By STEPHEN MORROW
CLEVELAND (UPI)—One of the murder weapons used in the killing of Unied Mine
Workers official Joseph A. "Jock" Yablonski and two of his family may once have
been the property of a Tennessee sheriff. Sheriff Rose Kitts of Campbell
County, Tenn., said he sold the weapon, a nickel-plated, pearlhandled Smith
& Wesson revolver, to a Dr. Lee J. Seargent of Knoxville in 1952. The
pistol was stolen from the doctor within the last year. "I'm not supposed to say
anything, but there's a good chance the weapon is the same one," the sheriff
said in Jacksboro, county seat of Campbell County. Jacksboro is about five
miles from La Follette, Tenn., home of Silius "Sol" Huddleston, father-in-law of
Paul Gilly. Gilly is one of three men indicted Thursday in the killing of
Yablonski, shot to death with his wife and their daughter in their
Clarksville, Pa., home, Dec. 31. The pistol was fished out of the Monongahela
River by Navy scuba divers along with an Ml carbine. Both are undergoing
tests by the FBI. According to reports from the scene, Yablonski was shot five
times with 38 caliber revolver bullets. His wife was shot twice and his daughter
twice, also with .38 caliber bullets. Huddleston and two other men from the
La Follette area are staying in Cleveland over the weekend, preparatory
lo resuming their secret testimony before the grand jury. Huddleston, who
served a prison term for robbery between 1946 and 1949, according to Sheriff
Kitts, is a former organizer for District 19 of the UMW, which includes Harlan
County, Ky., and Tennessee. One of his two companions, registered with him in
a triple room at a downtown hotel, is Guy Windle, 36, recording secretary of
the local that includes La Follette. The other man jn the party, as yet
unidentified, also is reported to be a UMW member from the La Follette area. The
group continued to refuse to answer questions. Valley Independent,
Monessen, Penn.; January 31, 1970
INMATES OF THE TENNESSEE STATE PENITENTIARY 1831 -
1850
LAST NAME FIRST NAME CRIME COUNTY AGE
Burress E.M.D. felinous [sic] assault Campbell
28
Cadle Jason larceny Claiborne 43
Chavis Jesse petit larceny Campbell 35
Coleman Oscar S. felony Anderson 37
Collins Owen assault with intent
to kill Claiborne 45
Day Lewis manslaughter Claiborne 35
Dean John A. petit larceny Campbell 27
Delk John hog stealing Campbell 40
Dunavan Ephraim larceny Anderson 25
Ellison Thomas murder Claiborne 51
Ely Thos. horse stealing Claiborne 29
Foust Daniel house burning Anderson 55
Kesterson Hazard petit larceny Anderson 52
Kirk Elvin malicious stabbing Anderson 24
Kirk Elvin robbery Anderson 35
Knight John counterfeiting Anderson 24
Herrill Zachariah felony [sic] Claibourne[sic]
40
Hughs Hiram grand larceny Claiborn[e] 33
Langston George R. petit larceny Anderson
27
Leath Addison stabbing Anderson 25
Massey Ransom larceny Anderson 24
McNeely William petit larceny Campbell 30
Qualls John malicious stabbing Anderson 23
Shelton James petit larceny Anderson 22
Smith David grand larceny Campbell 36
Smith Warren p[etit] larceny Anderson 18
Smith William R. counterfeiting Anderson 35
Sparks William petit larceny Anderson 33
Walker Robert larceny Campbell 18
Peck Alexander petit larceny Claiborne 37
Phillips Culverson petit larceny Claiborne 21
Stewart Lewis larceny Claiborne 26
These names are taken from
Tennessee State Library and Archives
FRITTS Sentenced to Life Terms
Knoxville, Tenn - Nov. 25 Henry Fritts and Robert
Hughes were sentenced at Wartburg, Tenn., today to serve terms of life
imprisonment for the murder of George Edmonds at Oliver Springs last
spring. Both men will be brought to Knoxville for safe
keeping pending an appeal to the Supreme court.
