Murder of George Franklin

On March 5, 1878, 19-year-old John Parker went fishing. He decided to go to Mr. M.A. Conant's shop in Somerset, Kentucky. He would return home and then come back to town with a bucket. When John went into C.A. Zachary's drugstore local barber George Franklin came out of a back room.

John tipped his hat as a greeting. This angered George Franklin as it was rude at the time to tip your hat at another male. This is along the lines of what was said.

John: "Good evening, Mr. Franklin." He tips his hat at him.

George: "You are a fool. Don't you know it is not polite for a man to tip his hat to another? Ain't you never been anywhere? I have been all over the United States."

John: "I know what is polite and what isn't."

George: "You are a damn liar if you say that is polite."

John: "Have you got to learn me what to say."

George: "Say me across the head. You are nothing: I can whip you if you are 10 pounds in my weight."

John: "I am." This was when John exited the store and waited for George on the sidewalk. It took a couple of minutes before George joined him.

The next thing people knew was that George had been stabbed by John. Witnesses said that when George reached the sidewalk John thrust the knife into his chest hitting his heart in the lower part. George stated, "John I believe you have cut me." George walked into the drug store and grabbed a poker and threw it at John before collapsing and dying.

But John stated that he nor George was actually angry at each other. The two were friends and he even blackened a pair of shoes for George that day. He said he was sharpening a pencil by the time that George came out and George smacked John. He stated that to block another hit from him he instinctively threw his hand in front of him to block the blow, and that was when George fell into the knife.

John was found guilty at trial and was set to hang. He was hoping that the governor would pardon him for the murder. He was not pardoned and hanged on June 12, 1878.

SOURCES:
The Cincinnati Enquirer April 13, 1878
Interior Journal April 5, 1878
Kentucky Explorer
Shaking Paper