Lenoir County, NC - STATE vs JOHN TILGHMAN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STATE vs JOHN TILGHMAN – North Carolina Supreme Court Case #6724 – NC Archives, Raleigh, NC. Source provided by Roger Kammerer and abstracted by Martha Mewborn Marble. Original spellings retained. NOTE: Most Supreme Court Cases are disjointed and often many documents are not clear. I have tried to arrange this case in as readable form as possible. Craven County Court on 4th Monday of September 1850 – John L. Hawks, Solicitor, prosecuting. Def’s attorney was William H. Washington. At Superior Court in Lenoir Co on 14 Oct. 1850 the case, State vs John Tilghman, was presented – John W. Ellis, judge, Richard W. King, Sheriff. Jurors were James W. Cox, foreman, Thomas Hill, Newit Edwards, Alexander Hill, Edwin Taylor, Willis Rouse, Richard B. Waters, Lewis M. Loftin, Needham Moore, Amos Stroud, Jonathan Case, Joel Waters, Jr., Oliver Herring, Richard Hill, Barnett R. Howard, Philip Miller, Council B. West and Shadrack Hill John Tilghman late of County of Lenoir not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the devil on the 15 Aug 1850 – took a rifle worth 5 shillings, loaded it with gunpowder and one lead bullet – held it against Joseph Tilghman and shot him in the right side of the forehead a little above the right eye – it was a mortal wound and he died instantly. Both the deceased and the def lived in Lenoir County. John Tilghman pled not guilty. Prosecutor said an impartial trial could not be held in Lenoir Co because the public had been predijuced (sic) in favor of the defendant – he understands the father and friends of the def will have 50 men to acquit the def – all the citizens of Lenoir who could serve on a jury have an opinion. Requested the trial be moved to Craven County. The following to be called as witnesses for the State – Peel Wilson, Thomas Hardee, William Wingate, Carroll Jackson, Doctor Thomas Woodley, Alexander Tilghman, Council Wooten and James B. Webb – each to be paid $2.00. Council Wooten for the appearance of Matilda Wooten; Wilson Tilghman for the appearance of Joseph Tilghman. DEPOSITIONS 1. Joseph Wilson testified he knew the def and the dec – that afternoon the dec. parted with the witness at a hog pen on the land of the dec where he had gone to feed his hogs – the dec started towards his house about 400 yards distant and the wit went to resume his labor – in about 10 minutes he heard rifle fire – went to investigate and saw the dec staggering to his house – had hat on his head – a few minutes later he heard an alarm at the house so he ran and saw the dec in his door bleeding and his wife cutting off his hair to stop the blood – the dec had a wound on each side of his head and one in the forehead – wit started to Kinston about 7 miles away for a doctor – when going by the hog pen he saw a wallet with corn in it on the road and knew it belonged to the dec – when he returned from Kinston, Tilghman was dec – the wit testified he saw footprints of a barefoot person pointing both ways between the wallet and the puddle of blood and the dec had on no shoes. The wit lived with the deceased as a labourer and said the dec told him the def had shot him before he died. The defense objected to this testimony and it was decided it could only be used as a declaration of the dec. 2. Dr. Woodley testified the dec was already dead when he arrived. He saw the def the same day and he had a wound through the right hand made with a knife. It cut an artery and he would have died if he had not seen a doctor. 3. Mrs. Susan Tilghman testified she was the widow of the dec; before he died he told her how to distribute his property – sell the land and keep the negroes – she said the dec’s brother, Wilson Tilghman, was present at that time. She also testified about the earlier fight and said the def threatened to tell his grandfather and the father of the dec about notes the dec held against him and said “You know you got the land for nothing you bought from Grandfather”. – the dec told his wife and the def that he had taken up several notes from John C. Washington upon his father, that it was done with his father’s money and he acted as his agent – the dec said he held the notes uncancelled and intended to hold then against his father as though he had purchased them from Washington – one note was for $500 and the widow said the def threatened to tell his Grandfather about the notes – the dec said he intended to kill his father before Sat. night – the dec and the def had another quarrel – the dec was a blacksmith and hid his gun there with the intentions of killing the def. 4. Wilson Tilghman stated he was the brother to the dec and the father to the def – said the dec was addled and spoke indistinctly. He stated the dec did not hear the rifle. 5. All of the above stated the dec could not decide if he was going to live or die. 6. William Wingate stated he was at the house after the shooting and before the death and heard Wilson ask the dec what happened but they could not understand him – at some point the dec said the def told him he came to kill him but Wingate disputed this (not clear) – Wingate said he saw the def the same day at Council Wooten’s and he was on the piazza bleeding – he also saw the knife exhibited in court – Wingate told the def that for $150 he would leave the county and not testify to what he had heard and seen. 7. Council Wooten testified he lived 400 yards from the road where the wallet and blood was found – he heard the rifle and 5 minutes later the def came to his house with the rifle – the def was bleeding 8. Carrol Jackson testified in July he was at the house of the dec when a controversy arose between two little girls about a brooch of cotton – both the dec and the def were there and had words – the dec threatened to kill the def. 9. (No first name) Cox testified the week before the dec said the def had abused him The jury found the def guilty and sentenced him to be hanged on 6 June 1851 between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. There was some question if the jury acted properly and if the wife could testify. A mistrial was called for and the case was appealed to the NC Supreme Court who turned them down. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Martha Mewborn Marble ___________________________________________________________________