Abstracts from the Union Parish Home Advocate This information generously donated to the Louisiana Genealogy Project - African American Archives by: Tomothy D. Hudson ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** The Ouachita Telegraph Saturday, November 3, 1888, page 2, column 3 [From the] Farmerville Gazette: ANOTHER HOMICIDE. Sunday morning news reached town to the effect that Mr. Luther Hayes, a white man about 35 years of age, was shot and killed at Marion last Saturday evening by a negro named Nathan Broadnax. The particulars of this deplorable affair as we learn them are these: It seems the negro, owed Mr. Luther Hayes the sum of $10, and the latter demanded a settlement. This brought about a dispute, during which the negro became very insulting and finally picked up a plank to strike Mr. Hayes; but at this juncture another negro stepped forward and snatched the board from the hands of the assailant, whereupon the latter ran to the rear of Mr. Roark's store and seizing a shot gun loaded with squirrel shot discharged the contents into Mr. Hayes' side from a distance of about 20 feet. After living about six hours the wounded man expired. The deed was committed under the eye of a number of persons who started out in pursuit of the murderer, but he made his escape. He is about 5 feet 7 inches high, weighs about 150 pounds, has long white teeth in front, is black and about 20 years old. He is still being pursued and we hope that the posse will be successful in effecting his capture. The deceased leaves a wife and four children to mourn his loss. In addition to the above, Mr. W.F. Millsaps who returned home from Farmerville Thursday, says there is considerable excitement in the parish and that further trouble is apprehended. On Monday a party of men who had gone in pursuit of the murderer captured a negro who was implicated in the murder in some way and hung him, afterwards riddling his body with bullets. A posse is still in pursuit of the principal murderer, he having so far eluded them. Deputy Sheriff McGuire received a telegram Thursday, asking him to send assistance to the posse on the Island, it having been thought that the murderer had made his way to this parish. Two deputies were sent but they returned Thursday evening, having failed to meet the posse or gain any clue as to the whereabouts of the murderer. Mr. Millsaps informed the Telegraph that there was a colony of some 300 negroes near Marion who are in the habit of giving much trouble and the opinion prevails that several of their leaders will be killed before the excitement abates. The rumor on the streets here that a deputy sheriff had been killed in attempting to arrest the murderer seem to be without foundation. The Ouachita Telegraph 6 April 1872, page 3, column 3 "UNION PARISH. On Tuesday, the 18th inst., while a party of men were working the road leading east from this place towards Port Union, a freedman named Jackson Jones stabbed another freedman named Pleas Coleman. Jones was arrested the next day and brought before the Parish Judge for examination. There being no evidence as to the nature of the wounds, Jones was held to answer to the charge assault with a dangerous weapon. Coleman died on the 25th, probably from the effect of the wounds, and it was then ordered that he be held to answer to the charge of manslaughter The Ouachita Telegraph Friday, 9 Feb 1877, page 3, column 2 "A negro man named Archy Walls was shot and instantly killed by some unknown party, at the residence of Judge W.R. Roberts, near this place, yesterday morning. Walls had been in the employ of Judge Roberts for some time, and the night previous to his death had quarreled with another negro named Martin Fields, who recently came here from Monroe. Fields was heard to make threats against the life of Walls, and soon after day-break yesterday morning Judge Roberts and family were startled by the report of a gun in the yard, and hastening to the scene, found Walls weltering in his blood and life nearly extinct. He was unable to make any statement and there were no witnesses to the deed, but there is not the slightest doubt on the minds of our citizens but that the negro Fields perpetrated the crime. He (Fields) has not been seen in this vicinity since the occurrence. - Union Record." "Martin was pretty well known in Monroe, not as a desperate character, but as a big, black, wide-mouthed fellow, with large feet, who did small jobs for Mr. J.G. Sanders at his store. Martin came to Monroe a fugitive from Arkansas, where he was a deputy sheriff under the benign rule of Clayton, in which capacity he was guilty, it was charged, of malfeasance in office, a fact not known here until he reversed his politics - from Radicalism to Democracy. It was then that our sheriff, Hamlet, arrested Martin, and then those big black feet carried him off. He is a tall, gangling, loose-jointed black, with red eyes, wide mouth, laughs all over his face and will laugh at nothing. Look out for him. " # # # Home Advocate Friday, 17 April 1885, page 3 Henry Jones, a freedman, aged about twenty two years, who for some time past has served as ferryman at the mouth of Bayou Cornie, mysteriously disappeared on Saturday last. Fears are entertained that he accidentally fell from a skift and was drowned; his continued absence from his family can be accounted for on no other hypothesis. Home Advocate Friday, 24 April 1885, page 3 The body of Henry Jones (col.) of whose mysterious disappearance we made mention last week, was found, Saturday, on the west bank of D'Arbonne, about three miles below the ferry. Coroner Jameson impaneled a jury composed of Messers M. W. Rabun, W. P. Fenton, Frank Tettletin, H. Luding and J. A. Roberts, which, after careful examination of the body rendered a verdict of "death by drownding [sic]." Home Advocate Friday, 21 Aug 1885, page 3 Justice Richardson of Ward ten lately held an inquest of the body of Belle Stowe, a colored woman, near the place of Hon. E. T. Sellers. The jury of inquest reported that deceased came to her death by blows inflicted by Henry Williams. Williams has given the officers the dodge. # # #