Edward "Ned" Tilley : A "Bad Man" of "Desperate Character"?

In a facebook genealogy group, someone posted a link to the Chronicling America Newspaper Archive online from the National Archives. (I totally forgot about the site, as searching newspapers online had previously yielded little for me on other searches... )... I decided to see if I could find out more about Edward Tilley's murder case & I hit the jackpot!

This is concerning the murder of Joe Mcgee, the case that Ned was sentenced to life for.

Rolla Express, Feb. 8th, 1873

So from this I learned that the murder occurred during a drunken quarrel at a dance, both Ned and Ed had already been in the penitentiary, and according to this Ed Bryant did the stabbing while Ned was his assistant. I wonder why Ed Bryant was released and given a lighter sentence if this was the case? Hmmmm... I also learned that they were some "desperate characters" which I can only assume meant thugs, bad men, dangerous. After all it says "armed to the teeth -carbines and revolvers, " and they had the guts to run.

But wait there's more....

The State Journal, Aug. 4, 1876

State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, Mo

(Its not as clear so I'll transcribe it:)

A Convict On A Rampage - Makes a desperate Assault on a Guard

    Tilley is the name of a negro convict, sent up from Green County, for life, for killing a man.
He is regarded as a bad man-one that will bear constant watching. Yesterday it became rumored that he has a knife in his possession, and John Wiley, his guard questioned him about it. He was at work at the time- in the stone-shed. He denied having the knife about his person, but had it concealed somewhere in the prison. He said he had use for it.That he had given on of the prisoners, whom he named, some money for some outside use, but instead of using the money as directed and promised, the prisoner claimed to have lost it. But if the prisoner did not return it he intended to kill him with the knife.
   After further controversy Tilley said to the guard Wiley that he would go and get the knife. Wiley replied that he would go along. Tilley objected to this and as Wiley was turning away, with the purpose of reporting the matter to headquarters, perhaps the negro STRUCK HIM ON THE HEAD and felled him to the earth with a stone pick.
   The negro then ran across the yard and got his knife and started on the hunt for the prisoner he charged with keeping his money, threatening vengeance on him. While he was rampaging around, Pat Crump, Yard Boss, came in on him and at the persuasive presentation of a revolver SURRENDERED.
    During the disturbance Zwinger, one of the wall guards fired his gun.This caused considerable excitement. Otherwise it would have been a very quiet affair.  Wiley is not much hurt. Tilley the prisoner will likely get fifty lashes and a season in the blind cell.

     Ned Tilley was most definitely a character! Needed his OWN guard?... He wanted justice for his money, and he intended to get it. Reminds me of his father, suing a white man, in a slave state just 2 months after slavery ended. How he did it definitely differs, but the intent is the same. The fact that he told the guard what he had planned, and he didn't kill the guard with the stone pick-though seems he could have - shows he was not just crazy or violent without cause, but strong willed and a man of his word, even though his words were about a murder.....
    Fifty lashes? A season in the blind cell? I can't help but wonder if all those scars mentioned previously were from beatings during slavery? He doesn't seem like he'd make a good slave... Probably got punished quite often. No telling what he endured as a young slave and the short time he was free after slavery ended....
Perhaps whatever happened to him contributed to making him a "murderous bad-man of desperate character"...He definitely caused quite a ruckus....

And he wasn't done.....

Edward "Ned" Tilley: Locked Up....But Why?

So, after finding my 3rd Gr. Grand Uncle, Ned Tilley, in the 1870 U.S. Census in the State Penitentiary, I knew I had to find out what he did to land himself in prison of all places! I wasn't sure where to go, and google took me to the state archives site that mentioned a Penitentiary inmate register book. I then turned to one of the Missouri Genealogy Facebook groups hoping someone had access to this book, and someone gave me the email on how to request a look - up from the archives.  Someone else gave me a link to the newspaper database on the Missouri Digital Archives website where I found this:

Apparently, this was a clipping from a scrapbook full of clippings about the History of Springfield. No date was listed. I thought I solved part of the mystery. I now knew what he went to jail for, yet many questions remained...Was it self defense? An Accident? Did he really do it? Why I wanted him to be innocent, I do not know... That thinking went out the window when I got an email response from the archives telling me they found him in the register, not once but twice! I requested copies of the records, and here's what I found out:

First Offense:
Edward "Ned" Tilley, just 16 yr old- was sentenced to 5 years in prison on December 25, 1869, for felonious assault. He is described as: Height: 5ft 5/2 in,
                                                        Length of foot: 9 inches ( Strange they noted it?)
                                                        Complexion : Dark Copper (Never seen this before!LOL!)
                                                        Trade: Laborer

Marks and Scars: Two small scars on left side of forehead, scar on forehead, small scar on right arm, scar on right knee, scar over left (?), scar on front of left thigh.

