The students of the Radical University: Joshua H. Augustus

Joshua Henry Augustus (b. May 1859; d. February 15, 1886)
South Carolina.  Black.  
Occupation: teacher. 

Joshua Augustus appears in the January 1876 University of South Carolina catalogue.  He is a freshman from Charleston following the modern studies track.  The university closed before he finished his degree.

After the university closed, Joshua returned to Charleston and worked as a teacher.  He died of tuberculosis (phthisis and asthenia) in 1886.

Source
1). South Carolina Department of Archives and History; Columbia, South Carolina; South Carolina Death Records; Year Range: 1875-1899; Death County or Certificate Range: Charleston.  Certificate Number: 000282.

Letters from the Fox Family: Violence in Chesterfield County

Rev. Henry J. Fox and his family left New York state for South Carolina in 1869. Fox would later serve as faculty at the University of South Carolina, but he did not move to the state to work as an educator. Rather, he moved to start a farm. 

The Fox family settled in Chesterfield County, in the Pee Dee. Local Republicans encouraged this type of immigration as a way to increase their political support. Republicans had been swept into power in the 1868 election, largely as a consequence of the enfranchisement of former slaves. However, their political power in much of the Pee Dee region was tenuous as whites formed a majority of the population. In Chesterfield County, roughly 60% (or 6,275 of 10,584) of the population was white. White South Carolinians were almost uniformly opposed to Republicanism, and Republicans hoped that immigration by northerners and Blacks from North Carolina would change the demographics so that a solid majority supported the Republican party.

"We are less in fear of personal violence than in the quietest part of the old Empire State"

On May 1, 1869, New York Tribune published a letter from Fox describing the situation in Chesterfield. Fox was responding to a recently published article titled "Colonizing from New-York." The article encouraged readers to leave New York City for the rural south and offered advice about how to do so. Its main recommendation was to organize a company for the purposes of selecting a suitable location and then establishing a village, or colony, of about one hundred settlers. As an example, the article discussed moving to Virginia. In his letter, Fox described the opportunities that South Carolina offered. His letter is reproduced below:

To the Editor of the Tribune.

Sir: THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE of April 16, has just reached me. I read the editorial entitled "Colonizing from New-York" with very great interest. The advice it contains, if adopted, would be worth untold millions to the North as well as to the South.

My object in this communication is to call the attention of farmers, struggling on small farms, to a section of the South not named by you, but which I think offers sure advantages to the immigrant. The "South Carolina Improvement and Trust Company," incorporated by the last Legislature of South Carolina, and to which has been granted a charter of great liberality, undertakes to do the very work you recommend Northern associations undertake.

Its object is to buy large plantations, and divide them into small farms of 50 and 100 acres each. The farms it sells to actual settlers at a sum just sufficiently above the original cost to pay expenses of transfer, surveys, and other incidental expenses. The corporations are well known Northern men, and it is their purpose to make each colony the center of such political education, social and religious influences as shall conserve the blessings brought by the war.

Oro, the first of the colonies, is situated in Chesterfield County, S.C. Several thousand acres of land have already been brought, and are now being divided according to the Company's plan. Quite a number of farms are already taken, and the foundation is laid for a prosperous community. On the general subjects of climate, healthfulness, fertility &c., I could fill an entire page of THE TRIBUNE. As I write planting is just being finished, and the prospects for good crops are most flattering. The frosts, so disastrous elsewhere, have not harmed us, cherries, peaches, and apples are untouched. Corn is well up, and in ten days all our cotton will be planted.

I shall be glad to communicate with any individuals or communities proposing immigration, and will supply them with all needed information. It is, of course, too late to come with any hope of making a crop this year. Now, however, is the time to come to have things well in hand for another year. All who hope to do anything as it ought to be done, should have their land selected and be ready for work by November at the latest.

One word as to personal safety and social advantages. The community in the midst of which this first colony has settled, treat it with kindness and according to their knowledge and training, with deference and respect. We are less in fear of personal violence than we should be in the quietest part of the old Empire State. We sleep with doors unlocked and windows open. We propose building a church and school next Summer. A charter has been granted for a railroad to run entirely through the colony, which railroad will be the direct route between your city and Charleston, bringing us within 48 hours of the former place.

Henry J. Fox

Oro, Chesterfield County, S.C.

Fox's reference to the "South Carolina Improvement and Trust Company" is confusing. While a company with this name was incorporated by the state government, its stated purpose was not to buy and re-distribute land in the manner that Fox described. Rather, its purpose was to secure and employ land, mills, water powers, and other properties. Fox may have confused the company for the state Land Commission which was explicitly charged with re-distributing land. Or the company may have deviated from its original purpose. In any case, a few months after Fox's letter (in December) the company was renamed and given the powers of a bank. It functioned in that capacity until 1875, when it ceased operation after experiencing financial problems.

Fox also mentions plans to build a railroad through Chesterfield County. This was likely plans of the Central Railroad Company. The company was chartered to build a railroad connecting Chesterfield County to the low country, although it was to run to Williamsburg County, not the city of Charleston as Fox stated in his letter. It appears the railroad was never built. For example, it was never listed in Poor's Manual of United States Railroads.

Ku Kluxers Attack

For the Fox family and other Republicans living in Chesterfield, life in South Carolina took a turn for the worse in 1871. In October of the previous year a state-wide election – the first since the ratification of the 1868 state constitution enfranchising freed slaves – was held. That election saw Republican governor Robert K. Scott re-elected and a largely Republican government placed in power. Klan violence massively escalated following the election.

Klan attacks reached their height around late spring 1871. In Chesterfield County, events reached their climax on April 16th when Ku Kluxers murdered the Fox's neighbor, Robert Melton. The murder is discussed in detail in the blogpost The Melton Murders.

One of the first reports of the murder is the following April 19 letter that state senator B. F. Whittemore wrote to the governor.

Dear Sir

Intelligence reaches me this morning that a foul Ku Klux murder has taken place at "Old Store" Chesterfield Co. on the borders of Lancaster Co. 

The facts are as follows: on Sunday night – 16th inst – a party of men – disguised – went to the house of Robert Melton, a peaceable farmer, a native of the State, who has been identified with the republican party, and called him out under some pretense and then fired upon him. His wife and one of his daughters came to the door at the same time. Mrs. Melton was killed at once, the daughter mortally wounded and Mr. Melton shot through the bowels so fearfully that he cannot recover. After perpetuating this barbarous outrage the murderers quietly rode away.

Things in the neighborhood of this bloody scene are in an alarming state: but a short time since Dr. Lane, an English gentleman, who has recently come to that part of the county, was visited and threatened by the Ku Klux, and it is presumed, had he been at home on this bloody Sunday night, he too would have been a victim to their inhuman hate and lust.

I enclose letters from Dr. S. E. Lane and Dr. Fox who were on their way to "Old Store" from Cheraw and when hearing of the murders, they dispatched a special messenger to me with items. I trust a body of United States troops maybe sent to Chesterfield for the protection of the people.

