This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Pennington, Davis, Weir, Harry Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/mAB.2ACE/2418 Message Board Post: ALONZO PENNINGTON THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE RECALLS HIS CAREER AND DEATH The Only White Man Ever Hanged in Christian County--His Wife Believed Him Innocent of the Murder for Which He Was Hanged (Hopkinsville Kentuckian) Mrs. Emeline PENNINGTON died at her home near Johnson's Mill last Friday at the advanced age of ninety-one years. A good old woman, esteemed by all who knew her, she had passed through stirring times in her earlier life. She was the widow of the noted Edward Alonzo PENNINGTON, the only white man ever hanged in Christian county. Lonz PENNINGTON, as he was called, was executed in Hopkinsville in 1846, just fifty years ago, for the murder of a man named DAVIS. At that time there lived in this city a young lawyer named James WEIR. He wrote a novel taking PENNINGTON as his central character, using the name Lonz Powers. He was represented as a desperate, dangerous outlaw, the leader of a gang of law-breakers who had a hiding place in the vicinity of Pilot Rock. A love story was woven into the romantic career of "Powers" and DAVIS, the man killed, figured in the book as a bright, good natured Irishman, one of the principal characters. In the account of the pursuit, capture, conviction and execution of the murderer, the devoted wife of the guilty man was the heroine of the story. "Mary Powers" ! refused to believe her loved one guilty of crime and clung to him to the agonizing end. She concluded her farewell interview amid sobs and tears with the couplet: "I know not, I care not what is in that heart; I know that I love thee, whatever thou art." Of course there was much in the book that was highly colored for the sake of the romance. but the facts were substantially correct. Mr. WEIR still lives, or was alive a few years ago, in Owensboro, where he afterwards made his home. Many old citizens hereabouts remember the circumstances of the close of PENNINGTON's career. In fact, one of the jurors who convicted him, Mr. G.W. HARRY, still lives near this city. He died declaring his innocence and many people were never satisfied in their minds that he was really the murderer of DAVIS. It is needless to say that the broken-hearted widow was one of them. Although she lived half a century, she cherished her husband's memory, retained his name and died firm in the conviction of his innocence. The PENNINGTON family is a prominent and respectable one in North Christian. Mrs. PENNINGTON raised several children and her sons made good and useful citizens. (Source: Madisonville Hustler, Fri., Mar. 13, 1896)

Must say, even though I'm not related to any of these people, I'm really enjoying reading these newspaper excerpts! Marilyn -----Original Message----- From: gc-gateway@rootsweb.com [mailto:gc-gateway@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of pennyrileprogeny@charter.net Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 4:49 PM To: KYCHRIST-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [KYCHRIST] Mrs. Emeline Pennington, b. @ 1805 d. Mar. 6, 1896 This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Pennington, Davis, Weir, Harry Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/mAB.2ACE/2418 Message Board Post: ALONZO PENNINGTON THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE RECALLS HIS CAREER AND DEATH The Only White Man Ever Hanged in Christian County--His Wife Believed Him Innocent of the Murder for Which He Was Hanged (Hopkinsville Kentuckian) Mrs. Emeline PENNINGTON died at her home near Johnson's Mill last Friday at the advanced age of ninety-one years. A good old woman, esteemed by all who knew her, she had passed through stirring times in her earlier life. She was the widow of the noted Edward Alonzo PENNINGTON, the only white man ever hanged in Christian county. Lonz PENNINGTON, as he was called, was executed in Hopkinsville in 1846, just fifty years ago, for the murder of a man named DAVIS. At that time there lived in this city a young lawyer named James WEIR. He wrote a novel taking PENNINGTON as his central character, using the name Lonz Powers. He was represented as a desperate, dangerous outlaw, the leader of a gang of law-breakers who had a hiding place in the vicinity of Pilot Rock. A love story was woven into the romantic career of "Powers" and DAVIS, the man killed, figured in the book as a bright, good natured Irishman, one of the principal characters. In the account of the pursuit, capture, conviction and execution of the murderer, the devoted wife of the guilty man was the heroine of the story. "Mary Powers" ! refused to believe her loved one guilty of crime and clung to him to the agonizing end. She concluded her farewell interview amid sobs and tears with the couplet: "I know not, I care not what is in that heart; I know that I love thee, whatever thou art." Of course there was much in the book that was highly colored for the sake of the romance. but the facts were substantially correct. Mr. WEIR still lives, or was alive a few years ago, in Owensboro, where he afterwards made his home. Many old citizens hereabouts remember the circumstances of the close of PENNINGTON's career. In fact, one of the jurors who convicted him, Mr. G.W. HARRY, still lives near this city. He died declaring his innocence and many people were never satisfied in their minds that he was really the murderer of DAVIS. It is needless to say that the broken-hearted widow was one of them. Although she lived half a century, she cherished her husband's memory, retained his name and died firm in the conviction of his innocence. The PENNINGTON family is a prominent and respectable one in North Christian. Mrs. PENNINGTON raised several children and her sons made good and useful citizens. (Source: Madisonville Hustler, Fri., Mar. 13, 1896) ==== KYCHRIST Mailing List ==== Christian County KYGenWeb http://www.kyseeker.com/christian ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237