The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, March 31, 1921, Image 1
r
ylljc Countj) Iteftrfit ^
VOL. 36. r KINGSTREE, SOUT? CAROLINA, THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1921. NO. 4
BIGHAM GUILTY;
SENTENCED TO DIE
SENSATIONAL CASE CLOSED
? MONDAY?TO APPEAL TO
ft SUPREME COURT.
On Saturday afternoon, January
15th, 1921, there was a crime committed
on the Bigham plantation near
Pamplico in Florence county, which
in atrocity and blood-curdling details
to the imaginative mind, stand paramount
in the criminal history
of the county. It was at first
thought that L. S. (Smiley) Bigham
VioH tho rrimo and made his
escape. On Sunday morning the dead
body of Smiley Bigham was found in
| the woods near the Bigham home
where the lifeless remains of his
mother, sister and two children were
awaiting final rites. Then it was
k thought that suicide had followed the
murdering of these women and children.
There were many rumors in the
community* and a strong doubt soon
prevailed as to the guilt of Smiley
Bigham. The coroner and jurors investigating
the murders were evidently
doubtful and before they finished
their deliberations, P. H. Arrowsmith,
an attorney of the Florence bar made
certain affidavits which placed a
strong suspicion of guilt upon Edmund
Bigham, brother of Smiley and
he was arrested and placed in the
Florence jail. Then after the coroner
and jurors had gone further into the
I case with their investigations, on
February 2nd they found that Mrs.
" ' >r? Hf r>l..
(Ol. 31. oignam, ao. mcigic um- >.
L. S. Bigham and the two MrCracken
children came to their death at the
hands of E. D. Bigham.
The accused, E. D. Bigham, was
placed on trial for his life at Florence
last Thursday. The summin-up
of the case by the attorneys, the finding
by the jury and sentence by the
judge is given here as reported to the
Charleston News and Courier by it3
Florence correspondent Monday:
Edmand D. Bigham, charged with
killing his brother and four others,
was found guilty of murder of his
brother here today and sentenced to
die April 8th.
A Florence county jury came near
equaling the record for speedy justice
in bringing in its verdict in the case
of Bigham, charged with the murder
of his brother, L. Smiley Bigham, his
mother, Mrs. M. M. Bigham, his sister,
Mrs. Margie Bigham Black, and
Leo and John McCracken, the little
adopted children of Mrs. Black.
?|The case was given to the jury at
1:15 o'clock this afternoon at 3:25, following
a reeess to 3 o'clock, and after
a wait of some minutes to bring the
prisoner into court, the jury's verdict
of guilty of murder was read to a
court room crowded with spectators.
Then, after a painful wait of minutes
while the clerk of the court
searched for the ceremonial of the arraignment
for sentence, and an
harangue by the prisoner in response
to Judge Memminger's question if he
had anything to say in his own ochalf.
tne death sentence was pronounced,
and Bigham knew that he was to die
on Friday, April 8, unless the Supreme
jy Court grants a reversal of the verdict
on the appeal which Attorney A.
L. King announced his intention to
make.
Bigham's stolid indifference to everything
around him, his apparent inability
to grasp the solemnity of the
proceedings or of the seriousness of
his own position, his readiness to respond
with a smile on less than no
provocation, all passed when the pris
oner came into court to hear the verdict.
He resumed in part his role of injured
innocence when he sat in the
dock for final arraignment. For a
time he leaned forward his head resting
on his hand as if he prayed for
strength to go through the ordeal he
had been called upon to pass. He
listened with no special interest while
his attorney moved for a new trial and
while Judge Memminger, in refusing
it alluded with much feeling to the
fact that Bigham's father had while a
state senator from Florence county
cast his vote in favor of putting Judge
Memminger on the bench.
The shocking import of the whole
^ thing seemed to reach him slowly, but
A as its realization progre^d by de|h
grees, the ashen pallor that had shown
Hfefcy- in his face all day became more
marked, the aid of bravado passed into
a pitable weakness that caused the
man to look here and the?e alf.it the
audience with the expression of a
1
Rough Branch News. |
Cades, March 29.?Miss Nancl J
Wheeler of Florence in the charming
i guest of her cousin Miss Hazel Hannah.
