Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / July 22, 1906, edition 1 / Page 3
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JCnARLOTTE ; DAILY OBSERVE, JULY 22," 1906, THE LYERLY MURUEB CASE - (Continued from f Ona) r breathe. ; Addle "went back upstairs and t hot ut ' some clothei, which we put on la th yard." YV then loft for Mr. Cooke'a, Addl leading Jan,le and I oarryJng-AMcw, ,V - JDQORAND VINDOW OPEN. ". ' '" "Th front door and - the window that opena Into papa's room from the porch war open. The key on , the Inside of the door. ' I always locked the floor at nic-nt: dui , iner if apa went out and, on returning. arrot to. turn . .the key. r ; Anyone 'uld have soften in through the Window, without much effort. "Fapa'a axe lay at the woodpile, for K aaw It there the afternoon before. John and Alice . had been cutting '. -oed. :.-' -: ' ' "When I' went to bed papa v wa East aaleep snoring, , ' ; Mama ' waa doalng oft.' Thai was a 'few minutes before o'clock. Addle and I Blent - together. ' I heard no noise. . ' -' 'The lamp, which had a porcelain I bowl, was nearly full ofdll. It had c been filled the Saturday before. I know that It waa sitting . 'on the ,' bureau and the burner waa on. When , we arose, the lamp , was on , the bearth. ' - v-.-., ' , . ' "John CMlespl- and I Henry - Le, : aon and step-son of Neaae, started a crop. They lived hi the house with Nease and his wife, bid Fannie. One day Fannie came down. home and got after papa for having Heary and his wlfa. live in with them.- She waa ' mad because they slept on her beds. Saturday following. Nease came and asked father what was the trouble with him and the boys." They had tone conversation and .Nease cursed tana. who drove him out of the yard ' Oeoraw Cranford, who worked or us then, said that Nease declared that ha would kill 'old man me L,yeny.' Mr. Cranford told us about it the next morning. Nease was mad. - Papa .told him that he would have to. bow - the wheat or leave. "Mr Cranford went from here to ; bis homo at Mlldebrand. "Nease was down there once or ewlea after that but I never heard any more until a few days before the , tragedy. ' ' Nease came down and asked papa what he waa going to do with the wheat, rapa teia mm , thrash It.' "Delia, Jack's wife, and mama had ; trouble Friday morning about the oap rods in the tub. After mama -left I wont down to the spring and beard Delia aay: 'If she (meaning ' mamma) had said three more words 1 would have downed her.' "Jack and papa did not get along , together. Jack had been there Just about a week. He told papa that he "Waa going to work for Mr. Penning r. Papa said, Well. Jack, If you go there and work five days without laying off. I will treat.' "I heard Jack say that, he wouldn't go to work tor no man before 1 o'clock. ' "Mr, Jim Taylor, who had been working for us and sleeping In the bouse, spent last Friday night with ,8am Cooke. I was straining the milk when he left Sam Cooke had come 'over to our house to bring a grain 'cradle which his .father ha3T borrow ed that morning. Jack was at the lot with Delia who helped -us to milk - th cows. Jim Taylor. . Sam Cooke and Jack left together, going down . th path toward the spring. That anoralng Jack had worked for Mr. J Cooke and -then he' went down to . Mr. Pennlnger's to get a job. Jim 'Taylor had seen Mr. Pennlnger and oured work." " On being questioned by the law per -'Mia Lyerly .continued . "'Papa kept most of "his money In the bureau upstairs. Nothing,, in the house was disturbed. Even Alice's little pock- t book, which contained 25 cents, was left on th bureau by her bed. "We did not go by Jack Dllling bam'a house, which waa close to the 'path that leada to Mr. 7 Cooke's, for wo were afraid that Jack might hear us. Wa slipped by, fearing that he tnlght want to kill us too. Sister Janle, who la 10, going on 11., said that ah heard talking In Jack'a bouse we passed. ' It wss then about 11:30 o'clock- We arrived at Mr. Cooke's at U:SS." MISS A DDIS LYERLT ON THE STAND. .. Miss Addle,- the second , Lyerly child, a blond haired 'girl of 15 pears, told of her experience on the 1 bight of the murders In a very di rect and Interesting way. ' "That