Given the journalistic standards of the era, I have no idea if any part of this story is true. I will attempt to confirm the burial through the VA. And my apologies for my own headline above. From The Newark Daily Advocate, February 17, 1897, page 2:
A WARTIME GANDER.
A Union Soldier’s Mascot at the Siege of Knoxville.
A 42-year-old gander belonging to William Moore of Cocke county, Tenn., has just died. It was with Burnside’s troops during the war and used as mascot at the time of the siege of Knoxville. The death of the gander was not unexpected by the ex-Federal soldiers, and arrangements have been made to bury its remains in the national cemetery.
When the dead fowl arrived at the depot, Burton McIntyre, a colored servant, was with the soldiers who claimed the fowl as it put in its appearance at the depot upon the arrival of the train. When the box containing the fowl was taken from the car, he played on his violin “Marching Through Georgia.” When McIntyre saw the lifeless gander, he dropped dead.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Execution Averted
Jesse Cole, according to information compiled by the Sevier County Library, killed Samuel Scott Large in a logrolling contest of some sort in 1887. Sentenced to hang, The Washington Post published a mention of a reprieve. While only temporary, I have found no record that Cole was ever executed by the State of Tennessee. Public sentiment, at least some of it, appears to have been on Cole's side, and a song apparently resulted.
While not related himself, the murder victim, Samuel Scott Large, was the father of William Harrison Large, who married into the Matthews branch of my family.
From The Washington Post, December 24, 1888, page 2:
His Life Saved by a False Affidavit
Chattanooga, Tenn., Dec. 23. – Jesse Cole was to have been hanged Saturday at Newport, Tenn., for the murder of Samuel Large, but was respited almost at the last moment on the affidavit of Mrs. Waxlead, on the strength of which Gov. Taylor reprieved him for sixty days. Yesterday at Knoxville she made another statement, in which she says she does not know Cole and never saw him. It is believed that she was paid to make the affidavit, which saved his life. Rioting was imminent in case he had been hanged.
From Songs and Rhymes From the South by E.C. Perrow, reposted at http://www.folklore.ms/html/books_and_MSS/1910s/1912-1915_songs_from_the_south_%28articles%29/part_2/index.htm:
18. JESSE COLE
(From Kentucky; mountain whites; taken down from singing by E. N. Caldwell; 1912)
To one and all, both great and small, this story I will unfold;
It makes me sad to think about the doom of Jesse Cole.
They lodged him in the Knoxville jail; it is a dreadful charge;
He says that he is innocent of killing Samuel Large.
It's true it's sad to think of such a death to die;
Yet men could shun those reckless crowds, if they would only try.
Cole has a wife and children to leave as many a man has done.
Those bloody works for which he is to hang some other might have done.
He says upon the witness-stand they swore his life away.
Every knee shall bow and tongue confess at the coming judgment-day,
In the gloomy walls confined to stay until that dreadful hour,
And then his soul must fly away to meet the Higher Power.
All on that day his devoted friends will stand around, perhaps his troubled wife,
This enough to make the sinner turn to live a better life.
Parents teach your children while in the tender years [youth?]
To try to shun all evils and always tell the truth.
Teach them there is a God to fear, it's always best to think,
Also beware of gambling-cards, and always shun strong drink.
God fixed a way for all to live; He suffered on the cross,
Grace to every soul he gives; He would that none be lost.
While not related himself, the murder victim, Samuel Scott Large, was the father of William Harrison Large, who married into the Matthews branch of my family.
From The Washington Post, December 24, 1888, page 2:
His Life Saved by a False Affidavit
Chattanooga, Tenn., Dec. 23. – Jesse Cole was to have been hanged Saturday at Newport, Tenn., for the murder of Samuel Large, but was respited almost at the last moment on the affidavit of Mrs. Waxlead, on the strength of which Gov. Taylor reprieved him for sixty days. Yesterday at Knoxville she made another statement, in which she says she does not know Cole and never saw him. It is believed that she was paid to make the affidavit, which saved his life. Rioting was imminent in case he had been hanged.
