For a while, Hillsville was at the top of the nation's newspaper. Elbert Lee Trinkle and Gov. [2] Samuels again pulled his gun on Floyd. - J. Sidna Allen, in addition to being a well-traveled and successful businessman, had been a newspaper editor and a schoolteacher. His mother was afraid theyd find him guilty of 1st degree murder, which carried the death penalty, so she convinced him to plead guilty to 2nd degree murder, which did not. [21] Two more illegal stills were found at Sidna Edwards' house. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. [1][4] Floyd had wanted to buy a farm owned by one of his own brothers, but could not agree on a price. This sort of isolation probably meant that Floyd and his siblings grew up independent, resourceful and perhaps overly prideful and defiant. Howard, I believe thats what youve been looking for, Horney said. Another of those events that have passed into history. Ive already read four books and have another four lined up to read!. The new system appointed a full-time judge to hold court at scheduled intervals in a circuit of several counties. [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". 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. He was shot dead in the courtroom.. Floyd Allens case had been continued a couple of times before he finally appeared in court for a two-day trial that started on March 12, 1912. He was tried in federal court, found guilty, and sentenced to a year in federal prison at Moundsville, West Virginia. Petty also witnessed a pistol duel between Sidna Allen and Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad. "There were five people murdered. Barely one year after the courthouse shootout, Floyd Allen and his son Claude were executed minutes apart at the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond. According to Floyd Allen's defense attorney, David Winton Bolen, "[Floyd] hesitated a moment, and then he aroseHe looked to me like a man who was about to say something, and had hardly made up his mind what he was going to say, but as he got straight, he moved off to my left, I would say five or six feet, and he seemed to gain his speech, and he said something like this, 'I just tell you, I ain't a'going. Floyd shot Jack in the head and then began to beat him in the head with a rock while he was out cold. "[26], County Treasurer J. Democratic Governor Elbert Lee Trinkle pardoned Friel Allen and Sidna Edwards in 1922. The trouble started with a kiss. "You have no idea how much it means to me for you to be here today. However, once the story began, it flowed better. The next morning, the jury quickly returned a guilty verdict and a sentence of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. He defeated the son of Jasper Jack Allen for the position. [2] Floyd then released the Edwards brothers. Recognizing the need for immediate action, assistant clerk S. Floyd Landreth sent a telegram to Democratic Governor William Hodges Mann which read: Send troops to the County of Carroll at once. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Spray bottom of pans with Pam baking spray apply the waxed paper and spray the pan, waxed paper and sides with Pam. [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. But there they were, hidden in a drawer in the basement of the Wythe County Courthouse, where a longtime clerk discovered them in the fall of 2016. 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. [11][10][40][41] A dispute arose between McGraw and Jack Allen about the Hillsville tragedy; during the confrontation McGraw drew a gun and shot Allen twice, killing him on the spot. Sheriff and Commonwealth's Attorney dead, court serious. Eventually, most of the clan was captured, although Sidna Allen and his nephew Wesley Edwards, whose fight in a churchyard had lit the fuse on this powder keg in 1910, made it to Des Moines, Iowa, where they worked and lived under aliases. 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. "Allen Boys Tell of Shooting", Bluefield, West Virginia: "State Closes Case In Sidna Allen Trial". The words, the handwriting and the language remind us that these people long dead and seemingly characters set in stone like the Confederate statue that still stands in front of the old courthouse were human beings caught up in a cataclysmic tragedy. Join in supporting in-depth journalism for Southwest and Southside Virginia. Commonwealth's Attorney, Sheriff, some jurors and others shot on the conviction of Floyd Allen for a felony. He wept freely as the verdict was read. Later, the Thomas boy and others scrapped with the Edwards boys outside a church service, with the Edwards brothers getting the best of their rivals. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. Upon his arrest by deputies at the hotel, Floyd attempted to slash his own throat with a pocketknife, but was overpowered before he could complete the job.