Mountain.Echo-Laurel.1899.1.27.NEWS Hello, world! With the recent problems with Maiser and all the confusion surrounding I am totally confused about what I have and have not posted on the last MT ECHO series we started. And to be totally honest, I just really do not want to try to figure it out right now! My "figure-outter" is all figured out after all that (plus 3 new counties!) except to figure out that at this point it would be best to back up and punt! Soooo...I'm just going to start a new series. We'll finish the other one later! In January 1899 an event happened in Laurel County that shocked the entire community. The case may sound vaguely familiar to you because of the parallels between it and a more recent case. A handsome, successful and well-known man became enamored (or at least fixated!) on a beautiful young woman of a lower economic status. The relationship progressed through the power of the man to manipulate and control the woman. When a situation arose that he could not control, he attempted to force events to conform to his desires regardless of the price others had to pay. The story proceeds through the death of the young woman and a completely innocent "bystander", the flight of the young man and his subsequent arrest, and the "media circus" that surrounded his trial. While the events happened in Laurel County and had little effect on anyone beyond it's boundaries, it should make interesting reading for a wider audience for several reasons: (1.) the vast change in the mores of eastern Kentucky in a little less than 100 years, (2.) the unchanging nature of basic human failings and weaknesses and (3.) the startling differences and, yet, somehow, the sameness of press coverage then and now. Keep in mind that this entire story was originally published in a local newspaper in a rural area in 1899 and was considered extremely risque. By the standards of today, the reporter's writing style is very formal, but in 1899 the public use of certain words and mention of certain topics was, in itself, scandalous...their publication shocking! And so, ladies and gentlemen, from Laurel County, Kentucky comes the story of the "trial of the century".....the 19th century, that is. Rita - -- People vs E.K. Wilson 1899 PART 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reprinted with permission of the Laurel County Historical Society from their book "Excerpts from the Mountain Echo 1899" Copyright 1996 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ January 27, 1899 A sensation that had been smoldering and brewing in London the past four weeks burst forth with all its hideousness and desolating fury upon the peaceful inhabitants of our usually quiet little mountain city last Saturday and Sunday. It was the exposure of one of the most hideous, black and damnable crimes that ever disgraced our favorite town or blacked the record of our court. It was the story of the bewitching conduct of a wiley, cultured, daring and handsome young barrister, the betrayal, seduction, ruin and agonizing death of a sweet, innocent, confiding, pretty, though unlettered young lady and servant girl at the Catching Hotel. The young man implicated and charged with the crime is none less than Mr. E. K. Wilson, who, though he has been a citizen of our county only about nine years, has been honored more than once by the good people of this county, at one time chosen by the suffrage of the people to preside over the interests of the county as its legal adviser and representative as County Attorney, and came within a few votes of being called to preside over the county as its chief officer, County Judge. The young lady who met with such a sad misfortune and tragic death was Miss Mary E. Cloyd, daughter of Mr. Thomas Cloyd, who resides near McWhorter, this county, twelve miles north of London, but who has been serving in the capacity of a cook at the Catching Hotel for the past two and a half years. JANUARY 27, 1899 According to the proof advanced at the examining trial the facts and Circumstances are about as follows: About two years ago Mr. Wilson began paying his respects to Miss Cloyd in the capacity of a sweetheart and continued to do so regularly about once a week, some time not so often, and sometimes oftener, calling on her in the parlor of the hotel, where Mr. Wilson was a border and where the girl was a domestic, Mr. Wilson, all the while using every means known to the wiles of man to accomplish his purpose to have carnal knowledge of her and her ruin. Finally, yielding to his persuasive genius and under the solemn promise of marriage, she yielded to his lusty desires and her ruin and death followed. Mr. Wilson's confession, the girls dying declaration, substantiated by a volume of other evi- dences is insurmountable proof belief the girl was a pure girl up to the time of his knowledge of her, that he had given her medicine and that with his own hands, after she had refused to use it he had used the instrument which caused her death. This interview closed, this meeting ended by Mr. Wilson saying that before he would be forced to marry the girl he would kill himself. With this Mr. Wilson left the room, the town, the county and was never again seen in our county until last Sunday morning when he was arrested by the authorities in Madison county at Richmond and brought back here under the charge of murder. The dying declaration of the girl, made in the presence of Mrs. McLear, and Drs. Ramsey and Pennington was in substance as follows: That she was 25 years of age, that no other man save Mr. Wilson knew her carnally, that he accomplished her ruin under the most solemn promise of marriage, that Mr. Wilson was the father of her unborn child, that he had given her twelve pills with directions how to use them, one three times a day, that she took seven of them, that two days later about Dec. 27, Mr. Wilson told her that the pills might bring her all right, but that she did not want to run any risk, that he wanted to use an instrument, that he inserted it into the uterus by the use of a wire, cut it off leaving a portion of it in the uterus, and by this produced abortion , caused her illness and destroyed her life. Dr. Pennington assisted by Dr. Ramsey, attended the girl during her entire sickness and everything known to medical science was done to save her life. Submitted by: Rita Stanifer Maggard Date: Wed, 21 May 1997