The reference to "Dr. Lane" as an "English gentlemen" appears to be an error. S. E. Lane was from Vermont. Senator Whittemore presumably confused Dr. Lane with Dr. Fox who was from England.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find the letters from Drs. Lane and Fox that Whittemore sent to the governor. However, we get a sense of the content from a letter that Fox wrote to a pastor in Washington D.C.

On the same day that Whittemore wrote his letter (April 17), Fox sent the following letter to Rev. John P. Newman, pastor of the Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. It reads as follows:

We have tried all means of obtaining relief and have failed – we try now, a woman expedient. The writer of the enclosed letter is Mrs Lane, the wife of a presbyterian clergyman has not overstated our terror. She does not know as I do, all the grounds of alarm. I have to sleep out in the woods. We beg you to read the letter to the president. Help us if you can. I have just come from the scene of blood and death. We are marked as the next. . . . Our mails are tampered with, & it would set our minds at rest, if we can know this reaches you. One line is enough.

Newman and Fox likely knew each other well as both had served in M. E. churches in New York state during the 1850s. Newman was a natural person to appeal to because he had strong political connections. In particular, he was able to pass the message from "Mrs. Lane," S. E. Lane's wife, Louise N. Lane, to the president. Her letter is also dated April 19, and its text is:

I do not know that any Apology is necessary for my addressing you, for nothing but the extreme urgency of the case induced me thus to take the liberty of trespassing, even by a few lines, upon your time & patience, – I write to ask your help, your protection for us, a few families located in Chesterfield District S.C. the immediate locality known formerly as 'Old Store'–Post Office address Oro – a few miles from here – Staunch & loyal to you sir, we are as the head & Administrator of our National Affairs & interests – true & hearty Republicans, & as individuals & families, kind & friendly to all around us – but Sir, we are in terror from Ku-Klux threats & outrages– there is neither law or justice in our midst,– our nearest neighbor – a prominent Repub'can now lies dead– murdered by disguised Ruffian Band, which attacked his House at midnight a few nights since – his wife also was murdered – she was buried yesterday, & a daughter is lying dangerously ill from a shot-wound – my Husband's life is threatened – a northern man who has bought a Plantation here – a friend's also – a northern man –  Revd Dr Fox, formerly of N. Y,– only because they are Republicans – we are in constant fear & terror – our nights are sleepless, we are filled with anxiety & dismay. – Ought this to be? – it seems almost impossible to believe that we are in our own Land,– thus to be left without protection or redress,– letters, have several times been Sent from here to Govr Scott for aid, but no help has come – not even Arms, nor as much as a reply to the letters. Now Mr Pres't, I appeal to you, – in the strength & power with which you are invested, in the high & honorable, & responsible position you hold toward us,– & as a Husband & Father too, – have compassion & send at once Troops, to protect us, & enforce law–

Four days later Rev. Fox's son Gilbert D. Fox would publish his own letter about events in Chesterfield. 

"This is a fearful country and a hellish people": Newspaper reports

Gilbert D. Fox's letter was published in the Brewster Standard, a New York newspaper. This was a natural forum for Gilbert to publish in. His brother Henry A. served as the newspaper's publisher and as an editor. The letter was published on April 29 as part of an article titled "Ku Klux Klan." The text of the article is as follows:

Ku Klux Klan

Much has been written, and much denied concerning the cruelty with which our northern brethren who have settled in the southern states are treated at the hands of the vindictive southrons, and although many reports of suffering have reached our ears, it is probable we are aware of but a small portion of the savage usages to which they are subjected. It causes one's blood to boil in view of the many indignities heaped upon loyal subjects by inhuman, revengeful wretches who rejoice in the appelatum [sic] of southern aristocracy. After the rebellion what more dire picture of desolation could be imagined than the southern states presented? And how would it have been possible for a victorious foe to have extended more sympathetic aid, than did the United States government to those who had forfeited all and every claim upon their mercy. The breach was hastily patched, the insult to our flag was forgotten almost before its bright folds had been raised from the dust, where they had been trampled; concessions were to be made which any other nation would scorn to stoop, and men who richly merited an ignominious death, were elevated to positions of honor by the power they had fought against. In response to the call for settlers, many of our northern friends ready to undergo the privations of what was akin to a frontier life, left comfortable homes and under the flag they honored, and from which they had reason to expect protection, went to the south and began the labor of civilization Among these pioneers were the parents and friends of one of the editors of this journal, – of their present situation we quote from a letter just received from Gil. Dixon Fox, of the Columbia Daily Union, and dated Columbia, S. C. April 23rd, 1871.

Dear Harry:

* * * The very next family to us have been cruelly murdered. As we are the only republican family left in this part of the country, our turn must come next unless we can get away. Pa has been in the woods for some time past. I go home tomorrow with an escort of United States troops and will see that the people are protected and get away if possible, I do not like to write this, Harry, but you must prepare yourself to hear sad news at any moment. * * * This is a fearful country and a hellish people.* * *

Your Affct. Brother,

Gil. Dixon Fox

May we now well ask. Are our rulers imbecile? Can we refrain from crying out upon that government whose arm is shortened that it cannot afford protection to its own? where is there another nation that would submit to the bitter insults, the gross outrages, before which ours has bowed, pampering vile wretches even as they strike with deadly hatred the hand that feeds them – There is none. Better sweep South Carolina, Tennessee and other miserable hot-beds of secession, from the face of the earth, better hang every rebel dog between earth and heaven, than acknowledge our inability to carry out the principles of our constitution. Justice, equal rights, and Freedom. 

The "cruelly murdered" family that Fox mentions was, of course, the family of Robert Melton.

Letter Four

About two weeks after his first letter was published, Gilbert D. Fox offered a second and more detailed account of the situation in Chesterfield. This second account was published in the Brewster Standard on May 13 as part of an article titled "Actual State of the South." The text is as follows:

Actual State of the South

Few men see what they wish not to see, and ready report of those who, – whatever may be the truth. – would it have believed, is "all quiet."

The most serious problem now confronting the people of the United States is that of the preservation of order in the South, and the plain certainty of the matter is, unless this is done, there is no use in keeping the pretense of a Government. There are those who would industriously conceal and veil by a deep cloud of misrepresentations, the true facts as they actually exist, but such are neither wise journalists nor honest partisans, and the policy thus manifested is both shortsighted and intensely disloyal. It is not wisdom to shut ones eyes upon the disastrous state of affairs that may exist in some of the states, because it is "our party" who are the aggressors, but every honest man, whatever his political creed, should call for retributive justice on all evil doers, and enforce order and freedom at any cost.

