14 Jan 1891
The Sunday Gazetteer
January 18, 1891
pg. 1
TRAGEDY AT BELLS
Wednesday night about 9 o'clock at
Bells, 14 miles southeast of Denison,
George Smith, a farmer living in the
neighborhood, entered Rosenberg's
saloon and with drawn pistol ordered
everybody to hand over their
cash. W.D. Elliott handed over
his watch and in the movement the
robber neglected to keep his eye on
the bartender, Jim Isbell, who is also
the city marshal
of Bells, Isbell grabbed his
pistol and fired but without
effect. The shot was returned by
the robber, the ball entering Isbell's
face on the right cheek, breaking the
bone fearfully and knocking out the
teeth on that side, the ball coming
out on the back of the head. He
is yet alive.
Mr. Keener, the lunch stand keeper at
the same place, caught hold of the
robber at this juncture, and in the
scuffle secured his pistol, when the
robber broke from his grasp and ran,
but was pursued by a Negro, John
Martin, who was in the saloon at the
time and whom the robber had forced to
search the parties while he held his
pistol on them.
Martin pursued and overhauled him
after quite a chase and held him until
help arrived, when he was secured and
brought back. It is
thought the marshal may recover,
though he is fearfully wounded.
Smith, the robber, was securely bound
and conveyed to Sherman. Great
excitement prevailed in Bells and for
a time it seemed quite evident that
Judge Lynch would hold a short session
of his court, but cooler heads
prevailed.
Galveston Daily News
Galveston, Texas
January 16, 1891
BADLY WOUNDED BY A ROBBER
Town Marshall Isbell of Bells
Shot - A Daring Thief
Bells, Tex. Jan. 15.- A man
entered the saloon at the Pacific
hotel here last night and with cocked
revolver ordered the parties present
to hand over their wealth. He secured
W.D. Elliott's watch.
Jim Isbell, the town marshal, who
is also bartender, got out his pistol,
when the robber fired, hitting Isbell
on the right cheek bone, breaking the
bone fearfully and knocking out the
teeth on that side, the ball coming
out on the back of the head. He is yet
alive.
Mr. Keener, the lunch stand
keeper at the same place, caught hold
of the robber at this juncture, and in
the scuffle secured his pistol, when
the robber broke from him and ran, but
was pursued by a Negro. John Martin,
who was in the saloon and whom the
robber had forced to search the
parties while he held his pistol on
them. Martin pursued and overhauled
him and held him until help arrived,
when he was secured and brought back.
He gives his name as Smith,
living in this county and has for the
past six years. It is thought Mr.
Isbell may recover, though he is
fearfully wounded.
GEORGE SMITH vs STATE ~ Appeal
from Grayson : Murder of the first
degree
The indictment contained two
counts, one charging murder upon
malice aforethought, and the other a
murder committed
in the perpetration of a
robbery. The court, after
submitting the issue of a killing upon
express malice, further charged as
follows.
"You are informed that if you
believe from the evidence that the
defendant with malice aforethought and
in the perpetration of a robbery shot
and killed James Isbell with a pistol,
then he would be guilty of murder of
the first degree, although you should
believe that Isbell fired the first
shot." This charge charge
presented the law of the case.
The evidence in the case was
insufficient to raise the issue of
insanity, but had it been otherwise,
there was no error in instructing the
jury that the defendant must "clearly"
prove that he was insane.
A new trial was asked for on account
of
the newly discovered evidence of
one Kempton, who was confined in jail
with the defendant several months
before trial
and will swear that he had reason
to believe from the acts of the
defendant that he was insane.
Defendant certainly knew
he was in jail with Kempton and
he was chargeable with
diligence. There was no
error. Affirmed Opinion by
Davidson, P.J.
