Newspapers / The Monroe Journal (Monroe, … / Nov. 28, 1911, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Monroe Journal (Monroe, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
'HE Monroe journal -A' VOLXVIIL NO 43. MONiOE, N. C, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1911. ONE DOLLAR A TEAR, EEATTIE CONFESSES CRIME. Signed Statement Before Going to the Death Chair, After Ev ery Hope Had Been Exhaust ed. The Bravado tui tne Last. Hoattic, the Virginia wife mur derer, whose ease- lias a tt racked the atteirtion of tin whole coun try, died in the electric chair at litclimond at dawn last Friday morning. After liin death the in'misters who were liin advisers, intlilislitnl the following turned statement, written hy HeattieVi own hand and kept secret until after his death: 'I, Henry Clay Heattie, Jr., desirous of standing right be fore (lod anil man, do on this. tti twenty-third day of Novem ber, l!'11,'coidVss my guilt of the crime charged against me. Much tliMt was published concerning the details was not true, but the awful faet, without the harrow ing circumstances, remains. For tikis net ion. 1 am truly Borrow, and believing that I aiu at peace wih (tod, and 1 am to noon pa. into I Iix presence, this statement ifi made." Tlie secret of his confession was held inviolate by the ministers until after the execution. Not even the broken hearted father knew of its existence, friends of the- family declare. Not four hours after he had been declar ed dead in tin- death chamber in the State's prison, were the mur derer's attorneys cognizant (hat he had made a clean breast of bin guilt. WirtJi the same intre pidity that had marked his con duct frum tlie beginning, Heattie went to tlie chair and brought the sordid story to a drama tL end. That was hut side satisfac tion. The shock whieh killed Heat tie was turned on at 7:1!', and deth was iiistntaneotis. In addition to the two physi cian there were gathered in the death chamber when Hewttic ap peared, the twelve witnesses to the electrocution, as required by law, the Itevs. .John .1. Fix and Heiiiaiiiiii Dennis. Mai James H. Woods . snuerintendcnt. of the penitentiary, the electrician and i'ow deputy wardens. When the nrcliniiararies wen over Superintendent Woods, ac companied by two deputies, threw hack an iron-studded doot and stalled fur the death cell, liuttaiutlv the death chamber was iduiurcd into daarkness with tin execution of a vivid circle of lights from the hooded and liw erful l.inm above the chair. Tin chair, an oaken bit of furniture, which except for its at raps and sted hands might irraee any U brary, was on a rubber mat. All hint it wan ol Mc u red. the hum Ihirnwinir evervithuwr else into darkness so dense us almost to be felt. The Utile party in the cham ber heard the mipcrintendent a few feet away droning out the death warrant, Heattie listened to it with intensity, but did not flinch. He stood durinir til- reading, as iit is the custom and when it was ended he swayed a trifle but nuiickly recovered Then, without assistance he took 1 1 it, place between the guards and began 1 1 its nisirch to the nil known. His entrance into the death chamber was as dramatic is any thing lie had done since he first commanded the public eye. He hulled for a brief moment on the threshold, -looked on the chair with an inimitable smile (hat hud in it the- hint of a Kiiecr and then walked briskly forward Not once did he deign to strive to pierce the blackings outsnh bin circle of glowing light. It had I n feared that tin prisoner would flinch when tin tlreiidfnl moment came to seat himself in the chair. Tflere was no trcnidation mid not a hint of hesitation in Pe;lt tie's atti tude. Still wewrLnfr his peculiar kiu lie, half amused and hit!! cy nical, he stepped lightly in tin next. Nettled himself us thoiurli be hail been looking forward t tlie rest and assented the att n daiita in adjusting the straps and el. hups bv inviting his a rin.s in the proper iMietUkina. The only imliciditm that he was under a nervous strain was disclosed by his tightly clenched left hand. When the law was avenged and the witnesses were gone, the prison attendants moved tlie W dyV the mortuary room, which adjoin the death chamber. There t lay for four hours until an un til rtakcr, authorized hy the Heat- tie familv to prepare lit for bur ial, moved it to his morgue. Lat er it was taken t. the Heattie home, where funeral srevices, at tended only by the family, were held Sunday. On the night of July IS lust. Heattie