The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-11-29
O { Comes to Light in Crsenv;lle
Sfler Ten Yeas.
IT CREATES A SENSATION.
Mys1erio;s S t'irts as 10 the Motive
q the Murder, Said to Have
Been Conanitte d by Two
PsrSCns.

though IL Is len Years olO - iCI4 VI SCI
satoual iuc!Gen,S sLd calk plots Of The
dc, p 81 interest.
lie !, ged victim CT the crime was
Jau4es Kirby, aud what ma Aes the sup
pos, d murder the more heinous Is the
fact that lie Was Deaf aud 9 uni and
pb. sically weak. He came ln;o The
O'Nsal sectiOI, eighteen miles above
tie city, an eDtire stranger, halilDg
from Tennessee, as farm haho. \
few months after he had worked IN hat
section he married Mrs Marion Joho
sou, whose husbaLi died sholt :lme
before that from injuries lie received
in falling in Mt while AZ work al
turning lathe IN tie peighborhcoG
About six montbs after the marriage
Kirby my seriously disappeared ard b.,
has never since been seen or heard
from.
A few says ago the Daue Of h't5:
was recalled by lubi;c dc eclaratlon Ct
responsible men to the effect that e
had been murdered and the crime has
been known since few day aftcrl was
committed to tour rr five persons, who
are, with one exception, icteresteo IN
its suppression. The story IS that Two
men killed hun and turled his body
and that their conversation with third
person Immediately after, in which the
details of the deed were related, was
overheard. The person nhc, uusus-
pected, ACQUIRED the secret, declared
that the mulderers said they had killed
Kirby ard buried him on tie banks Of
a certain creek near where certain
trail crosses it. About FIVE months
after the disappearance Mrs. Kirby was
married to Ex-Magistrate Tilotson and
she is now living at Arlington, two
miles east of Greers. Not the Slight
est suspicion attaches to Mr.. Ti!otsoD,
becsuse he was married at the time OF
the disappearance aud tor othsr good
reasons.
Yesterday Deputy Sheriff J. D. Gil
reath and reporter tor the GreenvlIie
News went to the scene Of the supposed
crime on a tour Of investigation. The
principal object in view was to make
thorough search for the bones Of the
man said to have been murdered.
With the author Of the statement as
guide and with four other assistants,
picked up in the neighborhood, the in
vestigation proceeded TO the place here
the body is believed TO have been
buried. The search proved absolutely
futile. About two hours was spent on
the grounds with picks aud shovels
and some had work was done during
that time. Evely place that looked as
if it at one tine might have been dis
turbed for the purpose Of making
grave was dug into d>rp, but the fact
that the grave had oseu made SO many
years ago and the further fact that the
indicated area was So great, made the
search devoid If much hope. The
search has not been given up, however;
it will be made agai0 AMI o1e thor
ougbly.
Returning through Arlington to
board the train At GIeer's for Green
vile, the reporter stopped aud inter
viewed Mrs. Tillotson on her piazza.
She is medium height and size, and in
spite of her - years and many trials
and troubles her dark eyes are bright
and she still bears evidences Of being
haAisome woman. In answer to ques
tions, in substance, she said:
Il was narrled to Jim Kirby three
months after he 1noyed into the neigh
bo7hood, the exact date | cannot re-
member now. We lived on Uncle Tom
Babb's place there six months and he
disappeared. Kirby was always kind
to me and always provided amply for
me and my children; / had 70 children
by him. We lived happily until abous
two weeks before his disappearance,
when he informed me that be had q llV-
ing wife and child in Tennessee.
why did he tell You Of his living
wife, when he knew that by doing so
he would convict himself of bigamy,
deprive himself Of liberty aud make
you furious? Had you quarrelled?
"Oh, no, sir; We lever Quarrelled.
While he was dzviIlirg ule one day ne
Just up and tod NE.
The fact that he had a living wife
has never been heard By MS neighbors,
it seems. Did either you or he ever
tell it?'
Mrs. Tillotson first thought she told
it, then he told it, but fnally settled
the matter by saying that lie bad told
her that he had told II, and that ste
felt too much mortified TO tell it.
In answt, to aroiher question she
said she did not know what town IN
Tennessee Kirby had lived in, but she
remembered he had brother there
named Nike, and remembers mailing
letter to Mike for hira a day or so be-
fore the disaI pearance.
Kirby said he was going back to his
wife in Tennessee. she continued,
and that's where suppose he is now,
What was the last l saw OF Kirby:
1t was on the afternoon preceding the
morning Of his disappearance. he left
me to 60 to spend the night at Henry
Babb's, SO as TO be able to go to work
for him early next nornirg. The next
day be was to meet me at Lebanon
Church TO attend the funeral OF old nan
Milton Underwood. | did not see him
there and l found out after inquiry
that he had not been there. | found
cut afterwards that he had never
reached IIenry's. Nobody ever saw
him, nor was any trace ever found Of
him after We told each other good bye
that afternoon. y short time after
that married Mr Tiilotson. No, |
have no record Of the marriage and can
not remember the exact date. | cannot
tell now juSt hat year It vas.
Mr.. TiIIotson remembered the date
as November Of the year when I'LL
man was first elected governor, which