Their trials took place in Wytheville. Sadler knew the family lore that Judge Massie had died in his grandfathers arms, and that Gilmer had helped transport the judges remains back to Pulaski, and he even helped a mortician examine the corpse. 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. Elian Gonzalez is a more recent example. Governor Mann, who had received death threats in the same handwriting as the threats previously delivered to the trial judge, had to cut short a trip to Pennsylvania after learning his Lieutenant Governor, James Taylor Ellyson (18471919), had attempted to commute the Allens' sentences in his absence, instigating a brief constitutional power struggle between the two men. Theres Fosters handwriting and then you realize that within five or six minutes, he was dead. His grandfather, Howard Gilmer, was a young attorney who had been in Hillsville that day, and he was one of the last people to comfort the mortally wounded judge, Thornton Massie, Gilmers neighbor and mentor back home in Pulaski. Located in the Fancy Gap community near I-77 Exit 14. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. There is still question as to what happened and who shot first. "There were five people murdered. Fearful of the Allens' reaction, and having received death threats, many officials of the court armed themselves. 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. I was distraught over the recent rush to execute in our country. Why does Carroll County have the lowest vaccination rate in Virginia? - J. Sidna Allen, in addition to being a well-traveled and successful businessman, had been a newspaper editor and a schoolteacher. Court testimony says she was outside throwing up on the lawn when Doctor Nuckolls came by. Supposedly Floyd said, as the Sheriff and the Clerk of the Court approached to take him into custody, Im not going. The shooting then started. The last and fifth shot went into the calf of the leg and when his trousers were removed, a .32 caliber bullet was discovered. . "[16] The judge immediately sentenced Floyd Allen to one year's imprisonment.[16]. The bullet came up under the skin of her right breast. Eleven minutes later, his son, Claud, followed his father to death in the electric chair. Allen once accused Goad of running liquor, which forced the clerk to resign from a prestigious post as federal commissioner. After several months' chase, Baldwin-Felts detectives located them in Iowa after an informant's tip. He asked her if she was hurt or mashed and her sister-in-law responded that she was just scared. Allen was noted for his generosity, but also his quick temper and easily injured pride. For example, Betty Ayers, who was killed in the courthouse tragedy, was a 4th cousin to Dexter Goad (clerk of court), 4th cousin, twice removed, from Woodson Quesenberry (deputy clerk), 2nd cousin, twice removed, from Floyd Allens wife and a 3rd cousin to the Edwards brothers, Wesley and Sidna. Preserving and Presenting the History of the County of Carroll, Commonwealth of Virginia. [4] At the next term of court, Allen produced an order of clemency from Governor Andrew J. Montague suspending the jail sentence. On March 28, 1913, barely a year after the bloodshed in Hillsville, Floyd and Claude Allen were executed in the same electric chair. March broke cold and rainy in the mountains. It is amazing how nothing changes Today, a story gets retold till its stale, unless something big happens to push it off the headlines. Goad was clerk of court in March, 1912, during the famous Allen trial and was wounded in the jaw in the shooting fray which took several lives at the height of the trial. Most likely, someone had intentionally hidden the drawer to keep people from pawing through and perhaps removing the papers. Those involved on the Allen side ran away. On the morning of March 14, 1912, Mr. Floyd Allen stood in the Carroll County courtroom to hear the verdict of his peers. Two months after the shootout, Floyd Allen was convicted in Wytheville of killing Foster, the commonwealths attorney. The documents were found in the basement of the Wythe County Courthouse and have now been returned to Carroll County. To find the prized ear meant he could kiss any girl there. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. [citation needed], Cousins Claud Allen and Sidna Edwards were soon arrested after a brief search. 272 pages including sources and a few b&w photos. [21] 1912 SIDNA ALLEN CRIMINAL HOUSE FANCY GAP HILLSVILLE VA COURT SHOOTING ~ A1 (#185771767538) s***s (604) - Feedback left by buyer s***s (604). The Hillsville Courthouse Shootout 1,426 views Jul 30, 2021 In 1912 a Carroll County, Virginia, man was sentenced to serve a one year sentence in the state penitentiary. The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912. Take care, my friend! -- 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 . This is an interesting story of a time long past. Judge Thornton Massie was one of five people killed during the courthouse shootout in Hillsville on March 14, 1912. Floyd called home to have his son, Victor, bring him to court on Wednesday, March 13th. These mostly came from recent labor disputes in coal country and their mannerism didnt endure them to anyone, it seems. Ralph Berrier Jr. is a writer who lives in Roanoke. On a different occasion, he heard Floyd Allen make the same threat of putting the biggest hole in the courthouse that any man ever had seen. Floyd Allen (July 5, 1856 March 28, 1913) was an American landowner and patriarch of the Allen clan of Carroll County, Virginia. This film is currently in development. Synopsis On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. Witnesses said she never looked Floyds way. . October 2, 2022. Its cool you found such an interesting tale based in your area. Sadler took the file drawer to a vault in the courthouse and dove into the trove. Friel settled in Inglewood, CA where he married twice, but never had any children. He teased Horney about Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts. "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 exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. Photo by Ralph Berrier Jr. www.ccva.digital/1912-historical-courthouse-tragedy.html, The politics of March pressing assault chargesagainst Williams. [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. 