The Crime
Apparently, on a whim, and desiring to get
his hands on some quick cash, Harvey McGraw, 20, decided to rob Jaxon’s Filling
Station, just south of Georgiana, Alabama. On the evening of March 16, 1939, he
killed some time loitering at the station, claiming he was waiting on a bus, as
Jaxon’s was also a Greyhound bus station. As the hour neared midnight at the
all-night station, two men from the Montgomery area arrived at the station. One
report states that the two men, Clifford T. Mann, 28, and Charles Wilkinson,
23, were in the station drinking a glass of milk, and they intended on renting
one of the available cabins for the night. McGraw asked the attendant, Dennis
Moore for change for a quarter. When Moore opened the register, McGraw produced
a weapon and demanded the money. Different descriptions of the robbery say it
was either $24, or $37. He then forced the two men into their car at gunpoint.
Getting into the back seat, he told Mann to head south.
McGraw had the misfortune of choosing a
target for his robbery that was equipped with a Police Transmission Radio Set.
The State Patrol had strategically placed these in locations around the state.
Dennis Moore immediately transmitted a call alerting Patrolmen Thigpen, and Sawyer
in Georgiana of the robbery, and kidnapping. Calls went out to Mobile, and
Pensacola, and a net was spread through southern Alabama.
McGraw was smart enough to keep away from
the larger towns. He later was heard to say that he made Mann drive at speeds
of 70 to 90 miles per hour. From the Greenville Advocate, March 30, 1939, “He
had them leave U.S. 31 at McKensie, 6 miles south of the robbery site. At Red
Level he left the McKensie-Andalusia highway and took a short cut over to the
Andalusia-Brewton highway. At East Brewton he switched to the Brewton-Milton
highway.”
By taking this route he was able to avoid
officers watching the towns of Evergreen, Andalusia, and Brewton. The car ran
out of gas about 8 miles north of Milton, near the Allentown community.
He made Mann, and Wilkinson get out of the
car and began to tie them together, when according to McGraw when telling the
story later, one of the men made a grab at the pistol. He shot him, and then shot
the other one for trying to intervene in the struggle. It should be noted that
both men were shot several times in the head, chest, and the back.
About a half of a mile away, farmer Turpen
Wiggins, (the news paper articles use Williams, but no Turpen Williams can be
found), heard what he thought was a series of automobile backfires around 3:30
am. Later around 8:30 he saw a vehicle parked about 200 yards off the road and
walked over to investigate, where he found the two bodies tied together.
Who Was Harvey McGraw?
Harvey was the son of Elmer McGraw, a well-known
resident of the Appleton community which lies north of Brewton. He was on
parole from the Atmore prison after serving 6 months of a 1-to-5-year sentence
for attempted burglary. He twice in one night tried to enter the home of W.F.
Dantzler on the Appleton road, but was frightened away both times. He was
convicted in October 1937. Harvey was known in the Brewton area, and had once
worked in the Box Factory of the T.R. Miller Company.
The Victims
Clifford T. Mann was originally from
Elmore County, Alabama, but moved to Montgomery to engage in the Real Estate
business. About four years before his murder, he became associated with the
Praetorian Life Insurance company. He later became the General Agent, and
office manager for the district.
Charles Wilkinson was a native of Montgomery,
and currently unemployed. Previously he was a traveling salesman. He was
accompanying his friend on his business trip at the time of the abduction.
The Capture
A cab driver named Dick Carpenter, had a
radio in his taxi. He heard a broadcast of the wanted murderer/kidnapper, and
thought of a fare he had earlier driven from Milton to the L&N depot in
Pensacola. He remembered the fare because the guy said he was going to catch a
train heading east, which would have passed back through Milton. Carpenter
alerted the police who contacted Sheriff Harrell in Chipley, Florida.
Sheriff Harrell boarded the train when it
reached Chipley with a description of the wanted man. He approached McGraw and
took him into custody. McGraw did make an attempt to use his pistol, but the
Sheriff disarmed him and removed him from the train.
After the Arrest
McGraw immediately confessed to the
kidnapping, and killing of Mann, and Wilkinson. Alabama could have tried him
for armed robbery, which at the time, could have resulted in the death penalty.
The Federal Government, also, could have tried him for kidnapping under the
Lindbergh Law which could have resulted in a death sentence. Both Alabama, and
the Feds were content to let Florida handle the trial, and punishment.
