DANBURY REPORTER
Volume 57.
THE TERRIBLE TRAGEDY
OF CHRISTMAS DAYj
C. D. Lawson, A Farmer, While In An Insane Fit,
Kills His Wife, Six Children and Himself—
Victims Buried In One Grave While Six Thou
sand People Attend.
The most distressing tragedy
which the people of Stokes
county have witnessed in theii
history occurred near German
ton on Christmas day. when
C. D. Lawson, a farmer, mur-
J dered his wife and six children,
and when his ghastly job was
completed, ended his own lif'
by placing a shotgun against
his breast and pulling the trig
ger. He was instantly killed.
The first news () f the tragedy
reached Danbury about four
o'clock Wednesday afternoon,
Dec. 25. when Sheriff John J.
Taylor received a telegram cal
ling for his presence at the
scene of the horror. He respon
ded instantly.
It appears that Lawson, who
had been a good citizen, and >n
good circumstances, was tht
head of a family of a wife an.J
seven children, living noar Ger
manton. If he had ever shown
any insane symptoms, no on2
knew about it. After Christ
mas dinner he took down his
gun, shot and instantly killed
his daughter, Marie, aged 17.
Turning upon his wife he blew
her heart out with a load from
a shot gun, then with the gun
he brained her 5-months old
infant. Next to receive his
attention were James William,
aged 4, and Raymond, aged 2
years. These he instantly kill
ed by shooting of knocking in
the head with the butt of his
gun. In the meantime, possi
bly alarmed from the carnage
going on in the household, two
daughters, Maybelle, aged 13.
and Carrie, aged about 7, ran
toward the home of an uncle.
But the maniac-murderer, com
pleting his task of destruction
in the home, sped after them
and quickly overtook the flee
ing children near a tobacco
barn 200 yards distant. There
he quickly dispatched and pla
ced their little bodies in the
tobacco barn. The madman
now, as if he were suddenly
conscious of the horror o' his
deeds, rushed across the fields
some hundreds of yards away,
where he blew his own heart
out with a load from the gun.
The first to discover the trag
edy was Elisha, a brother of
the dead slayer, who passed
soon on his way from hunting.
Seeing the blood and viewing
the bodies in the home, Elisha
quickly gave the alarm and
quickly the country in and ar
ound Germanton was roused as
never before, and hundreds o i
people began to gather at the
Lawson home.
The verdict of the Coroner':!
jury was that the act was that
of an insane man.
The bodies were taken to
Madison, •vtfhe.re an undertake 1 *
Established 1872. Danbury, N. C., Jan. 1, 1930
prepared them for burial, and
on Friday afternoon in the pre
sence of the largest crowd ever
assembled in Stokes county the |
eight victims were buried in j
one grave.
C. D. Lawson formerly livevl
near Lawsonville and was a son
of Gus Lawson. His wife wa*
a daughter of John Manring,
of Peter's Creek township. Re
is survived by one son, Arthur,
who was in Germanton at the
time of the tragedy, and sever
al brothers, viz: Marion, Geo.
and Elisha.
TWENTY-ONE BUY
LICENSE TO WED
Not All the Couples Who Marry
Go To South Carolina And
Virginia, As Shown By the
Record Here.
It is getting to be a general
opinion here that nearly all the
couples marrying in the county
go to South Carolina or Vir
ginia to wed. hut the following
list will show for itself that at
least some people are still buy
ing license to wed ' in.. Stokes.
These couples have obtained li
censes since Dec. 10th:
Ellis Collins to Mavis King.
G. Curtis Riser to Mae Har
rison.
Buford A. Hartsell to Dora
Ann Bowman.
Percy M. Shelton to Ada M.
Cardwell.
William Moss to Maggie L.
James.
P. J. Langley to Pearl Har
wood.
Herman R. White to Mary
Alice Blayloek.
Manie Stephens to Josie
Rhodes.
Otis Tuttle to Hazel Tuttle.
Terry Shelton to Estelle
Eaton.
Grover Martin to Ollie May
Berry.
. .H. A. Kritz to Pauline Smith.
John Henry Mabe to Lady
Mae Harris.
Virgil Ore to Alice Flippin.
Claud R. Southern to Hessie
Lee Tatum.
Charlie Lyne to Mary West
moreland.
James A. Joyce to Wille M.
Mitchell.
Robert Craddock to
Collins.
Posie Bennett to Lela Mabe.
William Stultz to Maggie B.
Bullin.
Paul Southern to Versie A
Young.
J. R. Nunn, well known citi
zen of the county, was a visitor
here from Quaker Gap town
ship Tuonday.
S. M. Walker, of Westlield,
spent Monday here.
NEWSY LETTER
FROM KING
Death?. Marriages. Social Af
fairs. Etc.—Four Boys En
list In Army Christmas
Trees By Churches.
