July 31, 2013

Assassination Attempt of Congressman Charles Van Wyck, 1861

Related Posts:
Congressman Charles Van Wyck's "True Democracy--History Vindicated," 1860
Fight Between Congressmen Van Wyck and Hindman, 1860
Assassination Attempt of Congressman Charles Van Wyck, 1861

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From page 3 of the Cleveland (Ohio) Leader on February 25, 1861:

The Assault upon Mr. Van Wyck.

A Washington dispatch gives the following particulars of the assault upon Representative Van Wyck:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22.


A most cowardly and brutal assault was made, about half-past 11 o'clock last night, upon Hon. Van Wyck, member of Congress from the West Point district, N. Y., by three ruffians, armed with bowie knives.  Mr. Van Wyck had just left the residence of Senator King, on Capitol Hill, and was passing down by the north wing of the Capitol to his lodgings, when a stout built man came up behind him, and struck him with a bowie knife in the breast over the heart.  The knife penetrated the outside and inside coats, passed through a folded copy of the Globe, and then nearly through a thick memorandum book, both of which were in the breast pocket of his frock coat, not quite reaching the skin.


Mr. Van Wyck struck the man a blow under the jaw which staggered him, when the second ruffian struck a blow at Mr. Van Wyck with a bowie knife, which the latter caught in his left hand, making a terrible gash across the palm.  At the same time he (Van Wyck) knocked the fellow down with his right, and instantly drew a revolver and shot the first ruffian, who dropped and was caught by his friends.

The third ruffian knocked Mr. Van Wyck with his fist.  This blow, together with the effect of the one he first received, and especially from the profuse bleeding of his hand, weakened him very much, and observing that the ruffians were making haste to escape with their wounded companion, who appeared to him quite helpless, he sank himself almost exhausted upon the sidewalk, and did not fire again.  But as soon as he gathered sufficient strength he made his way to his hotel, which he did not reach till after twelve this morning.  He said very little about the affair, except to one or two confidential friends, Dr. Lee of the House who dressed his wound, and to the police, in the hope that the parties might be discovered; but up to to-night no trace of their whereabouts has been ascertained.

Mr. Van Wyck is quite nervous this evening, and is suffering considerable pain from the wound in his hand, but is in no serious danger.

Mr. Van Wyck cannot account for this attack upon him, unless it has grown out of his speech at the last session, which created so much excitement and discussion because of its severity against the system of slavery, wherein he cited instances of slave burning.  For some time after its delivery he received letters threatening his life.  Outside of this he has no knowledge of having created the enmity of any human being.  He is a man who never visits gambling or drinking saloons, and while he is a resolute man when assailed, in his daily walk he is very quiet and gentlemanly.

The affair having become known to-night, creates intense feeling, especially in Congressional circles.

July 28, 2013

Fight Between Congressmen Van Wyck and Hindman, 1860

Related Posts:
Congressman Charles Van Wyck's "True Democracy--History Vindicated," 1860
Fight Between Congressmen Van Wyck and Hindman, 1860
Assassination Attempt of Congressman Charles Van Wyck, 1861

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From page 3 of the Alexandria (Virginia) Gazette on April 2, 1860:

BY MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.
Another Congressional Squabble.


WASHINGTON, March 31.-- A scene between two Congressmen which occurred this morning, occasions some excitement.  Mr. Van Wyck meeting Mr. Hindman on the avenue, held out his hand in friendly recognition, when Mr. Hindman refused to take it, making use of the words, as reported: "You d---d scoundrel, you have delivered a speech not only insulting to every Southern man, but to every gentleman."  At the same time making a movement with his left hand towards Mr. Van Wyck's face as if additionally to insult him.  It is said that a duel will result.

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From page 2 of the Albany (New York) Evening Journal on April 2, 1860:

From Washington.


CONGRESSIONAL ROW ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE--VAN WYCK, OF N.Y., AND HINDMAN, OF ARK.

Correspondence of the New York Express.

WASHINGTON, March 31.


This forenoon, Messrs. Van Wyck, of New York, (who charged the Southern people with deliberately burning their slaves, and the Southerners as sanctioning this cruelty) Stewart, of Pa., and Lovejoy, of Ill., stood upon the steps of the National Hotel.  Mr. Hindman, of Arkansas, approached the steps, Mr. Van Wyck offered his hand, and addressed Mr. H., who immediately struck at Mr. Van Wyck, exclaiming, in intense anger, "how dare you speak to me, you d---d son of a b---h."


Mutual friends immediately closed in and the two Members of Congress were separated.  No blow was struck, but the affray has excited great feeling.

