The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1913-11-03
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
1874-1o01
No. 76-Period of Farmers Movement (Continued)
Thomas Seay, Governor

body quickly brought to shore. This was
Wednesday. December 4. 1888.
The body was placed in Lockwood 5
improvised morgue on Second avenue,
near the Florence hotel Great throngs
of people viewed 1t and still no one
could identify it. On the second day.
perhaps. a negro woman, Fanny Bryant
by name, recognized in the corpse the
12-year-old daughter, May, of Dick
Halves, a passenger train engineer of
long service on the railroads entering
Alabama and passing through Birming
ham. 1t was known that Halves was eX-
pected to arrive with his bride from
Columbus, Miss, In the early night of
the day of the identification of the
corpse. 1t was known that few days
prior to these events he had been liv-
ing with a wife and three children in
birmingham. The son of the family,
child of tender years. he had sent by
his brother, also a passenger train en-
gineer to Atlanta. The wife and the
younger of two daughters could not be
accounted for even while the corpse
lay identified.
When the train came in from Column
bus, two hours after dark, Halves was
arrested and sent to the county jail
and his bride of the forenoon was
escorted to a hotel
The next day the artificial body of
bodies of the wife and younger daugh-
=, aeno, were brought 20 4anu A.om
the bottom.
Halves had thrown the three bodies
into the two lakes, that of the wife
and younger daughter sufficiently
weighted with iron but that of the elder
daughter insufficiently weighted If
at all.
Halves was yet in Jail 1t was Satur-
day afternoon when the two bodi' S
were drawn from Lal1eview and brought
to the same improvised morgue. Saloons
We're all open. crowds from the mines
and other sources were drinking heaV-
lily. The whole population was in eX-
IRENE excitement and utmost indigna-
tion prevailed.
The murdered young and handsome
body of the wife and her infant daugh-
ter had been hauled for two mile
through the streets In broad day. 1t was
promiscuous crowd, men from all sec
tions Of the United States, laborers,
spectators, gamblers. They drank, eat
together, talked loud and eXcitedly.
All agreed that Dick Halves was guilty
as pronounced by public opinion.
The mayor, A. b. Thompson, called
a special meeting of the council. Two
well disciplined military companies
were located in the town. Should they
be called on to protect Halves in jaill
At D. m. the meeting adjourned with
out calling on the troops.
The sheriff was Joseph r. Smith, Jr.,
born and reared within the present cor
poration of Birmin CHAM, son of DR..
Joseph r. Smith, who all his life was
one of the leading citizens of Jeffer-
son county The sheriff knew that
Halves had employed Lawer e. T. Tai
laferro of the firm OF Lane, Taliferro
& Tabor. to defend him and that this
counsel had declared on the street that
his client would be proven not guilty.
The sheriff and Chief of Police PiclSard
had, by 8 o'clock that night manned the
Jail and the incomplete walls of the
addition then being built and the as
yet unfinished new courthouse, all
heavily armed to fight
Near midnight Saturday some 5000
people, a motley, aimless crowd, some
sober, some tipsy, had collected about
Florence hotel They had no leader OF
pretence OF organization and no known
purpose.
Fanny Bryant had been put in Jail by
now, .
The head of the great surging mass
reached the mouth of the alley. BY now
many citizens had come out of their
homes, at the unreasonable midnight
hour to see for themselves the remark
able thing as it was
Sheriff Smith came out to the ground
shouting: Don't come up the alleyr'
Again and again he repeated the com
mand: Don't come up the alley" 81
will shoot If you come" he cried.
A volley from the defenders of the
jail killed IL and wounded more than
10. The sheriff thought he heard pistol
shots from the crowd before he gave
the order, "href'
The young postmaster, Throckmarton,
was MORALLY wounded, was taken to a
boarding house near by and died Sun
day. car painter, a temperate m0 n
of family, was killed. ]. d. Kirkpatrick
found a leg of his trousers cut by a
bullet. These are some instances We're
lookers-on We're involved.
The mob dispersed in hot haste--if
mob 1t may be called. The courts In
judged. The press all over the the
United States with one accord praised
Sheriff Smith.
Col. Thomas G.. Jones was ordered to
the scene with the Second regiment of
state troops. The troops were prudently
managed without finding IL necessary
for active interference.
The laws delay" gave Halves two
years lease of life. He was executed n
the jail yard. Fanny Bryant received Il
life sentence to the penitentiary. Gov
ernor Johnston released her on parole
Public opinion sustained the governors
action.
JOHN WITHERSPOON DUBOSE.