The Worth of A Five Year Old's Life? - $500.00 And A Year In Prison

We often hear the question, what is the monetary value of a life? Well according to a 1957 Floyd County, Kentucky jury - the value of the life of a five-year-old boy was not worth a lot - just $500 and a year in prison.

The story began on March 23, 1957, on Little Mud Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky. There, Herbert Salisbury and Kelly Hamilton, two adult males, got into a fist fight. The story, as told to officials, Salisbury hit Hamilton, knocking him into five-year-old Garnie V.  Hunter (also have seen his name as Garney B Hunter in some newspaper reports.) The impact knocked the child down an embankment. As he was rolling down the embankment, he struck a broken fruit jar, cutting his jugular vein. The boy bled to death in less than 20 minutes.

Headline from the Floyd County Times, Prestonsburg, KY, March 28, 1957

According to the Floyd County Times dated March 28, 1957, upon hearing of the tragedy, Sheriff Gormon Collins dispatched five carloads of officers to the Trace Branch of Little Mud Creek. The officers arrested Hamilton and Salisbury, along with 25 others that were present. The 25, one of which was a woman, were arrested on charges of drunkenness.

Hamilton and Salisbury waived examining trials and were charged with Manslaughter and taken to jail on a $5,000.00 bond. 

In September 1957, Herbert Salisbury was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $500.00.  In January 1958, Hamilton was acquitted of the charge.

A child lost his life, and the penalty was a mere $500 and a year in prison. 

Little Garnie was the son of Walker and Ruthie Hunter and at the time was survived by ten siblings.   His funeral was held Tuesday, March 26, 1957, at the Regular Baptist Church at Blue Moon (Floyd County), KY. He was laid to rest in the Williams Cemetery at Blue Moon.  I tried to find him on Find-A-Grave but I could not find him, nor could I find a Williams Cemetery at Blue Moon. I did find that there are ten Williams Cemeteries in Floyd County, so I'm unsure which one in which he is buried.

Such a tragedy - a young life cut short by the foolish sinful acts of adults.

Death Certificate for Garnie. Notice the cause of death oddly says "knife wound."

Murder At Waverly Hills Sanatorium

 

Instead of typing out an entire blog on this case, I decided to share the newspaper clipping from the Louisville Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, March 2, 1954 along with subsequent articles.

Louisville Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, March 2, 1954 

Louisville Courier-Journal, March 6, 1954.

Louisville Courier-Journal, April 22,1954

A Lynching In Rowan

 The following story was written by Dr. Jack Ellis and published in the Morehead News on July 7, 2000.  The Morehead News is no longer in publication and Dr. Ellis has since passed on.  So to keep this story from being lost to the sands of time, I thought I would publish it here, word for word, just as Dr. Ellis wrote it.

If a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right ... he shall surely live. Eze 18:5,9.

Evidence of early Rowan County's lawless and violent reputation was evident by an article that appeared in the "Bracken County Record" dated April 4, 1877. (Thanks to Nan Lytle for sharing this material)

The crime committed

John R. (Jack) Tabor was a Rowan resident who had resided in the Cranston area of Rowan County. Mr. Tabor had been in trouble with the law on several occasions. He had an unsavory reputation not only in Rowan but also in the neighboring counties. John P. Martin was one of Tabor's neighbors, and a companion in crime.

On a Saturday night in early April 1887 after getting drunk on their homemade moonshine, Tabor and Martin hatched a plan to steal two horses and skip the country. After stealing the horses, the two men headed north toward the Ohio River. On Sunday, they were seen passing through Flemingsburg. By Monday morning they reached the Ohio River at Foster, a small town down river from Augusta in Bracken County. It was their intention to board the Bonanza, a paddle wheeler, headed 42 miles down river to Cincinnati. There they would sell their stolen horses at the stock sales'.

The Bonanza was not 'due at Foster until Wednesday, so the two men camped on the dock waiting for the arrival of the steamboat. Also a part of their plan was for John Martin's wife to come to Maysville and board the Bonanza. She would then meet them down river when the boat docked at Foster. There the three would continue on to Cincinnati together. Martin's wife booked passage on the Bonanza on Tuesday right on schedule. But she evidently caught the attention of the local Marshall since he had just been notified of the two horses stolen in Rowan County. Also he had been told that the woman waiting to board the boat was from Rowan County.

