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. There were, however, nearly 20 Allen men among the spectators in the courtroom. The detectives left at Hillsville have gone to the mountains, headed by Lee Felts. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. He only lived 7 years after the trial. Two others had been shot and would soon diethe jury foreman and a 19-year-old girl who had testified against Allen. "Floyd Allen Defense Gets Well Into Case", Bluefield, W. Va.: "Accuses Dexter Goad Of Shooting Betty Ayers". "Claude Allen First To Fire At Hillsville". Who shot whom? Allen once accused Goad of running liquor, which forced the clerk to resign from a prestigious post as federal commissioner. This story could have been written in a Creative Non-Fiction genre. A jury foremans handwritten verdict in blotchy ink condemns Claude Allen to death. Explore the latest videos from hashtags: #truckspottinginthe717 . Director Rick Bowman Writers Rick Bowman Bill Perrine Stars 1912 SIDNA ALLEN CRIMINAL HOUSE FANCY GAP HILLSVILLE VA COURT SHOOTING ~ A1 (#185771767538) s***s (604) - Feedback left by buyer s***s (604). Contact him at ralph.berrier@gmail.com. [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. WYTHEVILLE, Va., Nov. 22. Easter ran to an acquaintance's home, and he telephoned the sheriff at Hillsville. There were also five others wounded, including Floyd Allen. [35] In July 1912, after three separate trials, Claud Allen was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, and for second-degree murder for the killing of Judge Massie. As if entitled, they took what they wanted or needed. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. [20], Sidna Allen denied that he shot Judge Massie, or that he fired at Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, Sheriff Webb, or at Juror Fowler. Menu. Two months after the shootout, Floyd Allen was convicted in Wytheville of killing Foster, the commonwealths attorney. "[16] The judge immediately sentenced Floyd Allen to one year's imprisonment.[16]. The remaining prisoners received pardons (from a different governor) in the 1920s. The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912. Roanoke, Va., March 16, --The prisoners from Hillsville are not expected here before 3 o'clock Sunday morning. Interesting, the real Mayberry is along the Blue Ridge, in Patrick County, but just east of Carroll County. As the late Roanoke writer and broadcaster Seth Williamson wrote in The Roanoker magazine in 1982, the Allen men were not a race of mild country squires.. Newport News nuprt - -prt -6 is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. 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. COOPERSTOWN NEW YORK POSTCARD~Orphanage Building/House~Cart 1911 (#185750574261) l***n (1544) - Feedback left by buyer l***n (1544). Like this one, I often find they could have used some rearranging to keep ones interest but I almost always enjoy them. Upon conviction of interfering with an officer of the law, Judge Thornton Massie oversaw the jury's imposed sentence of one year imprisonment. When the jury returned a guilty verdict against with a sentence of one year in the penitentiary, Floyd Allen is reported to have said to Judge Massie: "If you sentence me on that verdict, I will kill you. [36], For their roles in the shooting, Floyd and Claud were sentenced to death by electrocution. They didnt find Andrew because the cell was dark and he had climbed up between the chimney and wall near the ceiling. [13], The rumor that the Allens were intimidating witnesses was called to the attention of the court. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. [2] In May 1889, Floyd's brothers, Garland and Sidna Allen, were tried for carrying concealed pistols and assaulting a group of thirteen men. [1] Others consider the alleged affidavit to be hearsay, made years after the event transpired, and worthless. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court - Actors and actresses. 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. Seems like everybody from Carroll County has some connection to this story. 23 school districts remove challenged books from library shelves; more . In several instances he escaped indictment, I am satisfied, because the witnesses were afraid to testify to the facts before the grand jury. They were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of the Mount Airy police department and brought to the state line. Late in the day March 13, the jury had not reached a verdict, so Judge Massie sent them to the nearby Thornton Hotel for the night. Sidna Allen was never tried for his part in the altercation, while Barnett Allen was acquitted at trial. A recent documentary film "Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court" won an independent film award last year and will be shown this week in Hillsville. Sadler said that reading Fosters handwriting gave him chills. 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. In March 1912, there was a shooting at the Carroll County, Courthouse in Hillsville, Virginia. M arch 14, 1912, arrives just as badly as the day before. They, too, were captured by Felts and his men, as Sidna Allen came to believe that Wesleys girlfriend back home had betrayed them. [38], Victor Allen and Barnett Allen were acquitted. 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. Accounts differ as to who actually fired the first shot. Another entered the body at the cap of the left hip and passed through the abdomen. 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. It is amazing how nothing changes Today, a story gets retold till its stale, unless something big happens to push it off the headlines. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. Bake . 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. [34] They returned to their homes by traveling cross-country through the farm fields rather than public roads. Harry F. Byrd Sr. in the 1920s. On May 18, 1912, the jury found Floyd Allen guilty. 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. [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". "Floyd Allen Defense Gets Well Into Case", Bluefield, West Virginia: "Defense Continues Efforts To Disprove Conspiracy". Some of the detectives bragged about how many miners theyd killed. Perhaps the hardest thing for an outsider to understand is the frequently heard claim that the subject is dead. 