We are exceedingly pained to learn, that Mr. George T. Sharp, of Burnsville, was murdered on the 14th inst., by a man named Noles. The circumstances of the horrible affair were, as we learn from an eye-witness, the following:
Noles had been guilty of the infamous crime of incest with two of his daughters, and a warrant had been issued for his apprehension. Mr. Sharp had been deputised to serve the warrant, and in the performance of this duty he, on the 14th inst., with a posse of men, proceeded to the house of Noles, about two miles west of Burnsville, for the purpose of arresting him. When they reached Noles' residence he was seen standing at the corner of his house with a gun in his hand. Upon the near approach of the party, he raised his gun and fired, the shot taking effect upon Mr. Geo. T. Sharp, killing him almost instantly. The gun was loaded with buckshot, one of which struck Mr. Sharp in the breast, two in the region of the heart and one in his forehead, thus producing death almost instantaneously. Noles...(crease in original copy)...good his escape. Parties are out in search of him and we have little(doubt?)but that he will soon(be?)caught. A reward of $500 has been offered for his apprehension. Noles is about six feet one inch high, dark complected, high cheek bones and of thin visage. He had on when he left a white wool hat and cotton homespun clothes. Seldom has anything happened in our county, more calculated to harrow the feelings than the above. Thus has a young man, endeared by his many amiable traits of character, to a large circle of relatives and friends, been cut off in the bloom of his youth, by the ruthless murderer. We deeply sympathise with the relatives in this, their sad affliction, and sincerely hope, that the All-wise Ruler will support the aged and venerable mother in her heavy bereavement.
Selma Enterprise
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ITEM D
MURDERER ARRESTED--Joseph Noals, who was advertised as having murdered Geo. T. Sharp, at Burnsville, in Dallas Co., on the 14th ult., passed through this place yesterday, in the custody of Mr. B.J. McCaine. He was arrested on Satur-.... ...(crease in original).......
---- at the residence of his brother,
in Dooly county, Georgia, by Mr. McCaine and Mr. A.B. King, of Dallas, who started in pursuit of him the morning of the murder, and by persevering effort succeeded in arresting him at the time and place stated above. A reward of five hundred dollars was offered for his apprehension, and the crime of which he stands accused is represented as being of a most atrocious and outrageous character. In addition to the above, he is charged with the commission of the most revolting crime known to the criminal calender, and if all that is said of him is true, no (no) punishment would be too severe to visit upon him.
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ITEM E
CONVICTED--We learn from the Cahaba Gazette, that Joseph Noles was tried on Wednesday last in Cahaba, Dallas county, on the charge of murdering George T. Sharpe, in February 1853, and convicted of murder in the first degree, with the death penalty. The victim was acting at the time of the murder as special constable, and in company with several others proceeded to the house of the culprit for the purpose of arresting him under a warrant sued out by his wife against him for assault and battery, and for having incestuous intercourse with his own daughter. As the party approached the house, the prisoner rushed out with a gun in his hand, and cried out, 'stand your ground, gentlemen, or I will shoot". The party immediately stopped, and the deceased sprang from his horse, when the prisoner deliberately shot him down and he died upon the spot. Nules fled-was afterwards arrested in Dooly county Ga., and brought back to stand his trial for the offense. We have not learned the period fixed for his execution.
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EXTRADITION PAPER(found in Executive Office records, Alabama Archives)
ITEM F To the Executive Authority of the State of
Georgia
WHEREAS, it appears by the annexed documents, which are hereby certified to be
authentic, that_______Joseph Noles ______________________________
stands charged with_____the murder of Geo. T. Sharp_____________
_____________________________________________________________
____________________________committed in the State of Alabama, and information
having been received that the said____Joseph Noles____________________
______________________________has fled from justice and taken refuge in
_________________________
THEREFORE, I,______Henry W Collier______, Governor of the State of
Alabama, have thought proper, in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution and Laws of
the United States, to demand the surrender of the said _____Joseph Noles___________
as a fugitive from justice, and that he be delivered to __Wm B Hall & M Wheelin_
who is hereby appointed the agent on the part of the State to receive him.
GIVEN under my hand, and the Great Seal of the State
affixed at the City of Montgomery, this
4th ______day of_____March____
A.D. one thousand eight hundred and fifty- 3__
and of the Independence of the United States
of America, the seventy-__Seventh__
Henry W. Collier
BY THE GOVERNOR:
V. M. BENHAM
Secretary of State (Second page omitted)
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