Reconstruction-era University of South Carolina Professor Henry J. Fox took on his professorship after unsuccessfully trying to help found a farming colony in the Pee Dee. With support from an out of state development company, Fox had purchased a large amount of land in the hope that he could sell land tracts to northerners and Englishmen interested in farming in the south. His plans collapsed in the face of strong resistance from white conservatives. The low point occurred early on the morning of Monday April 17, 1871 when his neighbor Robert Melton, a Republican deputy tax collector, was murdered by disguised men.
Background
The farming colony that Professor Fox tried to found was located in the township of Old Store in Chesterfield County, roughly at the location of the modern town of Pageland. Chesterfield is in the Pee Dee, and Old Store lies in the northwest part of the county, near the border with North Carolina. This was a somewhat isolated location as both the largest town (Cheraw) and the county seat (Chesterfield) are in eastern part.
About two-thousand people lived in Old Store township. Like much of the Pee Dee, the township was majority white, although African Americans made up almost a third of the population. Most African Americans had been enslaved prior to the Civil War. The county was largely rural. There was little industry, and most residents were famers.
Chesterfield county strongly supported the Confederacy. The first call for secession was made there, and one of Chesterfield's representatives to the state Secession Convention chaired the committee that drafted the Ordinance of Secession.
The region was left devastated by the Civil War. The Pee Dee was not directly impacted by the war until the last year, but then it came with a fury. In spring 1865, General Sherman's forces invaded the state following the capture of the city of Savannah. Sherman's troops marched on Chesterfield County in March, and the town of Cheraw was the site of a battle between Union and Confederate troops. No battles took place in Old Store, but General Kilpatrick's Union cavalry stayed in the area around Pageland for the first week of March. While there, they requisitioned supplies from families in the region. Soldiers took families' horses, food, and even eating utensils and clothing.
Robert Melton
In many respects, Robert Melton was a typical resident of Chesterfield. At the time of his death, he was an old man of sixty-two. He had been born in North Carolina, but he'd been living in Chesterfield, working as a farmer, since before the war. Reconstruction created new opportunities for him. Landless until Reconstruction, at the time of his death, he owned 150 acres of land on which he raised milk cows and swine and grew Indian corn and a small amount of cotton.
Robert ran the farm with the help of his large family. He and his wife Harriet had seven children. The eldest three, the sons Alexander and William and the daughter Harriet A., had left the farm, but his son Robert C. and his daughters Mary Jane, Sarah, and Emaline remained at home.
In his politics, Robert was an outlier. During the war, he had supported the Union. When Sherman's troops occupied the county, his family not only provided them with provisions, but they even milled their corn for them. Robert became active in the Republican government after the war. He was appointed tax collector by Governor Scott, an act that was likely a reward for his political support. This appointment was a demonstration of how Reconstruction had changed Robert's fortunes. In the antebellum, small farmers like him were largely excluded from state politics.
The Incident
Newspapers debated whether or not Robert was murdered because of his political activities. However, there was broad consensus on the basic facts about the incident.
Around 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning of Monday April 18, the Melton household was awoken by the sound of men outside their home. The family dog began barking at the men, and the Meltons became concerned when one man responded to the dog barks with gunfire. Deciding to investigate further, Robert armed himself with a bayonet and then he and his son Robert C. ran outside the house. Upon opening their front door, they were met with gunfire, and Robert was wounded.
The gunfire came from five to seven armed men who were standing about twenty feet from the house. Robert was undeterred by his injury. He proceeded to rush one of his assailants and attempted to grab his firearm. However, he was unsuccessful, and after being shot a second time, he ran back into his home.
The Melton women had followed the men outside. Sarah ran up to one of the men and begged him not to murder the family. When she did so, another assailant shot her, and then all of them ran away. The Meltons returned to their house, but upon doing so, they discovered Harriet lying on the ground. Mary initially thought her mother had simply fainted, but when the family tried to bring Harriet back into the house, Mary saw that her mother had been shot. The family laid Harriet on her bed, but by that time, she had already died of her wounds. Robert's injuries were severe, but he remained conscious.