Miss Mattie Julia Graham of Coker ?
college is spending the Easter ho'i
days with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Press Tanner of
1 Marion are visiting Mr. and Mrs. H.
Foxworth.
Miss Ruth Patterson of Bennetts- q
ville was the guest of her sister Mrs. p
Jim Graham, Jr.. the past week. r
Misses Docia and Harriet Bruorton si
of Andrews spent the past week end w
with their sister, Miss Rosa Bruorton U
at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. tc
! Cox. ir
Mrs. R. F. Epps is at the Baker
j Sanitorium in Charleston for treat- C(
ment t]
Mr. L. L. Gaddy, of Bennettsville. ^
spent Sunday at the home of Mr. and p
Mrs. Jim Graham, Jr.
The Methodist Sunday school had a a
most enjoyable egg hunt in the grove
at the church Saturday afternoon. p
Miss Rosa Cox entertained a few t
her friends last Saturday night in a
honor of the Misses Bruorton of Andrews.
pi
Scribblers.
================= A
hunted animal surrounded by men who
sought its life. The old Bigham had
passed and did not show again un- a
til Judge Memminger asked him what ^
he had to say that sentence should tj
not be pronounced against him. Then,
leaning forward on the railing ??f the p.
prisoner's dock and in a voice that was
palm and unshaken, the prisoner spoke ri
as follows: "I have nothing to say
except that I am innocent. I know t(
nothing of how that crime was com- j
mitted. That is the truth, so help me
God." "That's all I have to say. I
wish my mother could come down and
tell how the thing happened. I wish e]
that little boy had lived when I asked ^
Dr. Poston to save his life He would thave
told the same things I and my
wife told. Judge, I hope you will give =
me time so some of the people who itestified
here against me may have a j,
chance to come forward and tell the g
truth and not come too late like Judas S(
making his offering of the thir-ty c.,
* ?**??? -J * Wftwf f A CQV Hi
I fp?C6S OX Silver^) x uu tv c&iiv kv owj ^yj
j something more. I hope you will a
take no exception to it As far as
i you are concerned I have had a fair &
trial. But if people had had time to j)
think things over, consider and take tj
it up with their God, they would have jj.
testified differently." tl
When asked to explain the finding b,
of his pistol in his brother's hand, tl
Bigham said: MI left that pistol in my
bureau drawer and it has been testi- e;
fied that the door was found broken n,
open. That is the only way Smiley tl
could have got it" "If I am guilty I h,
- * * - * *- * a .
| hope I may be pewinea in irom ux u
| this court house, just as I was that ^
day or a3 I am now. I am as in- C]
nocent as a new born baby."
Bigham's show of weakness at the S]
end may have been in some measure n,
due to the fact that he was not sus- a
tained by the presence of his wife and k
children whose devotion has been so f,
marked a feature of the trial. When j
it was announced that the jury was n
! about to return to the court room Mrs.
Bigham and the children left and y
j heard the news of the verdict and sen- je
tence while in the office of the clerk j2
of court down stairs. Mrs. Bigham 5
' * ' ?1 -> ? Viaoi*! fho vprdict. I
iainieu wuen sue u?uu ,
and Mrs, Worrel, the wife of a Flor- jj
cnce policeman, who has been her cor.- ]?
stant companion during the trial, w
went to the court room for a doctor, fj
Dr. E. M. Hicks attended Mrs. Big- gi
ham and when she was taken back to y
Mrs. Worrell's boarding house where Si
she has been a guest. sl
A record attendance marked the y
final day of the trial, the percentage \
of women growing greater than ever t]
and their manifest interest visibly in- a
creasing. It was an orderly crowd C)
however, and only once during the day
did the judge have occasion to rebuko h
any outbreak on the part of specta- h
tors. , e
Attorney A. L. King began his ar- n
gument for the defense shortly after r(
the court opened. Mr. King read ini- f,
pressively from the gospel according b
to St. Matthew 26 and drew the an- f;
to St. Matthew 26. aad drew the analo- b
gy between this case and the faise wit- h
nesses against the Saviour, and then
from St Matthew 27 the demand of tl
jtfce mob for the release of Barabbas a
jand the cruifixing of Christ. The c
; attorney handled this delicate propo- d
sition very effectively and without F
bringing upon himself any show of s
feeling upon the part of listeners. It g
was a daring thing to do and he did b
'it well. g a
As Mr. King warmed up to his at- c
(INGSTREEIANS VOTE
FOR BOND ISSUE
200,000.00 TO GO INTO PROPOSED
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
The elections held Tuesday on the
uestion of bond issues for public imrovements
in the town of Kingstrec
esultcd in an unmistakable expreson
of the attitude of the citizens
ith regard to the extension of the
jwn's waterworks and sewerage sys;ms,
extending sidewalks and pavig
street.