For the last few weeks there has been an increase of feeling and excitement between Northern and Southern members, and with many only the most cold and formal recognition exists, while others do not speak at all.  Mr. Van Wyck's attack in debate upon the inhumanity of the whole South has made him especially obnoxious.





July 25, 2013

Congressman Charles Van Wyck's "True Democracy--History Vindicated," 1860

Related Posts:
Congressman Charles Van Wyck's "True Democracy--History Vindicated," 1860
Fight Between Congressmen Van Wyck and Hindman, 1860
Assassination Attempt of Congressman Charles Van Wyck, 1861

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Charles Van Wyck was a U.S. Representative from New York (March 4, 1859-March 3, 1863) and an outspoken abolitionist.  On March 7, 1860, he gave a speech on the floor of the House entitled "True Democracy--History Vindicated," which caused quite a bit of animosity between him and his colleagues (as you can see in my next post).  In it, he argues the progress of the country is inclined toward the extinction of slavery, for both moral and constitutional reasons.  (Click here to open a PDF of the full speech.)

The opening of his speech is of particular interest because it explains the 'excitement' in Congress and public sentiment leading up to secession in a way few historians have been able to map with similar clarity.

Though I'm well aware that the extremity of Van Wyck's abolition views were not as common as some history books would have you think, Van Wyck does make some very salient points, such as this one about popular sovereignty.   He argues that Congress has repeatedly exercised power over the territories in the past, but only recent attempts are criticized as unconstitutional.  

I think it's ironic that he calls Southerners alarmist for crying that the North is hostile toward their way of life, yet the ideas in his speech are exactly what the Southerners found hostile.  As one of the articles in my next post states, "Mr. Van Wyck's attack in debate upon the inhumanity of the whole South has made him especially obnoxious."


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(March 7, 1860)
VAN WYCK: For many weeks I was a patient listener to eloquent speeches from the leaders of the so-called Democratic party on the floor of this House.

Why do they charge the Republican as agitators, when they themselves have been sounding the notes of disunion, and preaching violence, for the only purpose of alarming the timidity of one and the weakness of another sanction of a common country; of arraying faction against faction; first, to steel the heart against all sentiments of humanity, and then nerve the arm to execute its unholy impulses; charging treason upon the North, and counselling the South to rebellion and resistance?

When you, gentlemen, came to this Capitol, the agitation occasioned by the Harper's Ferry riot was subsiding. In the discharge of what you call a patriotic duty, you gathered together the elements of that unfortunate strife, and increased the turbulence in the public mind.

The storm which gathered for a moment across a summer sky, then broke in the sunshine and dissipated in the rain drops, you call back, and by the eloquence of words and the impulse of fear, in the "chambers of your imagery" you generate a storm whereby you seek to send forth hurricane and tempest to prostrate the oaks and temples of the Republic in one common ruin.  The torch of the incendiary had been smothered, and you seize the blackened flambeau, rush forth with the madness and folly of the suicide, and essay to light up the flames of civil war and fratricidal strife.

You, gentlemen, and not John Brown, have unchained the whirlwind of angry passion and bitter invective; you have unbarred the thunder and loosened the lightning shaft, whereby you sought to rend asunder the people of a great nation, so that, in your own language on this floor, the "Union might be wrecked from turret to foundation stone," and "the Constitution torn in tatters." Then from the ruins of one, and the dismembered body of the other, you might erect a confederacy cemented by the blood, watered by the tears, and strengthened by the groans of your bondmen; which would fill the measure of your avarice and feed the cravings of your ambition.

Day after day, with the most vindictive language, have we been arraigned as guilty of arson, treason, and murder; so base was the charge, so unjust the imputation, we meet them with our weapons at rest.

The gentleman from Louisiana, [Mr. Davidson,] whose ambition at one time seemed to be that he might appear in this Hall armed with a double-barrel shot gun, in his speech on the 22d day of December, in a defiant manner, said:

"I honestly believe that if you were tried before a jury of conscientious men, a jury of men who believe in a God of all justice and mercy, and all intelligence, you would be found guilty, as accessories before the fact, to all the dreadful deeds of Brown and his associates."

You talk of God, justice, and mercy, who hold, claiming by Divine authority, four million human beings in hopeless and irretrievable bondage, and ostracize free white men who will not sing hosannas to your traffic in the bodies and souls of men, and stigmatize as murderers and felons those who will not applaud the cruelty which tramples upon all the attributes of the mind, the affections of the heart given by the Almighty to the children of His own creation!

