NEWS REPORTS CONCERNING NEGROES IN SMITH COUNTY, TX - 1859-1875 Submitted by East Texas Genealogical Society P. O. Box 6967, Tyler, TX 75711 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ***************************************************************** TYLER REPORTER, February 19, 1859, p. 3, c. 7 Runaway Slave. Committed to the Jail of Smith county, on the 19th of January, 1859, a Negro Man, about 32 years of age, black complexion, with a mustache and whiskers, about 5 feet 6 inches high, heavy built, and calls his name "Bill," and says that he belongs to Archy McMillan, who lives about 25 miles from Shreveport, in Caddo Parish, La., near Spring Ridge. The owner is requested to some forward, prove property, and pay charges, or he will be dealt with as the law directs. J. M. Williams, Sh'ff S. C. v4n21 Jan. 19, 1859 ------------------------------------------------------------------- TYLER REPORTER, August 21, 1862, p. 3, c. 3 Committed To the jail of Smith county, Texas, on the 5th day of August, 1862, a certain negro man, of the following description to-wit: About 26 years old, of dark complexion, about 5 feet 10 inches high, weighs about 175 pounds, has a small moustache, full eyes, tolerably quick spoken, and says his name is Jackson, sometimes called Jack, and that he belongs to Robert Gaston, who lives two and a half miles from Rake Pocket, in Rusk county, Texas. The owner of said slave is requested to come forward, prove property, pay charges and take him away, or he will be dealt with according to law. [7-39] Benj. Scott, Sh'ff S. C. ------------------------------------------------------------------- TYLER REPORTER, August 28, 1862, p. 3, c. 3 Runaway Negro in Jail. Taken up by O. W. Byers and committed to the Jail of Wood County, by E. R. Shuford, Esqr., on the 22nd day of July 1862, a certain negro boy who says his name is George, and that he belongs to James H. Batts of Burleson County, said boy is about 22 or 23 years old, and will weigh about 140 pounds, he had on when taken up, coarse cotton clothing and an old worn out casamier [sic] or cotton hat. The owner of said slave is hereby required to come forward prove property, pay charges, and take him out, or he will be dealt with as the law directs. A. Baird, jailor Wood Co., August 28th, 1862. ------------------------------------------------------------------- [SHREVEPORT] THE SOUTH-WESTERN, August 30, 1865, p. 2, c. 4 Arrest in Texas.—The Tyler Reporter says that Mr. F. D. Weaver, on Friday morning, was arrested at his plantation, about three miles from town, by a detachment of federal soldiers and started off for Shreveport. We understand that the arrest is on a charge that Mr. Weaver shot a negro man, wounding him in the arm, some time since, which fact has been reported to headquarters at Shreveport. We hear it stated that the negro had a wife at Weaver's, to whom he was on a visit at the time he was shot; that Mr. Weaver ordered him off the premises, and that his conduct, in this connection, was the occasion of the shooting.—What the negro's conduct was, we have not learned. Since the above was in type, we learn from the Henderson Times that Mr. Weaver made his escape from the authorities before he reached Marshall. ------------------------------------------------------------------- FLAKE'S BULLETIN [GALVESTON], May 8, 1866, p. 4, c. 3 Horrid Murder. From the Tyler Index, April 11th.] We learn through a gentleman from Upshur, that a horrid murder has been committed in that county some 7 or 8 miles South of Gilmer, near the Hagan's Ferry road, upon the person of a negro boy some 15 or 16 years of age. The negro boy had been at work for a Mr. Jeter, with whom some of the family had some difficulty. At night the negro was seen by Mr. Jeter's son in the horse lot with a rope in his hand. The next morning young Jeter and Mr. Barlow arrested the negro on a charge of horse stealing, took him before a Justice, who discharged him, as there was no evidence to convict him. The gentlemen started with him to Gilmer, but after being gone several hours, he returned, remarking that the prisoner had escaped. This occurred some time between the first and tenth of March. Some few mornings since, a lad in the neighborhood of Gum Branch was out turkey hunting and found the negro hung to a dogwood limb, his knees upon the ground, with evident marks of having been killed and then hung up to the tree in the position he was found. Circumstances lead to the suspicion of young Mr. Jeter and Mr. Barlow, his brother-in-law, who have fled from the country. ------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXAS REPUBLICAN [MARSHALL], January 25, 1868, p. 2, c. 5 A Fiendish Suggestion.—In speaking of the interruption of the Caldwell-negro Radical meeting at Marshall, the National Index, an infamous paper published at Tyler, by one S. D. Wood, the following incendiary language is used: "Harrison county has enough freedmen in it to suppress these mobs and a few more acts as this repeated, and they will most likely do it, if not we'll lend them some, long enough for Judge Caldwell to speak." We trust the negroes will pay no attention to such suggestions. The man who can make such is unworthy the respect of the blackest freedman in Texas.