night," a&ld Miss Addle, "after Mary and I had finished wash' . Inst the dishes and doing our regular : work I sat the lamp In papa's room, on the bureau, blew It out and went up to our room. Some time between ' 10 and 11 o'clock I waked up and felt the heat and smelt the smoke of a fire. Mama had been unwell , and my first thought waa that she had become worse, i went down to ber room and, aa I entered the door, X aaw that th bed' In which papa and John alept was on fire. Papa waa on th foot of th bed. with hla feet drawn up. Hla head waa cloaa to the wall, back wall. He lay on his right aid.' I felt him; he was not cold, but a littl stiff. 4 8 ax i . , ...... i The Seal of Public Approval t 1 f ' :,v;'-.:a, v.. ' "A fire was burning slowly but steadily Jn the middle 'of 1 th bed. The bureau drawer lay Inverted upon th breast Of.John.-who lay: on" his stomach.- Th drawer , waa burning. John's feet extended over ' the edge of the bed. ' ..V'',' " "I pulled papa and John to the floor and .called Mary, oWe worked In the dark. .-:'"'s-"" "After we had put 'out the fir I ran upstairs and got soma clothes for us. I did pot so any light or. hear any talk as we passed Jack's house," ..Minn Addle' corroborated other statements made by her stater.' On being Interrogated1 she made th fol lowing " 'additional " declarations; "When I went down mama's face was covered with a pillow. - One of her feet was' on the floor. -Little slater lay beside her on her back, Just , as ah had slept. v .-' "When papa turned off - the OIK lesple boys, Neas cam down "and asked him why he had done it Papa told him that they would not work the land, and they haor to get - out. Nease was ordered away and a he went he muttered something but I could'"not"understondwrrat rs wald. Mr. Cranford told us that Nease was saying that he would kill 'old Ike Lyerly.' ' - - ' " Jack's wife aald that ; If mama had uttered three mor words . she would have downed her. ' - "Delia, that la Jack's wife, knew how we all slept" , Mr. Matt L. Webb, van Illiterate white man. who drove a wagon for Mr. pennlnger, stated ' that he and Nease had worked together. In part he said: "Three weeks - be for the tragedy, In conversation . with me, while loading lumber at Mr. Pow lasa. Neas brought up the aubject of wheat- ..He declared that he thought the crop would be - pretty good thla year. ' I told him yes.' Then he said: "Well, old man Ike Lyerly can cut mine but he won't eat It. or get the money for It -1 told Jones Thompson what Neas had said and he declared that" Neas wasn't dan gerous." LITTLE HENRY TELLS HIS STORY. After th foregoing persons had had their aay a small, bright faced, curly haired boy, with blue eyes, and pretty features came In. . He carried a little white, soiled hat In his hand. His Hps twitched nervously, and ha seemed uneasy. He looks more like his , Anglo-Saxon father than he does his African mother. When asked who his father waa h called the name of a well-known white man. "Do you like Neas Gillespie?" some one asked. "No, he haa been mean to me," waa the quick reply. Solicitor Hammer took Henry be tween his legs, pulled off his hat and patted hlra on th shoulders, saying: "Boy. we're not going to hurt you. Nobody wanta to harm you. Now you must tell ua all you know." "Nease Glllespl beats me. He's my grandpa. He whipped ma last Friday. Pa (meaning Nease) and John met Henry Lee and Jack at the branch, this sld of Mr. Ike's, Fri day night - That's what pa and John aald when they came back. Pa aald that he didn't care what they did with him after he had done what he wanted tp do. Maw. old Fannie, asked paw where he waa going and he said 'It's non of your business, but you'll know when I come bark.' She said no more. Paw and John came back before day. I was In bed with maw. , . "When paw and John came In they set down by the fire and maw asked paw where he had been and he aald: Ood damn It 1 v been down to old Ik Lyerly's. I God, I went down there and killed them. I told you 1 was going to kUl them, and so, by God. I did.' "It skeered maw nearly to death when paw aaid that. John didn't aay nothing. Jack and paw done It. Paw aald that Jack'a wife held the lamp. All met at