds
179. A.B. Cooksey
180. Charles Rodgers
181. Walter Holmes
182. Sam Jennings
183. Jeff Covington
184. Frank Carson
185. Sam McGee
186. Kermit R. Pope
Richard Gaines
COUNTY
RACE TRIED IN
B
Ww
Ww
B
B
B
W
WwW
WwW
B
B
B
Ww
W
B
Ww
B
Ww
B
B
WwW
W
W
W
B
B
B
Ww
Ww
Ww
B
B
B
B
B
B
Ww
B
B
B
Barren
Jefferson
Jefferson
Breckinridge
Fayette
Harlan
Bourbon
Bourbon
Bourbon
Jefferson
Fayette
Fayette
Jefferson
Perry
Jefferson
Fayette
Christian
Fayette
Hopkins
Hopkins
Jefferson
Jefferson
Harlan
Knox
Jefferson
Jefferson
Jefferson
Jefferson
Oldham
Jefferson
Jefferson
Hopkins
Hardin
Hardin
Breckinridge
Madison
Nelson
McCracken
Jefferson
Caldwell
DATE
March, 1924
May, 1924
May, 1924
May, 1924
March, 1925
March, 1925
June, 1925
June, 1925
June, 1925
July, 1925
August, 1925
March, 1926
May, 1926
May, 1926
May, 1926
December, 1926
December, 1926
September, 1927
November, 1927
November, 1927
July, 1928
July, 1928
July, 1928
July, 1928
July, 1928
July, 1928
July, 1928
September, 1929
September, 1929
June, 1930
June, 1930
April, 1932
April, 1932
April, 1932
June, 1932
December, 1932
April, 1933
April, 1933
April, 1933
April, 1933
AppendixB 329
REASON
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
a eh hb a Ma th, a a Mi. Me -_— - tet hm ZT Te ti =
eh Lh Ln MT th
> eh
330
Appendix B
NAME
188.
189.
190.
I9I.
192.
193.
194.
195.
196.
197.
198.
199.
200.
201.
202.
203.
204.
205.
206.
207.
John Young
Wm. “Bad Bill”
Waters
Ishmael Scott
Harve Buton
Walter Dewberry
Will Chaney
George W. Tincher
Francis Glenday
Wiley Graves
Charlie Williams
Willard T. De Boe
James Smith
Bill Young —
Eulie Lotheridge
Neal Bowman
Calvin Tate
Willard Hall
James Matthews
Bennie Lee
Erleon Whitehead
Roy Simmons
Alfred Drake
James Russell
Woodford
Homer Young
Rainey Bethea
George B. Underwood
Sam Franklin
Arnold Clift
Perry Marion
John Montjoy
Troy Triplett
Harold Van Venison
Parkie Denny
Leonard “Sank”
Mosley
Sylvester Warner
Arnold Powell
Bonnie Griffin
COUNTY
RACE TRIED IN
Ww Jefferson
B Montgomery
Floyd
Elliott
Hardin
Jefferson
Scott
Scott
Fayette
Christian
Livingston
Fayette
Harlan
Carroll
Mercer
Jefferson
Jefferson
McCreary
Bell
Barren
McCracken
Jefferson
wwwsehrseseeeersrrsezgures
Fayette
Bell
Daviess
Bullitt
Jefferson
Paws
Laurel
Laurel
Kenton
Letcher
Kenton
Madison
Meade
wPezraeraee
Casey
Estill
Estill
=z
DATE
April, 1933
November, 1933
November, 1933
November, 1933
November, 1933
August, 1934
August, 1934
December, 1934
February, 1935
March, 1935
April, 1935
June, 1935
June, 1935
December, 1935
January, 1936
January, 1936
January, 1936
January, 1936
February, 1936
March, 1936
May, 1936
May, 1936
May, 1936
June, 1936
August, 1936
February, 1937
March, 1937
July, 1937
November, 1937
December, 1937
May, 1938
June, 1938
September, 1938
October, 1938
February, 1939
March, 1939
March, 1939
REASON
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
murder
armed
robbery
murder
murder
rape
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
10
dollars and a gold watch -- a watch that was known by many citizens in
Lockport and the surrounding country. This fact being known to Robert
Goodrich, so enraged him, because he could not possess himself of it and
escape detection, that he threw it upon the ground and stamped upon it. He
then gathered it up and handed it to the owner, saying: “There, take the
damned thing; it will not do you any good in the future.” They then quickly
entered the woods, leaving him to wonder who were his assailants.