drove hi automobile in to Richmond, carrying with him tlie Itody of hw wife which had a gaping shot gun wound ini the head. He declared that a 'tall bearded man had accosted him on the Midlothian turnpike, five miles from Richmond ami when he bad requested the man to make room for him in the nwd the stranger without wamnig had fired the shot which killed Mm. Heattie. lie added that he had grappled with the man but was overiKiwered ami that the murderer had fled leaving the gun beliind. This story of the crime was maintained by Heattie to the end of his trial. For a brief time Heattie 's tab was given some degree of cred ence, but withm u day or two suspicion began to point to him and he was kepi under tlie clos est surveillance. Hloodhounds, taken to the seeflie of the crime refused to leave the place, cir- clung around the bloodspot on the road. Heattie, it had eventually (ran spired had thrown the shortgun l ivthe toimeau t hi automobile after the shooting but in pass ing over some railroad track not far from the scene he claim- it bad been jolted out and was picked up biter by a negres. Th m gun, which Heattie alleged, had taloiiged to the mysterious livwavuian proved the means oi sending the young man to the elce.trwr chair. . At the coroner's inquest the weapon was identified by Paul Heattie, a second cousin of young Henry, as the weapon he pur chased for Henry with money furnished by the latter. Heattie was arrested immed iately after the iinpiest. This was on July 21, and on August one month and a day from the time of the murder, a trial was begun before Judge Walter A. Watson, in Chesterfield coun ty court house sixteen miles from Richmond. The jury was made up almost entirely of farmers, and on this fact Heattie based his claim that lie had been convicted, not for the uuiirdrr of his wife, but be cause of his relations with Heau lali 1 id i ford, a notorious young woman. He insistcil that a ju ry composed of city men would have freed him. The trial moved swiftly al though many witnesses testified and on September 8, after 58 minutes of coiiNideir.at.ion and prayer, the jury, in chorus in stead of through its foreman, de clared Heattie to be guilty of the murder of his wife. Motion for a new trial was denied and November 24 set as the ilay for the execution. On November 13 the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals re fused to grant an appeal on a writ of error, and two days lat er (jovcTiior Mann, who had becni appealed (o for commutation or reprieve, issued a statement de claring that the interests of the people of Virginia demanded that Heattie should die in the elec tric chair. Mr. J. K. Sijiison, cays the Waxhaw Kuterprisc, who livos down on Cain ('reek in the low er part of Jackson township, made 12S bushels ef com mi me acre of land this year. Mr. S inpson will also make a bale of cotton to the acre on the laud he is using for cotton. This sec tion had more favorable seas ons than tlie rest of the e;ui;'!y and the crops are unusually givul. A masked white nun ho.trdcd a Coast Line train from Wilniing tmi as it was entering Cidiimhi.i Friday night, held up the clerks in the mail ear, got all the regis tered letters, pullet I the hell cord and stepped off and ilihiippennd in the darkness. NEWS FROM EAST UNION. Several Items of Interest Taken From the Colums of the Marsh ville Home. Mr. Willie F. Ing and Miss WUuia Stegall. birth of Uimse Creek towiuJup. were inarmed Wednesday at the home of the officatiiig magistrate, Esp J. A. Haueoin. The Polkton circuit of the Me- btotlist chuirh was devilled at the recent meeting of the Wes tern North Carolina Conference ami a ww cliarge, known as the Marslnnlle circuit, was formed and consists of Marshville. Uil- loa. Harmony, Wingate, Center aikd Smvrna chnrcheB, whiJe l'olktou, IVachland. Hopewell. Foiuitain Hill au.1 Poir Hill are retained on tne I oiKton cir cuit. Mr. lUvmond Staton, of New Salem towjiship, retunied thi. morniing from the l'resbyterian hospital in Charlotte, where he has been receiving treatment for iniuries received about the knee in a mix-up with a mule n few days ago. Mr. Carl Small, sou of Mr. Will Small, and Miss Lessie Smith daughter of Mr. Lee Smith, all of Ianes (.reek towiiishiip, were married last Wednesday atter- ifcion' nt ::'!