The Sunday Gazetteer
January 25, 1891
pg. 3
Marshal Isbell, of Bells who was
shot by George Smith Wednesday night,
died Saturday evening. An
inquest was held by Justice
Hinkle. The evidence secured
was, in substance, the same as that
published in the Gazetteer of last
week. Smith is in jail but
obstinately refuses to speak of the
difficulty at Bells Wednesday night.
Galveston Daily News
April 29, 1892
Capt. J.D. Woods, attorney for
George Smith, who is now in jail
awaiting the sentence which will fix
the day of his execution, visited his
client's cell at the Houston street
jail this morning. Capt. Woods
remarked as he saluted the condemned
man
who was sitting on the
farthest side of the cell:
"Well, Smith, the court of
appeals have affirmed you case."
"Yes, I have been expecting that
for some time," and after a pause
during which he rather pleasantly
smiled he added, "When will the day be
set?"
"It will be several days before
the mandate gets here and then after
the sentence is passed upon you it
will be at least thirty days until the
day set by the court comes around,"
responded the attorney.
"Oh, well, but I don't see why
they should be so long about it, but
let's see," he added laughingly, as he
counted away on
his fingers, "that will throw
into warm weather which will be
nicer."
Capt. Woods volunteered the
statement that he will endeavor not to
have the execution come off the same
day with Massey, and Smith responded :
"That hole out there isn't hardly
large enough to drop more than one
through."
He stated that he didn't care to
see a preacher and that he had a
Bible, but would like to have some
magazines to read. He said he
had read so many novels he was sick of
them.
Galveston Daily News
May 1, 1892
TOUCHED BY RELIGION
Sherman, Tex. - George Smith, who
is in a cell at Houston Street jail
waiting for the day to be set for his
execution for the murder of Town
Marshall Isbell of Bell, and who has
all along maintained indifference when
approached upon spiritual matters,
to-day courteously received Rev. J.A.
Ivey, pastor of the Second Baptist
church, who had quite a consultation
with the condemned man.
After a fervent prayer, as the
minister was preparing to leave, Smith
asked him to come again, saying : "I
believe you are really interested in
me and did not come just out of
curiosity, as so many have done."
Galveston Daily News
May 11, 1892
DEATH SENTENCE PASSED ON GEORGE
SMITH
Massey's whereabouts.
Sherman, Tex, May 20 - A young
man named Dobins was taken to Denison
from the northwestern portion of this
county
this morning and then turned over
to a deputy sheriff, who brought him
in and placed him in jail. He is
charged with criminal assault.
To-day Sheriff McAfee entered the
district courtroom and just behind him
came a clanking of shackles and the
thin form of George Smith, while in
his rear came Warden McKinney.
The prisoner entered the dock, where
Smith sat down and by his side,
faithful to the very last, was his
appointed counsel. The court
said :
"Before proceeding in the case of
the state of Texas against George
Smith, I deem it well to speak of
another case lately tried in this
court. I refer to the case of
the state of Texas against Sam
Massey. Since his trial and
within the last few days
it has come to my knowledge that
Sam desired to appeal his case.
This is a privilege I would not refuse
any prisoner, and I have ordered the
sheriff to remove the prisoner beyond
the jurisdiction of this county, and
this he has already done."
The courtroom was still as a
tomb, but faces that looked stern at
Smith now looked with compassion
perhaps it was a comparison of the two
crimes. Smith had killed an
able-bodied man, but Massey most
brutally assaulted, endeavored to
murder a family and tried to burn the
house with the occupants, every one of
whom he had left in an insensible
condition.
The court motioned for Smith to
stand up. He did so and every
eye was upon a pale face nearly
covered with a growth of dark
whiskers. The court said:
"George Smith, some time since a
grand jury of Grayson County, Tex.,
found a bill of indictment, charging
you with the murder of John [should be
James] Isbell, in this county.
You were given a trial before a petit
jury and by them found guilty
of murder in the first degree and
the punishment assessed at
death. A motion for a new trial
was presented and after a hearing
overruled. The case was appealed
to the highest tribunal in Texas and
by them affirmed. Is there any
reason why the sentence of the court
should not be passed upon you?"
