Paulding County GaArchives Obituaries.....Williams, Jim 1892 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Skye Sonczalla-Driggs skyeld@comcast.net July 8, 2006, 6:57 pm The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, November 27, 1892 Williams, Jim 16 Dec 1894 (The Daily Constitution - Atlanta} A Skull in Court. Dallas, Ga, December 15. About an hour before sundown on the afternoon of November 27, 1892, three men went to the house of old man Jim Williams, in Paulding county. The three men were Jack Abney, Wiley Abney, his son, and I.P. Davis. Although this was the Sabbath the man carried a gun, and their manner of coming indicated that there would be trouble. Old man Williams was surrounded by his family and was called out by Davis, who got into a dispute with him, Davis telling him that they had come to kill him. He ran into the house, seized his rifle and shot the younger Abney. He then closed in with him and was stabbed in each temple and fell to the ground, his father, Jack Abney meanwhile holding the gun on two of Mr. William’s sons to prevent them assisting their father. Another son rushed up to protect his father, and received a cut on the nose. The old man Williams hollered for peace, and he and Davis took Wiley Abney between them and they started off. The Physician’s Testimony. Old man Williams lived about ten days and then died, the attending physician having previously pronounced his wounds not serious, state that his death was from natural causes. The Abney and Davis immediately disappeared. Some time subsequently Davis was located at some point in Texas and the sheriff of Paulding county went after him. On his way back he jumped from the train, through the car window, while the train was running at a rate of twenty-five miles an hour, and although the sheriff had the train stopped and went back and made diligent search, Davis had made good his escape. Within the last few days jack Abney, who was caught and brought back from some point in the west, was put on trial for the murder of the inoffensive old man. In the trial, which has just concluded, it developed that there was considerable feeling on account of a disagreement in the management of the moonshine still and Jack Abney complained to William’s sons that old man Williams had accused him of being a “reporter,” and stated that he would rather be accused of stealing a mule than be charged with such a crime. This seemed to have been the primary cause of their visit. The Head Boiled. As before stated, the physician who attended Williams in his last illness denied that the wounds he received had caused his death, and to prove that his theory was not true, the body of the dead man was disinterred, after having laid in the grave for over two years. The head was detached from the body by Dr. Foster and another physician and two wounds were discovered in the side of either temple, which showed very clearly that they had been made with a knife. The skull was boiled for several hours so that it could be used in court in evidence and it established very clearly the cause of the old man’s death. Jack Abney was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to six years in the penitentiary by Judge Janes. Jack Abney reported, and it seems to be pretty well established, that his son, Wiley, who did the killing, had himself been killed at some point in the west. I.P. Davis, the man who jumped form the train, is still at large. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/paulding/obits/w/williams4792gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 3.9 Kb