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thecedarchest · 9 months

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Prayers, Songs, and Friends: The Hanging of George Watkins

"Arriving at the cell, Sheriff Carleton called to Watkins to come to the corner, and when he did so, he said:

'George, as much as I regret it, it is my duty to read to you the death warrant issued by the Governor.'

Watkins placed one ear to an opening in the cage, and the sheriff read the death warrant":

Executive Department, State of Florida. To D.S. Carleton, Sheriff of our County of Saint Lucie. Greeting: Whereas, at the Special Term of our Circuit Court for the Seventh Judicial Circuit in and for our said County of Saint Lucie, begun on the 25th day of July, A.D., One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twelve, George Watkins, late of our said County, was convicted of the crime of rape, and thereupon by our said Court the said George Watkins was sentenced for said crime to suffer the pains of death, by being hanged by the neck until he be dead, all of which, by exemplification an of the record of said conviction and sentence, which I have caused to he hereunto annexed, doth fully appear: Therefore, I, Albert W. Gilchrist, Governor of the said State of Florida, command you, that upon Friday, the sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and twelve, between the hours of 10 o'clock in the forenoon and 2 o'clock in the afternoon, within the walls of the prison in our said county, or within the enclosed yard of such prison in our said county of St. Lucie, agreeably to the four thousand and twenty-second section of the general statutes of our said State, you cause the execution of the said sentence of our said court, in all respect to be done and performed upon him, the said George Watkins, for which this shall be your sufficient warrant. You are required to be present at the execution, unless prevented by sickness or other casualty; also, two of your deputies, to be designated by you. You are to request the presence of the State Attorney, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and twelve respectable citizens, including a physician or surgeon. You are also required to permit the counsel of the criminal, such minister of the gospel as the criminal desires, and his relations, to be present; and also such officers of the prison, deputies and constables and other officials, as you may see fit. Thereof fail not at your peril, and make return of this warrant, with your doings thereon, as soon as may be after execution. In witness whereof, I have hereunto placed my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Florida, at Tallahassee, the capital, this 17th day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twelve. "Albert W. Gilchrist, Governor of Florida." (Seal) "H. Clay Crawford, Secretary of State."

Sheriff Daniel Stephen Carleton

George Speaks...

"Mr. Sheriff, I want to ask you to notify my people about this," George said after the sheriff finished reading the warrant.

Sheriff Carleton agreed to do so. As he and the party with him were leaving, George called for the sheriff to return to his cell. His next response shocked the sheriff.

"I want to make arrangements with you to hang me on the 4th of September, 'cause that is my birthday, and I want to be hung den."

"That is two days ahead of the time set by the Governor?" the sheriff replied.

"Yes," George replied, "but it is my birthday, and I want to make dat arrangement wid you."

Sheriff Carleton gave George hope that he would try to change the date. But, the date was set by the Governor. The death warrant for George Watkins had reached Fort Pierce, Florida, on Wednesday morning, August 21, 1912. George was scheduled to hang in sixteen days on September 6, 1912.

The Brutal Crime, and the Missing Link

The journalists never name the victim, but they sprinkle in facts about her life, the fright of the incident, and her horrible condition after the attack. Different papers contained bits and pieces of new and more detailed information. A couple of articles describe her as a 'beautiful young wife (& mother), married to one of Sebastian, Florida's, respected farmers & fruit growers.' As mentioned in my other post, "I Think I've Found a Missing Ancestor", there were two crimes: rape and assault with intent to murder (attempted murder). George only admitted to the assault with intent to murder; however, he was convicted of the crime he didn't admit to.

The article "Special Term of Court Ends - To Hang at Early Day" (St. Lucie County Tribune, August 2, 1912) briefly dropped details about the woman and detailed George's brutal crime:

While summarizing the disturbing details from the above article, the one below, "Foul Outrage at Sebastian" (St. Lucie County Tribune, June 7, 1912), also briefly mentions that Sheriff Carleton was already in Sebastian looking for a black man-- he realizes is George-- who had assaulted a black woman. The black woman is also unnamed.

