The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1885-11-11
TIE EDGEFIELD LYNCHING.
THE ACCUSED MAKE THEIR APPLICA,
ZION FOR BAIL:

T1OS FOR BAIL.
A Large Number OF Affidavits aud Great
Quantity Of Arsument-J"dge Hudson's
Decisinn.
eCondsased from the Ners and Courisr.)
COLUMBIA, November AT 1880
O'Clock this morning the hearing of the
application for bail made by the thirty
four men charged with the murder of
o. T. Cuibreath, in Edgetield county,
on the 21St September, was begun by
Judge Hudson in the county court
room. a number of lawyers were
present as interested listeners. The
seats outside Of the bar were empty.
Judge Hudson having consented to
hear the application without compel
ling the attendance Of the prisoners,
none of them were present.
Senator Butler and Mr.. E. McG.
SimkinssWer present as counsel for
the prisoners.
Acknowledgement Miles and Solic>
tor BonhaD appeared to represent the
State, and were assisted by Messrs.
Earnest Gary and n. &. Evans.
Senator Butler, of counsel for the
prisoners, read The preininary papers
in the case. The reading lasted from
1915 to IL m.
Messrs. Sheppard, Butler and Gary
next took turns to read ninety-two
afidavits in support Of the application
for bail. Thirty-four Of these were
made by the persons charged with
participation in the crime, and were to
the general effect that they had no
connection with the lynching, but that,
having gathered to attend a public
meeting which had for its object the
detection and lawful punishment of
the murderer of ". II. Hammond,
and hav ing been advised to disperse
and return home, they had done so.
Most of their afhdavits contained these
statements. The other aMdavits were
in greater part made by the wives aud
relatives Of number of the accused, )
who declared that the men were at
their homes when C6ltreath was
y
The reading lasted nearly two
hours. 1t is of course impossible to
report in detail the substance Of all
these papers. Counsel for the prison
ers consider the affdavits of Mrs. Gull
breath, Miss Culbreath, Senator ". j.
Tslbert, Ms:P II. Bussey and Mr.. D.
e. Bussey the most important ones,
and they are accordingly presented
below:
MRS. cULBEATH'S AFFIDAVIT.
Mrs. Fannie Prescott Culbreath, be-
ing sworn, says that she was the wife
of the late 0. T. Culbreath, and that
she is the mother of Memphis Gull
breath, now in the county Jail charged,
as she is informed, ,gwith being sccesso-
ry to the Filing of his father. That
It comes within ths. knowledge of de-
ponent that her son, Memphis Gull
breath, was about her house during
the morning and afternoon of Monday,
the 2lst September last, on the night
of which day his father was killed, and
until the usual hour of bedtime that
night, at which time he retired to bed:
and she does not doubt that he was at
her house daring the entire night; that |
he slept upstairs, and deponent does
not believe that it-was possible for him
to have madehis exit from the house
without her knowledge. Deponent
knows absolutely that if the said o. T.
Culbreafh was killed at Or: near Edge
seid Courthouse before 10 O'Clock of |
the night of September 81, her son was
not present and could not have been |
connected with the killing.
Deponent further swears that for
seme months before the said o. T
Cnlbreath was killed he had moi re-
sided in the same house with her; that I
she had for several years been the |
victim of unkin6, cruel and inhuman |
treatment 9s his hands; that be fre- |
quently cursed and abused 6eponept !
and her dead father and mother; that |
he more than;eRee threatened TO take |
her life sndto reduce her property to |
ashes, and said that if-she should 60 to |
her brother he would reduce his home !
to ashes ;sthat shezhas remained up st |
night, surrounded by her children,
fearing tha6t she should retire to bed !
she would while asleep be murdered
by him; that on one occasion he drew |
8 knife andsswore that he would take |
her life, andN ,deponent now believes,
and she then believed, that he would |
have executed his purpose but for the |
timely interference Sof her son Mem
phis. =,
That the treatment Of deponent by |
the said .. TScnlbreath was so harsh |
and so cruel, and be perpetrated so |
many indignities upon her, that she |
found-itimpossible to live with him
the details. of which she declines now
to disclose.
DeponenEwss-so apprehensive that
her life was in continual peril that |!
when Mr.. Hammond was murdered in |
her yard and the Jury Of inquest failed |
to discover by whom the murder was
committed, she felt that: the law was
powerless- to save her from harm, and
she requested 7be solicitor Of the Cir
cult to appeal to the gentlemen of the
community and beg them to save her |
from further annoyance and distress, |
and he kindly did so while the people |
were there assembled.
FANNIE; PRESCOTT CULsREATH.
Sworn to before j. C. Sheppard, |
notary public, October %, 1885.
MISS cULBREATH's AFFIDAVIT.
Miss Jennie P. Culbreath, being
sworn, says that it comes within her