THE DAVID G. LAWSON
MURDER
(1875)
&
ENSUING
TRIAL OF ANDERSON
SHIFFLETT,
LOUISA LAWSON,
SILAS MORRIS,
&
BURRIS
WILLIAMS
(1877)
BY Larry F. SHIFFLETT
INTRODUCTION
DAVID G. LAWSON WAS MURDERED IN 1877.
THE CONVOLUTED STORY OF THE
ENSUING EVENTS IS
DOCUMENTED IN THE
VARIOUS COURT RECORDS,
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, AND PERSONAL
MEMOIRS
WHICH
ARE PRESENTED
IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.
I HAVE INJECTED A FEW BRIEF
NOTES, OTHERWISE THE
DOCUMENTS ARE LEFT TO UNFOLD
THE MYSTERY.
I SUGGEST THAT THE READER
KEEP AN OPEN MIND AND
REFRAIN FROM JUDGMENT UNTIL THE
FINAL WORD IS
READ.
CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE
MY WIFE DIANNE, WHO
TRANSCRIBED ALL OF THE
COURT
MUCH OF THE WORK; MY FRIENDS,
BARBARA AND
GRAHAM, WHO HELPED COMPILE THE
PARDON
RECORDS
FROM THE
AND MY SON ARTHUR, WHO IS JUST ART.
WHO SHOT
DAVID G. LAWSON?
1
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"Murder in Rockingham"
"About 4 o'clock on
the
afternoon of Monday last week, Mr. David G. Lawson, who resides
near Roadside in East Rockingham, was shot and instantly killed by an
unknown
party. A
correspondent of the Rockingham Register furnishes the following
particulars in
reference to this
terrible act: "Mr. David G. Lawson, residing near Roadside,
killed this evening at about 4 o'clock. He was down at the store owned
by E.
Q. Sanford this
evening in his wagon with two horses, and on his way home, after
leaving the
pike a few hundred
yards, was supposed to have been killed by being shot from his horse.
Two other
men who had been
with Mr. L. had left him and taken another road; but they heard the
report of
the gun, and going to
where it was, found Mr. Lawson thrown from his horse dead! They then
sent for a
doctor and
Magistrate who came and examined Mr. Lawson. I was there. The doctor
said he
was shot in the back. There were three holes, all of which were
near
together, on the right of his
breast. Two balls went through him and one was found in his shirt. It
seems as
if no one knows
who committed this deed. Mr. Lawson was an intelligent, hard-working
man, about
35 years of
age. He leaves a widow and several small children." Staunton Spectator
- March 23, 1875
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"ARRESTED FOR MURDER - On Sunday night last the chief of police
of
Harrisonburg,
assisted by Mr. Geo. Hutchinson, formerly of Staunton, carried Anderson
Shiflett and the
widow of David Lawson from Conrad's Store, in Rockingham, to
Harrisonburg,
where they are
to be tried for the murder of David Lawson, a year ago. The dead man
was shot
off his team
from an ambush while driving along the road near his house. The accused
have
since been living
together." Staunton Vindicator - Feb. 16, 1877
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"ARRESTED FOR MURDER - In
Rockingham County, Anderson Shifflet and the widow of
David Lawson were committed to jail on Sunday of last week, charged
with the
murder of David
Lawson which occurred about a year ago about two miles from his home.
It is
charged that
Shifflet killed him and that his (Lawson's) wife was an accessory.
Yesterday
was the day
appointed for their examining trial before a justice at Conrad's
Store."
Staunton Spectator - Feb. 20, 1877
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"CHARGED WITH MURDER - We stated several weeks since that Anderson
Shiflett and the
widow of David Lawson had been arrested in Rockingham under the
charge
of murdering David
Lawson about two years since, near his home, about three miles from
Conrad's
Store. In an examination
before J. S. Funkhouser, J. C. Walker and David Maiden week
before last,
the evidence was of such
a character as to induce the justices to arrest a man named Williams
as
an accomplice. The examination
was not concluded, and was to be resumed
at McGaheysville
on last Friday. David Lawson was shot and killed instantly two
years
ago, whilst driving his
team on his way home from the mill near Conrad's Store. A few
weeks
since Shiflett was
arrested as principal and Mrs. Lawson as accessory. We do not
know
whether Shiflett's first
name is Anderson or Henderson, as the
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2
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"COMMITTED TO JAIL -
The examination trial at McGaheysville in
the 3rd and 4th inst., of Anderson Shiflet and Mrs. David Lawson,
charged with
the murder of
David Lawson two years ago, resulted in committing them to jail to
await the
action of the
Grand Jury. The testimony pointed to the guilt of two others - Burris
Williams
and Silas
Morris, the former of whom has been arrested and committed to jail -
the latter
is still at large."
******************************************************************************
"March 19, 1877 -
The
Commonwealth vs. Anderson Shifflett, Louisa Lawson, Silas
Morris, & Burris Williams} Upon an indictment for murder: This
day,
three of the prisoners, to
wit - Anderson Shifflett, Louisa Lawson, & Burris Williams, late of
the
county of Rockingham,
who stand indicted for a felony by them committed, were led to the bar
of the
Court in custody of
the Jailor of the County, and being thereof arraigned, each pleaded
"not
guilty" and upon their
arraignment, each elected to be tried separately, and therefore these
causes
are continued until
tomorrow, and the prisoners remanded to jail. Ordered that this court
be
adjourned until
tomorrow morning at 9:00"
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"March 20, 1877 -
This day, three of the prisoners, to wit - Anderson Shifflett,
Louisa
Lawson, & Burris Williams, who stand indicted for a felony by
them
committed, were again led
to the bar of the Court in custody of the Jailor of this County, and
for
reasons appearing to the
Court, their trials are continued until the 2nd day of the next term of
this
Court. The defendants
by their counsel, then moved the Court to admit them to bail, and the
Court
fixed upon
Wednesday next, March 28, 1877, for the hearing of said motion; and
thereupon,
the following
witnesses in behalf of the Commonwealth, viz. - Wm. D Maiden, V.H.
Lam, Geo.
A.
Hutchinson, Samuel Hall, Rebecca Hall, Jesse Wyant, Theophilus
Shifflett,
Robert
Crawford, Nathaniel Davis, and James Crawford, each appeared in
Court and
acknowledged
themselves to be indebted to the Commonwealth of Virginia in the sum of
$100.00, to Be levied
from their respective goods and chattels, lands and tenements, for the
use of
the Commonwealth,
yet upon this condition, that they do each make their personal
appearance
before the Judge of the
Court in behalf of the Commonwealth against said defendants, and not
depart
thence without
leave of the Court, and thereupon, the said witnesses were recognized
in the
same sum, upon the
same conditions for their appearance before this Court on the 2nd day
of the
next term of the
Court, as witnesses in behalf of the Commonwealth against said
defendants, upon
their trial; and
thereupon, the prisoners were remanded to jail."
******************************************************************************
"March 20, 1877 -
B.
F. Bonds presented in Court an Account against the Commonwealth of
Virginia amounting to the sum of$13.25 ($8.00 and $6.00) for meals and
lodging
for Anderson
Shifflett (for Burris Williams and Louisa Lawson respectively),
under
arrest for felony, and for
meals and lodging for four (three and two) guards, and livery horses
for
prisoners and guards, and
ordered to be certified to the Auditor of Public Accounts for payment."
******************************************************************************
3
******************************************************************************
"March 28, 1877 -
This day, three of the prisoners, who stand indicted for a felony by
then
committed, viz. - Anderson Shifflett, Louisa Lawson, & Burris
Williams,
were led again to
the bar of the Court, on their motion for bail. Thereupon Burris
Williams,
by counsel, moved
the Court to admit him to bail for his appearance to answer said
indictment on
the 2nd day of the
next term of this Court, the day affixed for this trial, and having
fully heard
and considered the
same, the Court doth sustain his motion, and fixes the amount of bail
at
$500.00 for himself and
each of his sureties and thereupon the said Burris Williams,
together
with Moses F. Powell,
Archibald McDaniel, Nicholas Williams, and Samuel Hall, his
sureties,
(waiving the benefit of
the Homestead exemptions) each acknowledged themselves to be indebted
to the
Commonwealth
of Virginia in the sum of $500.00, for the use of the
Commonwealth, to
be levied of their respective
goods and chattels, land and tenements, yet upon the condition that the
said Burris
Williams doth
make the personal appearance before this Court on the 2nd day of the
next term,
to answer said
Indictment, and not depart thence without leave of the Court, and
thereupon
said Burris Williams
was discharged from Custody. Anderson Shifflett and Louisa
Lawson withdrew
their motions for
bail, and were thereupon remanded to jail. Wm. Thomas McDaniel was
recognized as a witness on
behalf of the Commonwealth in the sum of $100.00 for his appearance on
the 2nd
day of the next
term, and not depart thence without leave of the Court" Rockingham
County Court Minute Book #5
******************************************************************************
"April 17, 1877 -
"Anderson Shifflett------------------------the panel of 36 required by
law
was
completed; and from the panel thus completed, a panel of sixteen were
called,
examined by the
Court, found to be duly qualified and free from
exceptions-------------------------------------"
"April 18, 1877 - "Anderson Shifflett----------not having time
to fully hear evidence-----------"
"April 19, 1877 - "Anderson Shifflett-----not having time to
fully hear evidence-----------"
"April 20, 1877 - "Anderson Shifflett----------not having time
to fully hear evidence-----------"
"April 21, 1877 - "Anderson Shifflett------------having fully
heard evidence & Counsel, the
jury retired to consider verdict--------------------------------------------------------------------
"April 23, 1877 -
"Anderson Shifflett--------------and not having agreed upon a
verdict,
again
retired to their room to consider their verdict and after some time
returned
into the Court and
upon their oath do say, ''We the Jury find the prisoner, Anderson
Shifflett,
guilty of murder in
the first degree, in the manner and form as charged in the Indictment."
E.
S. Marshal, foreman
and thereupon, on motion of the prisoner by counsel, the Jury was
polled, each
responding to the
question, ''Is this your verdict?" in the affirmative. And
thereupon, the prisoner, by counsel,
moved the Court, first, to set aside the verdict of the Jury and grant
him a
new trial, second, for
arrest of judgment, and the Court not having time fully to hear
argument of
counsel on said
motions, continued the same until tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock.
"April 24, 1877 -
"Judge reserves decision until
tomorrow-------------------------------------"
"April 25, 1877 - "-----doth over rule the said motion, and it
being demanded of him (Anderson
Shifflett) if anything for himself he had or knew to say, why the
Court
here, to judgment and
execution against him, of, and upon the premises, should not now
proceed, said
he had nothing
but what he had before said. Wherefore, it is considered by the Court,
that he be
hanged by the
neck until dead, and that execution of the judgment upon him, the
said Anderson
Shifflett, be
made and done by the Sheriff of the County, on Friday, the 29th day of
June
next, (1877) between
the hours of sunrise and sunset of the same day."
******************************************************************************
4
******************************************************************************
"CONVICTION OF
murder of David G. Lawson, was commenced in the County Court of
this
county on Tuesday of
last week, and terminated on Monday morning last, the jury rendered a
verdict
of murder in the
first degree. The testimony was very voluminous, and occupied four days
of the
trial. Saturday
was taken up by the counsel in the argument of the case, and the jury
was sent
to their room on
Saturday evening, after being charged by Judge O'Ferrall. Court
assembled at 9 o'clock on
Monday morning, and at fifteen minutes past 9 o'clock it was announced
that the
jury had agreed.
They were brought into court, when the usual forms having been gone
through
with, the question
was asked, "do you find the prisoner at the bar guilty of the charge in
the indictment ?" To which
the foreman answered, "guilty of murder in the first degree."
The scene at the rendering of the
verdict was solemn beyond description, and for some minutes there was
almost
deadly silence in
the court room. The prisoner was visibly affected by the verdict. We
forebear
any comments in
regard to the case, as there are several other parties implicated in
the
murder, and whose trials are
yet to take place. The prisoner was earnestly and ably defended by Gen.
J.
E. Roller, Rob. B.
Reagan, and John T. Bray, of
conducted by John Paul, attorney for the Commonwealth, assisted by J.
N.
Liggett. A motion
for a new trial was made by counsel for the defense and overruled by
the court.
A motion for
arrest of judgment was made by counsel for the defense, on the grounds
of a
fault in the
indictment. The motion was overruled, and the Judge proceeded to pass
sentence.
The following
is about the language used in the sentence as delivered by Judge
O'Ferrall:
- In the discharge of my judicial duties, I am called upon this
morning to
perform the saddest and
most unpleasant duty of my life. Gladly would I relieve myself of this
duty, if
it were possible, but
the stem command of the law is, that I only shall perform it. It is
hard enough
when a Court is
required to pass sentence of confinement in the prison house upon a
human
being, and thereby
deprive him of his liberty, but when the sentence is a sentence of
death, the
other dwindles before
it. You were indicted by a Grand Jury of your own county, for one of
the most
heinous crimes
known to our law; you have been tried by an impartial jury of your
countrymen,
defended by able
counsel and after a careful and deliberate trial and investigation, you
have
been found guilty of the
willful, premeditated murder of David G. Lawson, on the 15th
day of
March , 1875. Under the
finding of the jury, the law declares that you shall die. How terrible
is that
word and how it chills
every sensibility of our nature and yet, as terrible as death may loom
up
before you, advantages will
be accorded you that you did not accord to your victim. Without a
moments
notice, without the faintest
warning - without time even for David G. Lawson to call upon
his God to
have mercy on his soul, he
was plunged into eternity, and brought face to face with his Maker by
your
fatal bullet fired from the
cover of the bushes on the road side. But while the avenging arm of the
law now
raised over you, to take
life for life, it will not descend until you shall have had time to
prepare for
eternity, and to make peace
with your God. Let me, therefore, urge you as you value your own soul,
let me
beseech you as you strand
on the brink, to devote all the time allotted you to a preparation for
the
grave, and not to content yourself
with the hope that by some means or other you may yet escape the
avenging hand
of the law. It now only
remains for me to pass the judgment of
this Court upon you, and that judgment is that you be remanded
to the jail of this county, from
whereupon you came, and there detained until Friday, the 29th day
of
June, 1877, when you will be taken there from between the hours of
sunrise
and sunset, by the Sheriff
of this county, and by him
5
(Continued)
hanged by the neck
until you are
dead- dead- dead! And may the God of mercies have mercy on
your soul!" Rockingham Register - April 26, 1877
******************************************************************************
"FOUND GUILTY -
The
jury in the case of Anderson Shiflett, who was tried in
for the murder of David Lawson about two years ago, brought in
a verdict
of guilty of murder in
the first degree, on yesterday morning. Mrs. Lawson, the wife
of the
murdered man, and a man
named Berry Williams will also be tried as accomplices in the
crime.
Another man named Silas
Morris, a brother of Mrs. Lawson, is also an accomplice,
but he has
thus far escaped arrest. The
following are the facts as developed in the case so far as we have been
able to
learn: About two
years ago Mr. David Lawson, a poor, honest, and industrious
man, was
shot and killed while
driving his wagon along the road, in the eastern part of
of Swift Run Gap. It seems that his wife, with whom he had not
lived in
perfect harmony,
contracted with and paid her brother (Morris) fifty dollars to
kill him,
but Morris being a little
timid, paid Shiflett twenty-five of the dollars to do the killing. At
the time
of the murder, Shiflett
and Williams were the first to give notice of the murder having
been
committed, stating that they
were in the woods hunting when they were attracted to the spot by the
report of
a gun. Shiflett
and Mrs. Lawson were arrested some time since, and at a recent
preliminary investigation, at
which Williams was a witness, he let slip a remark which
implicated
himself in the crime. He
said that he "knew Shiflett did do the shooting for he (S.) had paid
him
twenty-five cents to hold
the horses." The trial of Mrs. Lawson and Williams will be proceeded
with
at once."
******************************************************************************
"Louisa Lawson-----and
for reasons appearing to the Court, her trial is continued until the
1st
day of the next term"
******************************************************************************
"ATTEMPT TO BREAK
JAIL
- On Saturday night Anderson Shifflett, who is under sentence
of death, attempted to break jail. He was engaged in removing a portion
of the
partition which
separates his cell from another apartment in which several other
prisoners are
confined, when he was
discovered by the jailor. It is supposed his object was to gain access
to the
cell in which the other
prisoners were, and then by their assistance secure his liberty. As a
matter of
necessary precaution
he has been ironed.
"
Rockingham Register - May 3,1877
******************************************************************************
"Anderson Shifflett
-
Be it remembered upon the trial of this cause, the Defendant by
counsel,
excepted to various rulings of the Court, and tendered his several
bills of
exceptions, which are in
the following words & figures, to wit: Commonwealth vs Anderson
Shifflett,
&c, which he prays
may be signed, sealed, & enrolled and made a part of the record in
the
cause, which is accordingly
done."