Hence we do not discuss this momentous question on partisan grounds, but on the broader, and more stable foundation of equal rights and justice. We do not deny that possibly, in some cases, the passions of the hour may have led refugees and unionists into exaggerated statements, and it is equally undeniable that some of the most horrible recitals of bloodshed are actual, uncolored facts. Two weeks since we had occasion to mention the danger menacing the family of the Rev. Dr. Fox, a gentleman well known to many of our readers, and this week we take pleasure in presenting for public perusal, a plain, unvarnished statement of the present condition of South Carolina in respect to her northern settlers. G. Dixon Fox, the writer, in a sojourn of two years in that State, has made observations and undergone experiences, which enable him to speak knowingly of these things. The case of Dr. Fox is but one in many, and yet it seems almost a visionary tale, as one can scarcely deem it possible for so dire persecutions to be permitted in an enlightened, powerful government. Believing that all would be peaceful, and having the assurance of many of the southern people that their good will should go with his enterprise, Dr. Fox, conceived the idea of establishing a colony of English and Northern people, near Cheraw, S.C. Investing his own fortune and obtaining the co-operation of English capitalists, he purchased an extensive tract of land, and exerted every means to secure immigration to that locality. Many came, and the village of Oro grew rapidly, schools were started, both for white and the blacks and every evidence of prosperity attended the undertaking. But soon the vindictive spirit of the high-toned chivalry, began to manifest itself; negro teaching must not be permitted, threatening letters were sent, the dark clouds of revolt and Ku Kluxism began to gather; crops were destroyed. Fearful of injury, the settlers began to disperse; others who were on their way to join the colony, learning of the uncertainty of security, turned back, and found a more desirable home, until from a busy village, Oro became deserted by all save two families, the members of one have already been murdered, while those of the other daily expect a like fate. The spirit evinced in these cases is widely prevalent; in some localities it is a smothered volcano, in others, in active eruption. Can southern gentlemen and land-holders afford to let such things continue? Will the Government stop it by force, or treat it lightly, as they have done? There is much plausible complaint of the ignorance and incapacity of the blacks; but how is this to be amended if to teach them is to be punished as a crime? That there are southrons who wish the blacks instructed, we fully believe, but they are generally of like spirit with the southern unionists of 1860-61 who let their State drift into secession at the will of a violent, dominering [sic] minority. As to some of the Northern democratic organs, their treatment of this subject is flagrant. They know what is the truth; they cannot help knowing it; yet they systematically conceal and deny it. The outrages might be stopped by a concerted and earnest movement, but they choose to let murder and torture go on, in the base hope that their party may profit by it. The blood of innocent men and women will rest on their souls.

The South

A little over two years ago the family of Rev. Dr. Fox left the village of Carmel in your county to make their home in South Carolina, hoping by industry and proper care, to gain a competency and perhaps to gather around them a settlement of congenial northern and english families. They had every prospect of being successful. Large tracts of land were secured and various enterprises entered into. A number of families came and settled in their vicinity and Oro, as they called the settlement, seemed to be the El Dorado of their anticipations. The native people of that section, notwithstanding their evinced spirit of being conquered, which seemed by natural, announced their approval of any scheme that would tend to build up their ruined country. On the strength of these assurances and in the face of the manifest and surprising fertility of soil besides the vast resources of timber minerals etc, every arrangements was made to make a home of the South. Whether it was from a desire to bury the things of the past or a misplaced confidence or what not, the eyes of the settlers seemed at first to be closed to the real character of the people among whom they were to live. By degrees first impressions wore off and it was found that not only were the negroes not to be trusted but that the whites whom they imitated, were still less reliable. In fact it was after awhile discovered that the latter were secretly their enemies and were constantly doing all in their power to discourage the new settlers. Every failure in farming, every loss or mishap was exulted over and every misfortune taken advantage of by these whites. True, there were one or two exceptions, but they dared not face the current of public opinion – more properly speaking secret opinion. All interference in politics and customs, was studiously avoided by the new-comers and everything done to harmonize the feelings of all. Work was given to all who applied for it, and no distinction was made because a man was black or white. Concessions were made that would be considered, under other circumstances, humiliating. 

One by one, families came to join the settlement, but found that they were not welcome, do what they would, they were under the ban. This assumption of "blood" or "chivalry," or whatever you may choose to term it, on the part of a class of degraded and ignorant people was hard to tolerate. They departed poorer and wiser people. In the short space of one year no less than four well-to-do English families left the neighborhood, disgusted with the people and mortified that they were not able to take advantage of the fine opportunity presented for making a livelihood. The cotton crop proved a failure every year since the war at Oro, as well as over the south. The coming year like the coming turn of the card, was looked forward to as the time when all past ill-fortune would be retrieved. it [sic] is needless to go into the actual amount of capital and labor that has been expended at this one Southern settlement the benefit of which has accrued solely to the natives[.] Homestead law enacted by a radical government nay even a part of the state constitution was willingly taken advantage of by these people to avoid the payment of honest debts, while they spent their time in cursing the people who came here and gave the poor but honest men that safe-guard against actual want.

To day we find at Oro, two families, all that remains of a prospectively happy and healthy village, One of them, already mentioned, from your county and the other that of Mr. Singleton from England. Rev. Mr. Lane and wife formerly of Carmel, are I think there too, although it is highly probable that they have left ere this.

As to the condition of affairs there today I could give you column and column, for I am perfectly conversant with the facts. I will give you some information in regard to the murder of Mr. Melton and his family, an account of which has been, I see, telegraphed north. I have known Robert Milton and his family for two years. He was the first man I spoke to in South Carolina. A union man during the war, when Mr. Sherman, in his famous march came to his little mill, he with his daughters were proud to stand there day and night grinding corn for the yankee soldiers. They left him as they did everyone with nothing. By energy and with the assistance of his daughter he was enabled to gather enough together to purchase a small farm of 150 acres which he had just paid for when he was murdered. He is an old man being about fifty five or sixty years of age and noted for his bravery. Anyone who would be rash enough to encounter "Bob Melton" single handed, would find a tough match of it. When left alone, however, he was a most peacable [sic] citizen. His daughters seemed to have imbibed much of his courage and many nights I have witnessed them cluster around him when he was called out of his house to answer some strange call.

They always declared he should never be killed unless over their bodies. And so it has come about. On the night of the murder he was aroused by the barking of his dog. He started for he [sic] door when his daughters gathered around him as if by instinct. From the light thrown through the open door he found himself face to face with a body of masked armed men. Before a word could be spoken he was fired into mortally wounded, his wife fell dead at his feet. His daughter was unharmed and raising her voice to heaven cried "You have killed my poor father and mother! For God's sake spare me!" With a fiend like laugh the demons fired another volley and she was struck down. They then rode away. The next morning the family were visited by their northern friends.

They found things in a horrible plight. Everything was covered with blood and Mrs. Melton lay dead on the bed by the side of her wounded husband. At sun down as they were placing her body in the grave Mr. Melton expired. At last accounts the daughter, who is about 18 years of age, was alive, but it is not likely that she will survive as she has had to submit to an amputation at the thigh.

From these things you can well judge what our feelings are towards the Southern people who apologise for such crimes as these. The democratic press of that state too, say nothing that discountences such a state of affairs. 

The life of Dr. Fox is constantly threatened and he has been compelled to lie in the woods for the weeks past. The whites declare that Mr. Lane shall not escape with his life. And this is but one case of a thousand.

G. D. F. 

The "Mr. Singleton" that Gilbert Fox refers to is Robert Singleton. At the time, Singleton was farming in the region.