The gunfire awakened Robert's neighbor Robert A. Allen, and he rushed to the Melton home to see what had happened. He was horrified to find Harriet dead and Robert near death. After discussing the incident with Robert and examining his wounds, he ran to get a local constable, G. W. Carter. When the constable arrived, he discussed the attack with Robert and then examined the area for evidence. However, his search only produced a hat.
Robert remained bed-ridden, in pain, throughout the day. His condition worsened, and on the next day (Tuesday April 18), he succumbed to his injuries. Sarah survived her injuries, although they necessitated the amputation of one leg.
The Coroner's Inquest
Under state law, the county coroner was charged with conducting an inquest into all violent deaths in the county. This involved first submitting a warrant to the local constables, requiring them to summon a jury of fourteen men. Then the coroner met with the jury, and they were to determine the cause of death (whether it was an accident or a homicide, etc).
To make their determination, the jury typically took witness testimony, and the coroner had the ability to compel witnesses to testify by issuing warrants. All testimony was recorded by the coroner and became part of the record of the inquest. Once the jury had determined the cause of death, they were to render the verdict in writing under their signature and seal.
In the case of the deaths of Robert and Harriett Melton, there was no real question as to the cause of death, and predictably, each of the two juries rendered the verdict that the Meltons had been murdered. Still, the inquest created important records about what transpired.
The witness testimony recorded is the basis for the narrative account of the murders that we provided above. Beyond this narrative, the jury foreman, a medical doctor, provided testimony about the nature of Robert and Harriett's injuries, confirming that each had gunshot wounds that caused their death. The jury also interviewed three of the four Melton children, the Meltons' neighbor Robert A. Allen, and the constable George W. Carter.
Although Robert Melton was alive during the inquest on his wife, he did not provide testimony. Certainly, he had important information to offer. The records are silent on his lack of testimony, but given the severity of his injuries, he may have been unable to respond to questioning. His daughter Emaline also did not testify. It is possible she was not present (none of the witnesses mention her) or the jury may have chosen not to question her because of her age (she was only seventeen years old).
The witnesses provided some information about the assailants. Some of the assailants were disguised, but they were not wearing the elaborate costumes traditionally associated with Ku Kluxers. Mary A. Melton said one man was disguised in a garment she described as a "cloth wrapper." Others wore no disguise at all.
Unfortunately, the witnesses provided little information about the question that mattered the most: who committed the murder. The Melton children gave contradictory testimony about the race of the assailants. Sarah said that all the men were white, but her brother Robert C. said that some were black. The neighbor Robert A. Allen supported Robert C.'s claim. He had not seen the assailants, but he reported that, before dying, Robet Melton had told him that there had been black men among the crowd.
Exactly what Robert Melton told people about the attack is unclear. The neighbor reported that, beyond mentioning the race of some of the men, Robert Melton said he did not know anyone in the group. The constable reported a different conversation. He said that Robert believed one of the assailants might have been "Simpson," but Robert gave no further details, and several Simpsons lived in the area. Robert's daughter Mary A. said that one person had laughed like Bud Evans, but he was too large to be Evans himself.
No witness offered a theory or explanation for why the Meltons were attacked. Mary even said that she hadn't heard of any threats against this family. Her testimony stands in stark contrast to contemporaneous personal correspondence by Henry J. Fox's family and Robert's neighbor Louise Lane. They all thought Robert had been murdered because he was a prominent Republican, and they feared their families would be targeted next. Henry J. Fox was so concerned that he took to sleeping outdoors for weeks. Fox's son Henry A. wrote that Robert's murder was not entirely unexpected. It was the culmination of threatening behavior: local Republicans had received threatening letters, had their mail searched, and had their crops destroyed.
Beyond the witness testimony, the only evidence the jury collected was a pistol and a hat that the assailants left behind. Looking just at the records of the coroner's inquest, it certainly appears that murderers left no clues to their identity. However, Louisa Lane and members of the Fox family wrote that local Republicans generally claimed white South Carolinians were united against them and there was "neither law or justice" in the area. In light of these claims, it is worthwhile to look more closely at the jury of inquest, and how they performed their duties.
The Jury
Two separate inquests were held, one for Harriett and one for Robert. The inquest for Harriett was held around 9 am on the day of her murder, while the inquest for Robert was held the next day, when he died. There was nothing unusual about the timing; the coroner was supposed to investigate the deaths as soon as possible.
