The Last Public Execution in America
by Perry T. Ryan
CHAPTER 2
THE THOMPSONS
Florence Katherine Shoemaker Thompson was born October 30, 1892,
the daughter of Andrew Jefferson and Henrietta Fronie Shoemaker, in
the small community of West Louisville, in Daviess County, Kentucky.
Reared a devout Roman Catholic, she attended a parochial school. She
had a total of five full brothers and sisters. Her natural mother
died when she was young. Andrew remarried and sired five more
children, so Florence also had five siblings of the half blood.
About 1914, Florence met her husband, Joseph Everett Thompson. She
was seven months his senior. Everett was born May 31, 1893, the son
of Eugene and Marcella (Coke) Thompson. When he was two years old,
Everett's natural mother died. Like Florence's father, Everett's
father later remarried, and he was raised by his step mother.
Everett had been partly educated at a Catholic school located in
Jasper, Indiana. He graduated from a business college which was known
for its teachings of fine penmanship, and he became an expert penman.
He and Florence were married on January 12, 1915, by Father James
L. Whelan, at the St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church, located in the
St. Joseph community of Daviess County. Everett and Florence gave
birth to four children, Mary Lillian, born May 7, 1919; Joseph
Eugene, born September 17, 1921; Everett Patrick, born March 17,
1924; and James Thomas, born September 26, 1925.
For awhile, he worked for the Owensboro Canning and Preserve
Company, but in the 1920's, Everett became a bookkeeper for Guenther
Hardware, a job which he held for several years. Significantly,
Guenther Hardware was located across the street from the courthouse
in Owensboro. Daviess Countians respected Everett, for he was thought
of as a kind-hearted individual who consistently wanted to help the
poor and downtrodden. Actively involved in community affairs, he was
a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Owensboro Lodge of Elks, the
Loyal Order of Moose, and a parishioner of St. Stephens Roman
Catholic Church, .
In 1930, he was appointed Chief Deputy Sheriff for Sheriff Charles
Robey. As chief deputy, one of Everett's responsibilities was to
maintain the accounting books for the sheriff's office. Sheriff
Robey's administration was interrupted when Everett discovered that
the Sheriff had embezzled official funds. Several officials insisted
that Sheriff Robey resign from office and promised him that he would
not be prosecuted if he did so. On May 6, 1932, an article appeared
on the front page of the Owensboro Inquirer, which delicately
reported that Sheriff Robey had announced he would soon resign
because he had had difficulty maintaining his bond with a bonding
company. Under state law, sheriffs were required to be bonded. On May
19, 1932, Sheriff Robey resigned from office.
County Judge James Wilson appointed Robey's brother-in-law, Robert
M. Stuart, to fulfill the unexpired term. Everett, being labelled a
"squealer," was soon fired from his position as chief deputy by
Sheriff Stuart, a decision which later proved to be fatal to Stuart's
political career.
In 1933, Everett Thompson and his family lived at 502 Allen
Street. Everett remained unemployed for two years during the Great
Depression, a time his family found to be full of hardship. Like many
other people during this time, Everett found it difficult to provide
for his six-member family.
Somewhat indignant for having been fired, Everett was encouraged
by various Daviess County citizens to himself seek election for
Sheriff of Daviess County, so he filed for candidacy in 1933. Everett
was supported by many influential men. One in particular was J. C.
Miller, the wealthy owner of J. C. Miller Oil Company, a business
which was later sold to the Ashland Oil Company. When the filing time
had passed, no Republican candidates sought election as sheriff, so
it became apparent that the winner of the Democratic Primary would
almost automatically become the winner in the General Election in
November.
The 1933 election for sheriff was a hard-fought race, complete
with mudslinging and all of the facets dirty politics. During the
campaign, Everett's daughter Mary Lillian, then only fourteen years
of age, was sent to Evansville, to stay with her maternal Aunt
Lillian, while her mother, Florence, assisted her husband in his bid
for election. The boys were permitted to stay at home, and they
attended picnics and distributed campaign cards on behalf of their
father. The primary election was held on August 5, 1933. Everett won
the Democratic nomination by only 610 votes. The final tabulation for
votes was as follows: Everett Thompson, 2893; Simon B. Smith, 3358;
R. E. (Shady) Miller, 2893; and Robert Stuart (the man who had fired
Everett), 1750. J. C. Miller sent a telegram to Mary Lillian, in
Evansville, announcing that her father had won the election.
Finally, the general election was held on November 7, 1933, and
Everett Thompson's name was placed on the ballot, unopposed, and, as
expected, he won. In accordance with Section 99 of the Kentucky
Constitution, he was sworn in as Sheriff of Daviess County on Monday,
January 1, 1934.
Mary Lillian Thompson once recalled that her father loved her
mother's long hair and insisted that she never cut it. For some
reason, he told her she could cut it if he became sheriff so soon
after he was elected, she visited a beautician who cut and "permed"
her hair.
