Was Clerk of Carroll County Circuit Court During the Famous Allen Trial. In the great Carroll County shootout in Hillsville on March 14, 1912, a judge, a sheriff, a commonwealth's attorney, a juror, and a spectator were all killed by shots fired by Allen and others after Allen was convicted of assault. Allen once accused Goad of running liquor, which forced the clerk to resign from a prestigious post as federal commissioner. He also wrote that as the judge lay dying, he told his young protg, Tell my brother Robert to take care of my family.. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. 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. Airy. - Claude Allen did not take a gun when he went to Hillsville To Floyds trial. To this day, 110 years later, nobody who has studied this notorious event can say with any assurance who fired that catastrophic first shot. The Carroll County Historical Society, INC. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. [38], Victor Allen and Barnett Allen were acquitted. Director Rick Bowman Writers Rick Bowman Bill Perrine Stars Now, the manner by which he freed them depended on who was telling the story. 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. Floyd Allen was the first to be brought to trial on a charge of murdering Judge Massie, Sheriff Webb, and Commonwealth's Attorney Foster. [15] Judge Thornton L. Massie, who had deputized Floyd six months earlier, presided. The sentence would have had Floyd do time. He apparently also hopes that the early hour will serve to dampen the spirits of the Allens. Harry F. Byrd Sr. in the 1920s. However, Goad denied firing the first shot in the fusillade. 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. - Nancy Elizabeth Betty Ayers was shot in the back just about the beltline and just to the right of her spine. It lays the foundation of the events of that tragic story from March 1912.. There is still question as to what happened and who shot first. Bolen testified that Claud Allen fired the first shot, and that Claud Allen's pistol shot, together with a second shot fired by Sidna Allen, killed Judge Massie. Fearful of the Allens' reaction, and having received death threats, many officials of the court armed themselves. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (2011) Plot Showing all 1 items Jump to: Summaries (1) Summaries On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. Many accounts claim that Allen initiated the confrontation by pulling a gun in court. Family loyalty also played a role as the Allen/Edwards family stuck together to protect the Edward boys and later Floyd. The pop of a single revolver. [10] Rather than face arrest, the two men fled over the state line to North Carolina, where they found jobs in a granite quarry. "The Courthouse Massacre? Two of whom, Sidna and his nephew Wesley, in Des Moines, Iowa where they were starting a new life. Airy). Two others had been shot and would soon diethe jury foreman and a 19-year-old girl who had testified against Allen. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (video) Library of Virginia "Mug Shot Special" Floyd and Claude Allen Friel Allen, No. - William McDonald Foster, Commonwealths Attorney in 1912, had been a Democrat but turned Republican when he ran for the post. Felts and his team strode into action, quickly arresting a badly wounded Floyd Allen at a Hillsville Hotel during a staged scene for newspaper photographs. Although some stories say she didnt know she was shot and some say she said I am killed, no documentation exists to confirm either. 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. [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". More leniency was given to the other Allens and their family members. 12 talking about this. He wept freely as the verdict was read. Floyd Allen's son, Victor, bought his father's house so his mother would not have to move. 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. Friel Allen was tried in August 1912 and after confessing to shooting prosecutor Foster, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Published in the SW VA Enterprise, Wytheville, Virginia Tuesday, July 4, 1939. [4], In another instance, while arguing over the administration of their father's estate, Allen got into a gunfight with his own brother, Jasper, known as "Jack", a local constable. - Commonwealths Attorney, William McDonald Foster, was a brother-in-law to one of Floyd Allens defense attorneys; Walter Scott Tipton. - In 1912, the Carroll County courtroom was some 20 feet shorter than it is today. Floyd called home to have his son, Victor, bring him to court on Wednesday, March 13th. Just a Presbyterian Church and a store. One bullet entered the back and ranged upward, lodging directly under the collarbone. Allen also had political run-ins with Foster, who switched parties from Democrat to Republican in order to defeat an Allen relative for the prosecutors post. On the cold spring morning of March 14th, 1912, shots rang out in the tiny rural mountain town of Hillsville, Virginia. The 1912 documents referred to in this story were scanned and digitally archived by Delilah Brady, a volunteer and director for the Carroll County Historical Society and Museum. A fight ensued and Floyd beat Samuels with his own pistol. Later, Foster changed to the Republican party, and by 1912 was a prominent leader in the GOP in Carroll County, being elected the last time on the Republican ticket. [34] He stated that he fired back at Goad on the courthouse steps, but denied shooting at Treasurer J. Sadler took the file drawer to a vault in the courthouse and dove into the trove. He only picked up Victors gun when he left it in the hotel room on the morning of March 14th. [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. While there, Wesley kissed a girl who was romantically linked to a local youth, Will Thomas, which led to an altercation between the two young men. 