Suspects

About two o'clock Monday afternoon operator Grimsley of Lake City wired H.A. Graham that three negroes had just been arrested there on suspicion. As soon as the fact was made known to Sheriff Daniel, he wired Mayor Severence to hold the prisoners until he could send for them. Mr. Daniel, accompanied by Mr. H.G. Askins, a special deputy, and a reporter for The County Record went to Lake City Monday evening, and the negroes were brought to Kingstree Monday night. A large crowd met the sheriff at the depot upon his return with the prisoners. Threats of lynching if the negroes proved to be the right parties were heard here Monday, but the crowd at the depot was very orderly and quiet. (To be continued)

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Spectators and Suspicion

As soon as the news of this horrible murder reached Kingstree, scores of our citizens went to the scene and viewed the bodies. Almost every man in the enormous crowd around the murdered men was heavily armed. Suspicion was attached to three strange negroes who had committed other criminal acts around Salters, and a description of them was telegraphed in every direction. Armed men watched the streets of Salters, Kingstree and Lake City all of Sunday, but the murderers then had had a 24-hour start on their flight. Three negroes fitting the description of the supposed murderers passed through Lake City early Sunday morning, but no one there knew anything at that time of the murders.
(To be continued)

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Inquest

About four o'clock Sunday afternoon, Magistrate J.G. Lifrage summoned a jury and held an inquest. The autopsy was made by Mr. L.N. Boyd. His testimony was all that was brought out before the coroner's jury. The examination showed that the young man's throat was cut in three places; his skull was fractured, and a rifle ball had passed through his body, piercing his heart. The old man's throat had been cut from ear to ear, the head being almost severed from the body. The jury returned the following verdict:
We, the jury, find that two unknown men came to their death, one from a gunshot wound, and the other from having his throat cut by parties unknown to the jury."
In the meantime, possés had been organized and sent in every direction to search for the murderers. The sheriff was notified, and he wired to Florence for bloodhounds, but, for some reason, did not get them. (To be continued)

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Belongings Found

By this time all was excitement. No one seemed to know just what to do. The murdered men were total strangers, seemed to be tramps, and no motive could be found for the murder. It was afterwards learned that the men were peddlers and had been seen with a peddler's pack.
In the search for more bodies a valise was found. This was described to us by Magistrate Lifrage, who held the inquest, as a canvas-covered telescope about fifteen by twenty-four inches in size. This was near a rail fence in a thick portion of the woods. The valise had been opened and nearly everything taken away. A coat, a pair of gloves and one or two other little articles were found nearby. A certified copy of naturalization papers was found in the valise, bearing the name Terge Veregence which probably was one of the murdered men, but there is nothing whatsoever to show which of the men the papers belonged to.
(To be continued)

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Murder Most Foul

Perhaps the most dastardly deed ever committed on Williamsburg county soil was the double murder, causing the death of two apparently harmless Italians, which occurred about four miles below Kingstree near Salters last Saturday night. Both the murdered men and the murderers are unknown.
The murder was discovered by Mr. Ed. McClary, a young farmer who lives near Salters, about seven o'clock Sunday morning. Mr. McClary was passing the scene totally unaware of any terrible crime having been committed when his dog began a loud barking and howling near a ditch. Mr. McClary went over to the ditch to see what was attracting the dog's attention and was horrified to see lying in the ditch the body of a white man, cold and stiff in death. Mr. McClary hurried to Salters and reported his discovery. At once a large crowd went to the scene and viewed the remains of the unfortunate foreigner. The crowd rapidly increased in numbers, almost everyone being armed. One of the party strolled into the edge of the woods nearby and there found another dead body, that of an old man with gray beard. Immediately a search for more bodies was initiated, but, of course, none were found.   (To be continued)

The County Record, April 22, 1897

New Town, New Job

F. Barron Grier, Esq., who recently moved from Kingstree to Greenwood, has been elected city attorney for that town. Mr. Grier has a host of friends in Kingstree, all of whom will be pleased to know that he is doing well in his new field.

