hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court

As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. ")[1] Floyd Allen stated that only then did he draw his own revolver and begin shooting. In March 1912, there was a shooting at the Carroll County, Courthouse in Hillsville, Virginia. [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. Another entered the body at the cap of the left hip and passed through the abdomen. The documents dont answer the seemingly unsolvable questions that have lingered in the air like gun smoke for 110 years. The exhibits were discovered in 2016 in Wythe County's courthouse. - After the shootout ended, people in Hillsville were afraid the Allen family would come back into town and kill everyone in sight. The phone hasn't stopped ringing in the. View Map and Driving Directions Phone: (276) 728-2594 More by Ralph Berrier Jr. Support Cardinal News and connect with more than 13,000 of our most engaged readers by sponsoring a Cardinal News newsletter. Three trials were needed to finally convict Claude. Nearly impassable muddy roads and a raw wind that carried snow flurries did not stop nearly 100 people from jamming the 1873 courthouse to see the spectacle of Floyd Allen possibly being led away in handcuffs. The significance of this event to Carroll County is profound, Sadler said. - Lewis Franklin Webb, the County Sheriff killed in the Courthouse Tragedy, had just taken office in January of 1912, but had been a deputy numerous times. Also, there were places where the author seemed to go out onto a tangent, such as explaining how electrocution became a means of capital punishment used on Floyd and Claude. The play was still occasionally performed before the pandemic. The men were gunned down during one of the most notorious events in Southwest Virginia history. But the governor refused. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. The book begins with character sketches of the various parties involved. - In 1912, the Carroll County courtroom was some 20 feet shorter than it is today. How can you have seven murder trials in Wythe County and not have any exhibits whatsoever? Sadler often asked. Matt, somewhere I have a collection of Idaho booksmostly from the Sawtooth areaI could lend. I bet there are lots of tales about Rochester, NY and the surrounding area that would make good reads as well. The jury fixed the penalty at fifteen years in the penitentiary. There it was, the script of a doomed man, written in the final minutes of his life. 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. Other members of the family received long sentences. Again it is . . [4] In July 1889, the Carroll County court indicted Floyd for assault as well, but in December of that year the Commonwealth's Attorney dropped the case. 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. Many accounts claim that Allen initiated the confrontation by pulling a gun in court. About; Contact; Links; Search for: Tags. I like that youre reading up on your new home. Upon conviction of interfering with an officer of the law, Judge Thornton Massie oversaw the jurys imposed sentence of one year imprisonment. The Carroll County prosecutor placed liens on all property owned by Floyd Allen and Sidna Allen for the heirs of the victims. [2] Sentenced to a $100 fine and one hour in jail for wounding Jack, Floyd refused to go, saying that he "would never spend a minute in jail as long as the blood flowed through his veins". "Claude Allen First To Fire At Hillsville". He told Sheriff Lewis Webb to take the prisoner. [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. [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. 12 talking about this. Look after this now. The U.S. Revenue Service had sent Deputy Agent Faddis to investigate reports of illegal liquor trafficking by the Allens. Sadler also knew that, minutes after Foster laid down his pencil, he was dead. Mr. Allen stood and declared, Gentlemen, I aint a goin. Gunfire, chaos, death ensued all in a moment. Sidna Allen received a 35-year prison sentence, his nephews Wesley and Sidna Edwards and Friel Allen got lesser sentences. Eventually, Carroll County deputies Thomas Pink Samuels and Peter Easter nabbed the brothers in North Carolina, shackled them and loaded them on a wagon for the long ride up the mountain, passing by Sidna Allens home and store in Fancy Gap where they were met by none other than a hot-tempered Floyd Allen, who was angered that his kinfolk were hog-tied in a wagon like livestock being carted to market. A Journey to and Beyond the Blackboard - Kim Johnson 2021-07-25 Kim Johnson, or 'Sir', has spent his life striving to achieve outstanding So was the judge. We are the court of record. Gerald Goad said the documents needed to be back in Carroll County. Mr. Alderman said he was not privy to what they discussed. The last and fifth shot went into the calf of the leg and when his trousers were removed, a .32 caliber bullet was discovered. [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. His grandfather had taken the round from the courthouse the day of the killings. To see this handwritten verdict, I knew it was the Holy Grail and Exhibit One in the commonwealths case against Floyd Allen, Sadler said. 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. He said he thought Floyd's fumbling with his sweater buttons was a prelude to drawing his pistol. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Maybe he didnt want anybody else rifling through those things, Hall said. As Foster followed the judges instructions to re-write the verdict on the indictment, Allens lawyer, W.D. Its cool you found such an interesting tale based in your area. Victor Allen also asserted that Claud had taken Victor's handgun as the two left their hotel in Hillsville on that morning. Located in the Fancy Gap community near I-77 Exit 14. Otherwise, he would not have been armed. Their trials took place in Wytheville. 