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. [34] They returned to their homes by traveling cross-country through the farm fields rather than public roads. Maybe the county leaders didnt want to find errant bullets from their own guns in the bodies of the dead, some county residents whispered. But the storys roots go further back and involve politics, rivalries, clannishness, thuggery, vengeance and even a little geography. - Almost everyone in Carroll County is related to everyone else. It was a huge goal to get this back in Carroll. actually, theres a lot to read and learn even in a rural place. Mann asking either that the Allens be given clemency or be executed swiftly. Massie refused, saying he was there to prosecute, not persecute.. 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. "[4], Judge Jackson recalled a trial in 1904 in which Allen was convicted of assaulting a neighbor, Noah Combs. October 2, 2022. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. Being from below the mountain, as Carroll Countians described the community, the Allens and neighbors were cut off from the county seat in Hillsville, which in the late 1800s and early 1900s was a two-day horse ride over the peak through Fancy Gap. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Howard Gilmer testified during the subsequent murder trials about the judges fatal bullet wound. March broke cold and rainy in the mountains. Floyd spent the night at his brother Sidnas splendid new home in Fancy Gap, about 7 miles away. [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. Baldwin-Felts detectives traveled to Des Moines, arrested the suspects, and returned them to Carroll County to stand trial. How can you have seven murder trials in Wythe County and not have any exhibits whatsoever? Sadler often asked. Site of the Bloody Massacre Photo by Author, Thelma Raker Coffone. Sadler pored over available documents from the murder trials, but he lamented that many original 1912 exhibits were lost. He began his sentence in August 1913, and died of pneumonia in prison on November 25, 1913.[A]. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. The Allens were unreconstructed Democrats, the county fathers were mildly progressive, albeit still conservative, Republicans. We dont sell ads, or block you with a paywall. 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. 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.. - Andrew Howlett, one of the spectators who was wounded during the Courthouse Tragedy, was a brother to Mack Howlett, who shot and killed Carr Allen in 1898. )[12], Foster called upon a grand jury to investigate the escape/pistol-whipping incident. The trouble started with a kiss. William Hodges Mann from Hillsvilles one outside line brought the famed Baldwin-Felts detectives to town the next day. 10995 Wesley Edwards, No. Contents 1 Early life and activities 2 Arrest of the Edwards brothers 3 Indictment 4 Trial and shooting 5 Manhunt 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. The law provided that everything could be seized with the exception of a few bare essentials necessary for existence, for example, 1 cow, 1 pig, etc. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, IHeart Radio or on your favorite podcast app. Some of the detectives bragged about how many miners theyd killed. [4] His defense team included former Commonwealth's Attorney Walter Tipton and recent County Court Judge Oglesby. Jack Allen denied all responsibility for the allegations of intimidation, which he stated were untrue and insisted neither he nor his brother was guilty of wrongdoing. He found trial transcripts. He had them handcuffed and tied up with a rope. So, in late 1910 when two of Floyd Allens nephews got in a little trouble with the law, the consequences would be deadly. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court 7,494 views Jan 8, 2011 42 Dislike Share Save Bill Perrine 320 subscribers A brief trailer for the upcoming documentary about the 1912 Hillsville. Accounts differ as to who actually fired the first shot. No autopsies were performed. Marshall. Their trials took place in Wytheville. Newport News nuprt - -prt -6 is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. [37] Allen's death sentence was deeply unpopular with Allen supporters in the county, but many other residents were unsympathetic, surprised by the deaths of so many people over Floyd Allen's refusal to serve a year in prison. 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hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court