There were 238 votes cast and the
)unt showed that those opposed to
le projects are greatly in the minory.
The result of the voting was:
or bonds for improvement of
streets 214
gainst bonds for the improvement
of streets 21
or bonds for Enlargement of
waterworks 219
gainst bonds for the enlarge
ment of waterworks 19
or bonds for sewerage extention
222
gainst bonds for sewerage extention
? 15
The three propositions combined,
ills for a bond issue totaling $200,30.00.
It is generally believed that
lere viill be a ready sale for them,
Dssibly at a premium. Since the
rojects sprung into being there has
een several enquiries from nnanciers
mceming the purchase of the bonds.
It is further believed, and greatly
> be hoped that a quick and satisictory
market will be found and that
:tual work on the three projects will
egin within the next sixty days. A
umber of ladies participated in the
etcion Tuesday, many exercising
leir right to the ballot for the fiwt
me.
ick on the prosecution for introducig
the Arrowsmith testimony and bean
to vent his opinion on the Arrownith
fee of $5,000 for straightening
ut the affairs of the Bigham estate,
Ir Gasque rose and asked that such
ttacks be stopped.
Judge Memminger promptly asserti
the court's preroagtive and gave
[r. Kin? notice that any further aticks
of such nature would result in
is being denied the privilege of furler
argument and another attorney
e appointed to present the case to
le jury.
Mr King at this period, and more
ctensively at the close of his argulent,
apologized to the court, the bar,
le jury and the spectators for what
c had done, took all the blame upo>'
* * J ?1?? J Ua Inn,
lmsen ana saui ne nupcu jm;
ould not allow his outburst to influnce
their attitude toward his client.
Aside from this incident Mr. King's
peech was impressive and was proounced
by those who heard it to be
masterly piece of advocacy. Mr.
ong relied principally upon the dernse's
theory of the insanity of Smisy
Bigham, his committing of the
turders and his subsequent suicide,
[e did, however, bring into his speech
le testimony bearing upon the al(ged
insanity of Bigham's father and
lid stress upon the prejudice shown
y neighbors against the defendant.
The presentation of the case by Socitor
Gasque is said by lawyers and
lymen to have been an exemplary
ork of its kind.* He connected his
jets in logical sequence. From the
th of January, when it set forth
lat Edmund D. Bigham whipped his
ister because she accused him of
tealing certain papers connected with
le Bigham estate, until the day when
Irs. Bigham tried to smuggle a bote
of chloroform into her husband's
ell, Mr. Gasque did not leave an unonnected
link in the story.
* ?* it1-j ?,! n
'me story ran uiat luuiuhu i~j.
am, the son of a rich father had sold
is interest in the estate to his brothr
and sister and gone away for
lany years, had heard of differences
egarding the recent disposition of his
ather's estate and hastened home to
lject himself as a factor into these
amily disputes in the hope of recoverlg
an interest in property to which
e was in no way entitled.
