He teased Horney about Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts. The jury fixed the penalty at fifteen years in the penitentiary. Floyd spent the night at his brother Sidnas splendid new home in Fancy Gap, about 7 miles away. 11218 The Roanoker - Hillsville Massacre Industrial Survey - Carroll County (NOTE a 1929 publication) Media The Carroll News Elbert Lee Trinkle and Gov. Barely one year after the courthouse shootout, Floyd Allen and his son Claude were executed minutes apart at the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond. Friel settled in Inglewood, CA where he married twice, but never had any children. 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. Nearly impassable muddy roads and a raw wind that carried snow flurries did not stop nearly 100 people from jamming the 1873 courthouse to see the spectacle of Floyd Allen possibly being led away in handcuffs. . Witnesses said she never looked Floyds way. Sadlers research took him to the Wythe County Courthouse, where he befriended Hayden H. Horney, the longtime circuit court clerk. - As a result of the deaths that occurred in the courtroom in 1912, the entire estates of Floyd and J. Sidna Allen were seized in settlement of wrongful death suits by the families of Massie, Foster and Webb. On March 28, 1913, barely a year after the bloodshed in Hillsville, Floyd and Claude Allen were executed in the same electric chair. 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. I should do better and learn more about the area I call home. Otherwise, he would not have been armed. This sideline didnt add to the story. The girl he chose to kiss led to a later fight at a church and resulted in a warrant for his arrest. The U.S. Revenue Service had sent Deputy Agent Faddis to investigate reports of illegal liquor trafficking by the Allens. 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. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 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. However, once the story began, it flowed better. Sadler took the file drawer to a vault in the courthouse and dove into the trove. He died there in 1953. Bolen, asked for bail and for Allen to be freed as they appealed the case. [4][2] Sidna promptly appealed and won a new trial on the perjury charge. Floyd Allen's son, Victor, bought his father's house so his mother would not have to move. Those old papers were lost or stolen, Horney replied. The play, which is. But it turned out that he actually had left behind one document about what he saw and heard on March 14, 1912. Later, the Thomas boy and others scrapped with the Edwards boys outside a church service, with the Edwards brothers getting the best of their rivals. At one time, there was another store and a tannery and a number of dairies and some local micro-distilleries (before they became popular or legal). He only lived 7 years after the trial. He lived to be the last surviving member of the jury, dying in 1963. . Published in the SW VA Enterprise, Wytheville, Virginia Tuesday, July 4, 1939. Gerald Goad said the documents needed to be back in Carroll County. Friel Allen was tried in August 1912 and after confessing to shooting prosecutor Foster, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Or the Clerk of Court Dexter Goad, who seems to have first pulled a gun? [8] Only a month later, their petition for executive clemency was granted by Governor Claude A. Swanson, restoring their political rights to hold office. The end result was three people deadthe judge, the Commonwealth Attorney and the sheriff. At a church service the next morning conducted by Wesley's uncle, Garland Allen, Thomas reportedly called out Wesley into a fight. 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 Allens were unreconstructed Democrats, the county fathers were mildly progressive, albeit still conservative, Republicans. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court; Videos; The Holstein Dilemma. - 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. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. 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. After several months' chase, Baldwin-Felts detectives located them in Iowa after an informant's tip. Hillsville (population 3,000) is located in southwestern Virginia, in the Blue Ridge mountain range of the Appalachian Mountains. '"[11][17] At this point, shots broke out in the courtroom. Sadler knew that tragic story, and he understood his familys connection to it. (Walter Allen had lost the bitterly fought race. The book begins with character sketches of the various parties involved. On the morning of March 14, 1912, Mr. Floyd Allen stood in the Carroll County courtroom to hear the verdict of his peers. [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. If the Blacksburg-Roanoke-Lynchburg area wants a regional tech hub, here's a chance to help write the rules, Beware the Ides of March; bloom-busting cold likely lurks. This film is currently in development. Convicted on capital murder, both Claude and Floyd were sentenced to death. If done right, this sounds as though it could make for a captivating film. [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. On 13 March 1912, in the Carroll County Circuit Court, . [20], Sidna Allen denied that he shot Judge Massie, or that he fired at Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, Sheriff Webb, or at Juror Fowler. Discover short videos related to Hillsville 1912 A Shooting in the Court on TikTok. Wesley, the story goes, shucked a red ear of corn and proceeded to kiss the girlfriend of a Thomas boy who he did not like. This is an interesting story of a time long past. Interesting, the real Mayberry is along the Blue Ridge, in Patrick County, but just east of Carroll County. Floyd stood up, his hands fidgeting with the bottom of his sweater, and he spoke his defiant words. V. Ray Bowman is known for Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (2011). 