Other Republican Perspectives

Gilbert D. Fox was not the only Republican to publish an account for the Melton murder. The Charleston Daily News published an April 21 letter that a "Northern woman" (probably Clarinda S. Fox, the wife of Henry J. Fox) had sent through North Carolina. The letter reads

I went up there Monday morning early and found Mrs. Melton lying dead on the bed by the side of her wounded husband, and her daughter in the same room. It was a terrible sight. The floor was saturated with blood, and Mrs. Melton was completely covered with blood. We are compelled to keep guards out all night, and my husband's and Mr. Dane's [sic? "Lane's"] life are constantly threatened. We do not dare trust the mails by way of Oro at this time, and shall need a special messenger to Monroe. We are surrounded by enemies, and they are afraid we shall send for troops. The colored people are frightened, and we cannot depend on them at all

A different account was published in the Green-Mountain Freeman newspaper on May 10. An anonymous Republican working at Claflin University (in Orangeburg) and publishing under the name "W." (possibly the founding president Alonzo Webster) submitted the following letter:

Claflin University

Orangeburgh, April 1871

DEAR MESSENGER:– When we last wrote we had a fond hope that we had seen the worst of the depredations of those nightly marauders known as "Ku-Klux," but it seems that the only pro-slavery leaven is at work in all portions of our State, and who the military by their personal presence restores order in counties where the disturbance has been most disastrous, it breaks out in counties where which had been heretofore comparatively quiet. In Clarendon county, near us, last week, one of the county commissioners was brutally murdered. A case of the murder of a family in Chesterfield county, on Sabbath night April 16th, was of the most brutal and horrid character, and it seems the more shocking to us for the reasons that we were well acquainted with the murdered man – Mr. Melton. At about midnight Mr. Melton, hearing his name called by some one at the gate, got up and went out to know what was wanted, bring followed by his wife and daughter. On making their appearance, they were immediately fired upon by a company of armed men. Mrs. Melton was shot dead. Mr. Melton was mortally wounded and has since died. The daughter, at last accounts, was still alive, but her recovery is regarded as dobtful [sic]. Mr. M. was a man of some sixty years, of a very quiet and peaceable disposition. The only thing that any one could allege against him was that he was an avowed Republican, and was ready any time to confess his political sentiments. He was of the class of poor whites who for so many years in South Carolina had been under the feet of the overbearing aristocracy; but when freedom came, it was an emancipation or many white as well as colored people. Mr. Melton appreciated this change in his affairs, and under the inspiration of this new era, had been able for the first time in his life to purchase land and make for himself a comfortable home. This simple fact made his example to his neighbors an unfavorable lesson to those who can see nothing lovely and beautiful in political economy and supremacy, save in the former golden era, when slavery and democracy ruled the destinies of the South. In addition to this, Mr. Melton at the last election was one of the managers. He had also been acting as a deputy tax collector, and more than all this, although formerly a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, he had recently been attending the meetings of the M. E. Church, which is here called a "Northern and Yankee church." Not long since we saw Mr. Melton, and he expressed his intentions becoming connected with our church, and related to us a circumstance where one of the leaders of the Southern church had threatened his life, and on one occasion had shot at him with the intention of killing him, on account of his present political opinions.

Mr. Melton lived a near neighbor to Rev. H. J. Fox, D.D., our preacher stationed at Oro, upon the Chesterfield District of this Conference. We learn that Dr. Fox is in fear of his life, and is compiled for safety to sleep in the woods, rather than in his own house. The Doctor has been very careful not to meddle with political matters, but it is enough for these defenders of Southern Democracy to know that he is a Republican in sentiment and a member of the hated "Northern Church."

The brutal and bloody murder of a wife and daughter [sic] shows clearly that these fiends have been taught in the same school with those who formerly had charge of the prison pens of the South where the defenders of the Old Flag were deliberately starved to death, and in their debasement the barbarism of slavery has consummated a triumph worth of hell in which it originated. We have tried to make ourselves and others dear to us believers in our stretch of hope and charity that whatever might be the fate of active and sturdy manhood, battling for the right, the women and children might sleep quietly at home at night, without the fear of being assassinated; but event the kindred and friends of known Republicans may well dread to fall into their hands. 

Things remains as yet comparatively quiet at the University. . . .

The Conservative Response

Conservatives challenged the claim that Robert Melton was murdered by Ku Kluxers for political reasons. The Chesterfield Democrat newspaper reported that some local residents thought the attack was carried out by outlaws from North Carolina. 

A different theory was offered by the Marion Star. That newspaper reported that the attacks had been carried out by African-Americans who were angry at Robert for collecting delinquent taxes. As evidence, they pointed to his activities as tax collector. The night prior to his murder, Robert had gone to the home of a "negro delinquent" and put his personal possessions up for sale, presumably to recover unpaid taxes. The newspaper dismissed the idea that Melton was killed by Ku-Kluxers, stating that the "white people cared nothing whatever for Mr. Melton – were neutral so far as he was concerned."

The most detailed Conservative account of the Melton murders was published in the Nashville Union and American newspaper on May 6, 1871. The account reads:

The Melton murder, in Chesterfield, S.C., has been the theme of much comment through the country. A correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial writes of it from Columbia: 

Right now I will state that I am not at liberty to give this gentleman's name, nor his business, nor anything about him that would cause his identification. He strictly enjoined me to keep his name out of the papers, "for," said he, "we live in troublous times, and I don't want to get into any difficulties." But he is a Republican, and a reliable man, that can be depended upon.

"Are you just from Chesterfield?" I asked

"Yes, sir; and know all about the late difficulties."

Were you acquainted with Melton, the man lately murdered by the Ku-Klux?"

"I was; but I don't believe it was Ku-Klux who murdered him."

"It is published in the papers here, and word has been sent to Gen. Terry and Ben. Butler that he and his family were killed simply because he was a Republican. How is that?"

It is all bosh. Melton was a man of bad character, and his so-called Republicanism had nothing to do with murder, in my opinion. He was ignorant and dishonest, and no more fit for tax collector than a horse. He came to this State from North Carolina, where he was in jail for sheep stealing. He broke out, and fled over the line to Chesterfield. He had nothing until he became tax collector. He abused his official powers awfully. He would go to the houses of negroes who owed a little tax of twenty-five or fifty cents, and take all of their provisions, sometimes four or five dollars' worth. This he would take to his own house and peddle out, in the name of the law. The negroes were fearfully enraged at him. He often took the last bite they had to eat out of their houses. He claimed it for 'cost.' You see he couldn't read the law, and didn't know what it was, and didn't care. He went in for making money out of his office. Then he would sell whisky to.a lot of poor devils, get them drunk, and have them arrested, and in that way get a bill of cost. He was a mean man, and Lord only knows why such a creature would be tax collector. Well, on Sunday a week ago, a crowd of men, estimated from seven to twenty, were heard to pass the road in the direction of his house. They came from a northern direction, and were first noticed around midnight, seven miles away. They were armed, but I have not the remotest idea they were Ku-Klux. The night was very dark, and Melton who, whatever might be his crimes, was a brave man, showed fight. A general melee ensued, in which his wife and daughter run out and were shot, through nobody knows just what how it happened. Melton said before he died that three were some negroes in the gang. An official of Chesterfield has been guilty of gross corruption and fraud, and Melton and his wife were the main witnesses against him. The general opinion is that he caused them to be killed so as to get them out of the way, thinking that the crime would be laid on the Ku-Klux. I have a letter in my pocket from one of the most prominent and respected citizens of Chesterfield county. Here is the letter, but I don't use his name.

