The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, January 18, 1923, Image 8
EDMIINI) BIGHAM
STILL WAITING
(Continued From Pa ice One.)
they did not want. I have never received
a penny for my two year's interest
in the home place. 1 had their
note, a joint note, for the amount of
what mv part of the personal property
was, which w.is given to me about
n year and a half after I moved up to
Greenville and began farmirp; up
there. Smilev got into some trouble.
w r> wnc fnv murHftV TV*T ? T?r?cre
dale defended him, and he Rave Mr.
Ragsdale a mortgage of some kind.' I
don't know how much it was. I sold !
the Exum place along in the fall that :
Smiley was tried, and 1 let Smiley
have the money, the amount he was |
owing Mr. Ragsdale. Cleveland got
into trouble in Georgetown. He M as
tried for murder and convicted and
sentenced to serve three years. I
paid Mr. Ragsdale, Cleveland's lawyer,
and Cleveland gave me a mortpave
over his interest in the estate to
secure nie for the money I let him
have, to pay part of it to Mr. Ragsdale;
mama paid part of it. He gave
we a mortgage for that money and
rther little advances. That paper was
renewed every two years, ar.d signed
I'V every one of the family. In 1918
Margery came down to South Georgia.
where I was living, and stayed
^ere and wrote out a copy of that
mortgage, which T had .and brought it
Vack home. It was signed by most of
the family, and some man named
Brown witnessed it. and Smiley probated
it, and it had his seal on it.
Mama brought the paper to me, ana
1 jrave her the old paper which I h.qd.
Q. This is the deed you are talking
about?
A. No, sir; I am talking about
the mortgage.
Along in June, T got a letter from
ynother, she said, 'Come at once,' but
djdn't state what the trouble was in
the letter. I came on the next train.
On Monday afternoon, Smiley, mother
and Margery and myself came up
kere. I had not seen Bogan Cain
Hince he married my sister, and I had
a talk with him. On Monday night I
went back to South Georgia. During
the same week mother wrote me and
told me Smiley's condition; that it
looked like it was getting worse.
Along in July T left Georgia and
drove through, and up to Greenville
and stayed there one week. Mother
wrote, me and told me to come down
th<jre, and I came down here. I stayed
there three or four days or a week.
She told me different things that had
t-V'n ni,Mr?e; ] don't rekon you want
to hear it. I stayed there about a
week, and 1 think I went to South
Georgia and stayed there three or four'
weeks.
I went back up to Greenville and
got my wife and children, and a day
01; two alter I got back from South
Georgia, we drove down here and
staved a week or ten days, and drove
l>ack to Green vile. My mother did not
want us to go, her or Margery either.
<j Inactive ^
< Liver t>
m , m
"I have had trouble with
an inactive liver," wrote Mrs. ?
S. Nichols, of 4412 Spencer ^
St., Houston, Texas. "When ??
<H I would get constipated, I would ?
m *eel a light, dizzy feeling in my
head. To get up in the morning ?>
4H with a lightness in the head and f&
* a trembly feeling is often a sign
that the stomach is out of order, p
For this I took Thedford's ^
Black-Draught, and without a ^
jb doubt can say I have never
41 found its equal in any liver p
m medicine. It not only cleans
4 the liver, but leaves you in such to
41 a good condition. I have used B
it a long time, when food does
W not seem to set well, or the ^
^ stomach is a little sour." 5~
m I U it iin't I ?
4 | Thedfords 1 f
JBLACK-DRAUGHTb
<j~| Liver Medicine. 1 ^
jrrrrr^B
i
I Save High L
U,r n~:?v~.
mjt jL/utiig A u<
Our tools, garage
all Ford owners,
uine Ford parts a
TABOR MOT
TLeonan
Jan 2,r>-23. TABC
s
They said, 'We want you to stay here,'
and stilted the reason that they were
afraid, and told me about sending: for
Mrs. Kitron.
Q. What time did you get the
deed ?
A. We were all in the dining room,
Margery and Smiley were in there,
and they called me in. Smilev said:
'Edmund, you know wty trouble.' He
had already told me about people talking
abou' his tearing out those records.
