On March 30, 1874, Primus Edwards (black) would kill 25-year-old Berry Adams (black) at the plantation of Captain John A. Cobb in Sumter County, Georgia. He would claim that the murder happened because Berry was ogling Primus's woman. There is little information about the murder that I could find. One source said that Berry died because Primus was defending himself.
On November 13th Primus would be the first man hung in Sumter. He was quiet and claimed to be a child of God. Between 250 to 300 people came to witness the execution. Before his execution, a large portion of the people who came to witness his execution was able to come and visit him at his cell to say goodbye.
He would have a 6-minute speech before the hanging. He stated that he was being wrongfully hung and that the colored witnesses were the cause of this. His photo was then taken on the scaffold. At about 11:20 a.m. Primus would be hanged in the jail yard and pronounced dead 17 minutes later.
SOURCES:
Legal Executions in Georgia page 18
Sumter County History
The Sun and ColumbusWeekly Enquirer April 7, 1874
Georgia Weekly Telegraph, Journal, and Messanger November 17, 1874
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