Two different constables summoned the two inquest juries. The first jury was summoned by J. T. Pigg, the second by G. W. Carter. Carter was the first constable called to the scene of the murder, and he also gave testimony to the first jury.
Each jury consisted of fourteen men. There was significant overlap between them: nine of the fourteen men on Harriet's jury returned the next day to serve on Robert's jury. The five new jurors included G. W. Carter.
Who were the men who conducted the inquest? Like most people in the area, almost everyone was a farmer. The main exception was the jury foreman T. Threatt. He worked as a physician and was probably chosen as a juror because of his expert medical knowledge. However, he also ran a farm.
The racial make-up of the jury stands out. In a township where one-third of the residents were African American, both juries were all-white. This raises the question of whether local officials even made a serious effort to find the assailants. Certainly, local Republicans did not think so. In a letter to President Grant, the Meltons' neighbor Louise Lane wrote that there was "neither law or justice in our midst" and begged the President to send federal troops. Gil Fox wrote that, with few exceptions, white South Carolinians in the area were constantly working in secret, trying to undermine the Republican government.
There is only limited documentation for most of the jury members, but the evidence is more mixed than one would expect from Gil Fox's account. The jury foreman, Dr. Threatt, was likely active in the Democratic party. (He later successfully ran as the Democratic candidate for state congress.) However, three of the jurors, Alfred Agerton, John Agerton and Ransom P. Pigg, were committed Unionists. They had been outspoken in their opposition to the rebellion during the war. When General Kirkpatrick's Union troops were in the area, they gave them gave hundreds of dollars of supplies (nearly everything they owned). In testimony later offered in support, Rev. Fox said he believed that, around the time the Meltons were murdered, Alfred himself was in danger of being attacked by Ku Kluxers because of his outspoken Unionism.
Certainly, Alfred had no sympathy for the Ku Klux. About a year later, he served as a member of the jury in Ku Klux Klan trials in Columbia, a jury that convicted a number of alleged Ku Kluxers.
The Coroner
The coroner W. J. Hanna stands in contrast to the jurors. Simply stated, he was an unreconstructed Confederate who likely had no interest in apprehending the Meltons' assailants. Not only had Hanna served in the Confederate army for the entire war, but afterwards, he was highly active in veterans' societies. In Chesterfield, he led local efforts to defeat Reconstruction. He had been elected on a conservative ticket at the last election. Later, he actively campaigned for the Democratic party in the contested election of 1876. He efforts in that election were significant enough that they were positively mentioned in the opening paragraph of his 1911 obituary.
As coroner, Hanna had significant control over the historical record of the Meltons' murders. He was responsible for transcribing witness testimony, and the Meltons had limited ability to check his work. Two of the Melton children Sarah and Robert C. were not only illiterate, but they couldn't even sign their names. (Mary J. appears have been at least partially literate.)
While we can only speculate about how Hanna influenced the recorded testimony, parts of it were seized on by conservative newspapers that sought to downplay Ku Klux violence. Robert C.'s statement that some of the assailants were African American was presented as evidence that Robet Melton was killed by African Americans who were upset over taxation, not Ku Kluxers.
Hanna's position as coroner illustrates the difficulties the South Carolina state government had during Reconstruction. While the Republican party held governorship and a majority of the state legislature, in counties like Chesterfield, the Republican government could act only in limited ways because conservative Democrats maintained control over many local offices.
Aftermath
The coroner's inquest appears to have been the end of legal efforts to hold the men who attacked the Meltons accountable. Five days after the attack (on April 22), the governor's private secretary (John Heart) wrote the county sheriff that the governor's office had been informed that Chesterfield was "infested by a gang of lawless men, who are committing wanton and unprovoked outrages." He further notified the sheriff that, unless the situation was rectified, the governor would organize a military or constabulary force in the county to protect citizens and enforce the law. The governor was bluffing. South Carolina was experiencing an epidemic of Ku Klux violence that year, and he was wholly unable to counter the Ku Kluxer without the aid of federal forces.
Governor Scott offered a five-hundred-dollar reward for the arrest of anyone connected with the murders, but nothing came of it. The coroner's inquest appears to have been the end of legal efforts to hold Robert and Harriett's murderers accountable.
