Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1922-10-25
Joe Tolbert and The Phoenix
Riot.
Editor of The Advertiser:

KIOt.
Editor of The Advertiser:
am going to give synopsis Of
the Phoenix riot as I remember it.
Joe and Tom Tolbert melted the ne
'groes to this riot.
Phoenix is a small town about ten
miles from Ninety Six and about the
same distance from Greenwood,
They decided on this place to begin
their Internal work. I had son who
was teaching there at the time. The
school building was located near the
store house. There were bushes and
broom grass in the rear near this
school building, and the negroes the
night before had gone over and hid
their guns in this rubbish. On the
next morning the negroes began to
gather in great crowds. At the same
time old Tom Tolbert was on hand
with his ballot box. AS soon as the
poles were opened for voten, Tom
put his box on the porch of the store
and every negro vote that was chal-
lenged they would report the same
to Tom and he would take their
names and deposit them in his box.
There were very few white men
there. I think only about eight or
ten. This thing had been going on
sometime until forbearance ceased
to be a virtue, and Mr.. Etheredge
stepped to the door and kicked Tom
Tolbert's box out on the ground. The
negroes were standing in front of
the store as thick as blackbirds on an
oatstock. AS soon as Mr.. Etheredge
kicked the box to the ground, he was
shot dead, the ball entering the fore
head. At the report of this pistol ev-
cry negro made rush for the
broomstraw for their guns. The ex-
citement was great, / hardly think
that there were but two or three
white men that were armed, but in
the melee old Tom was shot. These
two were the only ones who were
shot that morning.
All this was planned by old Tom
and Joe Tolbert before election day.
The telephone wires had been cut
the night before. but the news of the
riot went like wind and by night
there were men from the country
round about, and they continued to
come in from all over the land. Joe
Tolbert who was living at Ninety
Six heard that the battle was on and
Tom was mortally wounded, and left
in post haste for the battlefield, but
when he got within a mile or so of
Phoenix, bunch of negroes met him
and told him if he went over there
| his hide wouldn't hold corncobs, and
he never got anywhere in sight.
Quite a number of negroes were
killed and those who were not killed
left the country in great haste and
confusion.
After the riot there was an indig-
nation meeting held at "96" and Tom
and Joe left for the Getty by the
Sea-" where Joe's daddy lived. Old
John, Joe's daddy, was collector of
revenue at the Custom House in
Charleston at the time and that was
their house of refuge for months.
McSweeny was governor at that
time and Joe went to Columbia and
asked the governor to make the peo-
pie of Ninety Six and elsewhere let
him come back to see after his in
terests. So the governor sent out
posted bills to almost every man to
let Joe come back. The governor liv-
ed quite while in the town of Nine
ty Six before he was elected gov
ernor. He was editor of little pa
per there about as wide as my two
\
hands, and I knew him we'll. When l
received my orders from McSweeny
to let Joe return I then wrote to the
governor that Joe could never come
back in our town until he could say
in plain language "Shibboleth." And
if he failed to pronounce the word
he would be killed at the ford.
Finally, the people let him return,
after making solemn promise that
he would not meddle in politics with
! the negroes any more. We have had