The Concord Register
(Concord, North Carolina)4 Apr 1876, Tue • Page 4
My past several posts involved the family and life of on George Washington Cagle.
There was Sodom, Gommorah and Big Lick. about his life, affairs and how he may have contributed to the immoral reputation of the little town of Big Lick in Western Stanly County.
Also, in The Heirs of George Cagle, I attempted to track down who the legal heirs, children and grandchildren, of George Cagle were.
A Rose by Any Other Name, traced the life, and variations of name, of one of his unmarried daughters, whose name was different in every record or account of her.
Finally, The Secrets of Adeline told the story of George's oldest daughter, Menece Adeline, who started me on the entire Cagle journey to start with. It will not end here either, oh no, George's legacy was quit widespread.
This is the story and recount of his passionate ending, his killer, and how karma existed in the end.
As a quick rehash, George Washington Cagle was a larger-than-life character. He was grandiose, lusty, opportunistic and a maverick. Born in 1813, the was the oldest son of Charles Robert Cagle, Sr and Maranda Springer Cagle, both the Cagle and Springers being steadfast and populous families in the Big Lick and Rocky River area. He was considered wealthy for the area and the times, possession hundreds of acres and invested in several businesses, including a sawmill, a grist mill and a tanning yard. He was not a slave holder and made his money the honest way, with hard work and investments. He owned homes on the farm and in the town. He also carried lots of debt, still, after all were paid, there was still some to divide among his large family from two wives, and his legacy spread even larger as he claimed at least two mistresses. It was because of one of these mistresses, and his attempts to protect her from an abusive husband, who came along in the years after their active relationship, that ended his life.
There are three main characters in this story, George W. Cagle, who I mentioned above, the ex-lover; Daniel Alexander Crisco, the abusive, jealous husband, and Mariah Myers Meggs, the wife/former mistress.
We'll begin in 1870.
In the above 1870 census record, we see the household of George Cagle, 58, his wife Nancy Hinson Speight Cagle, a second wife, Fannie, 13, a daughter by his first wife, Eli, 11, a son by another mistress, Maniza Huneycutt, who by the way was living in household number 118, the listing just above George, Mariah Myers, 26, the woman in this story who was at the center of the dispute, her fatherless daughter, Lisy, aged 7, and William Huneycutt, who was the son on George's deceased daughter, Elizabeth.
Two facts must be clarified before I step further into this lurid event. One, Mariah's name. Some have her as Marian, and in this document, it appears it could be, but having looked ahead into other versions of it, and also having made contact with a direct descendant some years ago, her name was Mariah. Her daughter's name, which looks somewhat like "Lucy" here, was Melissa, born about 1866. "Lisy" or "Lisy Ann" for short. George Cagle was not the father of this child. I will go into that more when I post of the story of Mariah herself. Mariah's father was Wilson Shepherd Myers, known by Shepherd. Her mother was Sarah Elizabeth Thomas. They were not married. Her mother would marry a man by the name of James Ransom Meggs, and Mariah, also known as 'Kizzy' as her middle name was Keziah, would later take on her stepfather's surname. She grew up in the northern part of Union County, south of the Rocky River and just across the river from George Cagle's place in Big Lick Township, Stanly County.
Enter Daniel Alexander Crisco, a paradigm of the depravity and immoral society that plagued the 19th century area of Big Lick. It began when a group of German immigrants landed in Randolph County, North Carolina. William Lewis Crisco was a first generation American, whose German name had been Anglicized and whose father, George William, had been born in Germany and died in North Carolina. William Lewis Crisco was born in Randolph County about 1788. He married Nancy Throgmorton, from a Virginian family of British stock, who had migrated to Montgomery County, North Carolina. Nancy was agonizingly young upon her marriage and would bear 14 children, the oldest, Mary, at age 15 and the youngest, David, at age 41. Among these was their 11th child, Rebecca Elizabeth Crisco, born about 1830.
Willilam Crisco is shown living on the West Side of the Pee Dee River in Montgomery County in the 1830 census, so Rebecca Elizabeth was likely born in Big Lick, where the family would settle.
| Name | William Criscoe |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Race | White |
| Residence Age | 62 |
| Birth Date | abt 1788 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Residence Date | 1850 |
| Home in 1850 | Smiths, Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Real Estate | 187 |
| Cannot Read, Write | Yes |
| Line Number | 40 |
| Dwelling Number | 689 |
| Family Number | 694 |
| Inferred Spouse | Nancy Criscoe |
| Inferred Child | Sarah Criscoe |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| William Criscoe | 62 |
| Nancy Criscoe | 52 |
| Sarah Criscoe | 25 |
| John Criscoe | 21 |
| Elizabeth Criscoe | 20 |
| Alfred Criscoe | 16 |
| Lucinda Criscoe | 14 |
| David Criscoe | 11 |
In 1850, the family is shown in Smith's District, which would become Big Lick Township, with six of the youngest children. Rebecca Elizabeth was twenty years old.
