The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, January 25, 1923, Image 1
*
volume macro
TWO FARMERS
ARE NO MORE
uase of Homicide and Suicide
Near Galivants
Ferry
TOM JOHNSON^LEO MARTIN
Coroner L. W. Cooper Holds
an Inquest Over Remains
of Two
Galivants Ferry township, near
Rehoboth, waa the scene of an awful
tragedy about eight o'clock last
Thursday night. Leo Martin, a
farmer, struck Tom Johnson over
the head as he tried to enter his
home and was then shot by Johnson.
Johnson then went out in the front
yard, near the road, and turned the
gun on himself, inflicting wounds in
both cases which resulted in the
deaths of "both about three o'clock on
Friday morning.
Several days . before Johnson's
wife had left him, and was then
staying at the Ihome of Martin. The
two men were brothers-in-law.
Johnson's wife appeared to be in
mortal dread of her husband. Johnson
went to jthe Martin house, ar
rived just after dark last Thursday
night. He tried to get in the house
where his wife was and Martin tried
to prevent him from entering the
room. In the course of this difficulty
Martin struck Johnson a blow.
When Johnson was struck by Martin,
Johnson shot Martin down. Later.
in front of the home, Johnson
shot himself.
In the course of the trouble Johnson's
wife slipped out at the brrck
dour and hid under the house. When
both men were fchot down, Martin's
wife, with her one child, left the
house and went to that of a neighbor.
Johnson's wife, under the
hou.5e, remained there for about an
hour. She could hear the groans
and struggles of two men, .tooth of
whom were in death throes following
the wounds that had been infr-ted.
She remained in this fcrying
position until neighbors came in
and informed her that Johnson was
(lying and could not injure her.
Mrs. Johnson stated, it is said
that some days before this, while she
was in her husband's .home, that he
had told her that she had to stay at
home and strictly under his control,
and quit running about, (or words to
that effect, and had fired off his
pistol twice in the house; and had
made threats which frightened her
to such an extent that she left.
Thomas Johnson, was a son of
Frank Johnson, of Gallivants Ferry
township. Leo Martin is a son of
M anassa Martin. It is reported that
these men had been the best of
friends; that Martin was one of the
best friends Johnson had.
Each of the men seemed to suffer
their final agonies in about the
same way and they lingered, one inside
of the house, the other out in
the yard or road, and both expired
at about the same time.
As soon as the news of the double
killing reached Coroner L. W. Coop- <
er, he left early on Friday frnorning
and held an inquest in the case.
Upon arriving at the place the
jurymen were drawn fes follows:
V. D. Johnson, Foreman, i
Kelly McCracken,
Neil McCracken, \
Harvey Collins,
Leneau Collins,
Robert Barnhill.
After hearing the testimony as .
hereinafter "reported, and viewing \
the bodies of the two men, they j
brought in a verdict reading: "Leo- .
Martin came to his death at the ^
hands of Tom Johnson, an** *hat Tom, ,
Johnson came to his death by gun- \
shot wounds inflicted by his own
hand." ,
Following is the testimony as
taken:
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
COUNTY OF HORRY.
Court of Coroner
The State*vs. The dead bodies of j
Thos. Johnson and Leo Martin.
Inquisition taken this 19th day of i
January, 1923, by L. W. Cooper,
Coroner.
JURY SWORN
V. D. Johnson, Foreman,
Kelly jMcCracken,
Neill McCracken,
Hai'vey Collins,
Robert Barnhill.
Wade Richardson, sworn, says: [
I went to Thomas Johnson's about
7 o'clock. Tom told me to come J
back and tell his ^vife to take good
men and go over there Monday J
with her, and get her things. 1
came on and told her \and about that
time Tom came up. He went in the
hou?e of Leo Martin and shot once.
I ran to the woods and that is all I
know. I heard the pistol fire twice.
Tl.rv Mvat tiiYif* hp shnt. I wns in '
Leo's yard and the second \time I
was on my way home, a hundred
yards away. <
(Signed)
his
WADE X RICHARDSON
mark
Boyd Martin, sworn, says:
"I came over to talk with my brother,
Leo, after supper, on the 18th,
not knowing he was gone anywhere.
