Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-01-09
SHOCKING
The killing Of Captain Ed.
RhIlfleId.
Terrible Result OF a Newspaper
Gard.
COrOner's Inquest and Verdict
Of the Jury
Roth sides Of Inc story.

a. "--
Z enacted IN Memphis in many year
I Capt. Ed. Whitfield, Of the firm
- Moore & Whitfield, cotton and ccmmi
sion merchants, 8 gentleman well know
. TO almost every u in u city, and gD
| versally beloved and esteemed, was sh'
aud killed about 10 o'clock am, in
> house on Second street, between MaTkt
: and Exchange streets, By q man name
! s. A. DOrRu, under circumstances app;
rently peculiarly %atrOciOGs and cOiC
blooded.
The public were prepared 10 hear Of
difficulty between Capt. Whitfield an
D5rsn during the day, Dy a card Shic
appeared in yesterday mornings Apd
laHChs, but the dcHOuen1e7t wss 60 sud
den, 50 tragic, ard so different frou
what was expected, that the announces
ment of Capt Whitfeldis death, a50u
half-psst ten, sent q thrill Of horror an
spread s gloom over the whole city
The following is the card which gp
pesrsd in the Avalanche:
MEMPHIS, Tenn, January :, 1883
Francis r. Whitfield ana his son, Of the
lvm OF Moore & Whitfield, I hereby de
uOGDcs, both, IS thieves, liars au0 pol
trOJns. s. A. DORAE.
The circumstances leading to the pub
iicstion of the above, ard the subss
qusnt tragedy were related TO Us as fol
Dorsn had been for some months 8
tenant Of Mr.. 7. Z Whitfield, the fsthel
| Of Capt. Whitfield, renting frOm hin
and living in the house on Second stTeei,
between Market and Exchange, and il
Whioh the murder was committed. For
! several mOnIEs psst-two quarters, we
! bsl.eys-D0ran has failed 10 pay al:
- ,~E - The lat ~ fanE-Eww
! Mr.. Whitfield, ST., notified him that
| he must vseate the premises. This
/ D0rsn failed to do, and Mr.. Whitfield,
| 81, then went to Nessrs. Estes & Jack
| son, his lawyers, aud proceeded 10 dis
! possess Doran by due process OF law. Ga
Thursday the necessary steps to effect
! tbis eud were taken, and ha1Cs DoTau's
/ sDger at Mr.. Whiifisld and the Captain,
aud the publication Of the ABOVE card IL
! reYsEge.
We are informed By Mai. Moore (his
! partner that when Capt. Whitfield first
saw the card, he was very much in
csnsed and outraged, sDd made up his
mind 10 Kill DoTau on sight bat calmer
| and wiser c0unsels prevailed, and after
consulting with his friends. be deter
/ mined to 90 10 Dorsn, whom he did not
even know by sight, and demand an ex-
PLANTATION and q ~retrSciiOn Of the cIfsn-
siye csrd. About nine O'clock the de-.
ceased requested his partner, hIr. Moore,
10 % @s.E him to see D0rao iOT this pUr-
pose, and he cCraciie1 With tue request.
On arriving at the hoc-a- End proceed
ing 70 the rooms occupied by H"SAn.
when are on ths second floor, they
found the door closed. On knocking,
the door Eesrest the head Of the stairs
vas opened by DOTau, who was zIliSed IN
his ulderclOthiug only, as IL he had just
arisen from bed. He cade Whitfield and
LCore good morning, ana invited them
10 come into the room. Whitfield being
tive or three yards il advance Of Moore
stepped in, and as he did Sc D-ran slam
med the door i q M0Cre's fsce, and turned
the key, locking himself aud Whi,lsiI
in the room
Moore, drogding foul plsy instantly
tried 10 open the door hy force, La5 failed,
and within a half miButs after heard ths
DIST shot fired. He again struggled 70
burst open the door, and sgsin WAS GE-
successful, and ran down stairs for help.
