William Crowdus to Beriah Magoffin

KYR-0001-020-1861.xml

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Accession Number

KYR-0001-020-1861

Document Genre

Petition

Repository

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Collection

Office of the Governor, Beriah Magoffin: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons and Remissions, 1859-1862

Item Location

MG23-263 to MG23-264

Date of Creation

19 April 1862

Dates Mentioned

1861-11

1862-03

1862-04-19

1862-03-18

1862-04-15

William Crowdus to Beriah Magoffin, 19 April 1862, Office of the Governor, Beriah Magoffin: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons and Remissions, 1859-1862, MG23-263 to MG23-264, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, KY. Accessed via the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition, discovery.civilwargovernors.org/document/KYR-0001-020-1861, (accessed May 19, 2025).

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To His Excellency
The Governor of Kentucky

Your Petitioner William Crowdus and others citizens of Marion County state that said William Crowdus, Henly Crowdus John Calvert, William Baxter and James Baxter were jointly indicted in the Marion Circuit Court on a charge of stabbing and wounding Harrison Thornton -- The cause was tried as to William Crowdus at Nov term 1861 -- At the calling of the cause, niether Wm nor James Baxter appeared -- the others asked and had awarded them seperate trials whereupon at the instance of the commonwealths atty William Crowdus was first on trial -- The evidence showed the conflict out of which the indictment grew to have been at Thorntons house on the Lebanon and Danville Turnpike

That the five accused persons were returning by the house from Lebanon when finding there two others viz William Lamb and G H Glascocks a quarrel arose between William Baxter and Lamb refering to some former grudge -- when Lamb retiring into the house the two Baxters who were brothers went in also, during the altercation which ensued William Crowdus went into the house and was engaged and stabbed by Lamb or Thornton or both, being badly wounded, Thornton being also wounded about the same -- Lamb and Thornton who were brothers in law --
were the principal witnesses testifying as to the act of stabbing, and against William Crowdus, -- The defendent offered to introduce as Witnesses Henly Crowdus and Calvert offering to prove by them facts showing he went into the house for the purpose of preventing violence and not to com^m^it it himself, and was there assaulted and stabbed by Lamb or Thornton without provocation before he used a knife in his own defence, this being overruled, Defendent moved the Court to discharge John Calvert from the indictment in order to use him as a witness to prove the above facts in his behalf, there being no sufficient evidence to put Calvert on his trial (see sect 2 §2 Crim code) and This motion was overruled because Calvert was not there also on trial and Crowdus was thus deprived of the testimony of two witnesses because of the indictment against them while Thornton and Lamb who ^or one of them^ had wounded him in the encounter were the main witnesses against him -- The affidavits of H Crowdus and Calvert are herewith submitted -- By the verdict and judgment in the case a fine of $100 was imposed on Wiliam Crowdus

He is a very poor man and has a family -- Believing his case to be a proper one for executive interposition we respectfully ask a
remission of said judgments -- March 1862 --

x Wm Crowdus

William Crowdus says he believes the states of the foregoing petition are true as are also those of Henly Crowdus & Jno Calvert on the next page --

x Wm Crowdus

Sworn to by W^m Crowdus
before me April 19^th 1862

x H. H. Goode J. P. M. C

I was one of William Crowdus Counsel on his trial & made the motion to discharge Calvert and admit him as a witness according to sect 2 §2 of the criminal code, believing as I do now that the proof wholly failed as to him, and I did not understand the court to overrule the motion because there was any case proven against him but on the ground that he could only exercise the power confered by said section where the witnesses were jointly with the other Deft on trial -- I was surprised at this decision and still believe it ^was^ erronious & caused the infliction of the fine on Crowdus which as his counsel I respectfully ask may be remitted --

M R Hardin

We join in the petition of William Crowdus

H. H. Goode
J. M Moore
John. A. Good
Wm Brown
E G Chandler
E. G. Martin
W^m H Fidler
J. W. M^cginnis

W C Robards
A. P. Lee
W. H. Speed
J. C. Raney
C. C. Hourigan
James Hourigan
H H Meyers
James Crowely

Jas. M Fidler
Tho^s C. Milburn
Wm P Wade
Jesse M^cDonald
D W. Rowe
J, S, Wilson
Richard Survant
J -- Q Calvert

Washington County p --

Henly Crowdus who is mentioned in the within petition states on oath that when himself, William Crowdus, Calvert William Baxter, and James Baxter came by Thorntons house, William Lamb was standing in or near the road and a quarrel arose between him and William Baxter, and James Baxter also became involved in it and They all having gone into the ^house^ where the altercation continued William Crowdus went in and told William Baxter to come out of the house, and about that time I saw Thornton advancing upon him with a drawn knife and shortly afterwards I saw William Crowdus come out bleeding and badly stabbed in two places, I did not see Calvert do anything at the time --

Henly Crowdus

Sworn to before me by Henly Crowdus this 18^th March 1862

J P Barbour [...]

John Calvert who is mentioned above states that the quarrel arose between the two Baxters and Lamb as stated by Henly Crowdus who all went into Thorntons house before Wm Crowdus, who when he went in told William Baxter to "come out and have no difficulty, and immediately afterwards I saw Thornton and Lamb both -- the latter with a knife drawn attack him & I saw Crowdus afterwards was stabbed as stated by Henly Crowdus -- I was [endeavoring] to keep the peace myself sworn to before me by Jno Calvert April 15 1862

J P Barbour CW.

John Calvert

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