When the Bonanza left Maysville headed down river, Maysville Marshall Heflin and Jail er Weedon were also on board. They were determined to "shadow" Mrs. Martin, believing she was involved in the crime. How did the Marshall in Maysville find out so quickly about the stolen horses in Rowan County? There were no railroads or any form of fast communication in Rowan County in 1877.

The news spreads Warren Alderson, owner of one of the two general stores in Morehead in 1877, was a church-going man. He arose on Sunday morning and attended church services held in the Rowan County Courthouse. As he came out of the meeting, he saw the sheriff ride up on his horse. The sheriff told Mr. Alderson that two horses had been stolen in the Cranston area on Saturday night and described the stolen horses to the storekeeper. He then asked to keep a look for them.

Before daybreak on Monday, Mr. Alderson left Morehead in his wagon on his weekly trip to Maysville, Kentucky hauling freight, mail and passengers. (Later on he hired a driver to make the weekly round trip but in 1877 he was making the run himself.) His wife always ran the store during his absence. When Mr. Alderson passed the Mt. Pisgah Church in northern Rowan County, there was a woman who stopped his wagon and paid her passage to Maysville. Mr. Alderson knew about everyone in the county and recognized her as the wife of John Martin. She told him she was on her way to Cincinnati to meet her husband.

Suspicion aroused

Mr. Alderson always stopped in Flemingsburg overnight and Mrs. Martin stayed at a local inn and Colonel Alderson, famous for squeezing a penny, slept in his wagon while the horses rested that night. They were off again at daybreak on Tuesday morning and arrived in Maysville about noon. Mrs. Martin climbed down from the wagon and walked down to the dock. Warren went to a local restaurant to eat lunch and saw Maysville Marshall Heflin, and told him about the stolen horses in Rowan County and gave him a description of the animals. He also mentioned that his passenger was Mrs. Martin from Rowan County on her way to Cincinnati. Evidently the Marshall knew of Martin's reputation so he became suspicious and he decided to follow her. His suspicions paid off much to the detriment of the two horse thieves.

When the steamboat docked at Foster, Jack Tabor and John Martin boarded with the two stolen horses. After the boat returned to the middle of the Ohio River, Martin and Tabor met with the "suspicious" woman. While they were talking, the Marshall and jailer examined the two horses and they matched the description of the stolen animals.

Criminals arrested

The Marshall then arrested the two horse thieves and ordered the · captain of the sternwheeler to return them to Foster and the Marshall, the jailer, and the two thieves embarked with the stolen horses. The two men and the woman were returned to Maysville on Wednesday night and were placed in jail. However, on Thursday morning the two men consented to return to Rowan County for trial, along with the two horses which were returned to their owners.

Jack Tabor lynched

Evidently people in Rowan County were in no mood for leniency, and Jack Tabor's previous brushes with the law had caught up with him. His punishment was swift and sure. According to a dispatch one week later in the Bracken County Record, Jack Tabor, the horse thief who had been arrested on the steamer Bonanza, was lynched . It cannot be determined for certain that Jack Tabor's death was due to a trial by his peers or taken from the jail and lynched. But it is the writer's opinion that there was not enough time to hold a trial, and the report used the word "lynched." Here are the exact words used in what the Bracken County paper called "A Later Dispatch."

"A report has reached us via Maysville that John R. Tab6r of Rowan County, the horse thief who was arrested here Wednesday on the Steamer bonanza was lynched in Morehead."

It seemed the report reached back to Bracken County in about one week after the men were returned to Rowan County. Also the report used the word "lynched" which was not a word used when prisoner was legally hung as the result of a trial. Therefore, it is this writer's opinion based on the evidence, that Jack Tabor was removed from the Rowan County Jail and lynched by the "Tiger" guard. The Tiger guard was an extreme vigilante radical group of the Home Guard. The Home Guard was a group of citizens in Rowan County organized to protect life and property during and after the Civil War. It could have been that group; or just some citizens who were tired of the criminal element in the county, and they were determined to make an example of Jack Tabor. I'm sure there were other lynchings in Rowan County, but his is the only evidence this writer had found so far of a lynching in Rowan County. Also, please remember that lynching was seven years before the start of the Rowan County War which brought this county its reputation for violence.

