The Hanging of Anthony Blair

    This was an event that attracted crowds of record proportion. People traveled from all over the area to witness Hamblen County's first public hanging. It is a story that few people know today, but the things witnessed on September 26th 1879 had such a lasting effect on the community, that this also be the last public execution in Hamblen County. What follows is the story of Anthony Blair.
    Maggie Blair, the step daughter of Anthony Blair left his house near Jonesboro, about the 1st of May, and was in the employment of William Donaldson. Blair, having become aware of her location, came to Russellville on the 29th of July. He headed to the residence of Mr. Donaldson, and entered the kitchen where Maggie and Mrs. Donaldson were preparing dinner. Anthony told her in a domineering voice to come out of the house as he wished to speak with her. The girl, who appeared very afraid of him, refused to leave the home. Mr. William Donaldson came up at this moment, and Anthony left and nothing more was seen out of him until the night which the murder occurred
    That night Maggie went to Russellville to attend a prayer meeting. After the service, she and some of her friends were met by Blair, who pulled Maggie from her escort, Henry Taylor. Anthony grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her along the road a hundred yards or so, saying, “You must come home with me on the train tonight to your grand-papa”. She struggled to get away, screaming that she would rather die than go back with him. This seems to have enraged Anthony and he drew his revolver and fired two shots at point-blank range. Maggie only lived until Saturday morning.
    Blair was arrested on Thursday, tried before a justice and held for tail. On Monday, August 4th, the Grand Jury of the Circuit Court of Hamblen County found an indictment for murder. On Thursday of the same week he was tried and found guilty, and one day later day was sentenced - only eight days having between the murder and the sentence. The Judge addressed the prisoner on the magnitude of his crime and its terrible results to him, and concluded by ordering that he should be remanded to jail until Friday, the 26th day of September, where between 10 am and 9 pm he should be taken there from by the Sheriff to some point within one mile of the Court House and there be hanged by the neck until he is dead. It was written by a reporter of the Morristown Gazette that, "during the delivery of the sentence the condemned man - the most hideous, repulsive, semi-gorilla looking mortal in appearance, we ever saw kept his eyes steadily fixed on the Judge but not a muscle moved nor tear come. Apparently he was the most unaffected man in the room." As he was being escorted back to jail, he told Sheriff Loop that the sentence was a just one and that he "only regretted its execution did not come off today or tomorrow."

Above is the cover of the pamphlet issued just prior to Blair's hanging

Price: 10 cents per copy

    By as early as seven o'clock on execution day there were hundreds on the streets. A gentleman, who saw the scene, said that every road presented an unbroken line of dust, as far as the eye could see, from early morn till noon. Another gentleman who sat near the road just out of town, stated that from about 10 am till 12 am, that he counted no less 1200 people passing into town. There were people of all economic classes, all races, all ages. People with a morbid curiosity of the events they would witness by the days end. It was estimated that by noon there were not less than 8,000 to 10,000 spectators. The scaffold was built in what was called Luttrell's Flats, on the west side of Henry Street at the foot of Lulu Street. This was also known as the bottom of "Reservoir Hill"
    At 12 o’clock am, Sheriff Loop,his deputies,and 28 guards, plus the Sheriff’s of Cock and Grainger County counties proceeded to the jail, and after shackling the condemned man, place him on his coffin, with the noose around his neck in a wagon and drove him slowly through the masses to the gallows. A short prayer meeting was held by Rev Geo. Branner. Blair was then permitted to sing a song and afterwords address the crowd. His opening words were “It seems this is a solemn day”. “Thank God I am born to die”. This was but a small amount of the 35 minutes that he rambled on. He confessed to being guilty of the murder; and as freely stated facts which showed that prior to the murder he had been guilty, in another ways. At 1:35 the black hood was drawn over his face, the rope adjusted and the wagon moved from under him. In 9 minutes, his heart had stopped, in 10 minutes there was no pulse, in 15 minutes he was pronounced dead, and in just 20 minutes he was lowered into his coffin.
    At this point, Mr. Blair was as even with society as one could wish. He had paid the ultimate price for his crimes. I wish I could tell you that the story ended here, but the truth is peoples' morbid curiosity with this man was just getting started. Blair had previously willed local doctors his body after they paid him $15.00, with which he was able keep a supply of tobacco and little sweets while he was incarcerated.
    After his death, his body was moved to the courthouse where a group of medical students including Doctors D.E. Shields, Ben Richardson, Gass, Crawford and others who were studying medicine under Dr. John L. Howell, embalmed the body for preservation. Blair's heart and brain were removed and kept in glass jars and on display for many years.     The doctors dissected and studied the body for almost a year and then in about May 1880, the wife of Dr. John Howell boiled Blair's bones in a large kettle in the back yard at 523 West Main St. The skeleton was assembled and hung in a back room at Pinky Carigers Drug Store. There must have many people who wanted to view the remains and must have drawn people to the store for some time. The skeleton hung there until a fire destroyed the building. To date, it is not known what ever happened to the remains. We know this whole event must have been disturbing to many people.
    We know this not because of this being the only public hanging in the county but because of comments written in the Morristown Gazette. It stated that in conclusion, that the people would be glad if they knew this was the last public execution that would ever occur in Tennessee. They said the scene was demoralizing and in no aspect did it bring a good result. It stated they favored hanging for deliberate murder, but they would hope for a law requiring them to be private.