******************************************************************************
"Anderson Shifflett
-
Be it remembered the rendition of the verdict of the Jury in this
cause, the
defendant by counsel moved the Court to set aside the verdict of the
Jury &
grant him a new trial,
which motion, the Court overruled and thereupon, the prisoner by
counsel
excepted, and filed his
Bill of Exceptions, which is in the words & figures following to
Wit:
Commonwealth vs. Anderson
Shifflett, which he prays may be signed, sealed & enrolled &
made a
part of the record in this cause,
which is accordingly done."
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6
******************************************************************************
"Commonwealth vs.
Silas
Morris } Upon an indictment for Murder - This day the prisoner
Silas Morris late of Rockingham County who stands indicted for a felony
by him
committed, was
again led to the bar of the Court in the custody of the jailor of this
County
and on motion of the
prisoner by his counsel and for reasons appearing to this Court, his
trial is
continued until the first
day of the next term & thereupon James Crawford, Samuel Hall,
John
Mowberry, Frances
Crawford, Jennie Williams, Lydia Baugher, Geo. W. Baugher, Wm. G.
Davis, Wm. J.
Rodgers, J. C. Walker, Wm. N. Crawford, Archie McDaniel, Winnie F. Lam
and
Fannie
Bruce, witnesses for the defendant appeared in Court and each
acknowledged
themselves to be
indebted to the Commonwealth of Virginia in the sum of $100.00 each for
the use
of the
Commonwealth to be levied of their respective goods and chattels,
lands,
tenants, yet upon this
condition that each do make their personal appearance before the Judge
of this
Court on the first
day of the next term as witnesses as aforesaid, waiving the benefit of
their
Homestead exemptions,
and not depart thence without leave of the Court, and thereupon the
prisoner
was remanded to
jail."
******************************************************************************
"Commonwealth vs.
Louisa
Lawson} Upon an indictment for Murder - This day the
prisoner Louisa Lawson late of Rockingham County who stands
indicted for
a felony by her
committed, was again led to the bar of the Court in the custody of the
jailor
of this County and on
motion of the prisoner by her counsel and for reasons appearing to this
Court,
her trial is
continued until the first day of the next term & thereupon the same
witnesses
as in the case of
Commonwealth vs. Silas Morris were recognized on behalf of the
Commonwealth and in behalf of
the defendant Louisa Lawson in the same sum and upon the same
conditions
to make their
personal appearance before the Judge of this Court on the first day of
the next
term and not
depart thence without leave of the Court, and thereupon the prisoner
was
remanded to jail."
"Burris Williams indicted - ordered to appear before the Judge
1st
day of the next term"
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"Commonwealth of
Virginia vs. Anderson Shifflett - Convicted of murder in the 1st
degree -
new trial awarded --- requested change of venue (motion resisted by
Commonwealth's Attorney)
was over ruled ---- trial set for 7/2/1877 ---- Witnesses on behalf of
the
Commonwealth:
Theophilus Shifflett,
James
Crawford, Robert Crawford, Lydia Baugher, John W. Mowberry,
Samuel Hall, J. M. Lam, David Gilmer, Joseph Funkhouser, Geo. A.
Hutchinson,
Rebecca Hall,
Mary F. Crawford, Burris Williams, W. H. Lam, Phoebe Knighten, Jos. H.
Stover,
Dr. J. H.
Wolfe, Archie McDaniel."
******************************************************************************
"
"
term"
"
term"
******************************************************************************
"Commonwealth of
Virginia vs. Anderson Shifflett -- found ------ sentenced to be
hung on
Tuesday 9/25/1877 ----- between the hours of sunrise and sunset -----
remanded
to jail until then"
Rockingham County Court Minute Book #5 - July 11, 1877
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7
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"NEW TRIAL GRANTED
- In
the case of Anderson Shifflett, who was convicted in the
County Court of Rockingham, at the April Term, of the murder of David
G. Lawson,
and
sentenced to be hung on the 29th of this month, an appeal was taken to
the
Circuit Court, Judge
Byrd presiding. On Saturday last Judge Byrd entered an order reversing
the
action of the
county court, and setting aside the verdict. Shifflett will, therefore,
have a
new trial."
Rockingham Register - June 21, 1877
******************************************************************************
"SECOND TRIAL OF
ANDERSON SHIFFLETT FOR THE MURDER OF DAVID G.
LAWSON. - The second trial of Anderson Shifflett for the
murder of David
G. Lawson began
in the county court on Monday of last week. The whole week was occupied
in
examining
witnesses and discussing the admissibility of evidence, the counsel for
the
defense, Messers.
Roller, Berlin and Ragan, contesting strongly for their client at
every
stage of the case. The
testimony in this trial was stronger than that elicited in the first,
and
pointed to the prisoner at the
bar as the principal in the unprovoked and purchased murder. Constable
V. H.
Lam testified
that Shifflett remarked to him on the evening of his arrest that it was
hard
that he should bear all
the blame when there were others equally guilty. Jas. H. Lam testified
that the
prisoner made
similar statement to him. Burris Williams, who is under
indictment as an
accomplice, and who
turned State's evidence, testified that Shifflett acknowledged to him
that he
killed Lawson, and
charged him against consequences if he should tell it. Shifflett
also
said to Williams that Morris,
another accomplice, had told him (Williams) all about it. The argument
was
opened on Monday
by Capt. Paul for the Commonwealth. Gen. Roller and G. W.
Berlin followed
for the defense,
the latter closing about 3 0' clock on Tuesday afternoon. Capt. Paul
closed
the argument and the
case was given to the jury. When Court convened yesterday morning a
large and
eager crowd
assembled to hear the verdict, of the jury. After the jury roll call,
the clerk
asked if they had
determined upon a verdict, and the foreman replied by handing over a
written
verdict, which was
that, "we, the jury, find
called again, each juror sustained the verdict. The stolid indifference
exhibited by the prisoner
throughout the trial was not effected by the finding of the jury, and
on his
way to jail again walked
with a firm step, as though he did not realize the awful fate awaiting
him. The
judge has fixed upon
Tuesday, September 25 as the day for Shiflett's execution.
Commonwealth
******************************************************************************
"
Shiflett, of Rockingham county, for the murder of David G. Lawson, was
concluded in the circuit
court of that county on last Wednesday. the case was given to the jury
at 6
o'clock on Tuesday
evening, and on Wednesday morning at 9 0' clock they rendered a verdict
of
"guilty of murder in
the first degree." It will be remembered that he was convicted at
the
April term of the County
Court, and on exceptions the case was carried to the Circuit court,
where a new
trial was granted.
The prisoner did not evince any unusual emotion when the verdict was
rendered.
The prisoner
was ably and earnestly defended by Messers. Roller, Berlin, and
Reagan,
and the prosecution
was faithfully conducted by John Paul."
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8
******************************************************************************
"TO BE HUNG -
On
Thursday morning last Judge O'Ferrall sentenced Anderson
Shifflett
to
be hung. We give below a copy of the very impressive remarks made by
the Judge
on the
occasion. Shifflett was apparently unmoved during the solemn scene, but
we
understand was
much affected after reaching the jail. The following is the sentence of
Judge
O'Ferrall as near as
he could recall it: Anderson Shifflett - At the April Term of
this Court
you were convicted of
the willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of David G. Lawson
on
the highway of this
county, on the 15th day of March, 1875, but in the humanity of the law
a new
trial was awarded
you; this trial has just been had at the present Term, and after a
cautious,
patient and exhaustive
examination, in which you have had the services of earnest, able and
learned
counsel in your
defense, another jury of your county men, under the sanctity of their
oaths,
have found you guilty
of murder by lying in wait, and by virtue of this verdict the law
declares that
you shall die. Now I
hope you fully realize the solemnity of this occasion. It is an
occasion on
which it becomes my
most painful duty as the administrator of the law, to enforce the
verdict of
the jury and to
pronounce the judgment of this court, which will number your days and
count the
sands of your
life. You stand now on the brink of eternity, to pay the penalty of
your crime
fixed not only by
human but by divine law itself - "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man
shall
his blood be shed."
You imbued your hand in the blood of your fellow man, and in
deliberation and
premeditation
prompted, hired by the promise of a few paltry dollars, without a
moment's
warning, deprived
him of that life which had been given him by the creator, and now you
stand at
the bar of justice
to receive the avenging sentence of the broken law - "Thou Shalt
not
kill." Would that I could
feel assured that in the few words I have to say, I could impress you
with the
awful solemnity of
this proceeding, and bring you to a full realization of the terrible
consequences that will result to
you in the unfathomable hereafter, if you appear before your God
unregenerated,
unforgiven -
with your soul still stained with the blood of David G. Lawson.
Your
crime was committed in
secret; it may be no human eye witnessed it, but remember that the All
Seeing
Eye from which
nothing can be hidden, witnessed your every movement and saw you press
the
trigger that sent
the deadly bullet through the body of your victim. I would urge you
then, in
these the last words
I shall ever in all probability utter in your hearing, that as you
leave this
court hall this morning,
never, never to return; as you pass from here for the last time under
the rays
of the same sun that
so often, in the vigor of manhood, warmed both you and him who is dead
at your
hands; as you
return to the gloomy walls of your prison cell, there to remain until
that
awful, terrible day which
will end your existence on earth, to wrestle in prayer with your god,
and to
continue to devote
every moment of the time allotted you to a preparation for the grave.
It only
remains for me now
to pronounce the judgment of this court upon you, and that judgment is
that you
be now
remanded to the jail of this county, whence you came, and there
confined until Tuesday,
the 25th
day of September, 1877, when you will be taken therefrom, by the
Sheriff of
this county,
between the hours of sunrise and sunset of that day, and by him hanged
by
the neck until you are
dead. And may that God who is plenteous in mercy, who delighteth in
mercy, and
whose mercy is
from everlasting to everlasting, have mercy on your soul." Rockingham
Register
- July 17, 1877
******************************************************************************
"Commonwealth of
Virginia vs. Silas Morris - Silas Morris guilty as
accessory before
the fact
& murder in the first degree - Jury: John A. Yates, J. W.
Blackburn, R. B.
Jones, T. J. Butler, Joel
Rinker, Wm. M. Martz, Jacob B. Burris, Jacob A. Andes, Harvey Alger,
Peter P.
Holsinger,
Agnes N. Spitzer, & Geo. W. McFarland, Foreman - Sheriff: D. H.
Ralston -
Deputies: D. W.
9
(Continued)
Bear & Henry J.
Ryman -
Witnesses for the Commonwealth: Elijah Davis, Lydia Baugher, James
Hall, W. T. Davis, John W. Mowberry, John C. Eaton, Edward Royers, Wm.
N.
Crawford,
Frances Crawford, Rebecca Hall, David Gilmer, Burris Williams, Virginia
Williams, Larkin
Clarke, Samuel Hall, James Crawford, V. H. Lam, Phoebe Knighten, John
I. Wood,
W. T.
McGahey, Robert Crawford, Thomas Powell, Archie McDaniel, & James
Maiden -
Witnesses for
the Defence: David Gilmer, Elijah Davis, Lurena Morris, Angeline Lamb,
Susan A.
Gladden,
Martha A. Shifflett, John C. Eaton, John Ira Morris, Henry Morris,
Sampson
Davis, Aaron P.
Davis, Jefferson Morris"
Rockingham County Court Minute Book #5 - July
25, 1877
******************************************************************************
"
hanging on Tuesday the 25th of September, 1877"
******************************************************************************
"In the County
Court of
Rockingham, the case of Silas Morris, charged with being accessory
to the murder of David G. Lawson, was given to the jury on
Tuesday, at
noon. On Wednesday
morning the jury came into Court with a verdict of guilty of murder in
the
first degree. This is
the second trial of Morris, the first jury having failed to agree. The
prosecution was ably
conducted by Jno. Paul, Esq., Commonwealth's Attorney; the
prisoner was
defended by
Messers. Berlin, Roller and Regan, who did all that skill and
energy
could to save the prisoner."
Rockingham Register - July 26, 1877
******************************************************************************
"Louisa Lawson----Samuel
Hall, Rebecca Hall, Burres Williams, Frances Crawford, James
Crawford, John Mowberry, Conrad Davis, Albert Eaton, Davis Gilmer,
Aaron P.
Davis, B. P.
Teel, Dr. J. H. Wolfe, Isaac Wyant, John I. Wood, Asa Baugher, John T.
Maiden,
Geo. W.
Baugher, Thomas Powell, Franklin Davis, Julia Marshall, Columbia
Shifflett,
& Joseph W.
Baugher, Witnesses in behalf of the Commonwealth and Samuel
Davis,
Matilda Baugher, Dr.
F. Catterton, Rufus Shifflett, David Gilmer, Jefferson Morris, Haelston
Shifflet, Ulia McDaniel,
Henry Morris, Columbia Shifflett, Rial Morris, Martha Roach, Susan
Gladden,
Elijah Davis, Betsy
Byrd, Winnie F. Lamb, John W. Morris, Henry E. Sipe, Nicholas Williams,
John
alias Johnny Morris -
Witnesses in behalf of the prisoner"
******************************************************************************
"CONVICTED OF
MURDER -
The trial of Mrs. Louisa Lawson, charged with being accessory
before the fact to the murder of her husband, David G. Lawson, was
concluded
Saturday last. The
case occupied nearly two weeks time. The prisoner was defended by
Messers.
Roller,
Regain, who conducted the case with marked ability, zeal and
earnestness, and
labored most faithfully
to save their client from a doom which
is terrible to contemplate. John Paul, Esq., attorney for the
Commonwealth, represented the State, and maintained his reputation as
an able
prosecutor. The case
was given to the jury on Friday evening at 5 o'clock. When the Court
met in the
morning the jury had
not agreed upon a verdict. At about 2
o'clock it was announced that the jury had made up their verdict.
In a few minutes the Court House was
crowded with spectators, eager to hear the decision of those
to whose the judgment had been committed the awful arbitrament. In a
few
moments the jury came
in. They were asked if they had agreed upon a verdict. the answer being
in the
affirmative, they were
commanded to look upon the prisoner.
10
(Continued)
and say, is she guilty
or not
guilty of the offense charged in the indictment. The foreman
answered "guilty." At that moment so perfect was the quiet that one
could have heard a pin
drop. The prisoner had on a sun-bonnet and her face was
completely
concealed, so that it was
impossible to see the effect upon her countenance when the verdict was
rendered. Thus has
ended another chapter of a history, which can scarce find a parallel in
the
wildest fancies of
fiction. First, the murder of David G. Lawson, who was shot
from his
horse while driving his
wagon along the public road. Then the conviction of Shifflett,
who was
hired to do the bloody
work. Next the conviction of Morris, one of the accessories,
who
counseled with the other guilty
wretches. And now, the wife of the murdered man is found guilty
of the
charge of being
accessory before the fact of the premeditated murder of her husband. On
Monday
a motion was
made by the counselor for the prisoner for a new trial. The Judge
reserved his
decision until
Wednesday morning. When the court met the court room was crowded with
spectators, among
them quite a number of ladies. The Judge having overruled the motion
for a new
trial, proceeded
to pass judgment upon the prisoner. The address of Judge O' Ferrall
to
the criminal was deeply
solemn and impressive. The scene was one not to be forgotten by those
who were
present. The
Judge as well as a good many of those present were moved to tears.
At
the conclusion of his
remarks, the court sentenced the prisoner to be hung on
Tuesday, the 30th
day of October next
Rockingham Register - August 1877
*******************************************************************************
SENTENCED TO BE
HUNG - Silas
Morris, who was convicted in the county court of
Rockingham of being accessory before the fact of the murder of David
G.
Lawson, was, on
Thursday morning last, sentenced to be hung on Tuesday, the 25th
day of
September next. The
address of Judge O'Ferrall to the prisoner was appropriate and
impressive. The
prisoner
exhibited a good deal of emotion. His wife, who was present, was deeply
moved
and distressed.
Rockingham Register - August 2, 1877
*******************************************************************************
"At a County court
held in
and for the County of Rockingham at the court House thereof on
Monday, August 20, 1877 - Commonwealth vs. Louisa Lawson} Upon an
Indictment
for
Murder - This day the prisoner Louisa Lawson late of the
county of
Rockingham who stands
indicted for a felony by her committed was again led to the bar of this
court
in custody of the
Jailor of this County and therefore the Venuement summoned for the
trial of
felony cases at this
term of the Court were called twenty three of whom appeared: Wm. C.
Simmons,
Joseph
Howver, B. F. Kiger, Jacob Sirnmeans, John D. Heatwole, John C.
Hidecker, Henry
C. Beery, B.
F. Showalter, D. W. C. Koogler, R. S. Gowl,1. R. Price, Adam Pifer,
Geo. W.
Keller, Abraham
Brennerman, Peter W. Roller, V. Batton, S. S. Bowman, Geo. R. Eastham,
&
Jackson Knupp and
thereupon the panel of thirty-six was completed by the Sheriff
summoning from a
list furnished by
the Judge sitting. The following names
to wit: John S. Fridley, Wm. Moomaw, John W. Gaither,
John F. Ranhof, Robert G. Crakley, Hiram Coffinan, Jacob Whitmer, John
H.
