The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1890-04-24

home One of US got an axe at the wood.
lpile and slipped up behind her, she being
hard of hearing. and struck her with il and
killed her. We then broke open her trunk
and got q hundred dollars and left for Biz
mingham. Coming all the way from. there
to Austell station, ON the Georgia Pacific
railroad through the woods, there we got
on the train and came TO Birmingham
that night. sss
Elzy's confession does not tally with
the facts Of Mrs. Hargrove's murder. Col.
Thomas saw only one negro running away
from the Hargrove residence on the day
ofthe murder. While q trunk was broken
it contained only q small amodnt of mon
sy belonging to Mr.. Wood. There was
about $500 obtained from pocket belted
around Mrs. Harsrove's waist, and the
pocket was torn away and found on the
road empty, where the negro had thrown
it away. B
Here are some of the prominent crimes
committed by the gang in Georgia.
The murder and robbery of Mrs.
Hargrove, in Cobb county, in February
1899
The killing Of negro boy in Dalton, in
1882, by Ely himself sea n
The killing and robbery Of white man
in store at Titon, Ga, and the burning
of eight stores in that place in 1885.
The numbering Of two men in Rome,
and throwing their bodies in the river in
1886.
The robbery of Brownlers & Prisons
safe and the burning of their stores at
gainesville, Ga, in 1885.
The numbering and robbery, at Prisons
Station, Ga, of Rosa McCarver, an aged
negro woman who was Elzy's grandmoth-
err, and burning the house 70 conceal the
crime
The killing of q man on Calhoun street.
Dalton, over game Of cards. ~t'Ne
Burning the Western and Atlantic de-
pot, in Dalton in 1886. "a
Assaulting and robbing johnson, mer-
chant, at the same time and place.
\ Some Others Of the principal crimes are:
The murder and robbery,of several men in
Chattanooga and throwing the bodies in
the Tennessee river.
A robbery at Cleveland, Tenn.
Killing and robbing q man and woman
in Mobile, Ala, with club, IN the faII'of
1887, and q sale robbery in New. 0rlesns,s
soon afterwards. The robbery Of four men,
in Knoxville, Tenn, in 1887, snd many
others fH}4 ~
/ Three murders committed near Birming.
hsm by the gang which were inahe killing
of ]. w. Meadows, the Italian peddleT, and
a man named Harbrght,
| Ely said that the leader of the gang had
an Internal machine for blowing open
| safes. The confession covers three col
umns. 1t was written by Ely in jail
and was sworn to as being correct. He
was the first one of the gang caught. He
said he was born in Dalton, Ga, and was
81 years old. Isl
The Birmingham Age-Herald doubts
the truth of the confession and says. 80
There have been instances innumerable
of men confessing to crimes which they
never committed, but this is probably the
first instance in which an ignorant negro
who swore on the witness stand that he
could neither read nor write, with his own
hand writes out a confession which places
him in different states at the same time,
which includes crimes which were never
committed. the story OF which had to be
made out of whole cloth. His alleged
confession is absolutely worthless and con-
tains nothing Of value TO the officers in
working up the cases spoken OF.