From Songs and Rhymes From the South by E.C. Perrow, reposted at http://www.folklore.ms/html/books_and_MSS/1910s/1912-1915_songs_from_the_south_%28articles%29/part_2/index.htm:
18. JESSE COLE
(From Kentucky; mountain whites; taken down from singing by E. N. Caldwell; 1912)
To one and all, both great and small, this story I will unfold;
It makes me sad to think about the doom of Jesse Cole.
They lodged him in the Knoxville jail; it is a dreadful charge;
He says that he is innocent of killing Samuel Large.
It's true it's sad to think of such a death to die;
Yet men could shun those reckless crowds, if they would only try.
Cole has a wife and children to leave as many a man has done.
Those bloody works for which he is to hang some other might have done.
He says upon the witness-stand they swore his life away.
Every knee shall bow and tongue confess at the coming judgment-day,
In the gloomy walls confined to stay until that dreadful hour,
And then his soul must fly away to meet the Higher Power.
All on that day his devoted friends will stand around, perhaps his troubled wife,
This enough to make the sinner turn to live a better life.
Parents teach your children while in the tender years [youth?]
To try to shun all evils and always tell the truth.
Teach them there is a God to fear, it's always best to think,
Also beware of gambling-cards, and always shun strong drink.
God fixed a way for all to live; He suffered on the cross,
Grace to every soul he gives; He would that none be lost.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Forgery in Chicago
Atlanta Constitution, July 17, 1910, page 10:
RELATIVES LEARN OF CLARK’S TROUBLE
For Two Weeks His Whereabouts Unknown.
Man Who Attempted to Pass Carolina Bank Checks in Chicago Son of a Prominent Family and Well Connected.
Newport, Tenn., July 16. – The first intimation that the family of W.S. Clark, of Newport, had that he was in Chicago, and in trouble, was received today. For two weeks his whereabouts have been unknown, and his relatives were becoming much concerned. He is the son of a prominent family, and is well connected.
This morning D.G. Allen, of the Newport Produce Company, received the following letter from Ware & Leland, of the Chicago Stock Exchange, dated July 15:
Had Letter of Introduction.
“We were presented today with a letter of introduction signed by the Newport Produce Company, per yourself, introducing Mr. A.R. Swann. Mr. Swann has been in our office several times today, and it rather occurred to the writer this his intended actions on the market were somewhat more liberal than usual. We, therefore, took the matter up with you over the long-distance telephone, and late this afternoon we had a wire from Newport stating that Mr. Swann is entirely reliable, but, at present at home.”
Letter a Forgery.
Mr. Allen wired Ware & Leland, in response to the letter, to arrest the man presenting the letter, as it was a forgery. He had no idea at the time as to the identity of the said Clark. It was learned today that Shell Clark, as he was known at Newport, had been in bad health for seven or eight years, and it is believed that he is mentally unbalanced. His wife left him two months ago, taking her 7-year-old son.
RELATIVES LEARN OF CLARK’S TROUBLE
For Two Weeks His Whereabouts Unknown.
Man Who Attempted to Pass Carolina Bank Checks in Chicago Son of a Prominent Family and Well Connected.
Newport, Tenn., July 16. – The first intimation that the family of W.S. Clark, of Newport, had that he was in Chicago, and in trouble, was received today. For two weeks his whereabouts have been unknown, and his relatives were becoming much concerned. He is the son of a prominent family, and is well connected.
This morning D.G. Allen, of the Newport Produce Company, received the following letter from Ware & Leland, of the Chicago Stock Exchange, dated July 15:
Had Letter of Introduction.
“We were presented today with a letter of introduction signed by the Newport Produce Company, per yourself, introducing Mr. A.R. Swann. Mr. Swann has been in our office several times today, and it rather occurred to the writer this his intended actions on the market were somewhat more liberal than usual. We, therefore, took the matter up with you over the long-distance telephone, and late this afternoon we had a wire from Newport stating that Mr. Swann is entirely reliable, but, at present at home.”