Shootout At Carver

 

Headline from the Paintsville Herald
Paintsville, KY
August 23, 1928

On August 21, 1928, a shootout took place in the Magoffin County, Kentucky community of Carver. When the gunfire was all over, one lay dead and two others seriously wounded; and one of them would die days later.

There are multiple versions of the story, but trouble between the men began over a labor dispute in which miners were on strike.

One version reports that Tony Push, age 28, left a note on the office door of Superintendent J.L. Blevins (also saw the name listed as Sam Blevins) that said, "Do not let the sun go down on you here." In other words, if Blevins didn't leave within a certain number of hours, he would be killed and leave the camp in a coffin.

Blevins refused to comply with the demands and wrote on the same note "The sun may go down on me, but if I go out, others will ride the same train."

At 5:00 P.M., Push and Arlie Cole allegedly visited the superintendent's office to execute the threat, and the shooting followed.  Blevins was shot six times. Blevins was able to return fire, shooting Push and Cole multiple times each.

According to reports, Cole was shot several times in the bowels and Push received a wound to the thigh and wrist.

The other version of the shooting is that Blevins had discharged Push, who was a driver and ordered him to put his vehicle in the barn, which he did. Later, another driver was put in charge of the vehicle.  Push, accompanied by Cole, went to inquire of Blevins as to why he was discharged.  Blevins is alleged to have been drinking. When Push confronted him, Blevins pulled his gun and began firing at Push and Cole, who both returned fire. 

Only one other man was alleged to have witnessed the shooting.

The three wounded men were placed on a special train and started to the hospital at Paintsville. Blevins died before reaching the hospital.  He was taken to the undertakers at Paintsville Furniture company and prepared for burial.

Cole and Push were operated on by Dr. W.R. Castle and staff of the Golden Rule Hospital.  

According to reports, Cole's intestines were perforated in at least three places. They were sewed together in an effort to save him; but little hope was given for his recovery.  He died on August 28, 1928.  

headline from the Paintsville Herald
Paintsville, KY
August 28, 1928.

Push on the other hand was expected to make a complete recovery.

I was unable to confirm if charges were filed or were not filed against Push.  According to sources, he relocated to Michigan in 1949.

Arlie Cole is buried at the Peter Williams Cemetery in Magoffin County, Kentucky. And according to sources, Blevins' remains were taken to Ft. Gay, WV for burial.

"Don't Tell Mother" - The Murder of Dayton Wireman

 On the afternoon of January 21, 1935, a shot rang out in the Salt Lick community near the Floyd and Knott County line.

When it was over 18-year-old Dayton Wireman had been shot by Whitt Howard, a Breathitt County youth. 



The shooting occurred near the home of Willie Shepherd.

According to informants, Wireman, Howard, and Howard's father Wiley Howard, had been firing revolvers and a shotgun in the vicinity of the slaying and Wireman had slipped and fallen.

While he was washing up from the creek, Howard approached him, leveled a shotgun, and from a distance of only a few feet fired the weapon, striking Wireman in the left side.

The two had not had any previous trouble at all and no reason for the slaying had been established other than the claim that Howard thought Wireman had been shooting at his father.

After being shot, Wireman turned and walked to the home of Willie Shepherd where he fell upon the bed.  When asked if he wanted a doctor, Wireman responded, "I don't need a doctor---I'm killed.  But don't tell my mother."  He died within five minutes of making that comment.

Howard, his father and brother bought a supply of ammunition and left the scene of the shooting, going in the direction of their home on Spring Fork of Quicksand Creek in Breathitt County.  The next day, he was arrested on a drunkenness charge on Roch Fork by Deputy Sheriff Nick Brewer and was taken to Hindman.  It was there that it was learned that he was wanted in Floyd County for murder.  He was returned to Floyd County by Deputy Sheriff R.R. Allen who had been searching for him.

On Saturday, February 16, 1935, Howard was convicted by a jury of the Floyd County Circuit Court for the murder of Dayton Wireman and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

During the trial, the jury held that in the killing of Wireman the drinking and shooting was of a general nature and, therefore took the position that the shooting was of the nature of a drunken row.