From the time of his appearance ir
lie Bigham household there had beer
succession of bickerings and disputes
ulminating in Ihe incident which
rove Mrs. Marjorie Bigham Black tc
'lorence, where at Attorney Arrowmith's
office, she had made a will
iving everything she had to her
rother, Smiley Bigham, to whom she
nd two of her adopted children,
onfided the care of her eld n. jthai
: CHAUTAUQUA WEEK
I APRIL 30 TO MAY 5 S
Ki
> TO FURNISH FIVE DAYS OF U]
HIGH CLASS ENTERTAIN- ca
MENT. ta
ch
; Dunbar's White Hussars, band and
male chorus; the great comedy sue- *
? cess, "Nothing but the Truth"; Eve- ai
lyn Bargelt, popular cartoonist; exceptional
lecturers, and three premier e
I musical companies?these are notable ~ ,r
attractions which are to appear in
Eingstree on April 30 to May 5th at u1
the Redpath Chatauqua. rn<
t The Artists Four Company, which y.
appears on the first afternoon, gives; ^
a program of pleasing variety. Four
talented, young ladi-s present varied j =
vacal and instruemntal selections with
delightful verge and excellent mu- nc
sicianship. They will give a program
in the afternoon and a prelude at
night. mi
> George L. McNutt, known every- or
where as "The Dinner Pail Man," dc- n?
? livers a stirring lecture on the open- w
ing night. This thought-provoking w<
! speaker bases his lecture on a fe
thorough knowledge of economic probi
lems including the all-important Wi
question of food costs. ^
The Irene Stolofsky Company api
pearing on the second afternoon has
captivated audiences in all parts of f*1
j theUnited States. Popular ensemble ^
; numbers as well as a smypathetic ini
terpretation of the best in music ren- w(
der their program a distinct musical
event. Metropolitan newspapers and m<
musical journals throughout the land Si
; accord most enthusiastic praise to in
I Miss Irene Stolofsky, violinist and be
feature artist of the company. This mi
i company also gives a prelude at night, j se
Harry L. Fogleman, known as "Gat- E<
ling Gun" Fogleman, because of his th
rapid-fire verbal delivery?which he in
- ? xl.
frequently speeds up to 3UU words a m
minmte?is a dynamic, magnetic lec- hii
turer on the fundamentals of success fo
in business and life. lei
A musical event extraord;nary will ca
be the appearance , on the third day, th
, of Dunbar's White Hussars, band and sp
t male chorus, directed in person by th
Al Sweet, well-known composer and:
band-leader. This great singing band. I in
i appearing in stril^ng white and gold; hi:
uniforms, presents novelty numbers, ha
ensemble singing, and clean, clever So
fun which tesfci/y to the surprising ha
veraatility and genuine artistry of mi
the organization. af1
Following a prelude by the Hussars to
i on the third afternoon Beulah Buck, ilj
dramatic reader, will present a sei
, thoroughly delightful program of well- no
; chosen selection. to)
Dr. E. T. H age/man, one of the wl
leading orators on the American lec- of
ture platform, appears here on the
fourth afternoon of the Chautauqua. te<
i His address presents an every day, Ikn
stalwart philosophy seasoned with do
t sparkling wit de
"Nothing but the Truth," widely- an
known comedy success, will be pre- ar
sented by a New York cast on the
(fourth night. As a novel by Freder- Gi
ick Isham, "Nothing but the Truth" wf
was read by millions and later as a an
play it ran more than a season on '
I Broadway. It is the ingenious, en- TU"
i tertaining story of a young society Ec
idler who wagers that he can tell the th<
absolute truth for one whole day. er.
On the fifth day "Daddy" Grobeck- tel
er, as he is affectionately called by stf
J his people, brings his company of of
i Swiss Yodlers for a full afternoon
program and an evening prelude. ha
i The last night widely known as th<
"Joy Night," will be long remember- mi
i ed. Evelyn Bargelt presents a pr ce]
gram of cartooning, interpretative ed
reading, and entertainment par ex- th<
i cellence. <
A special story hour will be con- jui
ducted each morning or afternoon fo * wa
the childrer. Thoroughly trained chi
Mr,'11 Viavp of this th<
i y UUII? nv/ucn (tin <?? v v..w. 0
work, for which no admission is to fui
' be charged. af<
i Th
i lis
? and her two little adopted children. coi
! In this will she had set forth her thi
fear of some person, whom she did not ro<
i name in the will, who had obtained Ki
possession of three deeds covering
i property of her estate, which she had mi
i J signed in blank. Following this came o'c
> the declaration of Smiley Bigham on '
i Tuesday following the visit to Flor- foi
nece, when he said tc. Mrs. Kirton, as wa
I Mrs. Kirton said on the stand, that an
"Edmund Bigham was cutting up and gr
threatening to kill all of them. "I am ho
jnot afraid of him, but Margie is. If cri
(he will behave himself I am going to en
give him a piece of land, though he is im
District Methodists Gather Here.