From this letter, written in Chesterfield day before yesterday, I make the following extract:

"I see a letter from Governor Scott to Spofford, published in the News. (Spofford is the Sheriff of Chesterfield county.) Somebody is deceiving the Governor in regard to affairs in this county. It lies between [Chesterfield's state senator] Donaldson and the negroes upon whom Melton imposed, to settle the matter of his murder. Melton and his wife were important witnesses against Donaldson, and the general belief is that Donaldson had them killed, knowing that he could lay the act to the door of others. Melton took three or four times as much taxes from some of the negroes as was his due. If they failed to pay, their little all as put up at private sale and bought in by a set of scoundrels. * * *

Melton said when dying that three of the gang were negroes, and he did not know but what they all were. If there is 'a lawless band in this county,' I have not heard of them, and no one in the county is afraid of being here, unless it is some none who has been stealing and robbing the public. If you see Scott, talk to him on the subject. Truly yours, –."

"there is truth in that letter," said my informant; "no man need be afraid who has not been stealing."

During the summer of 1871, a congressional investigative committee traveled to South Carolina to collect testimony. While they did not go to Chesterfield County, one witness, the conservative politician James Chesnut, told the committee what he had heard about the murder of Robert Melton. His testimony should read skeptically as Chesnut. Chesnut was likely trying to downplay the significance of the  Ku Klux Klan  as part of an effort to avoid federal intervention. 

Chesnut testified before the committee in Spartanburg on July 8, 1871. The committee consisted of three members: Republican senator John Scott, Democratic congressman Philadelph Van Trump, and Republican congressman Job E. Stevenson. Senator Scott served as chairman. In general, Van Trump posed questions in an effort to downplay Ku Klux violence and emphasize the corruption of Republican governments in the south, while the other committee members tried to document the violence.

Question [by chairman]: What is your information as to the character of this organization?

Answer: So far as I have been able to get at it – and I have watched the progress of this thing, it being a new phase of our government – I think that politics is not the basis at all of these organizations. My attention was first attracted to that shortly after the arming of the militia of this State, and a large number of instances of the burning of barns and dwellings, gin-houses and stables, &c in the country. Then followed the arming of the militia – the colored militia I mean, because the white people were not armed, and in the main were excluded from organization. Upon that, the first thing that attracted my attention in relation to these organizations which induced me to believe that they did exist, was in those upper counties, generally bordering on the State. They then commenced this thing, and it went on increasing until it culminated in that very extensive affair [a jail raid and lynching] which occurred in Unionville. Since then I have heard of but few cases, and those on a smaller scale. I have heard trouble in Chesterfield, and only one instance in Lancaster. I happened to be in Chesterfield delivering a lecture at the time. It was the killing of one who had been in the employment of the State, perhaps a treasurer; perhaps he was still. I saw a gentleman and had an interview with him, and he read to me a letter from a lady – he told me there were numerous instances of the kind – in which it appeared that this lady had been summoned to immediately pay her taxes, and the tax claimed was $70. This gentleman, who is a senator from that county, took the letter and went up to arrange the affair, when it was discovered that the true tax was but $7. Yet he had determined to sell her out immediately if she did not respond to that demand for $70. He told me of another instance, and I then learned from gentlemen about that neighborhood that there were numerous instances of such actions by this party, and they were inclined to two opinions: one was that some persons, believing themselves wronged, had committed this deed Others supposed against that there was a feud between the party slain and a Mr. Donaldson, who was the auditor, I think, and this man was a witness against him. He was an official of some kind, and they supposed that the killing proceeded from the fact that this was the only or the important witness in some alleged malfeasance of his in office, and that the killing proceeded from that. 

Question [Mr. van Trump]: Some malfeasance in Donaldson's office?

Answer: Yes, sir; but that, of course, was mere conjecture. That other was the more probably cause.

Question [chairman]: These are your reasons for believing it local.

Answer: Yes, sir; local and limited. I would not like to be misunderstood. I believe that the most of those constituting such bodies, if there be such, belong to the other party; that is, to the democratic Party.

Question: Is it your belief that that results from the hostility existing between the races here, they having divided by parties or from any party motive?

Answer: I think not. I think if you will examine the larger number, or at least a large portion of the cases of killing, it will be found they have been the killing of obnoxious white men – officials generally. 

The "gentleman, who is a senator" that Chesnut mentioned was state senator G. W. Duvall.

G. W. Duvall and a number of prominent Chesterfield Democrats, including county sheriff P. F. Spofford, offered their opinion on the matter in a letter that was published in the Daily Phoenix on October 13. The letter was a response to a note on the Melton murder that had been published in the Columbia Daily Union, a Republican newspaper. Unfortunately, the text of the Daily Union note is unavailable, but that it was critical of Chesterfield residents for not pursing the men who murdered the Melton. The note was published under the first name "Gil," and it was likely written by Gilbert D. Fox. 

The response to Gil's note by Chesterfield Democrats was as follows:

Cheraw, S. C., Sep. 14, 1871
Mr. L. C. Carpenter, Editor Daily Union, Columbia, S. C.

DEAR SIR: We have to-day seen a copy of your paper, of the 21st of July last, in which we notice a communication signed "Gil," and dated "Chesterfield County, S.C., July 17, 1871."

We do not propose to notice the many false statements contains in that article for there is scarcely a word of truth in the whole to it; but there is one statement which, as good citizens, having the welfare of the whole community at heart, we desire to notice, and that it this: "The murderers of this (the Melton) family, are known here to every Democrat and many Republicans." Now, we pronounce this statement utterly and unqualifiedly false, for we are all Democrats, and none of us know anything whatever as to who were the murderers of the Meltons, and we are well satisfied that the statement is a gross libel not only upon "every Democrat," but also upon "many Republicans" of this County.

Our main object, however, is to learn from you who the author of this communication is, in order that we may have him bound over to testify at the next term of the Court of Sessions, in regard to this subject, about which he seems to know so much, so that the authors of this horrible tragedy may be brought to trial.

A. McQueen
Henry McIver
W. L. T. Prince
P. F. Spofford
A. M. Lowry 
Stephen Jackson
G. W. Duvall

The Daily Union published the following response:

As our correspondent did not in any way make his communication personal, we shall, most decidedly, refused to disclose his name. If these gentlemen desire his testimony, when the proper time comes, we will venture to answer for his appearance. Whether his charges were true will soon be known, and in such a way as there will be no disputing the facts. Light is dawning, of which these gentlemen little dream.

In October, the Columbia Daily Union published that statement that the men who committed the Melton murders included the brother of M. J. Hough, an ex-Confederate officer and prominent Chesterfield lawyer who was active in conservative politics. The statement further claimed that the brother had recently died of injuries he suffered during the attack. In a public letter, Hough strongly denied these accusations. His statement read:

I have no brother who had been wounded by bayonets or otherwise, or has died since the war. The whole testimony taken at the coroner's inquest is now in the coroner's office, as well as that of the surgeon who attended Melton, as that of others, including the family of Melton.