Ralston, Dr. James H.
White, J. H. Herring, Joseph Coffinan, Joseph Spitzer, and David Cupp,
and from
the panel thus
completed a panel of Sixteen were called examined by the Court on their
Voindire found to be duly
qualified and free from ------ Viz.- Joseph Howver, Jacob Lineweaver,
John D.
Heatwole, John C.
Hidecker, R. A. Harrison, B. F. Showalter, Geo. W. Keller, S. S.
Bowman, Geo.
R. Eastham, Wm.
Moomaw, D. W. C. Koogler, John W. Gaither, Hiram Coffinan, Jacob
Whitmer, John
H. Ralston,
and John A. Herring, and therefore the prisoner was furnished with
11
(Continued)
copy of therefore and
having
stricken therefrom the names of four of the persons of said panel
Viz.- Joseph Howver, Jacob Lineweaver, John D. Heatwole, John C.
Hidecker,R.A.
Harrison, B. F. Showalter, Geo. W. Keller, Geo. R. Eastham, Wm Moomaw,
John W.
Gaither, Jacob Whitmer and S. S. Bowman thereby constituting the
jury who
being thus
elected, tried and sworn well and truly to try and true deliverance
make
between the
Commonwealth and the prisoner at the bar and a true verdict render
according to
the evidence
and not having time to fully to hear the evidence were adjourned until
tomorrow
morning at 9
O'clock."
******************************************************************************
"Commonwealth of
Virginia vs. Louisa Lawson - found guilty as an accessory before
the fact -
John D. Heatwole, Foreman -" Rockingham County Court Minute Book #5
-
Sept. 1, 1877
"Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Louisa Lawson - Sentence; by
hanging
on Tuesday the 30th
of October, 1877"
Rockingham County Court Minute Book #5 - Sept. 5,
1877
******************************************************************************
"It appearing to the
court,
that it is the desire of Silas Morris to bind his daughter, Mary NeUy
Morris, an infant under the age of fourteen years as an apprentice to
D. H.
Ralston, as evidence
by a writing filed signed by said Silas Morris, the consent of the
court is
hereby given to the
binding of the said infant. The said D. H. Ralston shall, in addition
to what
is required of him in
chapter 122 of the code of 1873, pay to the said apprentice when she
shall
attain the age of 18
years, the sum of $50.00 and a good suit of outer and underclothing."
Monday, September 17,1877 -
Rock.
Note: Mr. Ralston
is the
Sheriff of
******************************************************************************
"Confession of
Shifflett
and Morris
"Anderson Shifflett
and Silas Morris within the last few days have in close and
confidential
conference with their counsel, with the attorney for the Commonwealth,
with the
judge of the
court and with Mr. Ryman, the deputy jailor, who stays in their
cell
with them at night, and have
made confession of their connection with the murder of David G.
Lawson,
and for which they
are now under sentence of death. Shifflett, however, contends
that Sam'l
Hall; the chief witness
for the Commonwealth in the case, procured for him the gun with which
he killed
Lawson. That
part of the confession which criminates himself is doubtless true, but
his
effort to connect Hall
with him in the murder, it is believed has not the slightest foundation
in
fact. Morris admits his
connection with the murder, stating he simply "lied" for them,
and paid Shifflett a part of the
money for killing Lawson." We learn, through private letters
written on last Sunday,
that the above telegram which has been going the rounds of the papers
for
several days past, is
incorrect in several important particulars: Shifflett, we understand,
has made
a confession, which
will not be made public until after the execution. Morris still
protests his
innocence. Mr.
Ryman does not stay in the cell with the prisoners at night. Shifflett
was so anxious to see his
wife and family that Mr. Ralston, the jailor, sent for them on
last
Saturday, and when the
messenger arrived at their home he found the whole family sick with
the
measles, and their
baby had been buried that morning. When this news was
communicated to
Shifflett his cries
and screams were distressing in the extreme: "Oh Lord have mercy! Oh
Lord,
hear my prayer!"
&c. He seemed inconsolable, and kept up the most lamentable wails
until
midnight of Saturday.
He has been under deepest
12
(Continued)
conviction of his sins
for
several days past, and on Sunday morning he professed conversion, and
gave vent to exclamations of joy and comfort, saying: "It won't be long
till I will be with my
baby, and Oh, how happy I will be."
******************************************************************************
"THE EXECUTIONS
NEXT
TUESDAY - It will be seen from the following that Judge
O'Ferrall declines to order a public execution of Shifflett and
Morris.
We commend this action
of the Judge, as preeminently proper. Editors of the Register and
Commonwealth,
-- Gentlemen:
I have received
various letters
from different sections of the county urging me to order a public
execution of Anderson Shifflett and Silas Morris now
confined in
the jail of this county, under
sentence of death. I also received, on last evening, a petition signed
quite
numerously by citizens
of
the limits of the town. While I fully appreciate the motives of the
parties
from whom the letters
referred to have been received, (for I presume they have been prompted
by
motives of the public
good, and not by a depraved and morbid curiosity,) and while I can
understand,
appreciate and
sympathize with the desire of the petitioners, I feel that my sense of
propriety and morality, and
my conception of the public good, will not allow me to direct a public
execution. Our lawmakers
in their wisdom, have declared, that an advanced civilization requires
that no
public exhibition
shall be made of the struggles and death agonies of the poor creatures,
who may
be so
unfortunate as to bring down upon their heads the avenging blow of an
outraged
law. I cannot
but think that public executions are so shocking to the finer
sensibilities,
and revolting to decency;
that the day is not far distant when they will be abolished as relics
of
barbarism. Steps will be taken
to preserve and protect persons and property in the vicinity of the
jail, from
any annoyance. During
last week I requested His Excellency, the Governor of Virginia,
to place
our very efficient volunteer
company, the "Harrisonburg Guards," under the orders of the
Sheriff, on that day, and he has done
so, and I have no doubt the Mayor of the Town will see that the police
force is
sufficiently increased
to insure good order. Regretting that my sense of duty will not allow
me to
comply at least with the
request of the petitioners, among whom
are many ladies. I am, respectfully, yours, CHAS. T.
O'FERRALL, Judge Rockingham Co.
N. B. - It is proper
to state
that no one will be allowed to witness the executions, but those
required or permitted by law. C. T. O'F."
Rockingham Register -
September 20,1877
******************************************************************************
"The murderers, Shifflett
and Morris, will expiate their crime on the gallows on Tuesday
next.
Up to this time Judge O'Ferrall has seen no reason to interfere with
the
provisions of the law,
which requires executions to be private."
Rockingham Register - September
20,1877
******************************************************************************
"It appearing to the
Court
that it is the desire of Silas Morris to bind his son William
Jefferson
Morris, an infant under the age of 14 years to Thomas J. Atchison
of
this County. The court
doth hereby give it's consent to the binding of the said infant until
he shall
attain the age of 21
years, to the said Thomas J. Atchison, upon the following
conditions, to
wit: The said
Atchinson is to teach or have taught, the said infant, reading, writing
and
common arithmetic,
including the rule of three; he is to furnish him during his apprentice
with
good clothing and food,
and give him when he attains the age of 21 years, a good horse
worth not
less than $100.00, saddle
& bridle and a good dress suit of
clothing."
Monday, September 25,1877 -
Rock.
******************************************************************************
13
******************************************************************************
"SHIFFLETT AND
MORRIS.
SHIFFLETT TO BE HUNG TODAY MORRIS
RESPITED UNTIL OCTOBER 23RD - SHIFFLETT IS BAPTIZED - SAYS HE DID NOT
KILL LAWSON.- Today, September 25th, is the day appointed for the
execution, at
Harrisonburg, of Anderson Shifflett and Silas Morris,
for the
murder of David G. Lawson. A
telegram from Mr. D. H. Ralston, Sheriff, received yesterday evening,
states
that "Silas Morris
has been respited until the 23rd of October." On last Sunday, at his
own
request, Shiflett
received the holy ordinance of baptism. Before he was baptized the
officiating
minister, Rev. Mr.
Barr, warned, him of the awful responsibility resting upon him,
telling him
that there was but a step
between him and death - that the angel of God, or Satan with his
cohorts were
waiting to waft his
spirit to the bright land above, or to drag his soul down to hell.-
With all
the solemn
warnings which could be given him, he made in substance, the following
statement, which is in
conflict with previous confessions of guilt made by him. He had several
times
before admitted
that he shot Lawson, and when asked whether Lawson spoke after he was
shot or
not, he said he
did not know, as he was not close enough to hear him. He said that he
stepped
out of the ambush
into the road, after Lawson has passed the point where he was
concealed, and
took deliberate aim
and shot him in the back. The following is about what he stated on
Sunday last,
just before being
baptized: 'I did not kill David G. Lawson - I never agreed to
kill him,
but I knew, or thought he
would be killed on the day he was killed, and I started from and got
within a
half or three quarters
of a mile of the place where Lawson was killed, on the side of the
Ridge near
Mr. Davis's, so I could
hear, and was there five or ten minutes when I heard the rattling of
the wagon
and the report of the
gun. I immediately went back home. "Silas Morris never paid me
or
offered to pay me any money
to kill David G. Lawson, and he never tried to hire or persuade me to
kill him.
He did say to me, on
the Sunday week before,- 'I suspect they are going to kill Dave.' "Samuel
Hall tried to hire me to kill
Lawson. He offered me $20 or $25 to kill him, and Susan Gladden's
statement in
Court was correct,
for she heard him (Hall) offer me the money, but I told him I
did not
want any such money, and he
replied that he could get two other men to do it. Samuel Hall
never gave
me any money to kill him,
but some time after he was killed Samuel Hall did give me some
$2 or $5
, I do not know which,
not to say anything about what he had said to me about killing Lawson.
''Mrs.
Lawson never hired
or tried to hire me to kill her husband, but she did say to me, at her
Spring,
before he was killed, that
if I would kill him I would be paid for
it. She said 'I have no money - but you will be paid.'" Shiflett
will be hanged in the jail yard this
(Tuesday) morning, between the hours of 9 and 11 o'clock."
******************************************************************************
"EXECUTION OF
THE SCAFFOLD - BREAKING OF THE HANGMAN'S ROPE - AN AGONIZING SCENE -
A PRAYER FOR ONE MORE GLIMPSE OF DAYLIGHT. Harrisonburg, Va., Sept.
25,1977-
The execution of Anderson Shifflett, one of the three parties convicted
of the
murder of David G.
Lawson, in the mountainous region of East Rockingham, on the afternoon
of the
15th of March,
1875, took place here today within the jail enclosure. Up to yesterday,
it was
believed by almost
everybody who had attended the trials of the persons charged with the
killing
of Lawson that
Silas Morris, Shifflett's confederate in the crime for which he
has been
hung, would have been
executed at the same time, but a respite from Governor
Kemper
arrived by special messenger
from Richmond at noon yesterday, and Morris has another month in which
to seek
to establish his
claim to exemption from the penalty paid by Shifflett. The execution
was
comparatively private,
14
(Continued)
the persons present in the enclosure in the rear of the jail
embracing not
more than forty or fifty.
Amongst those were several reporters for the press of
Louis
Shifflett rested very
uneasily
the night before his execution, groaning and tossing upon his couch.
The sacrament was administered to him in his cell at 8 A. M. by Rev.
David
Barr, of the
Episcopal church, assisted by Rev. William G. Eggleston, of the
Southern
M. E. Church, in the
presence of one or two special friends of the condemned. After the
conclusion
of the services of
the sacrament, the hymn commencing "Jesus, lover of my soul,"
was sung, the condemned
seeming to engage heartily in the exercises. Shifflett had made
a
profession of religion, and said
that he felt that when he left this world he would soon be with his
Maker.
The platform was
erected in the
rear of the cell occupied by Silas Morris and Louisa Lawson,
under sentence of a death as participants in the murder for which Shifflett
has been hung. The
scaffold was a plain, rough platform, with steps. It had a fall of four
feet.
The Harrisonburg
Guards, whose services on the occasion had been called into
requisition by
the Governor,
surrounded the jail to prevent the crowd from getting near the prison;
ropes
were stretched
across the street near the jail, and the impatient and curious crowd
was thus
kept at a distance.
So eager, however, were some persons to see the execution that they
climbed
upon the house
tops and chimneys surrounding the jail.
Shifflett was
taken from
his cell after the conclusion of the religious services, and supported
on
either side by High Sheriff D. H. Ralston the jailor and one of
his
deputies, conducted through
the corridor into the enclosure where the scaffold stood. He was neatly
dressed
in a new suit of
dark cassimer clothing, was bareheaded, and had just been shaved. He
was
weeping violently as
he passed to the scaffold, and doubtless appreciated fully the horrors
of the
situation. He had
evidently broken down and was full of dread; he held his hands to his
face as
he passed to and
mounted the steps of the scaffold, and continued weeping and groaning
almost
all the time. Rev.
Mr. Barr, his spiritual friend and adviser, read Shifflett's
statement
from the scaffold as follows
"I Anderson Shifflett, do on this 25th day of September, 1877,
make
the following statement and
call god to witness that he is true: About four weeks before the murder
of David
G. Lawson,
Samuel Hall offered me money (about $25) to kill him the said Lawson or
put him
out of the way
in some way. I refused to kill the said Lawson for the said Hall. I did
not
kill the said Lawson at
all. When Lawson was killed I was on a knoll, or side of the mountain
3/4 of a
mile from the
place where he was killed. I expected he would be killed then, and went
to that
knoll to hear the
shot fired and did distinctly hear it. I had not been there for more
than ten
minutes when the shot
was fired. I went home. I cannot say who killed him. After the said
Lawson was
killed the said
Samuel Hall offered me the money to kill the said Lawson, told
me he
would pay me money if I
would say nothing about him having offered me money to kill Lawson. He
paid me
two dollars to
keep silence about it. When Wyant
met me on the road I was turkey hunting. It was in
February, when snow was on the ground, and not about one week
before
Lawson was
murdered. Burris Williams testified falsely when he said that I
confessed on the wagon, that I
killed Lawson and that everybody knew it. Silas Morris never persuaded
me, nor
did he offer or
pay me money to kill Lawson. He told me a short time before Lawson was
killed
that he suspected
they were going to kill him, but did not
say
15
(Continued)
who he thought would kill him nor when they would do it. Mrs.
Louisa Lawson
did not speak
to me more than a half dozen words for two years before her husband was
killed.
She said this to
me, "I you were to do it you would be paid for it, but I've got no
money."
I confessed two weeks ago that I had killed Lawson, but that
confession was
a falsehood. I did
it because I was promised money and wheat for my children, $18
in money
and two bushels of
wheat. One dollar of it was paid to my wife while she was sick. It was
arranged
between Silas
Morris, Louisa Lawson and myself. It was to bring Sam Hall
and Burris
Williams in for
swearing our lives away. This is my dying statement. And now praying
the
merciful God to
forgive all my sins, and looking to Jesus Christ for salvation, I say
farewell.
Signed, Anderson (his X mark) Shifflett
THE EXECUTION
After prayer on the
scaffold by Rev.
Mr. Barr, the rope was adjusted about his neck and the
black cap drawn over his face by Sheriff Ralston and his
deputy, Mr.
Switzer, Shifflett all the
while crying and moaning in a great agony and fear, exclaiming, "God
knows
that I am innocent.
" Deputy Sheriff Bare then cut the rope which held up the
platform
and Shifflett fell to the ground,
the rope which was cotton, threeeights
of an inch in diameter, snapped like a thread, and scarcely
breaking his fall. The effect of the fall was a simple concussion, the
condemned man soon recovering
and continuing as before his piteous
wailings. At five minutes past ten he was again carried to the
scaffold, a heavier rope having been procured and adjusted
about his
neck, and the black cap was
again adjusted. At this point he begged that the cap might be lifted so
that he
could see daylight
once more ere he went into the darkness of the eternal beyond. His last
request
having been granted
he looked wistfully at the sun and then at the spectators, and said,"
Good-bye, gentlemen, all of you;
I am innocent! innocent! innocent!"
At nine minutes past
10 the rope
was again cut and the body of Anderson Shifflett was dangling
in contortions beneath the scaffold. He was pronounced dead in eleven
and
one-half minutes,
death having been produced by strangulation, and not by
dislocation
of his neck. the body of
Shifflett, for whose burial a plain pine coffin had been
prepared, was
handed over to his brother,
who carried it to his former home in the mountains of East Rockingham
for
internment.
Public sentiment
here is,
notwithstanding his denials of his connection with the murder, that
Shifflett was guilty, and justly suffered the extreme penalty of the
law.
History of the Murder.
On the15th of March
1875, - more
two years and six months ago - a startling and horrible
murder was committed in the eastern part of Rockingham County, Va.,
near a
locality in which
lawlessness, violent dealing and vice in all it's forms had long
been
with many the rule of action.
The locality is within the shadows of the
many honorable exceptions, by unenlightened, superstitious and utterly
depraved
men and
women. So desperate were many of the characters residing here that it
was
considered dangerous
for strangers to visit alone this retreat of lawless, vicious people.
