Deranged Justice: The Law & Lunacy of Bartow Grover Nix

Deranged Justice:

The Law and Lunacy of Bartow Grover Nix

Jeffrey A. Nix

Copyright © 2016 Jeffrey A. Nix

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ISBN: 978-137096-341-6

Book cover artwork layout copyright Daniel A. Willis using image designed by the author

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Joy and Tumult

2. Nix vs. Edwards

3. The Blood Soaked Harvest

4. Aftermath, Exodus and Arrest

5. State vs. Bartow Nix: The John Edwards Case

Second Day: Wednesday, November 25, 1903

Judgment Day: Thursday, November 26, 1903

Motion for New Trial Denied

6. The Penitentiary of Flowers

Pardon Me?

7. Exploiting the Bootlegger Myth

8. The Mobs Rule

9. A Hasty Exit

10. Safely in Macon

December 23rd: Good Morning

December 24th and 25th: Joyful Noises (?)

11. Enter 1918

12. Divide and Try

Hub Odom Testifies

Mrs. Alexander Testifies

Joe Ellison Testifies

Will Howard Testifies

John F. Whitten Testifies

Doctor Forest L. Cosby Testifies

John O. Clements Testifies

Henry L Clifton Testifies

John O. Clements Recalled

Thomas J. McCommons, Jailer Testifies

Alexander F. Copeland Testifies

The Last State Witness: James A. Beard

Defense Strategy: Statement by Defendant

Charging, the Verdict and Sentencing

The Appeal for Retrial

13. A Word About Albert Nix

14. Enter Laura Jean Libbey

15. Georgia Supreme Court Rules

Defendant Resentenced

16. The Last Minute Shuffle for Clemency

17. Clamoring for a Hanging

18. Hang Him, Already!

19. November 7th, 1919-The Last Day

Aftermath

Afterword

Appendix I: Residents Petition for Pardon of Bartow Nix: 1906-1907

Appendix II: List of Newspaper Articles

About The Author

Acknowledgements

The process of writing this manuscript has been long and meticulous, joyful and sad, intriguing and mundane, and at times, expensive. However, this work would never have been published, were it not for many wonderful people and organizations that have assisted me with their support, advice & encouragement. Thank you all for your contributions:

Augusta-Richmond County Public Library, Augusta, Georgia

Bobby G. Peters, Columbus, Georgia

Brenda Nix Laminack

Carol Wade, Columbus, Georgia

Cindy Speer, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Columbus Public Library: Genealogy Department, Columbus, Georgia

David J. Davis, Macon, Georgia

Dimon Kendrick-Holmes, Columbus LedgerEnquirer, Columbus, Georgia

Diane M. Rogers, Columbus, Georgia

Don Evans, Morrow, Georgia

Georgia State Archives, Morrow, Georgia

Historic Columbus Foundation, Columbus, Georgia

Jack Enright, Leo Frank Online Library

Jack T. Brinkley Jr., Columbus, Georgia

Jeanette Smith

John & Kemis Massey, Columbus, Georgia

Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia

Myra Yeatman, Knoxville, Tennessee

Richard E. Jones, Smiths, Alabama

Ruth Nix Pruett, Gainesville, Texas

Sidney Massey, Florida

Washington Memorial Library: Genealogical & Research Room, Macon, Georgia

William Hardegree, Columbus, Georgia

Bartow Grover Nix. Photograph from the collection of Brenda Nix Laminack.

Introduction

There has been a cornucopia of silence concerning Bartow Grover Nix, the black sheep in our family tree. Mere mention of his name would reward the person speaking it with the look, an instant indicator to the inquisitor to immediately drop the subject. I first heard about him years ago, when my father and I drove by the city jail one day, he pointed to it and said: …that’s where your great uncle Bartow was hung for stealing horses.

We both chuckled. It seems there’s one bad apple in every family; one of those relatives you would prefer would just go away…far away! I could feel that something was different about this one. The nicest put-off comment I received regarding the subject of Bartow was delivered sharply by one aunt: …we don’t talk about him! Yet another relative advised me to never again bring up the subject.

Yes, this one was definitely different!

Fast-forward about twenty years; when I began my odyssey into genealogy. Little did I know at the time that I was to become intrigued and mystified; excited then horrified at some of the details that I would uncover. Why horrified? To my shock, while researching a microfilmed edition of the Columbus Ledger in the library one day, I stumbled across the headline Nix Pays The Death Penalty For Double Murder.

I sat transfixed as the article seared into my brain, digesting the fact that Bartow wasn’t punished for being a horse thief; it was for the 1917 killings of Charles Leslie Les Alexander and Jesse A. Everidge. To make matters worse (as if they could get any worse), the latter victim was the brother of a City Alderman, James Benjamin J.B. Everidge. Moreover, Bartow had previously been convicted of the 1903 killing of John T. Edwards (he also fatally shot Edward’s son William Jefferson).