These facts were made known to me by Robert Goodrich, who said that
“The d--d fool was so badly scared that he could hardly keep his mouth closed,
and I came very near shooting him and leaving him a prey to the buzzards.”
I know the reader is somewhat disappointed in not finding the above
robbery end in murder, after reading what I have heretofore said in regard to
the parties engaged in it. The writer must himself confess astonishment that
they should let one escape with life who was able to pay them seventy-two
dollars, when they could venture to take the life of a boy only seventeen years
old for the paltry sum of fourteen dollars and seventy-five cents.
Robbery of a Peddler
I will now direct the reader’s attention to a point a little higher up the river,
and give the details of a robbery committed by myself, Robert Goodrich,
Joseph Goodrich, and David Carter, on the road leading from Lockport to
Gratz, and almost in the suburbs of the little town just named. This was one of
the most daring adventures of my life, being done in daylight; but it had to be
done then, or the chance would be lost. Knowing that our victim was going to
take that route, we sought a secluded spot on the road, and, disguising our
persons, as was our custom when operating in such business, waited for his
approach. This was not long delayed. When he arrived at the point desired, we
sprang from our hiding place, which alarmed him so that he threw up his
hands and begged for mercy. We told him to keep quiet, or we would shoot his
d--d brains out. We demanded his money. He implored us to let him keep it, as
he had a family to support, and was needy. We told him we could not do it,
and Robert Goodrich presented a pistol at him, when he quietly surrendered
his pocket-book, which we hastily relieved of its contents, and sought our
homes in haste. After counting the amount obtained, we found it to be
seventy-eight dollars.
This was the second robbery committed by our band upon the persons of
men with families at home awaiting their return with the means to procure the
necessaries of life. What must have been their grief and surprise to see them
return without a dollar, having the last cent torn from them by a party of
masked cut-throats, for the sole purpose of gratifying their appetite for
intoxicating drink, or to spend in revelry at the saloon or round the card-table,
fit haunts for such hell-deserving beings as those engaged in such attrocious
murders and robberies?
Murder of Galligan
I will now direct the reader’s mind to another point on the Kentucky river,
11
and to the perpetration of a crime even more damnable than those already
related. About two miles above Lockport empties into the Kentucky river a
small brook known by the name of Pot Ripple. Near its junction with the
river, and below its mouth, rises from the brink of the river a hill, in height
resembling a mountain, and seamed with ledges too precipitous for the foot of
man to traverse, with two or three ravines, and water constantly trickling and
falling from precipice to precipice, which, when viewed from below, strikes
the beholder with awe. Near the bottom of this elevation meanders a bridle-
path, used by the citizens of the surrounding country for visiting the little town
below. The hill is covered with shrubbery and trees of almost every size and
kind, which give it aromantic and picturesque appearance.
Among these wilds, and near the path described, was the point chosen by
myself and Robert Goodrich, Samuel Goodrich, David Carter, and Jackson
Simmons, for murdering a man from Indiana. I think his name was Galligan,
and he was acting as agent for fruit trees. He had been in our vicinity several
days. The above named parties were in Lockport the week succeeding the
August election, saw this agent, and learned something about the amount of
money he was supposed to have, and also the route he expected to take on
leave there. Having obtained all the information necessary for the
arrangement of the plan to accomplish our design, and knowing that he was
going by the route called the river route, we left the town, one at a time, to
avoid suspicion, and met at the appointed place, which was in one of the
ravines in the hill described above, and secure from the sight of anyone that
should chance to pass. We waited until the dusk of evening appeared, and then
changed our position to near the verge of the road. Our victim soon appeared.
On his approach we suddenly stepped from our hiding-place and seized his
horse by the bridle. We determined to make quick work. We ordered him to
dismount and deliver his pocket-book, which he seemed reluctant to do. Then
was the time for Samuel Goodrich to show his hand as a murderer. He drew
his pistol and shot him. But one fire was needed. Being in possession of his
money, we hastily drew him to the river’s edge and cast him in, and then tied a
rock to his saddle and threw it in. The amount of money obtained was two
hundred and twenty dollars; also a silver watch, which I took to Eminence, in
Henry County, and sold to a silversmith. Robert Goodrich kept the horse
some time, keeping him concealed, and then made some disposition of him,
but I never learned what.