Mean hie two o shots were nrsG,
aud g Mr.. Junkel who occupied the
Usssmento Of tie house ss 8 grocery, and
another gentleman joined Moore and
rushed up stairs 10 force IN the door. A
they reached the head OF the Stairs,
however, Dlr2I came 10 another door,
opened If, and said, Gone 81, gentle
men, ! DO not want 20 murder the man
alone by myself" he held 8 "Smith
( Wessou " repeater IN his hand st the
time, and seemed perfectly cool and col
lected.
The parties went into the room and
found Whitfield leaning against 8 trunk,
and bleeding from g blow over h eye.
BIr. Moore asked MIN il he was shot,
and where, and ne answered that
" he was shot, badly, through the
body, and was dying" Moore laid
MIN down mon the floor and sent q mes
ssnEer for s carriage sad tie police. On
their arrival, in the course o. Eve or ten
minutes, Whitfield was placed in 8 car
rage aud carried to the Peabody Hotel,
and Daraa vas taken into custody.
Whitfield died ia . few minutes after
arriving st the hotel, within 3 half hour
after being shot.
As if the news had been scattered
abroad by the winds, or had been made
known by ROme unseen Influence, within
a half hour sitter the occurrence, although
2 terrible rain storm HSs Esging, hundreds
81 persons crowded 70 the hotel, aud
tbrougsd the halls and corridors. The
room in which his body was lying, was
indeed q chamber Of woe, filled IS il Wa5
b. wespiDg friends and relatives.
Coroner SamslsJn sHA moDe5 < jury
about II O'Clock, aGd held an inquest or
the cody. Dr.. Otsy, vino YES called IN,
testified that death was produced by q
wound from a bullet passing through the
left breast, near or through the heart.
Besides this wound, there was q slight
abTssuFs Of the skin on the right side CT
the neck, sud q blow in the cenier0f the
forehead, apparently fTom tee butt OF p
pistol. The verdict Of the jury wss thst
1.-THE deceased cana 70 bis death by 3
pistol wound inflicted by a pistol in the
hGads Of one 3. A. DOran."
Doraa, after being arrested, was taken
to the FIRST District S~tationhouse, and
there confined. Later ia sho day'Squire
GfifHth issued g w8rrsnt FOR hiia, on tne
charge Of murder; blt as the grand jury
will probably he in session to-day he
was not brought ouJ for trial.
THE oTEER SIDE.
The foregoing Is the statement Of the
friends Of the deceased. It Is but Justice
therefore, to give the affair as detailed
by the friends OF DJrsn. il is asserted
Nv them that when the deceased and
Moore came TO the bOuss they Knocked
7Yss at the Goor OF q room occupied by g
female, who told them that D)Fan was
in the next room, -, and that he had
been III al night. Upon hearing this
they went to the door OF the room
indicated, knocked, ard D0ran opened
it. AS soon as he did 50 Whit
Geld entered, aud D5ran fearing
an attack slammed The door before
Moore could enter. Whitfield told Do
ran, as s0Ou al be entered the room, that
he had come to demand the meaning OF
the card which appeared in the AUG-
ganche. DJran replied that it meant all
Il said: aud on this snsWer Whitfield
said he had come 60 have satisfaction for
n. D7rap said that he did not wish to
have any officially there in the presence
of women, THE door bstWeen the two
rooms was open, and the woman spoken
of was then present. and that was ao
place 10 settle difficulties. Wbtthsld
| hareuDon Pit his hands on D0rsn's shout
ders and showed him toward the bed
D0rsn Struggling meanwhile to get sway
from him. At the bed be managed to
get mold Of his pistol, which Ssd@r
the pillow, sud only fred Wh9n he could
no longer defend hiEqself Otherwise.
The above is an outline Of the facts as
stated by NJ. D7ran's friends, vino feel
49,