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Allen Granberry Thurman (1813-1895) |
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THURMAN BLACKSHEEP
LEO C. THURMAN 1883 - 1908 Age 25
Spectators crowded rooftops overlooking the Norfolk jail yard, while many more watched from the police station. The sun was just rising at 6:02 on April 10,1908, when Norfolk Sheriff John F. Lawler sprung the trap on the gallows. A sharp snap resounded. "Like a flash, the body of the doomed prisoner shot through space until it had plunged eight feet to the end of the rope," read a newspaper account of the time. And Leo C. Thurman, a notorious fugitive in one of the city's most sensational murders, became the last man executed by hanging in Virginia before the electric chair replaced the gallows in July 1908. That afternoon, Thurman, only 25, was quietly buried in Norfolk's Elmwood Cemetery in a wood coffin in a plot designated for strangers and paupers. His grave, somewhere among the ornate headstones and granite mausoleums, is unmarked. And he was forgotten. Until the Bible surfaced. Just as bulldozers prepared to demolishe the W.E. Smith Garage in Suffolk last fall, a dusty, tattered King James Bible was recovered. Near the back cover, where folks might list family births and marriages, several pages of faded notes included this notation: Leo C. Thurman was hanged on April 10, 1908, in Norfolk, age 25. The long-ago writer, who apparently had some familiarity with Thurman, wrote that he had married a Kentucky woman in 1903, but she left him two years later. "She left Thurman as his people told her he was insane. It was his people who caused her to leave."The last notation on the page: Walter P. Dolsen. Who was Dolsen? Who was Thurman and why was he hanged? Who scrawled the cryptic notes, and how did the Bible land in Suffolk? Some of the answers would never be found: the identity of the person who wrote in the Bible, a connection between Thurman or Dolsen and Suffolk. The late Elva Smith, whose family owned the garage, was a collector, friends say, and probably acquired the Bible somewhere along the way. But the answers that did surface provide a glimpse of crime and punishment in Hampton Roads early in the last century. Early on the morning of the 1st of April two years ago the city was shocked by the news of the horrible murder of Walter P. Dolsen, a discharged United States Marine, and then the gruesome efforts of his murderer to conceal the crime by packing the dead body in a trunk with the ostensible purpose of shipping it out of the city.- The Norfolk Landmark, April 11, 1908 If you believe newspaper accounts of the era, Thurman was a thief and a cold-blooded murderer. Thurman himself, writing in a death-row autobiography, says he was a brilliant con artist caught in a violent struggle with his drunken roommate. According to news accounts, Thurman murdered Dolsen with an ax at their rooming house on Main Street, hid his body in a trunk, then planned to get rid of the evidence by shipping the trunk to Edenton, N.C. "Robbery was the motive and it is said that Thurman secured several hundred dollars," The Virginian-Pilot reported. Thurman panicked when, shortly after he had hidden Dolsen's body, a housekeeper noticed blood spatters on the floor and laughingly suggested an ax murder had taken place. By the time Dolsen's body was discovered a few hours later, Thurman had already fled Norfolk. The ensuing manhunt stretched across the country, with Thurman's description posted in police stations and post offices, as well as in the police publication, The Detective. Thurman recounted his escape in the autobiography, which he wrote during his last 10-day stay of execution. Proceeds of his life story, filled with adventure and humor, were to support his widowed mother in West Point, Ky. Elinor Antis, a Wakefield librarian and genealogist, tracked down the single remaining copy of the book in the state library in Richmond. Thurman claimed the boarding house killing was self-defense against a drunken Dolsen, who was advancing on him, hatchet in hand: I quickly caught up the ax, not with the intention of striking him, but to keep him from me until I could make my exit.... I told him for God's sake to keep back. He paid not the slightest attention and raised the hatchet as if to strike but before he could deliver the blow I had struck him. Dolsen staggered and fell, but immediately started to regain his feet. Having lost all self-control, when he attempted to get up I struck him again but whether one or a dozen