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Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: Floyd and Claude Allen
14 March 2012
Welcome to Mug Shot Monday Special Edition. This is the final post focusing on records at the Library of Virginia related to the “Hillsville Massacre.”
In March 1913, Floyd Allen and his son Claude were executed for the 14 March 1912 murder of Commonwealth’s Attorney William Foster. The Allens’ case had gone through many twists and turns since the shootout in the Carroll County courthouse the previous March. The trials of Floyd Allen, Claude Allen, Friel Allen, Sidna Allen, Wesley Edwards, and Sidna Edwards took place in Wytheville from April to December 1912. The prosecution’s strategy was to prove the courthouse shooting was a premeditated conspiracy in order to make each defendant equally liable for the murders. On 18 May 1912, Floyd Allen was found guilty of the first degree murder of Commonwealth’s Attorney Foster. The prosecution’s strategy failed in the trial of Claude Allen. He was convicted of the second degree murder of Judge Thornton Massie because the prosecution failed to prove a conspiracy. Claude Allen then was tried twice for the murder of Foster. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. In the second trial, Allen was convicted of first degree murder. Floyd and Claude Allen were sentenced to die in the electric chair at the Virginia Penitentiary on 22 November 1912.
Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: Wesley Edwards, No. 11218
13 March 2012
Welcome to Mug Shot Monday Special Edition. This is the fifth post focusing on records at the Library of Virginia related to the “Hillsville Massacre.”
In December 1912 in the Wythe County Circuit Court, Wesley Edwards, nephew of Floyd Allen, was sentenced to 27 years in the Virginia Penitentiary for two counts of first degree murder and one count of second degree murder for his involvement in the Carroll County shootout. Edwards was admitted to the penitentiary on 14 December 1912. An anonymous fellow prisoner, writing in the 27 April 1922 issue of the inmate-run penitentiary newspaper, The Beacon, shared his observations of Wesley Edwards:
“The first day I was in prison I ran into Wesley Edwards on the steps of the Industrial Department and started a conversation with him. As soon as I told him where I was from, he at once extended his hand, with a smile, and said he was glad to see someone from near his old home, though he was sorry to see me in trouble. I in turn extended my sympathy to him. My thoughts of him were many, the chief one being how strange it seemed that this tall, blue-eyed, young fellow could be so jovial and so interested in his work. He was even then in a hurry, had saw-dust in his hair and
Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: Sidna Allen, No. 11217
12 March 2012
Welcome to Mug Shot Monday Special Edition. This is the fourth post focusing on records at the Library of Virginia related to the “Hillsville Massacre.”
In December 1912 in the Wythe County Circuit Court, Sidna Allen, brother of Floyd Allen, was sentenced to 35 years in the Virginia Penitentiary for the crimes of first, second and third degree murder. Allen was admitted to the penitentiary on 14 December 1912. An anonymous fellow prisoner, writing in the 27 April 1922 issue of the inmate-run penitentiary newspaper, The Beacon, shared his observations of Sidna Allen:
“I at last had an opportunity to go through the carpenter shop where I saw Sidna Allen…I stopped and watched him for a while at his work, before I went over and talked with him. He was working with as much zeal as any man who owned and operated a manufacturing plant. His hair was a silvery gray, though tinted with the yellow saw-dust, and his face pale, though it had the illuminated appearance of a pure Christian man….After talking with him a little while I found that the expression on his face was only revealing the man as he was; a true Christian man. Sunday morning and any time he had a spare, you could see him sitting around reading the Bible and enjoying the words he was
Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: Sidna Edwards, No. 10995
9 March 2012
Welcome to Mug Shot Monday Special Edition. This is the third post focusing on records at the Library of Virginia related to the “Hillsville Massacre.”
