| This newspaper story was shared with me by my cousin and fellow researcher, Willie King. I don't know the date of this newspaper article, but it was apparently in the very early 1900's. It concerns John James King, who was a son of William Winston and Mary Hamilton King. He was born in 1871, in Allen, Copiah County, MS and died on December 26, 1934, in Lincoln County, MS. He is buried in Ben Salem Presbyterian Church Cemetery. He married Irene Ferguson. According to eyewitnesses, of which there were a number, when the party (who was coming home from a prayer meeting), reached Mr. Beacham's front lot gate and were going in, Jim King and Prentiss Easterling, two young men of the neighborhood, rode up and King called to Mr. Bufkin that he wanted to see him in regard to a difficulty a few days previous, between a small son of Bufkin and a little brother of King, at the time of which, Bufkin was reported as reprimanding the King boy. [According to a descendant of James Kings', the family story which has been handed down, is that Mr. Bufkin supposedly beat the King boy rather severely. If true, this wasn't mentioned in the article.] As soon as Bufkin turned and advanced to meet King, who had meantime dismounted from his mule, the latter opened fire on him with a pistol. He received two deadly wounds in the breast, when he turned to retreat and was followed by King and shot several times more in the back. It is alleged that as soon as Bufkin started to retreat, young Easterling drew his pistol and began shooting from his horse in the road. The whole shocking affair took place in full view of Bufkin's children, Mrs. Beacham and several others. When reached by Mr. Godbold and several others, immediately after the shooting, Mr. Bufkin was leaning against the fence in a dying condition. He never spoke after being shot, and expired a short while after being carried into the house. Bufkin, who was a peaceable and respected citizen of the Caseyville community, had taken a leading part in the prayer meeting at the church that day and, among other things, asserted during his remarks, that there was nothing he so much desired as to be right and do right. King and Easterling have surrendered to the authorities since the killing and are now in jail. It is learned that King will undertake to justify himself by pleading that Bufkin was attempting to strike him with a walking stick he carried, while young Easterling will plead that he did not participate in the shooting at all. Hon. A. C. McNair and Messrs. Cassedy and Cassedy have been retained for the defense and Messrs. Chrisman and Brennan and Hon. R. N. Miller have been employed to prosecute. The preliminary trial will be held before Justice Bartlett Smith next Wednesday. Some time later: The trial of Jim King for the murder of Joseph Bufkin at Caseyville last October, consumed three days and was not given to the jury until late Thursday night. This seemed to be regarded as a kind of test case, a test as to whether or not there was enough of virility and love of law and justice left in the people of this area, to convict and hang a white man for killing in cold blood one of his fellows. During the trial, the large courtroom was crowded as we have never seen it before by people of all classes, including a large number of ladies, manifesting the deep interest felt in the outcome of the issue which had been joined. The case was elaborately argued by counsel on both sides. The speeches of the lawyers began about half after 7, Wednesday evening and the last one ws not finished until 9 p.m. Thursday night. On the side of the prosecution, speeches were made by Charles Chrisman, Esq., District Attorney Greaves and Hon. R. N. Miller, and for the defense, by Messrs. H. Cassedy, Jr., A. C. McNair and Judge Cassedy. The closing speech in the case was made by Mr. Miller and was one of great power and clearness. A packed audience gathered to hear this celebrated criminal lawyer, who appeared for the first time before a jury in a murder trial in this county, and hundreds were captivated by his eloquence, tact and knowledge of the law. Friday morning, the case of Prentiss Easterling, also, charged with the murder of Bufkin, was taken up. As Easterling and King had been indicted jointly and the jury in the King case was still out when Easterling's case was taken up, it became necessary to send to the jury room for the joint indictment before the trial could proceed. This was made the grounds for an exception by counsel for King and Easterling. The trial was concluded Tuesday night at 9 p.m., after an able closing speech by lawyer Brady. [James King was found guilty, however, according to Willie King, he was neither hung, nor did jail time, but was given a full pardon by the Governor. Mr. King lived out his life in the vicinity of the place where the murder had taken place. We don't know about the outcome of Mr. Easterling's trial.] |
| I haven't figured out exactly how, but I'm related to this family through the Hamiltons.....the mother of the murderer was Mary Hamilton King. I believe Mary H. King might have been an aunt or cousin of my g-grandmother, Ella Osborne Dawkins. -- Nancy ~ ~ ~ |
| Revenge for a Brother's Reprimand in Copiah County |
