The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, February 08, 1923, Image 1
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VOLUME XXXvn 1
ff?i?
CONWAY STORY
BACK IN 1864
The Leading Men and Where
They Lived Their
Lives
WOMEN RAIDERS IN WAR
Facts Written in Three Chapters
as Told by One Who
Remembers
AV.V.VV/AV.'.W.V.VASV.'."
; Hei e is a story of Conway,
v.Thich begins in the spring of S
J" 1864, and ends in the following J
I year when the Civil War ended. J
! The facts stated in it are giv- J[
' f/\ At? K?* n T \A7 r% H r% il
^1 c11 wu uic ui nci u v u. u tt ji
" who came to Conway as a boy J"
J in the spring of 18G4, with his "J
JJ? father, Everette Watts, the lat- I"
J ter having been appointed to "J
? the position of jailer of the "
Jj county. The family occupied
I the old jail which was located
! in the exact spot where the
J Grace Hotel now stands.
CHAPTER II
What Women Raiders Came to
Conwayhorou /?h
Tt was hard times in Horry County
in the spring of 180)4, and lasting
through many years after that, especially
during the latter part of 1804,
and throughout the following year
dining which the war ended.
The conditions brought about by the
boll weevils at the present time cannot
compare with the conditions of
that time; neither can the conditions
which prevailed years afterward when
the price of cotton went down to five
and six cents the pound.
The men were in the army of the
Confederacy and had been there for
some time. They had left their little
tn.'^s and cructe log caoin nomes in
tV"? hands of the women and children.
Women and children can do a whole
lot of work, but they cannot raise
bread like the men. While the husbands,
fathers and sweethearts fought
the battles of the lost cause, the dear
little women did the best that they
could, and that best was not very
much. When it became necessary to
make raids in order to get something
to feed hungry stomachs they were
eo 'ol to the occasion as we will presently
show.
This place had no transportation
facilities worth mentioning at that
tir-p. The few stores were supplied
with goods that were brought up from
Georgetown on lighters and flats. The
flats were propelled by paddles and
poles, with at times a change to oars
made out of oak o"r long leaf pine.
There was no good way of protecting
the goods such as cloth and notions
on the trips up the river so that very
often the stocks for the stores were
damaged goods to start with. A story
is told of how one merchant, even in
later years, had a lot of more than an
acre covered with cheap calico and
homespun hanging out to dry after it
had arrived at the town on one of
th^se flats.
Most of the cloth used by the people
was manufactured at home, of
course, using the old spinning wheel
and homemade loom. It was in this
cloth that most of the people dressed.
They also wore shoes that were made
at home. Some manufactured things
came in by means of the flats and
such things were prized more highly
than they are today.
Main Street was one large sand
bed. In it, near the center, extending
from the Peoples National Bank corner
to the F. C. Todd corner, grew
long leaf pine trees. There were
three very large long leaf pines still
left at the time of which we write
(Continued On Back Page.)
CAUSES A STIR
DOWN IN BUCKS
It is reported here that the leaving
of notes signed K. K. K. at the
homes of a number of people down
in Bucks township, near Toddville,
and in the section extending from
that point toward Bucksport, has
MIK'Ofl MA liffitt of IH n ?v\ ~ IUa
v.. Iiv Iivvn.. nwi UillUll^ kllC pu[lll*
lation, especially some of the negroes.
Some of those who were apparently
without work went to hunting jobs
and are now apparently busy as the
reports say.
One of the colored residents of that
community was in Conway recently
and said that this matter had caused
no little fear in the miiids of some,
but that it did not affect him as he
had plenty of work to do, attended to
his own business, and was making an
lv c iiving by working his little
farm and making good crops. Others
it appeared were endeavoring to
change their habits of a lifetime, and
hunting work.
One of the notes left at the home
of a white man, telling him that he
' W/AVAV.W.'.WMV.V/A'
5 To debate or not to debate, jl
5 This seems to be a question that aB
5 the Maple Literary Society must !
J decide before the time comes.
/^VVVVVVWVWVVWVVIWVVVUV
?