In August 1912 in the Wythe County Circuit Court, Sidna Edwards, nephew of Floyd Allen, plead guilty to second-degree murder for his involvement in the Carroll County shootout. He was sentenced to 15 years in the Virginia Penitentiary and admitted on 18 September 1912. By all accounts Edwards was a model prisoner. The 27 April 1922 issue of The Beacon, the inmate-run penitentiary newspaper, contained this observation of Sidna Edwards by a fellow prisoner:
“[I] noticed a stalwart looking man standing on the prison hospital steps. He had a young, though sad looking face, his hair was beginning to silver and his general expression showed much pain and worry for a young man of his seeming age. I remarked to another prisoner that the big, young fellow seemed rather under the weather. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘that is Sidna Edwards. He has rheumatism and has been in the hospital a long time, although not confined to bed. He has the duty of nursing the other patients.’ To describe him takes only a few words, he has one of the most gentle, accommodating, kind and truthful dispositions that I have ever met in any man. He is generally liked
Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: Friel Allen, No. 10994
8 March 2012
Welcome to Mug Shot Monday Special Edition. This is the second post focusing on records at the Library of Virginia related to the “Hillsville Massacre.”
In August 1912 in the Wythe County Circuit Court, Friel Allen, son of Jasper “Jack” Allen and nephew of Floyd Allen, was convicted of second degree murder in the death of William McDonald Foster, Carroll County Commonwealth’s Attorney. Allen was sentenced to 18 years in the Virginia Penitentiary and admitted to the penitentiary on 18 September 1912. By all accounts Allen was a model prisoner. An anonymous fellow prisoner, writing in the 27 April 1922 issue of the inmate-run penitentiary newspaper, The Beacon, shared his observations of Friel Allen:
“I had noticed a well-dressed young man passing through the yard of the prison, and on asking who he was I got this reply: ‘that is the Superintendent’s Chauffeur, Friel Allen.’ I immediately remarked that he was only a boy, that if he had been here ten years and looked that now, he must have been only a kid when he was sent here. I ventured up for a talk with him, expecting a sad answer, but not so, he sprang a friendly joke on me right away and began to kid me, showing his youth and good spirits. Our association from then on became more intimate, especially
Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: “Hillsville Massacre”
7 March 2012
Welcome to Mug Shot Monday Special Edition. Next Wednesday, 14 March marks the 100th anniversary of the infamous “Hillsville Massacre,” where five people were killed in a gunfight in the Carroll County courthouse. For the next week, Out of the Box will spotlight records at the Library of Virginia related to the individuals convicted for their role in the shooting.
On 13 March 1912, in the Carroll County Circuit Court, Floyd Allen was tried for attacking two deputies who had arrested two of his nephews for fighting and disturbing a religious meeting. The jury found Allen guilty of assault on 14 March and sentenced him to one year in the penitentiary. Allen stood up and stated, “Gentlemen, I ain’t going” and shots erupted in the courthouse leaving several county officials and a spectator dead. The Allen family claimed that several court officials opened fire on Floyd Allen, while other witnesses contended that Claude Swanson Allen, the defendant’s son, began the shooting. Nevertheless, Floyd Allen, Claude Swanson Allen, and other members of the Allen family were tried for murder in the Wythe County Circuit Court from April-December 1912. Floyd Allen was convicted of first degree murder on 16 May 1912. Claude S. Allen… read more »
Baring Their Assets: The Department of Treasury’s Division of Unclaimed Property
29 February 2012
“Lost and Found,” the Library of Virginia’s new exhibition, explores how the loss and discovery of items affects personal and collective memory. The exhibition was inspired by the records “found” in bank safety deposit boxes by the Department of Treasury’s Division of Unclaimed Property. In Virginia, the Unclaimed Property Act (Code of Virginia, 55-210.1 to 55-210.30) establishes the Department of Treasury and its Unclaimed Property Division as the official custodian for property left in safety deposit boxes when no owner or heir appears to claim the assets.
By 2001, roughly 300 cubic feet of Department of the Treasury records sat unused in the stacks of the Library of Virginia. Changes in the retention and disposition schedule for this series of records have allowed State Records archivists at LVA to review their contents and make them available to the public for the first time. These records, managed by the Unclaimed Property Division, consist of personal papers culled from abandoned safe deposit boxes throughout the state. Previously, the collection was scheduled to be retained permanently, but was restricted and could be used only by Treasury employees.
