Lindbergh’s Artificial Heart by Steve Silverman

Author:Steve Silverman [Silverman, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4494-1310-1
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Published: 2011-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Will Purvis is one of those people that history seems to have forgotten. Will never accomplished anything more than the average man during his lifetime, yet luck was certainly on his side.

Our story begins with the birth of Will Purvis on September 27, 1872, in Jasper County, Mississippi. In 1884, the Purvis family picked up and moved to a farm about twelve miles northwest of Columbia, Mississippi. It was on this very farm at the age of nineteen that the young Will Purvis would become infamous.

In 1893, Will joined a group called the White Caps, which was an order similar to the Ku Klux Klan. While attending his second White Caps meeting, Will learned from the group that a black servant named Sam Waller had recently switched jobs. Sam’s previous employer was an elderly widow named Mrs. Hammond, but she was unable to pay him a competitive salary. Two brothers, Will and Jim Buckley, lured Sam away from Mrs. Hammond with the offer of a higher salary. In response to this apparent injustice, the White Caps took Sam and gave him a good whipping that they were sure he would never forget.

The flogging of Sam infuriated the Buckley brothers. They went to Columbia and brought the whole matter to the attention of the grand jury that was convening at the time. Three White Caps would eventually be indicted for the crime, but not before the White Caps met and cast a death lot against the Buckleys and their servant.

On June 22, 1893, upon their return from reporting the whipping, the three men were ambushed. Will Buckley was killed instantly and fell off his saddle to the ground. Jim Buckley watched the assassin jump into the woods and scramble. The assassin was identified by Buckley as Will Purvis.

Purvis was arrested that evening and was forced to walk the entire twelve miles to Columbia to appear before the grand jury. Purvis said that he was sitting at home on his porch after carrying wood into the kitchen when Buckley was murdered. He claimed that he’d quit the White Cap organization as soon as he’d learned that a white man was the target, and that he’d taken no part in the murder. He was quite confident that the accusation was just a mistake and that he would be released shortly thereafter.

Will Purvis could not have been more wrong. He was ordered to stand trial on the charges. Numerous witnesses were able to confirm that he was at home when the shooting took place, but that was countered with two pieces of compelling information. First, and most convincing, was the eyewitness testimony of Jim Buckley. This was followed by additional condemning evidence. Hounds had picked up the scent of the killer two days after the shooting. As cold as this trail may have seemed, experts claimed that it led directly to the Purvis farm.

Will Purvis was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to die on September 6, 1893, between 11 A.M. and 3 P.

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