Not long after the commission of this brutal and inhuman murder -- to find
the equal of which we must cast our imaginations back to the days of the
Crusaders, when the hellish Inquisition was exterminating the Christians, and
laying waste their home and possessions -- done, too, just at nightfall, when
the sound of voices could be distinctly heard on the farms and at the dwellings
on the opposite side of the river -- we sought our homes. The night was calm
and the sky clear, stuaded with an innumerable number of stars, that seemed
to be crowding its canopy to get a gaze at a part of God's workmanship
degenerated beneath the level of the brute. We wended our way to the
presence of our families, our pockets filled with the means obtained by the
sacrifice of the life of one, the mysterious disappearance of whom left many
hearts to wonder; yet they entertaining a hope that, like the long lost son, he
would again unexpectedly greet them with his presence. But long years have
8
fourteen dollars and seventy-five cents, and started immediately to seek the
company of those that were destined to be his murderers. Finding them at the
appointed place, he told them he was ready. They told him they would see him
safe to a point that would prevent his father overtaking him, and immediately
made preparations to start. It was then dusk or twilight in the evening.
Having decided upon a plan during his absence, they set off to make a boy
only seventeen years of age the victim of an untimely death, he having not the
least apprehension of his destined fate. The route selected was along the public
road, which traversed the meanderings of the little stream before spoken of,
until near its source. Here they left the stream, and ascending the hill to its
summit, a few moments’ travel brought them to the place selected to do the
deed. The route was now along a narrow ridge, on which was a road used
principally for neighborhood purposes, inclosed on each side by a dense
forest. Skirting the edge of the forest, they soon reached a place well adapted
to the wishes of men who were wont to commit deeds of atrocity such as was
now meditated.
But I hasten to the scene, for I know the reader’s mind is becoming anxious.
We arrived at the point chosen, and it being understood that we would shoot
him and make sure work of it, Robert stepped one pace in his rear, made ready
to accomplish the hellish purpose, and at a suitable point, he being at rather
quick step for a walk, the shot was discharged, and the youth fell upon his face
and died without a groan. The sound echoed through the surrounding hollows
with a solemnity that would have brought terror to the hearts of any other
than such as were led captive by the wiles of the devil, and prompted by a
spirit that bid defiance to the retributions of eternity. On examining his
pockets, imagine our chagrin at finding but fourteen dollars and seventy-five
cents, when we expected to get fifty-six dollars. Had we known that he
possessed but that amount, he might have escaped; but it was our sworn motto
to not let a chance escape in which there was any money. We could hardly
believe that we were deceived, and searched every part of his person and
clothing. After carrying him some distance from the road, and finding no
more, we hastily placed his body in a sink-hole, which was sufficient to hide
him from the passers-by, threw some leaves over its entrance, and started for
our homes.
The night was calm, with a clear-star-lit sky, beaming forth with,
seemingly, more than ordinary splendor, and which seemed to tell of the utter
astonishment of the heavenly hosts, that man could become so utterly reckless
and destitute of morality as to commit such barbarous and unprovoked
murders for the pittiful sum of fourteen dollars and seventy-five cents. Can it
be that the good citizens of Henry County, in the old state of Kentucky, with
her boasted chivalry, will, after the disclosure of these facts, though given by
one who is soon to be suspended between the heaven and the earth to make
‘restitution for his crimes, suffer such characters as the ones engaged in this
terrible deed to remain unmolested in the community. But I will not trouble
the reader with a further recital of this case, as my heart has grown heavy with
thoughts that have crowded upon my mind during its rehearsal. I know he is
weary, and feels like seeking the associations of the good, in order to relieve
his heart of the pangs which the above recital has inflicted.