That same gentleman desired to present to the consideration of this House one of John Brown's pikes; let me urge him to extend his cabinet of curiosities and add one of the chains and branding irons of his coffle gang, tied by the lash with which the backs of women and children are scourged, and then, to watch them, a sleek, well-fed bloodhound, with quick scent, trained to snuff in the air the track of the fleeing fugitive; let him present these as symbols, the one of Brown's folly, and the others of his own high type of civilization. 
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July 22, 2013

Woman Picked Up on the Snow Plough of Train, 1860

From the Alexandria (Virginia) Gazette on April 2, 1860:



A Lady Picked Up on the Snow Plough of a Locomotive!

Narrow Escape from Death!

A singular accident occurred on Monday evening last on the Central Railroad at Waterloo, says the Rochester Union, by which a lady of that village had a gratuitous ride before a locamotive, and narrowly escaped a terrible death by being crushed beneath the wheels of the engine.  As the mail train, due here at 11.30 last night, was coming into Waterloo at 8.40, Mr. Wright, the engineer of the locomotive "General Gould," saw a lady running along one of the streets toward the train.  Not supposing that she intended to cross the track ahead of the train, he kept on his way running slowly, perhaps five or six miles per hour.  The lady, probably deceived somewhat by the speed of the train or the distance it was from her, attempted to cross the track ahead of the engine, but did not succeed.  She was struck by the small snow-plough or pilot, and fell upon it in such a manner that she rode quite safely for ten rods of more.  The engineer, the instant that he saw how summarily he had taken up a passenger, shut off steam, reversed, and by the application of the breaks; stopped the train as soon as possible.  He ran to the lady and found that she was not so much injured, but that she was able to walk and speak.  She was somewhat disconcerted by the accident, but expressed the belief that she had received no serious injury.  It was a miraculous escape from a dreadful death.

July 19, 2013

Telegraph News Editing, 1898

"The Telegraph Editor." Omaha World Herald, Omaha, NE. September 18, 1898. LOC.

[September 18, 1898] -

The Telegraph Editor

He Relates Some of the Woes That Fall to His Particular Department.

“So you are telegraph editor! Why, I didn’t know understand telegraphy!”

“Telegraph editor? O, yes; I know what that is.  You are the man who pads out the dispatches after they reach the office.  I used to know one years ago back east, and I tell you he was a good one.  He would take a telegram of a dozen words and with the help of an atlas and an encyclopedia string it out to a column.  Made it read just like a story.  Just let the name of some town down in Africa or over in Asia come to him and before that telegram got to the printer it would have a full description of the town where it was located and all its past history.  Yes, he was a bright fellow.  And so, that is the work you are doing?”

The above are two comments selected at random from a hundred or more that are made upon the duties of the telegraph editor by those outside the profession.  Ninety-five out of a hundred confound him with the telegraph operator and wonder how he learned to run a “telegraph machine” without any one knowing it, and if not corrected go out and spread the report that any one can pick up telegraphy in a few weeks, “for there is Smith, why, I’ve known him for years.  He hasn’t very good sense and never was particularly bright, and he has picked it up in no time.  Taking reports for a daily paper, too!  Think of that! If he could do it, any one could!”

Nine-tenths of these ninety-nine mens also labor under the delusion, if they labor under anything at all, that a telegraph editor’s duty, in addition to working a telegraph key, puts in his time reading up encyclopedias and filling out skeleton dispatches.  Were they readers entirely of an esteemed contemporary this latter might be accounted for.

If the telegraph editor was ever at any time the telegraph operator also, such a fact has never attained wide publication, but there was a time when there was no middle man between him and the compositor.  In early days the telegraph copy was sent to the composing room as it came from the wire and the man who set the type filled out the omitted words.  Those were the halcyon days of the “intelligent compositor,” upon whose shoulders rested the greatest part of the editor’s duties and all of the blame.

But times have changed.  Now the telegraph copy must be carefully edited and if a word or a comma is omitted, it does not appear in the printed proof.  At the same time that the intelligent reporter thus threw down stairs upon the editor the duty of editing his own copy, he also threw off his own shoulders the responsibility of errors in it.  The phrase “intelligent compositor” as a phrase of opprobrium has passed away.

Just where the very common idea originated that a newspaper was in a chronic condition of wanting to be filled, no one about a newspaper office knows.  The fact is that in every daily newspaper office enough copy is turned in every twenty-four hours to fill three or four papers the size of the one published.  The duty of the editorial force or copy handler is so as to cut this copy to fit it into the limited number of columns without abbreviating the sense.  A reporter comes in with what, in his opinion, is a rattling good story, and he spreads himself to the extent of a column.  His copy passes to the city editor, who, after eliminating unnecessary words, phrases and sentences, squeezes the gist of it into a couple of “sticks.”  The reporter howls but the city editor’s blue pencil “goes” in more senses than one.

