LENOIR COUNTY, NC - Court Records - John Tillghman for murder of Joseph Tillghman ================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed by Sue Guptill, August 2000. ================================================================= [Lenoir County trial moved to Craven Co.: October term, 1850: Trial of John Tillghman for murder. Case was moved to Craven Co. for trial. Tillghman was originally found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. No details of the case were given. He then asked for a new trial, which was denied. He then appealed to the Supreme Court, which was allowed. The following is a case for the appeal. Indictment against John Tillghman for murder of Joseph Tillghman. Bill was found by Lenoir Co Grand Jury at Fall term this year and was removed to Craven Co. Witness 1 was Joseph Willson, a laborer living with Joseph Tillghman. He testified that on 15 August 1850 he talked to the deceased at the hog pen, then left to do other work. A few minutes later he heard a shot and saw Tillghman walking rapidly and staggering slightly toward his house. Soon after he heard an alarm at the house and ran to the house, where he found Tillghman sitting in a chair, bleeding profusely, with his wife trying to stop the bleeding. There was a wound on each side of his head and over his right eye. Willson ran to Kinston (about 7 miles) to get a doctor. When he returned, Tillghman was dead. That afternoon he found a wallet that he knew was Tillghmans by the hog pen and a puddle of blood 25-30 steps away. Willson also was prepared to testify that Tillghman had named John Tillghman as the perpetrator, but this was objected to unless certain conditions were met. Witness 2 was Dr. Woodley, who stated he went to see the deceased at Wilsons request, and found him dead. Then goes on to describe the wounds in detailappeared to be gunshot wounds, although no ball found. Witness 3 was Mrs. Susan Tillghman, widow of the deceased. She testified that she was home when he returned, wounded and bleeding. He said to the witness I will leave you a widdow before tomorrow morningthen she and deceased had some talk about disposition of his property after his death Then they decided that if she could stop the bleeding he might recover. She did stop the bleeding and told him she thought he would recover and yet live longer than she would,, and he replied save me if you can. The witness thought he believed he would recover, but this testimony was was not allowed. This witness also said the last words she heard the deceased say were Save me Wilson if you canthat the appeal was made to Wilson Tilghman his brother who was present. She also said that the deceased was sometimes rational and sometimes foolish during this time. Witness 4 was Wilson Tilghman,, brother of deceased and father of accused. He did not think that deceased thought he was dying. He did hear deceased say, Save me Wilson if you can. He agreed that the deceased was sometimes intelligible and sometimes foolish in his speech at the time. Witness 5 was again Joseph Willson, who testified that when he first reached the house after Tillghman was wounded that he asked Tillghman who did it, and Tillghman said that John Tillghman did. Witness 6 was William Wingate, who also went to the house, along with Wilson Tillghman. Said that Wilson Tillghman asked the deceased how it happened, and he tried to answer, but could not speak clearly enough to be understood. Then he said that Wilson Tillghman told him what John Tillghman said happened, and Joseph Tillghman said 'Not so Wilson' John met me in the road and told me he had come on purpose to kill me. Wingate also said he saw the prisoner on the same afternoon at Council Wootens, lying on the piazza, bleeding. Saw a knife that had been found in the road with blood on it. In reply to a question asked by the Prisoners Counsel, this witness said he had told one Garby, that he would for one hundred and fifty dollars leave the country and not appear as a witness against the prisoner. (This was in response to an offer by Garby on behalf of Wilson Tillghman, who did not want Wingates testimony to hang his son). Witness 7 was again Dr. Woodley, who had also attended the prisoner for his wound, which was a ruptured artery in his hand. Said the prisoner would have died without medical assistance. Witness 8 was Council Wooten, who said he heard the gunshot and within 5 minutes the prisoner came to his door with his rifle in his hand and bleeding profusely from his right hand. Wooten called Wilson Tillghman, who went with Wingate and another to look at the blood in the road. Witness 9 was Carrol Jackson, who said that in July he was at the deceaseds house when a controversy arose between two little girls about a brooch of cotton. The prisoner interposed some remarks, when the deceased seemed to get angry with the prisoner and threatened to kill him. The prisoner then took down his rifle wiped it out and loaded it, and told the deceased to take his double barell gun and go out with him and take a fair fight with thee weapons; to which the deceased replied that the prisoner might go where he pleased, but he (the deceased) would not go with him. Witness 10 was W. King, who had seen the deceased earlier in the day, and he had no evidence of wounds. Witness 11 was Cox, who said that on the Sunday before the shooting on Thursday the deceased said the prisoner had abused him in his own house and if he did not minde he (the deceased) would kill himthat he had a great minde to kill him anyhow Witness 12 was again Susan Tillghman, who confirmed the story of the argument in July, and described further arguments that seemed to be over a financial scheme that the deceased had to get money from his father, the prisoners grandfather, and that the prisoner was threatening to tell about. The deceased several times said he would kill the prisoner before he could tell it, and had once left his house with his gun concealed. Witness also identified the knife was the deceased. Witness 13 was again Wilson Tillghman, who mostly confirmed everything said that involved him. After that there was a charge to the jury regarding definitions of murder, manslaughter, self-defense. The appeal was based on arguments about the evidence and a charge that there might have been irregularities with the jury not being fully sequestered. This was disallowed and the original verdict of guilty with a sentence of hanging was upheld.