Letter a Forgery.
Mr. Allen wired Ware & Leland, in response to the letter, to arrest the man presenting the letter, as it was a forgery. He had no idea at the time as to the identity of the said Clark. It was learned today that Shell Clark, as he was known at Newport, had been in bad health for seven or eight years, and it is believed that he is mentally unbalanced. His wife left him two months ago, taking her 7-year-old son.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Suicide Epidemic
The suicide rate at the close of the 19th century was about the same as today's rate, but the understanding of mental illness was primitive at best in 1899.
In March of that year, the Newport area apparently experienced at least three suicides in 3 days, but only one was reported in detail in the Atlanta paper. No details are currently known of the other two suicides mentioned below.
Atlanta Constitution, March 14, 1899, page 3:
SUICIDE OF TENNESSEE FARMER.
His Children Find Him Hanging In His Bedroom.
Knoxville, Tenn., March 13. – (Special.) – James M. Clark, a wealthy and leading farmer of Cocke county, today committed suicide by hanging himself. Clark has of late suffered a mental aberration. This, together with the fact that his wife is reported to have deserted him a few days ago, is considered the cause of the suicide. He was found dangling from a rope, in his own bedroom, by his five children upon their return from school. This is the third suicide in three days in this locality.
In March of that year, the Newport area apparently experienced at least three suicides in 3 days, but only one was reported in detail in the Atlanta paper. No details are currently known of the other two suicides mentioned below.
Atlanta Constitution, March 14, 1899, page 3:
SUICIDE OF TENNESSEE FARMER.
His Children Find Him Hanging In His Bedroom.
Knoxville, Tenn., March 13. – (Special.) – James M. Clark, a wealthy and leading farmer of Cocke county, today committed suicide by hanging himself. Clark has of late suffered a mental aberration. This, together with the fact that his wife is reported to have deserted him a few days ago, is considered the cause of the suicide. He was found dangling from a rope, in his own bedroom, by his five children upon their return from school. This is the third suicide in three days in this locality.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Homemade Get Out of Jail Free Card
D. W. Boyer, below, seems likely to have been David Washington Boyer, Jr., son of David and Nancy Boyer, who are not related to me. The 1910 Census shows him safely still in prison in Nashville. I was not able to find, on a quick search, what became of him after his new sentence described here.
DENIED HABEAS CORPUS WRIT.
Judge Childress in the Case of D.W. Boyer at Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee, April 25. – (Special.) – Judge Childress today refused to grant a writ of habeas corpus in the case of D.W. Boyer. This is a unique case, in which new points are involved. Boyer murdered is father in Cocke county in 1891, threw his body in a sinkhole, forged deeds to his property, and said his father had gone west. When the body was found Boyer was arrested and sent to the penitentiary for ten years. With outside assistance he forged petitions, letters and even forged court seals on forged papers, on which Governor Turney granted a pardon. The news of the pardon brought vigorous protests from Cocke county from the very men whose names had been forged. Governor Turney undertook to revoke the pardon and Boyer, being captured in Memphis, was returned to the penitentiary after a brief absence.
Judge Childress decided today that if the allegations of fraud and deceit were sustained the pardon was absolutely void. Attorneys for Boyer will appear.
Atlanta Constitution, December 4, 1901, page 1:
TEN YEARS FOR FORGER BOY.
Sent Up on One Charge, Released on Another.
Newport, Tenn. December 3 – Wash Boyer, of Cooke [sic] county, who succeeded in securing his release for the state penitentiary in 1896 by means of papers alleged to have been forged by himself, has been sentences to ten years in prison. The sentence is for the alleged forgery of deeds to the property of his father, whom he is charged for having killed.
The supreme court held that Boyer could not be indicted for the forgery of the papers securing his pardon, as none of the persons whose names were forged were injured thereby.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
How Not To Get Married
In 1928, two articles appeared in The Washington Post regarding miscreants from North Carolina getting involved in a shootout with the police chief at Alex Buda's restaurant in Newport. Buda, whose sons Bill and Z would also be well-known in the area, ran the establishment for many years.