Around the same time, another family had moved from Davidson County to the Rocky River in what would become Stanly County, the Scotch-Irish Kennedys. John C Kennedy (1794-1870) and wife, Mercy Winifred Daniel Kennedy (1974-1860) led a family of skilled-craftsmen, and innovative daughters that would settle near the Crisco family. The Kennedy's were a lusty, braggadocios family and there are many tales to tell concerning this family.
| Name | John Kennedy | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | ||||||||||||||||
| Race | White | ||||||||||||||||
| Residence Age | 55 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date | abt 1795 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Residence Date | 1850 | ||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1850 | Smiths, Stanly, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Carriage Maker | ||||||||||||||||
| Industry | Railroad and Miscellaneous Transportation Equipment | ||||||||||||||||
| Real Estate | 250 | ||||||||||||||||
| Line Number | 22 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number | 687 | ||||||||||||||||
| Family Number | 690 | ||||||||||||||||
| Inferred Spouse | Mercy Kennedy | ||||||||||||||||
| Inferred Child | Sarah KennedyEliza Kennedy | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
In 1850, Carriagemaker, John Kennedy is listed just a few houses up from the Crisco's, and Crisco son, Shelby, is living with them, working as a laborer. Missing from the household is Kennedy son, William G.
| Name | Wm G Kennedy |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Race | White |
| Residence Age | 25 |
| Birth Date | abt 1825 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Residence Date | 1850 |
| Home in 1850 | Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Occupation | Carriage Maker |
| Industry | Railroad and Miscellaneous Transportation Equipment |
| Line Number | 8 |
| Dwelling Number | 845 |
| Family Number | 850 |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Daniel Freeman | 55 |
| Martha Freeman | 55 |
| Martha Freeman | 16 |
| Lewis M Gilliam | 25 |
| John O Ross | 25 |
| Wm G Kennedy | 25 |
William G. Kennedy, also a Carriage Maker and Blacksmith in the emulation of his father and brothers, was living in the small upstart village of Albemarle, the new counties, county seat. He was boarding with merchant and businessman, Daniel Freeman. William wasn't always in Albemarle. At some point he made the interdicted acquaintance of Rebecca Elizabeth Crisco. Around the fall of 1855, with cognizant admonition of antebellum mores, William G. Kennedy and Rebecca Elizabeth Crisco would commit the reprehensible act of conceiving the child that would become Daniel Alexander Crisco.
Always mindful that he was the boys father, William then did what Big Lick men in these situations seemed to do. When the object of his affections became pregnant without the benefit of marriage, they would turn around and marry a virgin, worthy of legality of relations, which is what William did by marrying his second wife, Eleanor Elizabeth Hooks, on December 10, 1856. His first wife was Hannah M. Hill of Rowan County, who he married on March 3, 1846 in Salisbury, and who passed away November 9th of that same year. The Kennedy's would have eight children, first settling in Albemarle, then relocating to Norwood, where William G. would be appointed Postmaster, before lastly, heading south to Fulton County, Georgia, where he would pass away in 1904.
In the meantime, his bastard son, Daniel Crisco would remain in Big Lick with his mother.
| Name | Elizabeth Crisco |
|---|---|
| Age in 1870 | 38 |
| Birth Date | abt 1832 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Dwelling Number | 211 |
| Home in 1870 | Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Female |
| Post Office | Albemarle |
| Occupation | Keeping House |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth Crisco | 38 |
| Lucinda Crisco | 33 |
| Daniel Crisco | 15 |
| Miranda Crisco | 2 |
In 1870, Rebecca Elizabeth Crisco heads a household at age 38, her sister, Lucinda is living with her. As their father died in 1858, and their mother, Nancy, in 1867, just six years earlier, they may have been living in the old homestead, part of their mother's dower in Big Lick. Daniel Alexander Crisco is 15 years old here, and he was not an only child. Elizabeth would have a daughter, seen here as "Miranda", but whose name was or became, Amanda Francis Crisco (1867-1939). While Daniel would name William Kennedy on his two marriage licenses, as his father, there was no documentation as to the father of Amanda. Her marriage certificate to J. A. Taylor gives her mother as Elizabeth Crisco, and permission for her to marry underage was given by Daniel A. Crisco, named as her brother. In the blank space for father was written "unknown" and the same goes for her death certificate. Some attribute her existence to W. G. Kennedy, but that's unlikely, and not documented. There are no court records or bastardy bonds naming Elizabeth Crisco in them either, around the time Amanda was born, so her father remains a mystery.
