A Short Account of White Men and Women That Have

Been Killed Within the Bounds of the County

Since Its Organization---Items of Much Interest

A few days ago the editor of this paper was conversing with an old and deservedly popular citizen of Attala---who, perhaps, knows as much about the history of the county as any other living man, when the conversation turned on the crimes that have been committed in the county since its organization, sixty years ago, particularly the killings. Becoming interested in the subject, we traced it up and soon reduced to chronological order, the various crimes that have resulted in the death of some of our citizens. The knowledge of a few others was called into service, and the result of our work is given below. In the compilation, memory was entirely relied upon, and some errors and omissions may have been made; but the history is in the main correct. We have entirely confined ourselves to the killing of white people, as the record of the negroes killed would, we fear, make too voluminous and dark a chapter in our county’s history.

Attala County was organized in 1833, and the first man killed in its borders thereafter was Andrew Gibson by John Finley in 1835, the scene of the killing being on the Clark place at old Vellena, near Goodman. Gibson is said to have been a desperate man, who, in the difficulty, pursued Finley with a knife. The latter, as he ran, shot his pursuer over his shoulder with a pistol. He was tried and acquitted the following year.

In 1852 at Conn’s saloon, near Joplin’s Mill, in Beat 5, Hy Pearce was shot and instantly killed by Dr. Travis. It was developed that Pearce had attacked Travis with a knife, and the latter was acquitted in a magistrate’s court. Dr. Travis afterwards left the county.

In 1852 at Rocky Point, one Simmons was killed by a man named Kelly, the son of a Cumberland Presbyterian preacher. Kelly was drunk, and no cause is assigned for the deed. He fled and was never tried.

Kirkwood’s Ferry over Big Black, between Kosciusko and Vaiden, in 1852, was the scene of the death of Tom Rambo, inflicted by James Everett. Rambo was standing over Everett beating him with a stick; the latter drew a pistol and shot him. The first indictment was squashed, and Everett was never re-indicted.

The first man convicted of manslaughter in the county was Press Williams, in 1855. He kept a saloon at the old Bustamente Blue Store in Kosciusko, about where W.P. Massey’s saloon is now. Treat was a very scholarly man but had ruined himself by drink. He was in the saloon drunk, when Williams hit him over the head with a porter bottle. Williams was tried, convicted, sentenced to the county jail for four months, afterwards went to Texas and died there.

In 1856, C.S. Lounsberry was assassinated in Kosciusko by R.W. Payne while the former was standing on the steps of the present Miller Hotel. The year previous, Lounsberry had stabbed Payne in the head at the door of the Presbyterian church in this city. Payne waited to see what the law would do about it before avenging himself, and after Lounsberry was tried and acquitted, he took the matter in his own hands. He fled to California and was never tried.

In 1859, near the Clark place, on the Goodman road, John Brisco was shot and killed by D.H. (better known as “Doc”) Hughes. Brisco had had trouble with Jim Hughes, the son of Doc. The latter was tried, convicted and sentenced to 20 years in the penitentiary, but served only a few years, being pardoned by Gov. Pettus in 1862. His trial was held in the log Court house (afterwards burned down) that stood near where the office of Anderson, Haden & Davis is now. After receiving his sentence, Doc told the Court that his conviction was unjust, and that he would be out of the penitentiary and living when the Judge, District Attorney, and the jurymen who sat on his case, was dead. It is somewhat remarkable that this prophecy was almost realized. Judge Henry was soon afterwards killed at Yorktown, Va. Rob’t Hudson, the district attorney, and all the jurors except Mr. A.I. Teat, who lives in the northern part of this county, were dead before “Doc” Hughes died.

In 1861, G.J. Wilson was killed by John M. Robinson at Wamba, in Beat 5. Wilson was overseer for Robinson, and a difficulty arose between them. In the struggle Wilson got Robinson down on his back and was severely pounding him when the latter shot him five times. Mr. Robinson was tried and acquitted, and is now living in the county.

In 1863, Lieut. Barnett, of a detachment of Ross’ Cavalry, that was stationed at Kosciusko, was shot and killed in what is now the Miller Hotel by Jim Smith, a native of this place. Smith was a wounded soldier at home on furlough. He was on crutches and Barnett was very insolent, stepping on Smith’s wounded foot and otherwise annoying him. Smith went back to the army, and was never tried.