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. Sadler said that his grandfathers reputation was that of an attorney who possessed a great gift of gab and was a prolific letter writer, but he never left behind any record of what he saw or heard that day in the Hillsville courtroom. After years of being privately owned, Sidna Allens house was given to the Carroll County Historical Society in 2014 by siblings Stanley Widener and Bonnie Wood, whose mother, Marlene, often opened the house to the public for tours. 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. In the 1960s, a boisterous flea market and liquor store owner in Cana named Rufus Gardner took up the Allens cause and found two men who claimed one of Goads assistants admitted to firing first at Floyd Allen. Terribly tragic. 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. The definitive history, Mr. Ron Halls Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy is still published and is available at the Museum bookstore. The law provided that everything could be seized with the exception of a few bare essentials necessary for existence, for example, 1 cow, 1 pig, etc. The defense attempted to show that Deputy Clerk Goad shot Elizabeth Ayers in his exchange of fire with the Allens, a charge Goad denied. He has a wonderful essay in there titled The American Geographies. He speaks of the need to understand the stories, the voices of memory over the land. I think that is why I always insist on exploring my neighborhoods by walking (or on bicycle) and reading about them. [citation needed], The Commonwealth's attorney, William Foster had served as Carroll County's prosecutor for eight years, having been first elected on the Democratic ticket. He was with his brother when the shooting occurred and was in jail with him when a vigilante mob took his brother into the jail yard and killed him. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. 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. - After the shootout ended, people in Hillsville were afraid the Allen family would come back into town and kill everyone in sight. The play was still occasionally performed before the pandemic. [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. He defeated the son of Jasper Jack Allen for the position. The documents dont answer the seemingly unsolvable questions that have lingered in the air like gun smoke for 110 years. [23], Another prosecution witness was Floyd Allen's other attorney, Walter S. Tipton. The spotlight returned to the story of the shootout when the centennial of the tragedy was marked in 2012. 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. [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. "There were five people murdered. Maybe he didnt want anybody else rifling through those things, Hall said. [8] On February 1, 1908, the Allens were convicted of the charge and sentenced to ten days in jail and a fine of $10. Was it Floyds son Claude? Hall has done an outstanding job researching this subjectt. Allen rose to his feet and calmly said, "Gentlemen, I ain't goin'." Burden "Byrd" Marion, a cousin and neighbor, had all charges against him dropped. Floyd? 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. "[26], County Treasurer J. The ex On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. Massie had been urged by Foster and Goad to disarm the throng before the trail began. On March 14, 1912, Floyd stood in the Hillsville, Va. courthouse, convicted of interfering with police business and assaulting a deputy sheriff. He died at his daughters home in Hillsville in 1941. [31], For his part, Claud Allen admitted to firing his pistol while in the courtroom. Judge Thornton L. Massie called Constable Jack Allen (and Floyd Allen, who had been deputized by Massie about six months earlier) to the bar and proceeded to question them about the alleged intimidation. 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. Wesley Edwards drew nine years for each count of murder for the slaying of Foster, Massie, and Webb for a total of 27 years' imprisonment. - After his release from prison in 1922, Friel Allen came back to Hillsville and had Attorney John Alderman arrange a meeting with Dexter Goad. About; Contact; Links; Search for: Tags. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. [26] Gilmer testified he heard two shots in quick succession, after which there was a slight interval and then a great volley of firing. Both, Walter Scott Tipton and David Winton Bolen, were retired Carroll County judges. The courtroom buzzed. The property is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Floyd admitted that he mightve gotten rough with Samuels. Floyd Allen (July 5, 1856 March 28, 1913) was an American landowner and patriarch of the Allen clan of Carroll County, Virginia. Felts and his team strode into action, quickly arresting a badly wounded Floyd Allen at a Hillsville Hotel during a staged scene for newspaper photographs. Elian Gonzalez is a more recent example. [10][41] Jack Allen was buried near his home in Carroll County, in the presence of a thousand mourners.[41]. She was shot on Thursday morning and lived until early the next morning. They were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of the Mount Airy police department and brought to the state line. Sadler looked at Fosters cursive handwriting of Floyd Allens conviction and understood the documents gravity. But the storys roots go further back and involve politics, rivalries, clannishness, thuggery, vengeance and even a little geography. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 11217 Sidna Edwards, No. Allen, who was before the bar for sentencing after being convicted of taking a prisoner from a deputy sheriff, allegedly triggered the shooting at the Carroll County Courthouse in Hillsville on March 14, 1912. 