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. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. Thousands of people wrote letters to Gov. [34] Sidna Allen claimed that when he left the courthouse, Goad followed behind him, shooting him through the left arm, the bullet lodging in his left side. Other members of the family received long sentences. [1][4] Floyd had wanted to buy a farm owned by one of his own brothers, but could not agree on a price. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. [3] He had a history of violent altercations, including shooting a black man in North Carolina, beating a police officer in Mount Airy and later shooting his own cousin. Not knowing all the details, I wasnt sure what to do with this information. His grandfather had taken the round from the courthouse the day of the killings. Both, Walter Scott Tipton and David Winton Bolen, were retired Carroll County judges. 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. 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 following two tabs change content below. The documents were found in the basement of the Wythe County Courthouse and have now been returned to Carroll County. [29] Marshall also testified he had been standing near Sheriff Webb, but did not see any pistol in the Sheriff's hand. After several months' chase, Baldwin-Felts detectives located them in Iowa after an informant's tip. Wesley was sentenced to sixty days and his brother thirty, which were served outside jail on work-release. [1] Sentenced by the jury to an hour in jail and a $100 fine, plus costs, Allen immediately posted bail pending an appeal. 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. The defense attempted to show that Deputy Clerk Goad shot Elizabeth Ayers in his exchange of fire with the Allens, a charge Goad denied. Floyd Allen's son, Victor, bought his father's house so his mother would not have to move. Sidna Edwards pleaded guilty in August 1912 to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to 15 years in the penitentiary. - William Fosters daughter, Aline, married George Ellison Bud Edwards in 1917. Indications are that they will clash with the Allen's tonight or early in the morning. - Floyd Allen had a long history of serving the law in Carroll County as a deputy sheriff and was, in fact, a special policeman at the time of the tragedy. The presentation will be held Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at the Historic Carroll County Courthouse and will be led by Blacksburg . 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. [2] His pistol empty, Allen proceeded to beat Jack with the butt of his empty revolver. (Interesting Southwest Virginia side note: Initially, Floyds nephew Barnett Allen, the grandfather of legendary Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, was charged along with his uncles Floyd and Sidna for taking the Edwards boys from the deputies. Interesting story. More than fifty bullets were later recovered from the shooting scene. The trials happened quickly in 1912 and early 1913. As Sadler studied his grandmothers old scrapbooks, he found a copy of a letter that he had written to state legislators nearly 20 years after the shootout. 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. Otherwise, he would not have been armed. [20] Sidna Edwards had scalded his foot some years before and was partially lame, and limped out of the courthouse, riding his mother's horse back to his home. When Floyd and Claude Allens bodies were brought back to the familys house in Cana, Frances Allen Floyds wife, Claudes mother entered the room dressed in black and fell across her sons coffin, embracing his body like a child. (Walter Allen had lost the bitterly fought race. After the Edwards were charged with assault, they fled across the North Carolina border to Mt. Burden "Byrd" Marion, a cousin and neighbor, had all charges against him dropped. In 1912 a Carroll County, Virginia, man was sentenced to serve a one year sentence in the state penitentiary. 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. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. 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. [4] Sidna was retried and found guilty of perjury in his trial testimony, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Was it Floyds son Claude? [8], In 1910, Sidna Allen was tried in the United States court at Greensboro, North Carolina for making twenty-dollar counterfeit coins. [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. Wow. In some ways, the county never recovered from that day. 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. In April 1926, Governor Harry Flood Byrd pardoned Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards. Floyd shot Jack in the head and then began to beat him in the head with a rock while he was out cold. This sort of isolation probably meant that Floyd and his siblings grew up independent, resourceful and perhaps overly prideful and defiant. 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. V. Ray Bowman is known for Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (2011). 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. - After the shootout ended, people in Hillsville were afraid the Allen family would come back into town and kill everyone in sight. He apparently also hopes that the early hour will serve to dampen the spirits of the Allens. Too many other projects. [26] Though wounded by four bullets himself, Goad recovered. Their trials took place in Wytheville. Doing so, the opening details could easily be incorporated into the larger narrative. The Allens were unreconstructed Democrats, the county fathers were mildly progressive, albeit still conservative, Republicans. This sideline didnt add to the story. Floyd had been seriously wounded. Airy). When it was over the judge and the sheriff laid dead. A local tradition maintained that if a boy discovered a red ear of corn, he had the choice to kiss any girl at the party. 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