Lieut. Barnett’s comrades suspected that Peter Myers, a shoemaker, who had a shop about where N.O. Thompson’s hardware store now is, had assisted Smith to escape. About a month after the above occurrence, fourteen of these soldiers surrounded Myers’ shop and fired at him through a window. The shoemaker returned the fire with a pistol and wounded one of them. Myers then ran out of his shop across towards the Court Yard, when he was shot in the thigh. He turned and ran back to the sidewalk, and, just as he reached it, had the top of his head shot off by one of the soldiers. He fell near the old hotel.

At the November election of 1863, one Boyd (this man was a brother to the late John D. Boyd of Beat 2, and the man who shot him, Jim Hutchins, was the father of Judson Hutchins, who now lives in Kosciusko, 1929) was shot and killed by one Hutchins, at what was then Burk’s Voting Box, in Beat 2. It was on the place now occupied by Capt. Frank Peeler. Hutchins was tried after the war and acquitted.

In 1865, W.F. Coffey and one Bayard were assassinated in Coffey’s store at Bluff Springs, near Sallis. Some parties were suspected, but were never tried.

The twentieth white man killed in the county was A. Sternberger, a merchant of Kosciusko, by Ed Raiford, in the road at the Barton place, near Sallis, in 1865. Raiford got a change of venue to Leake County, and was acquitted.

The Natchez Trace, at the three-mile board south of Kosciusko, was the scene of the killing of Sam Clark by Jeff McMichael in 1867. The difficulty grew out of a quarrel about some property. McMichael was tried and acquitted in a Justice court.

The next killing was that of Drew Massey by Ab Chesnutt and one Berry, at Chesnutt’s house in the Ebenezer neighborhood, in 1871. They were carried to Oxford for trial, but escaped.

In 1873, Emmett Oldham was shot and instantly killed in the Court House by Burrell Johnston. The latter was tried and acquitted, and now (1893) lives in the county.

Another tragedy was enacted in 1866, about where N.O. Thompson’s hardware store is. Bone Turner was killed on the sidewalk with a shot gun by Sam Sanders, who escaped, and was never tried. Turner kept a saloon about on the spot now occupied by J.D. Sanders’ saloon, while Sanders was employed in a saloon about where the Rainey stand now is.

In 1866, one Bush, a horse trader, disappeared from New Port, and it was suspected that he had been murdered. In 1886 (20 years afterwards) a body was found in the woods that was identified as that of Bush. At the time he disappeared Tom and Sim Clark and Bill Upsher were suspected of the crime. All three left the country, and Upsher was afterwards killed at a horse race in Yazoo county. Sim Clark was captured, tried and acquitted at Lexington. He afterwards went to Sallis, and was killed by Mark Shelby in self-defense. Shelby was tried and acquitted.

The only men ever legally hanged in the county were Perry Harris and Willis Teague, who killed one Miller, colored blacksmith at New Port, in 1875. They entered his house and brained him with an axe, then robbed him. Two women were also tried for complicity, but were finally discharged.

In 1866, one Johnson was killed by Dr. Waldrup on Zilpha near where Mr. John Kelly lives now. Waldrup was discharged by a Justice of the Peace, and left the country.

Chas. Davis shot and killed Almond Sanders one night at a party at H.D. Freeland’s, at Shrock one night in 1874. The difficulty grew out of some social gossip. Mr. Hez Freeland was also badly wounded at the same time. Davis fled and was never tried. Rafe Davis, his younger brother, was tried for complicity, however, and acquitted.

It was about 1870 that Bob Frazier accidentally killed Buddy Barwick in a fisticuff, down in Beat 4. He was tried and acquitted.

It was probably in 1876 that Andrew Mixon was tried for the murder of Joanna Hopson, down in the southern corner of the county. He was convicted and sentenced to be hanged; but got new trial and was acquitted by the new jury. It was in announcing this verdict that Judge Cauthen made his memorable remark, “Mr. Mixon, by the finding of this jury Joanna Hopson is not dead.” Mixon was afterwards killed in Alabama.

This brings us down to the time when the killing of Bowie by Bennett, of Wallace by Culpepper, of Suggs by Gillum Brothers, Etc., are yet fresh in the minds of those who will read this article. So we will omit what is well remembered.

Here we draw the curtain over this tragic history, hoping that it will be many years before another crime will be added to the record.

NOTE: This “write-up of the killings” in Attala County was published in a Kosciusko newspaper, at that time called The Kosciusko Star, and was owned and edited by Frank Johnson. It was published in 1893.

Martha Boggs submitted this article. For a little about Martha and her connection to Attala County, : | Click Here |

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