Butts County GaArchives News.....A Social Killing June 30, 1899
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Don Bankston http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00024.html#0005864 September 14, 2007, 9:46 am

Jackson Argus June 30, 1899
Last Sunday morning about 3 o’clock Jim Jester shot Aaron Harkness, both 
Negroes, the later falling dead in the road just in front of J. R. McGough’s 
residence.  The shooting of Harkness is the result of a Saturday night’s Negro 
festival and a very low type of social equality and jealousy.  On last Saturday 
evening Jim McKinley, white and Jim Jester, black, bethought themselves to 
spend the night in social enjoyment, so they wended their way with their 
pistols and bottles in their pockets up the road in a direction of Mr. MGough’s 
where the Negro was killed.  They were seen here late in the evening enquiring 
where they could find some whiskey and Minerva Helms and the next seen of them 
was at this Negro woman’s house where the difficulty commenced  when the 
killing took place.  It was then about sunset.  They were informed that Minerva 
had gone to Jackson.  Few hours later they called at Mattie Jackson’s and were 
still enquiring about Minerva and Aaron.  They were told here that the objects 
of their search had gone to Fairfield church to a festival.  When seen next 
they were at the festival and returned with the crowd.  When Harkness and 
Minerva got back to the Jackson woman’s house she told that a white man had 
been there asking about her.  Harkness wanted to know what he was wanting 
saying that he knew who he was and said there was something rotten up the 
branch, starting off in a rage towards Minerva’s house and when he got to there 
he found McKinley and Jester lying on the roadside nearby.  Harkness hailed 
them and asked what they were doing there, and when they answered “nothing” he 
cursed them and told them if they didn’t toat it off he would kill them.  They 
got up and started, but after they had gone a short distance Harkness shot at 
them and still following them.    Jester returned the shot while retreating.   
When they had gotten in about 30 yards of Mr. McGough’s yard gate Jester shot 
again, the ball striking Harkness in the left breast about the heart, but he 
did not fall until he got in front of the gate, where he died in a few minutes.

The coroner was notified and held an inquest, the verdict being that the Negro 
came to his death by pistol shot in the hands of Jim Jester, principal, and Jim 
McKinley, accessory, and that the same was murder.

A warrant was issued and they were arrested and taken before Justice Harman, 
but were acquitted.

Jackson Argus – Butts County
Week of June 30, 1899


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