4
f t m ^. - m 1 - - ? W V" Ifpq p n^ju^f ,
t
PHOMIT ACTION <
WITH WILLIAMS |
Results in Trial and Swift
Convictions by The
Jury ;j
The negro, Bob Williams, who slew Ji
the chief of police of Fair Bluff last !
week, was not the victim of lynch
law as was reported here to be the "
case early in the week.
The policeman did not die at once, J
but was rushed to a hospital in Wil
mington, N. C., in the hope that an H
. u:_
v/pciauviii Jiugiil, rtttvc lllt> lilt?. ^
When he arrived at the hospital h? ^
was so weak that two transfusions of J
blood were used on him in an effort
to make him revive. This treatment
did not succeed, however ,and he died. Boh
Williams, in the mean time i
had gotten away, carrying a wounded j
limb which kept him from walking
except on crutches and he was captured
almost single handed and lodged
in the Whiteville jail before the
mob which was forming to lynch him I
could gather and take him.
When the authorities in Whiteville
found that there was still talk about
the streets that the negro would be
taken from the jail and hung, they |
sent to Wilmington, N. C., for a detachment
of troops. These arrived .
on time and guarded the jail until J
the negro could be tried and convicted
and sentenced to the electric chair.
The facts as they occurred, after
the negro had been arrested, are as
follows:
"Bob Williams .slayer of Bradley I
Cribb, policeman at Fair Bluff, was u
presented in court at Whiteville Monday
morning, arraigned, tried and ?
convicted in nine hours. The date of i
the execution was fixed for March 1. a
The trial of Williams sets a record
in court history in Columbus county. s
The indictment charging him with the 'a
murder of Cribb was presented to the
grand jury at 11 o'clock and the time
bill was returned to the court at
11:30. Williams was arraigned at *
2:30 and entered a plea of not guilty, j
Judge N. A. Sinclair, presiding at c
the present session of court, appointed
Homer L. Lyon, congressman from
Sheriff J. O. Ammons and Jailer ^
Louis Spivey had sinprled-handed beat- n
en back a mob of 300 men that rushed
the jail where Williams was con- ?
fined. With drawn' revolvers the
sheriff and jailer awaited the attack- a
inpr wave in the jail yard and firmly ^
refused to evacuate. For half- an
hour the issue hunp? in the balance;
then the mob evidently without a
leader, sullenly pave away, but hung
in the vicinity of the jail.
When the soldiers arrived they
found the sheriff on the verge of exhaustion
from lack of sleep and the },
way open for a more successful at- ^
tack on the county bastile."
o
must go to work, has been traced, it a
is said, to the home of a neighbor u
where there is not a member of the s
Klan, and where there can- never be
a member as the occupants are wo- s<
men.
In a number of instances, it is said t
that these notes are not the work of
the Klan, but of parties in the community
who would hold themselves s'
out as members of a Klan. There is 1
no Klan in that part of the country, is
the sixth district; Donald McUracken 1
and Procter, law partner of District
Attorney Trvin B. Tucker, to defend
the bandit.
Solicitor Woodus Kellum represented
the state which closed its case
shortly before 5 o'clock. The defense
offered very little evidence. McCracken
and Proctor addressed the
iury briefly asking that justice be
done.
The nearest either apnroached to
veouestinir mercy was the plea of
Proctor that the jury return a verdict
of murder in the second decree. Solicitor
Kellum. in a scorching- denunciation
of the negro, demanded the
full penalty of the law to be invoked.
The jury received the case at 8 o'clock
and returned a verdict of guilty after
15 minutes' deliberation. Williams
s.at stoically throughout the hearing,
his face betraying not the slightest
interest in the proceedings. He seemed
more like a wild beast at bay than
a man on trial for his life.
There was but one hint of violence
that came early when Williams was
led into the court room by a squad
of soldiers. As the negro took his r
seat in the dock some one in the audience
veiled 'Lvnch him.' but t.hr?
speaker was quickly seized by the soldiers
and ejected from the court
room.
There was evident, however, an undercurrent
of unrest while the jury
deliberated briefly on the case; there
was low mumblinp: which even the
presence of the military did not entirely
assuapre and fears were expressed
that an outbreak would follow
the returning of any other verdict
save first desrree murder. Only
the arrival of Capt. R. S. McClelland
and his W. L. I. last nifcht saved the
life of Williams, is the opinion of
county officials here.
