Sadler, who said he spent more than 1,700 hours researching the story, spoke to a gathering in March that commemorated the 110th anniversary of the tragedy. The Hillsville Courthouse Shootout 1,426 views Jul 30, 2021 In 1912 a Carroll County, Virginia, man was sentenced to serve a one year sentence in the state penitentiary. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/41284, 28 Aussens@iten by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. The tale of the courthouse massacre is lengthy and complicated, covering more than two years beginning with a fight in 1910, followed by Floyd Allens trial and the shootout and culminating in Floyd and Claude Allens executions in 1913. Most of the documents from the subsequent murder trials that followed the shootout had been lost or were thought to have been lost or stolen. The announcement of. - After the shootout ended, people in Hillsville were afraid the Allen family would come back into town and kill everyone in sight. Attorney Howard C. Gilmer, of Pulaski, Virginia, was at Hillsville Courthouse in a room adjoining Judge Massie's courtroom when the shooting broke out. On the cold spring morning of March 14, 1912, shots rang out in the tiny, rural, mountain town of Hillsville, Virginia. However, once the story began, it flowed better. We dont sell ads, or block you with a paywall. Contact him at ralph.berrier@gmail.com. "Claude Allen Convicted: He Is Found Guilty of Murdering Commonwealth's Attorney Foster", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Allen Clan Hillsville Courthouse Shootout", The Wheeling Intelligencer March 15, 1912 p.15, Transcriptions of contemporary newspaper articles, "Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: Floyd and Claude Allen", The UncommonWealth: Voices from the Library of Virginia at the Library of Virginia, The UncommonWealth: Voices from the Library of Virginia, "Hillsville Massacre - The UncommonWealth", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Floyd_Allen&oldid=1137936144, People executed by Virginia by electric chair, 20th-century executions of American people, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles needing additional references from October 2020, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2020, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from December 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lewis Franklin Webb, Carroll County sheriff, William McDonald Foster, Commonwealth's Attorney, Augustus Cezar Fowler, juror (died of wounds), This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 04:22. B. Marshall testified that when the shooting started he turned to escape the courthouse. Such an interesting, but tragic, history, Jeff! For example, Betty Ayers, who was killed in the courthouse tragedy, was a 4th cousin to Dexter Goad (clerk of court), 4th cousin, twice removed, from Woodson Quesenberry (deputy clerk), 2nd cousin, twice removed, from Floyd Allens wife and a 3rd cousin to the Edwards brothers, Wesley and Sidna. Floyd? A jury found Allen guilty, and on March 14, 1912, Allen went to his sentencing hearing before Judge Thornton L. Massie in the Hillsville courthouse. The bullet came up under the skin of her right breast. This sideline didnt add to the story. WYTHEVILLE, Va., Nov. 22. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 1982-2023 The Carroll County Historical Society, INC. - The Carroll County Historical Society and Museum website, The Carroll County Historical Society and Museum, Welcome To The Carroll County Historical Society and Museum Website, Family Search.org | Carroll County, Virginia Genealogy, Family Search.org | Grayson County, Virginia Genealogy, Mount Airy, NC Museum of Regional History. The courtroom buzzed. The play, which is. (Interesting Southwest Virginia side note: Initially, Floyds nephew Barnett Allen, the grandfather of legendary Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, was charged along with his uncles Floyd and Sidna for taking the Edwards boys from the deputies. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. . It is amazing how nothing changes Today, a story gets retold till its stale, unless something big happens to push it off the headlines. View Map and Driving Directions Phone: (276) 728-2594 No autopsies were ever performed and rumors flew of friendly fire casualties. There were also five others wounded, including Floyd Allen. Floyd said he did it peacefully and lawfully, claiming that the deputies did not have proper warrants for arrest. While the state legislature still appointed circuit judges, the new system reduced the ability of individual delegates to ensure that their preferred judge was selected for their particular county; furthermore, judges could no longer practice law for private clients while on the bench, and as regional judges their susceptibility to local influence and public opinion was reduced. [10][39] Shortly after the Allen trials, law enforcement officers found a still in an old house on Burden Marion's farm, and he was arrested for making illegal liquor. The Carroll County prosecutor placed liens on all property owned by Floyd Allen and Sidna Allen for the heirs of the victims. Floyd, 56, a once proud man now destroyed, was strapped to the electric chair, a leather mask placed over his face and four, 1-minute bursts of 2,000-volt electrical shocks were sent coursing through his body until he was pronounced dead at 1:26 p.m. Claude, just 24, was electrocuted in the same chair 12 minutes later. [2] His pistol empty, Allen proceeded to beat Jack with the butt of his empty revolver. Many accounts claim that Allen initiated the confrontation by pulling a gun in court. March 14, 1912 - Hillsville Massacre Hillsville's history has a bit of a dark spot within it; the dark spot is known as the 1912 Courthouse Tragedy which was rivaled in the news only by the devastation known as the Titanic. Its small enough for that to be possible I suspect. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. He has a wonderful essay in there titled The American Geographies. He speaks of the need to understand the stories, the voices of memory over the land. I think that is why I always insist on exploring my neighborhoods by walking (or on bicycle) and reading about them. Not only the sheriff and deputies, but Goad and Foster. In the confusion there was a lot of shooting. - After his release from prison in 1922, Friel Allen came back to Hillsville and had Attorney John Alderman arrange a meeting with Dexter Goad. - Carroll law officers did not cross into North Carolina to arrest the Edwards brothers as has long been claimed. Past month; Great transaction. The end result was three people deadthe judge, the Commonwealth Attorney and the sheriff. [34] Allen claimed that when the shooting began, he drew his own revolver and fired five times at Deputy Clerk Goad and Deputy Sheriff Gillespie, because both men were firing at him. The deputy clerk of Carroll County, Dexter Goad, obtained a new warrant for the brothers' arrest, notifying the sheriff in Surry County, North Carolina, who soon arrested both men. During a second glance Tipton again saw Floyd with his pistol raised and held in both hands; he then saw Floyd Allen fire his pistol. At the 2020 census the population was 186247.5 Located in the Now, thanks to Gerald Goads interest in this, the return of these documents can be part of a healing process. Matt, somewhere I have a collection of Idaho booksmostly from the Sawtooth areaI could lend. The men were gunned down during one of the most notorious events in Southwest Virginia history. - William Fosters daughter, Aline, married George Ellison Bud Edwards in 1917. Carroll County Historical Society and Museum. Gerald Goad said the documents needed to be back in Carroll County. Sheriff and Commonwealth's Attorney dead, court serious. You do have some interesting local history. As gunmen spilled from the courthouse taking their battle through the downtown streets, the judge, sheriff, and Commonwealth Attorney lay dead in the smoke-filled courtroom. 2023 TheTVDB.com, A Whip Media Company. Being from below the mountain, as Carroll Countians described the community, the Allens and neighbors were cut off from the county seat in Hillsville, which in the late 1800s and early 1900s was a two-day horse ride over the peak through Fancy Gap. Two of whom, Sidna and his nephew Wesley, in Des Moines, Iowa where they were starting a new life. Upon his arrest by deputies at the hotel, Floyd attempted to slash his own throat with a pocketknife, but was overpowered before he could complete the job.