He was pardoned by Gov. Brown on September 25, 1871 and released December 25, 1871 after serving 2yrs of the 5yr sentence.

I'm thinking perhaps he wasn't so bad after all if they let him out early...

2nd Offense:

 Here Ned and Ed (HA!) were both charged with 2nd Degree Murder June 10,1873. Ed Bryant was sentenced to 15 yrs, and Edward "Ned" Tilley was sentenced to Life. This was for the murder mentioned in the previous clipping, but notice Ed Bryant was "Out on Writ of Habeas Corpus-( by) Feb. 20, 1874"

 Ned Tilley was not so lucky... It says he " Died in Hospital April 15, 1881" at only about 27 years of age...

This seems like it should have been enough. I found out what he went to jail for, when and where he died. What he may have looked like...but I still didn't feel like I knew enough about the case. Perhaps because the last name of the victim - Mcgee- may have been related to me on the same line, perhaps even an  in-law of Ned Tilley as in the 1876 Census, a Peter Mcgee is living with Ned's niece's future husband's Family, and Bryants are always listed close by.

That deep curiosity that a new genealogical find causes wouldn't leave me alone!! So I followed it...


To be Continued......:)

What Became Of The Tilleys?

I wondered if my 4th Gr- Grandfather ever received the money from the judgement he won against John M. B. Dent. I think he did!

The Tilley's mentioned in the court case were: 
Joseph &  Elizabeth Tilley

Their children:
Mariah Tilley
Edward Tilley (Ned)
Frank Tilley
Charlotte Tilley
I found the family in the 1870 Census:.

"United States Census, 1870," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M463-G8Z : accessed 23 May 2013), Joseph Smith, .

Here, Joseph, Elizabeth and their daughter Charlotte are living next door to their son Frank and his wife Edith(Eda).  Joseph's real estate was valued at $500. He managed to own land just a few yrs after being destitute.  He either used that $150 judgement wisely or he worked very hard or both! Awesome to see them doing well.  His youngest daughter Charlotte also was in school, and while she couldn't yet write, she was reading!  

They initially were difficult to find because I was searching for Tilley's while they were going by the last name Smith. Why? I have no clue. Perhaps they received backlash for suing a white man immediately after slavery? Or maybe it was just an error? All just wild guesses, could really be anything. I do know that they go back to using Tilley by the 1876 Missouri Census. 

My 3rd Gr- Grandmother Mariah was on the very next census page go figure! 

She had already married My 3rd Gr-Grandpa William Jackson and started a family. 

This left me with one Tilley left to find in 1870 (or so I thought! But that's another blog!), my 3rd Gr. Grand Uncle Edward "Ned" Tilley.   I found him in Jefferson City, Missouri in the Penitentiary of all places. 

I immediately wondered what he did to get sent to prison. Until this, I haven't found much scandal in my family history. I must say it was kinda exciting!LOL! What I found out was kinda fascinating... 

                                            To Be Continued ........

Joseph Tilley Papers: Judgement Day

This is the 5th and final posts concerning the court case of Joseph Tilley vs. John Dent that I blogged about previously. Here are the links to the previous post: 

Part 1

Part 2 

Part 3 

Part 4 

Recap: In March of 1865 my 4th Gr-Grandfather Joseph Tilley, a former slave, sued a white man named John Dent just two months after slavery ended in Missouri.  He was too poor to pay for the fees to sue, so he petitioned the court to execute his claim as a poor person. John Dent responded to the suit by claiming that my grandfather, Joseph, actually owed him money for moving and boarding him and his wife & kids. The spring court session ended at the end of May.....

Later on that year when the court resumed, on December 5th a judgement was made. I had already made a pretty strong assumption that my 4th gr-grandfather would lose the case. Just didn't seem likely to me that a black man- suing a white man-in Missouri- 2 months after slavery ended would get a victory or justice...

8th day- Dec 5th

Joseph Tilley Plaintiff

    Against

John Dent Defendant

                                                                               Now at this day comes the plaintiff by atty(attorney) and it appearing to the court that the defendant has been duly served with process at least fifteen days before the first day of the present term of this court, and having failed to plead answer or ? to plaintiffs petition the same is taken as confessed, and this action being founded on an open account whereby the defendants indebtedness is ascertained on examinations of the same the court doth find that the said defendant is indebted to plaintiff in the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars, for his debt, it is therefore considered, adjudged and decreed by the court that the plaintiff have and recover of and from the defendant his said debt together with his costs laid out and expended in this behalf and that he have therefor execution.

