In 1887 in the mountainous forests of Northeast Pickens County, in an area once known as the Lansdown, Kate Southern murdered Narcissa Fowler with a knife at a small gathering. The remote land was located northwest of Burnt Mountain and occurred at what various papers described as everything from a ball, dance, or fiddling party. The sensationalist papers of the day grossly distorted the events of the murder.
A short version of the facts follows:
In February of 1887, there was a small gathering of people at the Hambrick home. Kate Southern, aged 19, got into a scuffle with Narcissa Fowler. Kate pulled out a knife and stabbed Narcissa. It appears that Narcissa had been spreading rumors about Kate. Various newspapers described Kate's husband Bob as having had an affair with Narcissa. However, I don't believe that was ever corroborated.
Kate, her husband, and her sister were arrested and placed in the Old Rock Jail in Jasper. Sheriff John Lindsay and his family posed in front of the jail in the following photo.
The trial commenced on April 23rd, 1888. Famous Jasper Attorneys Sion A. Darnell and William T. Day represented the prosecution and defense respectively. After five days of testimony, it only took the jury 24 hours to find Kate guilty of murder, with a recommendation of mercy. The judge, George Lester, cried while reading her sentencing. He had no choice but to rule that Kate be killed by hanging on June 21st, 1888.
The sensational skewing of the facts made this case spread nationwide. A local writer using a pseudonym published a piece against the use of capital punishment on women in the Atlanta Constitution. The popularity of the case and the aroused sympathies of the nation helped influence Governor Colquitt to commute Kate's sentence. On May 23rd, 1888, Governor Colquitt commuted her sentence based on facts, not because of her gender.
In fact, at the time, it was said after the excitement of the Kate Southern trial, it wouldn't be possible to execute a woman in Georgia. That break lasted for 57 years.
Kate and Bob Southern eventually moved to Alabama where she passed away in 1927 at the age of 68. She and her husband are buried together in Posey Mill, Alabama.
Before the Kate Southern trial, only three women were known to have been executed in the area of the state, Irish immigrant Alice Ryley in 1735, Polly Barclay of Wilkes County in 1806, and Susan Eberhardt in 1873. After the Southern trial, Lena Baker was executed in 1945, and Kelly Gissendaner in 2015.
Pickens County History is intresting