times I have not the slightest idea. Thurman said he intended to summon a doctor, but Dolsen was already dead. He doubled the body into a trunk, planning to ship the remains to Edenton. As morning approached, however, Thurman decided to grab his hat and flee, "borrowing" Dolsen's watch and wallet containing $245 in discharge pay. After my departure from Norfolk the police expected evidently that I was in hiding. Instead I was on the main thoroughfares of all cities visited and at all times associated with better classes. While my leaving Norfolk and my success in evading the police department has been construed by many as remarkable, yet it was very simple: Nothing more or less than the intelligence of one man pitted against that of another. For a year, he rode the rails, catching rides on trains across the country and Canada, confidently outsmarting his pursuers. He assumed disguises so effective that he claimed to have visited police stations to view his own wanted posters. Arrested for stealing a horse in Butte, Mont., Thurman, with his habitual glibness, talked himself into an acquittal. Hungry and broke, he conned an entire Florida village into winning and dining him for several days as the representative of a mythical telephone company. Arrested on March 30, 1907, for forgery in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was recognized as the fugitive ax murderer. He denied ever being in Norfolk-but the label in his hat band gave him away. The luck and confidence upon which Thurman had always relied finally ran out. The youngest of four children, Thurman was born in West Point, Ky. Quick-witted and charming, he played baseball and enjoyed great popularity, devoting pages of his autobiography to romantic escapades. In 1903, disaster struck in the guise of a fly ball during a game between West Point and a town in Indiana. Dashing across center field for the catch, Thurman was struck in the right temple. "Young Thurman remained in a semi-conscious state for several days," a Louisville newspaper later reported. "When he regained his senses afterwards the lad who had always enjoyed such an excellent reputation began leading a reckless and wild life." After his marriage ended, Thurman traveled, worked and courted women- frequently more than on at a time. Late in 1905, he enlisted in the Marines and was assigned to duty in Norfolk. Thurman's military career was short- seven weeks, of which six were spent in the Portsmouth Naval Hospital with an unspecified disability. His next stop was the boarding house on Norfolk's Main Street, where the landlady asked if he'd mind having a roommate.A fellow named Walter P. Dolsen. Thurman was found guilty of murder in the first degree in May 1907. After failing in his appeals for a new trial, he was sentenced to hang. In his autobiography, Thurman was introspective about his fate and offered advice to other young men: "Let every young man reflect; let him give his future a moment's thought. If he sees where he can better his position morally (and there are few who cannot) as in any other manner, let him do so." News stories detailed Thurman's last day- how he played ball with the other prisoners, chatted with the death watch, and enjoyed his last meal of fried chicken, German fried potatoes, coffee and custard pie. The next morning, the mood was different. Reported the Norfolk Landmark: A deep silence fell over the throng surrounding the scaffold when the prisoner appeared and when he knelt beside his spiritual adviser, every head was uncovered and many were bowed. Thurman, on a bended knee, supplicated God in silence for probably a minute, made the sign of the cross without the twitching of a muscle and took his stand squarely on the trap.... There was an audible gasp from the witnesses as they realized the awful fate of the young prisoner. Many eyes were averted, though many were not. Soon after, Sheriff Lawler ordered the scaffold demolished and cut into firewood. The commonwealth had a new method of execution: the electric chair.
In SPITE of all that you have just read regards the "last" hanging in Virginia... It was brought to our attention by Daniel Allen Hearn of Connecticut that Leo C. THURMAN was N O T... the last person hanged in Virginia!
Daniel Jackson was legally hanged at Emporia on April 24, 1908.
Lee Strother was legally hanged at Madison Courthouse on September 11, 1908.
Joel Payne was legally hanged at Bedford Courthouse on April 9, 1909.
In addition, another man named William Turner was legally hanged at Richmond on June 24, 1921.