This is
the locality in which a
number of deserters form the Confederate service sought refuge
during
the early part of our civil war,
and General Jackson found it necessary to send a force of infantry
with a piece or two of artillery
to dislodge and arrest them. Some years ago a tin peddler
with a handcart and his wares entered this
dangerous region. He
had the imprudence, after taking two or three drinks of brandy, to show
his
money.
He was never
heard of again. Suspicion attached to some desperate character with
whom he had
last
been seen,
16
(Continued)
but no arrest was
made, nor will
the manner of the ''taking off" of the murdered peddler ever be
disclosed, perhaps until the day of final reckoning.
This locality hangs right upon the outer verge of a section in which
there is
probably as much
refinement and intelligence as are generally found in the best portions
of the
country. Occupying
an area of about ten square miles, it stretches from the base of the Blue
Ridge, in
highway, a well graded turnpike, leading from
Stanardsville,
upon another public county wagon road, a few hundred yards from this
highway,
in the open light
of the day, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the period already
indicated,
that David G.
Lawson, an industrious and comparatively well-to-do and seemingly
happy and
contented farmer,
residing in this region, was shot dead whilst passing over the road,
driving
his team home from a
mill in the vicinity. He was shot in the back with a musket or rifle, two
balls taking effect and
killing him instantly. His team stopped in the road when the gun
cracked, and
the lifeless body of
the murdered man was shortly afterwards found lying under the wagon or
the
heels of his horses.
He was shot from a thicket of pine which lined the roadside, the
murderer
quickly hiding himself
in the deepening shadows of woods and undergrowth which covered his
retreat.
The dead body of
Lawson was
carried to his former home and a coroner's inquest summoned, but
this inquest failed to elicit much direct information leading to the
detection
of the person or
persons engaged in the killing. Suspicion, however, began to point to
parties
who might have had
a motive to commit the murder, and among the suspected ones were the
wife, Louisa
Lawson
now the widow of the deceased; his brother-in-law, (Mrs. Lawson's
brother) Silas
Morris;
Burris Williams (brother of the wife of Silas Morris),
and a man
named Anderson Shifflett.
These parties were all shortly afterwards arrested and underwent
examination,
but it was found
impossible to identify then distinctly with the murder, and they
were turned
loose.
The murder created
intense
excitement in the neighborhood, and the friends and relatives of the
murderer man resolved to spare no efforts to bring the guilty to
punishment. Detectives
from
abroad were employed and set up on the track of the suspected parties,
but no
light seemed to
dawn upon the transaction until about a year after the murder, when a
man named
Samuel Hall,
who had been an inmate of Lawson's family occasionally, struck
the key
which began to unlock
the secrets of the bloody deed. This man Hall, who was a shrewd, bold,
but
uneducated person,
readily ingratiated himself into the confidence and affections of the widow
Lawson, pretending to
be courting and expressed a wish and purpose to marry her.
Through his
power over her, she
made admissions to him which implicated her brother, Silas Morris
and Anderson
Shifflett and
placed her own life in peril. After long delays and the miscarriage of
numerous
well arranged
schemes for the apprehension of Shifflett and Silas Morris,
they
were at length caught and
committed to jail in
murder in the first degree, and condemned to be executed on Tuesday,
the 25th
of September, but
by the interposition of Gov. Kemper, the execution of Morris
was
stayed until the 23rd of
October Shifflett was 37 or 38
years of age, and married a few weeks ago in his cell to the woman
with
whom he had several children. He was a small sized, wiry looking man,
with a
rather
meaningless, vacant face, except that nerve and determination were
distinctly
indicated. He never
smiled and seemed indisposed to look anybody in the face. He was
utterly
ignorant, and must
17
(Continued)
have been a heartless
creature,
as he evidently was hired to murder and did deliberately murder
poor Lawson, who had never done him any harm, for the sum of twenty
dollars.
THEORY OF THE PROSECUTION
The theory of the
Attorney for
the Commonwealth in his vigorous prosecution of these cases was
this: That Silas Morris in connection with his sister, Louisa
Lawson,
determined to get rid of
Lawson by murder, for the purpose of obtaining control of what little
property
he had and with a
view of gratifying Mrs. Lawson's resentment against her
husband, with
whom she had frequently
disagreed. It was in proof that Mrs. Lawson had frequently
expressed her
wish to get rid of her
husband. Unwilling to do the deed
themselves, they hired Anderson Shifflett, who was known
to be a desperate man and to possess the requisite nerve to do
so
horrible an act. These people
were all superstitious and believed in witchcraft. Hence they
concluded,
after conferring together,
that they would visit an old fortune
teller, named Lydia Nighting, to see if she could "put a
spell"
on Lawson, so that he might be gotten out of the way. The fortune
teller
informed them that she
could do this, but it would require six months before they could get
rid of
him. This did not suit
them, and Anderson Shifflett
declared his willingness to put him out of the way in a shorter time
than that suggested by the fortune
teller. Their plan was arranged on Sunday, the 14th of March,
and on the next evening Shifflett stationed himself in the
pines near
the road where Lawson would
pass with his team to and from the mill, and finding him alone shot him
as
before mentioned.
HOW THE CASE WAS WORKED UP
Great credit is due to
the
officers and other persons employed by the State for plans and
arrangements for the detection and arrest of the criminals. Amongst
these were Capt.
Jos. H.
Kelly, chief of police of Harrisonburg; V. H. Lamb,
constable (a one
legged man who had his
right leg shot off in a desperate raconteur with a desperate man), and
his
brother, residing near
where the murder was committed; George Hutchinson, of
Harrisonburg, and
one or two
gentlemen were active and vigilant and exhibited courage in the work
they were
engaged in. The
men, Morris and Shifflett, were always upon the lookout in
their
mountain retreats, and always
prepared for the exigency of their apprehension. It was well known to
their
captors that, they
were desperate and dangerous men, and that any attempt to arrest them
would be
resisted with
force of arms. Yet, they were caught and handed over to the court of
Justice.
We clip the following
additional
particulars from the
Shifflett had
told
several stories before this, and the evening previous to the execution,
when
Henry Ryman, who took Mrs. Shifflett and her children out to Mr.
Jos.
Moyers, near town,
Mrs. Shifflett said: "Anderson killed Lawson;
that it
would not do to keep it a secret any
longer." This statement was made voluntarily to Ryman, without
any
solicitation, whatever.
His remains were
placed in a
coffin and handed over to Wm. C. and Turner Shifflett, who took
them to Solomon Shifflett's in Greene County where his mother
requested
he should be
buried.
The cost to the State
for the
two trials of Anderson Shifflett was $660.59; the two trials of
Silas
Morris, $955.87; the trial of Mrs. Lawson, $598.33, making a
total
of$2214.79. These costs do
not include the pay of witnesses, &c., before the Magistrates.
There were
additional costs for
arrest, boarding, and guarding the prisoners of$123.85, and the work is
still
unfinished."
*****************************************************************************
18
******************************************************************************
"SHERIFF RALSTON
-
This gentleman has been somewhat censured for the- breaking of the
rope in endeavoring to carry out the mandates of the Court on Tuesday
last. On
the day previous
he went to a store to buy some rope, and the kind first used was
recommended by
the merchant.
It was purchased and tried and it's capacity was tested several times
by trying
it with an anvil
weighing 187 pounds, with a considerable fall. Shifflett
weighed 166
pounds. The rope tried
was thrown away and another piece from the same coil was used on the
day of
execution. No
censure can attach to Sheriff Ralston for the accident. He was
deeply
moved by it's occurrence
and suffered really more than Shifflett. -
******************************************************************************
"Harrisonburg's
Hanging!
-
Tuesday last. He passed a sleepless night on Monday night and Tuesday
morning
declined
partaking of an excellent breakfast prepared for him by Sheriff
Ralston's family.
On Tuesday
morning Jos. T. Williams shaved him, and Sheriff Ralston
presented him with a good suit of
black cashmere, new shirt, stockings, and waiter shoes. I suppose it is
the
best suit of clothes
Shifllett ever wore. About eight o'clock Revs. Mr. Barr and Eggleston
administered the
sacrament to him. There were also present in his cell, to him truly an
angel of
mercy, Miss Anna
Gray. After the sacramental services, religious exercises were
engaged in
for an hour or two. At
9:40 o'clock Sheriff Ralston entered the cell and said to the
condemned
man, "It is time to go."
Shifflett replied, "I am ready." He entered the jail yard,
accompanied by Sheriff Ralston and
Rev. Mr. Barr. The Sheriff' was the first to ascend to the scaffold,
closely
followed by Shifflett,
who then sat down on a chair, and Mr. Barr asked him if he had anything
to say.
He replied,
"No, read that." Then Mr. Barr read in a tremulous
though distant voice, the following as
"I, ANDERSON
SHIFFLETT, do
on this 25th day of September, 1877, make the following
statement and call God to witness that it is true: About four weeks
before the
murder of David
G. Lawson, Samuel Hall offered me money (about $25) to kill him the
said Lawson
or put him
out of the way in some way. I refused to kill the said Lawson for the
said Hall.
I did not kill the
said Lawson at all. When Lawson was killed I was on a knoll, or side of
the
mountain 3/4 of a
mile from the place where he was killed. I expected he would be killed
then,
and went to that
knoll to hear the shot fired and did distinctly hear it. I had not been
there
for more than ten
minutes when the shot was fired. I went home. I cannot say who killed
him.
After the said
Lawson was killed the said Sam'l Hall offered me the money to
kill the
said Lawson, told me he
would pay me money if I would say nothing about him having offered me
money to
kill Lawson.
He paid me two dollars to keep silence about it. When Wyant met
me on
the road I was turkey
hunting. It was in February, when snow was on the ground, and not
about one
week before
Lawson was murdered. Burris Williams testified falsely when he
said that
I confessed on the
wagon, that I killed Lawson and that everybody knew it. Silas Morris
never
persuaded me, nor
did he offer or pay me money to kill Lawson. He told me a short time
before
Lawson was killed
that he suspected they were going to kill him, but did not say who he
thought
would kill him nor
when they would do it. Mrs. Louisa Lawson did not speak to me
more than
a half dozen words
for two years before her husband was killed. She said this to me, "If
you were to do it you
would be paid for it, but I've got no money."
19
(Continued)
I confessed two weeks
ago that I
had killed Lawson, but that confession was a falsehood. I did
it
because I was promised money and wheat for my children,
$18 in
money and two bushels of
wheat. One dollar of it was paid to my wife while she was sick. It was
arranged
between Silas
Morris, Louisa Lawson and myself. It was to bring Sam
Hall
and Burris Williams in for
swearing our lives away. This is my dying statement. And now praying
the
merciful God to
forgive all my sins, and looking to Jesus Christ for salvation, I say
farewell.
Signed, Anderson (his X mark) Shifflett
During the reading Shifflett
sobbed most piteously, frequently exclaiming ''MY GOD I AM
INNOCENT! I never done the deed, as sure as you are a living man. The
Lord
Jesus Christ have
mercy on my soul and many similar expressions. The crowd present
exhibited by
their looks a
considerable sympathy for the unfortunate man. After Mr. Barr
concluded
the reading, he
offered a prayer for the soul of the man and extended his hand to bid
him
farewell. Shifflett
caught him by the hand and said goodbye Mr. Barr - I am going
to die an
innocent man. May
god have mercy on my soul. Sheriff Ralston then requested him
to arise,
when Shifflett said,
"Oh my god! Are you going to hang an innocent man? Why oh why, have I
to
be hung when I
am innocent, innocent so help me
God." Sheriff Ralston, assisted by the Deputy sheriff, then
tied his arms and legs, placed the black
cap over his face, adjusted the rope, and left the platform.
As they were descending the steps, the cries of Shifflett were heart
rendering
- he, praying and
protesting his innocence alternately. At
precisely 9:55 Deputy Sheriff Bear, with a hatchet, cut
the rope that sustained the trap, and Anderson Shifflett FELL IN THE
PIT
BENEATH THE
GALLOWS. The rope, which was a white cotton one three-eights of
an inch
in diameter, snapped,
making a noise resembling the explosion
of a percussion cap. The rope had been tied with an anvil,
weighing 175 pounds, the day before and stood the test. Shifflett lay
in the
pit forty-five seconds
before he spoke, and for that time everyone present stood horrified and
helpless. He was lying on
his right side with his legs under his back. His first expression was, "My
God! Why do you try to
hang an innocent man?" the
deputies and several of the guards of the jail present, got him out
of the pit and laid him down on the grass. He turned over on his
stomach and
cried loudly; between
bursts of sobs he asserted his innocence, and prayed. A new rope was
quickly
obtained, a hempen
one five-eights of an inch thick, which was adjusted to the top of the
beam of
the scaffold by
Deputy Sheriff Scott. At 10:03 SHIFFLETT WAS AGAIN
CONDUCTED TO THE PLATFORM.
After the black cap
had
been put on his face the second time, he begged that it be removed for
him to see the light of day once more. The request was granted and he
said,
"Gentlemen,
goodbye; I am an innocent man. My god have mercy on me. I never
in all
my life done such a
thing, as sure as you are born, I did not. The cap was then readjusted.
He then
complained of it
being too 'tight and hot on his face, and begged that air be given him.
The
last words of
Anderson Shifflett were, "I am innocent. May God have
mercy
on my soul." At 10:09 o'clock
Deputy Sheriff Bear again cut the rope, and
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH
He spun around several
times,
and for six minutes he could be seen breathing heavily and rapidly.
His pulse at 10:14 o'clock was 72; at 10:17
it was 25;
and at 10:22 o'clock Drs. Wm. O. Hill and
Rives Tatum pronounced him dead. He was permitted to hang until 10:45
o'clock when his body
was cut down - the usual coroner's inquest held, placed in the coffin
and
delivered to his
brother, who started for the former home of Shifflett to bury him.
20
(Continued)
Mrs. Lawson had
been
removed from her cell to another; the one she had occupied would have
given her a full view of the execution. Morris' cell window was
darkened
by a piece of carpet.
The excitement in town was not very great, I suppose that there were
not more
than 200 people
crowding the ropes, which had been placed across the streets at the
different
approaches to the
jail. The
detachment of six were present in the jail yard. The noise made when
the rope
broke was heard
for several squares distant. The thud of the second effort to execute
him, was
distinctly heard by
the Guards patrolling on the pavement. Shifflett was in his 41st year."
******************************************************************************
THE END - The
annals of
history fail to furnish a parallel, in cool, premeditated atrocity to
the
murder of David G. Lawson, of
their condition in life, and their relation to the victim, invest the
case with
peculiar interest. A
recital of the details, as furnished on the trial of the murderers, is
more
like a romance than reality.
The murder was perpetrated on the 15th of March, 1875, and it
took two
years of careful,
persevering, patient effort to discover the perpetrators of the horrid
crime.
The victim, David
G. Lawson,
lived about 25 miles from
the western base of the
Louisa Lawson, by whom he had several children, only two (
boys, aged
10 and 16) of which
are living. Lawson was an honest, industrious, sober man, and good
citizen. His
great fault was a
passion for women. The other characters in this terrible drama will be
described as they are
introduced. We give now the history of this bloody tragedy as it was
developed
at the trial of the
murderers.
Some years before the
death of David
Lawson, he seduced a Miss Hall, who lived in the
neighborhood. After this her took her on the premises, and kept her as
a concubine.
By her he
had one or more children. In the meantime Mrs. Lawson
proved
untrue to her marital vows,
and for this her husband whipped her several times. The conduct of both
husband
and wife soon
produced a very unhappy state of feeling in the household, and Mrs.
Lawson
began to look about
for happiness elsewhere than in her
husband's affection and confidence. She conceived the horrid
plan of getting rid of her husband by having him murdered, so that she
could,
as she supposed she
would, come into undisputed possession of his property, and be at
liberty to
marry whomever she
pleased. She called in her brother Silas Morris as advisor in
the
matter. She then agreed to give
Morris a house and lot and four acres of land to have her
husband,
"put out of the way." Morris
called on Anderson Shifflett, a resident of the neighborhood,
and
contracted him to kill Lawson
for twenty-five dollars, the money to be paid as soon as the work was
accomplished. Shifflett took
in as a partner Burris Williams.
There were two unsuccessful
efforts made by the
hired assassins to kill Lawson. The first was a
by log-rolling, when Shifflett and Williams tried to roll a log
on their
intended victim; but the
log did not roll the "right way to kill him." The second attempt was
made by Shifflett while out
hunting with Lawson, when he "snapped a cap at him." They then
consulted a fortune teller, who
resided a good many miles from them. She said she could "put a spell on
Lawson, but it would
require six months in which to do it." This was too slow a process for
the
impatient wife. They
intended to seize the first suitable opportunity to destroy their
victim. The
opportunity offered
21
(Continued)
itself on the
15th of March, 1875. On that day, David
G. Lawson took his team of three horses
and wagon, and drove to a mill some five or six miles distant from his
home.
