Semi-weekly interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1881-1905, 1882-12-19


aforesaid John Barnett died" An
inquest was held upon the body and
in the report ofthe coroners jury II 3
stated that Polly confessed the crime,
saying that "she decoyed John from
his fathers house to branch and
threw him into il and threw on him
a rock Of about fifteen pounds weight,
and afterwards took hold Of him and
held him under the water until he wa'
nearly done struggling with death.
There is nothing in the record indica'
ting the motive that prompted the
commission Of this cruel deed. Polly
was tried, found guilty and condemned
to be hung. and ] presume was hung,
on the 18th Of March, 1895. upon q
gallows TO be erected on the Public
Ground in Stanford" Il does not
appear from the papers in what part
of the county this tragedy was enact
ed. 1 am inclined to think, however,
that it occurred in the neighborhood
between Turnersville and Jacksonville.
This l infer from the fact that the
warrant Of arrest was issued by VIM.
Patton, ESQ.,. who, as I have under
stood, lived somewhere in that vicini-
ty. 1t is quite likely that some Of the
Barnetts now living in the county
know by tradition more of the par.
ticulars Of this affair than l am able
to give.
MURDER OF BARBARA REED.
In 1894 Mrs. Barbara Reed, wife
of VIM. Reed, was cruelty murdered
by negro named Damon, the slave
of VIM. Reed, for which Damon was
CONDEMNED to be hung. The facts in
this case are detailed in q confession
signed by number Of citizens before
whom it was made by the accused,
the substance of which is that he met
Mrs. Reed as she was coming from
Mr.. McKinley's and wilfully murder
ed her, and took the body upon bis
shoulder and carried it some distance
in the woods and hid il between two
logs, but not feeling easy in his mind,
he went back and forth two or three
times to the body, and couldn't rest
until he took her and laid her in the
place where she was found. He also
said that she was not dead when he
carried her TO the logs, but had only
tainted, and that at the logs where he
at first laid her he choked her until
she died. The report of the corouers
jury states that she was bruised about
the body, the forehead and neck, but
there 10 nothing to show what kind Of
weapon, if any. was used, nor is the
motive for the crime alluded to.
THE MURDER OF SAMUEL GAY.
In 1906 Adam, slave of George
Carpenter, Of Carpenters Station, in |
the west end of this county, was tried
and sentenced to be hung for the muir.
der of Saml. Gay, a white man. The
killing was done on the farm OF Col.
John Blain, the same lately owned by |
Thos. j. Robinson. 1 find but few |
particulars in the record, some of the
papers having been lost or misplaced.
I remember, however, when boy, of
listening with intense interest to re-
,ital of the circumstances given by
''Uncle Jack, an honest old colored
man who formerly belonged to Col.
Blain, and who was on the farm at
the time of the occurrence; and find
that the record, so far as it goes, cor
roborates his statement. His version
IF il was that there had been a
militia muster on the farm on the day
IF the killing and that good many
persons. among them Samuel Gay,
remained at the house after themuster
,rowd broke up; and that some time
after dark Adam and another negro got
INTO a fight in field some 200 or 300
yards from the house; and that the
white men, hearing the noise, went to
where IL was for the purpose Of stop
ping the fight. Gay being in advance
# the rest met Adam who, without
word, struck him with heavy club,
which produced his death in a few
lays. Jack said the killing of Gay
vas wholly unintentional on the part
f Adam, who mistook him for his ad.
'ersary whom he was hunting for at
he moment he met Gay. The two
egrOes, after fighting awhile, had
eparated to get weapons, and Gay
anne on the ground about the time
Adam had procured his bludgeou, and
being very dark, he could not dis
inguish him from the man he was
ghting. Gay was the great uncle of
ir. A. ID. Root. of this county.
All oftha foraoo;no caaas uara triad