Mary A. J. Wadlington, Affidavit

KYR-0001-020-0023.xml

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Accession Number

KYR-0001-020-0023

Document Genre

Legal/Financial

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

MG17A-74 to MG17A-77

Place of Creation

Caldwell County, Kentucky

Date of Creation

29 January 1861

Dates Mentioned

1850

1859-10

1861-01-29

Mary A. J. Wadlington, Affidavit, 29 January 1861, Office of the Governor, Beriah Magoffin: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons and Remissions, 1859-1862, MG17A-74 to MG17A-77, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, KY. Accessed via the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition, discovery.civilwargovernors.org/document/KYR-0001-020-0023, (accessed December 4, 2024).

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State of Kentucky Caldwell County --

The affiant Mary. A. J. Wadlington, wife of Thomas. B. Wadlington, who is now under sentence of death for the Killing of Milton A. Cartwright, would ask leave, in this the last -- dark moment, as a wife -- witness & mother & a member of society to give a statement of a few facts, which have come under her Knowledge in reference to the unfortunate difficulty, resulting in said Killing. Being the wife, of the unfortunate one, under sentence, she was deprived, of the privilige, of giving her testimony before the court, and Jury, and believing that, the Govenor of our state, will lend, a willing ear, to the statements, of one, so deeply interested, & so intimately connected with both the condemned, and deceased, she desires to make the following statment of facts within her own knowledge

She says she married James. A. Cartwright and lived with him, until his death -- That after his death, she had alloted to her dower in the lands owned by her deceased husband. That said allotment was made, by the full & entire consent of Mr Wm Ohara, the Executor of her husband D^ced, That she married the unfortunate husband, now under
sentence of death about the year 1850 -- That she lived in the same house, as occupied by her deceased husband James A. Cartwright, & has continued to do so to the present time. She says she always acted, to the fullest of her ability, in performing the duties of a step mother, to the deceased, and their relations as mother & son were of the most amicable & affectionate character -- Her & her husband's house was always a home to him, Whenever he desired to visit them -- That when he became of age, he bought out the interests of all his brothers & Sisters in the land alloted to affiant as dower, & ~~he also bought absolutely in a tract of land adjoining~~ & erected him a good cabin & c & commenced to farm, and keep bachelors' Hall, Said house not being more than 400 yards from affiants residence -- That all matters of friendship & neighborship went on as they ought to do, for some 18 months, but were suddenly broken off by him, because her husband began to cut wood & rail timber, off, of, a piece of timbered land, allotted to affiant by the Executor of James A Cartwright D^ecd -- She says the land that was timbered, was the most convenient to affiant & her husband, and the least
inconvenient in its use, to the deceased, as he had plenty of timber nearer to him. She says that in October 1859, her husband Thomas B Wadlington began to cut some timber for rails on said land, as he had a right to do, under the will of my deceased husband, as well as under the agreement in writing made between affiant and W^m Ohara Executor of her deceased husband. That after he had commenced cutting said timber for rails, and upon one evening about dusk -- the deceased, rode up to her house & hailed. That her husband went to the door, (being but 15 or 20 feet from the main road) and then the deceased told her husband that he did not want him to cut any more timber on the land, that he was then cutting on, and upon Thomas B. Wadlington Telling him that he was cutting Timber, only for rails and general farming purposes, and that the had a right to do so, by the agreement in writing of the ~~Executor~~ Ex'or of James A Cartwright D^ecdthereupon deceased in a violent & angry manner told him that if he cut any more timber there on said land, he would Kill him, The deceased was on his horse, & rode off muttering to himself --
The deceased used many vile, vindictive words against Thomas B Wadlington at the said time -- so vindictive -- so bitter, so profane & so indecent, as to cause affiant to ~~[...]~~ grieve over his depravity -- She would state further, that for several nights afterward, in an interval of some 6 weeks, guns were fired in her yard, once at the door, and once at the corner of the house near the window of her family room, also a cap was bursted at a window, near her, -- That Knowing his violent disposition as well as she did, she had every reason to believe he would carry his threats into execution, she had a cup board moved against said window & also the other window covered over with boards, And that her husband fearing that his life or some one of his family's was in danger went to Princeton, after said threats were made as above & obtained a peace warrant against the deceased, which peace warrant was dismissed by the County Judge -- That between four & six weeks after the first visit of the deceased, as above stated, he appeared again at the stile blocks of her house, about night fall, on his horse, and called for my
husband -- He came to the door, being some few yards from the stile blocks -- They had met but a moment when the deceased said, You have been cutting my timber again and he had come to let him Know that he could not & should not cut any more timber, if he did he would kill him or any one of his hands. That he was armed then and intended to go armed. His language was very profane, his tone vicious and his manner very vindictive -- My husband told him that he was mistaken, if he thought he (my husband) had no right to use the timber on the land, That it had been so fixed & arraigned in the deed from W^m Ohara Ex'or to his wife, that he could use timber for firewood & rails on any part of the tract of land upon which J. A. Cartwright died -- and that they ought to settle the matter as neighbors, but if they could not, then the law of the land would decide the matter -- that he had a full right to use the timber & would do so unless prevented by the law, Therefore the deceased became very angry, cursed my husband, and repeatedly told him he would kill him, if he cut any more timber on the land. that he would blow his
brains out & many such similar expressions -- finally he rode off, but as far as he could he heard he was muttering & giving vent to his feelings and expressing his threats --

~~[...] foregoing facts are true [...]~~, ~~on the trial of~~

She makes the above statements, of facts & hopes they may be read as such --

Mary. A. J. Wadlington

Sworn to & subscribed to before me by Mary. A. J. Wadlington this Jan'y 29 1861 --

W E Mitchusson Deputy clk

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