About fifty preachers and layrw
the Methodist church gathered he
sterday in attendance upon tl
ngstree District Educational Se
p meeting preparatory to the Ed
tional campaign which is soon
ke place in the Southern Methodi
urch.
Among those present were Dr.
Snider of Wofford college, Mr. L
fid Moore, Conference director
lucation; Rev. G. C. Edwards, Co
rence Secretary of Education; ai
of. J. C. Guilds, President of Colur
a college. The address by Dr. Snid
is the outstanding feature of tl
?eting.
A sumptuous dinner was served t
sitors at the church by the ladi
the local congregation.
t entitled to it, for he has had I
are."
Another incident proving a distill
stive for the crime which the solic:
emphasized was the testimony of
gro that Smiley had remorvstrat
th Edmund for paying so much f
>od-cutters, that Edmund had t
nted this; that Smiley had said th
was his money, and that before 1
suld have it wasted he would go
e woods and settle with the han
mself; that Edmund replied with
ow of temper that the business
e woods was his end of it, and th
Smiley came there he would sfc
ere, "and" said Mr. Gasque, ,r
?nt there and never came back."
Mr. Gasque also dwelt on the tes
ony of the negro witness, Andr*
ngfiletary, who went to the woo
company with Smiley Bigham aft
ing asked to do so by Smile]
other, who said she feated the co
quences of Smiley's meeting wi
Imund in the woods. He set for
at other testimony to the effect th
the woods Edmund Bigham carri
e same revolver that was found
3 brother's hand when his body w
und. He told how Singletary h
ft the woods after seeing Edmu:
11 to Smiley and the departure
- i'? fKa /liraotinB n f H
C WW V U1CU 4U mw M*4W..V_ v. ^
ot where Smiley's body was fou:
e next day.
From there on Mr. Gasque pictur
his summing up that, after kil'ii
3 brother in the woods, Edmund Bi
m gone home; that on noticu
niley'a failure to return, Mr3. Bi
m and Mrs. Black had accused E
ind of doing away with h'ni; th
ter getting his dinner and preparii
go to Pamplico he had put his far
' in the automobile in the garas
t the motor going and, while th
ise drowned the reports of his pi
I, he wiped out of existence all tho
10 stood to accuse him of the crir
his brother's murder.
By this means Mr. Gasque exoner
d Mrs. Edmund Bigham of guil
owledge of what her husband h;
ne, and explained the extraordina:
votion of his family to the defen
t's interests from the time of h
rest.
The most impressive point of M
isque's summing up was reach'
len he stood facing the defenda
d said:
"Listen, Edmund Bigham. Liste
lere is a voice calling you. Loo
Imund. There is a man standir
ere in front of you. It's your brot:
, .Smiley, and he is calling to you '
11 n,Vit'lA Vie fnmvPS. 1
11 yuu U'av, mu IU UV AV*Q. . mds
as your accuser for the crin
his murder."
During this dramatic episode Bij
m sat with his eyes fastened up<
2 solicitor, and not one twitch of
iscle nor one nervous movement e:
pt the tapping of his feet displa;
the fact that he even heard whi
s prosecutor was saying.
Judge Memminger's charge to tl
ry, while couched in legal verbiag
is as plain and understandable as
ild's primer. It left no doubt as 1
; proper interpretation of those tv
ndamentals of criminal law, malii
jrethought and reasonable doufc
e charge was very brief. The jui
tened to it most attentively, and i
iclusion broke a nevous tensic
it had every person in the cou
rto vorv nnpnincr of M
Jill livm vuw -r 0
ng's argument.
Following the charge Judge Men
nger announced a recess until 3:(
lock.
The jurors remained in their sea
r a time and until the court hou:
ls empty . They then went to dinn<
d their consideration of the case wj
?*en within the space of about ?
ur, thus ending the most importai
minal trial in the history of Flo
ce county, and probably the mo
portant in the state.