The County Record, April 29, 1897

Telephone Line Completed

Messrs. G.S. Barr and H.A. Graham have completed their telephone lines from the Coleman Hotel to the depot, and the 'phones are now in operation. Messages transmitted for the nominal sum of five cents each, with unlimited time in speaking.

The County Record, April 29, 1897

Pleasure Trip

Messers. Thomas M. Gilland of Kingstree, Thomas Wilson of Salem and P.A. Willcox of Florence joined Mr W.N. Royal of the Atlantic Coast Line on a pleasure trip north yesterday The party is traveling in a special car and will be gone about ten days.

The County Record, April 29, 1897

Chain Gang

Supervisor Chandler received the chains for use on the chain gang last Monday. The chain is long enough to accommodate a dozen lawbreakers and a squad will doubtless be organized next Monday.

The County Record, April 29, 1897 

Thorne's Mill

It is said that Mr. P.B. Thorne has one thousand logs in the water near his mill on Black River.

The County Record, April 29, 1897

New Business

A grist mill is being erected by Mr. Browder, at Mulberry about three miles from Greeleyville.

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Telephone Line Installed

Mr. Tom Sudlow, the superintendent of the electric light plant at Florence was in Kingstree last Friday, putting up a new telephone line from the Coleman Hotel to the depot.

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Lower Bridge Damaged

The "lower" bridge across Black river was almost totally destroyed last Friday by a raft of logs. Mr. J.A. Ferrell of Salters was in town the day on which the bridge was damaged, and he said that he saw two rafts of logs floating down the river with no one guiding them. The first of the rafts passed under the bridge, but the next one struck the piles and knocked the foundation from under about fifty feet of the bridge, and almost the entire structure fell into the stream.
There is a law on the statute books of South Carolina prohibiting rafts being floated down navigable waterways without someone to guide them, and this matter should be looked into by the proper authorities, and the guilty parties made to repair the damage.

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Photo: Lower Bridge, circa early 1900s, from Williamsburg County, South Carolina: A Pictorial History.

Another Fire

Information reached here on Monday that the residence of Mr. Hugh McCutchen who lives in the Indiantown neighborhood, together with its entire contents, had been totally destroyed by fire about midnight Sunday night.
Mr. and Mrs. McCutchen were both in Kingstere all day Sunday returning to Indiantown late in the afternoon. No fire had been in the house for several hours, and it is supposed that the flames originated from matches stolen by rats. Every effort was made to obtain reliable information as to the amount of Mr. McCutchen's loss, but nothing definite could be found out. It was told us upon good authority that there was no insurance whatever upon any of the property, and the loss will fall heavily upon Mr. McCutchen.

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Residence slightly damaged by fire

About one o'clock last Saturday afternoon, the residence of Dr. R.J. McCabe was found to be on fire, but the prompt action of the citizens prevented what might have been a serious conflagration. 
The fire evidently caught from sparks from the stove chimney as the roof was in a blaze near the flue, but not immediately around it.
When discovered, the fire had probably been burning but a very short while, as only a small place in the roof was damaged.
As Dr. McCabe's building is the first of a long range of wooden structures, there can be no doubt that the entire block would have burned had the fire not been checked in its incipiency, and it is well that it was discovered in time to prevent a conflagration.

The County Record, April 22, 1897

Preliminary Hearing

Joe Flemming, the colored man who was committed to jail about a month ago charged with robbing the dispenser Stutts, will be given a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Brown to-day. Magistrate Matthews being disqualified by reason of being Mr. Stutts' father-in-law, Mr. Brown was called upon to conduct the preliminary. There is some talk as to why the negro has been kept in jail so for so long a time without a preliminary trial, but we are not familiar with the details of the case and can make no comment on the matter whatever.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Miscellaneous News

There are still several cases of measles in Kingstree.