9
On the bank of the Kentucky river is situated a little village of Lockport, in
which resided a few of the Ku-Klux party, who thought that the very
appearance of masked men would cause common citizens to succumb to their
demands, be they what they might, without resentment. The past season having
been productive of abundance of fruit, some eight or ten of the boys concluded
to visit the overseer on Brown’s farm, which lay opposite the little town, carry
some sacks, and demand a supply of apples. Preparations being made, they set
out on their journey to have a little fun, as they thought, and to return with the
apples. They arrived at the destined place, found the man at home, but not yet
retired to his bed. They called upon him and made their demands; but he,
being one that could not be intimidated at every little thing that came in his
way, tried to reason the case with them, and induce them to believe that the
apples were the property of another person, and that he would be held
accountable for the disposition of them. But the boys, not willing to take a
refusal, ordered him to come out and comply with their demands, or they
would force him to do so. This was more than a brave man was willing to
bear. He seized a double-barreled shot-gun that stood near the door, well
charged with bird shot, and made rather a circular fire at the company, which
so alarmed them that they scattered and made for the river, where they had
left their boats. Some of them were so badly scared they missed their boats,
and ran pell-mell into the river. This incident will show the utter cowardice
that pervaded the Ku-Klux party, even when taking advantage of unarmed
and unsuspecting persons. But I will change the scene, and return to the
relation of some other acts committed by me and the band with which I was
most intimately connected.
Robbery of Baer
Along the banks of the beautiful Kentucky river, and leading from the lead
mines on said river, runs the county road, which, for a space of about two
miles, commencing one mile below said mines, is skirted by a dense forest,
with here and there a notch through which you get a glimpse of a farm on the
opposite side of the river, or a view of the waters as they flow along its
channel. This uninhabited waste was chosen as a suitable point for the robbery
of a wool-trader named Baer, from Madison, Indiana. Robert Goodrich,
Joseph Goodrich, and Jackson Simmons were in Lockport at the same time
with the trader, in the month of April, 1874. Having obtained information
relative to his business, and where he intended to travel on that day, they
immediately arranged a plan to relieve him of whatsoever means he possessed.
Ascertaining that he was going down the river by the route before described,
they decided to intercept him on the lonely portion of the road spoken of
above. They disguised their person so as to escape recognition by Baer, with
the intention of robbing him and letting him escape with his life, if it could be
done without attracting the attention of persons occupying the farms on the
opposite side of the river. They hastened to the place designated, and selected
a suitable point for their operations. They secreted themselves in a thick copse,
and awaited the arrival of their victim. Time passed slowly, until at length,
through the small openings in the undergrowth, they saw him come into sight,
traveling with that alacrity and vigor characteristic of the German people.
When he reached the point selected, they suddenly sprang from their hiding-
place, knocked him down, searched his pockets, and found seventy-two
37
after detailing the outrages committed on the Nicaragua Transit Company,
composed of citizens of the U.S. It says this pretended community, a
heterogeneous assemblage gathered from various countries, and composed for
most part of blacks and persons of mixed blood, had previously given other
indications of mischievous and dangerous propensities. Early in the same
month property was clandestinely abstracted from the Depot of the Transit
Company and taken to Greytown.
The Plunderers obtained shelter there, and their pursuers were driven back
by its people, who not only protected the wrong doers and shared the plunder,
but treated with rudeness and violence those who sought to recover their
property.
“Not standing before the world in the attitude of an organized political
society, being neither competent to exercise the rights nor to discharge the
obligations of a Government, it was in fact a marauding establishment, too
dangerous to be disregarded and too guilty to pass unpunished, and yet
incapable of being treated in any other way than as a piratical resort of
outlaws or a camp of savage depredations on emigrant trains of Caravans and
the frontier settlements of Civilized states.”
His conduct in Greytown is known only by his confederates. It must have
been of a “marauding and piratical” character, as no honest man has ever been
known to reside for such a length of time as a citizen in that place.
It seems that one of his correspondents during his residence in Greytown,
had much anxiety as to his fate, as will be seen by extracts from a letter found
in Jackson's trunk.
New Orleans, Nov. 4th, 1852
Friend Jack,
I have received two letters from you since I wrote to you, and should have
answered the first one before, but for the reason it was dated in July and not
received by me until October, and there was so many reports flying about here
concerning your whereabouts that I was dubious about writing to you.
It is hard to make the craft around here believe you are in the land of the
living at all; they have had you hung, dead in New York, in Boston,
California, and God only knows what they haven't done with you.
I remain as ever
Your friend,
Tom
The above letter is addressed thus, “John L. Jackson, Esq., Greytown, San
Juan De Nicaragua, politeness of the bar keeper of the Webster”. There was
also found in his trunk a paper headed thus “Names of men and officers
out
belonging to Capt. ‘M’.