So in 1870, in the Big Lick community, Mariah Myers-Meggs is a 26 year old woman with a young daughter, living in the home of George Cagle. Daniel Alexander Crisco is a 15 year old boy, living in the same community, with his mother, his aunt and his baby sister.
Just a few years later, on November 24, 1872, Daniel Alexander Crisco, now about 17 years old, married Mariah or Marion Keziah Megga, aged 28. The preceding article from the April 4, 1876 edition of The Concord Register, out of neighboring Cabarrus County, gives a little backstory to the sordid events to follow.
Daniel Crisco apparently rented a home from George Crisco and was a tenant farmer, helping the old man run his farm. At this point in 1876, Daniel was 22 years, Mariah was 32 and George Crisco was an aging man of 63. Prior to the confrontation, Daniel and his wife, who had been married about 4 years by this time, and had no children together, had gotten in a fight. Mariah was noted as having been a mistress of George Cagle before her marriage. It was common knowledge in the community. She was not well-respected. Neither was Daniel, as he had been born out-of-wedlock. During the fight, Daniel, who may have been an individual who held alot of anger inside, from his position as a pariah, ostracized only because of the status of his birth, beat his wife 'unmercifully' and made her leave the family home. Mariah was an abused woman.
The bruised and battered woman must have lingered around the Crisco farm during the night, taking refuge in a barn or other outbuilding. The next day, Daniel Crisco showed up for work as usual and he and George were in the field, a short distance from each other, working, when Mariah showed up nearby, and lingered on the edge of the field. Daniel screamed at her profanely, and instructed her to leave them alone and go back to the house. George, still having a fondness or protectiveness of the woman, or perhaps just a sense of propriety and civility, spoke up and told Daniel Crisco that he shouldn't treat his wife in such a cruel and violent manner. The intervention angered Daniel even more. He threatened George, taking the Lord's name in vain and challenged him to "take it up".
George must have said no more, and Mariah must have departed from the field, as the two men managed to complete their days work. Daniel Crisco retreated to his own abode, and not finding his wife at home, as he had ordered her to do, armed himself with a 'shoe-knife', a cobbler's tool designed for cutting leather. He set out to find her, angry, and with violence in mind. Returning to the Cagle house, where George lived with his wife, Nancy and unmarried daughter, Fanny, and his son Eli Cagle Huneycutt, and grandson, William Huneycutt, both about 16 or 17. There, he found Mariah, taking refuge among the Cagle's.
Daniel again ordered Mariah to return home. Fearing for her life, she refused. Angered, Daniel began berating her and beating her again, kicking her and hitting her, as she refused to obey him. George Cagle intervened and told Daniel to leave his house. He picked up a chair in defense at some point, and Daniel pulled out the shoe-knife, but retreated from the house, yelling and cursing as he went. George followed him step by step, ensuring he left.
In the yard, George reportedly picked up the hoop of a wagon cover, the part use to hold the cover on a covered wagon, and advanced toward Daniel with it. Daniel, in his own words, kept retreating and warned George to not come any closer to him. George did not listen, intent on chasing the young man from his property, armed with a sense of gallantry, continued to advance. Daniel picked up a rock and threw it at the old man, who in turn, swung the wooden wagon hoop at Daniel. With that provocation, Daniel charged at his employer, stabbing him with the shoe knife in the neck and chest. George backed up, grabbing his neck, and stating, "He has killed me". He took 23 steps and fell over dead. With that, Daniel Crisco took off and hid.
The newspapers reported the next stages of the event.
In Rockingham, Richmond County, it was reported that a $50 reward for the apprehension of the murderer, D. A. Crisco, not just for information that would lead to his arrest, but in 1876, barely a decade past the end of the Civil War, one was expected to catch him themselves and bring him to town and deliver to the Sherriff to get the award. Originally reported in the North Carolina Argus, out of Wadesboro, Anson County, a brief description of Daniel Crisco is given. He stood 5 feet, nine inches tall, pale in complexion with blue eyes. The event was said to have taken place on the 28th 'inst.', meaning March, as it was first reported on March 30th.
