Roanoke, Va., March 16, --The prisoners from Hillsville are not expected here before 3 o'clock Sunday morning. 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. [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. Officers often had a violent past. Please visit their website for more information. He borrowed a .38 automatic from another cousin, Church Alderman. "Claude Allen First To Fire At Hillsville". [citation needed], Cousins Claud Allen and Sidna Edwards were soon arrested after a brief search. The end result was three people deadthe judge, the Commonwealth Attorney and the sheriff. [1] Combs wanted the land badly enough to pay the asking price and bought it despite Floyd Allen's warnings not to "butt in. Floyd stood up, his hands fidgeting with the bottom of his sweater, and he spoke his defiant words. [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. 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. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. Floyd shot Jack in the head and then began to beat him in the head with a rock while he was out cold. - Nancy Elizabeth Betty Ayers was shot in the back just about the beltline and just to the right of her spine. Most likely, someone had intentionally hidden the drawer to keep people from pawing through and perhaps removing the papers. Even the accused, Floyd Allen, carried a pistol. Floyd even paid their bail. [11] On the way to the courthouse, the buggy passed by several properties owned by the Allens. [18], Seven others were wounded, including Deputy Clerk Goad and Floyd Allen. A jury found Allen guilty, and on March 14, 1912, Allen went to his sentencing hearing before Judge Thornton L. Massie in the Hillsville courthouse. Sheriff and Commonwealth's Attorney dead, court serious. Allen later denied this, but the reported threat caused Samuels to leave the state the same night it was delivered. 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. Witnesses said she never looked Floyds way. He pointed toward what appeared to Sadler to be a metal file. Photo courtesy Carroll County Historical Society and Museum Howard Gilmer was a young attorney and protege of Judge Thornton Massie, who cradled the dying judge during his last moments in the courtroom. Floyd Allen (July 5, 1856 March 28, 1913) was an American landowner and patriarch of the Allen clan of Carroll County, Virginia. In March 1912, there was a shooting at the Carroll County, Courthouse in Hillsville, Virginia. shot up the Carroll county court at Hillsville last March, resulting in the death of five persons, was found guilty of murder in the Second degree for the killing of Judge Thornton L. Mas sie. He worked for the Edison Lighting Company. [citation needed], On the following Monday, Wesley and Sidna Edwards were turned over to the court by Floyd Allen, and the two Edwards brothers were soon tried and convicted of their crimes. 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. B. Earle, 1866-1867. All men were pardoned by Gov. Indications are that they will clash with the Allen's tonight or early in the morning. Discover short videos related to Hillsville 1912 A Shooting in the Court on TikTok. 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 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. Bowman grew up in Hillsville, VA where the county seat is located, and has nurtured a life-long fascination with this story. Photo by Ralph Berrier Jr. www.ccva.digital/1912-historical-courthouse-tragedy.html, The politics of March pressing assault chargesagainst Williams. Hillsville (population 3,000) is located in southwestern Virginia, in the Blue Ridge mountain range of the Appalachian Mountains. [26] Gilmer said he heard Floyd Allen say two or three times, "I am shot, but I got the damn scoundrel. Preserving and Presenting the History of the County of Carroll, Commonwealth of Virginia. Allen and several members of his family immediately fled the courtroom but were later captured and convicted of murder. So, in late 1910 when two of Floyd Allens nephews got in a little trouble with the law, the consequences would be deadly. Contact him at ralph.berrier@gmail.com. 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. [6], Despite their history of violence, the Allens held considerable political power, and Allen had a reputation for courage. Everybody was packing weapons, it seemed. According to Wesley, Thomas and three friends assaulted him, and he defended himself with the help of his brother Sidna, who rushed to join the fight. The identification label on the drawer bore a large A and an X. Horney pulled the label out from its slot, flipped it over and read the typed words on the other side: (Claudes name was frequently spelled with and without an E.). Horney told Sadler he decided to take one more look in the basement for the lost documents, moving more than 700 boxes. Too many other projects. He was tried in federal court, found guilty, and sentenced to a year in federal prison at Moundsville, West Virginia. [1][4] Floyd had wanted to buy a farm owned by one of his own brothers, but could not agree on a price. A Journey to and Beyond the Blackboard - Kim Johnson 2021-07-25 Kim Johnson, or 'Sir', has spent his life striving to achieve outstanding With the entry of the United States into World. . 2023 TheTVDB.com, A Whip Media Company. In several instances he escaped indictment, I am satisfied, because the witnesses were afraid to testify to the facts before the grand jury. After the Edwards were charged with assault, they fled across the North Carolina border to Mt. Sidna Edwards pleaded guilty in August 1912 to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to 15 years in the penitentiary. Hall has done an outstanding job researching this subjectt. 