Source: Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta,
GA, November 26, 1904
Submitted By Angela Meadows
MURDERER CAPTURED
Marshal Secrest of Pleasnt City, Earns a Reward of
$50 By Capturing a Man there Wanted in Jellico, Tenn. for Murder
Marshal "Jack" Secrest, of Pleasant City, arrested
John Breeden, alias John Stanley, under indictment for the murder of a negro in
Campbell county, Tenn., and wired the authorities of that county. S. A. Kearney
and Chas. Gurley, of Jellico, Tenn., deputy sheriffs of Cambpell county, arrived
on the scene Tuesday and fully identified the suspect, when Mayor Garber,
Marshal Secrest and said deputies brought him to Cambridge jail last
night. The reward was deposited with Postmaster Stranathan of Pleasant
City. An interview Wednesday resulted in the prisoner consenting to return
without requisition papers, and the reward being turned over to Marshal Secrest,
the officers took their departure with the prisoner. Mrs. Breeden came up
from Pleasant City and saw her husband before he left for the
south.
Source: Cambridge Jeffersonian, Cambridge,
Ohio, June 18, 1903
Submitted By Angela Meadows
Submitted By Angela Meadows
John Willis and Andy Beshears were lynched by a
mob in Campbell co., Tenn., for criminally assaulting Mrs. William
Dilks.
Source: Stevens Point Journal, Stevens Point,
Wisconsin, Aug 6, 1892
Youth Who Gave Himself Up To Sheriff Is Taken Back To
Lafollette. John Shepherd, Tennessee youth who voluntarily gave himself up to
Sheriff G. R. Rhyne last Thursday, was taken back to Lafollette, Tenn Sunday by
a deputy sheriff and C. C. Reynolds, owner of the car the prisoner stole some
months ago. The young man came to the sheriff and said that he was out of a
job, hungry, and hurt by his conscience. He told a story of how he had
stolen the car in LaFollette and had been chased by bloodhounds over a good
portion of that country. He said he drove the car to Kingsport where he
sold it, then came over to North Carolina. He wandered around several towns and
cities before he came to Gastonia and it was here that he decided to give
himself up and take what was coming to him. The police of Lafollette were
informed and they sent the two men after the erring one.
Source: Gastonia Daily Gazette, Gastonia, North Carolina, Dec.
12, 1927
Submitted By Angela
Meadows
Midkaff Of Middlesboro Accused Of Shooting Irwin of
Lafollette S. M. Lay Of Lafollette Also In Fray. Emerson Irwin of LaFollette
was seriously wounded at 4 o'clock this morning at the Pinnacle Hotel in
Cumberland Gap, when he was shot at the end of a strip .poker game. He is
alleged to have been shot by E. H. Midkaff of Middlesboro. Others
connected with with the trouble are said to be Walker 'Brown and S. M. Lay,
night chief of police of LaFollette. The party is said to have gambled all night
and Midkiff lost all his money and clothes. Midkaff left after the game
but is said to have returned and ordered the others to return his money.
He took a 38-special off Lay. When Irwin started to run Midkaff is said to have
shot him. At the trial this afternoon before Squire Brooks, Midkaff denied
having fired shots at Irwin. Midkaff was bound over to court. His bond will be
set late this afternoon. Irwin was taken to a hospital in Knoxville. His
condition is very serious, reports say. Lay was also held for carrying concealed
weapons. He said he was looking for transported liquor. Yesterday Lay was
arrested in Middlesboro for disturbing the pence at the Hotel Cumberland.
The Kingsport Times, Kingsport, TN, 23 Aug 1921 Two
Jellico Officers Killed In The Line Of Duty Jellico. ---
Deputy Sheriffs P.C. McDonald and Andy Wortham were killed late Monday six miles
from here on the Lafollette road when, it is alleged, they attempted to arrest
Fred Jones and Virgil Renfro. Jones and Renfro, with two women, according
to authorities, had been on the road all day, shooting at passing
automobiles. Jones and Renfro were arrested later by Harvey
Earp, a citizen, and are now lodged in the Jellico jail.
Excitement here is running high, and mob violence is feared.
Alleged
Murders Removed To Safety Jellico, Tenn. -- Fred Jones and
Virgil Reno (sic), charged with the killing of C.P. McDonald and Andy Wortham,
deputy sheriffs, last night near here, were taken to Jacksboro, Tenn., for
safekeeping today, after threats of lynching had been made last night by a crowd
which gathered at the Jellico jail. The deputies who were killed had attempted
to arrest the two men and two women on a charge of disturbing the
peace.