He was gone to his father's I sup(Continued
on Back Pagd.)
H. W. AMBROSE
IN ACCIDENT
Jury Clears Him <of Killing
Young Boy on A
Bicycle
D ? -A _ 11. ?
jwpuns were circulated in Uonway
last Thursday to the effect that Mr. I
H. W. Ambrose, driving his car, in
company with Mrs. Ambrose, through
the town of Darlington, accidently
struck a twelve-year-old boy who died
from the injury almost instantly.
They had reached Darlington on
this trip and were driving along the
street when this child, without warning
of its intention, ran a bicycle into
the street directly in front of the
moving machine; that brakes were applied
as quickly as possible and the
car stopped, but the heavy wheels ran
against and over the body of the boy
and resulted in severe injuries, among
them a broken neck and crushed
chest.
The news reached Conway, it is
said, by means of a telegram from
Mr. Ambrose to employees of the
Conway Lumber Company, of which
Mr. Ambrose is the superintendent.
According to the report the authorities
of the town took hold of the matter
and an inquest was held. Very*
few of the particulars concerning the
accident could be obtained under the
circumstances, as the party, it was
said, would not return until Saturday,
so that about the only news that came
here during Last week was the brief
telegram sent bv Mr. Ambrose.
Next day the Daily Record contained
the following account under a Darlimrt.on
datp
"Stanley Johnson, 13 year-old son
of Henry Johnson, was run over yesterday
afternoon by an auto driven
by H. W. Ambrose, of Conway, and
almost instantly killed. The boy was
riding: .a bicycle when the accident occurred.
Mr. Ambrose stopped his car immediately
after the accident and
stayed for the inquest. The jury after
hearing: the evidence, exonerated
him of all blame and released him.
The boy's chest was mashed in and
his nfcck was broken. Dr. J. W.
Willcox was immediately summoned
but life was extinct when he Arrived."
AMBROSE'S CASE
HELD ACCIDENT
Official Record of The Proceedings
of Coroner's
Inquest
BICYCLE AND AUTOMOBILE
Trying to Avoid Congested
Traffic on Two Sides
At Once
The official record of J. H. Kelly,
coroner of Darlington county, holding
an inquest concerning the death of
Stanley Johnson, who was killed in a
collision between the bicycle which
the boy was riding and the car driven
by Mr. H. W. Ambrose, on January
17th, on the streets of Darlington,
shows- that the accident was unavoidable.
The record of the witnesses and
their testimony follows:
Testimony of Gaily Lofton.
"I was coming from up town and 1
was going to turn down Washington
street and the other man with his
car was going straight on and he
knocked my left front hub cap off
and then he went on and run over
the boy who was coming down the
street on his wheel. I was going ten
w twelve miles an hour,
; "EALLY LOFTON."
Testimony of Mrs. H. W. Ambrose.
"Wfi were coming along and a car
was on the left which we were passing.
This boy was coming on a bicycle
on the right side of the curb.
His bicycle was wavering and he
came iright in front of our car. Mr.
Ambrose turned- to the left to pass
the car i
' "MRS. H. W. AMBROSE."
Testimony of Mr. H. W. Ambrose.
"I was coming down the street on
the left side, driving 12 to 15 miles
an hour, along with a Ford car, and
I swung to the left to clear the car.
I saw the boy coming down the street
and I was turning my car to the right
trying to avoid hitting the boy. I
dragged my car for about twenty
Feet after applying my brakes and my
car was almost stopped when I hit
the boy.
"W. H. AMBROSE."
Testimony -of Dr. J. W. Willcox.
"I examined the dead body of Stanley
Johnson. His neck was broken
and right side of his chest crushed
Dr. J. W. WILLCOX."
The iurvmen who passed on the
case were: A. T. Shearin, foreman; J.
S. Melton, W. A. Hatchell, W. B.
Bailey. H. T. Brown, and D. E. McElveen
Their verdict was found as follows:
"Stanley Johnson came' to his death
by accident, result of a collision between
his bicycle and a car driven by
Mr. H. W. Ambrose."
An account of this accident appears
in another article in this issue of The
Horry Herald .
CONWAY, S. 0., THURSDAY,
*****************?*******4H
if
jj START WITH
11 ???
