Tragedy Near McLellan

It was Sunday morning, June 24, 1934.

Luther D. Padgett, known as L.D., and his wife Daisy were making the three mile walk from their once shared home to the residence of her parents.  L.D. was walking slightly behind Daisy, and simmering with sadness, and anger that she had refused his efforts to reconcile and move back in with him. They had been separated since Christmas.  He later told Sheriff Joe Allen, “I loved her and I couldn’t stand to see her go.”  Using a turpentine hack, he hit and slashed her in the back, and as she fell struck her in the neck, chest, and stomach.  As he dragged her off the road and into the woods, she begged him to let her see their two small children once more before she died.  He left her moaning and dying in the woods. He disposed of a bundle she had been carrying in a nearby creek, and tossed the murder weapon into some bushes. 

Padgett returned home and tried to sleep, but it was too warm. He walked to a nearby friend’s house, then actually visited some of Daisy’s family, before returning home to be met by Sheriff Joe Allen and placed under arrest. Padgett almost immediately gave Allen a confession.

Sheriff Allen had been notified earlier of the discovery of a body by a cattleman named Ed Fuqua. Mr. Fuqua had been walking down the road looking for some of his cattle and noticed blood on the side of the road and drag marks going into the woods.  He found Daisy’s body and reported it to the Sheriff. 

The events described occurred very near the Alabama, Florida state line near McLellan.  Daisy was the daughter of Lawrence Clayton Locklin, and Hattie Mae Fleming Locklin. Her younger brother was Lawrence Hankins Locklin, also known as Hank Locklin, the very popular country music artist. She was employed at a restaurant in Brewton, Alabama.  Her and L.D. Padgett had married in Escambia County, Alabama on March 30, 1929. At the time of her death they had a four-year-old son and a baby daughter who were subsequently raised by her parents. Daisy was buried at the McClellan cemetery.

L.D. Padgett was the son of Robert Lee Padgett, and Mary Blanche Smith Padgett. Many of the family members from both the Padgetts, and the Locklins are buried at the McClellan cemetery.

Justice Timeline

26 Sep 1934.  L.D. Padgett was indicted by the grand jury on a charge of first-degree murder. The court appointed attorney’s J.T. Wiggins, and T. Franklin West of Milton to represent Padgett.  The prosecutor was E. Dixie Beggs, and Judge L.L. Fabisinski would hear the case.

29 Sep 1934. L.D. was convicted of first-degree murder without recommendation of mercy by the circuit court jury and sentenced to death in the electric chair at the state prison in Raiford by Judge L.L. Fabisinski.  The trial lasted most of one day and the jury deliberated for 30 minutes before returning the verdict.  Padgett had made an oral confession to Sheriff Allen, and later a full written confession after his arrest.

8 Oct 1934. Padgett was transferred to the county jail in Pensacola to await transfer to Raiford. Sheriff Allen stated that he had received orders from Governor Dave Sholtz to bring the prisoner to the Escambia County jail. He said he did not know the reason for the transfer.

27 Sep 1935.  Padgett appealed his death sentence on the grounds that the crime was not premeditated, but the Florida Supreme court reaffirmed his death sentence.

2 July 1936.  A hearing was scheduled to ask the State Pardon Board to commute his sentence to life.  Also scheduled was a hearing for a convicted wife murderer from Pensacola named Lee Clark. T. Franklin West was there to represent Padgett.  Judge Fabisinski, who sentenced Padgett to death, said he did not believe the crime was cold-blooded in nature, and that a commutation should be granted.  The hearing was then delayed.

5 Aug 1936.  The State Parole Board denied the application to commute the Padgett, and Clark sentences to life, and Governor Sholtz signed the death warrants for both men. The date of execution was set for the week of August 17.  State law required a condemned man to serve five days in the death house at the state prison before the execution. The prison superintendent fixes the day and time for all executions.