, EX-GOY. MANNING
URGES REDUCTION
st
u TO PLANT ANOTHER NORMAL
t0 CROP MEANS HARD TIMES
st FOR EVERYBODY
H. An urgent appeal to the farmers
e of South Carolina to plant less cotof
ton and more foodstuffs is made by
n- former Gov. R. I. Manning in a statend
ment issued at Columbia Monday. He
n- declares that to niant another norer
mal crop of eotton means hard times
he for every farmer and every business
interest in the south. He urges that
jje banks lead the south to prosperity In
e? the present crisis by insisting upon
a radical reduction in cotton acreage.
The statement issued by Mr. Man-?
= ning follows:
(jg "The cotton south faces a crisis.
She is impoverished by the wealth in
ct quantity of her chief staple, cotton.
"Let us know the truth and face
a the facts.
e(j "The government estimates cotton
or carryover on July 31, 1921 at 9,866,,e_
208 bales. The Memphis committee
a? estimated that the cotton cror
be 1921 shall be the same as the crop of
^ 1920, we will have a carryover on
ds July 31, 1922 of 16,517,909 bales:
a enough cotton to last nearly two
in yearsat
"Get it out of your head :hat anything
but the supply and woild's abilke
ity to buy, fixes the price of cotton."
says Dr. Bradford Knapp.
"In 1920 South Carolina imported
"" in corn, *15,000,000; hay, $12,000,000;
T oats, $10,000,000; meat $20,000,000;
flour $20,000,000; eggs, $3,000,000 and
er sn on and other foodstuffs, all of
r'g """" "
which we can raise cheaper than we
~ can buy them with money from cotton.
j. "The cotton crop of 1920 was the
most expensive crop ever raised. We
. made more than we could harvest, and
have more low grade cotton than ever
in before. The price has fallen from
over 40c to 10c basis middling. Bat,
, the cotton on hand wH not average
Q. middling and the average price is
? much below 10 cents. Is there any
be , . . . . *
business sense in raising any more
a low grade cotton? Cotton is below
, pre-war prices. Fertilizers, labor,
hardware, foodstuffs, and everything
that is needed in making a crop are
g" above pre-war prices. Therefore,
there is not a gambler's chance for
profit in raising a normal crop this
year. It is certain, unescapable loss.
a Land-owners, share-croppers and tenant
farmers will all be subject to loss
n~ as well as every business interest in
the south. The south should and
IIS
must continue to raise cotton, bat it
s~ can not do so unless it returns a liv36
ing wage and a fair profit to the prone
dacer.
"Thp remedy is self-evident
"The Memphis plan provides that
two-thirds of the cultivated area *
should be in food and feed crops and
J cne-tbird of the area in cotton. This
plan will increase food production and
1S decrease production of cotton.
"When manufacturers find that
there is over production they curtail
ef production. There is an excess supn
ply of cotton, more than the world
1 Tl *? 4I?a*a#awi mwl hnfli
can Duy. it is, bucicivic, ?wv. HW
ness for us to reduce cotton produc'
tion by reducing cotton acreage. Ev^
ery agency that will convince the cotton
producer of the necessity of reduction
should be actively engaged.
16 "Our banks must be looked to as
ie loaders ir this proposition. To them
farmers turn for advice, for help and
for credit. The banks have saved the
>n south from bankruptcy by holding
a cotton from a market in which there
x~ is little demand. In this acute crisis
they can lead the south to prosperity
by insisting on a radical reduction in
cotton acreage.
16 "To plant another normal crop
means hard times for every farmer
a and every business in the south. To
plant less cotton, means better grade
of cotton and more money. The producer
will then be independent, and
the south will come into its own
and enjoy the fruit of its labor. Have
we the courage and business sense to
^ face the facts and adopt this plan?".
r. 0
Cyclone
i- A small cyclone or swept over a
)0 section of the Hebron community o;
Tuesday afternoon, March 22, dests
troying several out-buildings and
;e causing damage estimated at about
?r $800.00 on the farm of Mr. J. E.
is Thomas. The storm covered only a
in small area. No other damage in the
at -ommunity has been reported-,
r- o
The County Record Is $1.60
year in advanee i
X i
A