I am not entirely sure of the exact location of the restaurant in 1927; the article mentions that the shootout occurred on Main Street, but, for many years, his son Bill ran a restaurant called Bill's Restaurant on Broadway next to Newport Hardware:
However, Alex's World War 1 draft registration card indicates a connection to the Busy Bee Restaurant, which, at least in the 1937 Newport Phone Book was on Church Street, which would explain the Main Street mention:
Although the full story is not clear from the two articles below, Wash Turner, also known as B.C. Cline, had been serving time for bank robbery at the State Penitentiary in Raleigh, North Carolina, and escaped. He and two other men, including Wade Davis, also known as Wade Price, then robbed a bank in Norman, North Carolina.
About a month later, Turner and Davis drove up to Buda's restaurant and ordered sandwiches to go. Newport Police Chief Bill Bell apparently recognized Davis from information issued from Knoxville. He started to arrest Davis, placing him in handcuffs. About that time, Davis's wife, Lois, as well as Turner's girlfriend, Essie McDonald, all from North Carolina, drove up in a second car about the time that Alex Buda walked outside his restaurant.
Turner pulled a gun an open fire; Chief Bell returned fire, and, at the end of the melee, all four North Carolinians were wounded along with Bell and Buda. Turner escaped, abandoning his car nearby and fleeing into the woods; the others were apparently captured and sent to the hospital. Turner soon, though, turned up in the local hospital with pneumonia, apparently contracted from exposure while he was hiding out after being wounded.
Under his alias, B.C. Cline, Turner married McDonald in the hospital. Shortly thereafter, the sheriff from Norman, North Carolina, identified him as the bank robber. Although described as "gravely ill", there is no 1928 death certificate in Tennessee for him, so he perhaps survived. Cocke County marriage records, though, indicate that the marriage record was voided and the money for the license returned.
The Washington Post, March 23, 1928, page 1:
6 PERSONS WOUNDED IN STREET SHOOTING
Police Chief, 2 Women and 3 Men Victims in Newport, Tenn., Affray.
Newport, Tenn., March 22 (A.P.) – A Newport police squad today sought B.C. Cline, of Asheville, N.C., believed to be hiding in the woods nearby, wounded in the chest, following a shooting affray on Main street here which sent five persons to the hospital late last night.
Cline fled in his automobile after engaging in a pistol dual with Chief of Police Bill Bell, but deserted the car on the outskirts of town.
The wounded in the hospital here today are Police Chief Bell, shot in hip; Wade Price, of Pleasant Garden, Tenn., leg fractured by bullet; Mrs. Lois Price, his wife, shot in abdomen and thigh; Miss Ruth Johnson, Asheville, N.C., bullet in skull, and Alex Buda, an innocent bystander, shot in left side.
Chief Bell said the shooting started after he had attempted to arrest Price on advices from Knoxville, when Price and Cline drove up to Buda’s restaurant and ordered sandwiches sent out. Cline, he said, opened fire as Price was handcuffed, just as Mrs. Price and Miss Johnson drove up in a second machine. Bell emptied his pistol, and in the cross-fire all were wounded including Buda, who had just stepped out of his restaurant.
The Washington Post, March 26, 1928, page 1:
COUPLE WED IN HOSPITAL AFTER BATTLING POLICE
Bridegroom Identified as Bank Robber and as an Escaped Convict.
PRISONER IS GRAVELY ILL
Newport, Tenn., March 25 (A.P.) – Within a few hours of being married in a hospital here today, a man who physicians said was “gravely ill,” was identified as a member of a trio which robbed a North Carolina bank. He also was declared to be an escaped convict from the North Carolina Penitentiary.
Wash Turner, alias B.C. Cline, of Marion, N.C., and Miss Essie McDonald, also of North Carolina, and undergoing treatment for bullet wounds, were married, and a short time later, Sheriff J.S. Braswell, of Norman, N.C., identified the man as one of three who robbed the bank of Norman February 21.