Then follows the names of fifty-three persons, among them is that of John
L. Jackson; connected with said list is the following memorandums “one Sailor
39
The night after the sale of the hack, the trimmings and cushions were
literally cut to pieces and the body very much injured.
The Gentleman who kept the hotel, connected with the stable of Taylor
and Jackson, abandoned it with some property in it belonging to the owner of
the house, who locked the doors leaving no person sleeping in it; the night
after the house was abandoned, it was robbed by Jackson of a valuable feather
bed, knives and forks, glass tumblers and German silver spoons.
The bed, knives and forks, were secreted in his stable, and the glass
tumblers, and German silver spoons were taken to his house.
The above facts come to light the Saturday after Jackson was lodged in Jail,
and the articles in the stable were found on Sunday morning; immediately
after they were found, and before a warrant was obtained to search his house,
the search having become public. Sentinels were posted to see that no one left
Jackson's house before the officer arrived; one of his wife’s negroes went to the
house, got the spoons and was carrying them off, when she was stopped by the
Sentinels, and they were taken from her, the tumblers were found on Jackson's
premises, which together with the spoons were identified by the owners. It was
during the search that the letters, wig, etc. were found and retained by the
officer who executed the warrant.
The Citizens of Lancaster, having for the first time discovered that they
had residing among them a fiend, whose crimes were unsurpassed by Lafitte or
John A. Murrel, spoke their sentiments without reserve; at this moment Mr.
L—, a highly respectable citizen gave information that Jackson robbed him of
his pocket book in daylight, the Thursday before he killed Smith, containing
ninety-five dollars in money, and that he had refrained from speaking of it for
fear Jackson would set fire to and burn his house.
Mr. Smith, the gentleman whom Jackson killed, was not a deputy Sheriff as
stated in the Herald, but was the Marshall of the town of Lancaster and had
gone to Lexington, Ky., on business connected with a violation of Law by
Jackson.
As Jackson is now confined in jail to answer an indictment returned by the
Grand Jury of Fayette County for the murder of Smith, I have refrained from a
statement of the facts connected with that transaction, and will only remark
that Smith was regarded as a gentleman, and died on the 13th of June 1855, the
next day after he was shot by Jackson, having a wife and eight children.
The wife of Smith is a first cousin of the lamented Col. W. R. McKee, who
fell at the battle of Buena Vista.
There could be many instances in the way of Petty larceny recited that
Jackson has committed in Lancaster in the last eighteen months, but enough
has been said to show the true character of the man.
‘It is true that many of Jackson's acts are almost without a parallel, but in
his unprecedented course of crime there is one most remarkable feature, that is
38
from Thomas Jones Com 12th July, two Sailors from coal boat commenced
19th July, one Sailor from Thomas Jones Com. 18th of July, Chas Rohen 19 to
28 Brig Palmetto.”
The list of fifty-three names is supposed to be a list of the names of the
banditti, Jackson was connected with in his piratical and marauding expedi-
tions, and the memorandums show the time when they received sailors on
their vessel to aid them in their depredations, and was kept in order to enable
them to settle the profits of their transactions.
In the spring of 1853, Jackson returned to Lancaster, the residence of some
of his relations, in which place he has resided until his arrest and confinement
for the murder of Smith.
The summer after his return to Lancaster, he paid his addresses to a Miss
Taylor of a highly respectable family; who was but 17 years of age, and had by
the hand of Providence been deprived of her mother. She was handsome, intel-
ligent and pious; the pride of her grandmother, uncle, and aunt, who had
taken great care in the cultivation of her mind, and placing her in a favorable
position in society.
Jackson contrary to the most bitter opposition of the young lady’s friends
succeeded in winning her affections; they eloped, married and returned to
Lancaster.
Jackson’s mother-in-law, was a Miss Loving of Va., and his wife was the
owner of some land and slaves in that state, worth about $4,000—the slaves
were removed to Ky. after their marriage and Jackson purchased property and
commenced keeping house.
He had ever since his marriage been seeking the life of one of his wife’s
uncles who had educated her, and used every exertion to promote her welfare
in consequence of his objections to their marriage; to effectuate this fiendish
purpose, he at one time hired a renegade from the Ohio Penitentiary to shoot
him from a window, and made one or two demonstrations to do the act
himself, but he was watched so close that he was thwarted in his design.