\\ Many tobacco growers
J [ for the tobacco plant beds,
a now germinating in the 4
" quite so advanced in their
!! getting the bed planted or
;; The importance of this
;; a successful tobacco crop ca
* Not only is it important
\\ thoroughly and in the best
J J of good fertilizer, but it is
;j bed the best attention fron
^ A i_ i_ 1
* /\ix,er getting gooa se
" plant bed, this labor may
\\ light snow, even after the
\\ from the ground. It is the
>< plant bed in mind at all til
it with something more si
* tobacco canvas when the s
% " it\\
Get a good start On tl
* raised in Horry by obtaini
* setting out the land. It wil
% success for the Horry grow
*
*
GROWERS WILL
RECEIVE MORE
This Will Come About February
15th, 1923, Says
Report
ABOUT KENTUC'Y GROWERS
Tobacco Brought More in December
1922 Than in
Same time of '21
The Tobacco Growers' Co-operative
Association will make a third cash
payment to its many thousand members
in South Carolina and the border
counties on or about February 15th.
This announcement was made by the
directors of the big tobacco co-operaf
i l ?r\ im f K/\* ? ^v? 1 >. A. - ? ? ' ' - 1
vi 111 liicii iimiiiiii v meeting neiu at
Richmond, Va., this week and followed
the announcement of the disbursement
of another $7,000,000 to the organized
tobacco farmers of the old
bright belt of North Carolina and
Virginia, to be made next Monday,
January 22nd.
Over 124,000.000 pounds of tobacco
have been delivered to the co-operative
warehouses and the tri-state association
has already passed the total
deliveries made to the Burlev Growers'
Association, of Kentucky, in its
first successful year of operation, with
last week's receipts of over 6,500,000
pounds by co-operative warehouses in
Virginia and North Carolina.
In addition to practically doubling
the price for tobbacco in South Carolina
during the first year of co-operative
marketing, twenty-seven million
dollars increased profits will be gained
by tobacco growers of North Carolina
this year, according to the Bureau
of Crop Estimates, in that state.
President George A. Norwood, of the
Tobacco Growers' Co-operative Association,
han pointed out that this gain
is largely due to the orderly marketing
of the crop by co-operative organization,
for in the face of 54 milmion
pounds increase in production,
tobacco was bringing 4 cents more in
December, 1922, than in December,
1021, and 11 cents more per pound
than in 1920.
As the organized Kentucky growers
enter their second year of co-operative
marketing, they have raised their
first advances from 8 cents to 10%
cents per pound. A careful count of
contracts at headquarters of the Tobacco
Growers' Co-operative Association,
in Raleigh, reveals the fact that
the membership has passed well beyond
the 85,000 mark, and directors of
the association predict that the new
membership campaign, which has
^started in South Carolina, will result
in a total of 100,000 members for the
association before the Carolina and
Virginia growers begin their second
year of marketing through their association.
o
SANDERS LOSES i
NEW DRY KILNS
J. J. Senders, operating a saw mill
at the Shelley Siding, between Conway
and Aynor, had a severe loss by fire
last Friday afternon about 4 o'clock.
His new dry kiln caught on fire from,
it is supposed, a broken joint in the
system so that the flames got through
lumber that was in it at the timed
entailed a loss of about $1,000.00.
He had been running this equipment
for the pflst three weeks, the
equipment for drying- the lumber beinp:
new. The dry kiln was the kind
that operates on the same nrincinle
m *. " "
as the tobacco barn. Heat was applied
by means of a hot fire in a furnace.
The fire was caused no doubt
by the breaking of a joint in the fae
system, and the building with the
lumber that was in it at the time
And attacked the dry pieces of* lumber.