Turner and his bride and W.E. Davis, alias W.E. Price, and his wife were wounded here Wednesday night during a pistol battle with Chief of Police W.I. Bell, who was also wounded, as was Alex Buda, a bystander. Davis also was identified by the sheriff as implicated in the Norman robbery.
Turner, physicians said today, was gravely ill with pneumonia as a result of exposure following the battle.
Sheriff Braswell said Turner was an escaped convict from the North Carolina Penitentiary at Raleigh, where he was serving a term for bank robbery.
Turner’s bride probably will be blind in her left eye as a result of her wound.
Both Davis and his wife, physicians said, will recover.
I am not entirely sure of the exact location of the restaurant in 1927; the article mentions that the shootout occurred on Main Street, but, for many years, his son Bill ran a restaurant called Bill's Restaurant on Broadway next to Newport Hardware:
However, Alex's World War 1 draft registration card indicates a connection to the Busy Bee Restaurant, which, at least in the 1937 Newport Phone Book was on Church Street, which would explain the Main Street mention:
Although the full story is not clear from the two articles below, Wash Turner, also known as B.C. Cline, had been serving time for bank robbery at the State Penitentiary in Raleigh, North Carolina, and escaped. He and two other men, including Wade Davis, also known as Wade Price, then robbed a bank in Norman, North Carolina.
About a month later, Turner and Davis drove up to Buda's restaurant and ordered sandwiches to go. Newport Police Chief Bill Bell apparently recognized Davis from information issued from Knoxville. He started to arrest Davis, placing him in handcuffs. About that time, Davis's wife, Lois, as well as Turner's girlfriend, Essie McDonald, all from North Carolina, drove up in a second car about the time that Alex Buda walked outside his restaurant.
Turner pulled a gun an open fire; Chief Bell returned fire, and, at the end of the melee, all four North Carolinians were wounded along with Bell and Buda. Turner escaped, abandoning his car nearby and fleeing into the woods; the others were apparently captured and sent to the hospital. Turner soon, though, turned up in the local hospital with pneumonia, apparently contracted from exposure while he was hiding out after being wounded.
Under his alias, B.C. Cline, Turner married McDonald in the hospital. Shortly thereafter, the sheriff from Norman, North Carolina, identified him as the bank robber. Although described as "gravely ill", there is no 1928 death certificate in Tennessee for him, so he perhaps survived. Cocke County marriage records, though, indicate that the marriage record was voided and the money for the license returned.
The Washington Post, March 23, 1928, page 1:
6 PERSONS WOUNDED IN STREET SHOOTING
Police Chief, 2 Women and 3 Men Victims in Newport, Tenn., Affray.
Newport, Tenn., March 22 (A.P.) – A Newport police squad today sought B.C. Cline, of Asheville, N.C., believed to be hiding in the woods nearby, wounded in the chest, following a shooting affray on Main street here which sent five persons to the hospital late last night.
Cline fled in his automobile after engaging in a pistol dual with Chief of Police Bill Bell, but deserted the car on the outskirts of town.
The wounded in the hospital here today are Police Chief Bell, shot in hip; Wade Price, of Pleasant Garden, Tenn., leg fractured by bullet; Mrs. Lois Price, his wife, shot in abdomen and thigh; Miss Ruth Johnson, Asheville, N.C., bullet in skull, and Alex Buda, an innocent bystander, shot in left side.
Chief Bell said the shooting started after he had attempted to arrest Price on advices from Knoxville, when Price and Cline drove up to Buda’s restaurant and ordered sandwiches sent out. Cline, he said, opened fire as Price was handcuffed, just as Mrs. Price and Miss Johnson drove up in a second machine. Bell emptied his pistol, and in the cross-fire all were wounded including Buda, who had just stepped out of his restaurant.
The Washington Post, March 26, 1928, page 1:
COUPLE WED IN HOSPITAL AFTER BATTLING POLICE
Bridegroom Identified as Bank Robber and as an Escaped Convict.