the branch. Paw took his ax with him. I aaw him get It. He waahed It off at the branch but there waa some left on the Dole. He and John said they washed It We aaw th axe the next morning and there waa a speck of blood on It. Paw said he killed Mr. Ike and Mlsa Que sts (Mrs. Lyerly) and Jack killed John and Alice. "Maw never asked no more, for she waa akeered. "Jack used Mr. Ike's axe. He and Mr. Iks fell out about a horse. Paw and John aald they set the bed afire. "Before day paw put hla old over alls with John's, In a bed tick of straw and burned them. He burned his shirts too. -We saw them burning them. They burned them because they had blood on them. Blood was all over the shirt and th overalla. . "I left horn early that morning and told Mr- Mann Walton that paw had killed Mr. Ike and Miss Quasle." "Do you know where you would go If you were to tell a story, Henry?" asked Solicitor Hammer. "Yea, air, to the bad place," answered Henry. "Who made you?" -The Lord' waa the ready reply, "paw said they-threw th limp In the brier patch. I saw a church lamp at Jack a house th day ma and TfEN Jl ilaMir ' 3 b ; .?, ; B0RO LIFE will close its first year with a great deal more business on its, books than any other company ever wrote in this territory in one year. .: 'A There's a reason." ".7; ' ' v " ':' (n ',..,- , me went down there." ' V v -The boy started when Mr Ham mer called to some one In a loud voice, and "aald:" They're not going tQ hurt mer are they?'' 1 - .He waa aseurred by a numbers of hla "Country, acqualntanoea that he would be all right If he, told the truth. . .,. ,. ,,. . "I saw the lamp on they mantel piece.. Paw eald-that ;they threw It In a brier thicket" 7. , ; ' Thie littl . negro tella av most ' In teresting story. Hla words ar full of meaning and. the Stat- must rely largely on . what ' hj says to convict the negroes who are now Imprisoned In th Charlotte JalU Henry la dis posed te tell too much but hla story yesterday- tallies,- in th -main,- with the one he told th day after the mucder at the coroner' Inquest. He la amart and very bright. If his stovy Js true Neas Gillespie, John, Henry, George Ervin and Jack and his wife will hang. " No half-grown boy ever" had more responsibility resting upon hlra. - It Is a question of life or death. 1 v NEASE'S WIFE TELLS DIFFERENT , , TALE. ' v If the blackest old hag in darkest Africa wer brought here and put sld byJ -aid, with Fannie-Gillespie, the .wife of Nease, -It would require an expert student of negro faces to tell which waa the native of America. 1 hav never, in all of my experience with negroes, seen Fannie Gillespie's equal. She la black, dirty, mean and stubborn. For two Inches back the hair haa been clipped from-her. fore head, and the-remaining kinks are done In thread. For several" Inches around her eyes the skin of her lean face Is dark colored, as if ah had applied tar to her face until it had come to be a part of her. Bhe wore a nlthr, short dress, and nothing more. Her feet were naked, wrink led and scaly. ' "Fannlo Gillespie," aha aald, "is my nsme," This Is an' Instance where the man took the name of his wife. Nease, who had been knowh as Mich Graham, became a Gillespie after- he married Fannie. The chil dren In neighborhoods, where Fannie haa lived, fear her. They say that che Is craay and likes to run people. She Is not formidable looking, but when her" foot falls It does so without making a sound or leaving a track. Sh glides swiftly, but silently. One think of the miming link as she ap proaches him. The night of the mur der rfhe and little Henry were In the same room. Their stone's do not tally. "I raised Henry Mayhew, the little boy," said Fannie. "What la the matter with your face and eyes and head old woman?" ask ed a lawyer. "Nease put pitch on me and cut my hair while I was asleep. He has been doing that for a long time. I fuess he does it for It happens while am a sleep. He has whipped me many a time. "I have been married to Neas four years. W have lived together 20 years. Me and Nease and John and little Henry lived together. John Is 16 years old. I am his grandma and Nease is his pawv by one of my girls. "The first I knew about the. death of