[19]. [21] Two more illegal stills were found at Sidna Edwards' house. Others were captured. [2], Deputy Samuels was left lying unconscious in a ditch, and his horses were run off. [2] Wesley Edwards tried to grapple with Easter, but Easter got away and fired a shot at Floyd as he did so, wounding Floyd in the finger. [22], The prosecution attempted to show that Floyd and Claud Allen prompted the gun battle by standing and pulling their pistols and opening fire. Hall has done an outstanding job researching this subjectt. Wow. Brothers Wesley and Sidna Edwards (not to be confused with their uncle, Sidna Allen, Floyds brother), attended a corn-shucking party, a country frolic where folks played music, drank liquor on the side and, yes, shucked corn. - As a result of the deaths that occurred in the courtroom in 1912, the entire estates of Floyd and J. Sidna Allen were seized in settlement of wrongful death suits by the families of Massie, Foster and Webb. Edwards was one of those involved in the fight at the church with the Edwards brothers and went on to be County Sheriff for numerous terms. - Sidna Edwards presence at Floyd Allens trial was requested by Floyds lawyers. Felts and his team strode into action, quickly arresting a badly wounded Floyd Allen at a Hillsville Hotel during a staged scene for newspaper photographs. The detectives left at Hillsville have gone to the mountains, headed by Lee Felts. [8] Only a month later, their petition for executive clemency was granted by Governor Claude A. Swanson, restoring their political rights to hold office. Hall himself had asked Horney, who died in 2020, about the whereabouts of the trial exhibits while doing his own research. Airy). The flood of indictments that came just days after the shootout wail with pain, the typewritten words seething on the page while claiming that the Allens unlawfully, feloniously, wickedly and maliciously killed the sheriff and others. Ninety seconds later, 57 bullets had been fired. In one case, after having ridden their horses to death, two of them took a mans mules from his plow in the middle of the field. In a presentation he called The Last Witness, he recounted his grandfathers story and reminded people that, with the return of the trial documents to Carroll County, they were all watching history unfold. Eventually, most of the clan was captured, although Sidna Allen and his nephew Wesley Edwards, whose fight in a churchyard had lit the fuse on this powder keg in 1910, made it to Des Moines, Iowa, where they worked and lived under aliases. [11][10][40][41] A dispute arose between McGraw and Jack Allen about the Hillsville tragedy; during the confrontation McGraw drew a gun and shot Allen twice, killing him on the spot. Sidna Allen and Claud Allen stood on benches in the courtroom's northeast corner to see over the crowd. SHREDDED WHEAT RECIPIES - CIRCA 1933 Booklet~Advertising | Collectibles, Advertising, Food & Beverage | eBay! Mann asking either that the Allens be given clemency or be executed swiftly. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. Witnesses said she never looked Floyds way. The oldest, continuously operating . [32], Victor Allen, whose pistol was used in the courthouse shooting, said he saw Wesley Edwards from outside the courtroom firing a revolver through the courthouse window and over spectators' heads just after the shooting began, and later saw Edwards run from the courthouse together with Sidna Allen. See details- ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - HILLSVILLE 1912: A SHOOTING IN THE COURT: A FAMILY BECAME Buy It Now Add to cart Watch Sold bymoviemars (2843836)97.1% Positive feedbackContact seller About this product Product Identifiers Record Label CD Baby UPC 0884501678674 eBay Product ID (ePID) 28046038825 Product Key Features Artist Conner & Miller Format Far from the backward, murderous mob of hillbillies as they would later be portrayed in sensational news accounts, Floyd and his brothers were farmers, business people and even occasional lawmen who sometimes had their own run-ins with the law, usually stemming from their participation in the illegal liquor trade. . So was the judge. Foster married Katherine Tipton in 1894 and had 5 children by 1912. Hillsville Diner. Court testimony says she was outside throwing up on the lawn when Doctor Nuckolls came by. Goad was clerk of court in March, 1912, during the famous Allen trial and was wounded in the jaw in the shooting fray which took several lives at the height of the trial. Allen had been convicted of a serious offense interfering with a deputy (beating up a deputy was closer to the truth) to release his nephews from custody but nothing so serious that rose to the level of instigating a deadly shootout. The museum has extensive archive and reference materials in its resource section, as well as exhibits and artifacts that reflect the heritage of Carroll County. The sheriff in Hillsville had the boys arrested there and handed over to his deputies at the state line. Many of Allen clan members were spectators in the courtroom, most of them armed with pistols. [4] At the next term of court, Allen produced an order of clemency from Governor Andrew J. Montague suspending the jail sentence. [34] They returned to their homes by traveling cross-country through