King. Dec. 30.—Peyton Hut
chins, of Wilmington, Del., i*
spending a few days with his
mother, Mrs". J. R. Hutchins, on
Main street.
E. F. Walker and children, ol
Pinnacle, wish to thank their
neighbors and friends for theii
assistance and sympathy dur
ing the illness and death o f the
wife and mother of the family.
T. K. Hendrix, a planter re
siding just south of town, but
chered four nice porkers last
week weighing 390, 400, 41.1
and 450 pounds. Total weight
1635, average 413 pounds each.
Other;; who have butchered
hogs recently were as follows:
N. E. Preston, lweighing 532,
H. L. Southern 1 weighing 461
and Auburn Newborn 1 at 420.
Fred Hauser, a medical stu
dent at Richmond, Va., is spen
ding a few days with relatives
here.
K. W. Pulliam, of Anniston,
Ala., spent the holidays with
his mother, Mrs. J. S. D. Pul
liam here.
L. G. Lawson and Miss Percie
Kirby, popular young people of
King, were happily married
here Friday. Rev. Mr. Wilson
o'f Rural Hall officiated. After
a short honeymoon they will b-J
at home in King.
Eva Stone, aged about 12,
was slightly burned about the
face and head here Friday as
she put kerosene on hot coals
in the grate.
Claud Southern, of King, and
Miss Hessie Lee Tatum, or
Meadows, were married here
Friday. The bride is the young
daughter of Joe Tatum, while
the groom is the son of the late
Joel Y. Southern, of King. They
will make their home in King.
Miss Florence Pike, aged 53,
died at the State hospital in
Morganton Thursday. The re
mains were brought to home
of her sister, Mrs.Emmet Hall,
here Saturday and carried to
Lawsonville and laid to rest on
Sunday afternoon.
Four King boys enlisted in
the U. S. Army last week. They
were Coy and Hoyle Preston
and Norvell Goff and Herman
Snider. They left the Winston
recruiting office Friday morn
ing for Fort Bragg.
A crowded house attended
the Love Feast and Candle Ser
vice at the King Moravian
church Sunday afternoon.
Three churches in King had
Christmas trees: First Baptist,
Tuesday night; Trinity, Wed
nesday night, and Christian on
Friday night.
Dock and Jack BOylea, of
Winston-Salem, spent the week
end with their brother, C. O.
Boyle.s.
Attorney Ernest Gordon, of
(Continued oa page 8.)
100 AUTOS STOLEN
IN TEN DAYS
All Records For North Caro
lina Kroken During Holidays
—Thirty-One Cars Stolen
On Christmas Day.
Raleigh, Dec. 28.—More than
100 automobiles were stolen in
North Carolina during the ten
days immediately preceding
and' immediately •' following
Christmas, according to L. S.
Harris, chief of the Automobile
Theft Bureau.
Of this number thirty-one of
the cars were stolen on Christ
mas day and the da>* after,
while more than forty cars
were reported stolen between
December 18 and 21. These fig
gures do not include some 12
or more cars reported stolen
and recovered within the last
few days. The reports as yet
are by no means complete and
and are still coming in for
thefts that occurred before
Christmas.
"The only thing to do at any
time, and especially right now,
is t 0 lock your car every time
it is left, even if for only a few
minutes," said Mr. Harris.
"There are entirely too many
'floaters' about seeking any
way they can to get something
or nothing, and who will not
hesitate to drive a car away if
they can find one unlocked. So
car owners who want to be
sure to keep their cars had bet
ter keep them locked at all
times."
The new double license plates
are going to aid materially in
stopping car thefts and in re
covering stolen cars, Mr.Harris
thinks, since it is harder to al
ter or forge two plates than it
is one, and the two plates muke
it easier for officers to c check
up on cars.
Fewer Fatalities On
Christmas Than Usual
Raleigh, Dec. 27!—F'relemi
nary reports reaching Captain
Charles D. Farmer, head of the
State Highway Patrol, led him
to believe today that there
were fewer fatal accidents in
North Carolina this Christmas
than have been on the holidays
for the past several vja v; be
said.
He stated, however, that
there were a number of acci
dents, some of which werj
caused by drunken drivers, but
injuries and deaths from auto
mobile accidents were few.
Mrs. Nat Nelson
Died Saturday
Mrs. Nat Nelson, of Walnut
Cove, died Saturday and was
buried Sunday at Clear Spring
church cemetery. She had been
ill for only a few days with
pneumonia, and is survived by
her husband and several small
children.
Mrs. Nelson was a daughter
3l Robert Alley.
Funeral services were con
rtucteU by Elder Waft Tuttle.
WALNUT COVE HAS
QUIET CHRISTMAS
Teachers Return and School
Opened Monday—S»cial Af
fairs and Movements Of Peo
ple During Holidays. •
Walnut Cove; N. C.. Dec. 31.