After he left,
Shifflett was soon informed that the long looked for opportunity
had
come in which he could kill
Lawson. He made his arrangements accordingly. In the afternoon Lawson
started
for the home
he was never to reach alive. He was riding the saddle horse.
The day was
favorable for deeds of
darkness. It was cloudy, misty and gloomy. About 5 o'clock he was
within two
miles of his
home, driving leisurely along the road. The spot chosen for the
assassination
was aptly selected.
On either side of the road was a good many trees and underbrush. Behind
one of
the trees stood
the assassin with a
rumbling of the wagon wheels along the road, he peeped out from his
hiding
place to be sure that
was his victim who was coming. The assassin's place of concealment was
on the
left side of the
road to Lawson, and Lawson came along, perfectly unconscious of the
terrible
fate that awaited
him. As soon as he reached an "opening" Shifflett fired. The fatal
bullet did it's work. It
entered his back near the spine, and passed through the body, inclining
upwards, came out in
front, a little to the right of the center of the heart. He must have
died
instantly. Two men who
were at work a few hundred yards from the spot, heard the report of the
gun, as
well as the cry
''woa,'' and hastened to the place, where they arrived in about
ten
minutes. When they reached
the place, Lawson was lying between the wheel horses dead. The bullet
was found between his
shirt and vest. One of them kept watch while the other hastened to
Lawson's
house to give
information of the dreadful affair. On the way they saw some neighbor,
who, on
being informed
of what had happened, hurried to the spot. In perhaps two hours Mrs.
Lawson
reached the
place, and stepping a few yards from the body, inquired "is he
dead!" On being told that he was,
she said "well let us go home, we can do no good here, when the coroner
comes they can bring
him to the house." This indifference on the part of Mrs. Lawson
excited suspicion against her,
which was enhanced by her subsequent stoical indifference in regard to
her
husband's death. An
inquest was held, but nothing was elicited sufficient to justify an
indictment.
Detectives were put
on the track, but nothing clearly pointing out the murderers was
developed. In
the meantime,
Samuel Hall continued his attention to the new widow, and rumors
derogatory
to Hall were
circulating. Finally, he told some citizens if they would be patient he
would, ''work
up the case."
Mrs. Lawson, who it seems, was exceedingly fond of Sam Hall,
made
a will in which she
devised the most of her property to him. He, in the meantime, had
engaged to
marry her. Hall
asked for the will, but she would not consent to give up the will until
they
were married. Having
secured her confidence, she revealed to Hall the entire plot by
which
her husband was killed.
Having obtained all the necessary information, Hall notified
the
officers of the law, and Shifflett,
Burriss Williams, Silas Morris, and Louisa Lawson were arrested.
They
had their
examination before the Justices in February and March, 1877. They were
committed
to jail to
await the action of the Grand Jury. True bills were found against Anderson
Shifflett for the
murder of David G. Lawson, and against Silas Morris,
Burriss Williams
and Mrs. Lawson, as
accessories before the fact, at the March term of the County Court of
Rockingham.
Shifflett was tried at the April term of the Court, found guilty
and
sentenced to be hung.
Exception were taken to some of the rulings of the Court, and an appeal
to the
Circuit Court of
the County. The decision of the lower court was reversed, and a new
trial
granted. He was tried
again at the June term, convicted and sentenced to be hung on the 25th
of
September. Silas
22
(Continued)
Morris was tried at the June term, but the jury failed to agree,
the jury
standing ten for guilty and
two for acquittal. He had a second trial at the July
term, was
found guilty and sentenced to be
hung on the 25th of September. Mrs. Lawson was tried at the
August term
of the Court, found
guilty, and sentenced to be hung October 30. Since their conviction
they have
all professed
religion. They have been faithfully counseled by Rev. D Barr,
of Emanuel
Episcopal church, and
Rev. W. G. Eggleston, of the M. E. Church, South. On Saturday
last, the
rite of baptism was
administered upon Shifflett by Rev. Barr.
Some days since, Mrs. Morris, the wife of the condemned man,
went to
petition which she has been circulating, asking for a commutation of
the
sentence of Silas Morris.
On Monday a special messenger from the Governor arrived
with a respite,
putting off the execution
of Morris for 30 days.
Shifflett
has a wife and several children. Morris has two children, and
Mrs. Lawson two boys, aged
ten and sixteen years. Some two weeks since Shifflett
made a statement, in which he confessed to
having
shot
Lawson. On Monday afternoon he made the following as his
dying statement, which was read on the
scaffold by Rev. Barr. "I,
following statement, and call God to witness
that it is true. About
four weeks before the murder of David
G. Lawson, Samuel Hall offered me money,
(about $25) to kill the said Lawson for the
said Hall. I did
not kill the said Lawson at all. When Lawson was killed, I was
on a knoll in the side of the mountain,
three fourths of a mile from the place
where he would be killed then, and went to
that knoll to hear the
shot,
and did distinctly heat it. I had not been there more than ten
minutes when the shot was fired. As
soon as I heard the gun fire I went home. I
cannot say who killed
him. After the said Lawson was killed,
the said Samuel Hall, who offered me
money to kill the said
Lawson, told me he would pay me money if I
would say nothing about the offer he
had made me to kill
Lawson. He paid me two or three dollars to keep
silence about it. When Mr.
Wyant met me in the road,
I was turkey hunting, and it was February, when snow
was on the ground, and
about a week before
Lawson was murdered. Burris Williams testified falsely when
he said that I
confessed on the wagon that I had killed
Lawson, and everybody knew
it. Silas Morris never
persuaded me to kill the said David G.
Lawson. He told me a short time before Lawson was killed that he
expected they
were going to kill him,
but not say who he expected would kill him, nor when he expected they
would do
it. Mrs. Lawson did
not speak to me more than half a dozen words for two years before her
husband,
the said Lawson, was killed. She said this
to me: If you was
to do it you would be paid for it, I have got no
money -- alluding
to killing of Lawson. I confessed two weeks ago that I had killed
Lawson, but
that confession
was a
falsehood. I did it because I was promised and wheat for my children,
eighteen
dollars in money and
two bushels of wheat. One dollar of it was paid to my wife when she was
sick.
It was arranged between
Silas Morris and Mrs. Louisa Lawson and myself It was to bring Hall and
Burris
Williams in for swearing
our lives away. This is my dying statement. And now, praying the
merciful God
to forgive all my sins, and
looking to Jesus Christ for salvation, I say farewell.
Shifflett
was executed in the jail yard of this
County, Tuesday, at 10: 10. He ate no supper,
passed a sleepless night, and took no breakfast. At 8 0' clock this
morning,
the sacrament was
administered to him in his cell by Revs. D. Barr and W. G.
Eggleston.
During the service and up to the
time of his death, he prayed and groaned
continually. At 9:30 o'clock he came out of the jail, supported
by Sheriff Ralston and D. S. Switzer. He
was almost completely broken down and
23
(Continued)
totally unnerved. He
had to be
assisted up the steps of the scaffold. Rev. Mr. Barr then (for
Shifflett) read his dying statement, in which he declared his innocence
of the
crime. He persisted
to the last in asserting his innocence. After reading the statement, Rev.
Barr offered up a prayer,
and bade the prisoner goodbye. Sheriff Ralston, assisted by his
deputies, Scott, Switzer,
Blakemore, Bear and Bowman, then placed the noose around his neck,
drew the
black cap over
his face, and in a moment or two the rope holding the platform was cut.
Unfortunately, the rope
broke, and the condemned man fell to the earth slightly stunned. There
could
not possibly be any
blame attached to the officers as the rope had been thoroughly tested
before.
In a few minutes
another rope was procured and the unfortunate criminal was taken to the
scaffold a second time.
In the meantime he was asserting his innocence and praying for mercy.
At 10
minutes past 10
o'clock the fatal rope was cut, and Shifflett hung dangling in
the air.
In 11 minutes Drs. Hill and
Tatum pronounced life extinct. He struggled very little although
his neck
was not dislocated.
After hanging 28 minutes he was taken down and placed in the coffin,
to be delivered to his
friends who were to call for it to-day. The scaffold was a plain
superstructure, located at the
Southern side of the jail yard, 8 feet long, 3 feet 10
inches wide at the top and 5 feet at the
bottom. It was 11 feet high and had a fall of 4 feet.
The trap
was hung on hinges with a rope
spring. There were not over fifty persons in the yard,
including the
clergy, reporters and
physicians and witnesses. The
on duty, guarding the square in which the jail is located, but there
were very
few strangers in
town, and such was the perfect order that there was not the slightest
disturbance. The cries of the
condemned man during all the sad ceremonies of the execution, were
pitiable.
Whilst his hands
were being tied he begged the sheriff not to tie them too tight, that
it hurt
his wrists. After the
cap had been drawn over his face the second time, he asked the officer
to let
him see daylight
once more. The sheriff very kindly lifted the cap, and after looking
around at
those present, he
said "I bid, you all good bye." He struggled very little, and
evidently died without much pain.
Rockingham Register - October 1877
******************************************************************************
"LETTER FROM
HARRISONBURG To the BALTIMORE SUN - Harrisonburg, Va.,
Oct. 4, 1877 - A brother of Anderson Shifflett, hanged here the
25th of
Sept., shot himself
accidentally on Monday last, near Mt. Vernon Iron Works, in
Augusta Co..
He was hunting
squirrels, when by accident his gun was discharged, the load passing
through
his heart and killing
him instantly. He was about 27 years of age and had a family.
Shifflett's
accomplices in crime are
expected to share his fate, although Mrs. Morris is actively
engaged in
an effort to avert her
husband's sentence."
******************************************************************************
"AGAIN
RESPITED - Silas Morris and Louisa
Lawson, under sentence to be hung on the
23rd of this month for the murder of David G. Lawson, of Rockingham
Co., were
today granted
a respite by the governor until the 21 st of December for the following
reasons: It is alleged that
developments brought to light since the trial of these parties indicate
others
in the said murder,
and that an investigation is now on foot on the part of the proper
authorities
of Rockingham Co.
which is expected to throw much light upon the cases of Silas Morris
and
Louisa Lawson, as
well as others not now indicted, and the Judge who tried them, as well
as many
leading citizens,
having asked a respite therein, the execution of Silas Morris
and Louisa
Lawson is postponed
24
(Continued)
until Friday, the 21st
day of
December next. The Commonwealth can lose nothing by affording
time for investigation, for capital punishment is productive as most
good when
inflicted deliberately
and after reasonable inquiry has been exhausted. Jas. L. Kemper"
******************************************************************************
"RESPITED - Silas Morris, who was to have been executed on
Tuesday
last, and Mrs. Louisa
Lawson, whose execution was appointed for Tuesday next, have both
been
respited until the 21 st
of December next. " Rockingham Register - October 1877
******************************************************************************
"An effort was made on Saturday and Monday last to secure indictments
against Samuel Hall
for complicity in the murder of David G. Lawson. The grand
jury, after
thorough investigation
reported "not a true bill." Hall, it will be
remembered, was one of the most important
witnesses against those who were convicted."
Rockingham Register -
October 1877
******************************************************************************
"Commonwealth vs Burris Williams} Upon an indictment for murder -
This day came the
Attorney for the commonwealth as well as the defendant Burris
Williams
in discharge of his
recognizance entered into at a former term of this court, and therefore
the
Attorney for the
Commonwealth with the assent of the Court entered a Nolle Prosequi
and
therefore it is
considered by the Court that the defendant be discharged and
hence
without day of court."
Rockingham County Court Minute Book #5 - Monday, November 19, 1877
Note: In a criminal case, an entry of record by the prosecutor of no
intention
to prosecute
the case further is a Nolle Prosequi.
******************************************************************************
"Summary of Valley News - Unless Gov. Kemper should
take
some further action in their
cases, Mrs. Louisa Lawson and her brother, Silas Morris,
will be hanged
on next Friday in
Harrisonburg. Anderson Shifflett was hung in September, being
the
principal in the murder of
David G. Lawson, the husband of Louisa Lawson, and she
and her
brother, being accessories,
Were sentenced to the same fate, and would have been hanged in October,
if they
had not been
reprieved by the Governor till Friday next. The
Lawson seems resigned to her fate, and when we called at the jail
Tuesday
found her cheerfully
at work at quilting. She has made five quilts since her confinement,
besides
doing much other
work. "
Staunton Spectator - December 18, 1877
******************************************************************************
"VALLEY NEWS - Louisa Lawson and her brother, Silas Morris,
were not hanged in
Harrisonburg last Friday, as the Governor commuted their
punishment to
confinement for life in
the penitentiary."
******************************************************************************
"CRUEL AND BARBAROUS - The wife of Silas Morris,
the
man on whom the death penalty
has been commuted to imprisonment for life, informs us that she was
most
cruelly and
barbarously treated while in the laudable task of ministering to the
wants of
her husband.
Woman's devotion to a man is a noble thing, and where is the man whose
heart is
so callous,
when as in this instance, Mrs. Morris devoted her whole time to
save the
life of her husband, who
would not pass a withering condemnation
on people that were so forgetful of civilized life as to
25
(Continued)
rob this woman of her
all. She
informs us that she was stripped completely of every article
she
had in the house, her hog stolen and carried off, and her poultry and a
lot of
wheat and tobacco
appropriated. Such barbarism ought to be brought to the surface, and
perhaps it
would be well to
escort a few more denizens of that noted locality to a place where the
dogs
could not bark or bite
them." Rockingham Register - December 27,1877
******************************************************************************
"Returning His
Thanks! -
Silas Morris requests us to return his heart felt thanks to Sheriff
David H. Ralston and wife; Deputy Isaac Winegord and Turnkey
Ryman, who all exhibited
great kindness to him while imprisoned; also to Mr. Geo. W. Berlin,
Miss Annie
Gray, Mrs. M.
Teiter, Rev. David Burr and Eggleston for being instrumental in
inducing Gov.
Kemper to
change his sentence. He speaks in the most feeling terms of the noble
conduct
of all parties and
desires this public acknowledgment."
Rockingham Register - December 27,
1877
******************************************************************************
"STATEMENT OF SILAS
MORRIS - On Friday last, Silas Morris, who was convicted of
complicity in the murder of David G. Lawson, and who was sentenced to
be hung,
after his
sentence had been changed by the Governor to imprisonment for life,
sent for Mr.
Giles Deiver,
to whom he made the following statement which he claims is true. He
commenced
by saying: "I
am 34 or 35 years of age. Have always tried to live honest and do what
was
right. I was on the
mountain sawing timber for staves; Samuel Hall was helping me.
We would
saw a number of
cuts and then roll them down the mountain to the foot, where Lawson
would load them on
wagons and haul them to the place where the staves were made. Some of
the cuts
would roll
against the trees and stop. On one occasion Lawson had not cuts
enough
at the foot of the
mountain, while we (Hall and myself) were rolling a number of
logs down.
Hall proposed to
me to start several logs on their downward course and kill Lawson,
as
the mountain was steep
and the cuts large. Had we started some of these logs on the roll down Mr.
Lawson would have
been crushed to death. I told Hall that would not do - that Lawson
had always been a good
friend to me. This was in Feb., before Lawson was killed. After telling
Hall
it would not do, he
said he was joking.
I was a substitute
in the army for Lawson.
He was always very kind to me, did more for me
than my own Father. He told me shortly after the war that when he got a
home of
his own he
would provide a house for me. Soon after he bought the farm on which he
lived
when he was
killed. He told me that as soon as he got Crawford out of the
house, I
should have it free of rent.
I had reason to believe that Hall meditated the life of Lawson.
I
know I did wrong in not telling
it; would have done so had I been certain that he intended to do so. I
knew
that Lawson was
staying of nights generally with Rebecca Hall, and Sam Hall was
staying
at Lawson's house and
I thought that I might be mistaken in thinking Hall had any idea of
taking
Lawson's life, and
should I be mistaken they would say that there was no fuss until I came
on the
place. I didn't
know that Lawson was to be killed on the day he was killed, neither did
I know
that he was to
be killed at all, but had some fears that it might be done. The day
Lawson was
killed I was at the
house in which James Crawford lived, on Lawson's place, the
house into
which I was to move to
in a few days. I was then decking the house for the purpose of moving
in it in
a few days.
Crawford's wife and mother were at the house all day. In the
month of
January of February
before Lawson was killed, Hall, Lawson, and myself were
hauling
wood down the mountain.
The mountain was very steep; both of us had to assist Lawson down the
mountain
with his wagon.
