Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-07-06
MURDER AT CLIFTON FORGE,
AN UNARMED MAN IS SHOT no
DEATH BY 4 RAILROAD
CONDUCTOR.

COL. II. c. PARSONS MURDERED BY CON
DUCTOR THOMAS A. GOODMAN THE
DEED DONE IN THE GLADYS INN-DE-
SCRIPTION OF THE MURDER-THE SUR
RENDER OF GooDMAN-sKETCH OF THE
TWO MEN-GOODMAN INDICTED FOR
MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE.
&C., &C, &C.
From VINDICAToR Staff Correspondent
CLIFTON FORGE, July 3rd.
Col. III. G. Parsons, aged about fifty five,
proprietor of the Natural Bridge, and
prominent at one time in the Richmond &
Allegheny, and Chesapeake & Ohio roads,
was shot and killed at the Gladys Inn, in
West Clifton Forge on Friday last, at ZOO
A. M, by Thomas A. Goodman, aged forty
eight, a passenger conductor on the r. &
A. division of the Chesapeake Il Ohio rail
road.
Col. Parsons was five feet nine inches in
height. and weighed about 10 pounds
His hair and beard were iron-gray, and he
wore the latter trimmed to a point. He
wore black coat and vest and light pants,
and light gray soft hat. He came on the
train from Richmond, where he had sup
ped at the Exchange Hotel the evening
before, and called at the Gladys by APP
pointment for Miss McElroy, of Wash
ington city, a young lady who was en- route
to visit his family at Natural Bridge. He
did not register, but having had the young
lady called. was waiting in the Office for
her to come down, and was talking to the
clerk. When she came down they wonld
take the $50 A. NJ, train Goodman S
train), for Natural Bridge.
Conductor Thomas A. Goodman is six
feet one inch high, and spare built
man. He has black hair and eyes and
heavy black mustache. He was to take his
train out over the Richmond & Allegheny
division at $50 o7clock; had come down to
breakfast; had ordered it, and just taken his
seat to wait for it. He heard Col Par
sons voice and asked Henry Moody, the
head waiter, who was standing near the
dining room door, if that was Parsons
Moody replied yes, and Goodman got up
excitedly and saying: II will go and see
him, !" hurriedly left tile room. He went
into the reception room and taking up his
grip-sack carried it into the wash room.
He came back directly and called Col Par
sons.
THE MURDER.
Col. 2. walked with him to the door,
They were talking together but about what
Clerk Martin did not hear. In moment
more Martin saw Goodman have Parsons
by the collar shooting him and Parsons
trying to push him off. AT the first shot
Parsons seemed daZed; it was that shot it
is believed which struck him in the fore
head and penetrated his brain. Another
shot struck below the collar bone and went
almost entirely through the body. Two
others entered the abdomen just below the
stomach. Another made an abrasion of the
skin across the abdomen and then crashed
through the glass door of the hotel lobby.
Col. Parsons fell to the floor during the
firing and one OF two shots were fired into
his body after he fell. Showing how close
they were when the firing began, Col. Par
sons gray hat was powder burnt where the
bullet pierced it and scorched hair filled the
lining.
He was picked up and carried to the bill
lizard room and laid on cot. He was of
course unconscious and remained so until
his death, which occurred an hour and ten
minutes after he was shot. Dr.. w. II. T.
Miller Of Clifton Forge was with him in
ten minutes after he was shot but found
that there was little that could be done
any one of the four wounds was mortal, and
that through the brain had produced pa
ralySiS. The dying man had no pulse and
his breathing weakened gradually till he
passed away.
THE MURDERER SURRENDERS
HIMSELF.
After the murder of Col. Parsons. Good
man stepped aside. cleared the empty shells
out of his pistol, IS calibre, self acting,
Smith & Wesson, and started to walk
down into the old town, nearly mile away
As he walked, he was overtaken bv Ernest
M. White, the young son of the proprietor
of the Inn, who was on horseback, going
for DR.. Miller. Goodman called after him
and to tell Constable Paul Gleason.
Goodman walked on to the g. & o. depot,
and found there, Station Master A. G. Bry-
ami, and said to him, "Colonel, you will
lave to send some one out with my train
siiis morning; 1 have just killed Parsons,
and lave come here to surrender myself to
you.' The Station Master. with astonish-
ment, said. "You haven't done that,
Tom?" Goodman replied, Eyes, 1 have
given him all the lead l had in my gun, and
want to surrender to the authorities. u
The Station Agent, Bryant, who, under
the law. is clothed with magisterial author
ity, deputized his nephew, Joseph Bryant,
to go with Goodman to Mayor Davis Office
On their way to the Mayors office they
stopped at General Manager Stevens pri-
vate Car long enough to inform his private
Secretary of the occurrence.
THE LETTER IN REVENGE FOR WHICH
GOODMAN MURDERED PARSONS.
Further down the track they met Capt.
Pettis, a railroad conductor, to whom
Goodman again repeated the story and as a
reason for the crime showed Pettis letter.
1t was a typewriter copy from General
Manager Stevens Office, Of a letter received
there without signature and had been re-
ferred by General Manager Stevens to
Goodman. 1t was dated June 18th. 1894,
and began with Referring to previous re-
ports showing that the writer had made
other complaints preceding this. The
writer charged Goodman with official neg
offensive to Mrs. Parsons and her daugh-
ters, and neither she nor her daugeters
would travel On any train Goodman had in
charge The writer went Oh to say that he
bod bean informed that Goodman Used his