Edgefield County, SC
Total population (1850): 39,262
Enslaved population (1850): 22,725
Percent slave: 58%
Extant nineteenth-century inquests: 524
Date range: 1829-1899
Percentage of violent crimes in county sample: 39% (202/524)
The small, rural district of Edgefield, South Carolina was the Deadwood of its day, amassing a reputation for murder and mayhem unique in the nation. Forget the gangs of New York, the toughs in tailored suits strutting about Edgefield's Court House Square were up for almost anything. Take this typical exchange between Thomas Cherry and Charles Cobb.
Cherry: "You Damn puppy."
Cobb: "What are you?"
Cherry: "Do you mean to call me a Damn puppy?"
Cobb: "What are you?"
Cherry: "If you call me a Puppy, I will ag you in the face."
Cobb: "You are nothing else."
With that Cherry stabbed Cobb through the face with an umbrella.
"If we over in Edgefield insult each other, there is generally a fight or a funeral afterwards," noted Ben Tillman, one of the ten men of the district to serve the state as governor. Like Tillman, circuit judge Thomas Mackey took an almost perverse pride in the region's reputation. "I am going to hold court in Edgefield," he told a friend, "and I expect a somewhat exciting term, as the fall shooting is about to start."
Like most reputations, Edgefield's was at once deserved and exaggerated. At 39 percent, Edgefield County does have the highest proportion of violent crimes in the CSI:D sample. At 35 percent, Greenville County is not that far behind. More important, Edgefield's reputation for affairs of honor masks the mountain of dishonorable violence revealed by the morgue. Men spoiling for a fight on the street are rarely much different at home. In June 1893, Bill Gasten was sitting near his wood pile when his wife emerged from the house to draw some water from the well. Something she said set him off and he grabbed up a walking stick, hit her with it, then threw her down and began choking her. Emerging from the kitchen, her sister grabbed up the stick and told Bill to "let his wife alone." She had just started back to the kitchen when Bill cracked her head with a hoe.
Edgefield County, SC Inquests
Name | Deceased Description | Date | Inquest Location | Death Type | Death Method |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
William M. Tredaway | March 27, 1851 | at the house of William M Tredaway at Beach Island | Homicide | ||
Lizzy | three negro children | October 2, 1846 | at the house of Philip Brogden | Homicide | axe |
Richmond | slave | March 3, 1857 | at V[?] Elbert Blands residence at Edgefield Court House | Homicide | |
Eldred Glover | March 2, 1852 | at the house of John Doby | Homicide | pistol | |
Thomas Styson | June 22, 1856 | at R. M. Fullers | Homicide | hoe | |
Joseph Riddle | April 10, 1856 | at Hamburg | Homicide | ||
John E. Elsmore | November 28, 1869 | at the house of John E. Elsmore | Homicide | pistol | |
Joe Weston | January 31, 1895 | in Edgefield County | Homicide | ||
J. H. Christian | July 21, 1856 | in the village of Edgefield in Room No 11, in B. J. Ryans Hotel | Homicide | pistol | |
Carey Ashley | October 11, 1879 | at J W Wises[?] plantation | Homicide | pistol | |
William Cloud | July 8, 1851 | at the Spaun[?] Hotel | Homicide | pistol | |
Andy Padgett | July 5, 1891 | near Ridge Spring | Homicide | knife | |
Elick Youngblood | child | March 21, 1881 | at S[?] R Warren | Homicide | |
Ned Dozier | September 27, 1893 | at MJ Holsteins | Homicide | ||
Riller | three negro children | October 2, 1846 | at the house of Philip Brogden | Homicide | |
Johnson Peterson | March 9, 1892 | at Deny[?] S.C. | Homicide | pistol | |
Prince | slave | January 15, 1865 | at John Seiglers | Homicide | knife |
Stephen Stalmaker | August 30, 1850 | at J.M.C. Freeland's | Homicide | plank | |
infant | infant | March 24, 1892 | at Pinksville | Homicide | |
Lee Ryan | September 27, 1877 | at the plantation of Abram F Broadwater | Homicide | iron instrument | |
Henry Padget | freedman | November 14, 1866 | at Wm Padgets premises on Clouds Creek | Homicide | |
Henry Mobley | December 11, 1899 | at Johnston | Homicide | pistol | |
Thomas Booth | August 23, 1878 | at E. C. House | Homicide | pistol | |
Aaron | slave | December 5, 1852 | at A. Bushnells Shop | Homicide | chisel |
Whit Terry | October 19, 1894 | J.K. Corleys Place | Homicide | ||
Isham Glover | August 9, 1892 | at Edgefield C.H. | Homicide | ||
Prince | negro boy | December 23, 1849 | at Thos G. Lamars Mills on little horse creek | Homicide | knife |
Rose | three negro children | October 2, 1846 | at the house of Philip Brogden | Homicide | |
William Samuel | April 26, 1891 | at Scima[?] Hill Church | Homicide | ||
Aaron | slave | December 3, 1851 | at the house of Larkin Swearinghim | Homicide | cow hide |
John M. Tillman | May 6, 1860 | at Mr J.A Tillmans Steam Mill | Homicide | ||
William | negro man, boy, slave | February 13, 1849 | at R. F. Barretts | Homicide | knife |
Stanmore B. Chappell | January 19, 1867 | at S.B. Chappells Residence | Homicide | pistol | |
Yancy Hardy | December 31, 1877 | at Dr. GJ[?] Butlers Plantation | Homicide | pistol | |
Rose | negro woman Slave | March 14, 1846 | at Michael Longs | Homicide | |
Hammond Frasier | November 6, 1897 | at Trenton S.C. | Homicide | pistol | |
W. Brooker Toney | August 12, 1878 | at E. C. House | Homicide | pistol | |
Willie Toney | March 26, 1899 | at Edgefield Court House | Homicide | ||
Andrew Trapp | December 4, 1869 | near Trapps Mills | Homicide | knife | |
Thomas Glover | August 2, 1893 | at Bill Werk[?] Residence | Homicide | ||
William Bailey | July 19, 1846 | at the House of Samuel C Scott | Homicide | ||
Will Collens | October 20, 1894 | at Gaines SC | Homicide | ||
Green | negro boy | July 23, 1850 | at the house of John Cheatham | Homicide | knife |
Robert Parks | September 27, 1894 | at Parkville | Homicide | lick | |
Jacob Horn | February 25, 1866 | at the hous of Jacob Horns | Homicide | ||
Warren Kirkland | November 16, 1858 | at Benjamin Bartons | Homicide | ||
Isham Glover | August 10, 1892 | at Edgefield C.H. | Homicide | ||
Peter | negro man | June 16, 1838 | at a Mr. Azariah[?] Abneys | Homicide | stick |
Margaret Simpkins | September 21, 1879 | on Jas C Brooks Plantation | Homicide | shotgun | |
Joshua Hammond Jr. | September 6, 1849 | at a place belonging to John Bauskett[?] on little horse creek | Homicide | fence rail |