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night inside the family cabin remains a mystery. It is probable that she was a victim of abuse from her husband due to the fact that a petition was signed by townswomen and several members of the all-male jury in
Frankie's favor. However this petition did not sway the Governor. Another reason this will always remain a mystery is because as Frankie was asked about her last words, legend has it her father yelled out from the crowd "Die with it in you, Frankie!". This made some believe, along with them helping her escape, that family members were involved in the killing of Charles Silver.
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Shortly after the murder, suspicion fell on
Charles's wife Frankie, her mother Barbara Stewart, and her brother Jackson "Blackstone" Stewart. All three were arrested. Barbara and Blackstone Stewart pled not guilty before a magistrate on January 17, 1832, and were discharged. Frankie alone stood trial
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At
Christmas 1831 Charlie apparently went missing whilst out hunting. A search party could not find him. Jack Colliss decided to investigate while Frankie was in the village. In January 1832, Colliss found bones in the fireplace and bloodstains on the floor. He called the sheriff. They found a head.
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Her family broke her out of jail, cut her hair short, and dressed her in men's clothes. A sheriff's posse found them trying to make their get-away in a hay wagon. Frankie was in the hay until she was out of sight; she then walked beside the wagon. Someone in the posse yelled to her, "FRANKIE!" She
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Frankie could either be interpreted as a family ties murderer for the possibility that she manipulated family members to help kill her husband, or a battered woman murderer for the possibility that she killed him in self-defense during one of the beatings he would give her. Whatever happened that
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near the home of Jacob Silver who had lost his wife
Elizabeth in childbirth. His son Charlie Silver was a year older than Frankie. Charlie and Frankie married and initially seemed a good pair. On 3 November 1830 their first daughter, Nancy, was born. They lived in a wooden cabin on land gifted by
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The motive for the murder is still not clear. It was claimed during the trial that
Frankie was a jealous wife seeking revenge. Later theories asserted that she was an abused wife. There is no definitive evidence for either theory. Despite claims made by journalists at the time, Frankie never
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discovered the letters and petitions to the governor which turned upside down the traditional story of a jealous wife seeking her revenge. Thus began a lifelong crusade by Young to show through documentation that
Frankie Silver was unjustly hanged. At the height of the
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Frankie's father had intended to bring his daughter's body home and bury it in the family burial plot. However, extreme heat and humidity in North
Carolina that year forced him to bury it in an unmarked grave behind the Buckhorn Tavern, a few miles west of
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There is a theory that
Frankie wanted to move west with her parents to join other family members, but that Charles Silver refused to do so. There was also speculation that her frustration with Charles's refusal was the motive for the murder.
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During the time between her sentencing and hanging, Frankie was broken out of jail by someone who entered by way of one of the basement windows. With the aid of false keys, this person opened the doors leading to the prisoner's apartment.
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floor, and blood spatters on the inside walls of the cabin. Pieces of bone and flesh were discovered in ashes poured into a mortar hole near the spring, as well as a heel-iron similar to those worn by
Charles on his hunting moccasins.
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It was determined that on
December 22, 1831, Charles Silver (aka "Johnny Silver") was hacked to death with an axe and later dismembered in the cabin he shared with his wife, Frankie, and their 13-month-old daughter, Nancy.
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The trial of Frankie began on 29 March 1832. Evidence would now be considered circumstantial. The jury was undecided but after receiving instruction had a further meeting and found Frankie guilty.
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In 1952, a granite stone marking the probable location of the grave was placed by Beatrice Cobb, editor of the Morganton newspaper. The marker misspells Frankie's married name as "Silvers."
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She was born Frances Stewart, the daughter of Isaiah and Barbara (née Howell) Stewart. The family moved to Burke County when Frankie was young, around 1820. They lived in the town of
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called back to him in a deep voice, "I thank you sir, but my name is Tommy." Her uncle then added, "Yeah, HER name's Tommy!" Saying "HER" gave them away, so back to jail she went.
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The investigation into the whereabouts of Charles Silver found a fireplace full of oily ashes, a pool of blood that had flowed through the cabin's
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160:. For many years, the exact location of the grave was unknown, but it is now believed to be in a remote corner of the present day Devault farm.
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DVD was written, directed, and produced by Theresa E. Phillips of Legacy Films Ltd. This film presents an alternative theory of the crime.
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According to Silver family lore, the evidence showed that Charles had been murdered and his body had been burned to hide the evidence.
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Frankie was arrested again seven days later in Henderson County walking behind her father's wagon heading for
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hearings, Sen. Sam Ervin wrote to Young to concur that Frankie should never have been hanged. Young's book,
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A petition to have Frankie officially pardoned for the murder was formed unsuccessfully on April 9, 2013.
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Pardon Frances "Frankie" Stewart Silver Petition published by Ali Randolph on April 9, 2013.
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reproduced all of the documents which proved Frankie's innocence. His later play,
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The Ballad of Frankie Silver: As told by Bobby McMillon in Folkstreams film
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The Ballad of Frankie Silver:(Special Edition) DVD by Legacy Films Ltd.
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176:" is theorized to have been inspired by Frankie Silver's crime.
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This United States biographical article related to crime is a
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34:(born 1814 or 1815; died July 12, 1833) was hanged in
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As a young college student in September 1963, author
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389:http://www.folkstreams.net/film-detail.php?id=96
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504:. You can help Knowledge by
451:. You can help Knowledge by
416:The Ballad of Frankie Silver
348:The Ballad of Frankie Silver
284:Interview With Alfred Silver
212:The Ballad of Frankie Silver
205:The Ballad of Frankie Silver
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