Richard Hartsfield
b. 28 April 1830, Georgia
m. 12 Apr 1855, Catherine
Palmore
d. 10 February 10, 1862,
William Seale Cemetery
Richard
Hartsfield, a mechanic, was a member of the Monterey community. This area was
known for violence, a result of numerous fights and murders, including that of
Hartsfield. Having purchased a pair of slaves from another estate, Hartsfield
soon learned that the men hated him. He ordered them to butcher some hogs in
the winter of 1862. When he arrived at the slaughter location to check on their
work, one of the slaves murdered him with an ax. The second one then beat him
with a fence rail to insure his death.
The two
slaves attempted to place their master on his horse hoping to claim that he had
been thrown from the animal. The horse spooked and fled before they could get
him into the saddle. They notified Mrs. Hartsfield of his death, telling their
story about his being thrown from the horse. However, the blood on one of the
slave's shirt was enough to convict them of the murder, especially since none
of the hogs had been butchered.
Catherine
Palmore was born December 28, 1838 and died April 1, 1901. She is buried in the
William Seale Cemetery.
Children
of Richard Hartsfield and Catherine Palmore:
Livia Hartsfield m. J. W.
Weaver
Mary Hartsfield
Mary
Hartsfield
m. Ransom Seale
Mary
Hartsfield was the second child of Richard Hartsfield and Catherine Palmore.
She was the second wife of Ransom Seale.
Ransom Seale was the son
of William Seale and Rulincy Hilson.
Last updated
November 4, 2002
©1997, Mildred Stinson Brown