[19]. The goals of the program include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities. Charges eventually were dropped against Sidna and Barnett before the trial.). Two others had been shot and would soon diethe jury foreman and a 19-year-old girl who had testified against Allen. The announcement of. Photo by Ralph Berrier Jr. www.ccva.digital/1912-historical-courthouse-tragedy.html, The politics of March pressing assault chargesagainst Williams. She was shot on Thursday morning and lived until early the next morning. It lays the foundation of the events of that tragic story from March 1912.. On the cold spring morning of March 14, 1912, shots rang out in the tiny, rural, mountain town of Hillsville, Virginia. [8] Only a month later, their petition for executive clemency was granted by Governor Claude A. Swanson, restoring their political rights to hold office. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court is a 70 minute film that will be presented to The History Channel and PBS, and entered in film festivals across the US. Sidna Allen maintained until the end of his life that this informant was Maude Iroller, Wesley's fiancee, who provided information on the fugitives' location in exchange for $500 from the detective agency. The museum has extensive archive and reference materials in its resource section, as well as exhibits and artifacts that reflect the heritage of Carroll County. A jury foremans handwritten verdict in blotchy ink condemns Claude Allen to death. 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 police of 1912 were not exactly professional. 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. Allen and several members of his family immediately fled the courtroom but were later captured and convicted of murder. Wesley and Sidna would be charged with assault, but before they could be arrested, they dashed across the state line, where Carroll County lawmen could not apprehend them. Two of whom, Sidna and his nephew Wesley, in Des Moines, Iowa where they were starting a new life. We depend entirely on donations. But the governor refused. He never wrote a damn word about the most significant event in his life, Sadler said. [1] Combs wanted the land badly enough to pay the asking price and bought it despite Floyd Allen's warnings not to "butt in. Howard Gilmer testified during the subsequent murder trials about the judges fatal bullet wound. Explore the latest videos from hashtags: #truckspottinginthe717 . Its small enough for that to be possible I suspect. 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 author is honest and at many times in the book admits we wont know for sure what happened. One local historian interviewed by Williamson for The Roanoker magazine in 1982 stated unequivocally that Claude Allen, Floyds son, fired first. Jack came to and shot Floyd which ended the affair. [2] Wesley Edwards tried to grapple with Easter, but Easter got away and fired a shot at Floyd as he did so, wounding Floyd in the finger. Please visit their website for more information. There were, however, nearly 20 Allen men among the spectators in the courtroom. He only lived 7 years after the trial. Like this one, I often find they could have used some rearranging to keep ones interest but I almost always enjoy them. [4], One night in December 1910 (some sources[1] say 1911), two of Floyd Allen's nephews, Wesley and Sidna Edwards, attended a corn shucking bee in Hillsville. In the confusion there was a lot of shooting. [4] In September 1889, after pleading no contest to the assault, Garland and Sidna were fined $5 each plus court costs, and the prosecutor dropped the weapons charges. [26], On the other hand, Floyd Allen and his relatives claimed Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad had fired first, prompted by a long-standing vendetta he and Foster held against the Allen family. The agency, infamous for busting coal miner unions, breaking strikes and shooting people in West Virginia, were led by Thomas Felts from just down the road in Galax. In his defense testimony, Floyd Allen stated that Sheriff Lew F. Webb fired first, but that the shot missed Allen, at which point Deputy Clerk Goad, the Clerk of Court, fired and hit Allen, causing him to fall. The Allen clan believed that Goad shot first. Neither was prosecuted. Another entered the body at the cap of the left hip and passed through the abdomen. Marshall. 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. Not only the sheriff and deputies, but Goad and Foster. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. [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. Even the accused, Floyd Allen, carried a pistol. I enjoyed the book even though it took me a while to get into it. He was the patriarch of the county's most prominent family, which, in addition to owning large tracts of farmland and a prosperous general store, were also active in local politics as proud Southern Democrats. There were also five others wounded, including Floyd Allen. Who shot whom? Edwards was one of those involved in the fight at the church with the Edwards brothers and went on to be County Sheriff for numerous terms. Newport News nuprt - -prt -6 is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. A witness later testified that Floyd Allen had remarked that he "would not let any man talk to me that way."