Mr. Ike was before it cam light, when Mr. Plesa Barber cam along and called Nease and asked him if he knew that some one had killed Mr. Ike, Miss Gussle and the children. I called to Henry, waked him up and told him about It "Nease got up, and left for his work. He didn't stay for no break fast. I told him If the Lyerlya were dead to come back and tell m but h didn't do It .1 was In one. room that night and" Nease was in another. John didn't com to my house that night He went away at dinner time Thursday and didn't come back.' He waa at Mr. Mann Walton's. Neas come horn about sundown, "No, sir, I didn't see no crowd at th well. If I told the sheriff that I have forgotten It. I did not say that Nease knew about the murder. Old Fannie had declared, on the morning after the crime that she had seen a crowd of' men at her well Fri day night This. Sheriff Julian aald, en true. Fannin contradicted the sheriff. Mr. Dick" Files said that Fannie had told him that Nease knew about the murder. This. Fannla de nied, also. She did not know any thing about Nease's axe or over alls. She explained the Are In the yard, which she said had been built on Thursday, by saying that Nease hd told her to burn up the bed bugs that were literally' eating him up. "Nease had a pair of old overalls and a good pair," continued Fannie, "John had two pair. Saturday Is my wash day. I put three pairs of draw era and one shirt In th pot that morning, when they came after me.'' Here Dr. Dorsett produced two wet shirts which had been taken from the pot In question. AFRAID OF NEASE. Fannie had made th error that sh, would admit. She saw that ahe had left oft one ahlrt "No, I never aaw Nease, Jack and John talking together," declared Fan nie. "Neas did say' that Mr. Lyerly could cut the wheat but he U R I N G the past two more than sufficient to p, raws wir i line state's : 10 - : - ' '-.; " - . r ' " - - . I in ii 11 1 i .. '-'i ) ii aagBgaagg n,.,,, , llu , ,,, Mtl ., 1 1 i aaaMaeaaexi i a going to enrich other sections, the state to-day would tance of this matter and by liberally patronizing home companies are showing a commendable disposition to change the existing order. ; They ;; have learned that the GREENSBORO LIFE affords them the best protection to be had, at just and Equitable rates, and they are giving this LEADING HOME COMPANY a larger share of their patronage than they are bestowingupon any other company. In a few days the GREENS- inrnc nuc iiitu tiic iriiot tmtic m 'THE 0EWITH THE EASY NAME." :J. W. FRY, President C. C0LWCLL, Jr., Secretary. W. D, ALLEN,' Agency couldn't . eat. . it I waa afraid of Nease.u I ran because Neas had told we that ; white folka , would 'do you whether' 'they -had anything against you or not . When little Henry aald "Lord, took at the people ( left: but I didn't run. I went 'to the horn of a 'negro named' Brooks. ., "Henry Is .truthful. .,11 Is a very good boy." , , -r v v;,.-:, , Old Fannie had not aeen Henry since th morning after- the tragedy. She had no Idea what. he waa saying. : . "Neas didn't eat - anything Khat morning. T Me and the hoy ate what cold . things w had. Neas drank coftee."r y '-V-. : "A- Earlier Fannie' had declared that Neas did not aa much aa take coffee, i "No, I don't ; know what Henry aays."..- : She waa told that Henry had said that sh-was frightened when Nease told her what' he had done. -"Well,. U Henry heard that I didn't" - ., HENRY WAS BROUGHT IN. A most Interesting thing occurred here. Little Henry was brought in. The boy saw hla grandmother and tear welled In hla eye and his mouth puckered. "Com here,- Henry," said Mr. Hammer," 'and .teach your grand" mot hr how to tell the truth." The 1 boy told his story over again. Old Fannie turned her head away and beat-a gentle tattoo upon the floor with a pitiful looking big toe. : "Didn't paw aay he killed them, mama?" asked Henry, with tears In his eyes, as he looked his grand mother In th face, after she had turned around. "I never heard him," answered Fannie.. "Well, h aald," declared Henry with spirit Henry was returned to the Jail. Old- Fannie wilted a little but screwed her lips Jato a funnel and made up her ' mind to tell nothing. She told those about