The last public hanging in Nash County 1900

By Michael K. Brantley

Two convicted murderers met their fate on the gallows in Nash County’s last public hanging on March 15, 1900.

The story of John Henry Taylor and Robert Fortune and the murder of Robert Hester is a tragic one. All that end in capital punishment are.

It’s also a story of mistaken identity, activist journalism, and a crime spree. It also touches at least one figure from my book, Galvanized: The Odyssey of A Reluctant Carolina Confederate.

Much of the information in this retelling comes from M.W. Lincke, the founder of The Nashville Graphic (the paper is now 125 years old). I’ve worked in some capacity or another for the Graphic since 1985 and back when I was a teenager covering sports, I’m pretty sure I encountered Mr. Lincke’s spirit on many late nights when I was designing the next day’s pages, creaking the old hardwood of the former Boddie Street location.

The Crime

Lincke met with the prisoners while they awaited execution and managed to get a confession. Prior to and during the trial, both maintained their innocence.

Taylor said that he and Fortune had been hanging around the tobacco warehouses on December 21, 1899, and since neither had any money, they “decided to watch the sales and “spot” somebody.

Since that didn’t yield anything, the two went to the Falls (near the current location of Battle Park) to wait for another potential victim. Soon, they spotted Hester, but thought he was Robert Ricks, a prominent planter and businessman who owned a well known hotel in Rocky Mount.

Fortune asked Hester to change a dollar and when Hester pulled out his pocket book, the two men saw it was full of silver and demanded it. Hester “jumped back and grabbed my gun,” Taylor said. Fortune shot Hester in the side and then Taylor shot him in the left arm.

Hester tried to escape and Taylor shot him in the back, at which point Hester threw the pocket book at the men and begged for mercy.

The two robbers made off with the money and left Hester to die.

Arrest & Drama

A 12-year-old boy witnessed the crime and ran home to tell his father, who reported the incident to the authorities.

Things are a little unclear after that as some reports said a citizen captured the two men, and another says a Battleboro policeman made the arrest.

In the meantime, news of the crime spread throughout the area and an angry mob formed to go on a manhunt with lynching in mind.  However, Sheriff Willis Warren had already taken the suspects to Raleigh.

Trial

Judge Dossey Battle presided over the trial which started on Feburary 9, 1900. It didn’t take long for the guilty verdict to come back: guilty, with the sentence of hanging by the neck until dead.

Crime Spree

When Taylor confessed to Lincke, it cleared all his accounts, revealing that he and Fortune had been on a crime spree.

In October or November of 1899, he said the two robbed and shot a man (twice) in Norfolk. The robbery yieled a watch, a knife, and $11. The men fled to North Carolina, staying in Weldon.

In Weldon, they followed a man who left a store and it looked like “he had some money.” Once out of town, they shot the man, took his money and left him lying in the road. They got $4.84.

On the run again, they ended up in Rocky Mount, looking for another target.

The Hanging

Some sources say over 35,000 people turned out to watch the hanging. That’s about the size of the total attendance for the Nashville Blooming Festival that’s held every year in front of the Courthouse (not the same one in use in 1900). It’s a staggering number of people considering the size of the town then. A special train service brought many to town.

The hanging took place behind the Courthouse.

On the gallows, the men made a final and public confession and stated they were going to heaven. There were many jeers from the crowd. One witness reported someone yelling, “You ain’t going to heaven; you’re goin’ to hell where you belong.”

After their statements, Warren placed a hood over their heads and pulled the lever to the trap doors at 1:10 p.m.

Reports say “it rained harder that day than anyone saw before or since. Some who witnessed it say it rained black water as dark as ink and the sky turned so dark the chickens went to roost.”

Odds & Ends

After the hanging, someone obtained the nooses, cut them into small pieces and sold them for 25 cents each as souvenirs.

There were 50 armed guards around the prisoners.

The condemned men made a deal with Warren’s son, Deputy Sheriff N.C. Warren. In exchange for a last meal of their choice, the men agreed he could have possession of the bodies. Warren sold them to the University of North Carolina for study.

It was said that Ricks was shaken for the rest of his life when he found out that he had been the target of Taylor and Fortune. It’s said he carried gun in a special box in his buggy after that.

Ricks later provided for the Confederate monument which was erected near the scene of the crime.

Sources:

The Nashville Graphic, March 22, 1900

The Rocky Mount Telegram, January 4, 1953

“We recollect…An Anecdotal History of Nash County”

By Faith and Heritage are We Joined: A Compilation of Nash County Historical Notes