Crisco apparently stayed in jail in Stanly County throughout the summer months. He had eventually turned himself in, after getting in his mind a defense and an accounting of the events, that he was certain would sway jurors in his direction. He also had his trial switched to another county, where friends or relatives of George Cagle would less likely be called to serve on the jury. In October of 1876, the Stanly County newspapers reported that he had been taken to Monroe, in Union County, by Sheriff Eben Hearne to face trial.
 |
The Pee Dee HeraldWadesboro, North Carolina • Page 3 |
Daniel Crisco, it seems, eventually turned himself in to the Sherriff. In April, it had been reported that the trial would start in April, but it had actually been delayed until October. The reason for the murder, given by the Pee Dee Herald, was that George Cagle had 'interfered' with Daniel Crisco's wife. Interfered by trying to protect her from Crisco's cruel abuse.
Stanly County was involved in two murder trials at the same time, in seems. Although both trials were held in adjoining counties in order for the defendants to get an unbiased jury, both had occurred in Stanly. In 1865, Allen Carter had killed Bushrod Lilly, his neighbor, in a disagreement, and fled to Arkansas. In 1876, he was being returned to North Carolina for trial. Unusual that two murders, having happened 11 years apart, were being tried at the same tiem.
The Trial
The Trial
The youth and good looks of Daniel Crisco seemed to sway the jury. The above report by the Concord papers gave an account of his attitude and his planned defense. He was described as a young man, only 22 years old with a "pleasant face". For some reason, Sheriff Hearne had taken him to Concord before heading to Monroe, which was out of the way for starting from the jail in Albemarle, not in a straight line. The paper gave a bit of Daniel's backstory, stating he married at 17 to 'Mary Meigs', which wasn't' her actual name, but close, and that his job was to work and care for the stock of George Cagle.
The date was now April 17, 1877, over a year since the horrific event had occurred. Daniel, and his attorneys, had been given a year to percolate their precise version of the circumstances, in which George Cagle was no longer alive to give his. They had decided to play upon the brusque and sottish reputation of George Cagle and bring up his habitude of lewd and adulterous behavior.
The loquacious and ebullient Daniel had much time to turn the ear of many a reporter, eager for a story to headline and catch the attention of readers. Newspapermen from counties all around had found an audience with him. His story was now that he had his wife quarreled. Gone was the fact that he had beaten her almost to death. He stated that she had left home and went to the Cagle house, not that she had been thrown out and went there for refuge. The article was without doubt influenced by Crisco's input, as it stated so politely, that he had "found her there and tried to persuade her to go home", without reporting that his form of persuasion involved brutality and threats. They extrapolated on the fact that he did attempt to force her to return when his gentle 'persuasion' had not worked, negating the abuse the woman had suffered at his hands.
This version of the events implied that that Cagle was still in a romantic relationship with Mariah, or 'too intimate', which may have been true, but was embellished with probable falsehoods, as in stating that the old man had interfered by trying to shoot young Daniel, a very pertinent fact that had been overlooked in the report of events immediately afterwards a year prior. This leads me to believe this fact was completely convoluted in order to make Daniel Crisco's case more palatable and sympathetic toward the killer. Another event that was told quite differently in 1877 than it had in 1876, was that Daniel claim he left the house pursued by not only George Cagle, but three other men in his employ. This would have been a big factor that had been completely omitted from the 1876 account, leading me to believe this too was fabricated by Daniel Crisco. He claimed that he had been attacked and beaten with sticks and stones, when in fact, it was he who had thrown a rock at George Cagle, and George had picked up a wooden hoop in self-defense, that is when young Daniel charged at George with the shoe knife that took his life.
Daniel Crisco portrayed himself as the victim in the confrontation, that he was beaten with sticks and stones and in self-defense, stabbed the much older, and slower, man. George's reputation of being a womanizer and an alcoholic, despite his wealth and many business connections in the community and having taken in the ill-begotten Crisco and giving him employment as a teen.
Sympathies were also with Daniel due to the illicit relationship known to be had between George Cagle and Mariah. In this continuance of the story, George Cagle became the bad guy in his own murder, instead of the valiant protector of a defenseless and abused woman, that it appears he attempted to be.