the farm fields rather than public roads. As Foster followed the judges instructions to re-write the verdict on the indictment, Allens lawyer, W.D. The Stories podcast uses the following music as its opening and closing themes: I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. [2] The federal court in Greensboro found him not guilty, while Sidna's alleged accomplice, Preston Dickens, was found guilty and sentenced to serve five years in federal prison. Another of those events that have passed into history. Foster was a political enemy of the Allens, who had supported Jack Allen's son, Walter, as Democratic candidate for Commonwealth's Attorney against Foster in the last election. And the storys controversies, conspiracies, debates over justice and moral lessons have long outlived the verdicts and punishments that sought to settle matters more than a century ago. The trouble started with a kiss. [2] In May 1889, Floyd's brothers, Garland and Sidna Allen, were tried for carrying concealed pistols and assaulting a group of thirteen men. Please visit their website for more information. A few weeks ago, that trove of documents related to the shootout and subsequent trials made its way back to Carroll County, where the whole mess started. [15] Judge Thornton L. Massie, who had deputized Floyd six months earlier, presided. The 1912 documents referred to in this story were scanned and digitally archived by Delilah Brady, a volunteer and director for the Carroll County Historical Society and Museum. Find the cheapest option or how to watch with a free trial. Others state that Miss Iroller's father, who had never approved of his daughter's romance with Wesley Edwards, tipped off the detectives that Maude was going to Des Moines to marry him. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court at Amazon.com. The legend also claims that the marker was removed as a condition of Sidna Allens pardon in 1926 after he served 14 years. Autopsies were not conducted on the dead nor was any meaningful forensic investigation of the crime scene undertaken even though the science such studies existed in 1912 which only generated more questions, arguments, fights and conspiracy theories over the decades. Much of the information was gleaned from Halls book, The Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy, and other sources. To be honest, nothing in the more than 180 pages of court papers adds any new information to the well-researched story of the shootout and its equally tragic aftermath. I enjoy learning about local history. The documents dont answer the seemingly unsolvable questions that have lingered in the air like gun smoke for 110 years. Was it Floyds son Claude? Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. But the governor refused. After the shooting, because of the number of Allens in Carroll County, they housed the prisoners in Roanoke. He was convicted and executed for murder in 1913 after a sensational courthouse shootout the previous year that left a judge, prosecutor, sheriff, and two others dead, although the validity of the conviction has been a source of debate within Carroll County for decades. In his defense testimony, Floyd Allen stated that Sheriff Lew F. Webb fired first, but that the shot missed Allen, at which point Deputy Clerk Goad, the Clerk of Court, fired and hit Allen, causing him to fall. People who have researched the shootout long knew that Judge Massie had instructed Foster to re-write the jury verdict in proper legal language just minutes after it had been handed down, but no one knew precisely what Foster had actually written until the discovery of the Allen documents. It was Thomas and his father who swore out warrants for the Edwards brothers as a result of the fight at the schoolhouse/church the next day. But the documents do bring humanity to a story often told through tintype pictures, brittle newspaper clippings, hazy memories and fables passed down through generations. Neither was prosecuted. [25], Deputy Sheriff George W. Edwards, who became the sheriff of Carroll County after Sheriff Webb's death, testified that, as a deputy sheriff at the time, he had spoken with Floyd Allen just after Allen learned of his indictment. Bringing in Sheaves: The Western Revivals of the Reverend A. Floyd had been seriously wounded. [32] Claud testified that he saw Sidna Allen firing just about the time he saw Deputy Clerk Goad fire. HILLSVILLE Howard Sadler held the last words of a dead man in his hands. "Floyd Allen Defense Gets Well Into Case", Bluefield, West Virginia: "Defense Continues Efforts To Disprove Conspiracy". The last two bullets were fired by Floyd and went through two of the steps of one of the courthouse's stairways, where they can still be viewed today. In response, the judge told the two men that if the law could not be faithfully enforced in Carroll County by the county's deputized officers he would bring in state troops if necessary to maintain order. [1], In his testimony at his murder trial, Floyd Allen admitted he had fired at Deputy Clerk Quesinberry and again twice more at other unknown persons once he had left the courthouse.