The statements contained in the Union above quoted are base fabrications, and this, Republicans and Democrats, white and colored, in Chesterfield, well know. [I?] will sent [sic "send"], as early as I can obtain them, affidavits from Melton's physicians and others, sustaining the truth of what I have said above.

In times like these, when misrepresentation and falsehood are made the means to effect party purposes, and truth is stifled by them, it is well, perhaps, to submit to the highest proof of what we have to say.

I conclude by requesting the publication of the above in your columns.

M. J. Hough

Shortly after Hough's letter was published, President Grant authorized the military intervention that Louise Lane had begged for six months earlier. On October 17, President Grant suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus (providing protection against unlawful confinement) in nine upstate counties including Chesterfield. Federal marshals, working with the U.S. army, then proceeded to arrest hundreds of alleged Ku Kluxers. However, many of the more influential Klan members avoided arrest by fleeing the state. Those arrested ultimately faced relatively minor legal consequences. Only about one hundred men were found guilty, and the most severe punishment was a five-year jail term. 

No Ku Klux arrests were made in Chesterfield county, and nobody was ever arrested for the murders of Robert Melton and his wife even though Governor Scott offered a five hundred dollar reward. 

The murder of the Meltons and threats against Henry J. Fox were apparently enough to drive the Fox family away. By December 1871, they had had left Chesterfield county for Charleston. 

The Lane family remained in Chesterfield, and the next year, Saurin even ran for  for the office of school commissioner. They finally left in 1874 for Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It is unclear what happened to Robert Singleton, although he presumably left the state as he does not appear in 1880 census records

Although the men who murdered their parents likely lived in Chesterfield and may even have been known to them, several of the Melton children remained in the county for the rest of their lives. 

Sources

1. The daily phoenix, August 16, 1870, p. 2.

2. Yorkville enquirer, June 1, 1871, p. 2.

3. "Afraid to Shew Himself." The daily phoenix [Columbia, SC], October 13, 1871, p. 2.

4. "The Chesterfield Murders." The Charleston daily news [Charleston, SC], April 27, 1871, p. 3.

5. "Letter from South Carolina." Green-Mountain Freeman. [Montpelier, VT], May 10, 1871, p. 1.

6. "Alleged Ku-Klux Murders." The Charleston daily news. [Charleston, SC], April 25, 1871, p. 1.

7. "The Melton Murders." The Charleston daily news. [Charleston, SC], October 17, 1871, p. 2.

Thanks to David McIlroy for help in transcribing Senator Whittemore.

The students of the Radical University: Edgar Douglas

Edgar James Douglas (b. Abt. 1856)
South Carolina.  Black.  
Occupation: farmer
Father's occupation: farmer, postmaster.

Edgar Douglas was born around 1856 in South Carolina to Mundy and Levicy Douglas.  Mundy worked in Statesburg, South Carolina (in Sumter County) as a farmer and as constable.

In 1870, Edgar was living with his parents in Statesburg.  He registered as a student at the University of South Carolina at some point between February 1874 and January 1876.  The university closed before he completed his degree.

After the university closure, Edgar returned to Statesburg and worked as a farmer.  In 1880, he was renting 16 acres of land. On the land, he raised swine and poultry and grew Indian corn, hops, peas, and beans. He  had achieved enough success at farming that he was able to pay his rent in cash (instead of sharecropping). 

In 1883, Edgar was appointed postmaster of Statesburg.

Edgar last appears in the historical record in 1900. By that year, he had moved to Chester county and continued to farm. 

Sources 
1). 1870; Census Place: Statesburg, Sumter, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1509; Page: 236A;

2). 1870; Census Place: Statesburg, Sumter, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1509; Page: 236B

3). 1880; Census Place: Statesburg, Sumter, South Carolina; Roll: 1241; Page: 302B

4). Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives

5). 1900; Census Place: Blackstock, Chester, South Carolina; Page: 21; Enumeration District: 0004; FHL microfilm: 1241522

The students of the Radical University: William Grant

William James Grant (b. Abt. 1859)
South Carolina.  Born free. Mulatto.
Occupation: butcher.
Father's occupation: butcher.

William Grant was born in Charleston, South Carolina to James and Ann Grant.  The father James worked as a butcher.  Both James and Ann were free persons of color, although they were evidently light-skinned and may have occasionally passed for white.  (The 1870 U.S. lists the race of James and Ann as "white" and states that James is from Ireland, although all other records described them as "mulattos" from South Carolina.) James had been born free in Charleston, and he'd had largely spent his entire life in the city. According to an 1872 account he gave, he'd never been more than fifty miles away from the city. In the same account, he said that he'd had problems with hearing since the 1860s which limited his ability to participate in politics and social activities. 

James's 1872 account was offered as part of a claim made to the U. S. Southern Claims Commission. (The commission provided reimbursement to Unionists in the south for property taken by the U.S. army.) His claim was submitted to Theodore W. Parmele, the father of William's USC classsmates Charles R. Parmele and Holmes Agnew.

Offered as it was in support of a reimbursement claim, James's account should not be accepted uncritically. Nevertheless, it provides insight into his family's experiences during and after the Civil War. James told the claims commissioner that, when war broke out, "everybody" (meaning presumably white Charlestonians) was sure that that the Confederate army would be victorious. Many White Charlestonians openly said that the colored people would be killed because of the outbreak of war. Of course, James said that he had not wanted war and that he had always supported Unionism. 

During the war, James said that he helped provide food to Union prisoners held in Charleston. According to him, "[a]bout a year before the evacuation of Charleston" (probably meaning in spring 1864), a white woman ("Mrs. Potter") who frequented his market stall spoke with him about how Union prisoners were suffering from hunger. He gave the woman meat from his slaughterhouse as well as soup and pancakes prepared by his wife to offer to the prisoners. He did not personally offer the prisoners food because he felt it was dangerous for men to give anything to them, but he used his wagon to help the woman transport the food to the prison.

Union troops entered the city in mid-February 1865. William was quickly hired by a Union quartermaster ("Captain Fowler") as a butcher. After troops had been in the city for about a week, two white Union soldiers accompanied William to the Grant home. They took the sheep and cattle held in James' pen (about 30 head of cattle and 45 head of sheep) as army provisions. The claim that James presented to the commissioner was for compensation for the livestock that the soldiers had taken. James's claim was not approved for payment. No reason was recorded, but in general, few claims (only about a third) were approved. 

William first appears in university records in the January 1876 University of South Carolina catalogue.  He described as a freshman from Charleston following the modern studies track.  This university closed before he completed his degree.

After the university closure, William returned to Charleston and took up his father's trade, working as a butcher at W. A. Grant & Sons.  He stayed in Charleston until sometime in the 1900s when he moved Los Angeles, continuing to work as a butcher. 

William likely died at some point between 1910 and 1920 as his wife Orville is listed as a widow in the 1920 Census.