her to take her out and hang her or do anything else they wanted todo. Sheriff Julian and Solicitor Hammer tried to ex plain to her that no one wanted to harm her. "Henry Lee told his daddy," said th old negress, "that old man Ike Lyerly-should be killed. "Teg, I told Mr. Kosemnn (a con stable) that white folks stuck to gether but negroes wouldn't do it. I said the negroes would bo some ac count If they would stand together. Mr.' Dave Alexander of Mecklenburg said to me one that 'negroes would not bo any good until they learned to stick to each other." "Is that why . you are sticking to Nease?" was asked. "If a negro wont stick to me do you reckon I'm going to stk-k to him? Me and Ness hain't got along together in several years." Mr. Dick Flies came in the room at this Juncture and tolj the solicitor what Fannie had said to him the morning she waa running from th officers. " 'You reckon they will kill me?' she asked as she came up," 8.1 11 Mr. Files. "'Hav you done anything?' I ask ed. 'Did you have any hand In the Lyerly affair?' " 'No,' ahe said, 'but my husband drd.' " Here old Fannie broke out again and said: "Hang me whm you get ready." Everybody had become convinced that Fannie was lying and that she had made up her mind to continue to do so. he had been trapped In a dosen or more Instances. In a way she was defiant. If a--rop had been laced about her neck she would not Lave flinched, fthe'hid been treated kindly by Mr. Hammer. Mr. Hammer sent a parting shot after old Fannie: "Now, old woman, are we to believe you or the boy?" "Believe him (and a long pause) If you want to," said yi negress. Henry had stuck to .his story but it was vefy evident that h feared h,ls grandmother. ' Fannie Gillespie is a wnderful woman. She looks like a savage, but ahe thinks well. It waa plain to one and all that she lied yesterday, but there was no way to correct hvr. Henry told some one after he left her presence that she was afraid of Nease. That, he declared, was the reason she would not tell the truth. If wss suKgested that Fannie was a believer In the ancient practice of conjuring. When asked concerning thla she half-way admitted that she feared the tricks of a conjurer. She said that Nease was called a con jurer. Her stories of Nease's cruelty to her, his burniitK her with pitch, cutting her hair and trlmhilng her finger nails to the quick, while she slept are pitiful to hear. Little Henry haa been led to bellev that what Fannie says about Neaae'a cruel treatment Is true. Old Uannle Is cunning. She knows what to aay and what not to say. She has a certain sort of nerve. Although sh was coaxed here, the effect would have been the same had ah been threat ened. Half a savage and half a wasard, she Is an Interesting character. One moment those who watched her as sho fonced with Mr. Hammer, Mr. Klutts or Mr. Linn were a SQUHRB years the people of North Carolina paid in prpmiums to foreign life insurance companies pay off,the state's entire indebtedness. If this vast sum could have been invested in North Carolina instead of '? Sec that the above trade-mark, the Duffy's Pure as it Is sold in bottles only, never in bulk. Also note that the seal over the cork is unbroken. Demand the genuine Duffy's Pure Malt Whiskey, the best invigorating stimulant and tonic, which makes the old young and keeps the young strong. It has been tested thousands of times during the past fifty years by the leading chemists and doctors throughout the world and always found absolutely pure and free from fusel oD. Accept no cheap imitation or substitute. They are dangerous. Also guard against refilled bottles. Duffy's Pure Malt whiskey is sold by all druggists and grocers, or direct, at $ J .00 a bottle. Illustrated medical booklet sent free Duffy Malt Whiskey Company, Rochester, N. Y. almost sorry for her, but the next they felt for the lawyers. For two hours they tried her, but she told nothlngv Boldly and dogKedly sho disowned declarations that she ' whs said to have made last Saturday. Good men, men who would not se a hair on the head of an Innocent negro harmed, were as good as charged with lying by her. JACK WOULD FIX Mil. LYERLY. John Henderson, a tall, black