() o'clock at the home of the bride's iwrents. llev- K. C. Snyder ptTformed the ccrenio ny. .Mr. NmaU w a prosperous vomi,g farmer of excellent habits ami Mm. Small is a young lady of ln'HUty, intelligence and indus try. We wish the couple much success in life. Thursday night some on stole a horse fivin Mr. Julian Thomas of Diamond Hill. Anson county, ajd rode the animal to I'olktoai aid then turned it loose. Friday morning, while Mr. Thomas and hw neighbors were liMiking for the house, they met it in the returning home. I lie idenity ol the liieit is 'Strongly simpeceu bu he has no been arrested. Tt the home of the briihi's parents. Mr. and Mi's. J. K. Tine, in east Marshville township. Sunday afternoon at. -I o'clock. Miss Annie Tiec was niaiuneil to Mr. J. l'. Smith, Kev. A. Marsh perfoi'iiiing the ceremony. The liride is a young hid.v of many admirable graces. The gr u.iu is a son if Mr. II. C. Smith of Lanes Creek township and is a prosperous young farmer of ex cellent character. We joint their many friends in wishing llieni success and happiness. The people New Salem town ship were greatly disturbed on, night last week by a burglar who first attempted to enter Mr. J. H. Mullis' house while Mr. Mill lis was away from home. Mrs. Mullis jiunjHil up and rang the 'phone for help, which frighten ed the buglar away. While the neighbors were attracted to Mr. Mullis' an attempt was made at Mr. W. H. MeHride's and later at Mr. A. A. ( Irif f in '. all in the same neighborhood and presum ably by the same person. No clue as to the guilty party has been obtained. Teacher's Meeting. The second regular meeting of the I'nioii County Teacher's As ciat.ion for this .war will be h. !l in the graded school building. Monroe. Satunhiy, December 1. beginning at 12 o'clock.,. The law reipiires all teachers of the public kcIkmkIs to attend; therefore it is the duty of all teachers to be present. 1. Opening exercises. 2. Discussion of the Eight Fac tors of Study ("McMnrjy's How to Studv"). Discussion led by Prof. J." E. Cnttchfield tf the Marshville High School. .1. The use of the Rural Library in the Public Schools. Prof. J. T. Yt argin, Wesl y Chapel High School. 4. Tin' Study of Children and lis Results iThe Teacher and the School. Chap. III.K Discussion bl by Prof. Neiil A. K-atismn of Waxhaw. ami followed by Miss Cora Lan-y and others. We hope all the teachers will give some, thought to the topics contained in this program, and be prepared when the meeting conies, to give (he teachers the biniefit of their thoughts. It. N. Nisbet, Pres. ELECTROCUTION IN RALEIG.1 The Young Indian Who Murder ed a Girl in Swain County, Payi the Penalty. Kaleigh, Nov. 24 Ross French. the young Cherokee Indian from Swain county, went to the elec tric cliair (his morning in the deftth chamber of the State pris on with typical Indian stoicism ainl paying the death penalty for the murder of M-s hthel Shuler t a lonely Swain county road early in Oetolier. He cut her throttt and left her lssly on the road side. lie confessed the crime some wccks ago ana re peatedly since he has beeu in the death cell has said that the punishment accorded him was deserved. He was attended by the negro EpLsoopal minister at th place, Ilex. J. K. King, by whom he was given the Episco pal baptism a couple of weeks ago. lie hail taken tiniii leave of his iH'togenarian grand father. John Talla. aiwl his eous-.n Sallie Tlionison last evening in a very toiK-hiiig scene, during which he requestetl Mr. John 1 ullen of (his city to see to the deposition of his little property for the ben efit of his grandfather and bis wife, giving his yoke of oxen, to the grandfather. He sent greet ings to his fellow Cherokees and an. appeal for noiieof them to follow Iim example in crime, for which he was receiving his just dues. Winn the Indian came into the death c-haniner, he was as esl and collected and con,l as could be. Most victims close their eyes while the straps are being adjusted and until the hood is fitted over their heads. Freitch, however, surveyed the crowd, as the straps were being adjusted alsiuit his ankles and body to bold him in. place while the tlc-atli dealing current was sent coursing through his frame, hiv ieyesr -followed ev-'ry n iA " uient with a degree of curiosity as thouirli In1 were an iinconeeri- ed spent a tor studying the manner in which shackles were applied. It was cxactlv lit :.'!