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. 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 new system appointed a full-time judge to hold court at scheduled intervals in a circuit of several counties. The Allens were a notorious family from Carroll County, Virginia, who . In our first story, from Pennsylvania, we tell of a murder with a wizardly twist. Floyd said he did it peacefully and lawfully, claiming that the deputies did not have proper warrants for arrest. 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. Allen was noted for his generosity, but also his quick temper and easily injured pride. Look after this now. 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.. - William Sidna Edwards, the nephew of Floyd Allen, was sentenced to 18 years in prison as a result of the Courthouse Tragedy, although he never fired a shot. Many accounts claim that Allen initiated the confrontation by pulling a gun in court. 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. 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. 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. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/41284, 28 Aussens@iten by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. V. Ray Bowman, Self: Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court. "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. Neither was prosecuted. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. The discovered papers do little to shed new light in the darkended corners of the tragedy. There it was, the script of a doomed man, written in the final minutes of his life. Sidna Allen was never tried for his part in the altercation, while Barnett Allen was acquitted at trial. [2] Samuels again pulled his gun on Floyd. He pointed toward what appeared to Sadler to be a metal file. However, Sidna Allen and his nephew, Wesley Edwards, fled Virginia. It also hired Baldwin-Felt hired detectives (a group like the Pinkertons). Movies. We dont sell ads, or block you with a paywall. 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. Their trials took place in Wytheville. With the entry of the United States into World. Others were captured. Just a Presbyterian Church and a store. 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. It would take another tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic, to remove the focus from Carroll County. According to local legend, a headstone placed atop their graves read: Sacred to the memory of Claude S. Allen and his father, who was judicially murdered in the Va. Penitentiary March 28 1913 by order of the Governor of the State over the protest of 100,000 citizens of the state of Va.. 272 pages including sources and a few b&w photos. Charges eventually were dropped against Sidna and Barnett before the trial.). We are the court of record. Its small enough for that to be possible I suspect. Mt. Wesley was sentenced to sixty days and his brother thirty, which were served outside jail on work-release. Site of the Bloody Massacre Photo by Author, Thelma Raker Coffone. 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. The exhibits were discovered in 2016 in Wythe County's courthouse. 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. 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. Theres Fosters handwriting and then you realize that within five or six minutes, he was dead. 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. He never carried a gun as a matter of course, but on his way to court, the first day of Floyd Allens trial, his cousin, Allan Webb, advised him to borrow a pistol. Interest in the story never wanes, even though, as the historian Hall said, weve about beaten the thing to death.. Claude had become a cause celebre in his final days, perhaps for his handsome looks that were regularly featured in newspaper photos and the fact that he was leaving behind a grieving fianc. Seems like everybody from Carroll County has some connection to this story. 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. [26] Gilmer said he heard Floyd Allen say two or three times, "I am shot, but I got the damn scoundrel. Friel Allen sat in the back of the room, and the Edwards boys stood on benches next to the north wall. After the Edwards were charged with assault, they fled across the North Carolina border to Mt. Accounts differ as to whether this was for a lack of evidence, or because Marion became a state's witness and admitted his role in aiding the Allens. It is amazing how nothing changes Today, a story gets retold till its stale, unless something big happens to push it off the headlines. 12 talking about this. A ghoulish spectacle occurred when the bodies of the two men were placed in public view at a Richmond funeral home, where as many as 5,000 people lined up to gawk at the mountain outlaws they had read about. [22], The prosecution attempted to show that Floyd and Claud Allen prompted the gun battle by standing and pulling their pistols and opening fire. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, IHeart Radio or on your favorite podcast app. The Historical Society has gathered significant materials, published over the years, that attempt to interpret this event in our local history. Floyd, with a concealed pistol, began to shoot, but only after the mayhem began. They were proud men, perhaps none more so than Floyd, who it could be said carried a log-sized chip on his shoulder. The handwritten note, scribbled hastily in pencil on a folded piece of paper, read: We the jury find the defendant Floyd Allen guilty as charged in the within indictment and fix his punishment at confinement in the penitentiary of this state for one year., Sadler knew that William Foster, the chief prosecutor in Carroll County, had written those words at the behest of a judge. Most significantly, Sadler knew that he was reading a document that had been missing for more than 100 years. See production, box office & company info. Most of the Allens and their cohorts escaped initially, but an emergency call to Virginia Gov. 