A mob of 500 men was gathered in
the outskirts of the town when the
automobiles bearing the troops whizred
through the loner street between
Vineland and Whiteville at 10 o'clock.
A cordon of pruardsmen was quickly
thrown about the jail and all automobiles
and pedestrains were stopped by
the soldiers and the streets absolutely a
cleared. Twenty-four hours earlier t
%
gwrtr
OONWAY, S. 0., THURSDAY,
///AV.V.V.V.VAVV.Wi'/AVI
HOME FOR
Senator Jeremiah Sm
home with his son, Danii
11 ere. On Monday the Sens
hands with a number of his
on business from the countr
Senator Smith was look
shows that he has stood th
session with remarkable abil
The Senate had adjou
Tuesday of this week to ena
to attend to the salesday bi
Smith was on his way bad
I on Monday afternoon.
V.V.V/.'.V.V.V.VASVW.V.W
DUNCAN AFFAIR
STILL HIDDEN
3lood Hounds Fail to Track
Men .to Their
Lair
DOUBT AS T0~THE CAUSE
Duncan is Progressive Parmer
Says Some Neighbors
of His
On Saturday night before last
)aniel Duncan was shot at by about
mlf dozen men from the dark shadows
if Grassy Ray church, as he was passng
along: near his home.
ilong near his home.
Duncan did not know how many
hots were fired but the shot struck
ill about his buggy, and while none
>f the shot struck his body, his horse
vas hit by the shot in one or two
>laces. Examination of the shot
loles in the buggy afterward estabished
the fact that several kinds of
ihot had been used in aiming at him.
When the horse he was driving was
lit by the shot, it became u nirvana geible
and tore down the road toward
lome at a high rate of speed. Duncan
!ould not have held the horse back
lad he wanted to.
Duncan heard the shot as they
vhizzed past his face and head. He
hinks th.it as many as fifteen or
wenty shots were fired at him in all.
le was unable to identify any of the
nen whom he saw, about a half dozen
n unmber, standing near the corner
>f the church building. He knows that
t was these men and perhaps others,
\idden nearby, who fired the shots at
1 1 1Y*
On Sunday morning Duncan got in
ouch with the owner of a piair of
>lood hounds in North Carolina. The
logs arrived and were placed on the
icent at the church. It had been so
ong and so many people had passed
ilong that way that it was found
lard to get the dogs started on a
e/id. Finally they struck a trail
vhich led them to the town of Nichols.
>n Sunday afternoon to see the chase
>ut the dogs trailed along the road
>pposite a garage belinging to Short
Tyler and here they turned up to the
loors of the garage and acted as if
hey wished to enter the building.
When the building was opened up
hey showed no signs of recognizing
iny scent within the building, and
his trail, like the others, was fully
ost.
At last accounts nothing further
lad been done to try to dicover the
dentity of the persons who committed
his crime.
Dlincan S!IVS tlint enmn fimo <x?/\ W?
.,.,(T ^ Vitvv UVOIV V1UIV
eceived a letter written, evidently, in
l disguised hand, and signed "Ku
Clux Klan," or "K. K. K," in which
e was warned to leave the neighborlood.
He says that he paid no attenion
to this. He owns land there and
i number of neighbors speak well of
iim as a farmer and neighbor.
He does not believe that the Klan
iad anything to do with this business
le rather thinks that it is the work
f some enemy or enemies of his in
hat section of the county. It appears
hat the Klan have peen particularly
ictive for some time past in that secion
of Horry County, still there can
?e found no reason why they would
nolest Duncan, according to a report
rought to Conway last week about
he affair.
Duncan is said to be a hardworking
nd law abiding citizen. On his farm
e has highbred stock and he uses
abor-saving machinery in working his
finds. Many appeared to want to aid
n bringing the parties to justice.
o ?
SALESDAY BUSINESS
Last Monday was salesday, but
usiness at the court house was slack
ecause there was not much to sell.
A farm tract in Gallivants Ferry,
nee bid off by J. E. Lewis for $3,000
t the Lewis estate sale, was resold
nder mortgage and brought only the
mall sum of $100.