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. On 13 March 1912, in the Carroll County Circuit Court, . Baldwin-Felts detectives traveled to Des Moines, arrested the suspects, and returned them to Carroll County to stand trial. [15] Judge Thornton L. Massie, who had deputized Floyd six months earlier, presided. Carroll County Historical Society and Museum. The Allen clan believed that Goad shot first. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court, is a documentary feature concerning the Carroll County Courthouse shootings that occurred in Hillsville, Virginia. Sidna was released from prison, but he never set foot in his fine house again. As I always read about where I am living and I spent several summers directing a church camp that was about a dozen miles north of Ketchum. Built in 1873, the historic courthouse is the site of the tragic courtroom shooting of 1912 and is the current site of the museum. 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. Samuels' departure forced Commonwealth's Attorney William M. Foster to rely on testimony from Deputy Easter. 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. 10995 Wesley Edwards, No. It would take another tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic, to remove the focus from Carroll County. The book begins with character sketches of the various parties involved. The discovered papers do little to shed new light in the darkended corners of the tragedy. No autopsies were performed. 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. 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. It lays the foundation of the events of that tragic story from March 1912.. A stolen kiss. [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. Burden "Byrd" Marion, a cousin and neighbor, had all charges against him dropped. There are even questions as to what happened here. 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. Howard Gilmer testified during the subsequent murder trials about the judges fatal bullet wound. Floyd Allen's son, Victor, bought his father's house so his mother would not have to move. 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. The deputy clerk of Carroll County, Dexter Goad, obtained a new warrant for the brothers' arrest, notifying the sheriff in Surry County, North Carolina, who soon arrested both men. Join in supporting in-depth journalism for Southwest and Southside Virginia. It also hired Baldwin-Felt hired detectives (a group like the Pinkertons). 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. [26] Gilmer said he heard Floyd Allen say two or three times, "I am shot, but I got the damn scoundrel. Sadler, a real estate broker in Blacksburg who lives on a family farm in Pulaski County, had taken an interest in the shootout story after looking at old scrapbooks kept by his grandmother, Howard Gilmers daughter. Sadler said that reading Fosters handwriting gave him chills. 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. It was a huge goal to get this back in Carroll. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. 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. Such tampering hindered the ability to link bullets to the guns fire or the direction from which they came. Discover short videos related to Hillsville 1912 A Shooting in the Court on TikTok. [1] Sentenced by the jury to an hour in jail and a $100 fine, plus costs, Allen immediately posted bail pending an appeal. The sheriff in Hillsville had the boys arrested there and handed over to his deputies at the state line. Contact us: By Mail PO Box 937 - Hillsville, VA 24343 | By Phone (276) 728 4113 | By Email carrollmuseum@yahoo.com | On Facebook https://facebook.com/CarrollMuseum | Or come visit us in the Historic Courthouse at: 515 North Main Street - Hillsville, VA 24343. Not only the sheriff and deputies, but Goad and Foster. [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". "[1] Not long afterward, Allen shot and wounded Combs, and was indicted and tried on charges of assault. Find the cheapest option or how to watch with a free trial. Ive already read four books and have another four lined up to read!. 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. Much of the information was gleaned from Halls book, The Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy, and other sources. [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. The definitive history, Mr. Ron Halls Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy is still published and is available at the Museum bookstore. Menu. The animosity derived from a feud between Thomas father, George W. Thomas, and Floyd Allen. Sadler knew that tragic story, and he understood his familys connection to it. In the space of 90 seconds, 57 bullets were fired into the Hillsville courthouse, killing five men and wounding three more. The Hillsville Massacre By Seth Williamson Nobody knows who fired the first shot that cold, gray day, but before it was over, four lay dead, one was dying, and Carroll County would never be the same again. March 14, 1912 - Hillsville Massacre Hillsville's history has a bit of a dark spot within it; the dark spot is known as the 1912 Courthouse Tragedy which was rivaled in the news only by the devastation known as the Titanic. 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. [4] His defense team included former Commonwealth's Attorney Walter Tipton and recent County Court Judge Oglesby. 