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THE BUTLER HERALD, BUTLER, GEORGIA, MAY 30, 1946
PAGE FIVE
down into Florida early in Septem-
| ber; and at Tallahassee they
| learned that out on the Ochlochnee
! River a large set of mills wes be-
l ing built for a wealthy northern
man who had moved there about
two years before. So they deter
mined to visit this man, and sea
handsome stranger—and they nev- for thmselves, how large was the
or uttered a syllable of their sus- enterprise. Upon arrival at the
picions. Their suspicions were cor- home of John Battle—for he was
rect. Murdock went to Florida, and the owner of this beautiful tract
Joined his sweetheart. But he told and comfortable home, and he it
no one that he had been arrested was who was having the mills e-
and tried and convicted. Lora nev- rected—they were cordially wel-
er knew of his troubles. corned and invited to make this
CHAPTER FIVE family, Mr. and Mrs. Battle and
Lora as long a visit as they would,
Late in the month of August, in for company of such an entertain-
the year eighteen hundred and for- ing type and very rare in
any resistance;- said ne was
guilty and would gladly go back
with the officer. Arriving at the
camp they found a great throng
of curious and excited people had
gathered from the surrounding
country. The dead man was lying
under the trees and the coroner,
Rev. George B. Culpepper of Ft. Valley
Relates Interesting and Thrilling Events
Which Occurred One Hundred Year Ago
(Continued from previous issue)
“Which one?” asked Dean.
' \ will sell either the bay or the
grey; or, I will sell both of them
and the buggy, ’ was the reply.
After examination of the horsees,
and learning the price of each horse
Dean told Murdock that he would
take the grey; and that if he would
go down to the mill with him they
would close the trade and he would . , , , , ,
be paid. As they approached the * nc year ^ eighteen hundred and for- ing type and very rare in this
mill Dean signaled the officer tytlve > two well-dressed and well- wilderness country. The Thurmonds
whom Murdock had never seen, and ™ ountad ™ en , rode from th e north accepted gladly, and from here
he made the arrest of Murdock on down to G° rdor >s Ferry on Flint made frequent and sometimes long
the charge of murder—the murder Klver > and asked to be put across trips, into the surrounding country.
of an unknown man back near to , the sou . th s j de - The >' were fer ' was on onc of these tri P 3 that
Teddy’s Tavern and the river Mur- ried over by the ferr y man Just at Mr. Battle accompanied them and
book made no nrntest nor offered sun ' down - They were entire stran- took them to see his proposition on j
resistance--saW he was not gers and inquired of the ferryman the river. Here they were introduced ,
where they could obtain food and to the architect and contractar in 1
lodgings for themselves and horses charge of the work, Albert Mur- |
for the night. They were directed to dock. Neither they nor Murdock ev- ]
Peddy’s Tavern, on the hill, one inced surprise when they were
mile north, in the direction o£ the made acquainted. Battle proudly ,
county site. They reached the Tav- announced that Murdock and his |
ern at twilight, and Mrs. Peddy daughter were to be married in a- !
who^had been^summoned from'the gladly gava them accomodations bout two weeks. On returning home ,
county site, was there to hold an > or Af die ai 2 ht - tha mght the brothers told Mr
inquest. Murdock sprang from the 1 After a good country-cooked sup- Battle that Murdock had ben tried
buggy, walked rapidly to the place £ er ’ as be e H venin e ™ cal ^ as f' ld convicted of murder up m Ga.
where the corpse lay, and without j f know , n ln those days > and wbicbtftc the year before and that they car-
the quiver of a muscle looked down I travel f s ‘enjoyed very much they ried a warrant for his arrest issued
on the upturned face. A jury was assembled in the par or with Mrs. by the authorities in the county
peddy and 2 of her lovely grand- where the crime was committed,
daughters; and were soon joined by When Battle learned that Murdock'
Wilson O’Daniel, Mrs. Peddy’s son, was accused of murder of the broth ’
who had come across the road to er of the travelers he made no pro-1
meet the strangers and help en- test; but requested that his wife
Tavern “the'night^efoX Asked "if [ ertain them. The conversation was and Lora should be kept in ignor-
this was true Murdock replied that j lv H ely ’ ontered into by a11 - and cal ‘ ai ?f f of tbe charge-it being pos-
hp atp Slinnpr with the dead man! led up P revious evenings at the sible for Albert to be taken back to
, . J 5 'Lmourhoro at t u„ hnmp 1 T^ern. It soon turned upon the Knowlton s Mills to correct some
ac possible finding of Albert Murdock, of the work he said he had done i
Just at this point Wiley Newby, a on his way down to Florida. On i
nephew of Mrs. Peddy, came in this pretense he was taken back
and startled the group and the to Peddy’s Tavern and was identi- '
lady, by announcing to his old aunt tied by Mrs. Peddy, William O’Dan- ,
that he had just heard a few hours iel, Mrs. Corley and the court of-
before that Albert Murdock was on ficials. To Lora and Mrs. Battle
| his way there for the sole purpose Murdock was to be away only a |
“Madam, I perceive that you are j 0 £ lining the old lady who testified few days—possibly a wek—but they j
very observing woman, said a g a i ns t him at his trial. This threw never heard of him after he left j
Mrs. Peddy into a frenzy, for she with the Thurmonds. As the days 1
was one of the old ladies who testi- went by and no word came to Lora
fied at his trial. She asked her from Albert she grew despondent,
nephew if Murdock said which one and revealed to her perents that,
of the old ladies he was going to presuming upon early marriage, !