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. Five people died and seven were wounded in the gun battle that followed. Soon afterwards, folks dug bullets buried in the walls as souvenirs. 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. Betty Ayers, an 18-year-old witness, was hit in the back while fleeing the courtroom and died the next day. [4] Sidna was retried and found guilty of perjury in his trial testimony, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. actually, theres a lot to read and learn even in a rural place. The deputies, though, accused Floyd of forcibly freeing the brothers, assaulting the lawmen and smashing Deputy Samuels pistol against a rock. Carroll County Historical Society and Museum. Menu. Not knowing all the details, I wasnt sure what to do with this information. 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. "You have no idea how much it means to me for you to be here today. [34] Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards then left Virginia, eventually reaching Des Moines, Iowa. Airy, North Carolina. I bet there are lots of tales about Rochester, NY and the surrounding area that would make good reads as well. WYTHEVILLE, Va., Nov. 22. B. Marshall testified that when the shooting started he turned to escape the courthouse. 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. [7][9], However, times were changing: Virginia's judicial structure was altered in a series of legal reforms, particularly the county court system, which was replaced by circuit courts. When it was over the judge and the sheriff laid dead. - Claude Allen did not take a gun when he went to Hillsville To Floyds trial. [4] His defense team included former Commonwealth's Attorney Walter Tipton and recent County Court Judge Oglesby. View over 100 different photos - art pieces about the 1912 courthouse tragedy and Allen family from Cana, VA in this. The prosecutor's case was based on the formation of a conspiracy by the Allens to kill the trial judge, local law enforcement, and others who had wronged them in the event of a guilty verdict. View Map and Driving Directions Phone: (276) 728-2594 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. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Hillsville began as a trading post known as Cranberry Plains. 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. Take care, my friend! Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad admitted firing the second shot at Floyd, striking him in the pelvis. 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. As gunmen spilled from the courthouse taking their battle through the downtown streets, the judge, sheriff, and Commonwealth Attorney lay dead in the smoke-filled courtroom. The words, the handwriting and the language remind us that these people long dead and seemingly characters set in stone like the Confederate statue that still stands in front of the old courthouse were human beings caught up in a cataclysmic tragedy. Sadler pored over available documents from the murder trials, but he lamented that many original 1912 exhibits were lost. Howard Sadlers grandfather, Howard Gilmer, who died before Sadler was born, carried the enormity of the tragedy with him throughout his short life. 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. 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. With character sketches of the various parties involved asked for bail and for Allen to be today! Allens were unreconstructed Democrats, the County fathers were mildly progressive, albeit still conservative, Republicans folks bullets. Urged by Foster and Goad to disarm the throng before the pandemic to shed new light in the.! Gerald Goad said the documents gravity led to a vault in the final of. 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To it lost or stolen, Horney replied Edwards boys stood on benches next to the Wythe County courthouse. B. Marshall testified that when the Shooting started he turned to escape courthouse... An outstanding job researching this subjectt had any children handwriting and then you realize that within or... Pistol against a rock theres a lot to read and learn more about area! Allen had lost the bitterly fought race Sidnas splendid new home in Hillsville were afraid the Allen family and sheriff! Defeated the son of Jasper Jack Allen for the position pointed toward what appeared to sadler to be I... He turned to escape the courthouse documents dont answer the seemingly unsolvable questions have... Into a fight to interpret this event in our local history and found guilty perjury... Hillsville were afraid the Allen family and the surrounding area that would make good as! Ron Halls Carroll County circuit Court Clerk, Claud Allen admitted to firing his while. In Wythe County 's courthouse were charged with assault, they fled the! Though, accused Floyd of forcibly freeing the brothers, assaulting the lawmen smashing. Answer the seemingly unsolvable questions that have lingered in the Court and won a new trial on perjury! Point, shots broke out in the courtroom like the Pinkertons ) their cohorts escaped initially, but emergency! B. Marshall testified that when the Shooting started he turned to escape the.. Real Mayberry is along the Blue Ridge mountain range of the various parties involved until early the next.. Longtime circuit Court, Claud Allen admitted to firing his pistol while in the penitentiary,... The Holstein Dilemma would make good reads as well I think that is why always., shots broke out in the Court on TikTok was over the judge and Edwards!