New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-10-08

perpetrators were MT disguised. though
none were known. They were but four il
number. Ivey's body was brought to York
and while it awaited the coroner's jury som
fifty or more negroes organized Demo
cratic club, which is daily increasing in mum
| ber."
The animus of the killing, and its resul
fully appears in the four concluding lines o
the above paragraph. The second accoun
OF Ivey's murder is from the Meridian Miss.
Mercury, also Democratic newspaper:
ASSASSINATION OF A CoLORED MAIL AGENT
Yesterday afternoon, as the Alabama an,
Chattanooga train was coming this way
about three miles beyond York, and six th
way from Livingston, man stood upon tn,
track and tagged the train down with his hat
Charlie Briggs was the engineer, and stopped
his train. Immediately as the train stopped
some three to six shots, variously stated
by eye witnesses, were ired at ThOs. l.. Ivey
the colored mail agent. He is said to have
uttered single exclamation of pain, ani
from the terrible characteT of the wounds was
doubtless, killed instantly after The train
brought the body on to this city. 1t Is sup
posed that Ivey came to the door of the cal
to observe what the train was stopping for
and SO gave his slayers the fair opportunity
thoy wanted. 1t is said there were assail
ants on both sides Of the train. Their work
was quick and decisive, and they disappeared
in the brush, and no one OF all the people
about the train recognized anyone
Our good friends across the border will
allow US to use this item, which came from
their State. and take notice that we make no
charge against the Sumter county Democrats,
and ''insinuate" nothing except, from what
is deemed reliable information, that the
deceased was a dangerous man to the peace
OF the community.
The most intelligent account of the muir
der of this man, however, is from the report
OF United States officer, who visited the
scene OF the murder soon after it occurred.
| extract that part of the report which bears
upon this case son Saturday, August 20,
1874, Thomas l.. Ivey, route agent Of the a.
and {. railroad, between Meridian and Liv-
ingstOn was brutally murdered in his car
while in charge of the United States mail
and in the usual discharge Of his duty. The
circumstances Of the killing can only be
CLEANED from the evidence of the engineer of
the train, who says about o'clock in the
afternoon on August 29ih, / discovered a
man on the track, waving the signal OF
danger. Immediately | put on brakes and
the train was stopped in a cluster of thick
underground on each side of the road. Then
the report of a number Of guns or pistols
were heard, and Ivey was found shot to
pieces" When the friends of Ivey took
charge of his body twenty odd bullet holes
were found in it his iaws were cut open and
his tongue pulied ont By the roots. (See report
thereof in the Daily Alahama Journal, Sep
TENDER 3D. The ''clIarge" against Ivey was
that he was "nigser" and ''meddlesome"
in politics. AS apropos to this murder, l APP
pend the following from the Selma Daiy
Times of September Sd:
"The killing of Tom Ivey, the negro route
agent, the circumstances of which are noted
elsewhere, has, so we are informed, caused
considerable excitement au,oag the negroes
in this city. Some of tn ~, so we are in
formed, have used some v2sfy imprudent Ian
guage concerning the rAattr. If, as some
of them assert, Ivey was murde,o,;m,. by Ku-
hiux, would not these h''ftaHt fas w III "e''
The purpose of this band Of outlaws was
simply to get rid of Ivey, for after the killing
occurred, the train and mails were allowed
to proceed untouched and unmOlested
This is the second route agent murdered on
this route.
Again, l gather from the Meridian -Uer-
cuy (Dem.) an account of the killing of five
negroes in North Sumter on the night of Au.
gust "a, 1874. Nothing is known as to mhy
these negroes were killed. They were all
shot. The correspondent of the Mercury
writing from Gainesville, Alabama, August
%, 1874, facetiOusly remarks that "twO of
the crowd went dead in Il cornlicld." This
Democratic correspondent concludes his arti-
Gle as follows ''All these deaths occurred
on the night Of the oath, except the negro
woman, who was killed early in the morning
of the 2jth. Mr.. Vincent (the gentleman
who gave the correspondent the items of
news) being asked ''if it was a good night
for KILN :" answered 'no, it had been dry
for some weeks.'
The next lease" I will offer is that of the
assassination of Simon Edwards, which clip
from the Meridian Gazette. This murder oc-
cured near the Alabama line:
THE ASSASSINATION OF SIMON EDWARDS.
Several weeks ago it win be remembered
Simon Edwards, a well-tC-do cOlored man,
living some eight or nine niles in an easterlv
direction from Meridian, caused to be arrested
several young men living in that neghbor-
hood, charging them with assault with intent
to kill. Upon hearing before Justice Nor
rs, OF this place, an alibi was proved and the
prisoners set at liberty. All parties con-
nected with the affair returned quietly to their
homes, and no more, 50 ia. as has come to
the knowledge Of the community, was thought
about it.
On last Friday night, August 81, Simon
Edwards was taken from hi, house by band
OF men, some ten or more in number, and
most toully and brutally murdered. On the
same night, or rather the following morning,
the body of Monroe KeetOl, young man,
living at Toomsuba, about thirteen miles dis
tant east Of Meridian, and i've or six miles
from where the killing Of Edwards took place,
was found dead in front of he depot building
at the above-named place. AS might be ex-
pected the air is filled with rumors and counter
rumors as to the causes tina, led to the death
of young Keeton, and bywhom the killing
of both kectOn and Edwards was done.
On Saturday, as the report of the assassi-
nation of Edwards reached Meridian, Deputy
Sheriff Lowry, with COrOler McItoy and a
Jury of inquest, proceeded at once to the
place and. after the examination of witnesses
according to law, returned verdict in SUBJ
stance a. follows: "Com. to his death by
gun-slOt wounds received at the hands of
some unknown persons" There were three
eye witnesses to the mur(er of Edwards
one the wife of the deceased, a colored wO-
man of fair intelligence, ,he other an old
woman, the mother Of the deceased; and a
little girl about ten years If age, his daugh-
ter. After an investigation by the coroner,
affidavit sworn out by Evdina Edwards, the
wife, for the arrest of Wills Merritt, James
Barefeld, Fayette Sims, and William Sims.
The parties all responded once to the call
of the officers deputized tc make the arrest,
and on Tuesday appeared before Justice
Morris to answer to the barge of murder.
w. w. Henry, Esq, appeard for the prosecu-
ton and Messrs. Ramseyand Whitaker for
the defense. Mr.. Henry loved for con-