COULTER-L Archives

From: "Peggy C. Wilson" <>
Subject: Alford - Coulter Case
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 10:05:07 -0500

This was posted on the Rutherford Co., TN list in reply to a post
regarding a newspaper article was from Gibson Co., Tennessee:

Here is an article found in the book "Rutherford Revisited A History of
Rutherford, Tennessee by the Heritage Committee for The Tennessee
Bicentennial" This is a book about the town of Rutherford, TN, in
Gibson County.

THE ALFORD---COULTER CASE by Joe Bone

There was no doubt that JIM ALFORD had shot and killed the Coulters
at the Trenton Depot on Monday afternoon, August 11, 1913. Several
people who were waiting for the northbound "dinkey" train witnessed
the incident when W.S. COULTER and son HARRY were felled by bullets
from Alford's pistols. Some said that they heard the assailant say,
"You thought that you would get me, but I got you first." Others
heard, "No one touch these bodies until they are dead"."

Alford surrendered to Constable OVERALL of Rutherford, who was
intending to go home on the same train that the Coulters were about to
board for Dyer. Jim Alford said, "I am ready to go if they are dead, I
have done all I intended to do." He handed over two automatic pistols
to Overall. A third was taken from him at the jail.

W. S. Coulter, about 55 years of age, was a prominent lawyer who had
made many contributions to the Dyer community. His son, Harry, age 25,
had received his law degree from Cumberland University and had been
practicing about three years.

Jim Alford was about 40 years old, a respected Rutherford merchant and
son-in-law of Mr. W.P. ELROD, Prominent businessman and banker of
Rutherford.

The jury was selected on Wednesday, December 10, as follows. O.A.
MOORE, H.H. REYNOLDS, E.C. JOHNSTON, Frank ESSERY, W.A. KILLING, Walter
COPELAND, Hubert JONES, Charles BUTLER, John H. SMITH, R.J. WALLER, and
Holt EDWARDS. This trial was for the murder of W.S. Coulter, the
father.

Coroner, W.E. SEAT, who also acted as undertaker, preparing the bodies
for burial, stated that he had taken charge of the belongings of the
Coulters, such as money, jewels, etc., and had turned them over to the
prosecutor, Mr. Henry HAYES, son-in-law of W.S. Coulter. He stated that
the elder Coulter had a pocketknife of ordinary size.

Witnesses for the prosecution were agreed on what had happened, and
the defense did not dispute the obvious facts.

After the state rested its case, the defense attorneys put Jim Alford
on the stand. He testified that his wife had serious mental problems
and that he had been having her treated at City View Hospital in
Nashville and at the West Tennessee Hospital at Bolivar. Two expert
physicians attested to her mental condition.

Alford and several witnesses testified that both the Coulters had
taken his wife "autoing," getting and sometimes leaving her in a drunken
state. Some of the testimony was considered unfit to print by the
editor of the Trenton Herald-Democrat.. (He complimented Judge HARWOOD
for clearing the courtroom of schoolboys during a Saturday session.)

The state could not shake the testimony of defense witnesses who swore
that they had heard both Coulters threaten to kill Alford and that they
had seen Harry wearing a pistol under his coat on more than one
occasion.

One witness quoted the elder Coulter as saying, "Harry ought to have
killed that fellow that day in the bottom." In the same conversation,
W.S. Coulter was reported to have remarked that the only way that Alford
could keep his wife away from him and Harry would be to keep her in a
sanitarium or asylum.

In the December 25, 1913, issue of the Herald-Democrat, was reported:

ALFORD ACQUITTED
The jury in the Alford case reported last Friday at 1 o'clock its
findings in the Alford case and returned a verdict of not guilty.
Alford at once gave bond for his appearance at the April term of court
(to be tried for the murder of Harry Coulter) in the sum of $20,000 and
with a party of friends left for his home in Rutherford. There was a
large crowd of his friends who gathered around the auto in which he was
to make the journey home and a general handshaking occurred.
The bond upon which he was released was signed by thirty-three men as
follows: G.W. WADE, W.P. ELROD, S.J. SOLOMON, B.H. THOMAS, FRED ELROD,
F.A. KENNEDY, K. PEARCE, S.L. SWINK, R.N. NORMAN, J. M. LANDRUM, W.E.
BROWN, J.R. KING, J. W. MAYS, J.A. DEDMON, R.B. HALFORD, W.P. KEENAN,
HUGH T. BENNETT, J. A. O'DANIEL, A.A. LANDRUM, JAMES A. PICKENS, LYLE
DAVIDSON, O.B. FREEMAN, J. H. DEMENT, T.K. HAPPEL, W.F. WATLINGTON, M.L.
TILGHMAN, G.L. RHEINSTEIN, J.A. VEAZEY, E.T. KING, H.A. YANDELL, J.L.
HAGUEWOOD, G.R. HOWSE.
With the signing of his bond there was ended one of the most
deplorable affairs in the history of Gibson County. Many others will
sign the instrument as a compliment to the Elrod family.

The editor concluded with this editorial:

During the past two weeks Trenton and Gibson County has been in the
throes of a murder trial, the details of which are indeed revolting in
the extreme. The story leading to the double killing of the Coulters by
J.A. Alford was horrible as was the killing itself. A jury of twelve
men saw fit to acquit the defendant of the murder charge under the pleas
of self defense and the unwritten law. We take it no comment is
necessary although there was a division of opinion as to the verdict of
the jury. It will be a long time before the people of this county will
forget this sad experience and the least discussion of it will be the
best for all parties.

In the April 1914 term of Court, Jim Alford was convicted of carrying
a concealed weapon and was fined $50 and jailed for sixty days.

[Joe Bone, the author, based his story on the Trenton Herald-Democrat
newspaper]

Copies of this book are still available. I bought mine at the Davy
Crockett musuem in the town of Rutherford.

This thread:

• Alford - Coulter Case by "Peggy C. Wilson" <>