Ray County, Missouri - Miscellaneous History of the County - Lynching of Wingo source: The Missourian 16 FEB 1942 Ray County Chapters By Jewell Mayes It is the Golden Rule policy of the author of this Monday department to give direct credit for manuscripts and data, in behalf of correct homeland history. (Chapter 567, The Richmond Missourian, February 16, 1942, written by Jewell Mayes, with data credit to John S. Frazier and Geo. W. Buchanan, and thanks to Circuit Clerk John E. Short and Deputy Clerk Alice Rice Davis. To provide added space for his unusually long Chapter, the "Brass Bullets" have been omitted from this edition.) The Murder Of Allen And Lynching Of Wingo In 1853 A remark, made by John S. Frazier, at The Richmond Missourian office, that his grandfather, Eli Frazier, saw "Dick" Allen murdered by - Wingo in Richmond, some time between 1850 and 1855, led to our examining the records and existing accounts of the tragedy. The result is the Chapter, which evidently gives, for the first time, the unbiased and identifying background and detail of the murder by "Wingo the tinker" of Allen, the Virginia-born gentleman, who lived south (and perhaps a bit east) of Allen’s Brick Mill. In the 1881 county history, the villain of this Chapter was called "Wingo, the wagon-maker" - but "Wingo the tinker" evidently is the correct identification. Mr.s Allen, in the old chronicles, is usually referred to as Richard or "Dick" Allen, but his full name was Benjamin Richard Allen. Wingo’s full name was Obidiah W. Wingo. In the office of John E. Short, our Circuit Clerk, Miss Alice Rice Davis, kindly hunted up a misplaced record book "B" that contains the minutes of the Ray Circuit Court of the year 1853. Therein it is found that the real name of the name who murdered "Dick" Allen was Obidiah W. Wingo, and that Wingo had been previously indicted in Circuit Court charged with "burglary and larceny," but proof sufficient to convict was lacking. The Allen family records, now in the possession of Geo. W. Buchanan, prove that Mr. Allen’s full name was Benjamin Richard Allen, that he was born in Virginia in 1816, and that he was murdered on October 10, 1853, at the age of 37 years. Benjamin Richard Allen was the son of Josiah Allen of Virginia, who had married Miss Gordon, and B. R.A. was one of three children. He married Miss Ann Lavinia Rives on December 23, 1840, and to them were born four children, as follows: Caroline Archer, Henry and Nannie (twins) and Lucy Richard Allen. Nannie Allan married Robert Offutt, and they lived many years in the Missouri river bottom, and with them Mrs. Benjamin Richard Allen died on January 4, 1890, after having lived many years after the murder with her sister, Mrs. Henrietta Rives Watkins, at Westover Farm, just south of Richmond. Lucy Richard Allen married a Mr. Wilson, and they lived in California. Benjamin Richard Allen, always referred to in the old traditions as "Dick" or Richard Allen, was a near kinsman of James Richardson Allen and his brother, Dr. Thomas Allen, and Samuel V. Allen, as well as being the husband of one of the Rives girls. Now, let us present concise recreating of the most blood-thirsty Ray County murder of the Eighteen Fifties, as follows: Benjamin Richard Allen, whom we shall here call "Dick" Allen, rode on horseback from his farm, southeast of Richmond, Ray County, Missouri to Richmond. He hitched his horse in front of what is now the printing office of The Richmond Missourian, on that crisp morning on Monday, October 10, 1853. Just a few day previous to that October 10, Carr Brothers of Lexington had finished the first job of macadam street here in Richmond, and the streets around the public square were very rough. Tradition has it that Mr. Allen brought a then fashionable bandanna silk handkerchief for his lovely wife, also a pound of sugar-stick candy for their four children, on that fateful morning. As soon as his saddle horse was shod at a local blacksmith shop, he mounted his horse and started home riding past the west side of the Shaw House (now the Richmond Hotel), and turning into Franklin Street east, on which Obidiah W. Wingo kept his little tinker-shop. Wingo, the most dreaded and most hated man in the ante-bellum history of Richmond-Ray, was standing in his shop-as he saw Dick Allen riding toward him. Grabbing his shotgun, Wingo ran out into Franklin Street, and stopped Mr. Allen, accusing his of "lying about him." Mr. Allen had not talked about and knew little about Wingo, and he frankly denied all such charges. Quicker than it could be told, Wingo raised his shotgun and emptied one barrel of a heavy charge into Benjamin Richard Allen’s head, causing his death. John S. Frazier’s father told him that grandfather Eli Frazier witnessed the shooting, and that Wingo then came over to where he was standing, and asked him what he thought of what he had done. Mr. Frazier said, "Wingo, you have done a mighty bad thing." Wingo was arrested by a group of angry citizens, and lodged in jail. Geo. W. Dunn, Circuit Judge, living here in Richmond, immediately convened a special term of court, and on the same day (October 10th) a grand jury indicted Obidiah W. Wingo, charging