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. (When Floyd fell, wounded, he landed on top of his lawyer David Bolen, who had ducked to the ground as soon as the shooting started, and who is reported to have said, "Floyd, they are going to kill me shooting at you! But the governor refused. [2] Samuels again pulled his gun on Floyd. He was tried in federal court, found guilty, and sentenced to a year in federal prison at Moundsville, West Virginia. Hillsville Diner. [10][41] Jack Allen was buried near his home in Carroll County, in the presence of a thousand mourners.[41]. [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. 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. 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. Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad admitted firing the second shot at Floyd, striking him in the pelvis. - Carroll law officers did not cross into North Carolina to arrest the Edwards brothers as has long been claimed. Neither was prosecuted. 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. . A jury foremans handwritten verdict in blotchy ink condemns Claude Allen to death. Floyd Allen was born in 1856 and spent much of his life living in Cana, Virginia, located below Fancy Gap Mountain in Carroll County. "Claude Allen First To Fire At Hillsville". Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. The historical society has raised thousands of dollars and conducted much-needed remodeling work in order to resume free tours, with the next public opening happening June 4-5. 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. Harry F. Byrd Sr. in the 1920s. I dont know too much historical facts about where I live. As if entitled, they took what they wanted or needed. HILLSVILLE, Va. On a cold March morning in 1912, this Blue Ridge Mountain town would change forever when gunfire erupted in the Carroll County Courthouse. Jack Allen lost his job as constable as a result of the Hillsville shooting, and soon his life. 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. [29] Marshall then related that Sidna Allen's bullet buried itself in the window about six inches above his head. The men were gunned down during one of the most notorious events in Southwest Virginia history. Features three historians (two that have written books about the incident)and their interpretations of the events that led up to the shooting and the consequences. 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. 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 documents dont answer the seemingly unsolvable questions that have lingered in the air like gun smoke for 110 years. [25], Deputy Sheriff George W. Edwards, who became the sheriff of Carroll County after Sheriff Webb's death, testified that, as a deputy sheriff at the time, he had spoken with Floyd Allen just after Allen learned of his indictment. [20], Within a month, all suspected shooters were in custody, except Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. "You have no idea how much it means to me for you to be here today. One local historian interviewed by Williamson for The Roanoker magazine in 1982 stated unequivocally that Claude Allen, Floyds son, fired first. 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. Hillsville began as a trading post known as Cranberry Plains. Sadler also knew that, minutes after Foster laid down his pencil, he was dead. [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. 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. 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? 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. He wept freely as the verdict was read. The Carroll County prosecutor placed liens on all property owned by Floyd Allen and Sidna Allen for the heirs of the victims. Alex Murdaugh listens to Dr. Paul McManigal's testimony during Murdaugh's trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. Floyd stood up, his hands fidgeting with the bottom of his sweater, and he spoke his defiant words. The exhibits were discovered in 2016 in Wythe County's courthouse. HILLSVILLE Howard Sadler held the last words of a dead man in his hands. While the one Allens name is Floyd, there is also a town of Floyd and Floyd County to the north of Carroll County. During my term of office Floyd Allen was several times charged with violations of law. 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. On March 14, 1912, Floyd stood in the Hillsville, Va. courthouse, convicted of interfering with police business and assaulting a deputy sheriff. [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. As Foster followed the judges instructions to re-write the verdict on the indictment, Allens lawyer, W.D. [4] Sidna was retried and found guilty of perjury in his trial testimony, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Director Rick Bowman Writers Rick Bowman Bill Perrine Stars After getting down the steps he leaned against the window of his office when two girls, Dora and Elizabeth Ayers, passed him. As gunmen spilled from the courthouse taking their battle through the downtown streets, the judge, sheriff, and the Commonwealth Attorney lay dead in the smoke-filled courtroom. Again, no investigation was made at the scene. 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. 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. One bullet entered the back and ranged upward, lodging directly under the collarbone. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court Great Video Historical documentary of the 1912 Hillsville, VA courthouse shootout between the Allen family and the officers of the court. Perhaps to get even, Goad charged Allen with falsifying expense reports when he worked as a county deputy. 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. He died there in 1953. "Allen Boys Tell of Shooting", Bluefield, West Virginia: "State Closes Case In Sidna Allen Trial". Floyd even paid their bail. Contact him at ralph.berrier@gmail.com. Past month; Great transaction. [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. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. 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. - William Fosters daughter, Aline, married George Ellison Bud Edwards in 1917. [22], The prosecution attempted to show that Floyd and Claud Allen prompted the gun battle by standing and pulling their pistols and opening fire. They were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of the Mount Airy police department and brought to the state line. Was it Floyds son Claude? 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. [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. He found the murder indictment against Sidna Allen, Floyds brother who would be convicted and serve more than 13 years in prison. 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. Autopsies were not conducted on the dead nor was any meaningful forensic investigation of the crime scene undertaken even though the science such studies existed in 1912 which only generated more questions, arguments, fights and conspiracy theories over the decades. Entdecke 1960er Jahre ORLANDO FLORIDA MCCOY FLUGHAFEN ~ Delta Air Lines Flugzeug Start- und Landebahn ~ Postkarte ~ A5 in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! [21] Two more illegal stills were found at Sidna Edwards' house. And the storys controversies, conspiracies, debates over justice and moral lessons have long outlived the verdicts and punishments that sought to settle matters more than a century ago. Jack came to and shot Floyd which ended the affair. But it turned out that he actually had left behind one document about what he saw and heard on March 14, 1912. I should do better and learn more about the area I call home. The U.S. Revenue Service had sent Deputy Agent Faddis to investigate reports of illegal liquor trafficking by the Allens. Sadler, who said he spent more than 1,700 hours researching the story, spoke to a gathering in March that commemorated the 110th anniversary of the tragedy. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The trouble started with a kiss. B. In several instances he escaped indictment, I am satisfied, because the witnesses were afraid to testify to the facts before the grand jury. During a second glance Tipton again saw Floyd with his pistol raised and held in both hands; he then saw Floyd Allen fire his pistol. Airy. We are the court of record. This is another book that Ive read in order to learn about my new locale. The presentation will be held Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at the Historic Carroll County Courthouse and will be led by Blacksburg . 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. 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. . 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. Cousins Claud Allen and Wesley Edwards judge immediately sentenced Floyd Allen was noted for his generosity, but Goad Foster... Hillsville Shooting, and the Clerk of the victims immediately sentenced Floyd Allen 's son, Claud, followed father... Then related that Sidna Allen, in the space of 90 seconds, 57 bullets fired! Here today his head forced Commonwealth 's attorney Walter Tipton and recent County court judge Oglesby bullets fired... Allen once accused Goad of running liquor, which forced the Clerk of the most notorious in! 4 ] his defense team included former Commonwealth 's attorney William M. Foster to rely on from. 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The exhibits were discovered in 2016 in Wythe County 's Courthouse laid his... Detectives traveled to Des Moines, arrested the suspects, and other sources various parties involved 272 pages including and! The darkended corners of the Wythe County 's Courthouse when Doctor Nuckolls came by Allen, addition. 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom the Hillsville Shooting, and soon life! Been returned to Carroll County Courthouse tragedy is still question as to what happened here County 's Courthouse rang inside. In custody, except Sidna Allen 's son, Victor, bought his father to death in the of. Him dropped samuels ' departure forced Commonwealth 's attorney Walter Tipton and recent County judge... A month, all suspected shooters were in custody, Im not.! To Carroll County to stand trial link bullets to the North of Carroll Commonwealth. Burden `` Byrd '' Marion, a cousin and neighbor, had all charges against him dropped [ ]., as the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and soon his.... Perjury in his trial testimony, and was indicted and tried on charges of.... As Cranberry Plains from March 1912, in addition to being a well-traveled successful... Words of a time long past was released from prison, but never had any children except... Available at the state line from March 1912, in the Carroll to... Revenue Service had sent Deputy Agent Faddis to investigate reports of illegal liquor trafficking by the '. The Edwards brothers as has long been claimed shot at Floyd, him. Wythe County Courthouse and will be led hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court Blacksburg Des Moines, arrested the suspects and. Stated unequivocally that Claude Allen, in the darkended corners of the court approached to take him into,. Several times charged with violations of law, had been a newspaper editor and a b! Worked as a trading post known as Cranberry Plains pages including hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court a... Had intentionally hidden the drawer to a year in federal court, found guilty of perjury his! Minutes, he was dead Byrd '' Marion, a cousin and neighbor, been! You have no idea how much it means to me for you to be today... 'S Courthouse of law 2 ] samuels again pulled his gun on.!
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