—Henderson Times. ------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXAS REPUBLICAN [MARSHALL], January 11, 1868, p. 2, c. 3 The Quitman Clipper learns that a few nights since the house of Mr. Craddock, of Wood county, was fired into, fortunately for the inmates, doing them no hurt. Negroes mounted and armed, from Smith county, did the deed. After this, the same party of negroes, and another of white men met, when a skirmish ensued, which terminated in the killing of several blacks, and dispersing the remainder of them. ------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXAS REPUBLICAN [MARSHALL], April 16, 1868, p. 2, c. 3 The Tyler Index gives an account of a negro boy 15 or 16 years of age, who was hung in Upshur county, about the 10th of March last. The parties suspicioned him of attempting to steal a horse, and took him before a magistrate for examination. There not being sufficient proof to confine him, he was discharged. They started back with him, and afterwards reported he had escaped. He was subsequently found in the woods, having been hung, without judge or jury. The Index says that Mr. Barlow and a young Mr. Jeter, who had him in charge, have fled. We agree with the Index in condemning all such crimes, and think the authors of them should be punished to the extent of the law. ------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXAS REPUBLICAN [MARSHALL], July 10, 1868, p. 2, c. 5 Three negroes recently escaped from the jail at Tyler, by running over the jailor when he opened the door. The Reporter states that two were recaptured; the other made his escape. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY AUSTIN REPUBLICAN, July 14, 1870, p. 2, c. 3 HEARD FROM.—The negro man who, some two or three years ago, killed another in Starrville and threw him in a well, and who was sentenced to be hung by our District Court, but broke out of jail and escaped the day before his execution was to have taken place, has turned up recently in Harrison county, being rearrested, and is now in jail in Marshall. Our Sheriff has gone after him. We understand that his sentence has been reduced to penitentiary for life, by Gov. Davis. —Tyler Republican. ------------------------------------------------------------------- AUSTIN DEMOCRATIC STATESMAN, August 13, 1873, p. 2, c. 3 They are endeavoring to raise money in Tyler to build a Presbyterian Church. Randall Hill, a notorious negro preacher in that town, was lately sentenced to the penitentiary for stealing. Henry Grant was also sent to the same place for being like his namesake too fond of smoking and taking a box of cigars without leave. ------------------------------------------------------------------- AUSTIN DEMOCRATIC STATESMAN, August 19, 1873, p. 2, c. 2 The Tyler Democrat of the sixteenth inst., gives an account of three murders, which have taken place in that neighborhood in the space of one week. The first was that of a young man, named Lee, who was killed by a negro man for money he had upon his person. The second was a case between two negroes. The third was that of a negro man by a white man. Crime often becomes epidemic, and this look very much like there was an epidemic of crime prevailing in the neighborhood of Tyler ------------------------------------------------------------------- CLARKSVILLE STANDARD, September 20, 1873, p. 1, c. 3 Negro hung.-On Wednesday night of last week, Jack Johnson, one of the negroes supposed to be implicated in the recent murder of M. H. See, in the Wimberly neighborhood, was taken from his house, by unknown parties, and hung. The Coroner's inquest, we understand, failed to elicit anything further than above stated. The negro was taken some quarter of a mile from the public road and hung, where he remained two or three days before he was discovered.-Tyler Democrat. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DALLAS HERALD, January 11, 1874, p. 2, c. 4 --A colored man by the name of George Williams was murdered on Mrs. Butler's plantation, about eleven miles south of Tyler, on Saturday night last.—Tyler Index. ------------------------------------------------------------------- AUSTIN DEMOCRATIC STATESMAN, January 26, 1875, p. 1, c. 7 The negro that murdered the organ-grinder for fifty cents at Tyler has been condemned to death. ------------------------------------------------------------------- AUSTIN DEMOCRATIC STATESMAN, February 19, 1875, p. 1, c. 7 Two or three negroes were shot last week in a colored row in a saloon in Tyler ------------------------------------------------------------------- DALLAS HERALD, April 10, 1875, p. 1, c. 3 --Tyler Reporter: "Colonel Marsh received on Tuesday night last, a telegraphic dispatch from Palestine to the effect that Green Williams (colored), who was sentenced here to be hung, with all the prisoners in the Palestine jail, made their escape on that night." ------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXAS CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE, December 11, 1875, p. 8, c. 3 On the 6th instant, at Overton, Texas, a negro named Calvin Whipp cut the throat of a twelve year old boy, with a razor; the murderer was captured.