B. 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 significance of this event to Carroll County is profound, Sadler said. Terribly tragic. Court Crime The 1910's Spread the love In 1912 a Carroll County, Virginia, man was sentenced to serve a one year sentence in the state penitentiary. On the cold spring morning of March 14th, 1912, shots rang out in the tiny rural mountain town of Hillsville, Virginia. The battle of tradition against modernity seemed to be the heart of the rivalries: Would Carroll County be a 20th century civilized bastion of law, order and rules, or would the hidebound rugged frontier individualism of taking law into ones own hands and the bucking of authority prevail? The Historical Society has gathered significant materials, published over the years, that attempt to interpret this event in our local history. Many of Allen clan members were spectators in the courtroom, most of them armed with pistols. 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. October 2, 2022. 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. Judge Bolen confirmed his prior testimony that he saw Claud Allen fire the first shot at Judge Massie from the courtroom's northeast corner, whereupon Claud advanced toward the court officers to where Commonwealth's Attorney Foster was standing. [23], Another prosecution witness was Floyd Allen's other attorney, Walter S. Tipton. . So was the judge. After the shooting, because of the number of Allens in Carroll County, they housed the prisoners in Roanoke. Sidna Edwards pleaded guilty in August 1912 to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to 15 years in the penitentiary. At a church service the next morning conducted by Wesley's uncle, Garland Allen, Thomas reportedly called out Wesley into a fight. Sidna was released from prison, but he never set foot in his fine house again. Sadler knew that tragic story, and he understood his familys connection to it. William Hodges Mann from Hillsvilles one outside line brought the famed Baldwin-Felts detectives to town the next day. Was it Floyds son Claude? A stolen kiss. Interesting, the real Mayberry is along the Blue Ridge, in Patrick County, but just east of Carroll County. According to local legend, a headstone placed atop their graves read: Sacred to the memory of Claude S. Allen and his father, who was judicially murdered in the Va. Penitentiary March 28 1913 by order of the Governor of the State over the protest of 100,000 citizens of the state of Va.. The property is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. After getting down the steps he leaned against the window of his office when two girls, Dora and Elizabeth Ayers, passed him. The jury found Allen guilty of assault on 14 March and sentenced him to one year in the penitentiary. Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad admitted firing the second shot at Floyd, striking him in the pelvis. Howard Sadlers grandfather, Howard Gilmer, who died before Sadler was born, carried the enormity of the tragedy with him throughout his short life. 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. Blacksburg-based autonomous vehicle firm Torc to acquire Canadian company; more . Massie sentenced Allen to one year in prison. 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. On 13 March 1912, in the Carroll County Circuit Court, Floyd Allen was tried for attacking two deputies who had arrested two of his nephews for fighting and disturbing a religious meeting. The author is honest and at many times in the book admits we wont know for sure what happened. But a year later the Hillsvile courthouse tragedy occurred and Sidna and his wife had only lived there a year. I enjoyed the book even though it took me a while to get into it. 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. He also wrote that as the judge lay dying, he told his young protg, Tell my brother Robert to take care of my family.. They didnt find Andrew because the cell was dark and he had climbed up between the chimney and wall near the ceiling. [citation needed]. Convicted on capital murder, both Claude and Floyd were sentenced to death. The documents dont answer the seemingly unsolvable questions that have lingered in the air like gun smoke for 110 years. Theres Fosters handwriting and then you realize that within five or six minutes, he was dead. 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. When the men were buried, it was beneath one final statement of defiance. Maybe the county leaders didnt want to find errant bullets from their own guns in the bodies of the dead, some county residents whispered. M arch 14, 1912, arrives just as badly as the day before. Wesley, the story goes, shucked a red ear of corn and proceeded to kiss the girlfriend of a Thomas boy who he did not like. Much of the information was gleaned from Halls book, The Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy, and other sources. Who shot whom? The animosity derived from a feud between Thomas father, George W. Thomas, and Floyd Allen. Check your inbox now to confirm your subscription. Hall thinks that Sheriff Webb, who was carrying a borrowed gun, might have fired accidentally. There it was, the script of a doomed man, written in the final minutes of his life. This sort of isolation probably meant that Floyd and his siblings grew up independent, resourceful and perhaps overly prideful and defiant. We must have similar tendencies as I like to pick up a few books about the history of any area I spend some time in. 1 minute, 47 seconds Read. [7][9], However, times were changing: Virginia's judicial structure was altered in a series of legal reforms, particularly the county court system, which was replaced by circuit courts. 