Sources

1). 1860; Census Place: Charleston Ward 5, Charleston, South Carolina; Page: 387

2). 1870; Census Place: Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1487; Page: 399B

3). 1880; Census Place: Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: 1222; Page: 341D; Enumeration District: 068

4). 1900; Census Place: Charleston Ward 8, Charleston, South Carolina; Page: 14; Enumeration District: 0096

5). 1910; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 70, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_81; Page: 9B;

6) 1920; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 73, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_114; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 394

7) The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Barred and Disallowed Case Files of the Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Record Group Title: Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789 - 2015; Record Group Number: 233; Series Number: M1407

The law students of the Radical University: Gil Dixon Fox

Gilbert Dixon Fox (b. Abt. July, 1849; d. October 4, 1908)

Connecticut.  White.
Occupation: Newspaper reporter, Clerk P.O. Dept, Clerk Govt.
Father's occupation: clergyman, farmer, teacher.

Gilbert (or Gil) Dixon Fox was born in Connecticut to Henry J. and Clarinda Fox. Henry J. was a Methodist minister who served as a professor of English at the University of South Carolina. His brothers Clarence, Irving, and Henry A. also attended the university. Their entries include additional details about the family. 

When Gil was born, his father Henry was working as pastor in Hartford, CT. However, when Gil was three years old (in 1852), the family moved to New York City. They remained there for five years, until 1857. That year they relocated to Greene county (in the Catskill mountains) where Henry founded a school and ran a farm. Henry's school ran for four years. Unfortunately, during the last year, the school building was destroyed in a fire. The school was closed, and the family returned to New York City. Gil would spend his teenage years in the city.

Gil attended the New York City Free Academy (a precursor to the City College of New York) for several years. He entered in fall 1863 as a member of the Introductory (or pre-Freshman) class. He remained at the academy for four years (until the end of the 1866-67 academic year), although it appears that he did not advance past the freshman class and did not receive a degree. Two years later (during the 1869-70 academic year), Gil attended Columbia University. Gil was listed as a "special student pursuing a partial course" in the School of Mines.

Gil moved with his family to South Carolina in early 1869 to found a farming community in Chesterfield county. By August, Gil had left Chesterfield county for the city of Columbia by August 1870. 

In Columbia, Gil worked as a newspaper reporter. He worked a correspondent for the Charleston News and Courier, as editor for the Charleston Republican, and as city editor for a Columbia daily paper. He is also reported to have established an (unnamed) weekly newspaper in Sumter in 1872. He wrote an important account of Ku Klux violence in Chesterfield county in 1870. His writing is reproduced in the entry "Letter from the Fox Family"

Gil's journalism got him into trouble in 1871. That January the General Assembly began to impeach T. O. P. Vernon, the judge for the 7th Judicial Circuit. The reasons for impeachment are unclear. Vernon's accusers claimed that he had habitually shown up to court drunk and was generally neglecting his duties. However, White Conservatives alleged that the impeachment was politically motivated. The impeachment charge was based on an investigation that was launched shortly after Vernon issued a writ of habeas corpus that freed a group of White men who were accused of murdering several Republicans on the day of the 1870 election. Some Conservatives alleged that investigation was an act of retaliation.

Upon receiving notice of the impeachment charges, Vernon responded by offering to resign from his judgeship. This created confusion. It was unclear if his resignation would be accepted and, if accepted, whether the impeachment proceedings would continue. Some expressed concern that continuing with impeachment, in light of Vernon's offer to resign, would be a needless financial expense. 

Gil commented on the impeachment proceedings in a January 20 article in the Charleston Daily News. In an article titled "The Impeachment Job," Gil wrote that "the impeachment trial has turned into a job which will be put through to the benefit of" state senator B. F. Whittemore. Despite Judge Vernon offer to resign, Whittemore planned to move forward with proceedings. Whittemore stood to financially benefit from this decision, according to Gil. Gil wrote that the proceedings would generate about $4800 in ticket sales, and a resolution authorized the clerk of the Senate to draw $1500 for incidental expenses. 

State legislators evidently took great offense at Gil's article. A Senate special committee was appointed to inquire into the charges that he had made. Three days later (on January 23), Gil responded in a letter sent to the committee chairman. He explained that his article was intended "entirely as a joke" and offered an apology "[i]f I have been so unfortunate as to make it appear a serious matter."

In its report, the committee confirmed that there was no evidence supporting the charges in Gil's article. They further reported that another reporter (left unnamed) said that Gil wrote the article "for the purpose of creating a sensation." Rather than accepting Gil's explanation that he had made a harmless joke, the committee wrote that they were of the opinion that he had "wantonly trifled with the character and good name of the Senate, and of a Senator." Upon the Committee's recommendation, Gil was expelled from the Senate floor. At the end of the month, the Charleston Daily News announced that it had ended its connection with Gil. No explanation was offered, although given the timing, this was presumably in response to the rebuke by the General Assembly. 

Judge Vernon resignation was accepted shortly after Gil's article appeared (on January 24). By this time, the state Senate had already organized a court of impeachment, but the senators unanimously passed a vote to adjourn the court sine die, effectively bringing the matter to a close.

In addition to his newspaper work, Gil received several government appointments. In August 1870, he was appointed a Notary Public by Governor Scott. In that capacity, he took an affidavit related to an important controversy. In early January 1871, the New York Sun newspaper published an article that alleged that an agent for Governor Scott had traveled to New York City and recruited twenty-five "roughs" led by Colonel James E. Kerrigan, a former Union army officer. Ostensibly, Kerrigan's men were commissioned as state constables and were brought to South Carolina to protect a gold mine in York county. However, the article alleged that they were in fact brought in to commit acts of violence. The governor allegedly offered them $30,000 if five men were "removed" from Union county. In a subsequent meeting, the governor's private secretary was alleged to have explained to Kerrigan's men that they were to "clean out" seventy citizens in the county. At the same meeting, state senator Joseph Crews (a scalawag from Laurens county) allegedly asked the men to rob and murder three men in his county. Both Crews and the governor's secretary were said to have offered the Kerrigan's men legal protection and financial compensation. The article reported that Kerrigan had instructed his men not to carry out the requested attacks until they were offered more money. Rather than increasing their compensation, the Chief of Police recalled them and then the governor paid them to leave the state.

Governor Scott, Senator Crews, and their supporters publicly denied the allegations in strong terms. In support of his statement, Crews submitted an affidavit that was sworn to and subscribed before Gil (in Gil's capacity as notary public). Crews acknowledged that he had met with Kerrigan's men. However, he denied trying to employ them to commit murder. Instead, he said they approached him and offered to assassinate anyone he wanted "out of the way."  Crews said he responded by stating that he expected to address seek redress for any offensives through civil law rather than by hiring assassins. He then ended the meeting and resolved to only meet with Kerrigan again if other witnesses present.

According to Crews, Kerrigan's men left for Union county after their meeting when him. Upon their return to Columbia, he said that one of the men asked him to influence the governor to increase the men's pay. Crews said he declined to do so. Later, Crews said, some of Kerrigan's men visited him a third time while he was in New York City. He alleged that one of the men threatened to "publish a card" against him unless they were given a sum of money. Crews again declined to help them obtain further financial compensation. This final meeting, Crews said, brought his involvement with the matter to an end. 

The governor's secretary also submitted an affidavit sworn to and subscribed before Gil. The secretary's affidavit was a brief statement saying that he never had a conversation with any of Kerrigan's men on the topic of assassinations and he knows nothing of any communications regarding the topic.

