Synopsis The bodies of young brothers Daniel and William Luke were found outside the Joshua-Williams residence, which was located about five miles from Bowens Mill (Irwin County, GA). They had been mortally and frightfully wounded by close-range shotgun blasts the previous evening. Williams absconded, after confessing to acquaintances. Arrested in Hawkinsville GA, he was extradited to Irwinton, then the county seat. He was incarcerated in an unattended stout wooden jail, the pioneer equivalent of a medieval dungeon. It was set afire by arsonist(s) unknown, and he was heard to scream once. His charred remains were buried nearby. History belongs to the powerful. Whether in the twilight, in a situation aggravated by fear, Williams mistook them for parties seeking redress for a theft, or--at the other extreme--he was provoked by the killing of his dog, if that happened, is unknowable. Thus, I have written the synopsis in a neutral voice, expecting interested readers to follow the links, without which the essence is lost. (The newspaper accounts have variously misstated the given names of the Luke brothers, their father's given name, and the given name of Williams. The date of the shooting is also not consistent throughout.) Newspaper Accounts2 Brief overview (Milledgeville Fed Union Jun 30 1868) Discovery of bodies, hearsay evidence implicating Williams (Macon Georgia Weekly Telegraph Jul 3 1868) Speculation of the events surrounding the shooting (Milledgeville Fed Union Jul 7 1868) Inquest and more speculation about the order of events surrounding the shooting (Macon Georgia Weekly Telegraph Jul 10 1868) Jail burns, incinerating Williams (Macon Georgia Weekly Telegraph Jul 17 1868) Similar to above, less complete (Weekly Atlanta Intelligencer Jul 22 1868) Historical (Retrospective) Account3 Description of the Jail (Clements, J.B. 1932 History of Irwin County Atlanta: Foote and Davies) Description of the Tragedies (Clements, J.B. 1932 History of Irwin County Atlanta: Foote and Davies) *************** Familial Context "Grandma Boykin" is Julia Ann nee Luke Boykin (1851-1885), my 2d greatgrandmother. She was the daughter of William Luke (1812-after 1880) and Sarah nee Rhodes Luke.1 Julia Ann was the first of three wives of my 2d greatgrandfather John David Boykin (1848-1923). I descend from Julia through her daughter Elizabeth, who was the mother of my maternal grandfather, Mark A. Watson. The William Luke family was enumerated as Family No. 72 in District 4, Irwin County, 1860 FC. Eight-year-old Julia's brothers William (then age 11) and Daniel (then age 10) were enumerated, along with other family members. Other families in my ancestry, viz., Boykins and Tuckers, were enumerated nearby. William Luke self-reported as being a farmer, but the value of his property was small. In the 1850 Agricultural Census (Laurens county from whence Julia's father emigrated sometime after 1850), a William Luke produced more sweet potatoes and butter than his neighbors, but was otherwise on the low-average, or even low, side in the value of his inventory. I did not find a William Luke in the agricultural census of 1860, Irwin County, possibly because he was a tenant or laborer. Suspect Context Slaves were not enumerated by their names in 1860, but under their owners' names. Often, a slave took the owner's surname, but I found no Williams enumerated in the 1860 Slave Schedule for Irwin County. Joshua Williams was also said to use the alias "Elbert Stevens," but no Stevens was found among the owners of the 246 slaves that were enumerated in the Slave Schedule for Irwin County, either. As an aside, none of the Lukes in Irwin County owned slaves. [A household headed by 33-year-old Joshua Williams was enumered in District 3 of Irwin County in the 1860 Free-Inhibitants FC. He was a carpenter and had a small personal estate. This white Joshua Williams was not connected with the case.] ************* Footnote 1. Digital-age amateur genealogy is fraught with error. Indeed, I have found that following names can be confusing, e.g., my 3d and 4th greatgrandfathers were named "William Luke,"which was a very common name in and around Berrien County. I have seen them referred to as William (I) and William (Iii), respectively. As does the subject William here, their life dates overlap with the better known Elder William Luke (1835-1905) and others. I've certainly gotten off on the wrong footing from time to time. Thus, one will find different lineages on Ancestry.com than I have presented. For this reason, I have accessed the FC, and importantly, have consulted expert Phillip Joe Luke, to whom thanks are owed. The life dates are from this ancestry.com tree Footnote 2. Retrieved from the Digital Library of Georgia, with thanks to my alma mater. After this page was posted, Glory Holback contributed the following oral history: "My Great Great Uncles shot his dog...and he shot and killed them. They went to his house to accuse him of theft and his dog tried to protect him...I am sorry that my ancestors did not let the law take it's course. Just my humble opinion. Their brother George. W.M. Luke is my ancestor. But times were different...." (comment, 2014-01-06 on Luke Genealogy Forum, Facebook ) Many thanks to Glory. Footnote 3. I first became acquainted with this tragedy on reading the accounts linked here from a tattered paper copy of Clements from my parents' estate. Though of interest, I did not recognize the relationship to my ancestors; I put it aside, thinking I would come back later, and, as usual, I didn't. Thanks to my spouse, Nedra, who gave me a copy of the First Families of South Georgia, Volume Four Luke (Paulk J.H., D.W. Paulk, 2005, Salem (FL): Paulk and Genealogy) for Christmas, 2014. This reference contained an excerpt from Luke Families of South Georgia (Luke, P.J., Jr., 2002, Georgia: McDowell Publications). This excerpt brought the issue into focus for me, leading to this post.
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