Butts County GaArchives News.....Laborn Washington - Horrible Murder at Worthville November 18, 1897
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Don Bankston http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00024.html#0005864 November 6, 2006, 8:49 pm

Jackson Argus – Butts County November 18, 1897
Mattie King, a Negro, Murders the Thirteen Year Old Son of Mr. Lewis Washington

Yesterday afternoon at Worthville a revolting murder was committed by Mattie 
King, a negro woman, who with her husband, have, for the past few months, been 
tenants on the farm of Mr. Lewis Washington, of that place.

For the past few days, Tom King. Husband of the murderess, has been engaged 
splitting rails for Mr. Washington, and on account of his failure to perform 
the necessary amount of work required, trouble ensued between Mr. Washington 
and the negro, in which some very warm words were used by both parties.  Both, 
the negro and his wife have, since the trouble, been very insulting to Mr. 
Washington’s family.

Yesterday, Mr. Washington was at Worthville court house attending some 
business, leaving the negro at home cutting rails, and with him was Little 
Laborn Washington,, the 13 year old son of Mr. Lewis Washington.  

About 2 o’clock, some one passed the home and told Mrs. Washington that negro 
Tom King was down near the road cursing and abusing her little boy.  Knowing 
the hellish disposition of the negro, she picked up her husband’s gun and 
started down to investigate the trouble, but when near the scene she saw Paul 
Gunn, a young white man of that locality was there with them, and thinking he 
would not stand by and let her son be imposed upon, she turned and started back 
to the house, but had not gone far when she met the negro’s wife, Mattie King, 
coming down the road toward her.

The negro woman then began abusing her for carrying the gun down to shoot her 
husband, and making a grab for the gun she began fighting for its possession.  
The little boy saw them fighting and ran to help his mother but when he had 
gotten within 10 yards of them, the negro woman got possession of the gun and 
turning fired a barrel of its contents into his body killing him instantly.  
Mrs. Washington got the gun and endeavored to shoot the other barrel at the 
Negro woman but Mr. Paul Gun  knocked the weapon down and the shot missed its 
object.

The negro woman and her husband were brought to Jackson yesterday and placed in 
jail.

There was strong talk of lynching the negroes before they left Worthville to 
bring them to Jackson, but cool heads prevailed and kept down such action. 

Mr. Washington is an honorable and upright gentleman and the whole of our 
county grieve with his family in their deep affliction.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/butts/newspapers/labornwa1948gnw.txt

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