On one occasion
26
(Continued)
Hall proposed to me
that we
would throw Lawson under the wagon and let it run over and kill
him; we could say it was an accident and would be believed. Hall
said
there was a person in
Connellysville who could put a spell on a person which would
kill in a
short time. Hall told me
that there was a woman by the name of Lydia Nighting near Rawley
Springs, who could do the
same thing and gave me $2.50 if! would to go up there and see her. I
took the
money and agreed
to go but did not go no further than
told me just what he had told me about the person at Connellysville,
except that it would take
$50.00 and six months to kill him. Sometimes afterwards I found
out that
Hall would know that
I had not been at Nightings. I did go but did not say anything about Lawson,
but talked to her
about other matters. If I had wanted to take Lawson's life I could have
easily
done so without
any responsibility resting upon me. We frequently worked in the new
ground
together chopping
down timber. I could easily have felled a tree on him and told it as an
accident, or I would have
knocked him on the head with my ax and then chopped down a tree on him,
I had
no wish to his
life of the life of anyone else. The story that I was to have a house
and five
acres of land in case
of Lawson's death is all false. Lawson had but recently
purchased the
farm on which he lived and
I knew that it was not paid for and that Mrs. Lawson had no
house or
land to give.
SILAS MORRIS" Rockingham Register - December 27, 1877
******************************************************************************
"THE LAWSON TRAGEDY
- A
Prison Scene - December 21st, 1877.
Reception of the News of Commutation By the Prisoners, Mrs.
Louisa
Lawson and Silas Morris.
Yesterday, as the sun streamed high in the Heavens with a Summer's
glow, the
valley train came
thundering into the Depot at 11 A. M. with unusual excitement. An eager
crowd
stood upon the
platform, fruitlessly awaiting the arrival of the Governor's envoy with
the
tidings of commutation
on execution. A dead hush overspread the town, filled with a
nameless
dread of the unknown
climax. Was it to be life or death to those unhappy
prisoners?
Even the birds and beasts kept
silence before this awful fate which it had been asserted was
precipitated, in
some degree upon the
doomed, but the fierce prejudices of the multitude, who cried out
without
reason, or knowledge -
'Hang them - those vile criminals! The murder of that man Lawson
was cold blooded. They
don't deserve quarter - the wretches!" These and such like
expressions of denunciation had
suffused the community with a blood thirsty spirit to avenge the crime
- black,
'twas true' - which
had rid the State and the world of a monster two years ago, a perfidious
husband, an inhuman
parent, though a well to do citizen, if so one could be called
who had
held himself aloof from the
law and morals, and had defied their penalties as only the Mormon's
in America
are allowed
with impunity to do. Thereby hangs the tale of degradation with
extenuation
which has been
comparatively ignored in the hasty judgment passed upon accused and
convicted
prisoners,
Louisa Lawson and Silas Morris, accused and sentenced on
the foul
testimony of Sam'l Hall,
(with others) a degenerate son of Adam without education, morals or
decency,
who, yet in his
debased condition, found advocates to champion his ''veracity,
"versus shrewdness and cunning,
and aid him to trample on the virtue of the Commonwealth - the real
truth
- by perjury of
witnesses as debauched as himself.
Commiseration's, indefinite as futile, at the late hour seemed to
possess the
crowd, swaying with
the screech of the whistle of the fast approaching train. In a moment
the
turmoil of arrival was
transformed into a murmur, then a shout of joy, which swept off, like a
whirlwind, the load of
doubts and fears and conscientious heart-bums some had staggered under,
while
their compassion
27
(Continued)
had stirred too slowly
to avert
the impending horror of the gallows, erected a second time to
wipe
out the blood stains of the murdered Lawson. Not the envoy, Mr.
Charles Todd, of Richmond,
who had borne the first reprieve, granted by
Gov. Kemper, for he was behind time, but Hon. John
Paul, the ex
commonwealth's attorney,
the new and popular Senator and county's "Saint Paul"
politically speaking, was the harbinger
of the glad tidings, unofficially rendered, "commutation to
imprisonment for life." Capt. Paul
is a humane and sympathetic man, though he has borne the
weight of prosecuting
attorney's
bravely for public welfare and as he proclaimed salvation for the
prisoners, it
was thought he was
nothing loath. We have heard of wild fires spreading of lightning's
killing and
of various magic
transitions in a second of time, but it must have been seen to be
realized;
the
flight of this happy
intelligence through the streets of Harrisonburg from end to end. To
tell how
the boys ran, the
girls screamed, the men and women stared at each other, or rushed to
communicate
to their
friends and neighbors the commutation, would require a Dickens
or a Bulwer
to paint. Faces
that had but a moment before seemed elongated irrecoverably, till the
next
doom's day, relaxed
into their accustomed oval again - voices, chained by fear and horror
into the
caverns of silence,
burst forth into rejoicing, and the hour of mourning was over for the
town and
prison. The Rev.
Mr. Barr, of Emanuel Episcopal church met Sheriff Ralston
and shook
hands with a "broad
brim" of satisfaction. He was the first to impart to Silas Morris
-
whose cell is on the first floor -
the change of sentence, while the sheriff hurried to the upper floor to
Mrs.
Lawson's cell.
seated by the window in solemn trepidation, listening to the soothing
words of Mrs.
Treiber, the
wife of one of Harrisonburg's most respected citizens (the former mayor
of Cumberland,
Md.,
and a native of Zurich, Switzerland) she suddenly caught the
sound of Silas
Morris's "glory to
God, we're saved!" Rising from her chair with hands clasped over her
head,
she shouted, ''thank
God!, bless God!, the just God' I knew he'd save us. He knew my
innocence -
blessed are they
who are persecuted, for great shall be their reward." and fell on her
knees praying fervently till
overstrained nature could bare no more, and she fainted with intense
emotion.
Just after she was
lifted to the bed by Mrs. Clinedinst, the mother of Mrs.
Ralston,
who has throughout devoted
herself to the comfort of the prisoners.
I became an eye-witness
to the affecting sight,
which can never be effaced from memory, while
mingling my own tears with the song of the saved. Under the
restoratives
applied by these ladies,
Mrs. Lawson slowly opened her eyes, which lit on me with an expression
that
said, "rejoice, for
God has heard our prayers. I'm saved from the wrath of man." She burst
into sobs and tears
again and pressed my hand in hers as she tried to sit upright,
supported by Mrs.
Clinedinst who
urged her to swallow the tea she held to her lips, Mrs. Treiber
assisting. But her heart was too
full for anything but exultation in the glory of the Lord. "Thank God
for
his goodness and mercy
forever," she said. "I knew my Savior loved me - that he would not
let me go through the dark
valley alone. He stood by me last night just as I was failing and
shrinking
from the trial he put
upon me, and I ------ with Him. I fell on my knees and prayed with my
whole
soul, my whole
heart, and not from my lips only. I prayed to be submissive if it was
His will
to send me this way
to my reward. I prayed for my enemies that brought me so low, and in a
minute I
felt I saw a
light about me and the burden was gone. God spoke to me and told me to
be
comforted and I
shouted "glory! glory!" so loud that all in the jail heard me. I was
so happy. My brother had not
faith enough and he groaned and cried all night, but I told him he
didn't trust
his Savior enough or
pray enough. He must pray without ceasing and then I fell asleep and
did not
wake until morning
28
(Continued)
and then I was full of strength in my Savior." While she was giving
this account of her petitions
and anguish, between sobs and tears and joyful utterances, the door
opened and
her youngest son.
Moses rushed into the cell, followed by John W. Morris, her
brother.
Here the sacredness of the
meeting some may think: should cause the writer to draw the veil and
leave the
reader's
imagination to supply the picture. Not so with the journalistic ------,
when
the interest deepens
and the climax begun is the moment of all others to seize and behold
the
outpouring of family
affection in the frantic embrace of mother and child, brother and
sister, under
circumstances so
awfully pathetic, in this instance to focus all the sympathies of our
own
natures in the tense
realities that mocked the poet's rhythm or the painter's art to read:
"Oh Mosey,
mother's darling
boy, mother's baby, kiss me. Thank God on your knees Mosey, on
your
knees, Mosey, for
saving mother. Mother's boy must never forget to do right all his life
- never
tell a lie - never give
way to bad temper - he must never do wrong - he must be an honest boy,
and love
his Savior for
ever and evermore." These sentences, broken by sobs and tears and
convulsive energy, seemed to
translate the tender hearted child into a complete sense of the
situation. He
is about eleven years
old. While the tears ran down his mother's pale cheeks, they coursed
over his
own rosy face from
his soft hazel eyes. As they were clasped in each other's arms he found
an
outlet for his ecstasy
and pity in speechlessness, alternately patting her with his little
chapped
hands, roughened by toil
and hardship, sobbing as if his heart would break. The most dramatic
scene upon
the mimic
stage never equaled this. The indefatigable, -------- brother, John
Willis
Morris, too came in for
a passionate embrace, and as an exhortation to "live true to his God
forever more." And so they
wept, until exhausted, Mrs. Lawson sank back upon the pallet
limp and
prostrate.
Meanwhile Silas Morris and his wife were bathed in
joyful tears
and absorbed in like trance
below stairs. Mrs. Morris, who is a model wife, has strongly
impressed
all who have become
acquainted with her beautiful devotion to her husband, which equals
Mrs.
Lawson's to her
children. The children of these victims of circumstance and crime are
unusually
attractive. Nelly
Mary Morris, ten years of age, adopted by the wife of Sheriff
Ralston. 'Verta'
Shifflett, the
pet of her dear father. Anderson Shifflett, six years old, taken by the
mother
of Robert B.
Regan, Esq., one of the prisoners counsel, and young Moses Lawson, an
exceptional specimen
of winning ways. The latter is a boy of fine countenance and regular
features,
open, honest, and
erect. His rich healthy complexion, clear frail brow, beautiful hazel
eyes and
chestnut hair, would
interest anyone. Mr. Forny, the farmer who employs him about a
mile from
town, declares him
to be, "one of the best boys he ever saw," industrious, upright and
trustworthy, with an excellent
disposition, ambitious to please. He is very fond of books. The older
son of
fifteen, is to be
provided for by the Governor's Envoy, Mr. Charles Todd,
who finds
his worth equal to his
misfortune. He will be placed in some situation in
was cruelly beaten, it will be remembered by his father, for
not wanting
to wait upon 'Becky'
Hall, the extra companion who was the fountain of misery and
disgrace for
the whole family.
Mrs. Lawson has won the respect of all who visited her by the
display of
womanly traits worthy
of a better fate than has been her lot. During her year's imprisonment
she has
sewed and knitted
diligently for the Sheriff's wife, who gave her occupation and
compassion.
Stockings and quilts
and dresses have all been made by her skillful hands into a revenue of
small
comforts to Silas
Morris, such as tobacco, &c., with trifles for their
children.
Her patch work quilts are neat productions - four of them adorn the
beds used
by the jurors
required to sleep in the jail occasionally, near the prisoner's cell.
It is not
perhaps generally
29
(Continued)
known that there is a
spacious
room for their sleeping accommodation on the second floor of the
jail, and well furnished by Mrs. Ralston's ----- hands. Mrs.
Lawson
is a woman of delicate
features, with black hair and eyes. Her small, shapely head is set upon
a long
neck and slight
figure. Her mouth has an agreeable expression, and her rather timid air
(before
the commutation)
has given way to ease and amiability, in the consciousness that the
friends
raised up for her by
faith and works, are still zealous to establish her innocence in full
before
the world. Her faith is
sublime in the Protecting Power, as in her parting words she said, "God
is
above all, and will bring
my innocence to light." Miss Gray has continued to discover homes for
the
children of Morris
and Shifflett, and devotes herself to their welfare, while Messers.
ceased their labors for refuting the false testimony on which these
unfortunates were condemned
to death. H.
Louisa
Gates"
Rockingham Register - December 27,
1877
********************************************************************************
"To the jurors who
tried
and convicted Louise Lawson: We hereby certify to you that Silas
Morris has been pardoned by Governor Cameron for the reasons
stated in
the accompanying
paper which you are solicited to sign. Respectfully, G. W. Berlin"
"I do not know upon
what
grounds Silas Morris was pardoned, but I do elicit the jurors
who
convicted Louisa Lawson to sign a petition for her pardon. Very
Respectfully, John E. Roller"
********************************************************************************
"To his Excellency,
William E. Cameron Governor of
I was the Judge who
presided at
the trial of Silas Morris, charged and convicted as an accessory
before the fact to the murder of David G. Lawson, who was his
brother in
law. The conviction
was had upon the testimony of one Samuel Hall, who was
according to the
evidence and his own
admissions on the witness stand, the paramour of Mrs. Lawson,
the
wife of the murdered man,
both before and after the murder of her husband. There was some
suspicion upon Morris,
but
without the testimony of Hall, the prosecution would have
failed. He
detailed confessions which
he alleged had been made to him by Morris, and while his
statements
appeared to be
unreasonable, he testified with such an air of truthfulness and his
reputation
for truthfulness was
so well sustained by witnesses from his neighborhood, the jury credited
his
testimony and
convicted Morris upon it. After the conviction and sentence,
petitions
for a commutation of the
sentence were forwarded to His Excellency, Governor Kemper, who
communicated with me at
once on the subject. Pending the consideration of the matter, some
additional
facts were laid
before me in the shape of affidavits, which induced me in view of the
character
of the testimony
upon which the conviction was had, the relation which the principal
witness had
to the case, the
failure of the prosecution to show and motive upon the part of Morris
for
the murder, except so
far as testified to by Hall, and the terrible penalty fixed by
law, to
recommend a commutation of
the sentence, and his Excellency, Governor Kemper commuted the
sentence
to imprisonment for
life in the penitentiary. I have never been satisfied with the result
of the
trial- with the conviction.
I had grand doubts as to his guilt at the time of his conviction, but I
could
not invade the province
of the jury by setting aside the verdict. There were two trials - in
the first,
the jury failed to agree.
Time has not removed my doubts, but further reflection and
consideration have
strengthened them.
At the time of the trial, the neighborhood in which the murder was
committed,
was greatly
excited. Hall, who was suspected by some persons with
complicity in the
murder, was very active
in his efforts to secure a conviction. In conclusion, it is my opinion
deliberately expressed, that in
30
(Continued)
view of all the facts connected with the trial and which, passed
under my
observation, and which
impressed me in a manner I cannot describe: in view of further facts
that the
law in my opinion
has been already sufficiently vindicated by the execution of Anderson
Shifflett, who in my
opinion was the principal beyond a reasonable doubt, and the
confinement of
Morris in jail and
the penitentiary for about five years, in view of the further fact of
his
reputed good behavior in
the penitentiary and the dissatisfaction which pervades the minds of a
great
many persons who
were attendants upon the trial and eye witnesses of what transpired -
it is my
opinion that this is a
proper case for Executive action, and that your Excellency will be
entirely
justified in pardoning
Morris and restoring him to his liberty and family. I have declined
signing the
petition for the
reason that I have preferred giving my own views in the matter and the
grounds
upon which as
the judge who presided at the trial, I have recommended pardon. Very
Respectfully, Chas. T. O
'Ferrall"
******************************************************************************
State of
I, J. T. Logan,
Clerk of
the County Court of said County, hereby certify that John A. Yates,
John
W. Blackburn, R. B. Jones, T. 1. Butler, Joel Rinker, Wm. M. Martz,
Jacob B.
Burnes, Jacob A.
Andes, Harvey Alger, Peter P. Holsinger, Cyrus W. Spitzer, and Geo. W.
McFarland, were
impaneled and sworn a Jury, at the July Term 1877, of said court, upon
the
Trial of Silas Morris,
upon an indictment for the murder of David G. Lawson, and at
the same
Term rendered the
following verdict, To wit: We the Jury find the prisoner, Silas
Morris,
guilty as accessory before
the fact to murder in the first degree in manner and form as charged in
the
Indictment, Geo. W.
McFarland, foreman. Given under my hand this the 18th day of March
1882. J. T.
Logan, Clerk"
March 18, 1882
******************************************************************************
"To His Excellency,
William E. Cameron, Governor of
We the undersigned
jurors who
tried and convicted Silas Morris upon an indictment against him
for the murder of David G. Lawson, respectfully represent to
your
Excellency that we have
severally read the letter of the Hon. Charles T. O'Ferrall to your
Excellency
in reference to said
Trial, the character of the chief prosecuting witness and the doubts
that have
arisen as to his
evidence. And we beg leave to say to your Excellency that we severally
concur
in Judge
O'Ferrall's views and statement and for the same reasons,
advise and
recommend the pardon of
Silas Morris, March 22nd 1882. Respectfully, Geo. W. McFarland,
Foreman;
John A. Yates;
Wm. M. Martz; C. N. Spitzer; Harvey Alger; Thos. 1. Butler; Jacob B.
Burnes;
John W.
Blackburn; Peter P. Holsinger; R. B. Jones; Joel Rinker."
March 22nd,
1882
******************************************************************************
"We the undersigned
hereby certify that the foregoing signatures are the true and genuine
signatures of eleven of the jurors who tried and convicted Silas
Morris, that the remaining juror,
Jacob A. Andes, has moved to Augusta County, but his
place of
residence cannot - or has not
as yet - been ascertained, although repeated efforts have been made to
find
him. D. H. Ralston,
Sheriff of
******************************************************************************
"While I was not
counsel for Silas Morris, I gave close attention to the process
of the
case, and
the evidence introduced at the trial of the case, . referred to in the
above
petition, and remember
with some distinctness that evidence, and in justice to the living and
the
dead, most earnestly
31
(Continued)
endorse the recommendation made in the petition in favor of the pardon
of Silas Morris. And
with equal earnestness would endorse the pardon of Mrs. Lawson.