What is true in the local department of a paper is true in the telegraph.  To the man on the telegraph desk comes every day long winded stories, padded, padded, padded to fill out the number of words each day the business office pays for.  And there he must cut down, not to fit the spaces allowed him, but also, alas! To avoid repetition.  Thus, a story comes in on a murder out in California.  At the place it occurred, of course, it was a matter of much interest; in Omaha of very little.  Yet the reporter out on the coast sent in as many details almost as would have been used in the home town.  The telegraph editor’s business is “to cut it,” sometimes to a stick, sometimes to a couple of lines, as its importance warrants.  Here is a sample dispatch, one above the ordinary in point of succinctness.  It is dated in Minnesota:

“A party of threshing hands had a dispute with a bartender at Kent, Minn., twenty miles west of here.  The bartender named Barton ejected the threshers from the building, but several hours later they returned and one endeavored to force open the saloon door, which was guarded by Barton from within.  As the door was pushed open Barton fired with a shotgun loaded with buckshot.  A thresher whose name is not known fell mortally wounded and expired in about an hour.  Sheriff Bureau of Breckenridge was at once telegraphed to come and take the prisoner and sent Deputy Sheriff Strachan.  On arriving at Kent, Strachan found a determined mob surrounding the saloon with the avowed purpose of lynching the prisoner.  The mob refused to disperse and Sheriff Bureau was telegraphed for assistance.  The sheriff with a posse left at once for the scene of the tragedy.”

People here in Omaha are not particularly interested in a saloon brawl back in M[innesota] and the telegraph editor cut it to:

“In a row at Kent., Minn., Bartender Barton killed an unknown thresher.  A mob gathered to lynch him and a posse is on its way to reinforce the sheriff, who is on the spot.”

Some of the details were left out, but perhaps the western reader got as many of them as he cared to read.

But it is not only such cases that the blue pencil is called into requisition.  Very few dispatches come in so carefully written that they cannot be abbreviated at least a third before superfluous words are eliminated.  Here is a paragraph from a political convention in Colorado:

“The beginning of the opening exercises of opening day began in the opera house this morning.  The opening exercises began with an address by the Hon John Jones.  His address was an eloquent one.  It was upon the tariff.  He said,” etc., etc.

This is not a sample page from a primer, although it sounds like it, but is a fair sample of the style in which telegraphic news comes to a daily paper at so much a word.  It is unnecessary to add that the telegraph editor does not fill it out any more.


The work of that person, in brief, is to take a column article and condense it to a half a column without leaving out any facts; to cut a half column article to a stick; to select the best story from three or four which may be coming in on the same subject; to know at a glance what deserves a “scare head,” a “slug head,” or is worth merely a “brief mention”; what deserves a head at all and what can be condensed into a couple of lines and run as “Short Bits,” “Brief Telegrams,” etc.  To know, the latter is fully as important as to know the former.  But, whatever a telegraph editor’s qualifications may be he must possess this one in common with every other man on the force who handles copy—the ability to cut, cut, cut from the minute he sits down at his desk until “30” comes and he leaves.

July 16, 2013

Deadly Shootout at Crowded Mt. Victory Church, Pulaski, 1903

Previously:

Click here for a list of my other Pulaski/Rockcastle/Laurel County KY articles

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[August 23, 1903] -


Mt. Victory Camp Meeting.


Somerset, Ky., Aug. 22. -- The Mt. Victory camp-meeting, in Pulaski county, will begin August 29 and close September 6. The camp ground is about fifteen miles from Somerset, and contains about 1,000 acres. The land is owned by J. B. Sanders, who erected thereon a building large enough to accommodate several hundred people. [1]




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[September 8, 1903] -

ARRESTING OFFICER KILLED PRISONERS

Kinsman Then Turned on Constable Killing Him.

TRAGEDY AT CHURCH DOOR

Minister Praying Over a Dying Man Was Assaulted and Warned to Leave--Constable's Frenzied Son Fired Promiscuously--County is Being Scoured for Man Slayer.

SOMERSET, Ky., Sept 7.--(Special.)-- One of the most deadly and fearful fights that has ever occurred in the history of this county, took place at the Nunnelly Springs camp meeting, twelve miles east of town, in which Charles and Tweed Richmond, brothers, and Constable William B[olton] were killed, and Deputy Constable Smith was shot in the shoulder and dangerously wounded.  The trouble which resulted so seriously began immediately in front of the large auditorium which was erected there several years ago for the purpose of accommodating the immense throngs which attend the annual camp meetings there, and occurred during services.  Charles Richmond, the first man killed, fell in the doorway of the auditorium.