September 1791, Bedford County, Virginia Order Book # 10, page 111: Joseph Thurman appeared in discharge of his recog to appear here on the complaint of Mary Ann Franklin (soon to be his mother-in-law). On hearing the parties it is the opinion of the Court that the said Joseph Thurman be bound to his good behavior for 12 months and 1 day. The said Thurman in the sum of fifty pounds and two securities in twenty five pounds each whereupon the said Joseph Thurman and Samuel Thurman and Charles Perrin his securities come into court and severally acknowledges themselves to be indebted to the Commonwealth as aforesaid.
March 1797, Bedford County, Virginia Ordedr Book #10, page 156: On the complaint of William Hudnall Jr., against Joseph Thurman, setting forth that he has good cause to fear that the said Joseph Thurman will do him some personal injury. On hearing it is considered by the Court that the said Joseph Thurman be bound in the sum of twenty pounds and two securities in the sum of ten pounds each for his good behavior for twelve months, whereupon the said Joseph Thurman and Robert Craig and William Dabney his securities come into Court and severally acknowledged themselves indebted as aforesaid.
May 1797, Bedford County, Virginia Order Book # 10, page 173: Commonwealth VS Joseph Thurman - for biting off William Hudnalls nose, dismissed by Thomas Otto, Prosecutor for the Commonwealth.
June 1797, Bedford County, Virginia Order Book #10, page 187: It appearing to the Court by the affidavit of William Creasey that Joseph Thuman had threatened to do him some personal injury. It is therefore considered by the Court that the said Joseph Thurman be bound to his good behavior for 12 months in the sum of one hundred dollars and two securities in the sum of fifty dollars each, whereupon it is ordered that he be committed to the custody of the Sheriff until he give such security.
August 28, 1797, Bedford County, Virginia Order Book #10, page 200: Commonwealth VS Joseph Thurman, fined for swearing two oaths.
It certainly appears that this young man had his share of problems in a very short period of time. Submitted by Darrell Thurman in Scio, Oregon
"Tillie Thurman or Carlisle, who keeps a joint on Basin Street near the corner of Canti, next to Pelican Fours track house is certainly a Pelican of the water. Boys, if you are out looking for a good time and wish to save a doctor's bill we severely advise you to go give the above establishment all the room possible. When it comes down to the real thing in the way of low down tarts, then this is the house you are looking for!"
Contributed by Marie Thurman Vann of Waynesboro, GA.
On last Thursday, our little neighboring town of Sevierville was the scene of a deed which would rival Jesse James in his balmiest days. Three men, Will and Cal Derrick, and Pearl Thurman made a desperate attempt to rob the bank. The two Derricks are from Knoxville, and Thurman is a resident of Sevier County. Will Derrick runs a livery stable in the above named city and it was at his barn the plan was concieved to rob the bank. The men had been drinking freely of that stuff which ruins the body and destroys the soul. And it was while under the influence of whiskey they committed the deed. The plan of the would-be-robbers became known, by the timely assistance of friends, and a warm reception awaited them when they arrived at the bank about 9 o’clock Thursday morning. They rode down Main Street at break-neck speed with black caps over their faces, and halted in front of the bank. Will Derrick immediately fired into the bank---and then the men who were in the Masonic building began firing upon the robbers. They were all wounded at the first fire, and two of their horses were killed. Will Derrick immediately jumped on his horse and started to run---and did get about a mile away, when his horse dropped dead. He was pursued by a posse and he took refuge in a barn, and when called upon to surrender, placed a revolver to his head and killed himself, rather than be taken. He was wounded in several places and would have died. His brother, Cal Derrick, was wounded twice, and he took refuge in a hotel where he was captured, and has since been bound over to court, and is now in jail. Pearl Thurman, who was thought to be dead---is still alive, but it is thought he will die as he is wounded fatally. All of the men are young, their ages being respectively; Will Derrick 26, Cal Derrick 22, and Pearl Thurman 18. They had evidently planned to make the raid at a prepitious time, for there is usually but one man in the bank at 9 o’clock in the morning. The telephone wires had been cut between Knoxville and Sevierville.
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THURMAN's QUEST Blacksheep page created 31 May 00. 2000©.