kill, and he said that it was the she and Albert had allowed their
one who run Peddy s Tavern. The love to overcome them, and she I
story was a make-up one of young was about to become a mother of a i
Newby and he soon told her so, fatherless child. This revelation
which greatly relieved her fears, was such a shock to her mother |
But the travelers had become in- that she was forced to take her bed. I
tensely interested and asked for the She never relied from the desper-'
here, known to us as Allen Thur-1details of the crime. ate blow, and in a few weeks she]
mond, .came to his death at the They were told of the killing of died. These tragedies in ‘the life
hands of the prisoner here, known Thurmond by this man Murdock. It of John Battle were too much fori
to us as Albert Murdock.” | was then that the travelers said his proud nature. He ordered all
There arose some talk of lynching that they were named Thurmond, work on his estate to cease. He |
quickly empaneled and the inquest
began. Mrs. Peddy was the first
witness. She was now at her best
and swore, with great fervor, that
the two men ate supper at her
of a widow woman. Wilson O’Dan
iel testified as Mrs. Peddy had.
Murdock made no denial, but said
that he did not kill his fellow-
traveler. Mrs. Peddy said: “Sir, you
did not have on these trousers last
night at my house.”
Mur-dock
Mrs. Corley swore that she .re
cognized the voice of the prisoner
as the same voice that asked her
for the loan of the vessel the night
before. John Dean swore that he
Was the same man whom he had
seen 'drive off from the camp that
morning a little after daylight. In
a few minutes the jury rendered a
Verdict, the form of which was: “We
the jury find that the dead man
Murdock then and there. He turned
to the sheriff and said: “I should
like to secure legal counsel in my
and that this story was, the first cancelled all orders for machinery
information of what had l.pcome of for his mills. He lost all interest
their youngest brother, Allfen. They in life except for Lora, who, in her
case." He was promised protection! explained the Thurmond home was desperate condition, withered and
and was then taken to the jail in | far up in Tennessee; that Allen, the faded and died only a short time
the county site, where he remain-1 youngest child of the family had after her mother. No amount of in
ed until the following September
term of Superior Court convened.
At that time it developed that
run away from home when scarcely terest bestowed on her by her grief- |
grown, and had been lost sight of stricken father could rally in her;
for years. They said that they were any intrest in life. Her father bur- ]
Murdock had no money with which ] taking a vacation trip on horseback ied her and her unborn child be- j
to pay a lawyer; and as nothing down into Georgia, and some days side her mother under the giant 1
could be learned of any relatives before had reached the town of magnolia which they loved; and
of eithr man, Judge Welborn, the ] Forsyth. There they found a “Liv- in a few' hours after Lora’s funeral |
presiding Judge, appointed Allen ery, Feed and Sale Stable” business he went to join them by the sui- ,
F. Owens, at one time our minister in the name of Thurmond. They cide route. Thus, through some |
to Erazil, to defend the prisoner, ’ had made inquiry and learned that over crime the life of an entire
and directed that the two horses ] the owner of the business was nam- family was brought to a close in
and buggy be sold and the proceeds i ed Allen, and that he owned con- deepest night; the life of a young
used to pay court costs and fees, siderab’e property in and around man was snuffed out on the gal-
and there began a legal battle that the town; that he had ben report- ] ows; an 0 ld man was murdered in
lasted for nearly two years. Owens ]ed killed in an adjoining county a s t ran g e land among strangers; an
was a powerful pleader, and well over a year before, and that his . .. ... f f
versed in the law. He contested 1 oroperty was in the hands of the old and d «tmg mother died of grief
every inch of the ground; but the
circumstantial evidence wes so
strong that Owen failed of acquittal
for his client. The ferryman swore
that these two men were the last
to be put over the river on April
the fourteenth, eighteen hundred
and forty four. Mrs. Peddy and Wil
son O’Daniel swore that the two
men ate supper at Peddy’s Tavern
on the night of April the fourteenth,
eighteen hundred and forty-four,
and that they left the Tavern about
a quarter to ten, going toward
county authorities for settlement, in her northern home, and the ra-
if any heirs should ever come for
ward. After hearing under what cir
cumstances Allen Thurmond had
left Forsyth, and after settling in
motion the process of securing the
diant sunlight of a dewy morning
was blanketed in gloomy sorrow
and death.
