Murder, Moonshine & Mayhem in Western North Carolina

Guns, liquor, racial strife, divisive politics, and war come together in ten well-documented, true-crime stories of nineteenth-century mountain families. In these accounts, unrivaled by any of the Wild West, history and genealogy buffs may be surprised to learn that Asheville was the site of more than one lynching, that the Ku Klux Klan had gained power in the region, or that a US Deputy Marshal got away with murder-seven times.

The author is a descendant of early nineteenth-century mountain settlers. With over thirty years of experience in researching, writing, and publishing, Nadia Dean uncovers some never-before-told sagas and sets right other accounts that missed the mark.

1. Emotional Insanity....................................................... 1

A lawyer who in broad daylight is bullwhipped by his opponent takes the law into his own hands, committing an act of insanity in the -presence of a judge (1851).

2. Bloody Madison ......................................................... 12

A Union sympathizer in the heart of southern Appalachia becomes an efficient spy after Confederates rain hell and terror on her Madison County farm (1864).

3. The Tragedy of Montraville Ray .................................. 27

A Confederate deserter turned Union sympathizer directs a daring raid on the town of Burnsville, and the hatred that ensues leads to murder and a fugitive from justice (1870, 1882).

4. The Weston Family Massacre..................................... 40

Claiming allegiance to the KKK, two brothers slaughter a mixed-race family and fittingly get fitted for a noose (1872).

5. The Whipping of Aaron Biggerstaff ............................. 53

Two brothers with different mothers carry on a feud. Their -animosity ignites violence that rises to the national level when Congress -investigates KKK atrocities in North Carolina (1871).

6. The Hanging of Jack Lambert .................................... 65

A restless miner, a revenue officer, a night of drinking, and pistols. What could go wrong (1884-1886)?

7. "Buncombe's Boasted Bastille Busted" ........................ 83

A US Deputy Marshal convicted of murder and sentenced to hang gets help from his powerful father-in-law before his fateful day on the -gallows (1884-1885).

8. The Lynching of Bob Brackett ................................... 109

Hundreds of angry men storm the county jail to seize a Black man accused of raping a White woman, only to find the prisoner gone (1897).

9. Murder in Big Bend................................................... 121

A femme fatale sparks the disappearance of her first two husbands, but a vacationing Chicago detective pops the lid on the whole thing (1931).

10. Fugitive Justice ...................................................... 135

A revenue officer with a dark past reinvents himself as a lawman, -hoping to win a governor's pardon so he can return home (1885-1913).

Appendices

End Notes.................................................................... 180

Sources....................................................................... 200

Illustration Credits...................................................... 207

Index........................................................................... 211

About the Author......................................................... 231