A small ttfact of ten acres in Simpon
Creek brought ten dollars.
Some lots resold in the Lewi? esate
brought very small amounts.
o ?
The third and last chapter of the
hort story about things at Conway in
964, and 1965 will appear in our next
ssue. You should not miss it.
\
i! jto
FEBRUARY 8th, 1923
w^swyvwwyvuvwMAW
WEEK-END \
-0 >
ith spent the week-end at S |
si T. Smith, the contractor, S
ttor was in Conway shaking %
constituents who were here %
y. 5
ing well and his appearance ^ <
ie hard work of the present ^ i
lity considering his age. J (
rned on last Friday until ^
ble the lawyers of that body ^
usiness at their homes. Mr. ;
c to his duties in Columbia j.
5
LTJV.%W.V/.V.VAViV.\VVSVV
BUSINESS MAN
HAS HISTORY
Now Lives in Conway. Started
in New York
State
FOR GREENE AND GAYNOR
Married in Horry County and
Cast His Lot There
Since
WAmVA'AWAVWA'AW
_
% The Horry Herald intends \
from time to time, to publish f
% brief sketches of business men "J
% who live in the town, and who
J came to Conway from other sec- ^
" tions of the country; perhaps "
^ many years ago. ?
The paper does not promise
that these sketches will appear }
jC in any stated form or at any "
S stated intervals, but only as the
JJ facts happen to be gathered and ?
are found to be of interest. "I
?
The subject of this sketch is J. E.
Nicholas, the well-known merchant
and farmer, who for years conducted
a general mercantile business on the
corner of Third avenue and Laurel
street, until some time during the
war heN sold the lot with the store
thereon to the One Price Shoe Store.
He is at the present time engaged
in the soft drink business, in the real
estate business to some extent; and
also conducts a store and represents
one of the leading manufacturers of
automobiles. A brief statement of
where he came from, the way in
which he started out in life might be
of interest to all of the people of the,
town.
He began his life in the town of
Fayetteville, N. Y. About that time
there was a firm of contractors under
the firm name of Green & Gaynor.
For a number of years they were engaged
in general contracting, and unHovtnnlr
wnvlr nf vn virtue lri?A/^a?
of the members being well trained
civil engineers. Later on in their
history they became still larger contractors
of government work.
At the age of sixteen, J. E. Nicholas
was employed by this firm as an office
boy. He remained in that position
for some time and was promoted to a
higher position with the firm.
He worked with the firm for 22
years. During that period the contracting
work in which the firm was
more and more engaged, spread over
many of the large rivers and along
the coast from New York City to St.
Aunrustine, Fla.
Nicholas was promoted by the firm
from time to time, until at the end
of his service with them he was the
general manager of all the work
which was done by the firm on the
streams in the eastern part of the
United States.
Tn the course of time this work
brought Mr. Nicholas to Horry County,
where the contractors had undertaken
work on the Waccamaw river.
Tt was while lookinpr after their work
in this county that he met and married
an Horry girl and finally decided
to resiflm from the work of the firm
with which he had been employed so
long and engage in business on his
own account in this county.
Tn the course of time certain contracts
that Green & Gaynor had tarried
out with the government came
under question, especially during the
time of one of the administrations
when government affairs were being
looked after; and Green Gaynor
were prosecuted in the Federal courts
in O nll?Y?l?nv r?f trinlo fV*of frvrvlr nlonn
i t? i v? 111 i/v i v/i vi i u i n i/iuit i/ww rv
in Savannah, Ga. J. E. Nicholas was
a witness in some of the trials.
The senior member of the firm of
Green & Gaynor was known as Col.
Gay nor. He was a brother of Mayor
Gaynor of New York City.
Another brother of Colonel Gaynor
is James E. Gaynor, now a prominent
attorney in New York City, and who
frequently writes to Mr.' Nicholas
about the affairs at the old home
where both of the men were born.