PRISONER IS GRAVELY ILL
Newport, Tenn., March 25 (A.P.) – Within a few hours of being married in a hospital here today, a man who physicians said was “gravely ill,” was identified as a member of a trio which robbed a North Carolina bank. He also was declared to be an escaped convict from the North Carolina Penitentiary.
Wash Turner, alias B.C. Cline, of Marion, N.C., and Miss Essie McDonald, also of North Carolina, and undergoing treatment for bullet wounds, were married, and a short time later, Sheriff J.S. Braswell, of Norman, N.C., identified the man as one of three who robbed the bank of Norman February 21.
Turner and his bride and W.E. Davis, alias W.E. Price, and his wife were wounded here Wednesday night during a pistol battle with Chief of Police W.I. Bell, who was also wounded, as was Alex Buda, a bystander. Davis also was identified by the sheriff as implicated in the Norman robbery.
Turner, physicians said today, was gravely ill with pneumonia as a result of exposure following the battle.
Sheriff Braswell said Turner was an escaped convict from the North Carolina Penitentiary at Raleigh, where he was serving a term for bank robbery.
Turner’s bride probably will be blind in her left eye as a result of her wound.
Both Davis and his wife, physicians said, will recover.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Cocke County Children Treated for Rabies
Rabies has been a known disease for more than 5,000 years. In the 1800s especially, canine rabies was particularly prevalent, especially in Europe. In truth, though, the fear of rabies was much worse than the actual chances of contracting it; people were known to commit suicide upon being bitten by a dog to avoid the possibility of rabies. It was in that climate of almost irrational fear that Louis Pasteur introduced the first vaccine in 1885.
In 1909, eight children from Cocke County were bitten by a rabid dog. Just a year earlier, a Pasteur Institute had opened in Atlanta, and the community pitched in and sent the children there for treatment. Pasteur himself had died more than a decade earlier, but institutes named in his honor were opened in a number of U.S. cities that focused primarily on rabies treatment and sometimes research.
The article below is from The Atlanta Constitution, page 9, on February 12, 1909. The identities of the children are not given.
EIGHT CHILDREN COME TO PASTEUR INSTITUTE
Citizens of Newport, Tenn., Raise Funds by Public Subscription.
Eight children from Newport Tenn. who were bitten by a dog suffering from rabies have arrived in Atlanta for treatment at Pasteur institute. A dog of W. F. Stanberry, of Newport, disappeared last Saturday after having bitten Mr. Stanberry’s child. Several other children were also bitten. The dog was finally killed and his head sent to a specialist in Atlanta who, after examination, pronounced the canine was afflicted with rabies. Immediately a public subscription was raised and the children sent to Atlanta for treatment in the hope of saving their lives. They are all doing splendidly.
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In 1909, eight children from Cocke County were bitten by a rabid dog. Just a year earlier, a Pasteur Institute had opened in Atlanta, and the community pitched in and sent the children there for treatment. Pasteur himself had died more than a decade earlier, but institutes named in his honor were opened in a number of U.S. cities that focused primarily on rabies treatment and sometimes research.
The article below is from The Atlanta Constitution, page 9, on February 12, 1909. The identities of the children are not given.
EIGHT CHILDREN COME TO PASTEUR INSTITUTE
Citizens of Newport, Tenn., Raise Funds by Public Subscription.
Eight children from Newport Tenn. who were bitten by a dog suffering from rabies have arrived in Atlanta for treatment at Pasteur institute. A dog of W. F. Stanberry, of Newport, disappeared last Saturday after having bitten Mr. Stanberry’s child. Several other children were also bitten. The dog was finally killed and his head sent to a specialist in Atlanta who, after examination, pronounced the canine was afflicted with rabies. Immediately a public subscription was raised and the children sent to Atlanta for treatment in the hope of saving their lives. They are all doing splendidly.
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Newport to Atlanta, about 219 miles by modern roads
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