The trouble first arose between Charles Richmond and Constable William Bolton.  They had some parry of words just in front of the auditorium which ended in Richmond pulling his pistol and firing at Bolton, the shot taking effect in the leg and prostrating him on the ground.  Tweed Richmond then joined his brother and opened fire on the brothers.  Bolton is a dead shot and the first shot fired killed Charles Richmond.  Tweed Richmond continued to fire at Bolton, who still lay on the ground; Bolton then turned his fire on Tweed Richmond and shot him dead on the spot.  C. C. Garrison, a relative of the Richmond boys who appeared on the scene, opened fire on Bolton, shooting him to death as he lay in a dying condition from the shots received at the hands of the Richmond boys.  Deputy Constable Smith was also shot in the shoulder, inflicting a dangerous wound.

It is reported that one or two women were shot accidentally, but this report can not be verified.  The fight occurred at the entrance of the spacious auditorium during the discourse of the minister who is conducting the meeting, and the vast congregation was thrown into excitement of the wildest nature, women, men and children rushing pell-mell from the building and fleeing to the woodland near by, crushing each other under foot in their mad flight, some of the women being so excited that they ran for more than a mile from the scene and became lost in their confusion and excitement.  

After the shooting had ceased and while the men lay dead and dying on the ground in front of the church edifice, the minister was praying over one of the prostrate forms, when one of the opposite side walked up and knocked the minister's hat off with the muzzle of a long barreled pistol, admonishing him to move away.

The real cause of the trouble is supposed to be due to an old grudge of several years standing between some of the parties, and which culminated as stated above.  The scene of the horrible tragedy is about fifteen miles east of here and is near Nunnelly Springs, a popular summer resort.  For many years an annual camp meeting has been held there, and people for many miles attend, and so much interest has been manifested in the meeting that the association has erected a large auditorium with a seating capacity of more than 1,500 and it was at the main entrance where the shooting took place.

The Sheriff is now scouring that section for C. C. Harrison, who, it is said, fired the shots that killed Bolton.  Bolton's son arrived on the scene just after the shooting had died away and while his father lay a corpse near the two Richmond boys dead bodies, and frenzied with grief and anger, fired several shots promiscuously, but fortunately struck no one.  This is the most horrible tragedy that has excited this county in many years, and has created great excitement. [2]


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[September 8, 1903] -


ASSOCIATED PRESS STORY.

Somerset, Ky., Sept. 7.-- (Associated Press.)-- Three men were killed and several injured in a battle in which Winchesters and revolvers were used at a camp meeting at Mount Victory, Pulaski county, twelve miles east of Somerset.  Services were in progress, when Wm. Bolton, a Constable attempted to arrest two men named Richmond.  A fight followed in which Bolton, though wounded, killed both the Richmonds, and was himself killed by Columbus Garrison.

Several persons were wounded by stray shots.  Officers are searching for Garrison. [2]




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[September 8, 1903] -

In a general fight at a camp-meeting at Mt. Victory, in Pulaski county, Constable William Bolton, Charlie Richmond and Tweed Richmond were killed, and Columbus Garrison and John Smith, the latter a bystander, were wounded. Constable Bolton was endeavoring to suppress a disturbance, when the Richmonds began firing on him. [3]



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[September 12, 1903] -

GARRISON

FINALLY LODGED IN JAIL

The Alleged Slayer of Brave Constable Bill Bolton Will Be Tried September 15.


SOMERSET, Ky., Sept. 11-- (Special.)-- Columbus Garrison, the only surviving participant of the bloody triple tragedy which occurred at Mt. Victory camp meeting Sunday, and the one who it is reported fired the fatal shot from the rear which killed Constable Wm. Bolton, has been arrested by officers Hines and Elrods and is in jail awaiting his examining trial, September 15.  The remarkable coolness and nerve displayed by Officer Bolton is the subject of much comment.  In the battle which took place at the entrance of the tabernacle while services were in progress, he was fatally wounded by the two Richmond boys before he drew his pistol.  He shot them both dead and then turned and fired on his assailant who was fired on him from the rear, slightly wounding him.  Bolton then sank to the ground and died without ever having uttered a groan.  The weapon used by Bolton was a small 32-calibre pistol, but his aim was unerring, notwithstanding he had been fatally wounded, and none of his shots went wild.  The scene was a weird one, as it is said one of the opposing side who was armed with a Winchester rifle, and who fired several times at a woman, would not allow the friends of the dead boys to take them to the shade, and the bodies lay in the sun for several hours before any one would dare remove them.  An eye witness to the awful deed also states that the dead bodies were stamped upon by the enraged enemy.  One of the ministers who was endeavoring to give ministerial aid to one of the dying men was shoved to one side at the end of a long-barreled navy and told to move away and mind his own business.  The tragedy was a terrible affair and is greatly deplored by people all over the county. [4]