A recent letter from James E. Gaynor,
dated January 22nd. 1923, states
that Colonel Gaynor died in October,
1915, and the letter pives the names
of several other members of the Gaynor
family who have passed away
since Mr. Nicholas lived there. i
James E. Gaynor writes that he
mM.
gasque will
make speect
Horry Local of Cooperativ
Association Meets
Feb. 14
Hon. A. H. Gasque, of Florence, 5
J., the newly elected Congressman fo
this district, will address the citizen
of Horry County at the court hous<
February 14th, 192o, at 11:00 o'cloc
A. M.
Mr. Gasque is a forceful speake
and his address will deal with tl"
leading subject in the minds of tV
American public today.
rP Va 1 O 1 O f ft ? ?* * ~ il.
a mo to vxc ic^ui?ai mcrijii^ Ul tl
Horry County Unit of the Tobac<
Growers' Co-operative Association.
Director E. C. Epps, of Kingstre
S. C. will be present and will ah
make a short talk on the Success <
the Association to Date.
The public, including the ladies ar
the business men of Conway is cord
ally invited to be present.
Farmers belonging to the co-open
tive association are expected to I
here from all sections of Horry Coui
ty.
Allard H. Gasque is the man wl
won out in the race for Congress la
summer as an opponent of Phillip 1
Stoll, the man who was in and ht
forces strong. He was also oppose
to a number of new candidates f<
the place, such as W. R. Barringe
of Florence, John F. Pate of Darlinj
ton. Mr. Gasque proved himself ;
an old and tired campaigner and i
a forceful stump speaker.
This meeting for February 141
will be a most interesting one for tl
association in this county. Some tin
ago numbers of associations wei
formed in the leading districts of th
county. At the head of each local
the most progressive and enterprisiti
farmers to be found. They are tl
leaders of thought in their commun
ties which seems to be tending: moi
and more toward the co-operative idc
of marketing what the farmers rah
for the markets.
Since the formation of the loc;
units in almost every corner of Ho
ry, these have been united into tl
Horry unit. It takes in not only tl
members of the tobacco associatic
but the members of the cotton ass<
ciation and members of any other c<
operative marketing association a
eligible to join and become member
These marketing associations h/n
made it possible for the farmer to ?*i
range his money crop business on
business basis, so that he can plai
what he has produced on the marki
as the market demands it and in
dump it all at one time or any tim
without any method, taking whatevi
the buyer chooses to give for it.
It is hoped that the attendance i
the speaking this time will be larj
and that Mr. Casque will have a bi
crowd of other poeple who will wai
to hear what he says on one of tl
livest subjects of the day.
Let each member of the townsh
locals try to get several neighbors I
come with him here on the 14th ar
hear what the congressman has 1
say. It will add to the informatic
and pleasure of those neighbors ar
1 - .4 1 -
pernaps give tne co-operative movi
ment another boost onward and U]
ward.
It is not often that some of t\
farmers have the opportunity of hea
Ing pood speaking. They should n<
fail to grasp the opportunity when
does happed to offer itself. A bi
crowd is expected on that day.
HOW DODGE CAR
TURNED TURTLI
All Four Wheels in the Ai
With Passengers Underneath
A Dodge touring car turned turtl
on the road between Conway and Li
tie River last Sunday, carrying seve
passengers at the time, and yet nor
of them were killed and still moi
wonderful to say, none of them eve
seriously injured.
W. L. Bryan, the Clerk of Oour
was on his way home from Littl
River and saw, piled up in *he rot;
ahead of him, a touring car with a
four wheels in the air and the hu
lying down low showing that the to
of the machine had been crushed in.
When he arrived at the place h
found with the machine Rowland Vc
reen and Norman Cooper, both of Lit
tie River. Thev had been to flonwa
after the accident and had gone bac
before the arrival of Mr. Bryan.
They said that they had been dri\
ing along with Fred W. Stanley, th
(Continued On Back Page.)
lives in Brooklyn, with his wife an
two boys, his older son, James I
Gay nor, Jr., being o lawyer with th
New York Central Railroad. H
had promised to meet Mr. Nicholas i
Georgetown this present winter, 11
writes, that owing to his engagement
he cannot get away this winter, bi
he renews his promise to come Sout
and engage with Mr. Nicholas in som
quail shooting next season. The las
time he saw Mr. Nicholas was i
Savannah, Ga., in the winter of 190
or 1906.
t 1 *
NO. 42
KU KLUX KLAN
I LETTER MAILED
e To Rufus M. Jenrette Regarding
A Literary Meeting
5 MAY DROP THE SUBJECT
r
is T.n 11-J
?v?vvi uas vtviii;euea oiamp
e* but No Postmark Showk
mg Where Mailed
v Last Friday, Rufus M. Jenrette, of
ie Conway, R. F. D. No. 1, received a
ie short letter through the mail.