From the CONCORD SUN, Tuesday, April 10, 1877:
"THE FOLLOWING IS THE COURT DOCKET OF DANIEL A. CRISCO, CHARGED WITH MURDER 1876"
STANLY COURT
From the CONCORD SUN, Tuesday, April 10, 1877:
"THE FOLLOWING IS THE COURT DOCKET OF DANIEL A. CRISCO, CHARGED WITH MURDER 1876"
STANLY COURT
Monday morning brought a large crowd in attendance upon the Spring Term, 1876, of Stanly Superior Court, about 12 o'clock, a.m., his Honor R.P. Buxton arrived, having been detained at the river, which was very full. Court was called at 2 o'clock, p.m., and his honor delivered one of his brief, but grand charges to the grand jury, after which the court proceeded to the call of the docket. There was no cases of importance tried--some bastardy, assault and battery, larceny, and a number of misdemeanor cases were disposed of.
On Tuesday the case of State vs. Allen Carter for the murder of B.W. Lilly was taken up, the prisoner was arraigned and pleaded not guilty, and after considerable arguing the case on affidavit for continuance and removal, the case was at last removed to Montgomery County for trial at Fall Term, 1876. The prisoner is ably defended by Sol. W.J. Montgomery and Hon. W.S. Robins.
On Wednesday the civil side of the docket was taken up and disposed of. There was but little business transacted on the civil docket, it being very small, most of the cases were continued.
On Wednesday evening a parcel of men came into town with a young man by the name of DANIEL CRISCO, who had been arrested on a charge of murdering George Cagle in the western portion of this county, The prisoner was committed to jail and on Thursday morning the grand jury returned a true bill for murder, and the prisoner was brought to the bar and arraigned, and he also pleaded not guilty. The case was then, by consent, returned to Union County for trial two weeks hence. The prisoner, DANIEL CRISCO, is also defended by Sol. J.W. Montgomery.
We noticed in attendance upon the court, the following
attorneys, viz:W.J. Montgomery, Esq. from Concord, George B. Everette, Esq. from Concord, W.M. Smith, Esq. from Concord, M.S. Robins, Esq. from Asheboro, Gen. A.J. Dargen from Wadesboro, James T. Lockhart from Wadesboro,
Hon. Neill McKay from Harnett County, Allen Jordon from Troy, Stokes Andrews from Troy, J.W, Mauney from Salisbury, Samuel J. Pemberton, Solicitor from Albemarle ,J.T. Redwine from Albemarle,
Julian A. Turner from Albemarle
The trial drew a Who's Who of central North Carolina Jurists and Solicitors. The minutes of the Stanly County Superior Court would lay out step by step of Daniel Crisco's legal journey.
Stanly County NC Minute Docket, Superior Court, 1860-1876 (CR 089.301.2)
(Transcribed by Betsy Pittman, 23 April 1996
State v. Daniel Crisco Indictment: Murder
Page 522 - The said Daniel Crisco is brought to the bar of the court in his own proper person by W. H. Hearne high Sheriff of Stanly County, in whose custody he is, the indictment is read over to him, and forthwith it being demanded of him how he will acquit himself of the premises specified and charged upon him, he says he is not guilty thereof and therefore for good and for evil he puts himself upon the country. And Mr. Solicitor Pemberton does the like. Therefore, let a jury come of good and lawful men by whom the truth of the matter may be better known.
The trial drew a Who's Who of central North Carolina Jurists and Solicitors. The minutes of the Stanly County Superior Court would lay out step by step of Daniel Crisco's legal journey.
Stanly County NC Minute Docket, Superior Court, 1860-1876 (CR 089.301.2)
(Transcribed by Betsy Pittman, 23 April 1996
State v. Daniel Crisco Indictment: Murder
Page 522 - The said Daniel Crisco is brought to the bar of the court in his own proper person by W. H. Hearne high Sheriff of Stanly County, in whose custody he is, the indictment is read over to him, and forthwith it being demanded of him how he will acquit himself of the premises specified and charged upon him, he says he is not guilty thereof and therefore for good and for evil he puts himself upon the country. And Mr. Solicitor Pemberton does the like. Therefore, let a jury come of good and lawful men by whom the truth of the matter may be better known.
Attorney Samuel J. Pemberton was arguably known as the best prosecutor of the times in Stanly and surrounding counties.
"By consent of Solicitor and of the prisoner at the bar, it is ordered by the Court that this cause be removed to Union County for trial and is assigned for Wednesday of first week of Union Superior Court at Spring Term 1876."
Eli F. Cagle, Wm. A. Huneycutt, James Huneycutt and Calvin Huneycutt acknowledge themselves indebted to the State of North Carolina in the sum of $100 each to be void on Condition that they appear at Union Superior Court Spring Term 1876 and give evidence in the case of State vs. Dan'l Crisco and not depart the same without leave.
