Murder of Henry L. Cartwright 1850

When Polly Carner and Henry L. Cartwright married in 1828[1] in Caldwell County, Kentucky, there was no indication Cartwright would later die at the hands of Polly's brother, Thomas [here rendered as Carney]. It was said there was a dispute of long standing between Cartwright and Thomas Carney - a dispute that would have tragic results.

The case of the Commonwealth against Thomas Carney, Indictment for Murder, was filed in Crittenden Circuit Court[2] on Tuesday, the 28th of May 1850. Bond was posted with Samuel Nunn, John W. Jenkins and John R. Clements as his securities.

The charges were as follows: " ... Thomas Carney, late of said county, yeoman, on the 27th day of February 1850, not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil, with force and arms, in and upon Henry L. Cartwright ... and there being feloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought; and Thomas Carney a certain rifle gun, of the value of fifteen dollars, then and there loaded and charged with gunpowder and one leaden bullet, (which rifle gun ... Thomas Carney in both his hands then and there held) against and upon the right breast of Henry L. Cartwright ... a little above the nipple of Cartwright, one mortal wound of the depth of six inches, of which said mortal wound Cartwright from 5 o'clock on the 27th of February until 6 o'clock of the same day did languish and die."

Wilson Brown made an affidavit in which he stated William Simpson could prove he heard Thomas Carney say that "as soon as he got his family moved to the state of Illinois, he intended to come back and kill" Cartwright. Simpson left Crittenden County shortly after the murder and did not intend to return until court was over as he knew enough about the prisoner to hang him. Wilson Brown also reported that James Gibbs was a material witness and knew of a difficulty between the prisoner and the deceased and the prisoner told Gibbs he intended to kill Cartwright.

Testifying for the defendant was George Carney, who stated that Thomas Carney had been absent with his family from their home for 16-17 days and had been in Illinois searching for a new home. Therefore, he could not have been seen by Gibbs shortly before the tragic event.

The defendant, Thomas Carney, entered a plea of Not Guilty and a Venire[3] was called to decide Carney's fate. The Venire was composed of Thomas N. Wallace, John Hankins, William Hogard, John Bracey, James Gregory, Andrew Love, Bryant Bennett, Daniel A. Flanery, John A. Flanery, Charles Lizenbee, William Walden and James A. Johnson. 

The evidence being heard in full, the Venire sayeth the prisoner is Not Guilty as charged and was ordered to be discharged and to go without delay.

---

[1] Brenda Joyce Jerome. Caldwell County, Kentucky Marriags 1809-1832, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery) 1996:101. John Carner, father of Polly, gave consent for a marriage license to be issued.

[2] Commonwealth of Kentucky vs Thomas Carney, Crittenden County Court Bundle #33, Kentucky Dept for Libraries and Archives.

[3] Venire: an entire panel from which a jury is drawn. Merriam-Webster online, <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/venire>, accessed 29 December 2014.

Published 2 January 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Same Name; Different Man

Many people are familiar with the Rev. Peter Cartwright, the renowned early Methodist minister, who lived in western Kentucky and whose father, also named Peter Cartwright, died in Caldwell County in 1809. The Rev. Cartwright left Kentucky and settled in Sangamon County, Illinois, where he died in 1872. His life is well documented in Autobiography, Fifty Years a Presiding Elder.

There was another Peter Cartwright, who was probably not related to the above mentioned Peter Cartwright. The "other" man of that name was born 1790-1800 and died in 1847 in Livingston County, Kentucky. He first appeared in Livingston County on the 1838 tax list and bought land there later that same year.

The "other" Peter Cartwright bought several parcels of land, totaling 500 acres, on Jenkins branch of the Tennessee River. In February 1847, the Livingston County Court granted him a ferry license "from his lands across the Tennessee river opposite the lands of Rawleigh Jenkins to & from his lands just below the mouth of the pond drain that empties into sd. river." Thomas Jones was security on the bond for the ferry license.

This Peter Cartwright died in late 1847 and Charles G. Halstead and Enoch P. Ross were granted Letters of Administration on the Cartwright estate. Cartwright's wife apparently died prior to 1840 as an adult female is not listed on the 1840 Livingston County census. His living children are named in his estate file. They are as follows: Sophia, who married Walton H. Jones; Elizabeth, who married C.R. Love; Rehaba, who married A.K. Gray; Mahala, who married Thomas H. Machen and was deceased before June 1850, and Presley H. Cartwright. Sophia and Elizabeth, being above the age of 14 years, chose Demarcus L. Leeper as their guardian. Enoch P. Ross was appointed guardian of Presley H. Cartwright, who was under the age of 14 years.

The Cartwright children seem to have left Livingston County after the death of their father. Sophia and Rehaba both appear with their husbands on the 1850 Weakley County, Tennessee census and Elizabeth married C.R. Love in Weakley County in January 1850. After that their whereabouts are unknown.

While both men were named Peter Cartwright and both lived in western Kentucky, they were not the same man and probably were not related.