So why drag this out for the public to once again talk about; to whisper quietly about the heathen family that bred such a monster? The answer is two-fold: first, the whole family has lived within the shadow of great shame over Bartow and the crimes for which he was tried, sentenced, and ultimately put to death; secondly, it’s an attempt to debunk the misinformation that is currently circulating on the web and elsewhere.

Some of the events depicted in this manuscript have been carefully reconstructed from trial transcripts and news reports—there’s just some detail that sadly, will remain forever lost in the mists of time. With this in mind, I have done my best to be as factual as I can while reconstructing these events. So, let’s now take a look into the law and lunacy of Bartow Grover Nix.

Chapter One: Joy and Tumult

It was on August 5, 1885 that Bartow was born in Muscogee County—in a plantation style home located six and one half miles along Buena Vista Road outside of the Columbus, Georgia city limits. He was last of ten surviving children born to William Anderson and Miriam Myra Elizabeth (Holliday) Nix—the couple produced fourteen children total; four males of the family passed within a twenty year period. These were Berry Willis, who died one month shy of his second birthday in February 1872; Bruster Horace, born in 1887, died as a result of pneumonia three months later and just prior to a tragic fire that destroyed the family home and possessions on March 14, 1888 . Lastly, a set of twins were stillborn in February 1889.

Modern conveniences were non-existent in this part of the county; electric power had only recently come to downtown Columbus, with street lights in 1887; a cotton mill, Muscogee No. 3, was the first in Georgia to get electricity in February, 1898; and a new power company was still years away. The only sources of water on the property were a nearby stream and a well.

According to one source, Bartow or Bo or Louie, as he was interchangeably known, was a slightly built youth with brown eyes (his World War I draft registration card lists his eye color as grey) and chestnut brown hair. He attended school, according to the 1900 Federal Census of Muscogee County. In his spare time, he assisted his father William and older brothers John Wilbur (known hereafter as Wilbur), Edgar Carrow and Rufus Alfred on the farm. They planted and harvested typical crops; corn, oats, wheat, peas, and watermelon.

Bartow’s father purchased and sold several parcels of land in his lifetime; of all the real estate he purchased, the transactions described here are the ones that were the most costly—in terms of confusion and human suffering. On November 3, 1888, he purchased seventeen and one-half (17 1/2) acres of land, specifically described as Lot 12, 8th District from Neal P. and Julius R. Martin. William paid $65.00 for this land . This land adjoined the parcels listed below. William erected a fence around it and planted and harvested crops on this ground, undisturbed until March, 1901.

Next, he purchased a 120 acre parcel; the northeast corner of the west half of lot Number 20, District Number 9, being a part of what was formerly known as the old Martin place. The first transaction shown is a deed from George P. Johnson to William A. Nix and Edgar C. Nix, dated August 29, 1900 .

The next transaction on this piece of land is noted in the city court of Columbus on October 2, 1900 judgment was obtained by George P. Johnson against William A. and Edgar C. Nix . Sheriff Roberts levied upon the land to satisfy this judgment, and the land was sold by the sheriff and bought by George P. Johnson, who received a deed to it October 8, 1900. Johnson then sold that same 120 acres to John T. Edwards on November 7, 1900.

Jonathan Taylor Edwards, a farmer, and his wife Josephine, with their children …lived somewhere nearly a mile and a quarter a mile and a half…across two lots of land from the Nix family. Some acquaintances of Edwards felt he was strong-willed, and could be considered bordering on overbearing at times, while others thought he was no more so than any other man.

Coincidentally, the Edwards home burned on September 15, 1891. The only possessions saved were a couple of pieces of furniture. The fire caused $2,000 worth of damages—roughly $52,000 in today’s money.

It was early springtime, Monday, March 18 1901; winter had not quite released its grip on the Chattahoochee Valley. The early mornings in the Bozeman’s District of Muscogee County were still chilled with the dew and overnight air—but things were about to get heated up in a way no one could’ve imagined.

The Nix household awoke on this morning to find neighbor John Edwards hauling off some fence rails from their land. A short time later, as Bartow and Wilbur were out inspecting the damage, Edwards reappeared with his wagon, chased the two of them off the land, and then ripped down some more rails. Shortly after this, the two boys were again chased off by Edwards, this time with some pointedly choice words—some say, bordering on threats. Over the next few days, he posted no trespassing signs around the property and began sowing oats alongside of the wheat that was previously planted there.

Apparently, the patriarchs of each clan had some words between them at that point. What was said is unknown; William subsequently sought legal counsel and filed declaration for a suit for trespass against John T. Edwards on the 22nd day of April, 1901.

A war over the land and oats had just begun; and a tragedy loomed just over the horizon.

