Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsGen. Willcox And Rev. Conner Summoned To Jacksonville Court
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
I suppose no one has ever described attending court as the most fun thing they've ever done, unless it was some excitement-seeking spectator or perhaps some overly zealous attorney whose crystal ball told him a victory in court was imminent. But for jurors and witnesses and officials, and those on trial, the mechanism of justice sometimes proves a weighty, serious and solemn ordeal. It is also time-consuming but for those whose necks are stretched between two diametrically opposed possibilities - verdicts of "innocent" and "guilty" - that little inconvenience is really not too much to beg.
This is probably what the Rev. Wilson Conner was thinking that day in 1834 when he had been forced to postpone some of his ecclesiastical journeys so that he could respond to a summons and make a trip to a court session convened at the Telfair County seat of Jacksonville, Georgia. But, on the other hand, it wasn't every day a citizen received a subpoena to be a witness at the courthouse. And he would get to see a lot of his friends in Jacksonville, so he decided that the change of pace would be welcome. Because of the nature of the case, murder, it would probably also be extended.
With all this in mind, the Rev. Conner descended from his faithful horse with three more things on his mind. First, he had to get his horse accommodated in one of the livery stables at Jacksonville. He wasn't about to let his horse go without - not one that had carried him so many miles and would carry him many more. After the horse was cared for he had to get lodging and food for himself because the energy of the salted side meat and last year's cucumbers was just about to give out. And then, all that done, he had to attend court the next day. He also hoped that evening to see some of his Ocmulgee River friends if time permitted.
"April 22nd - rode 8 mile to Jacksonville to attend the trial of (William) Parker and (Lazarus) Williams charged no doubt justly with the murder of Hugh Cook."
It appears that Bro. Wilson Conner had already (before the trial) decided how he viewed the charges and participants in this event of pioneer justice. I think we would be squelching our devotion to the truth a bit if we said we didn't do the same, at times, today.
According to author Addie Garrison Briggs, it is left to the reader to decide if all parties involved might have had a few dents in their reputations. Cook, a former sheriff of Telfair County, was serving as the local prosecutor in 1829 when he was indicted for malpractice in office. To complicate things, Cook was married to Milsey Mariah, the only daughter of William Parker.
Little before the murder act tells us whether the victim and/or his father-in-law were mean-spirited or downright violent personalities. What was unfortunate was the fact a life was taken. But whether the jury wanted to go home to take care of spring chores around the farm or whether they knew something about the case we don't know, which is nothing, is not known. In fact, as Briggs reminds us, we don't even know anything about a motive, or whether there was one, for the terrible thing. Regardless, the jury acquitted William Parker.
And it is Sid Johnson in "Longpondium" who gives us the ever-continuing itinerary of the venerable Rev. Conner (just as Bro. Conner wrote it):
"April 24th - sworn and examined as a witness in the above case - today the grand jury preasant Mark Wilcox (Willcox) for pirjury -- I left the court and rode 4 mile to Bro. Carswells."
I can just imagine that the Rev. Conner was glad to put his faithful horse back in the road again. Being a witness in a murder case was heavy enough. Getting involved in a perjury trial for the General was something one would probably not hold as the most pleasurable experience of the year. Mark Willcox was a gentleman known to offer his home to many a traveler through this country. And talking about court, he would become known as a co-founder of the Georgia Supreme Court. Besides that, even though Bro. Conner didn't know it at the time, his daughter Louisa's future included being wed to John Willcox II, the General's brother. It was good to see to Bro. Carswell and leave Jacksonville and The General four miles behind.
So, what happened to The General and his charge of perjury? Addie Briggs tells us:
"But whether his acquittal (William Parker's) came at the hands of "twelve good men and true" was open to question, for shortly afterwards, one of the jurors, Mark Wilcox (Willcox), was indicted for perjury involving his conduct during the trial. Wilcox (Willcox) is described in the indictment as "not having the fear of God before his eyes nor regarding the law of this state, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil and contriving and intending to prevent the due course of the law." The grand jury alleged that Mr. Wilcox (Willcox) "falsely swore that he had not already formed and expressed an opinion as to the guilt" of William Parker.
In spite of such a stinging indictment, the petit jury chose to acquit Mark Wilcox (Willcox)."
Granted, The General, like all of us, was not perfect, but I doubt that Satan had all that much to do with pushing the old Indian fighter around. I would rather guess that The General, like his future kin, the Rev. Wilson Conner, simply had a preconceived notion of the way things were, as he saw them, and might have slipped up and verbally expressed it in front of some folks who had listening ears and speaking mouths. That would have been jolly well enough to place him in jeopardy of jurisprudence as it was practiced in the little county seat of Jacksonville, Georgia. And it was well known that Mark Willcox had made some enemies along the way because he blazed his own trail and some of those folks could have seized an opportunity.
Back to the murder trial. The other accused, Lazarus Williams, also seems to have escaped the crashing gavel of the blind-folded lady of justice. Author Briggs again tells us that since two main witnesses could not be convinced, even under threat, to show up at court, Williams's fervent and loud pleas for a speedy trial let him off the hook.
As Addie puts it:
"Meanwhile Lazarus Williams loudly demanded a speedy trial, knowing well that, without its star witnesses (James Wall and Mary Roberts), the state had no case."
Add to that the fact that the sheriff neglected sending out notices to the jurors for one session of court and the delay became a determining factor in setting the accused free.
So, with court over, Bro. Wilson Conner reembarked on his ever-continuing missionary efforts to establish Baptist churches on the frontier extending now across the Ocmulgee River - still the stomping grounds of some of the fiercer Indians. And he surely hoped his friend, the old Indian fighter and soldier, Mark Willcox, would be there to subdue them. Because out there, the verdicts were also ones of diametrically opposed possibilities - "dead" or "alive." And somehow, for his present existence anyway, he just really preferred the sound of the latter.
Note: Needless to say, "Longpondium" by Johnson and "They Don't Make People Like They Used To" by Briggs are certainly books you might like to have. Both are rich in the history of these parts of Georgia. Note, also: Mark Willcox was not quite a general at this time in 1834 but that rank was not far distant in his future. It is used here because the title is something he is closely associated with. At this time, he was probably a major.
Credits:
Addie Garrison Briggs for "They Don't Make People Like They Used To";
Albert Sidney Johnson for "Longpondium";
Telfair County History (1807-1987);
information furnished by the Willcox Family.