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[September 18, 1903] - 


Columbus Garrison, the only survivor of the bloody tragedy at Mt. Victory church in Pulaski county, in which Peace Officer William Bolton was killed, was tried and held for murder in the second degree, with bail fixed at $2,000. [5]



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[September 20, 1903] -



(Courier-Journal.)
AT DOOR

OF CHURCH DESPERATE BATTLE WAS FOUGHT--THREE MEN SHOT TO DEATH.

Constable Killed While Trying to Keep Order--He Fired in Dying Agony and Killed Two of His Assailants and Wounded a Third Man--A Bystander Was Wounded.

Somerset, Ky., Sept. 7.-- A desperate tragedy was enacted on Sunday about noon at the door of the Tabernacle at Mt. Victory, fifteen miles southeast of Somerset, in which William Bolton, constable of the district and two other combatants were killed in a fierce pistol fight.  Charlie Richmond and Tweed Richmond were killed and Columbus Garrison and John Smith, a bystander, were wounded.

Officer Bolton was one of the most resolute peace officers in the county and his services were in constant demand at all gatherings in that region to hold in check the hoodlum element and preserve the peace.  He was employed for this purpose by the camp authorities.  At the time of the tragedy a disturbance was created near the entrance to the church in which there was a great crowd engaged in religious worship.  Bolton attempted to stop it, when one of the Richmonds thrust a pistol against him and fired, the other also fired upon him, shooting him through the knee, while a third assailant shot him through the body from the rear.  The brave officer drew his weapon and while thus fatally wounded shot five times, killing two of his antagonists and wounding the third, Columbus Garrison, as he ran.  Garrison exclaimed as he fell, "God have have mercy on my soul," and almost immediately expired. [This is obviously not accurate as Garrison was later arrested.]

Trouble has existed for some time between relatives of Bolton ad the Garrisons and Richmonds which Bolton had succeeded in keeping down.  There is great excitement in the neighborhood and further trouble is feared.

Comment.-- I have gone into some pretty dangerous places, but I draw the line at going to church in Kentucky. [6]




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[July 19, 1906] -

Columbus Garrison was acquitted of the killing of Constable Wm. Bolton by a Pulaski county jury. [7]



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[1] "Mt. Victory Camp Meeting." The Courier Journal, Louisville, KY. August 23, 1903. Page 6. Newspapers.com.

[2] "Arresting Officer Killed Prisoners." Morning Herald, Lexington, KY. September 8, 1903. Page 1. Genealogybank.com.

[3] Excerpt from Column 1. The Courier Journal, Louisville, KY. September 8, 1903. Page 1. Newspapers.com.

[4] "Garrison." Morning Herald, Lexington, KY. September 12, 1903. Page 1. Genealogyba
nk.com.

[5] Excerpt of "This and That." Semi-Weekly Interior Journal, Stanford, KY. September 18, 1903. Page 2. LOC. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85052020/1903-09-18/ed-1/seq-2/

[6] "At Door." Blue-grass Blade, Lexington, KY. September 20, 1903. Page 1. LOC. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069867/1903-09-20/ed-1/seq-1/. 
Originally reported in "At Door." The Courier Journal, Louisville, KY. September 8, 1903. Page 5. Newspapers.com.

[7] Excerpt from "In Neighboring Counties." The Interior Journal, Stanford, KY. July 19, 1906. Page 2. LOC. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85052021/1906-07-10/ed-1/seq-2/


Associated Press Story from source [1] also reported in:

"Three Killed in Fight at Camp Meeting." Tacoma Daily News, Tacoma, WA. September 7, 1903. Page 6. Genealogybank.com.

"Battle at Camp Meeting." Omaha World Herald, Omaha, NE. September 7, 1903. Page 2. Genealogybank.com.

"Three Killed in Kentucky Fight." Boston Herald, Boston, MA. September 8, 1903. Page 9. Genealogybank.com.

"Killed in Kentucky." Patriot, Harrisburg, PA. September 8, 1903. Page 4. Genealogybank.com.

"Shooting at Camp Meeting." Daily People, New York, NY. September 8, 1903. Page 4. Genealogybank.com.