"The attention of the Invisible Ernie
pire is centered on YOU. Be careful
50 on February 22, of what you say. A
word to the wise is sufficient. The
e, way of the transgressor is death.
* "KU KLUX KLAN."
if
The letter itself was not addressed
i to Jenrette, but the envelope bore
,.( the address: "Mr. Rufus M. Jenrette,
Conway, S. C.," with at the left: "R.
a_ F. D. No. 1."
The letter was sent to him in a
n_ government stamped envelope and
this stamp was cancelled, but there
was no postmark on the envelope to
show where it had been mailed nor
r where it had been received at any
uj postoffice.
Hj The young man to whom this letter
was addressed and who actually
r received it on the rural free delivery
r_' route, lives with his parents in the
country, not far from Homewood and
ls on the R. F. D. No. 1 leading out from
Conway.
lj1 It appears that at the last meeting
of the debating society, of which Mr.
Jenrette is a member, it was decided
re to hold the next debate at the meetjs
ing of the School Improvement Association
at Maple school, six miles
lC from Conway, on the evening of
ie Thursday, February 22. * The query,
{_ or subject for discussion by the two
e opposing sides was agreed upon as
;a toiiows:
>e Resolved: That the Ku Klux Klan
is beneficial to the people of the Unx\
ited States.
r_ The debaters assigned to the afie
firmative of the proposition are:
ie S. L. Moore,
>n Redmond King,
a- Coker Anderson.
n- Those assigned to the negative of
re the proposition are:
>s. Rufus M. Jenrette,
;e Wilbur Jones,
r. Johnnie Tompkins.
a The last meeting arranged this sub2e
ject for the next discussion and fixed
up the balance of the program which
at they expected to carry out at the Mae,
pie school building about six miles
from Conway on the Hardee Road.
The Hardee Road turns out of the Nait
tional Highway about one or two hunre
dred yards this side of Homewood.
ig The school is located in the midst of .
it a territory which is rapidly develop\e
ing in agriculture and where education
is taking a great hold on the peoip
pie and their children now growing
to up, of which this young man Jenrette
1 si I {c nnn
I V t
to Asked about getting the note young:
>n Jenrette said that he received it by
id mail; that he was not certain that it
b- had come from a member of the Klan;
[)- that in his opinion somebody who was
taking an unwonted interest in the
?e debate, before it comes off, decided
r- they would interfere and not have
3t this subject which had been selected,
it discussed; that it might be in case
ig the debate takes place that somebody
not members of the Klan will take it
unto themselves to do the debaters
some damage and lay it all to the
Klan. His idea was that they would
71 drop the subject altogether and fix up>
-J a new program which will have some
other interesting subject for discusjr
sion.
II The statement made last week that
one of the strongest Klans in the
eastern part of South Carolina had
been organized in and around Adrian.
Adrian is not very far from the Maple
'e school house where this debate is set
to take place.
I CONLIFFE WAS
" NOT MOLESTED
le
<J Writes Letter to Horry Herii
aid Asking For Corp
rection
Last week there was a persistent
report in Conway, brought in by a
number of men from the country that
? a colored doctor at Mullins had been
called on by the Ku Klux Klan and
roughly handled concerning some
opinion he was said to have expressed
ie about the Collins affair near Mullins
some time ago.
It appears that there are no foundad
tions for the reports, as the only color3.
ed doctor in Mullins is Milton M.
ie Conliffe. and he has written The Her
e I aid the following: letter, which paper \
n I is glad to publish in order to straight*
it i (Continued On Back Page.)
it MVASSVAWSViWAWWiV
g 5 The streets of Conway are S
?t S as as ever w^en i
%n JJ raifts. They will be that way S
% until they are paved. J