Who committed the crime? We
estate left by their brother, these shall see for life has held but few
travelers had decided to pursue as aw ful tragedies,
their journey and try to find some ( •
definite trace of him. So they, by j
good fortune, had come to Peddy’s :
Tavern where their brother had eat I
en his last meal, with the last |
(To be continued)
the way of the grave. The straps
of the pants, founfl by the branch,
were the same cloth as the pants
found in Murdock s buggy. Yet
place a marble slab there. This was
never done.
They learned from Mr. O’Daniel
that Murdock was a millwright,
there was one circumstance which' and that he had been arrested at
should have acquitted him—and 1 the home of John Knowlton’s, where
was never brought out. I he had gone to repair the corn and
The jury found Murdock guilty! wheat mills of that gentleman. So
of murder. The verdict was brought j they went on to Knowlton’s hoping
in at two o’clock on Sunday morn- to get additional information about
ing. Attorney Owen, fighting to the
limit for his client, objected to pas
sing sentence on the Sabbath flay,
but Judge Welborn overruled him
and sentenced Murdock to hang.
This was at the second trial, the
case having ben put off at the first
term of the court after the murder.
Before the day of execution arriv
ed Murdock escaped from jail, and
got away. No one knew where to
look for him. Mrs. Peddy’s grand
daughters rather thought he had
CHILLS & FEVER
DUE TO MALARIA
RELIEVED/-/-/-
by—666
t only os J*
Murdock; but nothing more could
be learned there. They then went to
Talbotton and investigated the trial
proceedings; but only learned that
a man known as Allen Thurmond
had been killed, and that a man
known as Albert Murdock had bean
tried, found guilty and sentenced to
hang for the killing. There w^s not
one thing to indicate whoMurdock
was, or where he came from. The
same was true of Allen Thurmond—
except what was brought out at the
followed the road taken by the trial—which was meager evidence
Battles some months before. This So, these two Thurmond men con-
was because of the interest mani
fested by him at the mention of
Lora Battle’s name the evening he
was at Peddy’s Tavern; but they
tinued their travels, determined to
be constantly on the alert for any
information concerning the man
the law said, had killed their broth-
were not anxious to have him pur- er. .
sued—this fair-haired, blue-eyed, Their travels took them slow.y
CARMICHAEL
Georgia's Next Governor
WSB
And a State-wide Hookup
SATURDAY
June 1, 12:30 P. M.
For Good Government
For Honest Government
Vote for
JIMMIE CARMICHAEL
The good man has absolute good,
^ w ( o o people who had seen him alive— which, like fire, turns everything
Knowlton’S Mills, that same night. I except the one who had killed him, to its own nature, so that you can-
The hatchet found in Murdock’s! and the one who had buried him— not do him any harm. Emerson,
buggy showed the same dirt, in the! who may have been one and the
eye, as the dirt chopped out of the'same person; or may not have been,
grave. The hair found on the hat-1 Mr. O’Daniel took them to the
chet was the same as that of the I grave of Allen Thurmond and as-
vnurdered man. The gap in the hat- sisetd them in placing a temporary
<;het exactly fitted the notch in' marker at the site—they stating
the bush that had been cut out of that they would return later and
THANKS
For Your
BUSINESS
I wish to take this opportunity to ex
press my appreciation to the citizens of
Taylor and adjoining counties for the busi
ness given me during the past 18 years
that 1 have operated a grocery store in
Butler.
It has been a pleasare to help serve
the needs of this community and 1 feel that
1 have been repaid in many ways for my
services*
As is probably already known, I have
sold my business, the Bazemore Depart
ment Store, to Mr. Charles L. Snider of
Atlanta who took over the business last
Monday, May 27. Mr. Snider has had
many years experience in the mercantile
business and comes to Butler highly re
commended.
The business will continue to operate
under the name of Bazemore Department
Store with the same employees as in the
past, handling groceries, meats, drygoods,
furniture and hardware.
In closing I would like to say again,
thank you for your past business.
Sincerely
E. H. BAZEMORE