And he says: 'We will never be
able to pnv you what we justly owe
you. You have been a mighty good
brother to ive; I have never asked
vnu to Ho a thing for me but what
you did it, if it was so you could.' He
| says: 'I feel towards you right now
iust as we did when we used to play
to are Mi pr when we were boys.' He
says: 'You have been with me in Ari
rowsmith's office (which I bad.) 'You
have talked with Bogan Cain about
things T asked you to talk to him
about, and you have told me what he
said. And now vou know t'"?e situation
about as well as I do.' He says:
'V?hat do vou cou-uder this pV>ce and
things worth.' He was sitting at the
table, and he commenced putting- the
values on the lots at Pamplico. I
told him T didn't want them. He be" an
putting- down what he thought
the Kirton wood was worth. He
'said; 'I have talked this thing over,'
and he says: 'That mortgage two
years ago on the 17th of August was
$26,000.00. He says, 'The interest on
that up to now, and the money you
let me have in June when you came
over here, amounts to so much,' and
he says, 'We will be with you just as
soon as you have been with us, and
we will give you .a deed.' Smiley fixed
up that paper; he said he did. He
said Sidney Rittenberg and S. Rittenberg
and someone else and Sam Rittenberg
probated it in Charleston, and
he gave me that and I gave him the
mortgage for SI 1.000.00. The difference
between that $42,000.00 and
the amount of that deed for the $11,000.00,
was the money I let him have
in June, and let him have along during
the fall, to pick his cotton and
other things that he wanted along
during the fall, and the amount of my
interest in the estate.
Q. And that is how the deed came
up?
I A. Yes, sir; that deed stayed in
my trunk until the day T was arrested.
When T came back home 1 went
upstairs and got that deed, and still
the mortgage for $26,000.00 was not
marked paid; it was just like it was
when they gave it to me. I brought
that deed and mortgage up here when
I came. I gave my wife the deed in
I flio lOll AH TTin/lnit ~
I 1.11V juii VII i i ui?,V I 11 >' I 11 I I I K < IIIC I1C.M
morning after I was placed in jail.
I told her to take it and have it recorded
,but 1 never thought of any
government stamps. My wife brought
me back the deed and I had it in jail.
I was searched two or three times for
that deed. At one time T thought Mr.
Rose had found it, hut if he recognized
feeling it he passed it up. They '
went downstairs and searched the
| whole jail. They were hunting- some
letters of Mr. Arrowsmith's. I think.
I too. 1 had them. T got the letter out
of the safe. T told you ahout it, and
you asked me to get the letter. I
didn't tell you where it was, but I
told you I would get it for you, and
you prot the letter. After the coroner's
inquest, they came and searched
me again. I still had the deed, and I
thought Mr. Rose felt it that time,
but, if he did, he passed it up. The
next time my wife came up there, I
gave it to her and told her to take it
and take care of it. That is the last
time T have seen it.
Q. Now, if you know of your own
knowledge, what was Mr. Arrow
smith in rln va'T* U..*
^ w ,, a Vai i ^1 Vt ^ IU Lilclt
matter ?
A. It seems that there was some
friction as to the interest of Mrs.
Cain, my sister that died in November
last.
Q. Did she. or not, have a deed to
the property, or some kind of paper
on it?
A. Thp*0 v,nfi been deeds shifted(
from one to the other between differ-1
ent members of the family down there
to ffet out of paying1 the $1,500 bond
for Cleveland.
Q. Tell what Mr. Arrowsmith was
to do. Was not the deed on record in
favor of Mrs. Cain?
A. 1 don't know whether it was on
record or not, but I do know those papers
were made in Cartersville, written
by Smiley, and probated by H. H.
Harris, and witnessed by Brown Martin.
I think those are the people that
have witnessed it and probated that
paper.
Q. Is it not a fact, as you understand
it, that Mr. Arrowsmith was
employed to clear all of that up?
A. Yes.
Q. Up to the time those people
were killed, was there any satisfactory
settlement as far as you know?
A Nn Smilou "n,v,A ""
?? - . tt wviivt vwiiic w y;
' here and talk to Mr. Arrowsmith, and
he couM scare him about those paabor
Charges I
urOwn Work
and advice free, to
A full line of gennd
auto accesories.
