Discovering a legacy of murder in rural South Carolina.
Not much information is available that describes the circumstances of Josiah Stallings’ death, except that he was murdered (or assassinated, as one newspaper called it). What was told of the story appeared in newspapers all over the country. Josiah was a wealthy planter in Barnwell District, South Carolina. In the summer of 1836, one of Josiah’s slaves, his blacksmith, shot Josiah in the face with a musket, killing him instantly. The slave was tried, convicted, sentenced to death and executed. The slave, whose name is unknown, had been a runaway before he was returned to Josiah shortly before the murder.[1]
And that’s the story. Nothing about the murder appears in volumes of documents relating to the distribution of Josiah’s substantial estate.
Eleven years later, Josiah’s oldest son suffered a violent end at the hands of his friend.
(This story is compiled from the published appellate court opinion and testimony referred to therein.[2])
On Christmas Eve in 1847, James J. Stallings and a few of his friends went to Cornelius Tobin’s[3] house to celebrate the holiday. One of the couples who went along was Patrick Mc Elmurray and his wife Sarah Mc Daniel. Stallings was also accompanied by a Stallings child, quite possibly Martin Everett Stallings, Stallings’ oldest son, who was born in 1838 and would have been about 10 at the time. Others in attendance were James Stallings’ brother-in-law James Cochran, _____ Turner and Baloom Grubbs[4]. They all ate dinner together and drank.
After McElmurray fell asleep in his chair, Stallings approached and woke him up. Upon being awakened, McElmurray jumped up and threatened to kill Stallings. He was no doubt drunk and belligerent. It was not the first time McElmurray had threatened Stallings’ life. The two men had fought about 18 months earlier and Stallings had been the victor, having dealt McElmurray a blow with a weight.
Tobin calmed McElmurray, assuring him that Stallings wasn’t mad and meant McElmurray no ill will. McElmurray calmed down and had another drink with Stallings. The two were friends again.
As the group prepared to leave the Tobin residence, Sarah pleaded with Mrs. Tobin, begging that she try to prevent McElmurray from leaving with the group. Sarah told Mrs. Tobin that McElmurray said again that he was going to kill Stallings. McElmurray and Stallings left anyway, along with Cochran, Turner and Tobin. Mrs. Tobin, Sarah, Grubbs and the younger Stallings stayed behind.
McElmurray invited the group to his house, where they all continued drinking heavily. Tobin and Cochran left for home a short time later. McElmurray, Stallings and Turner continued drinking together as friends. Turner returned to Tobin’s in the morning and went to sleep. It was Christmas morning.
Sarah would later relate that she returned home from Tobin’s about an hour after sunrise and found her husband and Stallings sitting together by the fire. Sarah made breakfast and afterwards Stallings reclined and began singing a song about old maids. McElmurray argued with Stallings that there weren’t any maids in the settlement older than 10 and Stallings said, “that’s a damned lie.” McElmurray urged his wife to go with him to find a gun so he could kill Stallings. They left together to a man named Dave Stott’s house and found a gun but it wouldn’t fire. Next, they went to Aleck (Alexander) Scott’s house to ask for a gun but were told no. They returned home and saw Stallings lying near the path to the house. McElmurray gathered Stallings’ vest, jacket and hat, told his wife to shut the door behind him and not to open it. Sarah peered out a crack in the door anyway and saw her husband walk toward Stallings and throw his vest, jacket and coat towards him. McElmurray then came back to the house and went to sleep.
Mrs. Tobin would later relate that at about 10 or 11 that morning she left her house and saw McElmurray leave his house carrying something, which he then dropped to the ground near the path and began chopping it with an axe.
At about noon, Tobin, Cochran, Grubbs and _____ Dyas[5] got together to get a jug of liquor and to go find Stallings. They headed towards McElmurray’s house, the last place they had seen Stallings. Tobin went into the house but didn’t find Stallings there. The group continued along the road about 150 yards from the house and found Stallings lying next to a pile of fodder near the path with his forehead resting on his hand. His head had been chopped three times with an axe. The group returned to the house, where they found Sarah who told them McElmurray was in bed. Upon being awakened by his friends asking him what happened to Stallings, McElmurray jumped up to say that Stallings had left in the morning and hadn’t been seen since. There was blood all over McElmurray’s clothes. McElmurray’s axe was later found with blood and hair on it.
James J. Stallings was only 44 years old when he was murdered and left a 34-year-old widow, with six children surviving him.
Patrick Mc Elmurray was charged with murder, convicted and sentenced to prison. He served his time in Georgia.
Forty-two years later, James J. Stallings’ youngest son would also be murdered in the same manner after a night of drinking.
Stay tuned for part 2.
© Sherrie T. Cork
Please cite as:
Cork, Sherrie T. “A Legacy of Murder – Part 1” Web blog post. Descendants of Rebellion. 2 September 2017.
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Endnotes:
[1] The story appears to have been first published in the Augusta Courier and repeated in numerous papers thereafter. For one account see: The Liberator, 15 October 1836, page 168, citing Augusta Courier, 24 August 1836.
[2] 34 S.C.L. 33. Court of Appeals of Law of South Carolina. The State v. Patrick M’Elmurray. May Term, 1848.
[3] Not all first names are provided in the court opinion. James Cochran is named, but Tobin, Turner, Grubbs and Dyas are only indicated by last name. James Cochran was Stallings’ brother-in-law. Turner may have been either Toliver Turner or John Glover Turner who were also brothers-in-law of Stallings. The 1840 U.S. Census and Barnwell County plats and deeds provide evidence of first names of Tobin, Grubbs and Dyas. These documents place Cornelius Tobin, Baloom Grubbs and Lud Dyas in the same neighborhood as the Scotts and the McElmurray property in the relevant time frame. See “Online Record Collection: Images,” database with images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/383457?availability=Family%20History%20Library : accessed 2 September 2017), Barnwell County Plat Books. Book 4, page 100.
[4] See above.
[5] This was likely Lud Dyas. See above.
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