"By consent of Solicitor and of the prisoner at the bar, it is ordered by the Court that this cause be removed to Union County for trial and is assigned for Wednesday of first week of Union Superior Court at Spring Term 1876."
Eli F. Cagle, Wm. A. Huneycutt, James Huneycutt and Calvin Huneycutt acknowledge themselves indebted to the State of North Carolina in the sum of $100 each to be void on Condition that they appear at Union Superior Court Spring Term 1876 and give evidence in the case of State vs. Dan'l Crisco and not depart the same without leave.
The men who gave bond as witnesses in the case against Daniel Crisco were Eli Franklin Cagle, son of George Cagle by Maniza Honeycutt; William Alfred Honeycutt, son of Elizabeth Cagle Honeycutt, George Cagle's daughter, who died young, as did her husband, John, leaving William A. Honeycutt to be raised by his grandfather, George Cagle; James Alfred Huneycutt, another son of Maniza Honeycutt, known to be George Cagles mistress, and mother of Eli F. Cagle. James is accepted as a son of George Cagle, but unlike Eli, there is no documentation of such; and lastly, Calvin Honeycutt, their cousin, a son of Frances Mary Honeycutt, Maniza's sister, and Joshua Christian Burris.
Page 523 - Eli F. Cagle, Wm. A. Huneycutt, James Huneycutt, Calvin Huneycutt and E. M. Brooks acknowledge themselves indebted to the State of North Carolina in the sum of $100 to be void on Condition that each of them appear at Union Superior Court Spring Term 1876 to give evidence in behalf of the Defendant, in case of the State vs. Daniel Crisco.
It is ordered by the court that the Sheriff of Stanly County deliver the prisoner to the Sheriff of Union County at Monroe on or before Tuesday of 1st week of Spring Term 1876 of Union Superior Court.
The parties and the interest in it were now moved south, to the town of Monroe, in Union County, NC. This was an advantage for Daniel Crisco, as he was able to use his youthful charm and persuasion on ears that did not know of the actual details in the case, and would hear Daniel and his attorney on their own merit, the jury not tainted by anyone who had been blessed by George Cagle's generosity, despite his love of liquor and women.
Union County, NC Minute Docket, Superior Court, 1866-1877
(Abstracted by Betsy Pittman, 23 April 1996)
Page 409 - #122 State vs. Daniel Crisco
Prisoner brought into Court and is committed to the custody of the Sheriff of Union County.
Page 433 (copied) - continued to Fall Term 1876; prisoner returned to Stanly County jail.
Pages 458-459 (copied) - Fall Term - Union County jail is insecure; therefore prisoner sent back to Stanly County.
Page 512 - 75 men summoned for jury
Pages 519-520 (copied) -Found NOT Guilty.
The Sun, out of Concord, reported the news and the jubilee of how a handsome young man, who went to the house of an old man protecting a woman they had both had a relationship with, and killed the man, had gotten by with the deed and was now a free man.
This reminds me of the Luigi Mangioni case of modern times, in a small way. Luigi was a young man, strong and healthy, who had women swooning over him, and some men, when holiday photos of the healthy and muscular youth were released to the press. Many who were of the opinion that insurance companies have hurt people purposely by denying lifesaving treatments, putting costs before health of the individual, and were angry at the entity, cheered the demise of the poor CEO who was just minding his own business on the way to work one day, and was shot mercilessly in the back. This was a savage act of premeditated murder, no matter what bone the perpetrator had to pick with the company or any of its representatives. This man was an employee of a company and had no personal assault against the person who murdered him. In Daniel Crisco's case, he used the reputation of George Cagle in his own favor, and his youth and good looks won him favoritism that led to him being found innocent and freed to fight again. "All were glad to hear of the young man's aquital", the paper proclaimed.
Life seemed to return to normal for Daniel Crisco after his release and acquittal. I assume he had to find a new job, or employer. He returned to court and divorced Mariah Meggs, which was a relief, I am sure, for the both of them.
Two years after the trial, he remarried, this time to Matilda Kimrey, or Kimmer. Matilda was a girl of good report, and close to Dan in age, just two years his junior. She had grown up in the Tyson Community of Stanly County, and unlike Daniel and Mariah, was from an intact home with married parents and a bounty of siblings. The daughter of Paul Nicholas Kimrey and Rebecca Minerva Mauldin Kimrey, Matilda gave birth to their first child before the wedding. Married on September 24, 1879, the couples first son, William Paul Crisco, had been born on March 14th of the same year.