I was wrong...He won!  Even though it was because John Dent didn't return to court for the second term, the fact that he won, was still a pleasant surprise. He didn't get the full $208.00 he sued for, but $150 in 1865 was probably a small fortune for a recently freed slave who in his petition stated that he was destitute.I am proud to come from such strong willed people. What became of Joseph & his family? Stay tuned.....

(Sidenote: I stated in an earlier blog I hadn't been able to find the family in 1870...Since then I have found them in the same place, but under the last name Smith. Why? I have no idea. My imagination wonders if he had to change his name because of backlash from this case(?), but that's just my imagination for now..lol..)

Joseph Tilley Papers Pt 4: The Accused Responds (& Confuses Me!)

This is Part four of the Greene County, Missouri Circuit Court Records concerning the case of Joseph Tilley vs. John Dent that I blogged about previously. The following are links to the previous post
 Part 1
 Part 2
 Part 3




John W. B. Dent's Response

6th Day May 22nd

Joseph Tilley  } In the Probate & Common Pleas Court
   against            Court of Greene Co., Mo
John  Dent         May Term, 1865

                                                      The Defendant comes and defends the wrong & injury, when & where to, and denies being indebted to to the Plaintiff in the manner and form as stated in his Petition and says that the said Plaintiff is justly indebted to the Defendant in the sum of one hundred and thirty two dollars as per account here with filed, wherefore he prays judgement.
                                                                                                              John M B Dent
John Dent Plaintiff in the above entitled cause makes his oath and says the matters and things as stated he believes to be true.                                                                           John M B Dent

So, John Dent claims he doesn't owe my 4th Great Grandfather, Joseph Tilley, but that Joseph actually owes him $132.00. The first thing I thought of are the stories I've read or seen in Post Slave era films where the sharecroppers get stiffed by the land owners after working hard from sunrise to sunset, only to be told they actually owe money for food, medicine, shoes, or the wife's bloomers. Then I realized that Joseph mentioned he was only recently freed and that I have no evidence to guess what type of relationship the two men had. Below is the account filed by John M B Dent to show why he thought Joseph actually owed him money:

John M B Dent's Account

1864 March
 

                       Joseph Tilley to John M.B. Dent

To hawling & moving Self &                  A Ch. ( I think this means A Charge of:)

Family & Personal Effects                       50.00

from Washington Co., Ark

                               (Months)  (Cost)

" Boarding Wife       8 mo     c 10$          80.00

   Per Month

 

" Boarding Child

   Charlotte              8 mo      c 10$           80.00

    Per Month

 

" Boarding Mariah 4 mo       c 10$           40.00

       "  boy  Frank   4 mo       c 10$           40.00

       "  boy  Ned      4 mo       c 10$           40.00

                                                              $330.00

   Clothing & Money for                           10.00

   your  family                                                     

                                                              $340.00

 

James Thompson aquit for Jno MB Dent makes oath and says that the above account is just and tru to the best of his knowledge and belief.      

                                                               J. Thompson

Sworn to and subscribed

May 13th 1865

John W. Lisenby  CLK

 

Wait... So this is where I scratched my head and decided something was fishy. This account is suppose to be from 1864, but submitted to the court on May 13, 1865. John Dent claims Joseph owes him $340.00. By May 22nd, his statement states that he is owed $132.00.  So either Joseph, while still a slave or immediately after being free,  somehow paid John about $208.00 between March 1864- May 1865, leaving a balance of $132.00, if John's account is true....

 

Remember from part 1, that Joseph is suing John Dent for $208.00.   Is Joseph suing for money he previously paid to John Dent? If so, where would he get that kind of money as a slave?  He states he is poor with a large family and recently freed in his claim against Dent.  Perhaps John forged this account and lied about being owed all together?

 

Another question mark this left me fumbling with was that John Dent remained in Washington. Co, Arkansas. He was apparently still there at the time of this case, and the subpoenas for the witnesses were all his neighbors who remained in Arkansas too. John Dent states in his account he moved Joseph and his family from Washington Co. Arkansas. To where? Why would he pay for Joseph to move his family to Springfield, Greene Co. Missouri a year before slavery was over or immediately after? Funny how one discovery leads to 100 more new questions...I may never know exactly what was going on between John & Joseph, but I'll be sure to keep looking....



Joseph Tilley Papers Pt 3 : Destitute & Resolute

This is Part Three of the Greene County, Missouri Circuit Court Records concerning the case of Joseph Tilley vs. John Dent that I blogged about here & here .