"Three Killed in Fight at Camp Meeting." Woodbury Daily Times, Woodbury, NJ. September 8, 1903. Page 4. Genealogybank.com.

"Three Men Killed." Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem, NC. September 8, 1903. Page 4. Genealogybank.com.

"Pistols and Rifles at Camp Meeting." San Diego Union, San Diego, CA. September 8, 1903. Page 1. Genealogybank.com.

"Three Men Killed and Several Wounded at a Camp-Meeting." Cleveland Leader, Cleveland, OH. September 8, 1903. Page 7. Genealogybank.com.

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July 13, 2013

Man Injures Wife, Kills Mother-in-Law in Front of 6-Year-Old Son, Pulaski, 1906

Previously:

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[March 2, 1906] -


KILLED

Mother-in-Law, Wounded Wife and Tried to Kill Officers. Desperate Deed of Somerset Man.

[Special to the Leader.]

SOMERSET, KY., March 2. -- Otis Gragg, an employee of the railroad, living in South Somerset, shot and killed his mother-in-law, Mrs. J. C. Bowman, and seriously wounded his young wife this morning about 8 o'clock.

After the killing the murderer crossed the street to his mother's home where he was arrested by officers, one of whom he wounded in the hand while resisting. He is now in jail, but claims to have no recollection of the deed. [1]





July 10, 2013

Man Kills School Teacher; Arrest Leads to Police Shootout, Pulaski, 1911

Post updated July 5, 2021.

I received the following message regarding this case:
"Members of the Phelps family believe the newspaper article in error identifying James Phelps as the shooter of Riley Price. We believe the actual shooter was Andrew Marion (Dude) Phelps, James Arthur’s brother. We believe James Arthur Phelps was the person shot in the shootout described in the October 20th article. James Arthur Phelps’s tombstone states October 20, 1912 as his date of death. Andrew Marion Phelps served a prison sentence and lived to be an elderly man. The family would interested in any articles or court records and/or hearing, trial, and sentencing of Andrew Marion Phelps. This is [sent] by the great niece of both Andrew Marion (Dude) Phelps and James Arthur Phelps." 

If anyone has any additional information or documents regarding this case, please reach out to Bill at bsimon1875[/at]gmail[/dot]com.

The Findagrave entry for James Arthur Phelps who died on October 20, 1912 is here.

 
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[August 11, 1911] -
 
THIRD KILLING IN A MONTH
 
Somerset, KY., Aug. 10. -- Pulaski county had another killing Wednesday, which makes the third in a month, and another good citizen is gone. J. A. Phelps, it is alleged shot and instantly killed Riley Price Wednesday afternoon near Price's home, about fifteen miles east of here [Somerset]. 

Price was a school teacher, and was shot while on his way to school. Little can be learned of the killing, as the officers have not brought Phelps here, yet it is known that the two men have been at outs for some years. About a year ago Price shot Phelps in the arm, and Wednesday was the first time the men had met since that time. 

Price was County Assessor four years ago, and was one of the leading citizens of the county. His reputation was that of a quiet and peaceable citizen, and the killing has caused much excitement. 

Mr. Phelps is also one of the county's leading citizens, being a farmer in excellent circumstances. [1]


 

 
 

July 7, 2013

Young Girl Killed in Saloon Raid, 1901

Previously:

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[November 6, 1901] -


When Circuit Court convened in Somerset Monday, Sam McClendon walked in and surrendered to the Sheriff, saying that he had killed Robert Johnson a prosperous young farmer.  That was the first that was ever know of the killing.  McClendon first claimed he killed Johnson in self-defense, and then said it was accidental.  He was promptly indicted. [1]






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[November 6, 1901] -


CHILD KILLED

BY A MOB OF SALOON RAIDERS IN PULASKI COUNTY.

SOMERSET, Ky., Nov 6-- News reached here this morning of the killing of the five-year-old daughter of Samuel McClendon.  McClendon is in jail at this place charged with the killing of Robert Johnston, a few days ago.  McClendon and his wife have been running a saloon for some time in this county near the Wayne line.  At an early hour yesterday morning a mob raided their establishment, firing guns and pistols.

McClendon's wife, who was in the house at the time, attempted to make her escape with her five-year-old daughter.  During their flight they were fired on and the child was instantly killed.

Excitement is running high in that section and great sorrow is felt for the father and mother of the young girl. [2]



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[November 12, 1901] -

Samuel McClendon, charged with killing Robert Johnson, near Somerset, was acquitted.  McClendon claimed the killing was accidental. [3]




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[1] Excerpt from "Late State News." The Richmond Climax, Richmond, KY. November 6, 1901. Page 1. LOC. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069162/1901-11-06/ed-1/seq-1/

[2] "Child Killed." Morning Herald, Lexington, KY. November 6, 1901. Page 7. Genealogybank.com.