The prisoner looked at the court
squarely in the face and answered,
"No, sir."
"It is then my duty to remand you
to the custody of the sheriff, to be
by him held until Friday, the 8th of
July, when within
the hours prescribed by law you
shall be hanged by the neck until
dead."
There was a clanking of chains, a
rattling of shackles, and George Smith
went back to jail to drag out the six
weeks of life
left to him.
It is understood that Massey is
now in the Dallas county jail, where
he was taken last Tuesday.
Galveston Daily News
May 22, 1892
SEEKING TO SAVE SMITH
Sherman, Tex. May 21 - A petition
for the commutation of the sentence of
George Smith to life imprisonment is
still being circulated, but a counter
petition protesting against any change
from the verdict of the jury, signed
by nearly everybody in Bells and
vicinity, was presented to the
governor as he passed through Bells a
view days since. It is also
stated that the governor was shown the
room in which the killing took
place. His excellency, of
course, said neither yea nor nay...
George Smith, who is to hang July
8, is still cheerful.
Galveston Daily News
May 23, 1892
HIS LAST NIGHT
George Smith Departs To-Day
Sherman, Tex, July 7 - George
Smith entered upon his last night on
earth with all the calm exterior that
he has evinced since the very
beginning. He has talked but
little of himself. He has
selected a dark suit. The trap
will be sprung at 2:30 to-morrow
evening.
Galveston Daily News
July 8, 1892
"THIS IS PRETTY TIGHT."
SUCH WERE GEORGE SMITH WORDS AS THE
TRAP FELL
Grayson County's First Legal
Execution in Thirteen Years - He
Killed a City Marshal
Sherman, Tex, July 8 - It has
been over thirteen years since a man
suffered the death penalty in Grayson
County, the last being ------ Toettle,
who killed Julius Brennan in Denison.
George Smith, the condemned man,
was standing with his hands placed
against the cell grating gazing out
the east window yesterday when the sun
went down. Silently he stood and
gazed till the tints and reflections
in the clouds began to dim and the
shadows of evening crept into the
cell. With a deep drawn sigh he
turned, paced two or three times
across the iron floor and then sat
down.
For just a few moments he bowed
his head once in his hands, and then
arising he began chatting pleasantly
with the death watch and his fellow
cell mate, Henry Garbalt.
He was the same stout hearted
George Smith again. He has
talked a great deal about the
preliminaries of the execution.
He desired of Watchman Reidnoir
to know why it was necessary to place
a black cap over his head and if this
was to prevent his seeing the
execution. He was told that
sometimes the face of those who were
executed would become distorted and
that it was not desired to have
anything more than necessarily
unpleasant attending the
execution. He replied that this
was certainly right.
He wanted to know why he would be
executed in his stocking feet and
rather laughingly remarked that he
supposed they would have let him die
with his boots on. He ate supper
with apparent relish at the usual
prison hour.
He had several little delicacies
furnished him and was very
appreciative of the.....It has been
his custom to talk to the death watch
until 10 or 11 o'clock in the evening
and last night was no exception and
the general drift of his conversation
did not majorially differ from what is
has been all along.
Once in a while he simply
remarked: "This is my last night
here." This he said without the
least signs of weakness.
At 11 o'clock he bade the watch
good night and went to sleep.
His rest was practically unbroken and
the watchman in the after part of the
night noticed nothing unusual in the
actions of the prisoner. He
arose at 7 o'clock, or perhaps a
little earlier, this morning. He
saluted his fellow prisoners very
pleasantly and passed a cheerful
"Good morning" to the watchman
outside. He ate the regular
breakfast and was favored again with
quite a number of little delicacies.