The 1880 census of Big Lick Township, shows Mariah Meggs, 33 and divorced, living on what appears to have been what was left of the Cagle farm, probably in the tenant house she had shared with Daniel Crisco. Her 16 year old daughter, Melissa, is living with her. There was no mention of Melissa in the court case, and what the nature of her relationship with her stepfather, Daniel Crisco, may have been.
Next to Mariah is Adeline Cagle Hartsell, George Cagle's oldest child, and next to her, his only legitimate son, David S. Cagle. George's widow, Nancy, followed others of the family to Iredell County, NC.
While Daniel Crisco has settled in Tyson Township, where his recent bride is from. His occupation is given as Farmer, and other occupants of the household are his wife, Matilda, their infant son, William, his mother, Elizabeth and his little sister Amanda, 9.
Over the next few years, Daniel and Matilda added three more children that would grow to adulthood. That's a small family for the era. They were:
Shepherd Alexander Crisco (1883-1953)
Malinda N. Crisco Harness (1884-1917)
John Stanford Crisco (1891-1976)
Daniel's little sister, Amanda Frances Crisco, married at the age of 15, to Joseph Allen Taylor, aka 'Jesse', on February 1, 1883. Taylor was from Surry County, originally, and was 23 at the time of the wedding. Daniel Crisco 'Brother' of the bride, gave his permission for the marriage. I stress the relationship of brother, because some have him as her father, despite his only being 13 years her senior.
Things seemed otherwise quiet during the first thirty years after the trial for Crisco and his family.
1900
Daniel Crisco is now 51, and still farming in Tyson Township, with his wife, Matilda, and four children, aged 8 to 20. His Uncle, Shelby Crisco, in living with him now. It is revealed that Matilda had given birth to 6 children, with the four living.
His mother, Elizabeth, age 70, is still in Tyson Township, but living with a widowed lady, and working as her servant, or caretaker.
His sister, Amanda, is living in Big Lick and raising a very large family of Taylors. She has a very healthy pack of seven children, and had not lost a one.
Their mother, Rebecca Elizabeth Crisco, would last two more years, passing away at the age of 72, on October 1, 1902. She was buried at Rehoboth Church, near Aquadale.
Sometime after, Daniel Crisco would leave Tyson and move to Falls Road in what would become Badin. in 1910, he is found living with his wife, Matilda, and youngest son, John, now 18, as a farmer, renting, living next to his second son, Alex, who is a driller for a well machine company. Alex has been married 5 years to Rosie, and they have three sons themselves, Eddie, Louie and Freddy.
Oldest son, William P. Crisco had married Maebell Foreman, one of their Tyson neighbors in 1904, and remained in Tyson. Only daughter, Malinda N. Crisco, who went by Linda, married Arthur Kepping Hearne in 1909, and lived in Norwood, Center Township, before moving to Albemarle. His sister, Amanda, the Taylor family, remained in Big Lick.
In 1904, in the case of State vs Daniel Crisco, Daniel was sentenced to 18 months in prison for counterfeiting.
It is said a tiger doesn't change its stripes, and that was true in the case of Daniel Crisco. Having gotten by , literally, with murder, he seemed, on the outside, to have led a farily normal life afterwards, farming and raising a family. But everything inside of Daniel had not changed, emboldened by his escape from justice once, the grimy oil of violence seeped back up, on at least one noted occasion.
Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword.
Daniel Crisco 's sordid life came to a violent end on February 8, 1914. Daniel Crisco was at the home of James Miller Sides, called 'Jim'.
Again, a woman was in it. Daniel Crisco has married Matilda Kimrey. Jim Sides was at the time married to Julia Ann Kimrey, the sister of Matilda Kimrey Crisco. There seems to have been disturbance between Julia Kimrey Sides and a daughter of Jim Sides.
The Players: Daniel Crisco was no longer young at this time. Only youngest son, John, may have still been at home, as he wouldn't marry for another four years. Matilda had died in 1912, at the age of 63. She had been buried at Saint Martin's Lutheran Church, despite the fact that they lived on the Badin Road. Natural causes are expected.
Julia Ann Kimrey was the youngest sister of Matilda and 17 years her junior. Their parents, Paul and Rebecca Minerva Mauldin Kimrey, or Kimmer, had passed away in 1870 and 1871, respectively, when Julia was but a small child of five and six.