I
i Pi
JAWUARY 26, 1923
*************************** '
GOOD PLANTS I
s t
fiave burned off the places l\ I
and planted the tiny seeds \\
soil. Others have not been J|
operations and are just now ?
ready to plant. **
\ first step in the raising of i
innot be impressed too much. \\ *
to prepare the land very a
way, using the right amount
necessary to give the plant \\ i
i now onward. \\ *
eds and preparing a good j| *
be lost by a heavy frost or j
i little plants have come up l\ c
refore necessary to keep the \\ *
mes and be ready to protect \\ 1
lbstantial than the ordinary ?
tate of the weather requires *
*
* \
lie biggest tobacco crop ever % I
ng large healthy plants for * t
11 be one step on the road to * t
rers this year. 1 % e
a
, , , - .. . : s
THOMPSON WINS s
THE BELL CASE 1
V
I,
Details of the Trial on Circuit *
Before Judge I
Memmenger t
BELL WON ON CIRCUIT \
Supreme Court, as Reported \
Here, Dismissed Bell's *
Complaint ^
\
I*
M. B. Thompson and his wife, Mrs. t
Carrie Thompson, the defendants in a
case brought against them by O. J. r
Bell, have won a complete victory in
the Supreme Court of the State, that |
tribunal having reversed the decision
of Judge Memmenger, which was ad- J
verse to them, and dismissing the v
complaint brought by Mr. Bell. ^
The action was commenced by O. J. c
Bell in the early part of 1920 against s
the defendants, Thompson and his \
wife, alleging in substance that he c
had purchased from Thompson his ^
home place at Wampee, S. C., which j
he .alleged consisted of the J. V. Jones j
place and also the farm known as the 0
Jake Floyd place, the two places for
years having adjoined each other and v
used by the Thompsons in farming.
He also alleged that after he had
agreed to buy this land that Mr. f
Thompson had given him a deed s
which covered only the J. V. Jones
place, and the object of his action }
was to compel them to give him all T
the lands which he claimed he had I <2
bought. It develoDed at thr? t.rinl tVuit li
years ago M. B. Thompson had made j,
a deed to Mrs. Thompson for the Jake jj
Floyd place and that after that a s
separate account had been kept on |
his books at the store of all the crops
and especially cotton that had been
raised on his wife's place but this
deed to his wife was not recorded by *
her until about the time that this land
deal had been made. The proof .at the ?
trial, which consisted of plats of the ''
two places showed that the J. V. Jones ,
place ran out to the public road in ^
front of the residence of the plaintiff,
Mr. O. J. Bell, while the Jake Floyd 0
place lay back some distance from }
this public road but that the Floyd *
place joined the Jones land out back. ?
The case hinged on the construction
and effect of a receipt which was n
passed from Thompson to Bell when j,
the land deal was consummated at e
Warn pee, on January 24 th, 1920, and
this receipt read as follows: t
"Jan. 24, 1920 tl
Received from O. J. Bell Twenty e
Dollars on my home place at Wampee, v
S. 0., balance $6,980.00 to be paid on o
delivery of title to said property with- s<
in 10 days from date. This sale in- n
eludes the old store lot. ii
I am to retain and use the buildings u
until Jan. 1st, 1921. s
M. B. Thompson." h
The answer of the defendant, M. p
B. Thompson, denies the allegations
of the complaint and alleged in sub- g
stance that he sold to O. J. Bell the f
twenty-five (25) acre tract only, v.
known as the J. V. Jones land, on?ei
which tract the defendant had his a
home and that the contract of sale P
did not cover the tract of eighty-five ti
(85) acres, more or less, known as d
the Jake Floyd place, and he had o
complied with the contract by convey- tl
ing to the plaintiff the Jones tract of p
twenty-five acres. c
The defendant, Carrie E. Thomp- tl
son, answered and set up her claim tl
of title to the Jake Floyd tract." a
At the trial on circuit, before .Tndoe n
R. Withers Memmenger, numerous I)
witnesses were sworn by the opposing s
sides. There was an array of counsel t<
engaged in the case. The plaintiff, O. t
J. Boll, w.qs represented by Robert r
B. Scarborough, Norton & Raker and ii
Shorwood & McMillan; the defendants
M. B. Thompson, et al., by W. F. o
Stackhouse and H. H. Woodward. S
The trial in the lower couufc was i
very tedious. The court and members h
of the bar got tired out with the de- t
/
WARRANT FOR
W. A. MARTIN
Charges the Making and Hav!
ing of Whiskey by
Defendant
Some time ago accounts appeared
n this paper concerning the arrest
tnd trial of W. A. Martin in Dogwood
^eck township on charges of stilling
md selling whiskey.