South Carolina newspapers reported on the allegations regarding Kerrigan's men and published the affidavits by Crews and the governor's secretary as well as affidavits in support of the original allegations. Although one state legislator (Timothy Hurley) proposed that the Legislature conduct an investigation, this was not done, and the matter appears to have fallen out of the public eye by February 1871.

Gil was also appointed as Aide-de-Camp in the state militia by Governor Scott in April 1872. It appears that Gil did not serve in this role for long as he does not appear in a list of militia officers published in the Adjutant's October 1873 report to the General Assembly. It would have been natural for him to step down from the position in December 1872 since Scott's term as governor ended that month.

Gil also worked as a bookkeeper for the state Lunatic Asylum and as a census taker for Chesterfield county in 1870, 

While Gil appears to have supported the Republican Party, he was also employed by Conservative Democrats. In 1871, he worked as the stenography for a state Tax-Payer's Convention (an important meeting of Conservatives) held that May. 

Gil appears to have been active as a stenographer during this time. According to a newspaper article, Gil published several treatises on subject. Unfortunately, the article does not mention the titles of these publications, and they have not otherwise been identified. 

Gil continued his education while living in Columbia. On October 7, 1874, he matriculated into the law school of the University of South Carolina. He never completed a degree, although he was still enrolled as a law student in January 1876. 

In 1876, Gil began working in Washington DC. That year he was hired by U.S. Vice President Thomas W. Ferry to serve as his private secretary. He later served as private secretary for Senator Nathaniel P. Hill of Colorado. It is unclear exactly when Gil served as Hill's secretary, although it was presumably during Hill's time in office (from 1879 to 1885). 

Gil had moved to Washington DC by 1878. In addition to his work as a private secretary, Gil was hired as a federal clerk. He would remain in the profession for the rest of his life. He worked in the Office of the Surgeon-General around 1889 and for the Senate Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads. However, most of his time was spent working for the post office. He worked for the railway mail service during the late 1870s (serving the line running from Washington DC to New York City). In the 1890s and 1900s, he was employed in the General Office of the Post-Office Department. His last position was in the office of the Third Assistant Postmaster General.

Gil moved to Hyattsville, Maryland around 1900.  Hyattsville is a suburb of DC, and Gil continued to work in DC. However, he became active in local affairs. He served as a steward in the Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church and was active in the church choir. Gil had long been involved with the Methodist church. For example, in 1876 he wrote a biographic sketch of the Methodist bishop John Philip Newman (an aquantance of hsi father's) that was published in the Christian Union of New York.

Gil was also active in local politics. He was especially supportive of the prohibition movement. In 1903, he ran as a Prohibition party candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates. Gil (along with all other Prohibition party candidates) lost the election by a wide margin. He only received 51 votes, while each winning candidate received roughly 2000 votes. All the winning candidates were Democrats, and in general, the Democrats swept the county elections that year. 

In April 1905, Gil was appointed as a clerk for the upcoming Hyattsville mayoral election. Unfortunately, he fell ill that around the end of November. His health worsened, and on October 4, he died. The cause of death was given as nephritis and pneumonia. He was buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington DC. 

Sources

1) 1850; Census Place: Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut; Roll: 41; Page: 300b

2) Census of the state of New York, for 1855. Microfilm. Various County Clerk Offices, New York

3) 1860; Census Place: Ashland, Greene, New York; Page: 897; Family History Library Film: 803758

4) 1870; Census Place: Old Store, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1491; Page: 366A; Family History Library Film: 552990

5) 1870; Census Place: Old Store, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1491; Page: 359A; Family History Library Film: 552990

6) 1880; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: 123; Page: 284D; Enumeration District: 057

7) 1900; Census Place: Hyattsville, Prince George, Maryland; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0092; FHL microfilm: 1240626

8) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S., City Directories, 1875

9) Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1878

10) District of Columbia, Glenwood Cemetery Records, 1854-2013. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: FamilySearch, 2019

11) "Personal" National Republican (Washington, DC). June 14, 1876. p. 1. 

12) The Charleston Daily News, January 1871. p. 2.

13) "Personal" National Republican (Washington, DC). October 3, 1876. p. 1. 

14) The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, SC). August 16, 1870. p. 2.

15) "The Charge Against Governor Scott." The Charleston daily news, January 19, 1871, p. 2.

16) "Experience of New York Roughs in South Carolina." The daily phoenix, January 24, 1871, p. 2.

17) "The 'Roughs' of New York Outdone." The daily phoenix, January 26, 1871, p.  2.

18) "The Assassination Plot" The Charleston Daily News, January 25, 1871. p. 1.

19) "The Assassination Business." The daily phoenix, January 31, 1871, p. 2.

20) The Charleston daily news, January 31, 1871, p. 2.

21) "Legislature of South Carolina." The Anderson intelligencer. [SC], February 2, 1871, p. 1.

22) "Local Items." The daily phoenix, June 22, 1871, p. 2.

23) "Local Items" Daily Phoenix, April 19, 1872. p. 2.

24) The Anderson intelligencer, May 2, 1872, p. 2.

25) "Personal." National Republican [Washington DC], May 13, 1876. p. 1.

26) "Personal." National Republican [Washington DC], October 3, 1876, p. 1.

27) "Official Ballot of Prince George's County." The Prince George's Enquirer and Southern Maryland Advertiser. October 23, 1903. p. 2.

28) "Prohibitionists Nominate Candidates for House of Delegates." Evening Star [Washington, DC]. October 27, 1903. p. 18. 

29) "Results may be mixed." Evening Star [Washington, DC]. November 3, 1903. p. 20. 

30) The Prince George's Enquirer and Southern Maryland Advertiser. November 6, 1903. p. 2.

31) "Hyattsville Council Meets." Evening Star [Washington DC], April 24, 1908. p. 15. 

32) Evening Star [Washington, DC]. October 4, 1908.

33) "Gilbert D. Fox Dead." Evening Star [Washington, DC], October 5, 1908. pp. 4.

34) "News of the State." The News [Frederick, Maryland], October 6, 1908. p. 5.

35) "Hyattsville." Evening Star [Washington, DC], July 28, 1893. p. 8.

36) Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Columbia College for the Year 1869-1870. D. Van Nostrand, New York (1869). 

37) Fifteenth Annual Register of the Free Academy of the City of New York, 1863-1864. Macoy & Herwig, New York (1863).

38) Sixteenth Annual Register of the Free Academy of the City of New York, 1864-1865. Unknown publisher, New York (1864).

39) Seventeenth Annual Register of the Free Academy of the City of New York, 1865-1866. Unknown publisher, New York (1865).

40) Eighteenth Annual Register of the Free Academy of the City of New York, 1866-1867. Unknown publisher, New York (1866).

41) Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service, Vol. 2. (1879). p. 21.

42) Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service Together with a List of Vessels Belonging to the United States, Vol. 1. (1889). 291.

43) Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service Together with a List of Vessels Belonging to the United States, Vol. 1. (1899). p. 881.

44) Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census. Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service: 1905, 

45) Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina at the Regular Session, 1870-'71. Republican Printing Company, Columbia SC (1871). pp 1400-1401.