Month: August 2015

NYTimes Covers Abbeville Murders

I’m going to start this tonight and add to it later. There are two larger articles regarding the murder of Pem Guffin that need to be transcribed (and I’m banging away on a tiny kitchen table laptop right now) and I will get to those probably this weekend. I also have the papers from the file of letters from the governor’s office at the time where local law enforcement has to account for the complete cluster that was the events leading to a murderer just walking away… to Texas… to live a long life. Those are somewhere in my house. I think. Possibly. Or in the car. But I’ll post those too.

VIOLENCE IN SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston, S. C., Feb. 25.–Since the adjournment of the court that went through the farce of trying the men who murdered L. P. Guffin on Sept. 27, other deeds of violence — some by the same ruffians — have been frequent. On Feb. 18, J. C. Martin, one of the men who murdered Mr. Guffin, with his brother, W. B. Martin, went to Carolina Fair’s house and fired through the cracks of the building, the charge of buckshot striking her in the back, killing her instantly. On the Saturday night following, M. E. Hollingsworth shot and killed Dick Goolsby. Hollingsworth is a brother-in-law of Martin. On Sunday night a band of disguised men shot through Harriet White’s house, pelted the building with stones, and, had it not been for the interference of colored men from the farm of L. L. Guffin, brother of the murdered man, they would have taken her out and whipped her. All this occurred in Abbeville County.

The New York Times
February 26 1881

Note: Several things in the article contradict witness accounts. For example, Caroline was shot in the house of a friend and died three days after being shot. J. Campbell Martin was not involved, according to all witness accounts, but later provided a false alibi for his brother. While I’ve always seen Caroline’s name printed as Farrow, I can’t say with certainty that it was not Fair or that Fair wasn’t another name that she used. She had been freed from slavery barely 16 years before her murder, so spent most of her life without a surname at all anyway. She could neither read nor write according to her entry in the 1880 census. Hollingsworth was married to the sister of J. Campbell Martin’s wife and the family lives in the Martin’s Mill area.

P.S. In the 1880 Census, the Martin family (William, J. Campbell, Ina, Mary) lived with a ten year-old domestic servant named Langdon Goolsby, identified as “mulatto.”

P.P.S. A woman named Octavia E. Stone purchased a piece of property from M. E. Hollingsworth some time later. Octavia is the name of one of Caroline’s daughters and I cannot find another instance of that name in the Martin’s Mill area.

ONE MORE THING BEFORE I GO.

In case it is not clear, the White family was black and lived in the Martin’s Mill area.

Makin’ Hay

William Felder Beckwith (1878 – 1967) and his wife Pearl Campbell Martin (1883 – 1947) lived at Martin’s Mill in Abbeville County, South Carolina. William was an entrepreneur and Martin’s Mill offered a number of money making opportunities. I’m not going to cover W. F. Beckwith’s life in this post, but focus on a little slice of life at Martin’s Mill in the 1920s, including his commercial activities, as seen through the local newspaper. The year 1922 is the last one that the Library of Congress’ online archives provides and it seems that things were just starting to get interesting.

In his 1917/18 draft registration, W. F. lists his occupation as farmer and miller. He writes “I use my own hands” as the name of his employer. At this point, he has at least four living children and has been at the mill property for a few years.

Newspaper Moonlight Picnic at Martin's Mill Abbeville South Carolina
Moonlight Picnic The moonlight picnic minus the moon but with plenty of lanterns was given at Martin’s Mill Monday evening after the ball game. About thirty were invited to attend and a good time was had. Dancing was in the hall of Mrs. W. F. Beckwith and a good supper was spread. Mr. and Mrs. T. G. White, Dr. and Mrs. C. C. Gambrell and Mrs. C. A. Milford acted as chaperons. The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, July 19, 1922, Page PAGE THREE, Image 3
Dancing Pavilion at Martin's Mill Abbeville, SC
Dancing Pavilion W. F. Beckwith went to Anderson Monday to see about placing an order for lumber to build a dancing pavilion at Martin’s Mill. The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, June 07, 1922, Page PAGE THREE, Image 3
Swimming at Martin's Mill Abbeville, South Carolina History
Swimming at Martin’s Mill. Dressing rooms now ready. Admission 15 cents. Tickets on sale at McMurray’s Drug Store and at Martin’s Mill. 8 admission tickets for $1.00. W. F. Bekwith. The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, May 31, 1922, Page PAGE FOUR, Image 4
Ready for Business Martin's Mill Abbeville, South Carolina
Ready for Business Martin’s Mill is now grinding wheat. I am prepared to do good work. W.F. Beckwith, Abbeville, S. C. The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, June 12, 1922, Page PAGE FOUR, Image 4
William Felder Beckwith Draft Card
“I use my own hands” Click to enlarge.