Markham and Lawrence {duel}

LAWRENCE, MARKHAM

Posted By: Deborah Brownfield - Stanley (email)
Date: 2/12/2005 at 19:12:53

Fairfield Tribune
Jan. 4, 1893
Page 6 col. 5

BACK IN THE FORTIES……By HIRAM HEATON.

THE MARKHAM-LAWRENCE DUEL.

So far as we have been able to learn, there has been but one meeting on the field of honor within the limits of Jefferson County. That meeting occurred in 1844 on the ground now occupied by the Methodist church in Fairfield. The principals were NAT. LAURENCE and COLONEL MARKHAM. The seconds were COL. CROCKER for MARKHAM and COL. SHUFFLETON for LAWRENCE. The difficulty arose from some impeachment of the honesty of LAWRENCE by MARKHAM. LAWRENCE lived in a house owned by _______WILLIAMS, on the ground on which the Leggett House now stands. COL. CROCKER was the father of GEN. CROCKER, who attained the rank of brigadier general in the civil war. CROCKER lived on a farm just south of Fairfield. He afterwards removed to Keokuk County, where he died. The weapons were shot guns, and the seconds put double loads of powder, but no ball, only wads, into them. It is but just to the memory of LAWRENCE to state that he objected to fighting; he wanted to go home and confer with his wife about it, but he was compelled to fight first, and see his wife afterwards, if at all. Suspecting something was wrong, LAWRENCE upon receiving his gun attempted to put a bullet into it, but he was prevented by someone from doing so. They both fired at the word, and MARKHAM fell heavily, groaning as if dying. LAWRENCE tried to come up to MARKHAM to see for himself how badly he was wounded, but the bystanders kept him back, and told him MARKHAM would surely die. He hurried home, and as a comment on the vigor of Fairfield’s sheriff of that day, began to yoke his team of oxen to his wagon to flee the country, but COL. CROCKER went to him and told him that although MARKHAM was hurt, he would recover, and there was no use to run away. Among those who witnessed the duel were MR. C. GILHAM and WM. ALSTON.

MRS. MARY RUTH WITMARSH, letter of June 13, 1963:
HUGH SHUFFLETON JR. told me that my grandfather had had a crayon portrait of his father, but that when he came out here he lost all his possessions, and so they lost the only photograph they had of COL. SHUFFLETON. HUGH JR. also said that a number of years ago a lawyer’s organization in Fairfield had written his father asking for a photograph of SAMUEL SHUFFLETON and that his father had to write telling them that none existed.”