B. E.
Patterson, Atty. at
Law; A. K. Fletcher, Merchant; W. W. Williams; Pendleton Bryan, Mayor
of
Harrisonburg;
Sam'l R. Stirling, County Treasurer of Rockingham; Thos. J. Butler;
Geo. E.
Sipe, Atty. at Law;
J. K. Smith, Publisher of "Old Commonwealth"; A. N. Silbert, D. S.;
D. S. Lewis, Atty at Law;
L. L. Lewis; C. W. Bear, D. S. ; Dan'l Dechert, Ed. Spirit.; Giles
Devert, Ed.
Rockingham
Register; C. Douglas Gray, Register in Bankrupts; Chas. D. Harrison,
Atty. at
Law."
April 20, 1882
******************************************************************************
"I have never been
fully
satisfied in my mind as to the correctness of the verdicts rendered in
the
causes against Silas Morris and Mrs. Lawson. (J. T.
Logan,
Clerk of the
Rockingham Co., April 20, 1882} I was such at the time of the trials. I
have no
personal
knowledge of the facts in regard to this case but have heard a number
of
persons of standing
express doubts as to the correctness of the verdict on the case.
******************************************************************************
"
Dear Sir, We
have gotten
up a very effective application for the pardon of Silas Morris and also
a very fair one for Mrs. Lawson. We did not go amongst the
ignorant masses
and appeal to their
passions or pity, but we have the recommendations of the judge who
tried the
case, eleven of the
12 jurors who convicted Silas Morris ( the 12th could not be
found), the
clerk and sheriff of the
County of Rockingham at the time of the trials, Lawyers who were
present or
participating in the
trials, the editors, and proprietors of all three of the public
tribunals and
newspapers published
then and now in Harrisonburg; also other officers of the court; the
present
attorney for the
Commonwealth, the County Treasurer; the officers of the United States
Court and
of the
Revenue Department, the Mayor of Harrisonburg and other prominent
citizens, All
men of
character and influence, and just such men as never would have signed
such papers
had they not
deeply felt the propriety and necessity of correcting a wrong which
they now
believe was
committed through the agency of the only man who was or expected to be
benefited by the
murder of Mr. Lawson, and who when he was ready to break with Mrs.
Lawson and carry off
his plunder; knew but too well that he could not safely do so without
first
destroying Mrs.
Lawson and Silas Morris, and who therefore swore their
lives away to
save himself The thing is
now too plain to be misunderstood, and justice may yet overtake that
haggard
wretch who rarely
comes out of the dark recesses of the Blue Ridge, and
is still
trembling with fear of possible
contingencies, for he is still closely watched, and as the paper upon
file in
the Governors Office,
or in other repository in Richmond, will show, he twice escaped
indictment
for this offense by
an accident as it were, 9 or 10 grand jurors voting
for an
indictment against him at one term and I
think eleven at the next term. Please examine these papers closely and
also
those on file in
Richmond, sent there upon application for a commutation of the death
sentence,
and bring to your
aid such influential men as you can and bring this matter before the
Governor
as forcibly as
possible and secure the discharge of Silas Morris and Mrs.
Lawson
if possible, Silas Morris
especially, for I believe him to be as innocent of this crime as you or
I, and
no man understands
this case better than I do. Respectfully, G. W. Berlin"
April
24, 1882
32
******************************************************************************
Z.
W. Picknell
GENERAL
COMMISSION MERCHANT
To His Excellency, Honorable
Wm. E. Cameron, Governor of Virginia,
Dear Sir,
I beg to furnish for your
consideration the facts in relation to the trial & conviction of
Silas
Morris, a Prisoner now confined in the Penitentiary, for whose pardon
the
accompanying papers
signed by Mr. C. L. Todd explains the grounds for such
application.
Silas Morris was tried in
July 1877 for the crime of Murder. Judge O'Ferrall presided at
his trial, he was convicted July 25th/77, on the next day July 26,
1877,
sentenced to be executed
on the 25th day of September/77, respited till October 23rd/77, and
again till
December 21st/77.
Before the expiration of his
last respite to life on the 19th of December/77, his sentence
was commuted by Governor Kemper to imprisonment for life in the
Penitentiary.
In making this brief
statement
of the facts regarding the trial and conviction of this unfortunate
man, I beg to add my most earnest wishes that they nay have the
favorable
consideration of your
Excellency - Very Respectfully, Your Obt. Servant, Z. N. Picknell"
******************************************************************************
"To His Excellency
Hon.
Wm. E. Cameron, Governor of Virginia, Dear Sir,
Having learned that the application for the pardon of Silas
Morris,
now confined in the
Penitentiary for the crime of being accessory to the murder of David
Lawson
some 6 years ago in
Rockingham Co., together with the papers which accompanied said
application;
and which I had
the honor to place before your Excellency some two months ago, had been
lost. I
respectfully
ask the privilege of restating said petition, in this manner - As your
Excellency will doubtless
remember, these papers, upon which the prisoner mainly relied for the
interposition's of your
mercy, contained a very strong letter from Judge O'Ferrall, who
presided
at his trial, directed to
yourself, and giving very convincing reasons for the supposition that Morris
was convicted upon
unsufficient, and interested evidence; almost, if not wholly, upon the
evidence
of one Sam Hall,
who was the paramour of the murdered man's wife, and who was suspected
by many
to have been
the real criminal, at the time of the trial, and the interested
character of whose testimony is now
conceded pretty generally by the bar of Rockingham.
The papers also contained as appeal for his pardon signed by eleven,
out of the
twelve
jurors, who found the verdict vs. him. The signature of the twelfth
juror would
doubtless have
been obtained also, but he had removed from the County, this
whereabouts were
unknown.
The papers also contained a petition for his pardon signed, as well as
I can
remember, by
the editors of all three ofthe Newspapers of Harrisonburg, - signed by
every
office holder of that
town, including the National, State, and Corporate officers, - signed
by almost
the entire bar of
the County, - and signed by the leading Merchants, farmers, &
citizens of
Harrisonburg & vicinity.
These papers were all obtained in his behalf, without the use of money,
or
influence of any
sort, by his wife, a very humble and illiterate woman, who visited
Rockingham for
the purpose in
the Spring of this year, & whilst giving such time as she could to
the
personal canvass of her
husband's cause, earned her daily bread by serving as a domestic in a
worthy
family of
Harrisonburg.
The petitioner, Silas Morris, has now served about 5 years
of his
term, and I am informed
both by Supt. Williams, and his guard, that his deportment has
always
been of the very best
33
(Continued)
character - no prisoner in the institution excelling him for
obedience, and
willingness, and general
good behavior.
In
addition to his noble wife, who has shown unsurpassed
fidelity, and constancy, and
devotion to him during these sad 7 dreary years of separation (all of
which, to
be near him, she
has passed in Richmond as a domestic in my mother's family) he
has I
think five children, all
needing his support, and protection, for they are very poor.
Trusting that your Excellency may find in his application, backed as it
is by
the
recommendations of the Judge & Jury, and endorsed by many of the
leading
citizens of his
County, sufficient grounds upon which to grant a pardon to this
suffering man,
thereby resolving
him to a life of usefulness to society, and of comfort, and support to
his
bereaves & wholly
dependent family, I beg to subscribe myself most respectfully Your
Obedient
Servant, Chas. L.
Todd - on behalf of Silas Morris, Convict. August 7,
1882"
******************************************************************************
"APPLICATION FOR PARDON OF Silas Morris
Received
-
Presented by - Z
Sentenced - July 26,
1877
Court
-
Judge - C. T. O 'Ferrall Crime - Accessory to Murder
Sentence - To be hung Respited -
Commuted - To Imprisonment/or life in Penitentiary 19th December, 1877
Pardon granted - Dec. 9th
1882
William E. Cameron"
******************************************************************************
"To His Excellency
William E. Cameron, Governor of
We the undersigned
jurors, who
tried and convicted Louisa Lawson upon a charge of felony for
participating in the murder of her husband David G. Lawson,
respectfully
represent to your
excellency that a serious doubt having arisen as to her guilt, by
reason of the
character,
subsequent conduct and bad reputation of "Sam Hall", the chief
witness against her, and without
whose evidence she could not have been convicted, and therefore we
respectfully
recommend to
your favorable consideration, her application for a final pardon, as we
doubt
the propriety of
keeping her in confinement any longer under existing circumstances. The
evidence of "Sam Hall"
against her was almost precisely the same as his evidence against Silas
Morris, her brother, for
participation in the same crime, and he having been pardoned by your
Excellency
upon the
recommendation of Judge C. T. O'Ferrall and the jury who tried
and
convicted him, and upon the
recommendation of attorneys, editors, and others who heard those
trials, upon
the ground of
e unreliable character of "Sam Hall's" evidence, we can see no
reason why she should not be
pardoned also. Given under our hands the 1st Day of January 1883.
Respectfully,
John W.
Gaither, Joseph Hoover; Jacob Lineweaver; Jacob G. Whitmore; John D.
Heatwole;
Robert A.
Harrison"
January 1, 1883
****************************************************************************
"To Hon. Wm. E.
Cameron,
Govr - of
Rockingham county at the time Silas Morris and Louisa Lawson were tried
as
accessories
before the fact, to the murder of David G. Lawson, and
prosecuted in
both cases. The chief
witness was the same in both cases. Your Excellency having recently
pardoned
Silas Morris; the
grounds on which he was pardoned, will justify your Excellency in extending executive
clemency to Louisa
Lawson.
Resp. John Paul
Harrisonburg ,
34
******************************************************************************
"G.W. Berlin,
Attorney
at Law, Harrisonburg, Va., March 13th 1883 - To His Excellency -
Wm. E Cameron, Governor of Virginia: Dear Sir, By
reference to
the letters of Hon. C. T.
O'Ferrall and myself, and the petition signed by Gen. J. E. Roller; D.
H.
Ralston - Sheriff of this
county; Daniel Dechard & Son - Editors of "The Spirit of the
Valley" of this place; J. K. Smith
- Editor of the "Old Commonwealth"; Giles Devier - Editor of "The
Rockingham Register" of
this place; Wm. J. Pointz - Deputy U. S. Marshall; the clerks of our
courts and
a number of
Lawyers and others of this town & vicinity, soliciting a pardon for
Silas
Morris. Your Honor
will perceive that the same persons also advise the pardon of Mrs.
Lawson,
who is still confined
in the Penitentiary, although her brother Silas Morris has been
pardoned, And the pardon of
both, as your Honor will see, was recommended upon the ground that
neither
could have been
convicted without the evidence of Sam. Hall, who was so deeply
interested in convicting them,
and whose evidence subsequently proved so unsatisfactory and
unreliable,
especially when there
was as entire absence of motive on their part, while there was a motive
on his
part, to commit this
crime. All these facts are fully set forth and discussed in the
petitions,
letters & papers now in the
Executive department, that were sent to Gov. Kemper, seeking a
commutation of the sentence,
and more recently to your Honor, praying for a pardon for them, and
upon which Silas
Morris
was pardoned by your Honor, last fall or the early part of the winter,
and I
know of no reason
why the same clemency should not be extended to his sister, Mrs.
Lawson,
for the same reasons.
I herewith enclose to your Honor a petition in favor of Mrs. Lawson
signed by a number of the
jurors who convicted her, also a recommendation to the same effect
signed by Hon.
John Paul
the Commonwealth's Attorney who participated in the trials when they
were
convicted. And if
any further petitions or other papers for her pardon are necessary they
will be
furnished.
Respectfully, G.
W.
Berlin"
March 13, 1883
******************************************************************************
"To Wm. E. Cameron,
Govr. Dear Governor, Sometime ago, at the instance of some
ladies deeply interested in security the pardon of Louisa Lawson, I
wrote you
to this effect.
Mrs. Lawson and her brother Silas Morris, whom you recently
pardoned,
were convicted as
accessories to the murder of David Lawson. The testimony was
the same in
both cases. The
chief witness against both being Sam'l Hall. If your Excellency
found
enough in the papers
presented in favor of Morris to justify his pardon, I see no reason why
Mrs.
Lawson should not be
pardoned on the same grounds. Your Friend, John Paul."
******************************************************************************
"To His Excellency,
Wm.
E. Cameron, Governor of Virginia,- On the day of - ,1877,
Anderson Shifflett of Rockingham County, Virginia, was convicted
upon an
indictment for the
murder of David G. Lawson of said County and sentenced to death
and was
executed
accordingly. At the same time, Silas Morris and Louisa
Lawson,
the wife of said David G.
Lawson, were also indicted as accessories to said murder and were
tried,
convicted and sentenced
to be executed for said alleged crime. The evidence against Mrs.
Lawson
was that she had hired
Shifflett to kill her husband, and the evidence against Silas Morris,
her brother, was that he was
employed by Mrs. Lawson to negotiate with and hire Shifflett
to
do the killing, for which she
was to pay Silas Morris $25 and give him a piece of land. This
was the
evidence of Sam Hall, a
man of the lowest instincts, who lived at Lawson's and was the paramour
of Mrs.
Lawson at that
time (before her husband's death) and took complete possession of her
and Lawson's
property
35
(Continued)
immediately after his death and continued there for more than a
year
thereafter, during which time
he professed to have learned these facts from Mrs. Lawson and
Silas
Morris by their confession,
but was the only person who derived any benefit or advantage from Mr.
Lawson's
death, for
during his stay there, in one way or another, he absorbed all of
Lawson's
personal property and
the land was sold to pay Mr. Lawson's debts. The evidence upon
the trial
of Silas Morris
disclosed the fact that he and Lawson were the best of friends,
he was
living on Lawson's farm
enjoying a house and lot, firewood and pasture free of rents and was
furnished
employment at fair
wages by Mr. Lawson had not paid for his farm and that his death at
that time
would and did
result in it's sale to satisfy vendors lien, which would and did
deprive both Silas
Morris and Mrs.
Lawson of a home, and that this state of facts was well known to
both Silas
Morris and Mrs.
Lawson before and at the time of the death of Mr. Lawson.
And it was
also proved that Mrs.
Lawson had no means to pay Silas Morris either in money or
land, for
any such services as
detailed by said Sam Hall. And after the conviction of Shifflett,
Morris, and Mrs. Lawson, so
strong was the general impression that Hall himself was at the
bottom of
the whole affair, that
twice the grand jury of said County, came so near indicting him for the
murder
of Mr. Lawson,
as to lack but two or three votes the first time his case was before
the grand
jury, and lacked only
one vote the second time at a subsequent term. All these facts, and the
general
bad character of
the witnesses who testified against Silas Morris and Mrs.
Lawson,
created such a doubt in the
minds of the people as to their guilt, that many people and many of the
jurors
who tried and
convicted Silas Morris and Mrs. Lawson, and some of the
lawyers
who were connected with the
trials, or observed the witnesses and evidence, applied by petitions
and
letters to Governor
Kemper for a commutation of their sentence, or recommended the
same for the
reasons stated.
And Judge O'Ferrall, who presided at the trial, also
recommended the
same upon affidavits of
after discovered evidence. And upon these petitions, letters and
affidavits the
commutation of the
sentence against Silas Morris and Mrs. Lawson was
accordingly
granted by Governor Kemper
in November or December 1877. Since which time they have been inmates
of the
Penitentiary of
Virginia and have conducted themselves in such a manner as to receive
the
approbation and
commendation of the officers and managers of the institution. And the
undersigns refer your
Excellency to the petitions, letters, and evidence and affidavits
aforesaid, on
file in the proper
office in
information in reference to the face here in stated. And the
undersigned
farther show that today
the connections of Silas Morris and Mrs. Lawson with
the murder
of David G. Lawson is
involved in as much doubt an uncertainty as in 1877 when their conduct
and
sufferings have been
such as to appeal to our sympathy, while the character and conduct of
the chief
witnesses against
them have not improved upon the incidents of that murder and the trials
aforesaid, only tended to
increase the doubts and uncertainties then existing, and the common
instincts
of humanity appeal
to us to give them the benefit of those doubts. Besides this, Silas
Morris
has five little children
who require his care and attention, and a noble wife who through all
these
trials and tribulations,
and this disgrace and suffering, has maintained an untarnished name and
reputation, and has done
all in her power to provide for and relieve the sufferings of those
children,
and hold up and sustain
the drooping spirits and fading hopes of the husband, whose character
before
the death of Mr.
Lawson was unassailed, therefore the undersigned most earnestly
solicit
your Excellency to
pardon Silas Morris and restore him to his family. And while it
is true
that Mrs. Lawson yielded
36
(Continued)
to the weakness and frailties of humane nature, and allowed herself
to
become the victim of Sam
Hall, as the evidence accompanying the letters and petitions
aforesaid
fully shows. Yet she too is
entitled to the benefit of the doubts aforesaid, and she too has
children who
need her advice and
care, and therefore her case is also presented to the favorable
consideration
of your Excellency.