[3] Excerpt from "In Neighboring Counties." The Interior Journal, Stanford, KY. November 12, 1901. Page 1. LOC. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85052020/1901-11-12/ed-1/seq-1/

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July 4, 2013

Girl Killed on Wooded Trail, Pulaski, 1913

Previously:

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[April 14, 1913] -

PRICE AND ARNOLD ARE ARRESTED IN PULASKI

Two Men Charged With the Killing of Cora Whittaker

SOMERSET, Ky., April 13.-- Roscoe Price and Millard Arnold were arrested by Deputy Sheriff Raney and lodged in jail here on a warrant, charging them with the killing of Miss Cora Whittaker.  They will be arraigned before Judge R. C. Tartar Monday and a date set for their examining trial.  The finding of the coroner's jury refuted the claim made by the two young men that Cora Whitaker shot herself either accidentally or on purpose.

The three were together in a woodland some distance from the home of the girl in the eastern part of this county, when the shooting occurred.  She had started from her home to a store and was passing through the woodland where the boys were located when she came by and the tragedy occurred some fifty feet from the roadside.

A. J. McFarland, employed by the Cumberland Grocery Company, died from an injury sustained when he was thrown from a wagon when the team he was driving became frightened and ran away. [1]



July 1, 2013

Pregnant Woman Cuts Preacher's Throat, 1917

Please note that this article is not from the Pulaski/Rockcastle/Laurel KY area.  This is from Smithland, KY.


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[July 29, 1917] -


Cuts Throat of Man Who Was Slugging Husband

SMITHLAND, Ky., July 28.--(Special to The Courier)--Pete Butler, 52 years old, of Grand Rivers road, five miles from this place, was killed today by his sister-in-law, Mrs. Jeff Fleming, 20 years old, according to Squire G. D. Seyster, who conducted the inquest.

Butler and Jeff Fleming had words of Fleming swearing in the presence of Butler's children and same to blows.  In the fight Fleming forced Butler to the wall, both struggling for mastery when Mrs. Fleming secured a razor from a trunk with which she cut Butler's throat, severing his jugular vein and windpipe.

Fleming and his wife fled, being later captured near Hadbox ferry on the Tennessee river by a posse. [1]

 
 
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[September 12, 1917] -

Fight Results in Death of Minister

Wife Charged With Cutting Throat of Clergyman When Latter Has Husband Down.

Smithland, Ky.-- Jeff Fleming, 20 years old, and his wife, Lizzie, aged 18, were jointly indicted here accused of having slain the Rev. T. Butler at the latter's home in this city July 28, last.

According to the accused couple, Butler and Fleming engaged in an argument and a fist-fight followed.  Later the men clinched and as they fell to the floor Butler was on top of his antagonist.  At this juncture, it is alleged, Mrs. Fleming entered the room and hearing her husband scream that he was being killed secured a knife and cut the preacher's throat.  He died instantly.

Mrs. Fleming is to become a mother in a few weeks.  The trial has been set for Friday. [2]






 
 
 
 
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[April 20, 1921] - 


Livingston Woman Pardoned by Morrow for Feud Murder

(Special to the Herald)

FRANKFORT, Ky., April 19.--Mrs. Lizzie Fleming, convicted in September 1917, in the Livingston Circuit Court for manslaughter and sentenced to ten years confinement in the penitentiary, was pardoned today by Governor Edwin P. Morrow.  She has served three and one-half years of the sentence besides her incarceration in jail before her trial. 

Lizzie Fleming killed S. P. Butler in a general fight between the Butler and Fleming families.  At that time she was 19 years old and was soon to give birth to her first child.

Governor Morrow says that he is of the opinion that this young woman, in her physical condition, alarmed at the fight that was going on, was not responsible for her acts, and being in that condition she should not be judged as a normal woman should.

The county attorney of Livingston County, jurors and lawyers who conducted the defense recommended the pardon. [3]


 
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[1] "Cuts Throat of Man Who Was Slugging Husband." Evansville Courier and Press, Evansville, IN. July 29, 1917. Page 3. Genealogybank.com.

[2] "Fight Results in Death of Minister." Hartford Herald, Hartford, KY. September 12, 1917. Page 6. LOC. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84037890/1917-09-12/ed-1/seq-6/.

[3] "Livingston Woman Pardoned by Morrow for Feud Murder." Lexington Herald, Lexington, KY. April 20, 1921. Page 2. Genealogybank.com.

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