Lee County AlArchives Obituaries.....Reid, I. A. "Alex / Aleck" July 21, 1879 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Candace (Teal) Gravelle tealtree@comcast.net December 3, 2006, 3:28 pm "The Carroll County Times" Carrollton, Carroll Co., Georgia NEWSPAPER Issue of Friday, JULY 25, 1879 THE KILLING OF MR. ALEX. REID Below we copy a special dispatch to the Atlanta Constitution, which gives an account of the killing of Mr. Alex. Reid and the shooting of his son Sam, in Opelika, Ala., on the 21st inst. Both of these gentlemen formerly lived in this place and are well known here: Opelika, Ala., July 22nd - - - About 5:30 o'clock last evening a shooting affair occurred at the Sledge house in this city, which resulted in the death of one and the serious wounding of another of the parties. A traveling man, Samuel G. Grasty by name, has been here for a week or two stopping at the Sledge house. He has been visiting the home of Mr. Alex. Reid. Last evening Mr. Reid called at his (Grasty's) room at the hotel and told Grasty that he wanted him to quit visiting his house. Grasty took Mr. Reid by the beard and in an insulting way, said, he would quit his visits if Reid wished him to. He struck Mr. Reid on the face and Mr. Reid struck him on the head with a stick, knocking Grasty down. At this juncture, Sam Reid came into the room with a knife and inflicted a wound on Grasty's wrist. Grasty reached over and obtained an old pistol that was lying on his bureau. He shot Mr. Reid through the abdomen and Sam Reid through the neck and face. Further firing was stopped at this time by Capt. A.A. Scott, a gentleman who happened to be passing by and heard the shooting and came in to see what was the matter. Mr. Reid, an old man, died today about one o'clock. Sam Reid is not fatally wounded. --- Newspaper Issue of August 1, 1879 THE KILLING OF MR. I. A. REID; A Horrible Tragedy in Opelika The following account of the killing of Mr. I. A. Reid is from The Lagrange Reporter: Tuesday morning the people of LaGrange were shocked by the news that Mr. I. A. Reid and his eldest son Samuel, had been shot in Opelika. The news turned out to be true. They were shot between eight and nine o'clock at the Sledge House. Various reports have got into the papers concerning the affair, but we prefer to publish simply Mr. Reid's statement, which is given below. He died about one o'clock Tuesday. Mr. Samuel Reid was shot in the right jaw and the ball came out under the left temple. Mr. Reid was, we suppose, nearly sixty years of age and had lived most of his life in Troup county, up to two years ago. He was familiarly known among his friends as "Aleck" Reid. Up to a few years ago he was a planter in good circumstances, but adversity came upon him; he had to give up his farm and he has not prospered since. He kept a hotel in LaGrange until about two years ago, when he moved to Atlanta, and opened a boarding house. From thence he moved last year to Opelika. He and his family have many relatives and friends in LaGrange and in Troup county, and his tragic death and its circumstances have caused deepest sorrow in the community. His remains were brought to LaGrange and buried yesterday morning. The cause of the difficulty was of a nature too delicate to be detailed. The Opelika Leader publishes the following verbal statement of Mr. I.A. Reid, which he made just before dying: He went to visit Col. Grasty at his room at the Sledge House after tea; says he merely went for the purpose of a friendly visit and have a talk over family matters, and to adjust some differences between Col. Grasty and a portion of Reid's family. The conversation progressed quietly and peaceably for some time, when, from some remark made by Col Grasty, Mr. Reid said he would have to request him to cease his visits to his house; that Col. Grasty flew into a passion and said, using an oath, "am I not good enough to visit in your family?" Mr. Reid replied, "I have heretofore thought so, but after using such language to me, I must insist on your keeping away. " "Col. Grasty then caught me by the beard and struck me a terrible blow with his fist, over the left eye, releasing me about the same time and making toward a bureau and turning, he fired on me, striking me in the bowels. About this time, my son, Sam Reid, rushed into the room, and Col. Grasty, applying some severe epithet to him, says "what have you to do in the matter?" Sam replied, "as much as anybody, as it is my family involved." "We, together then, continued the fight with Col. Grasty until he shot my son, which ended the row." He afterward made a written statement before the solicitor. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/lee/obits/r/reid737gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 5.1 Kb