Plantiffs Motion to Prosecute Suit
May 25, 1865

Joseph Tilley     Plantiff

    against

John Dent          Defendant

                                              Joseph Tilley comes and moves the court for leave to person prosecute the above suit as a poor person without securing the payment of the costs of such suit, and he states that he has but recently become a free person , and has a large family to support and is unable to prosecute his suit and pay the costs thereof, that he believes he has a good and just cause of action against the defendant which will be lost if not permitted to prosecute the suit without securing the payment of the costs and that he is a stranger here and unable to obtain personal security for the payment of the costs.

                                                              his

                                                  Joseph X Tilley

                                                           mark

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 25th  May 1865

                                                  John W. Lisenby , Clerk

     So, Joseph Tilley, my 4th gr-grandfather, a recently freed slave not only filed a law suit against a white man in  Missouri in 1865, but he didn't let a little thing like being too poor to pay for it deter him in receiving what was owed to him. It's a remarkable feeling to know that I come from people like Joseph! 

Courage is defined as: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

      Joseph, who despite the odd's against him, despite the circumstances of his environment,  had the "Courage" to press ahead and go for what was owed to him and his family, my family.  

      I also learned from this part of the court files that he was recently freed and new to the area. I now know when about my Tilley family settled in Springfield, Greene Co., Missouri.  I haven't found them in the 1870 census as of yet, but I have them in  an 1876 Missouri Census, and in the 1880 US Census.  It does show that he became (or perhaps was already) a Gardner. It also list both he and his wife's (my 4th gr-grandmother) birthplaces as Maryland. So - from Maryland, to Arkansas, to Missouri is the route of Joseph and Elizabeth's migration as slaves/free people. I can only wonder and hope to one day discover just how many owners they may have had...  While it doesn't list whether or not he owns or rents, or his worth, it really doesn't matter. He may have been destitute, but he was most definitely resolute! 

More to come....:)

Joseph Tilley Papers Pt. 2: The Petition

They came! (About 3 weeks ago!)... Greene County, Missouri Circuit Court Records concerning the case of Joseph Tilley vs. John Dent that I blogged about here .

 

Joseph Tilley vs.John M. B. Dent
Greene Co., MO Circuit Court Record
Green County, Missouri Archives
Filed March 3, 1865

Date Filed: March 3, 1865 ( on reverse)

State of Missouri  { In Probate & Common

County of Green     Pleas Court, May Term 1865                                

Joseph Tilley,  Plaintiff

         Against

John Dent,   Defendant 

                        Plaintiff states that the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff in the sum of Two Hundred and Eight dollars for the services of plaintiffs children as follows

         To  Services and labor of Boy Frank

                for Eight Months @ 10$                            80.00

          "   Services and labor of Boy Ned for

               Eight Months @ 10$                                   80.00

          "   Services of Girl Mariah

               for 8 Months  @ 6.00                                  48.00

                                                                                $208.00

Plaintiff therefore asks judgement against the defendant for the sum of Two Hundred and Eight dollars.

                                                            Lindenbower

                                                            Attn. for Plff

Joseph Tilley Plff makes oath and says the above petition and the matters therein as stated he believes to be true

                                                                       his

                                                            Joseph X Tilley 

                                                                      mark

Mariah  mentioned above is my third gr-grandma Mariah Tilley born abt. 1847, died in 1930.  Although she was the oldest child, her work was worth less than that of her two younger brothers. Frank was born about 1849, and Ned was born in 1854.  So in 1865 they were about 18, 16, and 11 yrs of age. They also had another sister named Charlotte born about 1855 meaning she would have been about 10 years old. Why she was not working alongside her siblings is a mystery. I also wonder what Jospeh and his wife Elizabeth were doing while the kids were working.  

Initially when I read the petition, I thought this was a case of sharecropping gone wrong where the white land owner refused to pay for work done. But the dates made me go hmm...  a quick google search and according to wikipedia, 

" As one of the border states, Missouri was exempt from President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation decreeing the freedom of slaves in all territory then held by Confederate forces. Governor Thomas C. Fletcher ended slavery in Missouri on January 11, 1865, by executive proclamation."

This would means that Joseph Tilley sued John M. B. Dent only about two months after slavery ended. How or why then would he be suing for 8 months worth of work. All I could think of was that perhaps his owner allowed for him to hire out his children's labor for profit. When I first found out this case existed, the bulletin mentioned that John Dent may have owned Joseph at one point.

This posed two new questions:

  1.)  Was John M.B. Dent the former owner of Joseph and his family? 

  2.) Could Joseph be suing his former owner for labor performed during the last months of
        slavery?
  3.) Did Joseph just hire out his children to Dent with the permission of his slave owner?

So many questions.... to be continued...