At 8:30 he was shaved and very
soon after received his attorney,
Captain J.D. Woods, who inquired if
there was any word
or message he desired to send to
any one. To this he made his
stereotyped reply : "There is
nothing that I wish to say; it would
do no one any good."
A cigar was offered him this
morning, but Smith remarked that was a
habit he had never indulged in,
accepted the preferred weed, but
handed it to Garbalt, his cell
mate. Several times he has asked
if he would be allowed to see his
coffin. This morning when Dr.
E.H. Winn, the prison physician,
called Smith's face lighted up in
expectancy. He began a careful
and detailed inquiry of the sensation
experienced by a man undergoing
execution by hanging. He desired
to know the length
of time required for death to
ensue or if unconsciousness came
before death.
He seemed gratified at the
explanation of the physician that
death was practically painless, and
said he had heard so. With the
assistance of Garbalt at 9 a.m. he
began to dress himself.
The suit, which is of his own
selection, is of dark blue. It
was thought for awhile that he would
select a soft flannel shirt, but
a white shirt with a turndown
collar was finally selected.
When at 10 o'clock he was fully
attired George Smith was decidedly a
handsome man.
At 2:08 p.m. Drs. Winn and King
were admitted and injected one-fourth
of a grain of morphine into his
arm. At 2:18 the sheriff,
accompanied by the newspaper men
present, went to the cell, and there
the death warrant was read.
When the Sheriff had finished and
turned away Smith took one or two
strides across his cell and taking his
handkerchief, wiped the perspiration
from his brow. It was 2:23 when
the iron door of the cell was swung
open and Smith with a firm step came
out and walked with the sheriff to the
iron trap. Of all the crowd
there is little doubt that he was as
cool and collected as any man
there. He stepped upon the door,
and at the request of Sheriff McAfee,
turned his face to the east. He
said nothing, but looked around and
scanned the crowd. He was still
cool, and as the deputies were
pinioning his legs, he looked at them
intently. When they began to tie
his arms he remarked:
"Wouldn't you just as soon tie
them in front of me?"
When told that they would have to
be tied behind him, he said, "All
right," and requested that they be
more securely pinioned, which was
granted. His limbs having been
tied the prisoner straightened up and
as the black cap was being placed on
his head he looked at Rev. Gibbs, who
stood near him, and said, "Good bye,
Mr. Gibb." Then the black mask
came down and George Smith had looked
for the last time on earth.
When the cap was being adjusted
he said, "A fellow can't breathe much
in this," and his last words were :
"That is pretty tight," as the...was
drawn by the sheriff.
At 2:23 the trap was sprung, and
the body shot with rapidity through
the open door. The rope tightened up
and gave the body a swing, but not a
muscle quivered in all the suspended
body. There were none of the
terrible twisting and writings which
usually sicken spectators.
For thirteen minutes there were
evidences of pulse beating. In
fifteen minutes he was pronounced dead
by his prison physician and his
assistants. His body was
immediately cut down and placed on an
iron cot brought in from the hospital
department. His neck was
found by the physicians to have been
broken and Dr. Winn said to the
reporter: "He suffered no pain in
dying."
In a few minutes the body was
placed in a nice coffin, provided by a
public subscription, and was turned
over to some of his old friends and
neighbors in Choctaw, where it will be
taken for burial. There was not
a single event of any annoying nature
in the whole execution, which was very
successful.
In January, 1891, Smith killed
City Marshall Isbell of Bells while
trying to hold up a whole store.
Galveston Daily News
July 9, 1891
WOULD NOT DISGRACE HIS FAMILY
Sherman, Tex. July 9 - The
remains of George Smith were buried at
Choctaw to-day. Mrs. Wright, the
lady who constantly visited him during
his incarceration awaiting execution,
says she has good reason to believe
that he was not from Michigan, but
came from a good family, having run
away from home when he was quite
young. It was because he did not
desire to have his family disgraced
that he did not let his true identity
be known. She does not think his
name was George Smith.
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