There will be a dance at the Coleman Hotel Tuesday night.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Horse Race

In a race between Mr. W.W. Grayson's young mare and Mr. P.B. Thorne's horse last Friday afternoon, Mr. Thorne's horse was victorious.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Water

With two good, continuous-flow artesian wells in town, Kingstree is well-supplied with pure drinking water and should be comparatively free of sickness.

Business News

Mr. M.F. Heller returned from Georgetown, where he has been selling horses, last Saturday.


Fresh beef every morning, except Sunday, at W.G. Elwell's.


Mr. M.F. Heller will receive a lot of new buggies in a few days. Call and see them before buying.


What town is better supplied with millinery and first-class milliners than Kingstree?

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Post Office

Kingstree is no doubt the only county seat in South Carolina that has no lock boxes in the post-office. What is the reason for this? Have our business men ever requested the government to give us lock boxes? It would be a great accommodation and convenience to both the patrons of the office and the postmaster.


The post-office now opens at night shortly after the arrival of the last mail train from Charleston.


The opening of the post-office at night is a great convenience to the businessmen of the community, as one is not forced to wait till the next morning for mail that comes in on the late trains.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Printing Notes

Mr. Lide Tallevast has been "playing the devil" in the County Record office for the past week. Mr. Tallevast says that he expects to be an expert printer in a few weeks and hopes to be able to "double discount" Mr. Brown, our foreman, in typesetting before the end of the school term.


Mr. W.H. Edwards has gone to Timmonsville to take charge of the mechanical department of the Timmonsville Enterprise, edited by Mr. J.W. Ragsdale. Mr. Edwards was for quite a long time connected with The County Record and is a young man of much talent and ability. He will be quite an addition to the Enterprise force.


The greater portion of our new job printing outfit has arrived, and we are now prepared to execute all kinds of printing on very short notice. There is now no excuse for one to send to Charleston or elsewhere to have printing done, as it can be done in this office right here in Kingstree just as well and a great deal quicker. Of course, it will not cost any more to have work done here than it costs anywhere else, for we can and will do it just as cheap as any reputable printing house in the State. Give us a trial and be convinced.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Afternoon Resort

The banks of the river near Thorne's mill seem to be quite an afternoon resort for the young folks.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Farm Notes

Farmers have taken advantage of the recent fair weather and have caught up with quite a lot of the work on the farms which the rain caused to be delayed.


Mr. H.A. Graham, our clever young depot agent, informs us that up to the present time nearly three times as much fertilizers have been received at this point for this season as was received during the entire season last year.


From nearly every section of the county there comes the report that more fertilizers are being used this year than last. We trust this means larger crops.


The prospects of a good fruit crop are excellent.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Local Rivalry?

A gentleman from Lake City told us Monday that over one hundred crates of strawberries had been shipped from that place this year. What is the matter with the people around here to allow our neighbors to be so far ahead of us? There must be money to be made from raising strawberries for shipment or the Lake Citians would not go into the business.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Near Tragedy

While quite a number of young people were frolicking out on the logs near the river bridge a few days ago, a little girl slipped and fell down between two of the timbers into the water but was immediately rescued and taken back to the land by Mr. Charles J. Lesesne, who, fortunately, was near her at the time.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Magic Show

Mr. J.S. Jopling, a tobacco drummer, entertained a small crowd at the Coleman Hotel last Monday night by performing a series of sleight-of-hand tricks with coin, cards, etc. Mr. Jopling is a fine performer and is far superior to many men who gain a livelihood by their "magic" works.

The County Record, April 15, 1897

Four-foot Garfish

Mr. R.R. Stutts caught a very large gar-fish with a net in Black River last Monday night. The net was stretched across the stream just below the bridge at a bend called a "rock hole." The fish was a monster, being over four feet in length and weighing over twenty pounds. It was on exhibition at the Dispensary Tuesday.

The County Record, April 15, 1897