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Bastrop County, TX |
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The Bastrop Advertiser
1885 Pearson 1/17/1885 W. L. Pearson was killed near the residence of Mack Darnell,
near Pettytown, lastSaturday night. We learn that a dancing Party was going
on at Darnell's and that Pearson was killed within two hundred yards of the
house, and nothing was known of it till next morning, when the dead body was
found. ---- 3/21/1885 Dr. Jas. C. Stovall, a prominent physician of Travis county,
while returning home Monday night, from a professional visit, was shot from
his horse. He was hit by two bullets, one producing a slight flesh wound in
the right arm and the other passing through the upper part of the hip,
penetrated the abdomen and possibly the bladder. Tom and Bob Pearson,two bryohers, have been arrested, charged with the
shooting. ---- Dr. Jas. C. Stovall reported shot by too assassins, near Austin,
an account of which we publish elsewhere died about 7 o'clock Wednesday
morning. He died at the house of Mr. Gagnan, the man who found him. At the
inquest, says the Statesman, three witnesses were examined, the principal one
being Gagman. He swore, in substance, that he heard several shots in quick
succession. His house was some 200 yards distant from the road. The firing ceased,
and not long after he heard cries as of some one i distress. Going in that direction
till within about fifty yards of the road, he came upon Dr. Stovall, who told
him wht had occurred. He stated that he was riding homeward and met two men
going the opposite way. When close up to him they separated a little, leaving
him between them. He recognized the men as Tom and Bob Pearson. The first
named without speaking, fired and after falling from his horse several more
shots were discharged at him. He said he did not know why they shot him. He
fell on the right of the road as one goes to Lockhart, and lay still for a
few minutes till satisfied his slayers had left; then he crawled over a ditch
and through a hole in the fence to the spot where Gognan found him. The above embraces the main points in the testimony of this
witness. Tom Pearson was indicted in this county a number of years ago,
on a charge of killing a negro, and was tried and acquitted at the fall term,
1883, of our district court. --- Dr. Stovall Seriously Wounded Near Austin Austi, March 17, Dr. J. C. Stovall was dangerously shot last
night. In a declaration made to Justice Von Rosenburg he states that at about
9 o'clock last night, as he was returing to his home at St. Elmo, a small
place about five miles from the city, he met two men, who, without saying a
word, opened fire on him. Five shots were fired, two of which took effect. One
the most serious, entered his side and will probably
cause death. He fell from his horse, and the men rode off. After lying there
a few minutes he succeeded in crawling to a house a short distance from the scene
of the shooting, where he received medical attention and was then conveyed to
his home. He further states that by the flash of the pistols he was enabled
to see his assailants and identified Tom and Bob Pearson as the guilty
parties. Both of these men live at St. Elmo. The shooting is supposed to have been caused by a previous
difficulty. Both men have been arrested and are now in jail. ---- 5/2/1885 PEARSON'S PUNISHMENT Found Guilty of Murder in the Second Degree, and Sent Up for
Thirty Years. Austin Statesman as posted in the Bastrop Advertiser The jury retired to make up their verdict in the Robert Pearson
case, about 10 o'clock pm., Thursday. From the length of their stay, it was
the general impression that they would be unable to come to any agreement.
Contrary to this opinion, a verdict was rendered about 10 o'clock yesterday
morning. It found Bob Pearson guilty of murder in the second degree, and fixed
his punishment at thirty years in the penitentiary. An analysis of the verdict, combined with certain facts as to
the way the jury stood; made known after wards, will justify the assertion
that the verdict was the result of a compromise. It is said on the authority of one of the jurors, that the first
ballot taken showed eight of the twelve were in favor of inflicting the death
penalty; the remaining four voted for a straight out acquittal. While the
majority could not by any means be brought over to this conclusion, they were
unable to get their colleagues to agree to an infliction of the severest punishment
that can be imposed by any human tribunal. Hence the thirty years sentence. Viewed abstractly, the verdict would seem to be singularly
illogical. Here is a man accused of perpertrating a murder of the foulest
kind - a cold-blooded, heartless assassination. If guilty of this crime, the
death of the perpertrator could be the only expiation. Public sentiment and
the law of the land alike demand this justice to the family of the murdered man, and to the community at large demand it. If he did
not commit it, then he should have gone Scot free. Really there was no middle stand. But it seems that a doubt of the perpetration of this murder by
Robert Pearson found a lodging in the minds of
one-third the number of men who sat as the arbiters of his destiny. Did not several witnesses swear that he was at home at the time
Dr. Stovall met his death? True, these witnesses were members his own family. Still it
might be asked, how else could a man's presence at home, especially in the
country be established save by his wife and children. But what will not these
latter do to save the life of a husband and father where it is in such
imminent peril? Human experience will readily suggest an answer. Besides all this, however, it will be remembered that Dr.