17 Aug 1936.  The date of the scheduled execution.  Padgett was to be put to death at 11 a.m. with Clark following shortly after.  Sheriff Allen from Santa Rosa county, and Sheriff Gandy of Escambia county made the trip to Raiford.  State law, at the time, required the Sheriff of the county in which the crime was committed, to pull the switch himself, or appoint a deputy.  Sheriff Allen had executed a convicted murderer named Ed Bradley a few weeks before.

The two condemned men had their last meals, had talked to their spiritual advisers, and had their heads shaved.  Thirteen minutes before Padgett was to be put to death, Governor Sholtz called from Roanoke Virginia, to grant Padgett a 30 day stay of execution. He wanted to have another clemency hearing before the State Parole board.  A delegation of citizens from Milton wanted to appear before the board.  The prison superintendent on his own authority delayed Clark’s execution also to give his attorney R. L. Reece of Pensacola time to seek a stay of execution for him.  Since Clark was a black man, I wonder if the authorities did not want it to seem as if Padgett was getting favorable treatment.

14 Sep 1936.  “Please spare the life of my son,” was the plea from Padgett’s mother. His application for clemency was supported by a group of citizens from Milton, but there were also letters of protest from the prosecuting officials and other citizens.  Clemency was once again denied by the board.

Execution Day

19 Oct 1936. 4 MEN DIE IN RAIFORD CHAIR WITHIN HOUR, State Carries Out First Quadruple Execution.  This was the headline in the Tampa Tribune on 20 Oct 1936. 

The first two men were executed for the slaying of a Miami druggist during a holdup in 1932.

Next was L.D. Padgett.  From the article: “With a bewildered look, Padgett entered the chamber, paused for a moment, then took his seat in the chair. Head bowed to watch the guards adjust the straps, Padgett began to mumble a prayer, words of which could not be distinguished by the witnesses. He still was praying at 11:05 a.m. as Sheriff Allen threw the switch. He was pronounced dead seven minutes later.”

Clark took his turn in the chair and died at 11:18 a.m

.

Both Lee Clark, and Luther D. Padgett were buried in the Prison cemetery.

The Turpentine Feud of 1911

Pensacola News Journal 3 Sept 1911

The Cooley Tragedy

            On a cool, overcast afternoon in late December 1913, Hyman “Boy” Cooley heard that Leon Rivenbark was at the Flower’s Stockade home of Turpentine operator Alvin Rigell.

            Maybe the heartache and frustration of the last fifteen months finally got to Cooley.  He had heard the whispers. Rivenbark was said to be one of the men who ambushed Alf, and Arch Cooley in September 1911, killing both of them. Alf, or Alfred was the oldest son of Hyman. Arch was his nephew.  No one was arrested for the murders, even though the community in the north part of Santa Rosa County was sure they knew who did it. The Turpentine industry and the people who ran it was a powerful force in the area. Cooley felt it was his duty to get justice for his family.

            So, in the late afternoon of the 23^rd of December 1913, Hyman Cooley armed himself, and made his way to the Rigell home to make things right.

August 1911

            Franklin Gaye ran a turpentine operation between Munson, and McLellan Florida in a community known as Dogwood Grove.  He employed many locals, and utilized about 30 prisoners housed in a nearby stockade.  Three of the convict guards at the stockade were, Leon Rivenbark, William Wolfe, and Alfred Cooley. Rivenbark was married to William Wolfe’s sister.

            Jonah Cooley had timber available to lease to Mr. Gaye, and they struck a deal.  Walter Rivenbark, Leon’s brother, was a “Wood’s rider” for Franklin Gaye.  Upon inspecting the Cooley timber, it was found to be spiked. Nails had been driven into some of the trees. When a “chipper” strikes a nail, an axe-like instrument called a “hack” is broken.  Apparently, the nails were driven by children as a prank.  Cooley assured Gaye that he would have the nails removed, and may have even been contracted to do this. 