About the last thing that wxis pubished
was an account of a premilinary
tearing before the magistrate in that
ownship after the case had been coninued
once, and how the witnesses
n the case had beeu confined by the
:ourt to a particular date and were
lot allowed to Rive the facts which
hey might know about the violation
if the law at some other date and at
>ther places and times.
Martin was dismissed as soon as the
witnesses had been examined in this
>erfunctorv wAy.
It is now stated that Martin did not
arry in that part of the country afer
his preliminary hearing: but movd
as soon as he could to some other
>lace and at last accounts his whereabouts
could not be ascertained when
oaking inquiry as to the possibility of
erving a new warrant on him for the
ame offense.
Mixed up with Martin in the whis:ey
stilling affair is the negro. Jack
Jereen. Last year when the still,
vhich figures in the negro's case was
Dcated, it was alleged that this negro
vas at the still getting it ready to
un off a charge. The negro protestd
his innocence of any ownership in
he still and stated that he had been
isked or hired by the white man,
ifartin, to get the wood ready while
le, Martin, went off to attend to other
natters and that soon he, Martin,
vould return to the still and run off
he charge into "monkey rum." But
lartin never returned and the rural
>olice ran up on the still and found
fereen engaged in getting the thing
eady, possibly, it was claimed that
he still had been fired up in further
reparation for running off the liquor.
Since Martin ran away from those
arts, the testimony needed to arrest
lim on the charge of violation of the
>rohibition laws has been found. A
lumber of men have been found whn
vill testify, according to reports, that
Martin tried to get them to dispose
>f some of the output for him, and
till another will tell that he saw Marin
with some of the whiskey and was
>fTered a drink from this that he saw.
nd this last incident took place on
Friday before the rural police c.aught
^\ck Vereen at the still in question
m Monday, July 3rd, 1022.
A new warrant has been prepared
with the names of these as witnesses,
ind this warrant will he lodged with
he proper authorities within the next
ew days to he served on Martin as
oon as he c.an he located.
In the meantime the negro will have
lis trial come up, no doubt at the
text term of the court of General
lessions. He will tell the whole
ruth about the matter when his case
s called. He will show that he was
ed into trouble by a white man who
hould have known better than to vioate
the law and induce this old man
o help him in it.
ails before the trial was closod near
he very end of the court week. On
>ne of the davs while this trial was
i) nrogress, it wi'l be recalled that
hero was a public meeting of some
ind hold at the court house and this
vas followed by a ball game. The
ourt moved into one of the iury
ooms and continued the hearing there
ut the noise of the game and other
xercises caused some confusion in
he proceedings. ,
The testimony covered all the varius
phases of the transaction include
ig the previous negotiations and the
fTorts to get the deal closed after
he first payment had been made and
he receipt in the case given. After
he reecipt had been given, it appeared
that M. B. Thompson decided he
-anted to recant the trade on account
f objections raised by Mrs. Thomp- <
on. He, at one time offered Bell as i
luch as $500.00 to trade back and not ?
nsist on having his deed; but Bell
rould not do this unless he would <
ign a contract to compel a sale to '
iniseif in case the lands should '
ver be sold after that, etc.
The deal was finally closed in the 1
rocery store of the Conway Bargain '
rouse on Laurel street. The deed J
fas prepared by an attorney employ- 1
tl by the defendant for that purpose J
nd this deed covered the J. V. Jones '
lace in accordance with the con'struc- j
ion of the receipt on the part of the '
efendants. A check was passed {
trni? f a /*ai l nf av f V> r* KolonnD af f
> v.- I 11 ic vi i i iv t n>i tuv Mdiunvv vi
lie purchase money and the deed was j
assed back at the same time, ac- '
ording to the testimony. At first <
here was no trouble, A little later J
hat same day, Mr. Hell read his deed '
nd then claimed that this deed did J
ot cover as much land as he had
ought. He attempted to get Thomp- *
on to change it when some words
[>ok place .and this ended the ne^o- '
iations between the parties. The
est of the matter was threshed out
i court.
The Herald has made an effort to
htain a copy of the decision of the
Supreme Court so as to publish this
n full, but at this writing the copy
as not come to hand. The news of
he decision came to Conway by
^ ^ I -UllW If " % >%
N0 40
STORIES RIFE, ' .