Stovall, when making his dying statement, charged the killing on on the
defendant, but on his brother Tom. This doubtless had its weight. There was not much talk about the action of the jury. Some
expressed surprise that Pearson was not cleared, a
few denounced the verdict on account of its being too mild. A motion for a new trial will be made right away by the
attorneys for the defense, and if that is refused, the case will be carried
to the Court of Appeals. If the sentence is ever executed, it amounts
practically to a life sentence, as Pearson is now at least fourty years old,
unless some future Governor should see fit to grant a pardon. (Family stories say that Dr. Stovall let one of the Pearson's
relatives die in childbirth and that is why they killed him) --- The following account of the arrest of Tom Pearson appeared in
the old Advertiser: "Sherman, Oct. 2, 1882 - Deputy Constable John Moreys, of
Van Alstyne, arrested a man named Pearson yesterday, charged with murder in Bastrop county, in
1873. Pearson would probably have remained undiscovered, as he has been a resident of this
county for the past two years, working as a farm laborer, and was not suspected of
anything wrong until in a drunken spree he informed a boon companion of his being
indicted in Bastrop County. The authorities there were communicated with and in answer they
sent a capias for him for murder. Diligent inquiry failed to discover the name of the party
he is charged with killing. "Tom Pearson, man referred to in the above telegram, was,
in 1873, a tenant on the farm of Judge Eastland, in the southeastern part of Bastrop county. A negro named Wilkes Franklin, on the adjoining farm of Mrs.
Ware's was waylaid and shot to death. He was plowing in the field and was shot
by someone concealed in timber, as he approached the fence. This occured in
June 1873, and about 3 o'clock in the evening, Franklin expiring about sundown. Before his death he made a
statement in which he declared that Tom Pearson did the shooting. Pearson was arrested and placed under
a $1,000 bond, with Judge Eastland and Mr. John Jenkins as sureties. Shortly after giving
the bail he skipped the county and has never been heard of since until the notice from the
officer as above stated." The following grand jurors were summoned for the term of
district court to convene in Bastrop, Monday, Oct. 17, 1882. Enoch Smith, Wade Dixon, J. I. McGinis, Thos. Paine, Cornelius
Hemphill, T. C. Hallmark, David French, Aaron Kennedy, Richard Hancke, Forry Pope, T. C.
Osborne, Ed Bastian, W. A. Oatman, Jas. Fitzwilliams, Ben Williams, T. C. Hendrix. A. Wiseman bought seventy odd bales of cotton, of the crop of
Mr. Mark Young, Monday, at 9 1-4 cents. Mrs. M. A. Buell nee Mrs. Maggie Nicholson, who has been on a
visit to Bastrop for several weeks, left the early part of the week for
Travis county, her future home. Col. Jones, independent candidate for governor, returned home
Wednesday evening. The Colonel though fatigued from the .... In another column will be found the card of Mr. N. A. Morris,
withdrawing from the canvass for tax collector of Bastrop county. It was Louis C. Shilling, the eldest brother, who killed Scott
at Loredo, last week. On the examing trial he was held in the some of $10,000. The
case is to be taken up on a writ of habeas corpus, as it is generally considered the
killing was justifiable. On Friday evening lasat, the gin belonging to Mr. B. F. Jones,
at Alumn Creek, was destroyed by fire. The fire is supposed to have originated from a spark of
fire falling from the chimney into the lint room. Some ten bales of
cotton inside of the gin, and thirteen bales lying in the yard, were burned. The gin
and buildings were insured for the sum of $800. The Bastrop and Alumn Creek clubs will play their third game,
best two in three, on Piney Creek, above town today. It is proposed to have a picnic dinner,
and a party at Academy Hall tonight. The game is to be played about one o'clock.
Everybody and friends are invited to the picnic and the party. A Young man named Henry Scruggs, living near McDade, had his arm
badly mutilated in a gin last week, so much so as ato require the
amputation of the hand. The operation was performed last Saturday by Dr. Holt, of McDade and Dr.
Lucett, of Bastrop. The young man was doing well at last accounts. The McDade gin, the property of Mr. Neil F. Campbell, was burned
on Monday last. The fire was discovered about 2 o'clock in the morning, but too late to
prevent the destruction of the property. There is no doubt of its being set on
fire. Some eight bales of cotton were burned. The property was insured for $2,600, but
the insurance will not cover the loss. ----- 10/1898, The Bastrop Advertiser On Friday night of last week a Mr. Lake Cain (son of James
Michael Cain), a resident of the southern part of the county, registered at the
Midland Hotel and was assigned a room. It is said he had 75 cents, in money, ten cents of which he spent for
morphine, 15 cents he paid to Mr. Wilkes for his night lodging. About 8 o'clock he went to
his room and to bed. He had stopped the night before at the John Watts boarding house,
but being unable to get a room for himself, changed to the Midland Hotel.
It is said he was subject to epileptic fits, and was in the habit of taking morphine when he felt the spells
coming on him. It is supposed he took the dose between 8 and 9 o'clock,
Friday night. When discovered Saturday morning, he was in a comatose condition. Dr. Combs
was called to see him, but the deadly drug had got in its work, and he died between
12 and 1 o'clock. Justice Jenkins held an inquest, deciding that he had died from morphine administered by
his own hands, but whether suicidal intent or not, is not known. His brother,
J. M. C. Cain, came up from Smithville and took charge of the remains which were carried to Upton and
interred. |
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