( when th prisoner was brought in the death chamber. The first shock of elec tricity was applied at and consisted ol the application ol l.MMI watts with a ouiek retuin of the lever to zero and bin again to l.NMi ami nit to Zel'o again. Then at 10 :'Tt there was a second application of the- I.nk) vol a ire and lour in unites lat-r the atiteiiding ihysieians proifoiiu ced htm dead. The body was delivered tt John Talla. who left this iil'l'r noon with it for his Swain eouu- tv home for burial. Attempt at Highway Robbery. N Inle on the wav home iiviii Waxhaw last Mondav night. Mr Ed. niggers of Wesley Chapel was halted by a highwayman near the Colossus mine and for a while was in a very dangerous sit nation, lie and his brother in-law, .Mr. i leve .Moore, were on the way home from Waxhaw. Mr. l'.itrireis driving his wairon in the rear. After Mr. Moor had started down a very long hill in trout. .Mr. ISigg rs wag on was haitiil tin 1 1 i a in m jump mI up on the wairon and demamh-d money. Mr. Higgcrs replied that he had none. The uniii then jumped into the wagon and at tempted to pick up a bundle which contained a suit of elotlns. Hy this time Mr. I'.jgir Ind got out his knife and beg.in cut ting at him. Then the o'.lor iil.in jumped on the wagon ;;ii.l cut desperately at Mr. Higgirs. slashing long gashes in his cloth ing, but cutting the skin slinhtly in but one place. The n bhei s then jumped off the wag. n tnd ran. The theory is that the iu-Ji. one of whom was color-d, and maybe both, had seen the yiiin? men go to town with cot tori and derided Unit they wiuld have money on the return, and Kii I for tl.ini, purposily atl.scking the seeimil wagon after the oth er h:id gon- en dmvn the hill. All the colored teachers of 'lie county are reipustnl t le pres ent on the fiiNt Satunlay in De cember at 1 o'eliH'k. If untiling prevents, Prof. K. N. Nesbit. the county superinti ndei t. will be with us at 2 o'clock, p. in. W. Mel). Cuthhortson.Chni. What Cleveland Said of Mr. Cald well. Charlotte Chronicle. Mr. W. C. Death, of Moon-. was ui the city yi-sieniay. lie rtlattsl a little uieibnt which happened once mi a boat between Norfolk ami Haltimorc, which is interesting. In tin' smoking iimiiii llnre whs 11 KlOUl gelHI.-UUUl tVH'lJI-r a newspaper and no-lsMly seemed to notice huu. luially all the others left cxevpt Mr. Heath and the stout gentleman. Mr. Heath then approached the gctitl nutii ami said: "Excuse me, sir, but if vou are not Mr. f! rover Cleve land, you aro his counterpart." The gentleman answered: I am not liis coiuiterpart. My name is Urover Clevelajid. ami I am returning from (teorgetown. S. C wliere I have been visiting my riend. Mr .E. P. Alexander. We have been hunting.' Then Mr. Heath said: "I want to shake hands with you." "Wherv are you from?" Mr. Cleveland asked of Mr. Heath. "I am from North Carolina," he said. "There is ome man down llnre in North Carolina who see ins (o lie a very staunch and able man,' replied Mr. Clevelad. "His name is J. P. Caldwell." Then he smil ed and said: "He calls me 'The Sheriff," and 1 believe I have no stiiiincher friend in the I'nited States. His 'judgment on public questions seems to be always clear and 1 rigaiM him as a ni in of great ability." Victim's Father Saves the Crimi nal. A Kansas nrin rescued a young negro from a mob Friday the negitt who attempted to assaut his daughter. The negro had Ih-cii caught and was in the hands of a large nu.b. At last a tall fanner pulled the negro to yird d.o" oi 1 .cried: "Come on hoys, we'll burn the scoundrel at the stake." Willing hands dragg'd the ne gro to the street. At this junct ure J. A. Kike, father of tlie girl attacked, arrived. Piishinir aside the mob, h ' reached the ne gro's side. Addressing himself to the crowd, he d clared that the men inuist disperse and let tlie law take its course. "This is undoubtedly the man who attempted a vicious crime on ny daughter," he said, "but 'Judge Lynch' does mil live in civilized Kansas any more. To burn this fellow to d -nth w Iv scandalize the country. (n- Let the law take its course." After the conference the nmli turned the negro over to Fike, who took the culprit to the sher iff. Proceedings in Recorder's Court. November 21-2S. Joseph A. Knight, said to be Croatan Indian, assault with in tent to kill, and costs. Thomas Little, assault and bat tery; costs. Nannie Smith and Tom Smith, fornication and adultery, no I pros as to Nannie Smith. Tom Smith -tltl and iss's. Hurl Helk. selling whiskey. There were four cases against the dcfmidaut for sellinir whiskey ami one ease for s 'll ng to a mi nt ti. The Recorder passed judg luent in two eases of selling and in the case of selling to a nii'ir r. The deft iid.Hit was fin d ." for one sale. 7.1 for another, and $2.1 for selling in a minor. Th's sale to the miner was the sain sale for which he wa