him with murdering Richard Allen. Wingo had been promptly lodged in jail by Sheriff Benjamin J. Brown, and sentiment ran high, yet no move had been made to start a mob. The court record shows that Eugene D. Parsons was appointed as counsel for Wingo on October 13, Wingo refused to accept any counsel. When the trail was called, Wingo declared that he was not ready for trail, asking for 48 hours to examine the venire of jurors. In Circuit Court, tradition says that Wingo demanded of Judge Dunn that he bring the widow, Mrs. Dick Allen, into court-and that this brazen outburst touched off the flame of local sentiment. It was rumored that Wingo had planned to kill Sheriff Brown on the night before the trail, and then escape. It is claimed that "a turn of a thought" saved Sheriff Brown. A big crowd was in court, and a bigger crowd had gathered in the street, offensively and in the ugliest way of any man who ever sat in a local defendant’s chair. Judge Dunn continued the case on October 14 to November 7. The following witnesses were put under $50 bond each for appearance on November 7: Henry Boggess, Thos. A. Richardson, Ephriam D. Ferree, W.W. Mosby, John Guy, Walter Abbitt, Felix G. Branstetter, Eli Sensebaugh, Wm. Dawson and Joseph Chew. At this juncture, on October 14, Judge Dunn adjourned court, remanding the defendant to jail. Sheriff Brown left the courtroom with his prisoner, and, as he reached the "stone Stile" in front of the courthouse, a crowd of unmasked leading citizens surrounded him. The Sheriff was ordered to surrender his prisoner to the mob-but his reply was: "No, men, I will not surrender this man. Lookout, stand back-let loose of my gun"- and the struggle was on! Wingo jumped or fell on his head and neck, on reaching the stone stile. Mr. Frazier’s grandfather, Eli Frazier, who was present, said that Thomas Ewing and Thomas word were the first of several men who tried to put the rope around Wingo’s neck. The rope was bought and "greased" at John P. Quesenberry’s store. Wingo, a powerfully built man, was successfully resisting the rope. One old account says a "professional man" -and Eli Frazier said it was his friend, Doctor Roberts of Millville-who struck Wingo, saying, "Now, he is down -you can put the rope on him." Wingo was dragged on his face over the newly paved, rocky streets, past the Hudgins House corner (now the Christian church), and, at a point where Camden street crosses the "gully," the mob chose a tree on which to hang the already unconscious Wingo. Edward G. Parson, red-headed and fearless, stood up on something and tried to make a speech, pleading for "law and order." The leader of the mob replied that the mobsters would handle his case after they had hanged Wingo. Lawyer Parsons left the scene, without delay. One chronicle declares that Wingo’s body swung in the October wind for the balance of the day and all that night. The body was cut down the next day and buried, said to have been at the county court house expense. Another version is that Wingo was buried on the night following the lynching. Obidiah W. Wingo was a morose, woman-hating, vicious, domineering, hateful, threatening man, so feared that he could go into any store in Richmond and buy anything on credit, they knowing that he never would pay, because business men dreaded him like the cholera. The statement of the elderly John Wollard, founder of Richmond, then a recent convert of the Richmond Presbyterian church, illustrated the Richmond mind, when he became a "backslider" long enough to bitterly swear that "Wingo ought to be hung." Wingo had previously threatened to kill Mr. Wollard, a very peaceful citizen. The existing accounts and their records seems to make it clear that Obidiah W. Wingo was lynched on October 14, 1853. When Circuit Court met again on November 7, 1853, the prosecutor suggested to Circuit Judge Geo. W. Dunn that, "since the defendant had died since the last adjournment, the case be dismissed." "Dismissed." Nothing is said of record about a lynching! Sheriff Benjamin J. Brown was later State Senator, President pro-tem of the Senate, and Colonel of the Missouri State Guards, killed in action at the battle of Wilson Creek, August 10, 1861, while on duty as Inspector of the State Guards for the Southern Confederacy. He was twice Sheriff-from 1838 to 1842, and from 1850 to 1854. He was also County collector. Colonel Brown was undoubtedly the most popular citizen in the history of Ray County. (Ending Chapter 567. - This ends Chapter 567, which puts into permanent from, as well as can be done, after the dust of over 88 years has clouded some of the details, the saddest tragedy of the year 1853 in Richmond, Ray County, Missouri. On next Monday, Chapter 568 will consist of three short sketches, entitles as follows: "Benjamin J. Brown"; and "The Marriage of Pocahontas"; and "The Clevis Made by Tom Shimmins.") ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Jenna Zunker USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for profit or any form of presentation, must obtain the written consent of the file submitter, or their legal representative, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------