The sheriff was a conservative, and it appears that he not only made no effort to apprehend the Meltons' murders, but he may even have facilitated efforts to defeat efforts. In September, an anonymous public letter (probably written by Gil D. Fox) was published in the Daily Union newspaper claiming that the identifies of the murderers were well-known and deploring the fact that they had not been brought to justice. The sheriff and a number of prominent Chesterfield men published a public response condemning the letter as a falsehood and a "gross libel." They further asked to be told who the author was so they could peruse legal charges. While the anonymous writer never received the justice he asked for, he at least did not experience legal consequences as the Daily Union withheld his identity.
The anonymous writer pushed the issue even further later that year. In a second public letter, he claimed that the assailants had included a brother of M. J. Hough, a prominent local conservative politician who had recently been unseated from the House. Predictably, Hough responded by angrily denied the accusation.
The governor was finally able to take effective action against South Carolina Ku Kluxers in October. That month President Grant suspended habeas corpus (providing protection against arbitrary arrest) and sent federal troops to help arrest Ku Kluxers. Although hundreds of arrests were made, nobody in Chesterfield was arrested, and it's unclear if troops were even sent there. The governor offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the men who murdered the Meltons, but no information was forthcoming. By the end of the year, public interest in the Chesterfield murders appears to have died down. Over the next few years, conservative Democrats, who likely had supported or at least celebrated the murders, gained almost complete control over the county, ending any hope of holding the murderers accountable.
Sources
1) "Senate and House." The Fairfield news and herald [Fairfield, SC], October 19, 1898, Image 1.
2) "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers." The daily phoenix [Columbia, SC], November 10, 1870, p. 3.
3) "W. J. Hanna." The State [Columbia, SC], August 18, 1911. p. 3.
Testimony in Robert Melton Murder
G. W. Carter
On last Sunday night at a very late hour I suppose about 1 or 2 oclock Robert Allen came to my house and ask me to come up to Mr. Meltons, that some persons had come there and killed Mrs Melton and nearly killed Mr. Melton. I told him I would go. I started and when I got to the house I saw Mrs. Melton on the bed a corpse. Robert Melton (the deceased) was lying on the same bed complaining as if he was hurt very bad, about light I went into the road in front of the house and found a hat. Never saw the hat before he found it in the road. I asked the deceased if he knew who shot him. He said he thought he did, but was not certain. He thought one of them was Simpson, deceased did not say what Simpson it was. Never examined the deceased, saw one wound in deceased stomach, a little on one side. Deceased died about Sundown 18th April 1871
Robert C. Melton
On Monday morning 17th just some time before day, I was lying in the bed awake, I heard some body tramping about the home, the dog was barking at some person and there was a gun fired. Father and myself jumped up an[d] ran to the door, and father said shoot him again. Father and myself then jumped into the yard, as soon as we got into the yard some person commenced firing across the [?] at us. Father then went into the lane and tried to take a gun or stick from one of the men. He then came back to the house and said he was shot. He (the deceased) then lay down on the bed and said he was going to die. I examined the wounds next morning and found two, one in the breast and one in the hip. Think he was wounded in the hip before he got into the lane. Every time the men would shoot some of them would say “fetch him down.” (Pistol exhibited). Witness say he found the pistol in front of the house near the gate, where the men were shooting, found the pistol about day break. I saw six or seven men in the lane. They fired a good many times. Did not know any of them. Some of the men were disguised. Think some of the men were black. The men hitched their horses near the house. Saw where they had [stampeded?] about next morning. The deceased had a bayonet in his hand when he went out the door. Did not see him strike at any of them with the bayonet
Sarah S. Melton
The first I hear the door crashed. The next I recollect I was going out by father and brother Rob, between the house and the gate. I went out at the gate and saw five men. There was four low [chunky?] ones and one high one. I am certain the four small men were white or had white faces. I put my hands on one of them and begged him not to kill us. About that time the high one shot me and then they ran. I then went into the house and found Father (the deceased) lying on the floor in front of the fire place. He said he was shot. Did not know any of the men. Thought I know who one of them laughed like. He laughed like Bud Evans but he was too large for Bud.
