October 9, 1915Crawfordville, GeorgiaCharles Rackely is shot and killed following a dispute in which he was not involved Before the shooting, two employees of the Winsley sawmill had gotten into a confrontation with a boy or young man named Evans. As Evans was Black while the employees were white, it was speculated the incident was…
Woman is attacked by husband with knife and axe
February 12, 1885 Monroe, Georgia William McGaughey fatally attacks his wife Mollie The attack was in part witnessed by Mollie’s teenaged daughter from a previous marriage. The daughter, Mattie, stated she heard a thump come from a closed room and peeked through a knothole in the wall to investigate. When this proved too difficult to…
Two men executed for beating and shootings deaths of elderly couple
February 9, 1940 Reidsville, Georgia James Fisher (alias James Johnson) and Joe Mathis are executed for the murders of an elderly couple during a robbery On September 12, 1939, John E. and Emma Trainer (ages 73 and 72 respectively) were killed in the dining room of their home. The apparent motive was robbery; the couple…
Man executed for the axe murder of his family whose ages ranged from 18 months to 84 years
October 29, 1890Perry, GeorgiaThomas Woolfolk is hanged for the murder of his family On August 6, 1887, Thomas ran to the home of Green Sockett, one of his neighbors, to report his family had been murdered. He’d barely escaped death himself, he claimed, when he was awoken by sounds of his father being beaten to…
Man executed for killing wife
March 31, 1893 Macon, Georgia Louis Lewis is hanged for the murder of his wife The crime occurred on September 16, 1890. According to Annie Dillon, Louis’ employer at a dairy farm, she and another employee, Hattie Peck, were in a room talking with Louis’ wife Melinda Lewis when Louis entered in a “quarrelsome mood.”…
