The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-06-20
Fiendish Act summarily Avenged by an
Indignant People.

below we give an account OF the hanging OF
one JohnJ. Moore, Of Spartanburg County, for
murder and rape upon the person Of . poor but
respectable young lady by TIE name of Fanny
Heaton, on the 9th inst. We ouit some Of the
details of the crime as being too revolving and,
in our opinion, unfit to appear in the columns of
q journal that reaches the homes of virtuous
and refined people We take the account from
the Spartanburg Herald and with the Editor Of
that journal would have preferred that the vil.-
lain had expioted his crime upon q legal gal
lows; at the same time we are impelled to be-
lieve, from the many outrnges committed of late
upon defenceless women and little girls, that
the law is too tardy AMI uncertain In dealing
with the devils who commit them. Our moth
ers, wives, daughters and sisters, of NIL ages,
are not safe from the pollution Of the lccherous
villains now infesting the couatry, and rs
escapes from jails are frequent and punish
ment by law uncertain, we are inclined to wink
at the decision of Judge Lynch in such aggra.
va!ed cases and where there is no doubt as to the
victim being the right man. ..,,,, 80
An inquest held by Trial Justice I. r. CASTOR
over the dead body Of q white woman found
near John J. Moore's distillery, about Thirteen.
miles above Spartanburg, developed the follow.
ing facts Miss Frances Heaton, n young lady
of good character and respectable family, from
Pickens County, came on foot to the house Of John
j. Moore on Thursday the 9th inst, to INQUIRE
| where Mr.. Paschal O'Shields a relative Of hers
lived She stayed there to dinner and nftcr
dinner John J. Moore started with her, against
her protest, to show her the way to Mr.. Jeifer-
son OShields house. Her body was found on
Sunday the 9th inst, by parties noticing buzz
yards lowering around the spot in the woods
only about n half mile from Moore house. Tho
body was in ON advanced state of decom position
and partly devoured by the buzzards when dis
covered, but it was plain to be seen that she lad
been outraged, and shot in the breast and her
throat cut. "'. '" .''
The verdict of tho Jury of Inquest was that
she had come to her death from the wounds
mentioned, and that the jurors believe that the
wounds were inflicted by weapons in the hands
Of John J. Moore. Upon this finding John }.
Moore was arrested Monday night. 9th inst,
and brought here and put in jail on the 10th
inst. t.
Further facts having since been discovered
| tending more. conclusively to convict Moore Of
the diubolical act, public indignation rose to the
highest pitch and on Monday night body of
mounted men, estimated at between two md three
hundred, approached the town about IL o'clock at
night, for the purpose of taking John J Moore
out and hanging him. News Of the approach Of
the body Of armed men was whispered about
town late in the evening and considerable ex-
element was created. Sheriff Thompson en-
deavorcd to get up posse eomitatus to guard
the Jail, and n collision being apprehended, ef-
forts were made t. induce the mounted men to
dcsist from their purpose. Their minds, how
| ever, were made up and they rode into the town,
and surrounded the Jail, demanding the pris-
| oner. The Sheriff, finding that he could not
get up posse comitdfus sufficient TO protect the
prisoner secretly took the prisoner out of jail
under guard, and had carried him off md secre-
| ted him just outside the limits of the town.
The mounted men searched every cell and room
in the jail, and upon being satisfied that the prs-
oner hal been carried off, they scattered in eve
ry direction and continued their search until
they found the prisoner under the Chinouepiu
trestle of the Ar-Lin Railroad, one mile from
| town, where Sheriff Thompson had left him in
| hand cuffs under guard, with orders TO take tho
cars on the II o'clock train towards Charlotte.
Taking possession Of the prisoner they rallied
| their forces and rode through town with their
| prisoner and carried him off TO the spot where
he had committed his dia5olical decd and hung
him, we are informed by person present, at Is
o'clock this (Tuesday) Morning in the presence
| OF about one thousand persons, among whom
| were two sisters of the lady whom he had mur-
'lercd, who arrived from Pickens yesterday.-
lie was permitted to take leave OF bis family
| and was placed in buggy under tree 10
the limb Of which rope was tied and adjusted
| around his neck. lie was then given permis-
sion to speak and made few remarks, DENYING
his guilt and saying "tha. he didn't blame them,
| thinking as they did, for what they were about
to do. but hoped that after he was dead the right
man would be found aud they would say iIa,
John Moore, for once, spoke the TRUTH" When
he closed his remarks the buggy was driven
from under him and his body hung until life
was extinct.
Thus ended the career Of John ]. Moore. n
man Of notorioualy bad charact .r- perhaps the
worst man that ever lived in Spnrtanburg Coun-
ty-n man who, himself, had admitted that .he
had committed every crime known to tho law,
| except suicide" 1t is monument TO the peace
| and law abiding character Of our people that he
has been permitted to live in this County, i'm
plicaed. rs ne has been. in so many crimes and
rascalities. There 10 no doubt Of his being gull
| iy of the infamous crimes for which he has been
summariy executed by our inccnsed Gil zens, and
he has received his just deserts none too soon
And yet We regret TINT tho lawful gallows has
been cheated out Of its victim. Convinced Of
his guilt and believing that he deserved such a
fate, anl even worse fate II possible, we made
an honest effort to prevent it, not for his sake y
but that the law might be vindicated, believing
that II would have better effect upon the coun-
try at large that such fend should be tried, =
convicted and hung according TO law, however
heinous the crimes of which he was guilty..
Similar efforts were made by others but Of no.
avail. The men who came and took him off and
executed him were prompted, we know, by the
best Of motives. II was no excited mob of men
under the influence OF liouor but was com ms eff-