Should attempts by Treasury employees to locate the owners or rightful heirs of the unclaimed property prove unsuccessful, the property in question legally reverts to the state. As the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes arrive in the Unclaimed Property Division, each box is assigned a lot number. Items contained in the safe deposit boxes are… read more »
Who Do You Think You Are?
24 February 2012
Dusty documents and grimy ledgers get a dose of Hollywood glamour as the third season of NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? continues tonight, February 24, at 8 P.M. with Petersburg native Blair Underwood. The Event and In Treatment actor embarks on a personal journey of self-discovery as experts trace his family tree uncovering hidden stories and family secrets. During tonight’s episode, Underwood uncovers a branch of his family tree that shows a line of free African Americans in Virginia stretching back to the 1860s, and he even discovers that one ancestor was a slave owner. Underwood traveled here to the Library of Virginia, where part of the episode was filmed, to view the Campbell County Free Negro and Slave Records and the Amherst Free Negro Register.
If watching Blair Underwood uncover his roots inspires you to start researching your own family tree, the Library of Virginia is a great place to start. In addition to our collections that contain a wealth of Virginia records, we offer a guide on how to begin your genealogical research and one on the genealogical resources available here at the library. If you’re not in the mood to leave your couch, you can get started on your research tonight by tuning in to NBC WWBT channel 12 from 5:00 to 6:30. Library staff will be on air for the Call 12 segment to answer questions about the Library of Virginia and its resources for genealogy.
The Business of Racism
22 February 2012
Business letterhead can offer a fascinating snapshot of a place or time. A striking example appeared in the Rockingham County chancery causes recently. In the case of Ridgemont Cement & Manufacturing Company vs. Manly Manufacturing Company, 1900, there is a piece of Manly Manufacturing Company letterhead dated 1 March 1895 featuring an image of stereotypical 19th-century African American caricature behind bars. Shocking to our 21st-century sensibilities, this type of advertising was very common beginning in the Victorian era. Caricatured images of African Americans and other minorities were commonly used to sell products because they capitalized on existing beliefs and, ultimately, reinforced existing prejudices.
Manly Manufacturing Company billed itself as “The First and Only Steel Jail Works in THE SOUTH.” Headquartered in Dalton, Georgia, the firm was originally Manly & Cooper, a foundry responsible for casting, amongst other items, the ornamental fence surrounding Thomas Jefferson’s gravesite in Charlottesville. Relocating from Philadelphia to Dalton in 1887, the company developed “Manly Portable Convict Cages,” horse-drawn, steel-wheeled cages to house prisoners working on outdoor projects. The cages became one of its best selling products.
A quick Internet search revealed that Manly Manufacturing is still in business today, 121 years later, as Manly Steel.
The Rockingham County chancery collection contains 534 Hollinger boxes or about 250 cubic feet of records. It is currently being processed for digitization.
-Vince Brooks, Senior Local Records Archivist
My Vindictive Valentine
14 February 2012
Among the character witnesses called in the divorce case of Minerva Alice Nulton and John M. Nulton included John’s widowed sister, Annie Sloat, a dry-goods merchant. In addition to her testimony concerning what she believed to be the bad character of her sister-in-law, Annie entered several items into evidence including this picture and poem that she believed Minerva had sent to her. Based on the statements the two women made about each other in this case, the poem aptly sums up the feelings between Minerva and Annie.
The case of Minerva Alice Nulton v. John N. Nulton, 1900, is part of the Frederick County Chancery Court Collection. An early accession of Frederick County chancery causes, 1745-1926, was processed in the 1990s and is available on microfilm. Additional Frederick County chancery causes , 1866-1923 (Accession 42505), were transferred to the LVA and are presently being processed. This portion will be digitally reformatted as the budget permits.
-Sam Walters, Local Records Archivist
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