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. As if entitled, they took what they wanted or needed. [4], Judge Robert C. Jackson, an attorney in Roanoke and Judge Thornton Massie's predecessor in the Carroll County courtroom, stated that, "Floyd Allen was perhaps the worst man of the clan overbearing, vindictive, high tempered, brutal, with no respect for law and little or no regard for human life. 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. The book begins with character sketches of the various parties involved. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. 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. Spread the loveOne of the first writers to bring the real Appalachia to the world was John Fox Jr., who had come to the coal boom town of Big Stone, Spread the loveWe have a two-fer for you this week! [2] His pistol empty, Allen proceeded to beat Jack with the butt of his empty revolver. He teased Horney about Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts. [33] He denied firing a gun during the courthouse shootings, and stated that he did not see who fired the first shot, but thought that it came from the vicinity of Deputy Clerk Goad's desk. He wrote a memoir, made beautiful furniture from delicately inlaid wooden pieces and spent the rest of his life telling people that the Allens did not shoot first. October 2, 2022. On May 18, 1912, the jury found Floyd Allen guilty. HILLSVILLE Howard Sadler held the last words of a dead man in his hands. Its small enough for that to be possible I suspect. Fearful of the Allens' reaction, and having received death threats, many officials of the court armed themselves. 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. That day was March 14, 1912, the day five people were killed in a shootout between members of the Allen family and court officials on the floor of a small-town courtroom, an event forever known as The Courthouse Massacre.. 10994 Hillsville Masscre Sidna Allen, No. Mr. Allen stood and declared, "Gentlemen, I ain't a goin'." [34] He stated that he fired back at Goad on the courthouse steps, but denied shooting at Treasurer J. Another entered the body at the cap of the left hip and passed through the abdomen. The presentation will be held Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at the Historic Carroll County Courthouse and will be led by Blacksburg . The historical society held a symposium that featured several speakers, and a play about the tragedy called Thunder in the Hills, written by Carroll County author/playwright/orchardist Frank Levering, was performed before sold-out audiences in the courtroom of the old courthouse where the shootout happened. Check your inbox now to confirm your subscription. Its cool you found such an interesting tale based in your area. At least two of the participants, Judge Massie and Sheriff Webb, had told friends that they expected trouble. Find out where you can buy, rent, or subscribe to a streaming service to watch it live or on-demand. This sideline didnt add to the story. Massie refused, saying he was there to prosecute, not persecute.. Five people died and seven were wounded in the gun battle that followed. 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. More than fifty bullets were later recovered from the shooting scene. - Almost everyone in Carroll County is related to everyone else. "The Courthouse Massacre? - William McDonald Foster, Commonwealths Attorney in 1912, had been a Democrat but turned Republican when he ran for the post. Katherine survived until 1960. Bake . Now, thanks to Gerald Goads interest in this, the return of these documents can be part of a healing process. 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. 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. Hillsville Diner. Charges eventually were dropped against Sidna and Barnett before the trial.). It was a huge goal to get this back in Carroll. 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. Again, no investigation was made at the scene. Seems like everybody from Carroll County has some connection to this story. At a church service the next morning conducted by Wesley's uncle, Garland Allen, Thomas reportedly called out Wesley into a fight. 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. "Claude Allen Convicted: He Is Found Guilty of Murdering Commonwealth's Attorney Foster", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Allen Clan Hillsville Courthouse Shootout", The Wheeling Intelligencer March 15, 1912 p.15, Transcriptions of contemporary newspaper articles, "Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: Floyd and Claude Allen", The UncommonWealth: Voices from the Library of Virginia at the Library of Virginia, The UncommonWealth: Voices from the Library of Virginia, "Hillsville Massacre - The UncommonWealth", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Floyd_Allen&oldid=1137936144, People executed by Virginia by electric chair, 20th-century executions of American people, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles needing additional references from October 2020, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2020, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from December 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lewis Franklin Webb, Carroll County sheriff, William McDonald Foster, Commonwealth's Attorney, Augustus Cezar Fowler, juror (died of wounds), This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 04:22. The last and fifth shot went into the calf of the leg and when his trousers were removed, a .32 caliber bullet was discovered. 