ABOUT BEATING
William Collins, Small Shop
Keeper, Beaten by
Hooded Band
PROMISES ~~TO REFORM
Band Failed to Get a Negro
Woman Wanted at
Same Time
Stories were rife here the latter
part of the week concerning the reported
beating of William Collins, &
small shop keeper, near the corporate
limits of the town of Mullins, by a
hooded band, after he had been taken
away from his shop and into the
woods of the river swamp.
Short reports of the incident appeared
in the daily papers of last
Thursday. The full particulars of the
whipping were brought to Conway by
several who had been in or near Mullins
at the time of the occurrence.
It appears that Collins had been
warned to the effect that he must
change his habits of life. For many
years he had been separated from
his wife, and all efforts at a reconciliation
between him and her had
failed.
At the same time that Collins was
taken out a negro woman of the nearby
section was looked for and a negro
woman was taken along with the
crowd. After arriving in the woods
near where the flogging was to take
place, it was discovered that they had
the wrong negro woman and she was
released.
Going on with Collins, at a lonely
spot in the woods, a part of his clothes
were removed and a severe lashing
administerd. He was then warned
again as to the course of conduct he
must adopt in regard to his moral
conduct and turned loose.
Upon arriving back at his shop, he
was called on for a statement
of the alTair. He was perfectly willing
to talk. He said that he did not
have any ill will against anybody, that
he had been doing wrong and that he
would reform; that he had made terms
with his better half and had eaten a
meal with her that morning for the
first time in many years.
The man was arrested by two or
three men who went into his store
unmasked. These were all strangers
to Collins. He said that he could not
identify a single one of his assailants;
that a band of quite a number in
cars had awaited out in the road, all
in white masks, while the three unmasked
strangers came into the store
and inquired for him. He said that he
did not make any resistence neither
did his son-in-law, a man by the name
of Rogers, who was in the store at
the time the three strangers came in;
that hp. Collins, went into a haclc
room and there awaited developments
as he had been warned by some of
the men by note or word of mouth
before that when these men appeared
he suspected that they were after him
again.
He was taken by the three who first
went in the store, giving1 him no time
to draw a weapon on them, .and forced
to get into a car waiting out in
front. He was blindfolded before
leaving the store.
ROWELL KILLS
SELF IN JAIL
(Sumter County Fla. Times.)
Marvin Uowell, age 38, hung himself
in jail Saturday night by strangling
himself with a sheet tied to the
bars. He had been drinking and
brooded over trouble until his mind
had become unbalanced. Burial at
Webster Sunday, largly attended.
His History.
Marvin W. Rowell was born in Horry
County, S. C., May 3rd, 1885. He
tin fU Itio nnt?Awf c? r* f ^
IIICVI nun lUfi puiciiio on IIIC 1UI III Ulltll
he was about twenty-three yeara
aid. He enlisted with the U. S. Army
at the ape of twenty-four at Fort
Slocum, N. Y., on the 14th day -of
December. 1909, and served a term
r>f three years, after which time he
was honorably discharged at Plattsl)urg,
on the 18th of December, 1912.
He served in Company E. 5th Infantry.
His physical condition .at the
time of his discharge was poor. He
reenlisted again on the 24th day of
December, 1912, at Plattsburg, N. Y.,
vith his same company and served in
Company E., 5th Infantry until December
31st, 1915, when he was furoughed
to reserve. He was called
igain to serve on the Mexican border
)n the 7th of August, 1916, and served
in Company F.t of the 37th Infantry,
being made a corporal on September
22nd, 1917, and served in this
office until December 23rd, 1919, when
le was honorably discharged at Mar
Fa, Tex. He veenlisted again at Fort
Tex. He reenlisted again at Fort
Oglethorpe, Ga., on the 28th of March,
1920, and served a period of seven
months in the Hawaiian Islands, when
he received his final honorable discontinued
On Back Page.)
means of a card from the clerk of the
Supreme Court, and the same in substance
appeared in the daily papers
late last week. u.
The decision in full will appeal' aa
soon as the copy of it can be obtained.
* * ^ * v - \.