All of which is respectfully submitted, G. W. Berlin, Attorney at law,
******************************************************************************
"Charles W. Fellows, While I do not remember the details of the
case referred to in the
foregoing petitions and can only refer to in the foregoing petition and
can
only refer your
Excellency to the paper already on file in the office of the Governor
at
Richmond. Yet I do
concur with all my heart and soul in what is said of the wife of Silas
Morris and most earnestly •
endorse the recommendations made in said petitions in favor of the
pardons of Silas
Morris and
of his restoration to his family and in favor of the pardon of Mrs.
Lawson.
John E. A. Allen,
Attorney at Law, Harrisonburg, Va. F. A. Dangerfield D. H. Rolston,
Sheriff of
Rockingham
Co. B.B. Botts, U. S. Collector Wm. J. Printz, U. S. Commissioner James
Sullivan, P.M.,
Harrisonburg, Va."
1883
******************************************************************************
"APPLICATION FOR PARDON OF
Louisa Lawson
Received -
April l1th, 1883 Presented by - Hon. John Paul and
others
Sentenced - August
1877
Court - County Court of Rockingham
Judge
- C. T. 0 'Ferrall Crime – Murder
Sentence -
1st Sentence, Capital punishment, 2nd Imprisonment during life
Respited
- Commuted - Pardon granted - June 21st, 1884
William
E. Cameron"
********************************************"**********************************
"IN THE LEGISLATIVE AND ON THE BENCH
During my judicial
service there
were numerous episodes, some of which I think: will bear relating.
On a road at the western base of the
A fanner returning home on evening with his wagon was shot from the
wayside and
fell dead
under his horse. In a little while a passing neighbor found him, and
spreading
the news others
gathered and the dead man was carried to his home. Suspicion pointed to
three
persons - the
widow, her brother, and another man of bad reputation - as implicated
in the
murder. They were
arrested, but their was no evidence against them, and they were
discharged; but
the suspicion
would not down, and two years after the commission of the crime they
were again
arrested. At
their first hearing they had simply denied any participation in the
killing or
knowledge as to the
murderer.
At their second hearing the man- with the bad reputation was not so
discreet,
and he insisted upon
talking, and the more he talked the stronger became the suspicion, and
when the
hearing was
over he had done much to lead himself to the gallows, and he and the
widow and
the
brother-in-law were committed to jail to await the action of the grand
jury.
Detectives were
employed and the whole community in which the murderous deed was done
was
active in
following up clues and searching for testimony. Finally the grand jury
met and
indictments were
found against all of them - against the man with the bad reputation,
whose name
was Anderson
Shifflett, as principal, and against the brother-in-law, whose name
was Silas
Morris, and Louisa
37
(Continued)
Lawson, the widow, as accessories before the fact. In the summer
of 1877
they were tried, and
in each case the jury with solemn faces returned a verdict, "guilty
as charged in the indictment."
This meant death to all, for under the
any other willful and deliberate murder, is punishable by death, and an
accessory before the fact
suffers the same penalty as the principal.
Shifflett, the principal, was a low, debased creature, with the
superstition of
a cotton-field negro
in the days of slavery, and believed in omens and apparitions and
signs. He had
been raised amid
environments that made him pale and crouch upon the appearance of an ill
omen - he could not
help it any more than a horse can help trembling at the sight of a
cane. During
his trial a bird flew
into the court hall through an open window and seated itself upon a
wire
stretched across the hall,
directly over him. He saw it, and instantly he turned ghastly pale, his
head
dropped, and he sank
down in the chair perfectly limp. It was one of his ill omens; it meant
death
to him. He was the
most dejected, crushed, and pitiable looking human being I ever saw. In
his
mind his doom was
sealed. Before the bird came he had been bright and seemed to think
that at
least he would escape
the gallows; after it winged it's way into the tribunal of justice and
lighted
just above his head, all
animation disappeared, his eyes became dull and lifeless, and he gave
himself
up to the fate which
he was sure awaited him. He was convicted as I have said, and was
executed; but
I am sure none
of my readers will think that this little creation in God's inscrutable
plan
could direct the current
of justice or give token of either good or evil to a human being. It
has been
well said,
"Skepticism makes a man mad, and superstition renders a man a
fool."
The trials of these cases stand among the most celebrated criminal
trials
of
progressed the developments of the plot to murder Lawson were
like
turning over the leaves of a
terrible novel, in which marital infidelity was being portrayed in it's
hideous
colors, and plans by a
woman to rid herself of him to whom she had plighted her faith,
pictured in
blackest hue. the
evidence against Morris and the widow - brother and sister -
showed, as
found by the jury in each
case, that the affections of the wife of Lawson had been
alienated from
her husband by a young
workman on Lawson's farm, and through the assistance of Morris,
her
brother, Shifflett had
been hired for a paltry sum to murder Lawson, and that the plot had
been deeply
laid and carried
out with the adroitness and cunning of men trained in the art of
mysterious
murder.
The evidence in the case of Shifflett was absolutely conclusive
of his
guilt as the principal. As to
the justice of his conviction I never entertained the slightest doubt,
and in
no way did it connect
either Morris or the widow with the bloody deed; but the
evidence on
their trials was entirely
independent of that in the case of the principal, and with their
convictions I
was not well satisfied.
The star witness was the young workman to whom I have alluded,
the
admitted guilty lover of
Lawson's wife, and who, tiring of her after Lawson's death,
discarded
her and came forward as a
willing witness to testify to admissions by her of guilt, and also of
statements and circumstances
pointing directly to Morris as an accessory before the fact. He was as
untutored mountain
fellow, but "as sharp as a steel trap, " and as hard to trip
as a
of the cross-examination, conducted by the able counsel, without a slip
or a
break, and sustained
his reputation for truth by many of his neighbors. The juries believed
him and
convictions
followed. Motions were made in arrest of judgment and to set aside the
verdicts, and were
overruled, as it was the province of the jury to consider, and weigh
the
evidence, and they had
believed this star witness, and the judge under the law could not set
the
verdict aside, even if he
would have rendered a different verdict if he had been a member of the
jury.
38
(Continued)
In a few
days sentences
of death were pronounced, and hand in hand brother and sister, in
charge of the jailer, were taken back to
prison to await the
awful day of execution, with only one
ray of hope - executive clemency. The sentence ofa woman to the gallows
had few
precedents in
the history of criminal jurisprudence in
of exceptions,
halter.
So this
conviction and
sentence created wide-spread interest, and aroused the Governor, the
chivalrous James L. Kemper, and
he wrote me to give him the facts in the case, which I did. A
little while before the day of execution came he respited both convicts. Before that respite
expired he wrote me, as near as I can recall his words, as follows: "Can't something be done
to
save the neck of Mrs.
Lawson. She
is a woman. I do not want her hung if there is any
reasonable ground to prevent it." I replied: "You have
all the
facts. I feel as you do and would
gladly recommend clemency, if I could do so consistently with my
judicial oath.
If the evidence
was true (and the jury has so held), she is guilty of deliberate,
premeditated
murder of her
husband, and under the law the penalty is death. You
have all power, and if you extend clemency
I shall never criticize you;
but if
clemency is extended
in the case of the woman, it should be in
the case of the man,
for the
evidence was stronger against her than against
him."
A second respite came from the Governor; then
soon a letter to me to the
effect that the thought
of hanging a woman had so wrought upon his feelings as to disturb his
slumbers,
and in his
dreams he could see her dangling in the air, and in her death
struggles.
I replied
substantially I
had previously written him.
In a few
days two young men
from the neighborhood of the place of murder - strangers to me -
came to my office and said to me: "Judge,
we want to
talk with you
about the Lawson murder
cases. We want to tell you what we know. We don't
know whether it will amount to anything or
not." I told them to proceed. They then related to me conversations
they
had had with the star
witness, the guilty lover of Lawson's wife - startling in
their nature and
directly contradictory to
his testimony on the witness stand on material points. I sent for the Commonwealth's Attorney,
and in his
presence they
repeated what they had told me. He and I conferred and we both agreed
that their statements were very important, and if they had been made in
court
and before the jury
they would have tended to break down the testimony of the star witness
and to
have induced a
different verdict. But who were these young
men and what
were their characters for truth and
veracity? These were questions for inquiry, and the
inquiry was undertaken by the
Commonwealth's Attorney. Soon he reported that
they were of good
character and fair repute,
and I at once wrote to the Governor recommending
executive clemency in both cases - the
brother-in-law and widow.
The Governor acted instantly and
commuted the
sentences to- imprisonment for life in
the
penitentiary, and sent the commutations to the
gentleman who took great interest in the cases - Captain Charles L. Todd, a prominent and
esteemed citizen of
possible, the hanging of
a woman, and
his several respites, the- lives of these two human
beings
were saved from death on the scaffold. Time blazed the way, and it has
always
looked to me as
though the hand of God was in their deliverance; that He had induced
the two
strange young
men to come forward and tell their story, they not knowing whether or
not it
would have any
effect upon the question of life or death.
39
(Continued)
Morris and the
widow of
the murdered man were conveyed to the penitentiary to serve life
sentences, as they had every reason to believe. So far as they could
see, nothing
else was before
them; yet no doubt they hoped that some day to breathe the air of
freedom, hear
the birds sing,
see the flowers blooming, the woodlands in their verdant foliage, and
the
fields bearing their
crops, for "hope is the last thing that dies in a man."
All these people were
mountain
people - born and reared at the base or in the gorges and passes
of the Blue Ridge, whose beautiful range divides
wife of Morris had lived all her life amid the environments of
her
humble mountain home,
uncultured and untutored, but she displayed a fealty to her husband and
a nobility
of character
rarely found even in the most cultured walks of life. She went with her
husband
to the very gates
of the prison, there bade him goodbye and heard the heavy hinges creak
and the
huge bolts shoot
into their sockets as the gates closed. Then out into the strange city
she
went, seeking the home
of Captain Todd, who had been the Governor's messenger to
convey the
tidings of executive
clemency. Into this warm and hospitable home she was received, and in
it she
lived for almost
eight years, visiting her husband in prison, carrying him food from the
table
of he benefactor,
whispering words of hope and cheer into his ear as often as the prison
rules
would permit. With
unfaltering belief in her husband's innocence she undertook to
secure a
pardon. She made visit
after visit to Rockingham to secure signers to a petition. At first she
met
with little
encouragement, but she persisted.
After three- or four
visits she
secured- many signatures, among them several of the jurors. In the
meantime the feeling was growing that the verdict was wrong, and on her
next
visit she obtained
the name of the last juror and a large number of the county officials
and
prominent citizens of the
county. Returning to
Office, laid her petition before- the governor, and made her appeal
for the
pardon of her husband.
The Governor took the matter under advisement, with the result
that he
not only pardoned her
husband, but the widow of the murdered man as well.
So after eight
years of
prison life, eight years of patient and persistent work, eight
years
after
prayer, weeping and heartaches, eight years of a wife's loyalty and
devotion to
a man, felon clad
and from whom the law would have divorced her any day, this
untutored
but noble woman
received the fruition of her labors, and with her pardoned husband
returned to
the very
neighborhood where they had formerly lived and started life anew.
Several years ago I
learned they
had prospered and were doing well. Morris had conducted
himself properly, and was an orderly, law abiding citizen, and
his wife,
as she richly deserved,
had the respect of everybody.
In concluding my
account of
these trials, convictions and sentences, followed by respites,
commutations and pardons in the last two, I must refer to a most
pathetic
scene- at the sentencing
to death of Mrs. Lawson. During her trial her little son, eight
or ten
years of age, was constantly
by her side. When I came to pronounce the sentence of the law, the most
painful
duty of my
official life, nothing I said seemed to touch her until I made an
incidental
allusion to her little son;
instantly she threw her arms around him and wept as though her heart
would
break. It was a most
striking exhibition of a mother's love. She had been apparently almost
callous
- she had nerved
herself for the terrible ordeal, but her strength and willpower gave
way at the
mention of the child
40
(Continued)
she had borne and
nurtured. The
court hall was crowded with strong men, the eyes of many of
them strangers to tears, but there was not one strong enough to choke
back his emotions
or keep
tears from flowing; there was not a dry eye in the hall.
This lad, after the
removal of
his mother to the penitentiary, was adopted by the sheriff of the
county, David H. Ralston, a man whose heart was as kind as ever
beat in
a human breast, and
well indeed did he do his full part by the unfortunate lad. He sent him
first
to the common school
and then to the graded school. The boy was a good student, progressing
rapidly,
stood high in
his classes and carried off many honors. When he attained his
majority
he went to the
How true the oft
quoted lines: "Honor
and shame from no condition rise; Act well your part,
there all the honor lies."
The Commonwealth's
Attorney who
prosecuted in these cases was John Paul, who afterwards
served a term in congress and then was appointed United States District
Judge
for the Western
District of Virginia. He was one of the ablest prosecuting attorneys I
have
ever know; his
congressional service was creditable, and his career as Judge from 1883
to
1902, when he died,
was marked with ability and with an honesty and uprightness of purpose
that
drew plaudits from
the bar of his district, and stamped him as a just, impartial, and
incorruptible
judge.
The leading attorney
for the
defense was John E. Roller, and well did he act his part and do
his
duty. Astute, cautious, and watchful, never tiring, never lacking in
quickness
to object to what he
conceived to be an improper question and the maintaining his position
with
great force; searching
and severe in the cross-examination of opposing witnesses, and drawing
most
skillfully from the
witnesses for the defense every point favorable to his clients. Between
the two
- Paul and Roller
- it was indeed a battle royal and a fight to the finish. They were
both young
men, neither forty -
the latter, who was the junior, not more than thirty-five."
FORTY YEARS OF
ACTIVE SERVICE
by COL. CHARLES T. O'FERRALL
Note: Charles T. O'Ferrall served as Governor of
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"The murder trial
of
convicted on circumstantial and perjured evidence. A woman heard S.
Morris
make a bargain
with Shifflett to kill Lawson. She told her husband and
he
notified Sheriff D. H. Ralston.
Morris and Shifflett lay along the path where Lawson
came down
the mountain. Shifflett's
nerve failed him, so Morris took the gun and killed Lawson. A
few hours
later the body was
found. Morris and Shifflett were arrested. At the
trials Morris
testified that Shifflett had
carried out their pact. He, Morris, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
On his
and the woman's
testimony Shifflett was convicted and hung. Levi Byrd
was then
Deputy Sheriff When the trap
was sprung, the rope broke. While they were procuring another, Shifflett
requested that the
black cap be removed so he could see daylight once more, and again
protested his
innocence.
One of the old Harrisonburg Guards, who was on duty, related
that Byrd
and Shifflett sat on
the casket, which had been covered with an old blanket. He still
protested that
he was not the
actual killer. Several of the Guards, affected by the scene, burst into
tears,
sat their guns down
and left the scene. Some years later, Morris on his death
bed in
minister that he was the murderer."
SKETCHES OF
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41
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"That Murder Mystery Editor Greene County Record: I noticed in
the Record
of June 2, an
article clipped from Page news and Courier's Shenandoah correspondent
that
prayer led to
solving a murder mystery. The writer calls it interesting. He missed
the mark
by a long shot.
Lawson was murdered in a half mile of Swift Run post
office not
Bacon Hollow as the writer
said. Salem Methodist Church near Beldor post office not
No. 2
Furnace. I was then about
16 years old and I heard that prayer. Rev. Fox did pray
that the
trees might die to the home of
the man that did the murder. I watched the case with the keenest
interest. That
was 1876 and all
the forest pine trees in that section died and other places as well,
but the
oak timber didn't die. It
was called the pine borer; later on the chestnut borer or blight.
I
believe in prayer because I am
a praying man myself, but that prayer was never answered, not by the
trees, but
Anderson
Shifflett paid the penalty with his life, an innocent man.
The
man that murdered Lawson was
named Williams. He was accused of the killing of Lawson right
in the beginning,
and was in jail
for months for the charge. The finger of scorn was pointed to Williams
till the day he died.
Shifflett was a poor hard working illiterate man. It was nothing
short
of mob violence to put
that deed on him and' screen the guilty party. It has been 57 years
since that
happened. It appears
to me like any newspaper that will dig up an old skeleton that's been
buried
more than a half
century, an unjust one, is hard up for news to create sentiment, to say
the
least. I am Sincerely
yours,
W. J. Shifflett.
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Local family lore handed down includes the following information:
Some say that Burris
Williams on
his death bed asked for a notary public for the purpose of
confessing the crime, but either died before the notary arrived or
could no
longer talk after the
arrival.
Louisa Lawson, after
her release
from prison, moved to Washington D. C. and later to
David and Louisa
Lawson's son,
Moses, went on to be a lawyer or engineer, but moved from the
area to the
David and Louisa
Lawson's son,
George, stayed in the area, married and had a family.
Silas Morris, after
his release
from prison, returned to the Elkton area and resumed normal family
life, an honest and law abiding citizen.
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Who shot David Lawson?