(You may enlarge any photo by simply clicking on it)
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| One of few remaining photos of Janie Sharp |
Rural Hill was never more than a small village but it was full of life. Two stores, a post office, a church, a two room school and even a small mill that produced wooden spokes were the center of a small group of farms and the families that worked them. There was no railroad and no county courthouse and it was inevitable that Rural Hill would slowly decline like hundreds of other communities across Mississippi and the South. Over the years, the Post Office closed and mail delivery moved to McCool, schools consolidated and travel became quicker and easier and the need for the stores diminished as well. Today, there is no evidence of any structures except for the Church. Rural Hill United Methodist Church continues to survive and is well maintained. Memorial in May always draws a crowd of people whose ancestors founded the Church or grew up within its shadow.
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| The Sharp Family immediately after Janie's Funeral |
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| Cleta & Don Ortloff - Niece & Grand Nephew of Janie Sharp |
The Commodore Road along which Janie's body was found, was never much more than a trail. Its location is now on private property and is likely not maintained. The Neal Ray Road where the Sharp home and the Permenter home were located does still exist and although it is a very narrow, gravel thoroughfare, it is well maintained by the county. The homesteads are long gone but one can identify locations that might indicate an old homesite. There are still a few folks who can specifically identify the location where Janie's body was found. I was contacted by an individual who provided helpful information that indicated that some evidence of Janie's moss covered tracks (heel prints) may have existed into the 1960's.
Janie Sharp's grave is located in the Center Ridge United Methodist Church Cemetery. It is the tallest monument in the cemetery and located near the road. A sister who died as an infant is buried beside her.Her epitaph reads as follows:
"Sleep On, Dear Janie, Thy Work is Done
Thy Mortal Pangs are O'er
Jesus Has Come And Borne Thee Home
Beyond This World Of Sin And Woe"
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| Janie's Tombstone |
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| Center Ridge Church |
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| Rural Hill Church |
Swinton Permenter died on August 16, 1946 and is buried at the Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee.
There are a great deal of details and mostly hearsay about this event that were not included in these articles; some because they were merely rumor, others because they may not have been pertinent as told. One interesting bit of information not previously included was a Winston County Journal article that indicated that a set of bloody clothes were found hidden under a fallen log, several months after the murder. It stated that the garments showed much decay and were to be brought to the sheriff's office for examination. After that article, no further mention of these garments were made. It is not known by this writer if they ever existed, or were never submitted to the sheriff, or were determined to not be pertinent to the case. In any event, they were never mentioned again.
I would be amiss if I didn't give credit to two compilations about the Janie Sharp event. THE TRIAL for the MURDER of PERNINAH JANIE SHARP by Lucille Wood and TRIAL OF SWINTON PERMENTER FOR THE MURDER OF MISS JANIE SHARP JULY 21,1910 by Ruby C. Hurt. Both of these books are available for sale at the Winston County Library and I encourage those who are interested to take a closer look at these compilations of news reports and trial transcripts. They contain more details and contradictory information.
W. McCully
1 comment:
There were several people who knew who killed Jamie Sharp. But they never talked outside of family. following is some information that as far as I know was never known. Swinton always stated there were two people involved in Jamie's murder. How he knew, I dont know. I do know that he was talking to Ben Walker and they were comparing notes on the event. Walter Permenter was killed because of mistaken Identity, thought it was Swinton. The same shotgun was used on Ben Walker and Walter Permenter. Elbert Vowell shot at the two people riding away after killing Ben Walker.
What no one knows is that one of the persons riding away was hit in the knee. The wound got infected and he almost died. He was 21 years old at the time. As to who killed Jamie Sharp is not as secret as many believe. It is amazing after all these years no one seemed to talk or if they did no one paid attention. Walter and Been Walker was killed by members of the same family. In later years it was thought that one of the family members bought the Monement at Jamie's grave? But I do not know if this is fact? I do know that Swinton Permenter did not kill Jamie Sharp. Swinton knew more than he should about the murder and shared his information with Ben Walker. The persons who killed Ben Walker thought he was getting too close and the reason he was killed. Swinton knew that they killed Walter thinking it was him. Swinton left the country and joined the Army, under a false name but later corrected it for the record.
As to why Swinton did not tell all he knew, no one knows but after his ordeal with being a prime suspect may have had something to do with it. As far as I know he only told Ben Walker what he knew or suspected. Jamie's murder was not planned it was a spur of the moment and they had to kill her for she could identify them. The persons involved planned to kill Swinton again later but Swinton left the country and the plans fell through?
I think Swinton lived until about 1948. As far as I know he never talked maybe except to family? There may have been an eyewitness to Jamie's death but again that person never talked as far as it is known. I am sure there are some folks who know a lot more details than I do. Even as late as 1969 when I was asking questions in the area I was informed that it might be wise not to discuss what I knew. It has now been 113 years since Jamie's Death and for the most part, people who know are still not talking. The Mystery continues!
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