OR COMPANY
is Garagel
>R, NX.
4T
THE HORRY HERALD, OONWAIi
per* taken out of the Clerk's office, '
so he would come home and tell me.
Q. Why did you come home with
your family in the Bighani home ? j
A. I went there because my mother
had written me and told me of Smiley's
condition, and that she was
afraid to stay there with him. That
is the reason Margery left over at
the old place; there was nobody at all .
with mother^ and Smiley, and she
moved over" there so as to be with
her.
Q. Tell me why Mrs. Margery
Black, during; the whole of the week |
before she was killed, said that this i
deed was stolen from her, and that i
she was fearful of her death, and in
the same breath she is now speaking \
from the grave, said, 4I give unto my <
brother, Smiley, the charge of my \
mother, and those two little boys.' ,
Did she do that? i
A. What part of that do you want >
me t? answer? (
Q. Why your sister said that, if ,
there was no trouble between you and N
your sister ?
A. I have got my doubts about her
saying it. I have seen that in the pa- .
per that said it was in the will.
Q. Tt was in the will which was c
read here. r
A. I didn't see it that way. 1 have *
seen it before her death, and didn't
see it that way. 5
Q. Now, Mr. Bigham, a copy of f
the will that your attorney handed me
is certified by Mr. Branson. Your f
sister said: (The Solicitor read th? c
will.) That is what she said. Now. 1
I want to ask vou this: If there was *
no trouble with her, with some one
down there about that land, why
would chp incorporate it in her solemn
will? r
A. There is some land down there
that Smiley bought from Finklea in
Margery's name.
0. But all the land was in her r
name. '
A. It was not.
Q. The deeds show it. Tt could N
not have been possible that Mrs.
Black would have intrusted the affectionate
care of her mother and those
two children and all her property to
L. Smiley Bigham if she was fearful
of her life from L. Smiley Bigham. f
A. That is something I can't an- (
swer. I may tell you that there were
times when Smiley got in one of those '
snells that they would do all he told c
them to do.
Q. But the day she made the will
she walked away from home to make
that will without Smiley, and went to f
Pamplico and got Smiley and bVouprht c
him here and made the will. You
knew that? You knew a will v.as '
made Saturday before her death?
A T enw will
Q. Before her death ? '
A. I saw that will, I think, Tues- '
day night.
Q. After Smiley had gone over to ^
Mrs. Kirton's and come back, you saw
the will? Who showed you the will? (
A. Margery.
O. Where at ? (
Q. When that will was made you I
saw it. and you had in your trunk, at
that t;"ie this deed. '
A. T did.
Q. Why did you keep that deed in
your trunk while these parties were
living and not have presented it for ]
record until they were slain? 1
A. For the same purpose that I t
understand a mortgage has been held
and recorded since thev died. 1
The will of Mrs. Margery B'ack.
which was duly executed on the 8th
dav of January, 1921, contained the
following provisions: i
"I desire that all my debts be paid ]
as soon after my death as may be ex- i
pedient. >
"I give, devise and bequeath all of ^
my property, real, personal and mix- (
ed, in possession or to which T may j
be entitled at the time of my death,
to my brother, L. S. Bigham, in fee \
simple.
"T hereby declare that I signed i
three blank deeds which were stolen i
from my possession and if they are
presented or any of them by any per- i
son claiming any right, that the same j
are fraudulent and null and void. This
will is made in apprehension because i
of the larceny of said blank deeds.
"T do hereby make my brother, T,. '
S. Bigham, the sole executor of this 1
will without bond, and request and
instruct him to make due provision <
and take eflfectionate care of my
I
mother nunncr the remainder or ner
life time and if possible to b|\ve no
nartition of the property dmnnpf her
life that will interfere with her occunancv
of the old home. T want him \
to take care of and educate my adopted
sons, I*o and Mack Black, until
they are of a pre."
Walter Burch testified a<i follows:
"I remember hearintr of the killing:
was at the house Saturday before the
killing.
Q. If anvtlvnnr was said there by
Mrs. Bipham in Edmund's presence, ;
tell it.
A. When T wont there, Mrs. Marker
y and Mrs. Biprham were at the
door.