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. Jack came to and shot Floyd which ended the affair. Howard Gilmer testified during the subsequent murder trials about the judges fatal bullet wound. Mt. Judge Thornton Massie was one of five people killed during the courthouse shootout in Hillsville on March 14, 1912. Howard Gilmer had traveled to Hillsville with Massie because he had a case pending in court. The Carroll County prosecutor placed liens on all property owned by Floyd Allen and Sidna Allen for the heirs of the victims. -- Sidna Allen, leader of the Allen clan, which shot up the Carroll County Court at Hillsville last March, causing the death of five person, was to-day found guilty of . The book begins with character sketches of the various parties involved. [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. [20], Within a month, all suspected shooters were in custody, except Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards. In a fusillade of shots, Allen hit Jack in the head, which struck a glancing blow on Jack's scalp, while one of Jack's bullets hit Allen in the chest. Courthouse Productions will stage "Thunder in the Hills" again at the historic Carroll County Courthouse, North Main Street, Hillsville, Virginia, beginning April 7. Upon conviction of interfering with an officer of the law, Judge Thornton Massie oversaw the jurys imposed sentence of one year imprisonment. As Foster followed the judges instructions to re-write the verdict on the indictment, Allens lawyer, W.D. [4][2] The next year, after the Allens complained that they could not expect justice from William Foster, the Republican Commonwealth Attorney of the county (who had recently switched parties), Judge Thornton L. Massie appointed both Floyd and H.C. as police officers for the New River section of the county. Friel Allen was tried in August 1912 and after confessing to shooting prosecutor Foster, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. All men were pardoned by Gov. "Claude Allen First To Fire At Hillsville". 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. Floyd Allen was going to trial. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court watch movie for free Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court full movie *Watch Movie Online or Watch Best Free HD 1080p Videos on Desktop, Laptop, Notebook, Tablet, iPhone, iPad, Mac Pro and more. Bringing in Sheaves: The Western Revivals of the Reverend A. Airy. [2] Floyd then released the Edwards brothers. Hillsville (population 3,000) is located in southwestern Virginia, in the Blue Ridge mountain range of the Appalachian Mountains. A witness later testified that Floyd Allen had remarked that he "would not let any man talk to me that way."[14]. This is the sort of history that gets lost a lot the sensational, headlining tale thats at the front of everyones mind until something even more sensational comes along. One can wonder if that was a sign that she blamed her husband for the tragic calamity that befell the family. Bolen had been standing next to Floyd Allen, and was facing Judge Massie when the first shots struck the judge's robes. But the storys roots go further back and involve politics, rivalries, clannishness, thuggery, vengeance and even a little geography. 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. In 1921, however, Victor moved his family to Tabernacle Township, New Jersey. He wept freely as the verdict was read. SHREDDED WHEAT RECIPIES - CIRCA 1933 Booklet~Advertising | Collectibles, Advertising, Food & Beverage | eBay! The jury set his sentence at one year. PARROW'S TRIAL POSTPONED Chicago Lawyer Will Not Appear Be fore Jan. 6. [2] In May 1889, Floyd's brothers, Garland and Sidna Allen, were tried for carrying concealed pistols and assaulting a group of thirteen men. After all, he agreed hed have the boys in court? There was a massive effort for the governor to commute the sentences of Claude and Floyd, including a petition with over 100,000 signatures. This film is currently in development. (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. Two others had been shot and would soon diethe jury foreman and a 19-year-old girl who had testified against Allen. Floyd spent the night at his brother Sidnas splendid new home in Fancy Gap, about 7 miles away. Floyd shot Jack in the head and then began to beat him in the head with a rock while he was out cold. Yep, I think we do have similar tendencies. [20] Sidna Edwards had scalded his foot some years before and was partially lame, and limped out of the courthouse, riding his mother's horse back to his home. To see this handwritten verdict, I knew it was the Holy Grail and Exhibit One in the commonwealths case against Floyd Allen, Sadler said. The grand posse, as Sidna Allen would mockingly call them in his memoirs, rode horses, carried shotguns and rifles and posed for pictures even though they spent a lot of time flailing through the woods in search of the Allens. Please call to schedule an appointment. On March 14, 1912, the Floyd Allen Clan carried out one of the most brutal attacks in Appalachian history. Floyd said he did it peacefully and lawfully, claiming that the deputies did not have proper warrants for arrest. Judge W. R. Staples presided over the courthouse shooting trials, which were prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Samuel W. Williams and involved attorneys Draper, Landreth, Poage and Wysor. - Nancy Elizabeth Betty Ayers was shot in the back just about the beltline and just to the right of her spine. Mann asking either that the Allens be given clemency or be executed swiftly. The execution of father and soon occurred in 1913. Sheriff and Commonwealth's Attorney dead, court serious. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. You can also see some of Sidna Allens furniture craftsmanship and Claude Allens banjo on exhibit in the museum. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. He asked her if she was hurt or mashed and her sister-in-law responded that she was just scared. J. E. Kearn, a traveling salesman from Roanoke, testified he sold Sidna Allen a lot of ammunition at the March term of the Hillsville court, specifically 500 each of .32 and .38 caliber pistol cartridges and 500 12-gauge shotgun shells. "Floyd Allen Defense Gets Well Into Case", Bluefield, West Virginia: "Defense Continues Efforts To Disprove Conspiracy". It was a huge goal to get this back in Carroll. 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. I like that youre reading up on your new home. Did Floyd force their release or were they released into his custody? Look after this now. [11] There was only one set of handcuffs, and because Sidna Edwards had tried to escape a couple of times, Wesley was handcuffed in the front seat of the buggy and Sidna was tied in the back seat. He was not in the courthouse during the shootings, but immediately ran to his dying friend and mentor. Allen rose to his feet and calmly said, "Gentlemen, I ain't goin'." Two bullet holes Floyd Allens final shots in the massacre are still visible in the wooden steps. Their trials took place in Wytheville. - After his release from prison in 1922, Friel Allen came back to Hillsville and had Attorney John Alderman arrange a meeting with Dexter Goad. Allen and Goad had butted heads before. Ronald W. Hall,The Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy(2013 printing, Hillsville VA: Carroll County Historical Society,1998). The ex On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. More than fifty bullets were later recovered from the shooting scene. He was called Pink because of a birthmark on his cheek. On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. Allen later denied this, but the reported threat caused Samuels to leave the state the same night it was delivered. 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. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, IHeart Radio or on your favorite podcast app. 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. COOPERSTOWN NEW YORK POSTCARD~Orphanage Building/House~Cart 1911 (#185750574261) l***n (1544) - Feedback left by buyer l***n (1544). We depend entirely on donations. Floyd Allen grew up in a large family in southern Carroll County, raised on a farm wedged between the North Carolina border and the front wall of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He had them handcuffed and tied up with a rope. Jack Allen lost his job as constable as a result of the Hillsville shooting, and soon his life. However, Goad denied firing the first shot in the fusillade. He also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the shooting of Sheriff Webb, and was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. Its small enough for that to be possible I suspect. S. E. Gardner, a Hillsville undertaker who prepared the body of Sheriff Webb for burial, testified that the Sheriff was shot no less than five times. [citation needed], Floyd Allen was tried for the first-degree murder of Commonwealth's Attorney Foster. [2], Floyd Allen met the buggy south of Sidna Allen's home as he was on the way to his own home. [13], The rumor that the Allens were intimidating witnesses was called to the attention of the court. The U.S. Revenue Service had sent Deputy Agent Faddis to investigate reports of illegal liquor trafficking by the Allens. Gerald Goad said the documents needed to be back in Carroll County. Site of the Bloody Massacre Photo by Author, Thelma Raker Coffone. They, too, were captured by Felts and his men, as Sidna Allen came to believe that Wesleys girlfriend back home had betrayed them. 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. Most likely, someone had intentionally hidden the drawer to keep people from pawing through and perhaps removing the papers. It would take another tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic, to remove the focus from Carroll County. There are even questions as to what happened here. Located in the Fancy Gap community near I-77 Exit 14. We are the court of record. Allen was noted for his generosity, but also his quick temper and easily injured pride. Despite taking his nephews to jail himself, Floyd was accused that he did feloniously and forcably [sic] rescue his nephews, according to a grand jury indictment. He proved to be right. It also hired Baldwin-Felt hired detectives (a group like the Pinkertons). [2] Floyd Allen later stated that he never intended to have the boys set completely free, he just wanted them to be released from their manacles. Petty also witnessed a pistol duel between Sidna Allen and Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad. [24], Yet another lawyer who witnessed the shooting, W. A. Daugherty of Pikeville, stated that several young men were standing on court benches at the back of the room firing their pistols "like Custer's cavalrymen at the Little Big Horn". 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 Carroll County Historical Society and Museum. During my term of office Floyd Allen was several times charged with violations of law. Floyd said Goad and Foster were part of a privileged clique, according to Hall, one that would never include the likes of Floyd or his family. 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. Then he found the original Floyd Allen indictment that bore William Fosters final written words. Floyd, wounded too badly in the hip, thigh and knee to leave town, instead spent the night in the Elliott Hotel accompanied by his eldest son, Victor, who was later acquitted of involvement in the shootout. Those old papers were lost or stolen, Horney replied. In 2015 or so, Sadler also found a .38 caliber bullet among the keepsakes. He found trial transcripts.
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