[28]. V. Ray Bowman is known for Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (2011). More leniency was given to the other Allens and their family members. The defense attempted to show that Deputy Clerk Goad shot Elizabeth Ayers in his exchange of fire with the Allens, a charge Goad denied. Such stories as you mention, deserve being told. The prosecutor's case was based on the formation of a conspiracy by the Allens to kill the trial judge, local law enforcement, and others who had wronged them in the event of a guilty verdict. We depend entirely on donations. [26] He also testified that he saw the crowd come out of the court house, and recognized Floyd and Sidna Allen as the last to leave, both of them following and firing as they backed out, apparently in response to fire coming from within the courthouse. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. He also wrote that as the judge lay dying, he told his young protg, Tell my brother Robert to take care of my family.. The house back in 1911 was worth 13,000.00 and was said to be the most beautiful house in South-West Virginia. Even the accused, Floyd Allen, carried a pistol. The historical society has raised thousands of dollars and conducted much-needed remodeling work in order to resume free tours, with the next public opening happening June 4-5. Thousands of people wrote letters to Gov. Mt. When Floyd Allen's case was set for trial, rumors arose that he had sent word to Deputy Samuels that he would kill Samuels if the deputy testified against him. Then a cacophony of gunfire. Elian Gonzalez is a more recent example. Allen later denied this, but the reported threat caused Samuels to leave the state the same night it was delivered. A handsome man who sported a whisk-broom of a mustache and carried a comb and toothbrush in his jacket pocket, Floyd frequently found himself in political squabbles with the county establishment, which he saw personified in clerk of court Dexter Goad, commonwealths attorney William Foster and leaders of the sheriffs department. [34] He also said he went to Blankenship's Livery Stable after the incident, where he met other family members and left Hillsville with Claud Allen, Wesley Edwards, and Sidna Edwards. At least two of the participants, Judge Massie and Sheriff Webb, had told friends that they expected trouble. A large collection of portrait photos, newspaper accounts, and a marvelous diorama of the 1912 courtroom scene are on display in the historic courthouse, as is the collection of folk marquetry furniture made by J. Sidna Allen. Theres Fosters handwriting and then you realize that within five or six minutes, he was dead. M arch 14, 1912, arrives just as badly as the day before. There are still questions to be answered, but they probably never will be answered. On May 18, 1912, the jury found Floyd Allen guilty. [29] Marshall also testified he had been standing near Sheriff Webb, but did not see any pistol in the Sheriff's hand. "[1] Not long afterward, Allen shot and wounded Combs, and was indicted and tried on charges of assault. Maybe so, but people just keep coming back to this story. Friel Allen sat in the back of the room, and the Edwards boys stood on benches next to the north wall. [citation needed], The Commonwealth's attorney, William Foster had served as Carroll County's prosecutor for eight years, having been first elected on the Democratic ticket. Preserving and Presenting the History of the County of Carroll, Commonwealth of Virginia. However, Sidna Allen and his nephew, Wesley Edwards, fled Virginia. Those documents can be found at www.ccva.digital/1912-historical-courthouse-tragedy.html. Judge Massie, Sheriff Webb, Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, and the jury foreman (Augustus C. Fowler), were all hit and died of their wounds sustained in the crossfire. - Thomas Franklin Pink Samuel, the deputy from whom Floyd Allen released his nephews, moved to Amelia County and never testified at the trial. Sadler also knew that, minutes after Foster laid down his pencil, he was dead. Nonetheless, the grand jury indicted Floyd Allen, Sidna Allen and Barnett Allen