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. That verdict, those words uttered by a jury foreman and re-written by Foster, were what prompted the freshly convicted the defiant Allen to stand up and pronounce, Gentlemen, I just aint a-goin, or words to that effect, right before the courtroom filled with smoke and lead. This film is currently in development. There are many questions as to what led up to this event, but it seems to have begun with Wesley Edwards getting a red ear of corn at a corn shucking. Floyd even paid their bail. Too many other projects. The shooting began after the jury had found the defendant, Floyd Allen, guilty of forcefully releasing two prisoners (his sisters sons) from law enforcement as they were bringing the prisoners back from Mt. "Floyd Allen Defense Gets Well Into Case", Bluefield, W. Va.: "Accuses Dexter Goad Of Shooting Betty Ayers". Perhaps to get even, Goad charged Allen with falsifying expense reports when he worked as a county deputy. - Claude Allen did not take a gun when he went to Hillsville To Floyds trial. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. He also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the shooting of Sheriff Webb, and was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment. Gerald Goad, Carroll County Clerk of the Circuit Court, engineered the transfer of the documents from Wytheville to Hillsville. The jury set his sentence at one year. On 13 March 1912, in the Carroll County Circuit Court, . Director Rick Bowman Writers Rick Bowman Bill Perrine Stars - William Fosters daughter, Aline, married George Ellison Bud Edwards in 1917. 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. Atop a shelf, he saw what looked like a drawer among the boxes. So, in late 1910 when two of Floyd Allens nephews got in a little trouble with the law, the consequences would be deadly. Allen rose to his feet and calmly said, "Gentlemen, I ain't goin'." ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Floyd called home to have his son, Victor, bring him to court on Wednesday, March 13th. A second shot entered the back about four inches lower, while a third shot cut the sheriff across the chin. [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. 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. 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. Discover short videos related to Hillsville 1912 A Shooting in the Court on TikTok. They, too, were captured by Felts and his men, as Sidna Allen came to believe that Wesleys girlfriend back home had betrayed them. [2] His pistol empty, Allen proceeded to beat Jack with the butt of his empty revolver. [21] Agent Faddis and four men raided Floyd Allen's property, seizing illegal stills and fifty gallons of moonshine. Then a cacophony of gunfire. Past month; Great transaction. Seems like everybody from Carroll County has some connection to this story. Allen and several members of his family immediately fled the courtroom but were later captured and convicted of murder. [29] He testified that one of the girls pointed out some of the Allens leaving the courthouse, when Sidna Allen came toward him, pointed his pistol at him, and fired. "[1] Not long afterward, Allen shot and wounded Combs, and was indicted and tried on charges of assault. B. Marshall testified that when the shooting started he turned to escape the courthouse. Roanoke, Va., March 16, --The prisoners from Hillsville are not expected here before 3 o'clock Sunday morning. You do have some interesting local history. After the shooting, because of the number of Allens in Carroll County, they housed the prisoners in Roanoke. The sentence would have had Floyd do time. In the space of 90 seconds, 57 bullets were fired into the Hillsville courthouse, killing five men and wounding three more. [2] Floyd then released the Edwards brothers. As if entitled, they took what they wanted or needed. Preserving and Presenting the History of the County of Carroll, Commonwealth of Virginia. The author is honest and at many times in the book admits we wont know for sure what happened. Allen was noted for his generosity, but also his quick temper and easily injured pride. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. This is the actual foundation of all of the story, said Goad, whose own great-great-uncle, Dexter Goad, was a Carroll clerk of court who traded bullets with the Allens on that tragic day. 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 died at his daughters home in Hillsville in 1941. Another younger brother, Sidna, was a successful businessman who had prospected for gold in Alaska, operated a store, owned a considerable amount of land and built a lovely Queen Anne-style home in Fancy Gap, and yet he was accused of being a counterfeiter who barely avoided jail time even though one of his associates was sent up the river. 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. The trouble started with a kiss. 272 pages including sources and a few b&w photos. WYTHEVILLE, Va., Nov. 22. 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. Fearful of the Allens' reaction, and having received death threats, many officials of the court armed themselves. Menu. Terribly tragic. 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. Floyd Allen jury member, John W. Farris, remarked that they wouldnt be back until they were brought back. 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. [10][41] Jack Allen was buried near his home in Carroll County, in the presence of a thousand mourners.[41]. In 1921, however, Victor moved his family to Tabernacle Township, New Jersey. [1] Others consider the alleged affidavit to be hearsay, made years after the event transpired, and worthless. In some ways, the county never recovered from that day. [18], Seven others were wounded, including Deputy Clerk Goad and Floyd Allen. This sort of isolation probably meant that Floyd and his siblings grew up independent, resourceful and perhaps overly prideful and defiant. The trials happened quickly in 1912 and early 1913. March broke cold and rainy in the mountains. 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