fined $il. The defendant appealed. The evidence in. the other two cases for selling whiskey disclosed that the dcf-n.l.in had ! .ani'd whisk -y to two different parties. In these two 'cases the Ree. rdi r ci.nt'Jiueil his tlec'sion till tie "th i f Di cember. Sam Davis, celoreil. of mortgaged properh disposing . ::) days on rtiads. Frank Hagler. violatiin f or diinii.ee 7(i, costs. John MeCoi k!e. disp! sijig i f mortgaged properly, costs taxisl on presrviitiir. Committemcii wiJl please see that a copy of their ('ielur's ("intraet is sent to this ofice just :is soiMi as Miiblc. R. N. Nisbet, Co. Supt. WOMAN WHO WAS HANDED HERE. Two Slaves, One of Them a Wo man, Paid the Death Penalty for the Murder of Their Mis tressThe Jurors That Tried the Case. Ixist- Week The .luiii iuil publUh ed an article that is going the rounds of the State press con cerning the very few women that have been exf uted in this State for a crime. Th served to call to mind to many pccple alsntt here that a roliarcd mowaiiom here the fact tluit a colored wo man and h.T husband were hang ed here lout the close of the war, and many piTsons now liv ing were pis-seart at the execution which was public after the uuu ner of that day, and occurred on a spot of bind jhw owned by Mrs. I).. A. Covisigtoii in tin southern part of twwik The slaves were Henry Austin and his wife Mary Hamilton, and they mur dered their mwtress, Mrs. J. E. Austin, in a field on the home place on Rocky River. The wo man belouigi'd to Mrs. Austin's fa ther, the late William Hamilton, and had been loaned to his daughtir. The man belonged to Mr. Austin. As the law of (he time provided, the cost of the trial was w J lee ted from the own ers of the slaves. They wtire sen tenced by Judge Hitath, the pre siding judge, on October 27th. lStil, and were executed on the 2.1th of the next month by Sher iff F. L Rogers. The two were tried separately, the man first, and the juries who heard the case are of interest. Those who found Henry guilty were James W. Price, tieorge W. Wimberly, Samuel McWliortcr, liuiuvll Rush ing, Tyre Hrtxini, J. J. Hasty, Samuel Roger. J. It. Hau"om. Jo seph W. MeMurry, T. D. Win chester, W. W. Walkup and Dr. Sam C. McLaughlin, Those who sat oa the case of the woman were' Jaines R. Wiui chestcr. (!. W. Helms. Joseph Mc Laughlin. Hugh M. Houston, John W. llolmn. It. T. Harrett, Jiwiph R. Hudson, Elbert N. Carraway, Jackson Trull. John D. Stewart, Harrison Lee, Darling Broom. The Fall of Troy. Hcsid' s tin other pictures at The Dixie on ThanksgivLiig Day. "The Fall of Troy" will he pro duced. This is a fine pi -lure, a rep rod u in i m of the Trojan wa- 2.(KK ariimrtd gl nli.it; ;-s enga ged in deadly eoufl' '! spectac ular attack on the city ,'M'iius daz'.ling with grand 'iir- a we-inspiring conflagrations, showing the giiiut woihIcii horse, captii'Vii Ny the Trojars. jir.il the s i tie -iii the dead t,f night by t!i" soldi' in coniM'jiled ;i.i tlie anijii.tl, w ho s ( fire U the city; tlie terror of the lonely HiJvn es lur hi:uban,I at the hi ad of the :iv ;;', x (reeks (bstroy the T'jaiK wiiih fire and sword .! ki'd Paiis. her lover, and a tiiul: iti.de of amazing incidents; hcautiful wo men, dasli'iiig chanii Is, nrt'.d'.. stiitiiary, massive pal ices, rejil coKtiinus, all depicted in exqui site photography, uniit'd and t,::i. ed lu-yond compare. Heiiefit of (txford Orphan ige. Mr. Iceman's House Burr.cd. The rcsiibiiee tf Mr. Charles Iceman, on South Ilayue street, was burned Satii'nlay aftiv msni. The fire originated upvlai? some where about the chimney, and was so iirnvewibl" Ihat the house was half h sinn ed before the flames could he si.'ijugabsl. The furiturc was considerably damaged and nun h of the cloth ing and other valuable articles were lost. The furniture was hi suivd for fifteen hundred dolhirs atsl the buildiiKT. whi.di In lonrrs t Mr. Ran bdi'h Rcdfeain. fnr the same ninonut. The kis'irauv is sufficient i cdv.t the I .'.. Farmers' Union Delegates. The county organi'iitn of the Fanners' I'liion mil Satuiilay in the court house. It was dcided that the December meeting was the proper time for the eleotion i f officers, hence 1h;s was not gone into. The following dele gates were elected to the State meeting which will be held in 'Ui December Ltth, 11th and 11th: T. E. Williams. A. J. Hrooks. T. F. Jam-, J. C. Mcln tyrc, Kev. II. H. King.
The Monroe Journal (Monroe, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 28, 1911, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75