[14]. Find out where you can buy, rent, or subscribe to a streaming service to watch it live or on-demand. When it was over the judge and the sheriff laid dead. More leniency was given to the other Allens and their family members. He said he thought Floyd's fumbling with his sweater buttons was a prelude to drawing his pistol. Floyd once got in a tangle over a business deal with his younger brother Jasper Jack Allen, who might have been the toughest Allen of them all, and the two men shot and wounded each other. 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. 1912 SIDNA ALLEN CRIMINAL HOUSE FANCY GAP HILLSVILLE VA COURT SHOOTING ~ A1 (#185771767538) s***s (604) - Feedback left by buyer s***s (604). [4] His defense team included former Commonwealth's Attorney Walter Tipton and recent County Court Judge Oglesby. Terribly tragic. There are still questions to be answered, but they probably never will be answered. "Saw Claude Allen Fire First At Judge Massie". He wrote urging that the state should pay a stipend to Judge Massies widow, who had become destitute in the years since her husbands death. Burden "Byrd" Marion, a cousin and neighbor, had all charges against him dropped. The Carroll County prosecutor placed liens on all property owned by Floyd Allen and Sidna Allen for the heirs of the victims. One bullet entered the back and ranged upward, lodging directly under the collarbone. 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. - In 1912, the Carroll County courtroom was some 20 feet shorter than it is today. He was called Pink because of a birthmark on his cheek. As Foster followed the judges instructions to re-write the verdict on the indictment, Allens lawyer, W.D. In a presentation he called The Last Witness, he recounted his grandfathers story and reminded people that, with the return of the trial documents to Carroll County, they were all watching history unfold. Steep Canyon Rangers, Amythyst Kiah, Sam Bush highlight Blue Ridge Music Center season; more Former Fieldale High School in Henry County is being turned into housing. Friel Allen was tried in August 1912 and after confessing to shooting prosecutor Foster, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. 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. He died there in 1953. [1] Allen, who was before the bar for sentencing after being convicted of taking a prisoner from a deputy sheriff, allegedly triggered the shooting at the Carroll County Courthouse in Hillsville on March 14, 1912. At the 2020 census the population was 186247.5 Located in the Soon afterwards, folks dug bullets buried in the walls as souvenirs. A large collection of portrait photos, newspaper accounts, and a marvelous diorama of the 1912 courtroom scene are on display in the historic courthouse, as is the collection of folk marquetry furniture made by J. Sidna Allen. It is amazing how nothing changes Today, a story gets retold till its stale, unless something big happens to push it off the headlines. 11217 Sidna Edwards, No. The oldest, continuously operating . The following two tabs change content below. [26] Gilmer said he heard Floyd Allen say two or three times, "I am shot, but I got the damn scoundrel. Such an interesting, but tragic, history, Jeff! Convicted on capital murder, both Claude and Floyd were sentenced to death. The prosecutor's case was based on the formation of a conspiracy by the Allens to kill the trial judge, local law enforcement, and others who had wronged them in the event of a guilty verdict. "The Courthouse Massacre? Movies. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court at Amazon.com. Hall himself had asked Horney, who died in 2020, about the whereabouts of the trial exhibits while doing his own research. It was a huge goal to get this back in Carroll. It is the county seat of Carroll County and the only incorporated community in the county. 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. WALTERBORO, S.C. ( WCSC /Gray News) - Attorneys in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial are expected to deliver their closing arguments beginning Wednesday after jurors visited the scene of the killings . [1], In his testimony at his murder trial, Floyd Allen admitted he had fired at Deputy Clerk Quesinberry and again twice more at other unknown persons once he had left the courthouse.[28]. Two bullet holes Floyd Allens final shots in the massacre are still visible in the wooden steps. The discovered papers do little to shed new light in the darkended corners of the tragedy. He died at his daughters home in Hillsville in 1941. Mann asking either that the Allens be given clemency or be executed swiftly. - Sidna Edwards presence at Floyd Allens trial was requested by Floyds lawyers. Sadler said that his grandfathers reputation was that of an attorney who possessed a great gift of gab and was a prolific letter writer, but he never left behind any record of what he saw or heard that day in the Hillsville courtroom. [4] Sidna was retried and found guilty of perjury in his trial testimony, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. - Nancy Elizabeth Betty Ayers was shot in the back just about the beltline and just to the right of her spine. So, in late 1910 when two of Floyd Allens nephews got in a little trouble with the law, the consequences would be deadly. 