Q. Where was Edmund ?
A. He was in the kitchen. He hart
not come out. He heard them talking,
and he came out. They told me
to pro to Pamplico and j?et Mr. Hose
Q. Who told you?
A. Mrs. Biprham and Mrs. Marfferv.
Q. Mrs. Margery and Mrs. Biprham
were talking, and Edmund came
to where they were?
A. He came out when they left.
Q. What did Mrs. Biprham say to
you ? What did she ask you to do ?
A. To pro to Pamplico and p-et Mr'
Hose; that they were about to he ki'i
ed. And Edmund came to the doo
and asked me wasn't I olive* and 1
said, 'Yes,' and he asked me didn't f
want to live, and I said, 'Yes,' and he
said if T had anything to do with it he
was going: to kill me; and I jumped cn
my horse and went home.
Q. What was their condition?
Were they laughing?
i A. No, they were not Laughing.
r, S. C, JAN. 18, 1923
rhey were talking.
Q. What were they talking about?
A. I didn't hear anything more
said.
Q. Mrs. Bigham asked you to go
to Pamplico to get Mr. Rose. Who is
Mr. Rose ?Is he an officer?
A. He is a police.
Q. What did Mrs. Bigham say she
wanted you to get him for?
A. She said she wanted him to
come after him."
Charles Gordon testified as follows:
"I remember the Saturday of the
killing; also, the Staurday before that,
the 8th of January. I was in the
woods that morning cutting wood. I
was in the woods on the Saturday before
the killing; went there to cut
wood. They settled with me for cutling
wood on Saturdays. Edmund
was in the woods that morning; it
was in the morning. No one came
,vith him that morninsr. His oldest
laughter came to him while iu the
A-oods. I didn't hear anything-; he
vas a good piece from me. She told
lim something. When she came 1
;here, she asked me Had I seen Dad
>ut there anywhere. She went to her :
'ather to the house to see him be ause
he hadn't paid me. I heard a <
nighty hollering at the house when I j
rot there. ]
Q. When you got to the house,
itate what you saw, and what was i
lone, if anything.
A. When I got to the house I sat <
lown in front of the house on a pile
?f lumber while the hollering was gong
on in the house. I didn't see the
uss. I just heard the hollering. <
Q. Who was hollering?
A. Mrs. Margery Black. '
Q. Who was in the house with
ler ?
A. Mr. Edmund Bigham.
Q. Where was Mrs. Bigham? i
A. Standing between the house
md the smokehouse crying, her and
ier two little children.
Q. Edmund and Mrs. Margoi y
\ere in the house?
A. Yes.
Q. Mrs. Margery hollering?
A. Yes,
0. What happ^urd after lH.it ?
A. Then vet s!i.?rHy af?p*' she
iuit hollering and .'be crnv.e rum ir g
>mc of the hou*o. ,
Q. When she came out of the
louse, did you see Edmund come out
>f the house?
A. Yes.
Q. Right behind her?
A. Yes, he came on the road ana
rot in his car and drove to Pampli;o."
Herbert Foxwith testified as folows:
"I remember the day of the killng.
T was at the house the Satur- (
lav before that. When I was comng
up from home, and when T got
in the hi'l there, Mrs. Mar pre ry was
va^bino- her face on the back piazza,
md Edmund was standing there sort
if sideways with a piece of board
lbout four feet long:, and sort of
1 rawn Hack. I went on the ' lumber
jile and sat down.
Q. What did you hear in the
louse ?
A. Hollering.
Q. Who was hollering?
A. Mrs. Margery: and in about CO
minutes, Mrs. Margery came out of
the house running and went on down
;he road.
Q. Who came ouf of the house belind
her? ?
A. Mr. Edmund.
Q. What did he do?
A. He came out there and asked
ne did T want to go to Pamplico, arid
lim a?d me got in the car and went
:o Pamplico. We passed Mrs. Margery
on the road, most to the house
where Mrs. Copeland lives. Edmund
iid not say anything to her whan he
passed.
Q. Where was Mrs. Bigham at
;hat time?
A. She was behind coming; she
was walking. The two little boys
*rere with her.
