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The '''Hawes murders''' were a notorious and sensational crime discovered in December [[1888]] that produced a [[Hawes riot|deadly riot]] and gained nationwide media attention for the young city of [[Birmingham]]. The | The '''Hawes murders''' were a notorious and sensational crime discovered in December [[1888]] that produced a [[Hawes riot|deadly riot]] and gained nationwide media attention for the young city of [[Birmingham]]. The murders of [[Emma Hawes]] along with er two daughters, [[May Hawes|May]], age 7 or 8, and [[Irene Hawes|Irene]], 6 are attributed to[[Georgia-Pacific]] engineer [[Richard Hawes]],who lived on [[32nd Street South]]. | ||
==The crime== | ==The crime== | ||
[[Image:Richard Hawes.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Richard Hawes]] | [[Image:Richard Hawes.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Richard Hawes]] | ||
Hawes often left his family alone in their cottage. Emma was an alcoholic | According to a coroner's inquest, it appeard that Richard Hawes and his wife Emma had a troubled marriage. Richard married 18 year old Emma in Atlanta, Georgia and marital difficulties lead the couple to leave Atlanta for Montgomery, and then Birmingham. Working for Georgia-Pacific, Hawes often left his family alone in their cottage while running trains between Birmingham and Colombus, Mississippi. Emma was accounted as an alcoholic. Eldest daughter May was forced to care for her younger sister, Irene, and her little brother [[Willie|Willie Hawes]], who was 4 or 5 at the time of the murders, with some household help from [[Fannie Bryant]], a mulatto woman who did laundry and cooked for the family. | ||
[[Image:May Hawes.jpg|left|thumb|125px|May's body]] | [[Image:May Hawes.jpg|left|thumb|125px|May's body]] | ||
The body of a young white female was found in [[East Lake]] on [[December 4]], [[1888]] by local teenaged boaters John Keith and Ben Culbalson. [[Jefferson County Coroner]] [[Alfred Babbitt]] conducted an initial exam on site and determined the cause of death to be murder. The body was then laid out for view to the general public at [[Lockwood & Miller's Funeral Parlor]] in hopes that someone would identify the girl. Teachers at local schools dismissed their students early so that they could participate in viewing and identification. Despite being viewed by thousands it wasn't until the next day that a local butcher was able to identify the deceased as May Hawes, daughter of Richard and Emma Hawes. | |||
During the inquest, | During the following inquest, conflicting reports arose. While many witnesses believed that Emma was Richard's wife, several witnesses swore that Richard Hawes was divorced and had left for Columbus, Mississippi to marry again. Fannie Bryant, the woman of mixed race that worked in the Hawes household, stated that on the weekend before May's body was found, she saw Richard and May help Emma pack for a trip to Atlanta to retrieve youngest son Willie, who was staying with Richard's family at the time. | ||
After the inquest adjourned, a telegram was delievered to the ''[[Birmingham Age-Herald|Weekly Age-Herald]]'' office announcing Hawes' marriage to the former Mayes Story in Mississippi that very afternoon. It also listed their train itinerary from Columbus, Mississippi to Atlanta, Georgia. When the train made a stop at the Birmingham station, police officers boarded and arrested Hawes for murder. According to the ''Age-Herald'' reporter on the scene, Hawes "asked no questions as to which of his children he was accused of having murdered, nor did he express any desire to see the remains. About all that he said on the way to the jail was that he was innocent." | |||
In custody, Hawes pleaded his innocence and wrote beseeching letters to his new bride asking forgiveness for claiming to be a widower and not mentioning having a daughter. To police, he claimed to have completed his divorce to Emma, citing her frequent infidelity, and arranged for the care of his daughters, though no record was ever found. Hawes told an ''Age-Herald'' reporter that he had last seen May three days before her body was discovered. | |||
Rumors that Emma was known to have a sum of cash lent credence to the idea that Fannie or her companion, [[Albert Patterson]], were behind the deaths, though no hard evidence came to light in the later trial. | |||
On December 7, during a long day of questioning, Mayes Story Hawes admitted that Richard Hawes told her that he was divorced and had only one male child. In a letter that he wrote to her from jail, Richard told her that he never mentioned May because she would be in a convent, and he did not want to trouble his new bride. Irene was never mentioned. | |||
While Hawes' youngest child, Willie, continued to remain safely in Atlanta with Richard's brother Jim Hawes, Birmingham police began a full scale search for Emma and Irene. During one of many searches, police found a freshly dug grave within a nearby suburb that contained the body of a black female child. Eclipsed by the high-profile Hawes murder, apparently little effort was made to find out what happened to the young black girl. | |||