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. ")[1] Floyd Allen stated that only then did he draw his own revolver and begin shooting. [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. You can also see some of Sidna Allens furniture craftsmanship and Claude Allens banjo on exhibit in the museum. Carroll County Clerk of Circuit Court Gerald Goad opened the formal transfer of the papers from Wythe County in the very room where the shootout occurred - a circle completed some 100 years, nine months and six days since traveling to Wythe County. Sheriff. In April 1926, Governor Harry Flood Byrd pardoned Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards. Roanoke, Va., March 16, --The prisoners from Hillsville are not expected here before 3 o'clock Sunday morning. 10995 Wesley Edwards, No. 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.. About; Contact; Links; Search for: Tags. Synopsis On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. Check your inbox now to confirm your subscription. The documents found their way to Wytheville because that was the site of the ensuing trials that followed the shootout, the venue having been moved from Hillsville where anger against the defendants boiled. Eleven minutes later, his son, Claud, followed his father to death in the electric chair. [7] In 1908, while serving as special deputies, Allen and a relative, Henry "H.C." Allen, were charged with unlawful assault upon prisoners held in their custody who they claimed had resisted arrest. The deputies, though, accused Floyd of forcibly freeing the brothers, assaulting the lawmen and smashing Deputy Samuels pistol against a rock. There it was, the script of a doomed man, written in the final minutes of his life. He also wrote that as the judge lay dying, he told his young protg, Tell my brother Robert to take care of my family.. Two months after the shootout, Floyd Allen was convicted in Wytheville of killing Foster, the commonwealths attorney. 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. Upon conviction of interfering with an officer of the law, Judge Thornton Massie oversaw the jury's imposed sentence of one year imprisonment. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The jury could not agree on a verdict immediately as the trial ended, and were sequestered in a local hotel overnight. The significance of this event to Carroll County is profound, Sadler said. There is a story of where I live now that has never been written about that I have found very fascinating and have extensive notes on it. Those documents include indictments, judges instructions, grand jury indictments, trial transcripts, letters and other courtroom exhibits all words left by ghosts. Massie, Foster, Webb and juror Augustus Fowler died in the courtroom. Take care, my friend! On the morning of March 14, 1912, Mr. Floyd Allen stood in the Carroll County courtroom to hear the verdict of his peers. Located in the Fancy Gap community near I-77 Exit 14. SIDNA ALLEN'S TERM FIXED AT 35 YEARS; Head of Hillsville Clan Sentenced for Killing of Three Court Officials. Brothers Wesley and Sidna Edwards (not to be confused with their uncle, Sidna Allen, Floyds brother), attended a corn-shucking party, a country frolic where folks played music, drank liquor on the side and, yes, shucked corn. The announcement of that sentence set off a gun battle that became one of the worst incidences of violence ever to occur in an American courtroom. [23], Another prosecution witness was Floyd Allen's other attorney, Walter S. Tipton. But the storys roots go further back and involve politics, rivalries, clannishness, thuggery, vengeance and even a little geography. Why does Carroll County have the lowest vaccination rate in Virginia? Nonetheless, the grand jury indicted Floyd Allen, Sidna Allen and Barnett Allen for interfering with the deputies, and Floyd Allen was also indicted for assault and battery upon Samuels. The Commonwealth of Virginia posted rewards ($1000 for Sidna Allen, $1000 for Sidna Edwards, $800 for Claud Allen, $500 for Friel Allen, and $500 for Wesley Edwards) - dead or alive. 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. Hall has done an outstanding job researching this subjectt. Floyd said he did it peacefully and lawfully, claiming that the deputies did not have proper warrants for arrest. 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. Interest in the story never wanes, even though, as the historian Hall said, weve about beaten the thing to death.. Airy). - Arresting officer Oscar Monday was the step-brother of the Edwards brothers. [10] Rather than face arrest, the two men fled over the state line to North Carolina, where they found jobs in a granite quarry. [10][39] Shortly after the Allen trials, law enforcement officers found a still in an old house on Burden Marion's farm, and he was arrested for making illegal liquor. 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. [4], Judge Robert C. 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