He became a partner of his brother-in-law, in a Livery Stable in Lancaster
which was connected with a hotel; his brother-in-law failed, and his property
was sold; a hack which he owned was cried off by the Sheriff at less than one-
half of its value in the presence of Jackson and a number of others, for cash in
hand.
Jackson remarked to Mr. E—, who purchased it that he could take it back
to their shed, as they wanted to go a fishing in it, in a few days. Mr. E. replied
that he was in partnership with Mr. W. in the purchase, and they wanted it to
ride in themselves, and had made arrangements with Mr. P. to put in under his
shed.
Jackson said that he had loaned a part of the money to pay for it, and that
he was badly treated in not getting his money back.
36
This book evidently gives the names of a Clan of burglars and particular
letters indicate the names of the Policemen favorable to the Craft.
Jackson has been frequently heard to boast of his facility for escaping the
penalties of the law for its violation, by keeping the Police on his side, and the
letter “from his friend C. C. G.”, shows that the wishes of the Superiors of
Marshall Phelps prevailed or he “never would have been permitted to leave St.
Louis”.
Jackson went to New Orleans in 1849, and his conduct in that city is
clouded in mystery, he was announced in the Picayune as having died of
Cholera, the type of the publication he remarked were set up with his own
hands, and that he had a motive in it; the probability is that while there he
assumed a different name.
It was rumored that while in New Orleans he assassinated a man, and the
public were after him, and in 1850 he joined the Lopez Cuban Expedition. He
was in the battle of Cardenas; after the capture of the city, when order was
restored the officers gave directions that private property and peaceable
unarmed citizens were to be protected, held secure and inviolate; in disregard
of the directions of his superiors, he boldly walked into a jewelry store, and
robbed a peaceable unarmed merchant of a fine watch and chain worth about
$300—the unoffending citizen was afraid to resist the wanton and feloneous
act.
The Cuban Expedition was attempted by leaders, doubtless for the purpose
of ameliorating the condition of the inhabitants of the Island, and in that view
their conduct has been excused by public opinion in the United States, but
Jackson's object in enlisting was evidently prompted by the love of plunder,
and a desire to evade being punished for his crimes, and his conduct reflects no
discredit on his associates whose motives were widely different.
The next that is heard of him after the Cuban Expedition proved a failure,
and the troops disbanded, is in Greytown, San Juan De Nicaragua, to which
point he immediately embarked after the troops were dispersed.
He lived in Greytown eighteen months, what business he followed there is
left to conjecture.
In his papers the following receipt was found: “Rec'd of John L. Jackson the
sum of thirty-five dollars in full for passage from San Juan De Nicaragua to
New York on the Bark Mopany.
January, 1853 “Allen A. Lane”
He was living at Greytown at the time many of the outrages were
committed, that were complained of by President Pierce in his message of the
4th of Dec. 1853; and he was doubtless high in authority in that region.
The message of that date is referred to for a full account of the conduct and
character of the inhabitants of Greytown. I will quote a few sentences of it,
th Lt En te i — © Bb eee a SF S & «= ents
= th bt ee th ZG tm
ee lll Al, Ally ty,
326 Appendix B
NAME
29. Grandville Prewitt
30. James Marcum
31. Albert Turner
32. James McElroy
33. Tucker Agee
34. William Patterson
35. James Ross
36. Monroe Wilkinson
37. Charles Dilger
38. Harry Smart
39. Ellison Mounts
40. Thomas O’Brien
41. Mrs. Wiginton
42. Levi James
43. Jesse Brown
44. William Puckett
45. Robert Charlton
46. Spring Bush
47. Henry Smith
48. Oscar Jones
49. Dennis McCarthy
50. Stephen Hite
51. Nelson Lewis
52. Grant Thomas
53. Robert Brown
54. Henry Hale
55. George Armstrong
56. Robert Marlen
57. Philip Evans
58. Beverly Adams
59. Robert Marter
60. William Taylor
61. George McGee
62. John Johnson
63. James Dewitt
64. Henry Mitchell
Smith
65. Burford Overton
66. Robert Laughlin
67. Scott Jackson
RACE
Perr ngnwenwnesrrrseerrserserrsestteservrsvrres
z=?