He quickly became known as a
happy-go-lucky young man who liked to sing and play guitar. He had an abundance
of talent and people would visit to listen to him perform. On May 3, a routine
cell inspection found a pistol, fashioned from a bar of soap, was discovered.
There was one humorous report that he tried to break out of jail and when he
brandished his soap gun at a guard, the barrel fell off exposing his ruse.
Sheriff Joe Allen denied that that had happened. He said it was found in the
search.
At the end of May an arraignment was held
with Circuit Judge L.L. Fabisinski and McGraw pled guilty to two counts of first-degree
murder, throwing himself on the mercy of the court. The proceeding had to be
delayed for a few hours because McGraw was under 21 so his father, Elmer, had
to be retrieved from the Castleberry, Alabama area to attend the arraignment. His
court-appointed attorney, Woodrow Melvin had a conference with the McGraw’s to
give them options, but Harvey insisted on the guilty pleas. He was heard to
say, “What’s the use? I’m going to burn anyway”. The following day Judge Fabisinski sentenced
McGraw to death.
Either, just before, or just after his
court appearances, Harvey McGraw was baptized in Pond Creek on Highway 90, west
of Milton. His grandfather, Sherman McGraw was a Holiness Minister, and had
visited Harvey in jail. When the Judge was asked if he could be baptized, he said
it was up to Sheriff Allen. The Sheriff,
at least two deputies, and about 30 Holiness preachers led by E.G. Holley, met
a Pond Creek. Harvey wearing a white shirt, and dungarees, and handcuffed to
Deputy Purvis Baxley, Sr., (whose son Purvis, Jr. years later was the first
principal of King Middle School), stepped into the water and was baptized. “I
feel saved now”, was all he had to say.
On June 17 it was reported in the
Pensacola Journal that Harvey gave a statement through his attorney, Woodrow
Melvin, for publication in the area newspapers.
“I wish to express my extreme regrets for
the crimes I have committed, trusting that the public will realize that I KNOW
what a terrible deed it was. I trust that folks who think that the only reason
I am grateful is because I was caught and sentenced, will change their views on
the matter. Everyone knows that I entered pleas of guilty at my trial in
circuit court here last month, which proved that I wasn’t seeking to evade
justice.”
Harvey McGraw
On September 4, 1939, approximately 6
months since he committed the crimes, Harvey McGraw was led to the execution
chamber at Raiford prison. At 10:06 am, Sheriff Joe T. Allen “turned the
rheostat” which sent the current through his body. McGraw made no final
statement to the 38 witnesses but he did silently mouth the Lord’s Prayer while
it was recited by Prison Chaplain, Rev. Leslie Sheppard.
McGraw’s father and uncle were at the
prison but did not go to the death chamber. They were there to take his body
back home for burial. The paper claimed he was going to be buried at the Center
Grove cemetery, north of Brewton. Actually, his remains, along with other
family members are located at the Zion Hill Baptist Church cemetery.
Clifford T. Mann left a widow. He married
Eva Louise Glover in Montgomery on April 18, 1936. She also worked for the same
Insurance Company, and they had no children.
Charles Wilkinson also left a widow, but
no children. He married Mary Lou Hughes on Jun 21, 1938 in Montgomery.
The two friends who were just in the wrong
place, at the wrong time are both buried in Section One at the Greenwood
Cemetery in Montgomery.
Jaxon’s Service Station was a well-known establishment
in southern Alabama. It was located on Highway 31, about one mile south of
Georgiana. It was also a Greyhound Bus station, and had tourist cabins to rent
by travelers.
Williams-or-Wiggins
I could not find through census records, or marriage
and death records, anyone named Turpen Williams. I did find, however, a farmer
in the Allentown census record of 1940, named Turpen Wiggins. Since Turpen is
an uncommon name, and Wiggins could have been misunderstood as Williams, I
believe Wiggins was the actual name.
1940 FL / Santa Rosa / 57-15 (Allentown)
Wiggins, Turpen 48 Alabama
Farmer
Claudie 35 Alabama, wife
Vernell 17 Florida, daughter
Joseph T. 15 Florida, son
Dewey 12 Florida, son
James Dewey Wiggins b. 7 Dec 1927
Joseph Turpen Wiggins b. 24 Feb 1926
Dora Vernell Wiggins b. 15 Oct 1924, md
Rassie Thrash (1911-2006) 19 Sept 1942 in SRC.
From The Milton Gazette, 23 March 1939
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| Pensacola Journal 18 March 1939 |