However the Commonwealth testimony showed that Wireman was shot when offering no threat to Howard. He and others had been at the home of Howard's brother, and he had fallen outside. After washing himself at the creek nearby, he fixed his revolver over his shoulder, but not in the direction of any of those present.

A moment later, Howard fired the shotgun into his side.

The Commonwealth also produced evidence that Wireman, after being wounded, told those around him that he had not intended to offend anyone; and that, as he ran toward the home of Willie Shepherd, where he died, Wiley Howard, father of the slayer, fired shots at him and was prevented from following him inside the house.

The defense testimony was to the effect that Howard thought Wireman had fired upon his father and that he shot Wireman in defense, as he believed, of his father's life.

Howard accepted his sentence without appeal.

After the funeral services at the home of his mother, Wireman's remains were interred in the Wireman Cemetery in Magoffin County, Kentucky. He was survived by his mother, stepfather, and countless other relatives.

Dayton Wireman

The Slaying of A Cripple

 This is a case on which I do not have much information at all; but it's one that caught my attention due to its cruelty and lack of compassion for the handicapped.

Like much of Eastern Kentucky was back in the day, Floyd County seemed to be riddled with violence. Almost every edition of the Floyd County Times in the 1930s-1940s reported of a murder or violent crime, in so much that the Floyd County Times stated in reference to the case that I'm about to cover "Guns were stilled in Floyd County over the weekend to the extent that there was not a bullet victim in the county, but knives came into play instead to change the method of murder..."

This is one of those stories.

Sometime around 1930, young Jesse Curtis fell beneath a train at Jack's Creek, leaving him crippled.  He survived this horrific accident only to be murdered seven years later. 

Clipped from the Floyd County Times
Prestonsburg, KY, October 7, 1937.

According to reports, on October 3, 1937, Curtis, now 17, became enraged while at the home of Lena Tackett and her 13-year-old daughter Liza.  Another teen, 15-year-old Rosa Bell Hall, was also present.  Allegedly the girls were teasing Jesse about another girl, enraging him.  In response, Jesse began "chasing" Rosa with a crutch.

Liza was quoted as saying that Curtis attempted to assault her on the front porch of her mother's home. Rosa was reported as stating that Liza too was struck with his crutch.

In retaliation to the alleged assault, Liza attacked Jesse with a knife, killing him instantly. The knife penetrated his heart.

The mother and the two girls were all arrested by Deputy Sheriff Elson Kendrick and Constable Ep Laferty.

Not much else is known about the events leading up to the trial, but on January 25, 1938, sixteen-year-old Liza Tackett was sentenced to eight years in prison. Part of that sentence would be served in reform school until she was 21 years old.

Clipped from the Floyd County Times
Prestonsburg, KY, January 27, 1938.

At the time of this writing, I was unable to find anything about the outcome of the trials of Lena and Rosa.

Jesse was the son of Thurman and Arminta Pennington Curtis. At the time of his death, in addition to his parents, he was survived by three brothers and one sister.  He was buried in one of the nine Stumbo cemeteries in Floyd County, but I was not able to determine which one.

Orphan Beaten, Tortured and Imprisoned Part 2: The Conclusion of the Alifaire Shoffer Story

 After posting my previous blog, I sent a link to it to the "Summer of Sorrow" movie Facebook page.  When they responded. they informed me that Alifaire Shoffer, the victim in this horrible case, was their Great-Aunt. Small world, huh?

Anyway, they informed me that a few years ago they had covered Alifaire's story in a series of podcasts called "Watered Down Women."

I just finished listening to the rest of Alifaire's story, and sadly, things never improved for her at all.

I won't spoil the rest of the story for you, but if you want to know the rest of Alifaire's story, here are the links to the podcast series. Each episode is only 15 minutes long. So you can listen to all four parts in an hour.  



 "Watered Down Women" Season 2 Episode 2

"Watered Down Women" Season 2 Episode 3

"Watered Down Women" Season 2 Episode 4

"Watered Down Women" Season 2 Episode 5

Thankfully, through the efforts of her family as well as historians such as myself, Alifaire's story will not be forgotten anytime soon.