COUNTY
TRIED IN
Wayne
Lawrence
Jefferson
Henderson
Fayette
Jefferson
Meade
Washington
Jefferson
Jefferson
Pike
Fayette
Montgomery
Fulton
McCracken
Estill
Henderson
Power
Jefferson
Bath
Jefferson
Jefferson
Jefferson
Jefferson
Graves
Pulaski
Spencer
Bell
Nelson
Christian
Bell
Madison
Franklin
Montgomery
Carter
Fayette
Bell
Bracken
Campbell
DATE
January, 1887
April, 1887
July, 1887
July, 1887
November, 1887
June, 1888
February, 1889
March, 1889
July, 1889
July, 1889
February, 1890
February, 1890
March, 1891
June, 1891
January, 1892
February, 1892
February, 1892
February, 1892
March, 1892
November, 1892
December, 1892
December, 1892
December, 1892
December, 1892
June, 1893
August, 1893
December, 1893
December, 1893
January, 1894
September, 1894
February, 1894
January, 1895
March, 1895
August, 1895
May, 1896
June, 1896
October, 1896
January, 1897
March, 1897
REASON
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
NAME
1. John Ryan
2. Thomas Guthrie
3. Will Carter
4. Thomas Smith
5. George Miller
6. George Washington
7. Charles Webster
8. Robert Anderson
9. John Major Hicks
10. John Bridges
11. Isaac Turner
12. William Austin
13. Daniel Timberlake
14. Samuel Bulgar
15. Ellis Craft
16. Frank Slagel
17. Rude Fitzpatrick
18. Champ Fitzpatrick
19. Washington Fletcher
20. John Bush
21. Tim Bugler
22. Tim Sexton
23. William Neal
24. Augustus Finley
25. Moses Canton
26. Jordan Taylor
27. Floyd Williams
28. Robert Fowler
RACE
See sas ee Pee ee ae ew ee ewe eS ee
| Maasuesee:m Names of People
Legally Executed
COUNTY
TRIED IN
Graves
Boyle
Fayette
Jefferson
Washington
Washington
Jefferson
Jefferson
Kenton
Trigg
Fayette
Garrard
Fayette
Mason
Carter
Pulaski
Adair
Adair
McCracken
Fayette
Mason
Knox
Carter
Floyd
Union
Christian
Wolfe
Union
DATE
May, 1872
July, 1872
August, 1872
March, 1873
May, 1874
October, 1878
April, 1880
April, 1880
February, 1882
June, 1882
July, 1882
October, 1882
July, 1883
September, 1883
October, 1883
March, 1884
March, 1884
March, 1884
October, 1884
November, 1884
1884
March, 1885
March, 1885
April, 1885
May, 1885
June, 1885
September, 1885
April, 1886
Ps
|
|
REASON
murder
murder |
murder
murder
murder |
rape
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
rape
murder
rape
murder
murder
murder
murder
murder
325
GEORGE C. WRIGHT
Racial Violence in Kentucky
1865—1940
Lynchings, Mob Rule, and “Legal Lynchings”’
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Baton Rouge and London
the role of the Ku Klux Klan in carrying out
these violent, often murderous acts and the
apathy of local law enforcement officers in
curtailing these actions. He shows that blacks
often found themselves at the mercy of a legal
system that upheld white violenée by refus-
ing to apprehend, charge, and
offenders.
Blacks did not, however,
the whims of the white
ing to ease the racial teyfsion of the times, .
they formed organizations, appealed to state
officials, and even arfned themselves to pro-
tect their property. fhe Freedmen’s Bureau,
which the federal Zovernment extended to
Kentucky in 1866, also attempted to eradicate
white violence but proved futile as agents
found themselves pitted against the Klan.
Although ¢entered on the plight of blacks in
Kentucky, Wright’s examination of the causes
and extent of racial violence, and of the steps
taken by blacks and concerned whites to end
this brutal practice, has implications for stud-
ies of race relations in other parts of the United
States.
GEORGE C. WRIGHT is professor of history
and director of the African and Afro-American
Studies and Research Center at the University
of Texas at Austin. His first book, Life Behind
a Veil: Blacks in Louisville, Kentucky, 186 5-
1930 (LSU Press), was corecipient of the Gov-
ernor’s Award of the Kentucky Historical So-
ciety for the best book published on the state’s
history between 1982 and 1986.
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Baton Rouge 70893