[[Image:Lakeview Lake.jpg|right|thumb|325px|The Lake at Lakeview Park, c. 1889 {{BPL permission caption|http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll6,1391}}]] | [[Image:Lakeview Lake.jpg|right|thumb|325px|The Lake at Lakeview Park, c. 1889 {{BPL permission caption|http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll6,1391}}]] | ||
The discovery of a bloody hatchet and a torn ribbon, led investigators to [[Lakeview Park]], where, on Saturday, [[December 8]], they | The discovery of a bloody hatchet and a torn ribbon, led investigators to [[Lakeview Park]],now the [[Highland Park Golf Course]], where, on Saturday, [[December 8]], they dragged the lake, revealing Emma Hawes' bruised and beaten body, weighted down with iron. | ||
Beneficiaries of a growing national scandal, the ''Age-Herald'' vied with the ''Atlanta Constitution'' and other papers to uncover the most lurid details and offer the most notable speculations on the case. | |||
After a riot ensued that was created by the horror of these murders, a renewed effort was made to find Irene Hawes. Though repeated dragging of the lake offered up no body, the lake was then | |||
==Riot== | ==Riot== | ||
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Smith and Pickard were released the next year following a deadlocked jury. Hawes was found guilty on [[May 23]], [[1889]] of murdering his family and was sentenced to die by hanging. A request from a St Louis circus owner to display the caged murderer in his sideshow was rejected. Dressed to the nines with a geranium in his lapel, Hawes was executed by Sheriff Smith on [[February 28]], [[1890]]. He was buried by his brother, Jim, in an unmarked grave in the family's plot at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. Fannie Bryant was also sentenced to death for her role in aiding Hawes. She died in a prison riot before the sentence was carried out. | Smith and Pickard were released the next year following a deadlocked jury. Hawes was found guilty on [[May 23]], [[1889]] of murdering his family and was sentenced to die by hanging. A request from a St Louis circus owner to display the caged murderer in his sideshow was rejected. Dressed to the nines with a geranium in his lapel, Hawes was executed by Sheriff Smith on [[February 28]], [[1890]]. He was buried by his brother, Jim, in an unmarked grave in the family's plot at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. Fannie Bryant was also sentenced to death for her role in aiding Hawes. She died in a prison riot before the sentence was carried out. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 19:09, 13 November 2011
The Hawes murders were a notorious and sensational crime discovered in December 1888 that produced a deadly riot and gained nationwide media attention for the young city of Birmingham. The murders of Emma Hawes along with er two daughters, May, age 7 or 8, and Irene, 6 are attributed toGeorgia-Pacific engineer Richard Hawes,who lived on 32nd Street South.
The crime
According to a coroner's inquest, it appeard that Richard Hawes and his wife Emma had a troubled marriage. Richard married 18 year old Emma in Atlanta, Georgia and marital difficulties lead the couple to leave Atlanta for Montgomery, and then Birmingham. Working for Georgia-Pacific, Hawes often left his family alone in their cottage while running trains between Birmingham and Colombus, Mississippi. Emma was accounted as an alcoholic. Eldest daughter May was forced to care for her younger sister, Irene, and her little brother Willie Hawes, who was 4 or 5 at the time of the murders, with some household help from Fannie Bryant, a mulatto woman who did laundry and cooked for the family.
The body of a young white female was found in East Lake on December 4, 1888 by local teenaged boaters John Keith and Ben Culbalson. Jefferson County Coroner Alfred Babbitt conducted an initial exam on site and determined the cause of death to be murder. The body was then laid out for view to the general public at Lockwood & Miller's Funeral Parlor in hopes that someone would identify the girl. Teachers at local schools dismissed their students early so that they could participate in viewing and identification. Despite being viewed by thousands it wasn't until the next day that a local butcher was able to identify the deceased as May Hawes, daughter of Richard and Emma Hawes.
During the following inquest, conflicting reports arose. While many witnesses believed that Emma was Richard's wife, several witnesses swore that Richard Hawes was divorced and had left for Columbus, Mississippi to marry again. Fannie Bryant, the woman of mixed race that worked in the Hawes household, stated that on the weekend before May's body was found, she saw Richard and May help Emma pack for a trip to Atlanta to retrieve youngest son Willie, who was staying with Richard's family at the time.
