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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Will Collens | October 20, 1894 | at Gaines SC | Homicide | ||
Robert Parks | September 27, 1894 | at Parkville | Homicide | lick | |
Henry | male slave | July 15, 1858 | at Edgefield C.H. | Homicide | hickory stick |
Jacob Horn | February 25, 1866 | at the hous of Jacob Horns | Homicide | ||
John E. Elsmore | November 28, 1869 | at the house of John E. Elsmore | Homicide | pistol | |
Robert J. Butler | September 15, 1864 | at Hamburg | Homicide | ||
Carey Ashley | October 11, 1879 | at J W Wises[?] plantation | Homicide | pistol | |
Henry Burt | June 21, 1895 | at Henry Burts | Homicide | knife | |
William Cloud | July 8, 1851 | at the Spaun[?] Hotel | Homicide | pistol | |
Robert Neid | free man of Colour | August 26, 1847 | at Vaudun[?] Factory | Homicide | dirk knife |
Lizzy | three negro children | October 2, 1846 | at the house of Philip Brogden | Homicide | axe |
Eldred Glover | March 2, 1852 | at the house of John Doby | Homicide | pistol | |
Lee Ryan | September 27, 1877 | at the plantation of Abram F Broadwater | Homicide | iron instrument | |
Prince | slave | January 15, 1865 | at John Seiglers | Homicide | knife |
Thomas Booth | August 23, 1878 | at E. C. House | Homicide | pistol | |
Jno. C Swearingin | April 24, 1895 | at Edgefield CH | Homicide | ||
Henry Padget | freedman | November 14, 1866 | at Wm Padgets premises on Clouds Creek | Homicide | |
Aaron | slave | December 5, 1852 | at A. Bushnells Shop | Homicide | chisel |
Dave Parkman | December 16, 1897 | at Cheatham place | Homicide | pistol | |
Elick Youngblood | child | March 21, 1881 | at S[?] R Warren | Homicide | |
Julia Van | June 20, 1892 | at the plantation of Mr Joe Thurmond | Homicide | ||
Riller | three negro children | October 2, 1846 | at the house of Philip Brogden | Homicide | |
William Martin | May 24, 1891 | on the premises of W. E. Friday | Homicide | pistol | |
James Bledsoe | May 15, 1893 | at Dr D.P. Lalsrones[?] Residence | Homicide | pistol | |
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 | |
Lucious Perry | November 8, 1891 | at the plantation of Ben Boatwright | Homicide | ||
John M. Tillman | May 6, 1860 | at Mr J.A Tillmans Steam Mill | Homicide | ||
Rose | negro woman Slave | March 14, 1846 | at Michael Longs | Homicide | |
James Thomas | colored | July 20, 1869 | at Liberty Hill County | Homicide | |
W. Brooker Toney | August 12, 1878 | at E. C. House | Homicide | pistol | |
Alfred Hollingsworth | October 10, 1898 | at David Strothers place | Homicide | razor | |
Mary Grace Aldrich | infant child | August 11, 1856 | at Graniteville | Homicide | |
Jim McKie | October 26, 1898 | near John starks | Homicide | ||
Namro | negro man | August 11, 1844 | at the house of Rob King Esqr | Homicide | club or stick |
Rose | three negro children | October 2, 1846 | at the house of Philip Brogden | Homicide | |
Aaron | slave | December 3, 1851 | at the house of Larkin Swearinghim | Homicide | cow hide |
Nancy | Slave | June 19, 1847 | at the house of Mrs G. Rily's | Suicide | |
John Randall | October 19, 1857 | at the dwelling house of John Randall | Suicide | razor | |
Daniel | slave, boy | April 28, 1859 | at L. Halls Tisery[?] | Suicide | |
Blassingame Wise | April 27, 1848 | at or near the Negro quarter of Mrs Wiley Glover, on Savannah River | Suicide | ||
Lizzie Carson | January 29, 1892 | at John J Carson Coleman Township | Suicide | pistol | |
Adam Barker | August 10, 1879 | at the Residence of Adam Barker Decd | Suicide | ||
Samuel M. Dowel | July 25, 1844 | at James Murrels | Suicide | knife | |
Lovina | negroe girl, a slave | September 4, 1860 | at Doct H M Folks[Faulk?] | Suicide | |
Joshua Miller | December 22, 1851 | at Joshua Millers | Suicide | shotgun | |
Aron | slave, boy | June 15, 1862 | near the White house | Suicide | vine |
Sarah Jowls[?] | November 16, 1858 | at Mrs Mary Ann Keys | Suicide | rope | |
M. Emmitt Bryant | June 25, 1891 | at the Residence of Mrs Caterim[?] Bryants | Suicide | rope | |
Sarah Scurry | September 28, 1844 | at the House of Sarah Scurry | Suicide |