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. Floyd Allen was well represented by a two-attorney team. Howard Gilmer testified during the subsequent murder trials about the judges fatal bullet wound. And forensic science was almost non-existent, at least in rural areas. [38], Victor Allen and Barnett Allen were acquitted. I recently learned that our town had a number of hiding spots on the Underground Railroad. Not only the sheriff and deputies, but Goad and Foster. It also hired Baldwin-Felt hired detectives (a group like the Pinkertons). Mr. Alderman said he was not privy to what they discussed. Samuels' departure forced Commonwealth's Attorney William M. Foster to rely on testimony from Deputy Easter. 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. Much of the information was gleaned from Halls book, The Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy, and other sources. (Walter Allen had lost the bitterly fought race. However, no extradition order was issued. Those old papers were lost or stolen, Horney replied. On March 14, 1912, Floyd stood in the Hillsville, Va. courthouse, convicted of interfering with police business and assaulting a deputy sheriff. Floyd Allen's son, Victor, bought his father's house so his mother would not have to move. 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. 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. 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. For a while, Hillsville was at the top of the nation's newspaper. Elian Gonzalez is a more recent example. Otherwise, he would not have been armed. The Allens were unreconstructed Democrats, the county fathers were mildly progressive, albeit still conservative, Republicans. 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. Was Clerk of Carroll County Circuit Court During the Famous Allen Trial. You do have some interesting local history. Atop a shelf, he saw what looked like a drawer among the boxes. Justice came swiftly to the Allens, perhaps a bit too swiftly for those folks who began to believe that a grave conspiracy among county officials had provoked the Allens in order to bring them down. The last two bullets were fired by Floyd and went through two of the steps of one of the courthouse's stairways, where they can still be viewed today. There is still question as to what happened and who shot first. On 13 March 1912, in the Carroll County Circuit Court, . The play, which is. The Historical Society has gathered significant materials, published over the years, that attempt to interpret this event in our local history. 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. Sidna Allen received a 35-year prison sentence, his nephews Wesley and Sidna Edwards and Friel Allen got lesser sentences. [2] Both Allen and his brother Sidna held legal licenses for the production of alcohol. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (video) Library of Virginia "Mug Shot Special" Floyd and Claude Allen Friel Allen, No. Supposedly, Andy Griffins father would take him up there when he was a boy (it was about 25 miles from Mt. Floyd Allen agreed to testify and admitted 'roughing up' Samuels, but denied intending to release the prisoners: "That there Samuel[s] was abusing the boys. He only lived 7 years after the trial. Ninety seconds later, 57 bullets had been fired. View over 100 different photos - art pieces about the 1912 courthouse tragedy and Allen family from Cana, VA in this. Airy). The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. I should do better and learn more about the area I call home. One of these days I would like to sit down and write a book about it but just havent made the time yet. - To illustrate the volatility of turn-of-the-century mountaineers, when Jeremiah Allen died in 1898, Floyd and Jack Allen got into a ruckus over a barrel of brandy when the estate was being divided. [21] Two more illegal stills were found at Sidna Edwards' house. Floyd? 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. Eleven minutes later, his son, Claud, followed his father to death in the electric chair. [4] His defense team included former Commonwealth's Attorney Walter Tipton and recent County Court Judge Oglesby. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court at Amazon.com. Elizabeth Ayers, a 19-year-old subpoenaed witness who had testified against Floyd Allen, was shot in the back while trying to leave the courtroom, and died at home the next day. The significance of this event to Carroll County is profound, Sadler said. Published in the SW VA Enterprise, Wytheville, Virginia Tuesday, July 4, 1939. Interest in the story never wanes, even though, as the historian Hall said, weve about beaten the thing to death.. [4][2] Sidna promptly appealed and won a new trial on the perjury charge. 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. 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. He apparently also hopes that the early hour will serve to dampen the spirits of the Allens. Massie had been urged by Foster and Goad to disarm the throng before the trail began. Accounts differ as to who actually fired the first shot. The jury found Allen guilty of assault on 14 March and sentenced him to one year in the penitentiary. 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