Daniel Alexander Crisco had applied for the marriage license of his sister-in-law, Julia Kimmer (rey), aged 47, to James Sides, 47, both of Albemarle, all parents deceased, on October 16, 1913. They were married at the Congregational Church in Albemarle. James Sides was the son of George Sides and Ithama Cagle Sides. Cagle! Jim was a Cagle descendant, his mother, Ithama, who George W. Cagle, the man Daniel Crisco had previously killed, may have named his daughter of the same name after, or either they were both named for a common ancestor with this same, unusual name. James was a cousin of George W. Cagle, his mother, Ithama, the daughter of Benjamin F. Cagle, brother of George's father. This may have been personal.
We do not know the name of the daughter of James Sides who had gotten in the skirmish with his wife, but it was likely his youngest daughter, Arvy, born in 1897, who would have been about 17 years old at the time. James was the father of five daughters, total.
Ester Mozella (1882-1959) had married in 1879 to John Zebulon Little.
Zellie Victoria (1884-1957) had married in 1900 to Jesse Thomas Mills.
Ida Bellazorra (1886-1929) had married in 1901 to James Watson "Watt" Porter.
Annie Catherine (1887-1963) had married in 1905 to William Davidson "Will" Hinson.
Arvie, 1897-1952), the youngest, would marry in 1916 to Barney McKinley Morris, but in 1914, she was single and at home.
Daniel Crisco, with a small revolver, shot at the girl, but the bullet apparently missed its mark and hit Jim Sides, the father, instead. Jim must have been infuriated by the danger to his young daughter, and this old man (now 58) interfering in a disturbance among women. James had married as a young man to Cornelia Ann "Nealie" Efird, the mother of these girls, and had been widowed. After Nealie died in 1901, he had several brief marriages. He married Minnie Moore of Anson County in 1902, and she bore him the first son that would survive childhood, Cecil Leroy Sides, (1904-1944). Minnie would leave him again, a widower, in 1908.
On July 15, 1909, Jim would marry a third time to Mary Eliza Farrington Myers, of Yadkin County, a widow of John L. Myers, with three children. This union was brief, as she is seen only one year later, in the 1910 census, living without Jim, and going by Myers, with her three children, ages 12 to 17, on Poplar Street in Concord. All of them, even 12 year old Hattie, worked in the Cotton Mills. Eliza would divorce Jim, and as she was only 36 years old, remarry, to Ephraim Levi "Lee" Herrin, of Stanly County, on January 4, 1916, and this one would stick.
As for Jim Sides, he would marry Fannie A. Cannon Banks on April 27, 1912 in Cabarrus County. This one didn't work out either, and I don't have a clue what happened there, but on October 16, 1913, he was marrying Daniel Crisco's sister-in-law, Julia.
Daniel Crisco's pistol shot had missed Jim's daughter, and hit Jim in the side. He then grabbed a large, heavy stick and with full force, hit Daniel Aleander Crisco, killer of his cousin, George Cagle, and almost killer of his own child, over the head, crushing his scull. Jim Sides was a strong man. When the police arrived, they found Daniel Crisco in a pool of blood, near death. Jim Sides was in criticial condition and was not expected to live.
Jim Sides, did, however, live. Julia filed for divorce immediately and Jim's third divorce went through in 1915.
Daniel Crisco was buried beside Matilda at St. Martin's Lutheran Church. His estate was divided among his four children.
Jim Sides did not marry a sixth time. He first returned to Tyson Township and farmed until he could no longer work. He then ended up in Albemarle, in the County home for the aged by 1935., and appears there in 1940. His obitruary seems to suggest he went to live with one of his older daughters afterwards and died there at the age of 83 on November 18, 1941.
There was no obituary for Daniel Crisco.
His descendants were:
William Paul Crisco (1879-1940) Married MaeBell Foreman - 6 children: Lawson, Letha Mae, Dora Lee, George Marshall, Myrtle and Carrie.
Shepherd Alexander Crisco (1883-1953) Married Rosa Perry McAuley. Three sons: Eddie Alexander, Lonnie Lee and Fred Harold.
Malina N. Crisco (1883-1934) Married Arthur Keppling Hearne. 7 children: James Alfred, Effie M., Ethel Mae, Daniel, Bessie, Rayvon, Redwine.
John Stanford Crisco (1891-1976) Married Flossie Mills: 6 children: John Henry, Mayzelle, Lillie Irene, Janie Mae, Reba Jewell, Gwendolyn.