2010 Larry Hobby

Old Advertisment Examples

Advertisment for R&G Corsets sold at the Dosser Brothers Store

Advertisment from April 1895 - The Morristown Republician

Advertisment for Farm Wagons and Buggies at Curtis, Hull and Witt

Advertisment from 1882- The Morristown Republician

Advertisment for Dress and Millinery Goods

sold at Goddsons and Legg's Store

 Advertisment for D.A. Pless
Jeweler and Optician - Morristown Gazette

Advertisment for Oliver Chilled Plows
sold at W.N. Doggett and Co.
August 1909 Morristown Gazette

The Bell Directory

May 13th 1916

The Morristown Gazette

Crossroads of Dixie

     
      This area was able to develop and prosper because it was strategically situated at the crossroads of two major paths. One of the roads  was an old Indian Path that ran from East to West that Charles McClung helped survey in 1782. At the time is was known as the "Big Road", later known as "Dixie Highway", it linked Baltimore and Knoxville.Today it is the basic path of 11E. The other road was the "Buffalo Trail", which according to stories, was created by the buffalos seeking the salt licks near Powell's Valley. This road connected Detroit and Miami.  Today it is the basic path Highway 25E. The "Crossroads of Dixie" as it would later become to be know as, was the path where these two road intersected. Today it is better known as the intersection of Cumberland and Main Streets.
      Over the years their must have been many travelers to pass through on foot, horseback, and carriage. Men of great importance walked this ground long before they were condemned to the pages of a history book. Names like John Sevier, Daniel Boon, Davy Crockett, Sam Huston, and possibly even U.S. Presidents like Andrew Johnson who lived nearby and possibly others who were known to visit in neighboring towns.
     Before Hamblen County was formed,  before Morristown was incorporated, and even before the State of Tennessee was formed, there were two paths that crossed. The importance of the meeting of these two roads is almost unknown, the names of the people who traveled this way before us, have been lost to time and to most people, the importance of this land has faded. The people who love this area should thank that people whom they walk in the footsteps of.
    

The Naming of A County

      Hamblen County is the 20th largest county in Tennessee, and is nestled in the lush, fertile valley between the Great Smoky Mountains and the rugged Clinch Mountains. Like most of Tennessee Counties, the creation of Hamblen County was a necessity.  The creation of Hamblen County came as the answer to a the need of the people. In this day day and time,  both  transportation and communications were limited, and the geography of the county seats of Jefferson and Grainger Counties presented problems for those who had a need to attend court in their respective counties. Morristown, at this time, was divided by Main Street. Jefferson County was on the South side of Main Street and Grainger County laid to the North side of the road.
      The county was formed in 1870 from parts of Jefferson, Grainger, and later Hawkins Counties. The act creating a new county to be named Hamblen was passed May 31, 1870, with 1,057 local residence signing the petition. William Courtney, W. S. Reese, W. C. Witt, and James C. Davis, of Jefferson County, and John C. Tate, C. J. Burnett and Rufus E. Rice of Grainger County, were appointed to organize the county. After much controversy, the county was named in honor of Hezekiah Hamblen (1775 - 1854), an early settler, landowner, attorney, and member of the Hawkins County Court for many years. To secure the vote of Senator William Green of Hawkins County and, in turn the passage of the bill that would create the new county, he was given the privilege of naming the new county after his grandfather.