Sheriff Carleton and his posse tracked George's footprints to a community in Sebastian now lost to time named the "Mose Hill quarters". This is the first mention online of the "Mose Hill quarters", and Florida Africana is digging for more info on this lost community.

And lastly, although error ridden, the article "Negro is Held for Assaulting White Woman" from The Evening Metropolis of Jacksonville, Florida (June 17, 1912), drops a detail that no other article has mentioned-- not just the missing fact that George had committed a previous assault against a black woman, but where George committed the assault: in Hallandale.

The article unknowingly connects the "Sebastian-incident George" to the "Hallandale-incident George". (It also reiterates the claim that he was implicated in the murder of Mark D. Bartleson). Yes, this is just one article; but, it is one significant aid in proving that the Georges were indeed the same. It means my theory of George leaving Miami area for Sebastian after his assault of my great grandmother Pearl Woodard is true. Also, it wasn't just that George "left"; it seems he escaped imprisonment / police custody from the Hallandale incident. Authorities were able to track him somehow to St. Lucie county where Sheriff Daniel S. Carleton was pegged to search for him.

It's like the journalists knew about the Hallandale incident, but it was only mentioned once in the above article and hinted to in the 'Foul Outrage' article. Again, there are a few errors in this article that may make it difficult to understand. For example, Sebastian is a town, not a county, and the first sentence of the second paragraph suggests the editors weren't clear on which crime was committed where. The facts are conflated. However, I believe the brief mention of Hallandale gives an unwitting revelation that was never expounded upon.

Who Were 'His People'?

Authorities requested a speedy trial. A posse wanted him lynched. Either way, judgment was going to be swift.

George's trial took place from July 25th to July 27, 1912. The first day of court, George wasn't present since he was being transferred to Fort Pierce from the Miami jail. Governor Gilchrist signed the death warrant on August 17, 1912, and it was read to him on August 21, 1912 in the St. Lucie County Jail. He was hung sixteen days later, on September 6, 1912.

The details of the hanging are gruesome:

"The hanging of George Watkins...took place in an enclosure at the side of the St. Lucie county jail in Fort Pierce last Friday morning, the trap being sprung at 10:26, and while death was instantaneous, he was officially pronounced dead fourteen minutes later. The drop was twelve feet and the fall nearly severed the negro's head."

George's earlier declaration to Sheriff Carleton for 'his people' to be notified of the death warrant made me wonder who 'his people' were. I just want to know the community he resided in and what preceded his crime. I am hoping that information from St. Lucie county about the "Mose Hill quarters", early black churches, and black funeral homes in the area during that time will help shed light on the community George lived in. Whoever 'his people' were, there was a group of people who showed up to his execution as support and to obtain his body. He had friends and spiritual advisors (preachers) present to pray and sing songs with him.

Almost fitting to my tree is that George preached a mini sermon himself before dropping to his death:

"While Watkins made no direct confession of the crime for which he was hanged, in his warning to others to lead better lives he stated that he would soon pay the price demanded by the law for his sin. He stated that he had found forgiveness and that when he dropped through the trap to death he would drop into the arms of Jesus in eternal life."

In a weird way, this was another clue to me of him being my great grandfather. His son, my grandfather, Hugh Anderson, Sr., became an ordained elder in the Church of God in Christ. Hugh never knew his father or anything about him, other than the supposed nickname Tommy. So, even as disturbing as the entire story is, seeing a mini sermon alludes to a very real common thread that only God can write the story to.

It was shocking to see that at least 500 people were present for George's hanging. It speaks to the magnitude of his crime, which was syndicated in newspapers across the state.

As always, the research continues.

- Crystal J. Anderson

Disclaimer: portions of this article, including without quotes, were stated verbatim from The St. Lucie Tribune article titled, "Watkins Will Hang Sep. 6th", Friday, August 23, 1912. Images of the article are included above.

#true crime #genealogy #family research #african american #historical crime #family history #florida history #miami florida #florida

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