Q. Who was at the lumber pile
kvhen he came out on the lumber
pile?
A. Me and Charlie Gordon and
Walter Miller.
Where was Mrs. Bigham when you
heard the crying or hollering in the
house?
A. She was standing between the
smokehouse and the kitchen.
Q. What was she doing?
A. Crying:.
Q. Wh? was with her?
A. The two little boys. - /
Q. At that time she was out at
the smokehouse crying, with the two
little boys?
A. Yes.
Q. And in the house?
A. Was hollering.
Q. And after the hollering Mrs.
Black came out?
A. Yes.
Q. What was her appearance when I
she came out? How did she look?
A. Looked like she had been crying,
but had stopped then. She came
^>ut of the front door and started
down the road.
Q. Who followed her?
A. Edmund came out of the house.
A 111 af +ltn oqivia ^
v^< vy ut vi ti iv oaiiic viv/v; a
A. Yes.
Q. He didn't go down the road?
A. Yes, he went down to where
his car was.
Q. He asked you if you wanted to
sfo to Pamplico?
A. Yes.
Q. And you passed Mrs. Margery
->n the road?
A. Yes.
Q. And he didn't say anything to
her?
A. No."
We come now to the last chapter of
his trapedy, to wit, the facts surrounding
the murders on the day they
were committed. What has already
been shown by the testimony renders
it unnecessary that they should be
stated in detail.
On the 15th day of January, 1921
the defendant went to the woods
where hands were cutting wood, about
a mile from the Bigham home, after
breakfast; and shortly thereafter
Smiley Bigham arrived accompanied
by Andrew Singletary, a trusted servant,
whom Smiley's mother had requested
to go* with him on account of
the fear that he would be killed. The
defendant and Smiley were in the
woods after all the hands had left.
The defendant testified that he and
Smiley both went home; but no one
except the defendant, his wife, and
daughter testified that they saw him.
Other witnesses, testified, however,
that they saw and recognized the defendant
when he came> out of the
woods (Which were about 50 yards
from the house), about an hour before
the murders. The defendant went
directly to the house and there remained
until he. his wife, and two
daughters went to the home of one of |
the employees to give him some in-'
fctructions about the hauling of the
wood. The defendant testified that he 1
and his Camily returned home in 15'
or 20 minutes, and were the first to
discover the condition of his mother.
The defendant, his wife. daughter
testified that they saw Shiiley goinir
into thi* woorl<?. hut rrniM not vi?ll
whether he had a pistol in his hand;
and that his mother said to him; .when
he went to her assistance, that Smilev
had killed her, and expired as soon as
they carried her to the house from
the walkway in front of the house.
When Smiley was found dead next
day in the woods about 425 yards
from the house, the pistol which he
was gasping in his hand belonged to
the defendant, who also owned another
pistol of similar size and m/ike.
Both his mother and Mrs. Black, likewise
owned pistols.
Thus it will be seen why his conviction
had to stand.
Edmund's brother Smiley was not
an angel, neither was his brother.
Cleveland, who had his career also
and got convicted. When Smiley escaped
the death penalty or the State
pen for the mutilation of the negro,
the law missed a victim that it no
doubt wanted, under lawful circumstances
of that case.
In the meantime, the people of the
whole State are awaiting with great
interest the final order of the Supreme
Court in this celebrated criminal
case.
HERALDGOES
OWN MFRTTS
V/ T T JL 1 illl JXfl *.
The Horry Herald wants it understood
for once and for all that it is
not offering to club itself with any
other paper, or papers, of any kind
or nature?never again, and under no
circumstances.
The Herald will hereafter stand on
its own merits.
Several times in the pfcist The Her?
? t ? X* y ^
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The profit from your cowj
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Happy Cow Feed is made by Ed]
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A. T. COLLINS
Conway, S. C
\
MOTHER! MOVE
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aid lias* been misguided in trying to
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the people interested in taking that
paper along with The Herald.
On one occasion The Herald took
up a certain agricultural paper and
offered the agricultural paper Absolutely
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This we found to be a mistake. We
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Yes, sir, The Horry Herald will
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We find that the subscribers of
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We intend to let them alone in
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o '
Let The Herald do the job.
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