Chapter Two: Nix vs. Edwards

William Nix and John Edwards agreed to bring in surveyors to confirm their respective property boundaries. After careful measurements and calculations by the survey team, they presented their findings to the feuding men. At that point, Edwards allegedly admitted that the disputed land was indeed part of the land previously owned by Jules Martin .

Whatever understanding the two men had soon dissolved; the back and forth between them went on for over a year, each having some choice words to communicate to the other, both directly and through third parties. One afternoon about sundown, midway through the growing season, Edwards was returning home from town in his buggy. Along the way he spotted Charlie Borders, a neighbor who lived about a mile from the Edwards’ home. Edwards pulled up alongside him and stopped. According to Border’s courtroom testimony, the following conversation took place:

Edwards: Well, how are you getting along?

Borders: All-right, how are you?

Edwards: I am getting along all right now. I would like to get you to cut those oats for me when they get ripe.

Borders: I can't do it, Mr. Edwards. I have not lost anything over there and I am not going over there to find anything. You all are in a dispute about that land and I can't go over there and cut them.

Edwards: I will pay you to cut them.

Borders: I don’t doubt that, you have always paid me for what I’ve done for you.

Edwards: You cut oats for me once before and gave me such good satisfaction, I want you to cut them for me.

Borders: I can’t do it.

He then described how John Edwards reached in his vest pocket and pulled out a paper sack containing some buckshot. He said: You see these, don't you? I am going to cut them oats, kill or be killed; and if a cradle (another name for scythe) can't cut them, buckshot can ! With that, Edwards continued his trek home, leaving Charlie Borders behind in stunned silence.

Late summer turned to fall, then to winter. A second trespass case was filed January 1, 1903 in Muscogee County, Georgia Superior Court. While the two parties waited for the first trial, both got busy preparing for another season of working the land.

The original trespass case filed in April finally went before the judge on January 29th, 1903, taking up the entire day. The jury came back shortly before 6:00 p.m., finding in favor of plaintiff William Nix, awarding him $5 in damages—roughly equivalent to about $135 in today’s money. The one issue this civil suit did not resolve was ownership of the land; both parties still claimed possession. The tension between the two families continued to mount.

It was two or three days after this that John Edwards went to the court house to see John Reid, a deputy sheriff of Muscogee County, to collect some money for wood he had bought from him. Reid said: I see the Nix case went against you. Edwards responded: Yes, but I’ll be damned if I ain’t going to cut them oats, if I have to wade up to my waist in blood, kill or be killed!

A couple of months went by; one day William was in town on business. At some point he grew thirsty and decided to head to Charles H. Bize’s bar inside the Springer Brothers Hotel near the corner of First Avenue and Tenth Street. Edwards approached and stopped a short distance away and called to him.

Edwards: Nix

Nix: What?

Edwards: What are you going to do with that wheat in the field where I sowed them oats?

Nix: I am going to cut them; and I am going to cut the oats too. They belong to me, they are on my land. I am going to…plant the land down in corn and peas.

Edwards: That's exactly what I want to do myself.

Nix: I ask you very kindly to stay out of there, that's my land, so decided in the courts!

William would later say about that encounter that it …vexed me very much. He talked about the encounter with the entire family. …he isn’t going to do that, surely he has got better sense, he thought to himself.

John Edwards went home and later had a conversation with his boarder/helper, Jacob P. Sid Daganhardt, who lived with the Edwards family from February to late May, 1903. Edwards brought up the subject of the land, and the fact he had seen Old Man Nix in town that day—Edwards finally looked at his tenant, slapped him on the knee and said: Daganhardt, one or the other of us will be buried when these oats are cut.

Those words would prove to be prophetic.

Chapter Three: The Blood Soaked Harvest

On Tuesday June 2 through Thursday June 4, 1903, William Nix, assisted by Bartow, Wilbur and a hired hand, cut oats and wheat on the land. While the hired help and Wilbur took turns with the cradle, William tied up bundles and stacked them in the wagon. When the wagon neared capacity, Wilbur handed the cradle to the hired hand and carted the harvest home. Bartow was plowing. The team had cut and hauled off about two acres; as it neared sundown, Joseph Wilcox, an acquaintance of William’s stopped by and assisted the group in hauling a load. The two men spoke to each other about a horse swap they had previously arranged. Wilcox stayed a few minutes then left for home. Along the way, he ran into Edwards; he told him that he had been to the Nix house to see the old man. Edwards gave him a hard look and said:

What in the hell was you doing over yonder in my oat field?

Wilcox: I did not know that I was in your oat field. I thought I was in Mr. Nix's oat field, and I went over there to swap horses with him.

Edwards: Them are my oats and I am going to cut them…

The evening gave way to Friday morning. The whole day slipped by uneventfully, other than the elder Nix and Edwards passing each other on the street in stony silence.

Saturday morning around 6:30, John and Jeff Edwards were on the land cutting oats. They had been there for about three quarters of an hour when sixteen year old Tim Edwards and Henry and Sam Warner went to the field to