South Carolina, Kershaw District
February 11th, 1853
Testimony on the inquest in the state vs. the dead body fo Jane D. Young. John D. Young sworn. Says that about 20 minutes before 10 o'clock A.M. L.W.R. Blair came to his mother's house. He had a double barreled shot gun, and one of his negro men came with him who also had a double barreled shot gun. Capt. Blair said he had come to know what decision I had come to respecting the difficulty which existed between one of his negroes & two of ours, one of which belonged to myself & one to mother. I told him from what I could learn his negro was as much to blame as ours & I would rather he would take them to the law to be punished. He then observed the punishment of the law was not severe enough & in a crabbed[?] tone I replied not to get in a passion about it. I hoped we could settle it in peace. He then said I take it for granted you aid & abet your negroes in outrages or cruelty or something like that. I then replied to him I did not take up for my negroes but was perfectly willing they would be punished according to law. He then said he would stain me with the greatest infamy or offer me the greatest insult in his power, and then stooped over and spit in my face, and as he spit in my face he stepped a step or two back and lowered the mussel some. He had been standing with the [??] and as he raised it I heard the lock crack as if it was cocked & I believe as he changed his right hand back to the lock as he raised the gun that he did cock the gun. My brother P.H. Young run at him and caught the gun with his left hand. Myself & Brothers continued to struggle with Blair and there were some one or two blows struck by Blair & myself & Brother Henry when the negro fired his gun and killed my mother. She was either setting or standing in the piazza when the affray commenced & she ran out when we were just outside of the gate and the negro Hiram shot her and she fell dead on her face about 4 to 6 steps from the yard gate. Then the negro fired the other barrel at Brother James but it did not take effect. The load passed through the fence about 18 inches from the ground in the steps of the piazza. About the time or just after the negro's second fire, I heard one of my brothers or perhaps two of them call for a gun. I continued to struggle with Blair for his gun & about the time Brother James came in the house and brought a gun I succeeded in wrestling Blair's gun from him & struck him with it after I looked for the negro Hiram & he was gone out of my sight. Brother Henry and Blair was clenched all the time & I had hold of the gun with one of my hands & one of his hands with my other. The negro's gun from the holes in the fence was heavily charged with shot and balls or all large shot. Blair's gun was charged with 12 large buck shot in each barrel. I lived with my mother & superintended her business. The affray commenced at the yard gate & mother was killed in [?] to the steps. After myself & Blair separated and he started off I ordered the negroes that had collected who were working near the [?] to carry my mother in the house & they laid her where she now lies. I spoke respectfully to Blair & did not speak an angry word to him until he spit in my face & in fact I did not speak an angry word to him at all. After the negro fired the second barrel he broke and run. It was but a very few seconds from the time the difficulty commenced before the negro shot mother. John D. Young

P. H. Young sworn says that Capt. L.W.R. Blair came to his mother's about 20 minutes before 11 o'clk A.M. on this day Feb 11th 1853 & had considerable talk about some difficulty that existed between some of the negroes. He wished to punish these more severely than the law would punish them. John said eh would have them punished as severe as the law would punish them & no more. Blair then said if that is all the punishment you will allow I will stain you with the greatest infamy I can & spit in John's face. He Blair immediately stepped back a step or two & raised his gun as if to cock it with his right hand on the lock. I cannot say whether he cocked it or not, but he might have done it. Then I rushed at him and cauht the gun with my left hand and as I caught the gun with my left hand I struck him with a stick in my right hand & a struggle ensured.

When Blair came he had a double barreled gun heavily charged with buck shot. He had his negro man Hiram along with him who also had a double barreled gun well charged. When the struggle commenced mother was I suppose in the piazza or somewhere thereabout & I suppose seeing the negro raise the gun & present it at some of us she ran out to get it from him. At any rate in five or six seconds after the struggle commenced the negro Hiram shot mother. I saw him when he shot. She was from five to seven steps from the negro when he shot her. She was in the act of a approaching him when he fired on her. She fell forward & never spoke, as I heard. She was taken up by the negroes and carried and laid where she lies. I believe he shot from dread of his master, or that shooting as he did would meet his master's approbation.

I don't think John spoke an angry word to Blair during the whole time. P. Henry Young.

Benjamin F. Young sworn says that on yesterday the 11th inst. Capt. L.W. Blair came to mother's gate. I at that time was in the office studying. I heard some one hail at the gate. I came and looked out at the window of the office and saw that it was Blair and a negro man. The negro had a gun, Blair himself, as I think, had no gun. Mother afterwards told me that he had a large stick. When he hailed mother came out. She told me that Blair said he called to see Captain Young. She told him he was not at home but would be perhaps that night or some time the next day. He then said he would come the day after tomorrow to see him. Brother John came home about dark and I wrote Blair a note my brother had come home and that if would come down next day at ten o'clk he could see him. He answered that he would be there at 10 o'clk. He accordingly appeared a short time before ten o'clock. He came to the gate & hailed John. Myself & Henry went out & I think we left mother in the room sitting by the fire. We observed that he and his negro each had a gun. We all shook hands with him. He said he came to see Capt. Young about that difficulty between one of my negores & two of yours. He spoke of two affrays amid[?] our negroes, one old affray. Then I observed let's discuss one at a time & he agreed to it. He [?] course of conversation he said the matter lies between myself & Captain Young & he wished to discuss it with him. I told him I did feel an interest in the matter for I felt it my duty to protect my mother's property. I don't recollect saying much more as he persisted in discussing it with John. Their discussion terminated in John's referring to the law to decide it. He then asked John if that was his final answer to the charge that he had brought against the negroes. John told him that he thought it the most equitable way of deciding & the best satisfaction he could give him. Blair then said as well as I understood him, Sir, I stain you with the greatest infamy I possible can. He then stepped forward & stooped over and spit in brother John's face. John was standing with his back against the gate post at the time with both his hands in his pockets. Immediately on spitting he drew up his gun with his hand on the lock, the mussel being depressed. As he drew back Henry caught the gun with his left hand and struck him over the head with a stick with his right. From that a struggle commenced, myself & brothers trying to wrest the gun from him, while he ws evidently trying to release himself from us. During the struggle I heard Brother John say kill that rascal (meaning Blair's negro Hiram) he is going to shoot some of us, but neither of us having any gun continued to struggle with Blair to wrest his from him & immediately after I heard the report of Hiram's gun & I heard one of the house servants cry out Hiram has killed mistress. I then called bring my gun. I was so excited I do not recollect the report of but one gun. We finally got Blair's gun from him but Hiram by this time was out of reach. The gun which Blair had was heavily charged with buck shot as was afterwards ascertained on examination. It is my presumption that the negro Hiram was acting under the direction of his master. As soon as we disarmed Blair and I saw he was not going to renew the attack I ran to mother and put my arm over her & my face down against hers & as soon as I could quiet the negroes I called her three or four times & got no answer. I & some of my brothers told the negroes to take her in the house. The did so & laid her where she now lies. From all the circumstances I believe that mother seeing Hiram trying to shoot some of us went out to try to prevent him. When mother was shot she was not in a direct line between us & Hiram. B.F. Young

James Young sworn says that after some struggling between his brothers & L.W.R. Blair, he heard the report of a gun. I made at Hiram with a knife & he shot at me, the load passed over me or over one shoulder; it passed through the fence & some shot lodged in the steps. Then Hiram run. After he run I saw that he killed mother. Jas. Young.

Dr. B.S. Lucas sworn says that he has examined the wounds on the body of Mrs. Jane D. Young extensively and is satisfied they are sufficient to produce death. B.S. Lucas