After the inquest adjourned, a telegram was delievered to the Weekly Age-Herald office announcing Hawes' marriage to the former Mayes Story in Mississippi that very afternoon. It also listed their train itinerary from Columbus, Mississippi to Atlanta, Georgia. When the train made a stop at the Birmingham station, police officers boarded and arrested Hawes for murder. According to the Age-Herald reporter on the scene, Hawes "asked no questions as to which of his children he was accused of having murdered, nor did he express any desire to see the remains. About all that he said on the way to the jail was that he was innocent."
In custody, Hawes pleaded his innocence and wrote beseeching letters to his new bride asking forgiveness for claiming to be a widower and not mentioning having a daughter. To police, he claimed to have completed his divorce to Emma, citing her frequent infidelity, and arranged for the care of his daughters, though no record was ever found. Hawes told an Age-Herald reporter that he had last seen May three days before her body was discovered.
Rumors that Emma was known to have a sum of cash lent credence to the idea that Fannie or her companion, Albert Patterson, were behind the deaths, though no hard evidence came to light in the later trial.
On December 7, during a long day of questioning, Mayes Story Hawes admitted that Richard Hawes told her that he was divorced and had only one male child. In a letter that he wrote to her from jail, Richard told her that he never mentioned May because she would be in a convent, and he did not want to trouble his new bride. Irene was never mentioned.
While Hawes' youngest child, Willie, continued to remain safely in Atlanta with Richard's brother Jim Hawes, Birmingham police began a full scale search for Emma and Irene. During one of many searches, police found a freshly dug grave within a nearby suburb that contained the body of a black female child. Eclipsed by the high-profile Hawes murder, apparently little effort was made to find out what happened to the young black girl.
The discovery of a bloody hatchet and a torn ribbon, led investigators to Lakeview Park,now the Highland Park Golf Course, where, on Saturday, December 8, they dragged the lake, revealing Emma Hawes' bruised and beaten body, weighted down with iron.
Beneficiaries of a growing national scandal, the Age-Herald vied with the Atlanta Constitution and other papers to uncover the most lurid details and offer the most notable speculations on the case.
After a riot ensued that was created by the horror of these murders, a renewed effort was made to find Irene Hawes. Though repeated dragging of the lake offered up no body, the lake was then
Riot
As the news spread through the city, a mob of 1,000 to 3,000 people, many of whom had been spending their off day in Birmingham's taverns, headed toward the Jefferson County Jail. Sheriff Joseph S. Smith issued shotguns and rifles to his Deputies and placed them in positions where they could protect the jail. He told them to fire into the mob if they came across the alley towards the jail door.
When the huge mob appeared near the alley, Sheriff Smith ordered them to stop, and counted to five. The mob ignored the warnings and continued across the alley. Smith then gave the order to fire. Ten died in the violence, including postmaster Maurice Throckmorton, a deputy U. S. Marshal, a civil engineer and a painter. Smith and Police chief O. A. Pickard were both placed under arrest the next day as the state militia restored order. Governor Thomas Seay came to Birmingham to discuss resurrecting the city's soiled reputation in the wake of these horrific events.
Aftermath
Smith and Pickard were released the next year following a deadlocked jury. Hawes was found guilty on May 23, 1889 of murdering his family and was sentenced to die by hanging. A request from a St Louis circus owner to display the caged murderer in his sideshow was rejected. Dressed to the nines with a geranium in his lapel, Hawes was executed by Sheriff Smith on February 28, 1890. He was buried by his brother, Jim, in an unmarked grave in the family's plot at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. Fannie Bryant was also sentenced to death for her role in aiding Hawes. She died in a prison riot before the sentence was carried out.
References
- West, Goldsmith B. (1888) The Hawes Horror Birmingham
- "Dick Hawes Hanged for the Murder of his Wife and Little Girls: History of the Blackest Crime That Blackens the Pages of Criminal History With the Sensational Features of the Case. Hawe's Neck Broken." (February 28, 1890) Dallas Times Herald. [1] - accessed April 10, 2006
- Northrup, Jeff. (1978) "The Hawes Riot: All the News Unfit to Print." Journal of the Birmingham Historical Society. Vol. 5, No. 4
- Northrup, Jeff (1979) "The Hawes Affair, Part II." Journal of the Birmingham Historical Society. Vol. 6, No. 1
- Hoole, WIlliam Stanley (1980) The Birmingham Horrors. Huntsville: The Strode Publishers
- Jones, Pam. (Spring 2006) "The Hawes Murders." Alabama Heritage No. 80, pp. 34-40