—Christmas week here passe'l
quietly, aside from the tragic
death of the Lawson family,
who lived only three miles out
on the Germanton road. A good
many from here went to the
scene o f the tragedy ah; also
attended the funeral on Friday.
The school here reopened for
work Monday morning. Mem
bers of the faculty who spent
Christmas out of town return
ed on Sunday. Misses Mary
Brewer and Burline Ratly
from Red Springs, Dixie Reev
es, of Raeford; H. R. Britton, of
Marion, Va. Mrs. Anne Carter
spent the holidays at Mt. Airy
with relatives.
Miss Nonie Dell Lovin, of
Red Springs, is the guest oi
Mrs. Leake Lovin.
Attorney Gilmer Sparger .re
turned Saturday from Balti
more, where he visited rela
tives,
Mr. and Mrs. Donne 11 .Van
Noppen and small son, Donne!!,
Jr., were the guests o 1 Mrs. J.
G. Fulton the past week.
Mrs. J. W. Jones and small
daughter. Mary Hunter, spent
Christmas at Martinsville, Va.,
with relatives.
Miss Alice Fulton has return
ed from a visit with friends at
Mocksville. She was accomp
anied home by Miss Delte
Grant who will be her guest un
til Thursday, when they will
return to their studies at N. C.
C. W.
Mrs. Paul Davis entertained
at dinner Thursday, having as
her guests, Mr. and Airs. Geo.
Fulton, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Ful
ton.
Thomas Hardy Rothrock has
returned from Roanoke Rapids,
where he spent a part the
holidays with Mark Allen.
' Miss Nellie Chilton returned
Thursday from a visit to her
sister, Mrs. Hugh Moorp, at
Asheville.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Fulton
went to Greensboro Monday
evening where they were din
ner guests of Mr. and Mrs. C.
C. Fordham.
The ladies of the Eastern
Star served a dinner to the Ma
sons and several additional
guests yesterday evening in the
building formerly occupied by
the Joyce Clothing Co. Tables
were placed and decorated with
artistic effect and seventy-five
guests were served a delicious
dinner. The funds go for the
work of the Eastern Star.'
Misses Alice and Frances
Fulton and Mary Frances Da
vis, students at N. C. C. W„ re
turn to their school wc-k on
Thursday. ,
Miss Grace Woodruff return
t
j (Continued on page 3.)
auvW"*"
STOKES MAN
TAKEN TO DAVIE
Gives Hand On Two Charge*
There—Lonnie Bowles Also
Wanted In Stokes On' Seri
ous Charge.
Moeksville, Dec. 27.—Sheriff
John Taylor, of Stokes county,
delivered to Sheriff Cope today,
a. prisoner, Lonnie Bowles, wh:>
lias long been wanted in Davie
to answer to certain charges of
infringement of the law.
Bowles was running a filling
station in Stokes and is alleged
to have been living there with
a woman other than his wife.
The charges against him here
are for manufacturing liquor
and living in adultery. He for
merly made his home in Farm'
ington township, Davie county.
Bowles gave bond in the sum of
SI,OOO on the liquor charge and
S2OO upon the adultery charge.
When this court passes upon
hini he will be returned to
"Stokes county tu answer to the
charge of the tlfet't of a gun.
PATRICK CITIZEN '
SHOOTS HIMSEIJF
Henry Hylton Commits Suicide
In Tobacco Barn—No Cause
Assigned For Rash Deed—
Lived Near Stokes Line.
Henry Hylton, a prominent
and aged citizen of Patrick
county, Va., committed suiciue
Friday evening by shooting
himself through the head in .i
tobacco barn on his planta
tion. He lived near Spencer.
No cause has been learned
for Mr. Hylton's rash deed,
though it is supposed his mind
was unbalanced.
The deceased was a brother
of the late W. R. Hylton, and
also of J. W. Hylton, who lives
in Winston-Salem.
Hannibal Woolwine
Dies Suddenly
Hannibal Woolwine, a well
known officer of Patrick coun
ty. Va., dropped dead at his
home at Stuart Monday. This
news was brought here by citi
zens of the northern part of
Stokes county today.
Death Of Robert Hicks.
Robert Hicks, aged 85 years,
died at his home in easteiM
Stokes on December 22. Inter
ment was in Salem Chapel eein
etery on Christmas eve. The
deceased is survived by G sons
and daughters. Eighteen o
more grand children also sur
vive.
Seriously Burned.
Samuel Snider, of Snow
Creek township, was seriously
burned a few days ago, and his
condition is reported quite un
favorable. Mr. Snider is the
father of Mrs. Zeb Smith,
Danbury.
D. M. Pyrtli* visited Winston
i-'alem Friday.
No. 3,007