John Middleton Clayton (1840 - 1889)

Born 13 Oct 1840 in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah Ann (Zebley) Clayton — married 1866 in Concord Township, Delaware, Pennsylvania, United States

Descendants

Died 29 Jan 1889 at age 48 in Plumerville, Conway, Arkansas, United States

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Biography

John Clayton is Notable.

First Sergeant John Clayton served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: Aug 9, 1862
Mustered out: May 16 1863
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 124th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry

John Middleton Clayton was born on October 13, 1840, on a farm near Chester Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He was a twin brother to William and the son of Ann Glover and John Clayton.^[1][2] In 1850, he lived in Bethel, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.^[3]

He enlisted in the Union Army on August 9, 1862 as 1st Sergeant. He was assigned to the Company H, 124th Pennsylvania Infantry.^[4] He engaged in several campaigns in the eastern United States.^[1][2]

After the war, he married Sarah Ann Zebley around 1866 in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.^[5] In 1867, he moved to Arkansas to manage the plantation owned by his older brother Powell Clayton.

His first entry into politics was as a justice of the peace. In 1871, he was elected a representative for Jefferson County, and in 1873, he served in the Arkansas Senate. During his Senate term, he was speaker of the Senate, pro tem for part of the year. He also served on the first board of trustees for Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of Arkansas) and helped Pine Bluff in Jefferson County secure the Branch Normal College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff). As president pro tem of the Senate and chair of the Senate Elections Committee, he pronounced Elisha Baxter had won the governor's race in the November 1872 election, one of the most fraudulent elections in Arkansas history. Predictably, he became involved in the Brooks Baxter War in 1874. After certifying Baxter's election over Brooks, he switched support and became a Baxter man. He raised troops in Jefferson County and marched to Little Rock to fight Baxter's supporters. War between the groups lasted for a month before President Ulysses S. Grant restored Baxter to the governor's office.^[1][2]

In 1876, John Clayton was elected sheriff of Jefferson County with the support of black voters. He would be re-elected for five successive terms. At that time, the job of county sheriff was more of a political position. When he was not enforcing laws or collecting taxes, he would engage in political activities, such as delivering votes. In 1888, he ran for the 2nd Congressional District of the U.S. Congress. He lost the election by a narrow margin. Many African Americans were denied the right to vote. He contested the election and went to Plumerville, Conway County to investigate the stolen election. On the evening of January 29, 1889, someone shot through the window of the boardinghouse where he was staying, killing him instantly.^[1][2]

The murder drew national attention. His older brother had always overshadowed his life Powell, but now news of his murder made headlines across the nation. Newspapers of the time carried the story, portraying it as a political crime. More than 5,000 mourners attended his funeral at the First Methodist Church in Pine Bluff. He was buried at Bellwood Cemetery in the same city.^[6][7][8]

John Clayton's life had ended, but the story was not over. The Clayton brothers put up a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of his murderer, and they hired a Pinkerton detective to investigate the murder. During the investigation, a local Black man, Joe Smith, told the Pinkertons he knew a fellow who could identify the murderers, but was afraid to talk. That night, David Richmond, eighteen years old, shot and killed Smith. The grand jury would later rule that it was justified to commit homicide. A Cyrus McCullough implicated Bot Pate as the assassin, but later changed his story and testified they were both playing cards together, giving Bob Pate an alibi. The murder would never be solved, and the slayer or slayers would never face justice.^[6][7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Barnes, Kenneth C., University of Central Arkansas. Encyclopedia of Arkansas, last updated on 16 May 2019. "John Middleton Clayton (1840–1889)." Accessed 5 Apr 2023.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Wikipedia Contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, last edited on 22 Mar 2023. "John Middleton Clayton." Accessed 5 Apr 2023.
3. ↑ 1850 United States Federal Census: The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Bethel, Delaware, Pennsylvania; Roll: 776; Page: 122b Ancestry Record 8054 #2670661860 United States Federal Census: The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Bethel, Delaware, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1105; Page: 50; Family History Library Film: 805105 Ancestry Record 7667 #3601154
4. ↑ U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865: Historical Data Systems, Inc.; Duxbury, MA 02331; American Civil War Research Database Ancestry Record 1555 #418753U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); NAI: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 1 of 3 Ancestry Record 1666 #1469067
5. ↑ Geneanet Community Trees Index: Ancestry.com. Geneanet Community Trees Index [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022. Original data: Geneanet Community Trees Index. Paris, France: Geneanet. Ancestry Record 62476 #5043810538
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Jones, Janie, Magazine, Art & Entertainment, December 2021, Murder Mystery, 29 Nov 2021. "Murder Mystery: The Assassination of John Middleton Clayton." Accessed 5 Apr 2023.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Barnes, Kenneth C. “Who Killed John M. Clayton? Political Violence in Conway County, Arkansas, in the 1880s.” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly 52, no. 4 (1993): 371–404. https://doi.org/10.2307/40038215 Who Killed John M. Clayton? Political Violence in Conway County, Arkansas, in the 1880s]." Accessed 5 Apr 2023.
8. ↑ Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20430328/john-middleton-clayton: accessed 05 April 2023), memorial page for John Middleton Clayton (13 Oct 1840–29 Jan 1889), Find A Grave: Memorial #20430328, citing Bellwood Cemetery, Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas, USA; Maintained by The Mystery Man (contributor 46793667).