for interfering with the deputies, and Floyd Allen was also indicted for assault and battery upon Samuels. [1][4] Floyd had wanted to buy a farm owned by one of his own brothers, but could not agree on a price. Convicted on capital murder, both Claude and Floyd were sentenced to death. To this day, 110 years later, nobody who has studied this notorious event can say with any assurance who fired that catastrophic first shot. When Floyd and Claude Allens bodies were brought back to the familys house in Cana, Frances Allen Floyds wife, Claudes mother entered the room dressed in black and fell across her sons coffin, embracing his body like a child. The presentation will be held Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at the Historic Carroll County Courthouse and will be led by Blacksburg . - Arresting officer Oscar Monday was the step-brother of the Edwards brothers. Too many other projects. The Allen clan believed that Goad shot first. Jack Allen denied all responsibility for the allegations of intimidation, which he stated were untrue and insisted neither he nor his brother was guilty of wrongdoing. After several months' chase, Baldwin-Felts detectives located them in Iowa after an informant's tip. Follow Us. Because of his vision to preserve and protect these exhibits, theyll never be lost again.. [4], One night in December 1910 (some sources[1] say 1911), two of Floyd Allen's nephews, Wesley and Sidna Edwards, attended a corn shucking bee in Hillsville. Such tampering hindered the ability to link bullets to the guns fire or the direction from which they came. As Sadler studied his grandmothers old scrapbooks, he found a copy of a letter that he had written to state legislators nearly 20 years after the shootout. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court Great Video Historical documentary of the 1912 Hillsville, VA courthouse shootout between the Allen family and the officers of the court. [34] Sidna Allen claimed that when he left the courthouse, Goad followed behind him, shooting him through the left arm, the bullet lodging in his left side. He defeated the son of Jasper Jack Allen for the position. Betty Ayers, an 18-year-old witness, was hit in the back while fleeing the courtroom and died the next day. Those documents include indictments, judges instructions, grand jury indictments, trial transcripts, letters and other courtroom exhibits all words left by ghosts. In April 1926, Governor Harry Flood Byrd pardoned Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards. "You have no idea how much it means to me for you to be here today. Most significantly, Sadler knew that he was reading a document that had been missing for more than 100 years. Blacksburg-based autonomous vehicle firm Torc to acquire Canadian company; more . In 1921, however, Victor moved his family to Tabernacle Township, New Jersey. Marshall. Alex Murdaugh listens to Dr. Paul McManigal's testimony during Murdaugh's trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. This film is currently in development. [1] Allen, who was before the bar for sentencing after being convicted of taking a prisoner from a deputy sheriff, allegedly triggered the shooting at the Carroll County Courthouse in Hillsville on March 14, 1912. He proved to be right. [32], Sidna Edwards testified that he was not armed on the day of the shooting and that he did not like to carry guns. Some later turned themselves in. The jury could not agree on a verdict immediately as the trial ended, and were sequestered in a local hotel overnight. Mob violence, the court. Careful who you kiss, huh? As if entitled, they took what they wanted or needed. They, too, were captured by Felts and his men, as Sidna Allen came to believe that Wesleys girlfriend back home had betrayed them. - Almost everyone in Carroll County is related to everyone else. About; Contact; Links; Search for: Tags. Prosecutor placed liens on all property owned by Floyd Allen and Wesley Edwards County prosecutor placed liens on property., Allen proceeded to beat Jack with the butt of his empty revolver idea how much it means to for! In Sheaves: the Western Revivals of the room, and the sheriff own research to. Others wounded, including Floyd Allen, carried a pistol it flowed.. One of the need to understand the stories, the voices of memory over crowd. Afraid the Allen family would come back into town and kill everyone in Carroll County is to. Town and kill everyone in sight who had deputized Floyd six months earlier, presided minutes he. 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hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court
апр. 9, 2023