Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-07-14
HORRIBLE TRAGEDY.
A Wayne County Monster Whips a
Boy and n Woman BADLY, and shoots
and Kills a Man.

A Wayne County Monster Whips a
Boy and Woman BADLY, and shoots
and Kills a Man.
A correspondent furnishes the
Waynesboro Citizen the following par
tisulars of a horrible tragedy:
1t appears that James J. Bromley's
little son and boy whom he had hired,
had Some difficulty, which resulted in a
fight, the hired boy coming out
victorious. Bromley found out they
had been fighting, and chsstised his
own son very severely; 1t is said he beat
him almost TO death. He then went to
the mother of the hired boy, and
wanted her to whip him, (the boy but
whether she refused to do so or not.
cannot say-anyway, they got in
TO row, which resulted in
Bromley knocking her down and beat
ing her nearly TO death, and for awhile
he thought be had killed her. He then
sent for a doctor to attend to her
wounds. Before the physician arrived
Bromley went back home about quar-
ter of mile, and armed himself with
a dUuble-barrel shot gun and navy pis-
tOl. He returned to the woman's house
and inquired if she was dead, and they
told him she was not dead, but likely
to recover. This seemed to infuriate
him, and being under the influence of
liquor, be said that none of the id
Brewers should come there, not even
DIR. George Brewer, whom he had
sent for" He Immediately went off
Up the road In the direction the doctor
would come, and 1t is thought by every
one that his intention was to kill him.
He met the doctor about half a mile
from the house, spoke to him politely,
and asked him if there was anything
wrong between them, lit seems that
Bromley and the doctor had had lit
tie difficulty previously, and the doctor
told him mot that he knew of, upon
which Bromley asked him to take a
dram. They then went on together to
the woman's house, and the doctor
dressed her wounds.
Nov, while they were there together
they made friends, and in the course of
their conversation the man that Brom-
ley killed was talked Of. This man was
living on Bromley's land, and it was
well known that a man who
lived on his land had ID do Just as
Bromley SAID, and be cursed be-
sides. 1t seems thatBrOmley and this
man had some little difficulty shortly
before, but he told DIR. Brewer that
Bill Brewer, the manEkilled, and himself
would get along along all right-that
he had nothing against him. Bromley
and the elder Brewer then separated,
and Bromley went home. From there
he went to his threshiug machine,
which was at work in a rye field near
by, and inquired for Bill Brewer. He
then remarked that he would 90 over
and put him 20 work.
He then went over to Brewers house,
and saw him and his wife coming from
the potato patch. Bromley walked
through the house to the back door.
and waited for Brewer and his
wife to come up. When they were
within six or eight feet OF where BrOm-
ley stood, he spoke to Brewer very 20
Etely, and told him to halt, and the
next instant raised his gun and shot
him down by the side Of his wife, the
whole load, consisting Of eleven buck
shot, taking effect in his neck. killing
him instantly. The wife, terror stricken
immediately ran to the neighboring
houses and spread the news, and every
one IN the neighborhood was afraid to
60 to see about it. Some of the neigh
bors did slip up close enough to see
that 1t was SO, and then went to let
the murdered mans folks know
about it. They came down,
went to the house, hallOed at the
fence, and could find no one; they then
went into the house, but could still
see no one. Tbey then went off, and
sent one Of the boys TO a man named
JORDAN, who also lived on Bromley's
land, TO inquire about Bill Brewer
He rode up to the fence and called Mr..
Jordan, when some one IN the rear
asked him what in the h-Ilhe wanted
with Jordan - The boy told him
nothing much" when Bromley fired
at him, but missed his aim; three or
four buckshot taking effect in the mule
he was riding. Bromley then made his
escape. and when last heard from he
had got on the cars at Florence, sup
posed to be going to Arkansas