            A few days later, it became evident to the turpentine men that either the nails had not been removed, or that more had been driven into the leased timber.  This time Jonah Cooley was summoned to Gaye’s commissary and was beaten severely by Gaye, and Walter Rivenbark.

 

            Jonah’s brother Dan Cooley was involved in other business down near Pensacola.  Upon hearing of the recent events, he sent word that he would be returning to straighten out the trouble.  On Sunday morning the 27^th, Franklin Gaye was standing near the doorway of his commissary when he saw Daniel Cooley riding toward him.  He stated later that Cooley was carrying a shotgun across his legs, and made a movement to raise the weapon.  Gaye reached inside the door and producing his own shotgun, shot Daniel from his saddle, killing him instantly.

            I wish more could be learned about the four days between August 27, and September 1. The Cooley family must have been devastated by the events of the preceding month. Were the Cooley’s speaking of revenge? Certainly. Were their inflamed emotions causing concern among the Gaye-Rivenbark faction?  At this point, it will probably never be determined, but about 8pm on September 1^st, as they made their way north out of Milton on the way toward their home, Dan Cooley’s brother, Archie, and his nephew Alfred Cooley, (son of Hyman), were ambushed and killed. Their bodies were found in the morning by a Mr. Hannah. (Maybe Haywood Hannah, who lived in precinct 1 in Milton, and in the 1910 census is listed as a Turpentine Manager.)

            The Cooley’s were traveling in a buggy after picking up the month’s payroll in town. At the site of the ambush, Archie fell out of the buggy, Alf was found in the buggy about a half a mile away. Numerous shots were heard, and there is nothing noted about the fate of the payroll. There were no arrests made, and even though the locals felt they knew who had done the killing, there was no justice for the Cooley family.

December 23, 1913

            So, Hyman Cooley arrives at the home of Alvin Rigell at what is known as The Flower’s Stockade, and calls out to Leon Rivenbark to come outside.  “I know you killed my son!” says Cooley as he produces his revolver and fires one shot at Rivenbark. The shot missed, and Rivenbark pulls his own weapon and shot one time hitting Cooley in the head, killing him on the spot.  The Coroner’s Jury ruled that it was a “Justifiable Shooting”. 

Aftermath

            By 1920, Leon Rivenbark was living in Rapides Parrish, in Louisiana, working as a Naval Stores Operator, still in the turpentine business.  He lived there with various occupations until killed in an auto wreck in Alexandria, La in May of 1968.  His body was brought back to Santa Rosa Co., and he was buried at Serenity Gardens.

            Walter Rivenbark had a much shorter life. After a bout of Typhoid fever, he passed away on September 13, 1913, and is buried in the Milton Cemetery.  In September of 1908 while working as a woods rider for Franklin Gaye, He shot and killed a black man named Frank Markly, in the woods about 15 miles north of Milton.  Reportedly there had been an altercation between the men, and Rivenbark left to arm himself. According to a woman who witnessed the events, when Rivenbark returned, Markly approached him with a turpentine hook, and Rivenbark shot him with both barrels of a shotgun. An inquest was held and it was determined to be Justifiable homicide.

            Franklin Gaye departed the county before 1920 also. In the 1920 census he is living in Sabine, Texas working as a garage manager.  In 1930 he is listed as a Turpentine manager in Jefferson Co., Florida.  His grave is in Trinity, Texas however where he was buried in 1934.

            William Wolfe, a convict guard, neighbor, and brother in law of Leon Rivenbark was not officially implicated as a participant in the feud.  It should be noted that in 1931, he was the prime suspect and briefly detained in the ambush murder of Aubrey Gainer in Milton. 

            Many members of the Cooley family including the members named in this story, are buried in the Sullivan cemetery, near Munson.  It is a small cemetery, isolated and quiet, located in the woods.

If there are descendants of any of the folks involved in the events described here, I would love to hear from them. I’m sure there are oral stories handed down that I would be very interested in recording.

judgingshadows@gmail.com