Mary J. Melton
Monday morning 17th just between 1 and 2 o’clock I was awakened by some person opening the front door. The door was opened by Father (the deceased). Just as the door was opened some person fired a gun or pistol from the direction of the lane. Father then went out of the door and I followed after him. I saw five or six men in the lane. The men in the lane kept shooting at the deceased, the deceased received two wounds and then he (the deceased) went back in the house, and the men who did the shooting turned and walked off. When father got back in the house he said he was shot. Did not see where the deceased was wounded, only saw the blood. Could not tell who the men were, that did the shooting. Never heard the men say anything only “fetch him down” the deceased did not say whether he knew any of the party or not. The deceased died yesterday afternoon 18th April 1871
Robert Allen
I was awakened on Monday morning 17th [April?] between 1 and 2 o’clock by hearing several guns firing in the direction of Robert Melton’s (the deceased) house. I heard some person screaming, as if they were in great trouble. I went over to the deceased as soon as I could. When I got to the house I found Mrs. Harriet Melton lying across the front door dead, and Robert Melton (the deceased) said he was shot and expected to die. I examined him and found that he was wounded in two places, in the stomache and also in the left hip. The deceased told me he thought there was some black people in the crowd that shot him but did not know any of the party. Just after the firing ceased and before I got to the deceased’s house I heard some person riding off in the direction of the Charlotte and Camden Road. Did not see any person about the hours only the family. (Hat and pistol found near the house exhibited) Never say the pistol or hat before. I think the deceased was shot with a pistol from the looks of the wound.
Testimony in Mary Melton Murder
G. W. Carter
I heard yesterday morning that Mrs. Melton was killed. I went to Mr. Meltons and found her dead, she was on the bed. I went out into the lane and found a hat, didn’t know whos hat it is found it about 20 steps from the door
Mary J. Melton
Before day, about 1 or 2 O’Clock Saturday morning I heard father open the front door. I went out the door with him, heard several guns fire from the lane, saw the fire from the guns. Father turned back and say “daughter I am shot” he went back into the house and I followed. When I stepped back into the house I stepped on mother’s [the deceased] hand. Did not know what was the matter with mother until I felt the bullet hole on the breat. Thought she had fainted. I saw five or six men in the lane, 15 or 20 steps from the house. I think mother (the deceased) went to the door and was shot while standing there. She was lying on her face with blood coming out of her mouth. I assisted in putting her on the bed, I think she (the deceased) was dead before we laid her on the bed. Think that one of the men I saw in the lane was disguised with some sort of clorth wraper around him. All that I heard the persons say who were shooting was “bring him down.” Did not recognize any of the voices. They (the persons shooting) left immediately after the shooting. Never heard of any threats made concerning this shooting. Heard father say after he was shot that he felt as if the crowd were waiting for him.
R. A. Allen
That on Monday 17th [?] between 1 and 2 o’clock in the morning he heard some guns firing in the direction of Robert Melton’s house. Thinks there was six or seven guns fired. Lives about 300 hundred yards from Robt Melton’s. Went to Robert Meltons as soon as I heard the firing. Heard some person hallowing like they were in trouble. I found Harriet Melton, the deceased, lying across the front door dead. Heard some person riding off from Robt Melton house. I examined the deceased and found a wound on her breast. Think it was done with a pistol. Examined the yard did not see any tracks. Saw the tracks of several persons in the lane about 20 steps from the front door. I assisted in moving the deceased from where she fell and laid her on the bed
Robt C. Melton
Saturday morning about 2 O’clock heard some persons stomping about. Thought at first it was some persons riding. Heard some person shoot at the dog, who was barking at them. Witness and his father went to the door. Just as father opened the door a gun fired and, I think, wounded father in the hip. Father and myself went out in the lane among the crowd that were shooting. One of the men had a gun or stick in his hand. Father took hold of it and tried to take it from him. Father went back into the house and said he was shot. Witness went back in the houe and saw his mother (the deceased) lying on the floor. Saw his mother (the deceased) breath once. Saw a wound in her heart. Looked like it was done with a little ball. Did not know mother was dead until I went back into the house. There were several shorts fired, did not know any of they party. Went out to the gate and found a pistol. Some of the barrells had been fired off. Never saw the pistol before. There were six or seven men in the lane. Don’t know when the deceased was shot. Thinks she died immediately
