Cherokee Lore

 

George C. King

 

Written by Ogreta Wilson Huttash

Transcribed by Georgie Gene Watters Uzzle

 

George C. King was the only white man ever hanged legally in Cherokee County. He was executed July 2, 1895, for the murder of Dr. A. F. Drury near Wells August 18, 1894. The verdict of guilty was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.

 

Once a prisoner at the coaling camp at Wells, King was familiar with the area. Dr. A. F. Drury of Rusk left for Wells on a train, arrived there safely, and left Wells on the Texas State Penitentiary locomotive for the coaling camp.

In a few minutes Dr. Drury was wounded fatally. He saw a man coming toward the railroad with cross ties and throwing them on the railroad track. The locomotive stopped and Dr. Drury alighted to help the convicts clear the track.  He was ordered to throw up his hands and hand over his valuables.  Testimony in the trial showed that the convicts ran off, and Dr. Drury turned to see whether or not they were in sight when he was shot in the back. From that wound, he died two days later at home with his family in Rusk. He was robbed of a watch and chain and $20 - $5.00 in silver and three $5 bills – one of them with a corner torn off. A watch, chain, and money were taken from King, not too long after the shooting, which witnesses said were identical to Dr. Drury’s.

 

By Ogreta Wilson Huttash.

 

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