negro, wearing overalls, took the. stand after Fannie had been ushered out. He said thut he and Nea.te and Jack were going to Hnrher's one night. On the .way Jack said: "Me and old man Ike Lyerly had a fuss." Nease declared: "Yes, If you fool with old man Ike he'll have you on the chalngang." , "That's no more than I have been." said Jack. "But If old may Lyerly don't mind I'll fix him." THE TROUBLK HKTWKEN MR. LYEKLY AND JACK. Mr. Sam Cooke, the young man who walked away from the Lyerly horn Friday evening late, with Jim Taylor and Jack Dillingham, said: "I left the Lyerlys at 6:30 and started home. Jim Taylor went with me. Jack came on at the same time. As Jack started away Mr. Lyerly said: 'Well, Jack If you work over at the saw mill Ove" days I will treat you.' 'Yea.' Mrs. Lyerly said, 'and I will give you something good to eat, Jack.' "After we had left the house Jack said: 'If I wasn't on the old man's place I would curse him out." "Taylor and myself went to bed at D BUM. TO EVERY JUaV." be wealthier by several million 'v; . s-f. :.'Vi-' RM2 ALL "Old Chemist," is on each bottle of 9 o'clock that night. We were In a back room. Taylor Is at his home at Hiidgewater now." THE FIRST TO SEE -THE AXE. Mr. Charles Brown, of Cleveland, mailt) the following statement: ','Mr. V. V. Carter and myself went to the Lyerly home. We got there about 3:1 SO o'clock. As we passed Nease's house we noticed a light. Mr. I'less Umber and Will Harber soon came. "About i o'clock wr arrested Jack Dillingham. We knocked at the door. Eil. Harber told Jack to get up. Jack's ulfi) told us to not come In. She did all the talking Jack hiiIcI nothing. He was a long time making his appearance. ".NViiho came by ttio houxe about daylight. He asked If all were dead. He seemed nt a loss to know what to say. He wanted to say something but could not form his sentences. "I saw the axe at the I.yerly house. It lay beneath the porch, two steps east of the front entrance. There was blood on tha handle as well as th sxe. . "I know that Henry told his story after 4 o'clock In the afternoon. "Wo went to Nease's house about 7 O'clock. There had been one or more fires about the yord. There was evi dence that clothes of some descrip tion had been burned. One of th party picked up a rock and an nounced that It was still warm. In a cooking pot In the hous we found two shirts and three pairs of draw ers." JOHN PENNING EH TALKS. Mr, John Pennlnger, th lumber dollars. The people are awakening to the Jmpoiv GREENSBORO, N- C: Manager. I. SMITH II0MANS. fl'ili::- man, said: "Nease and George Ervin worked for me. Nease left befor supper but George remained there. "I had heard nothing about th wheat since February. Nease told ' me that he thought he could hold his 'J' part by law but would not flo that; he would let Mr. Lyerly hav It. Neasn came Saturday morning, cur ried nls horses, watered them and started to gear them, but he changed . his mind and told me that h believ ed that he. uuli not work that day. That was before the Sheriff came. A ' i man by the nsme of Gray and Jim ., Taylor told me of the crime. I went down and asked Nease about It. Ha said nothing until 1 spoke to him, but he hud hardly had time to do so. "Friday afternoon, at - the mill, I. made u trade with Jim Taylor. I hired him and asked If he would stay that nlxht. He said no. he would go to Mr. I.yerly. He left my place be- ' tween sundown and dark. "Nense was arrested at the Lyerly place." ANOTHER THREAT MADE. Mr. It. F. Cooke, declared that Jim . Taylor left for his old horn,' at ' ' ' Rrldgewatcr, last Tuesday. He said that Nease had told him that If he -, did not get his wheat he would get old man Lyerly. Chief of Police Frank Miller. Of i' Salisbury, said that he saw th Lyerly -. axe and that It was bloody. Mr. Arthur Thompson sal 4 that littl Henry showed him where to (lad. j". Nease's axe and that, when he picked ? ' It up In the yard- at & o'clock In th " ." (Continued on Pag Four.) an amount of monejr: Actuary. ,-"V',: --V, .; .'V
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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July 22, 1906, edition 1
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