The Thompsons were close friends of J. Carl Riney and his wife,
Ellen. The two couples often visited one another and attended movies
together. Everett appointed Riney as one of his deputies.
As sheriff, Everett Thompson's duties were diverse. The sheriff
investigated various crimes and was authorized to perform arrests.
One of the chief functions of the sheriff was to collect the property
taxes. He was a servant of the court, and as such, he carried out
various court orders and served writs. His daughter, Mary Lillian,
recalled that she once drove a truck for her father while he sat in
the truck bed supervising an insane woman whom he had been directed
to transport to the state mental hospital in Hopkinsville.
In 1935, Everett Thompson and his family moved to 610 Allen
Street, but later moved to a house at 2410 South Frederica Street,
which, at the time, was located in rural Daviess County.
Sheriff Thompson had a habit of dropping papers and other items
from his desk. To pick them up, he would sometimes lean over the arms
of his office chair. Oddly enough, in reaching over the chair, the
Sheriff more than once broke some of his ribs, due to the pressure he
exerted on the arms of the chair. Early in 1936, he became ill.
Having chest pains, he initially believed that he had again broken a
rib, but his condition proved to be much worse. He saw a physician
who determined that he had developed pneumonia, an illness which, in
1936, often resulted in death because medical science had not
developed effective treatments. His condition gradually worsened
until he died at his home on Frederica Street, at 12:30 p.m. on Good
Friday, April 10, 1936. He was only forty-two years old.
The people of Daviess County, greatly saddened at the death of a
local hero, honored him with a large funeral. His body was first
taken to his home on Frederica Street, but it was then taken to the
Delbert Glenn Funeral Home, at Fourth and Allen Streets, and again
returned to the house on Frederica, prior to his burial. The funeral
was held at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, April 13, at the St. Stephens Roman
Catholic Church. Father Albert J. Thompson, rector of the church, was
in charge of the services. Some of his friends acted as pallbearers,
including J. Everett Long, Deputy Sheriffs Simon B. Smith, Lawrence
I. Dishman and Albert C. Reisz, his personal friend J. Carl Riney,
and Daviess County Clerk Guy A. Aull.
The absence of a sheriff created serious problems in Daviess
County, particularly because the law forbade a deputy from acting
without a sheriff in office. The Daviess County Judge, James R.
Wilson, was concerned for Florence Thompson, now widowed with four
young and dependent children. Under Section 1526 of the Kentucky
Statutes, the county judge was empowered to appoint a successor to
fill a vacancy in the office of sheriff for an unexpired term. Judge
Wilson asked Florence if she would fulfill the role of sheriff.
Florence had never given much thought to becoming sheriff. For that
matter, she really did not want the job. She wondered what people
would think of her, a housewife in a role which traditionally only
politically active men had undertaken. Still, Florence knew she had
four young dependent children and that she was unemployed. After only
a brief consideration, Florence Thompson was sworn in as Sheriff of
Daviess County on Monday, April 13, the day of her husband's funeral.
No changes were made in personnel.
Maintaining her strength, Florence did not cry over her husband's
death until after the funeral. When she came home, her son Jimmy
asked, "Is daddy with God?" She assured him that he was and then
cried.
Some might find it odd that a woman would be serving as the
Sheriff of Daviess County in 1936. Interestingly, those who remember
the appointment state that hardly anyone in Daviess County objected.
By 1936, the position of Sheriff largely had become an administrative
one. These were the days before the Social Security Act was in full
swing, and a woman who was widowed in 1936 faced the horrible task of
surviving on her own. It was not confoundedly uncommon for a woman to
be asked to fulfill the unexpired political term of her deceased
husband. Some observers recall that no one really thought that much
about it. After all, the family of a politician had to contribute a
great deal of time and energy, and sometimes make financial
sacrifices in order for the head of the household to get elected. It
was understandable, then, that the elected man's widow should
rightfully take over.
The new Sheriff Thompson did not wear a uniform, but she sometimes
pinned a badge to her dress. She assumed a role as chief
administrator and left the task of performing most of the arrests to
her deputies. She sometimes performed arrests when no one else was
available to do so. She was a simple woman with simple objectives in
mind. She wanted the best for her children and felt she had to do
what she could to provide for them. Florence was a good cook and an
excellent seamstress. She hand made all of her husband's shirts, and
sometimes she would cut down Everett's suits so they would fit the
boys. Primarily, however, she was an excellent mother. Although she
was a proud woman, who walked erect and determinedly down the
sidewalks of Owensboro, she was not vain about her new position and
did not try to wield her authority over people. In the last few years
of her job in the Sheriff's Office, Florence noticed that she could
barely hold her ink pen steady. She saw a physician, who diagnosed
the first symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. Sometimes she wrapped a
rubber band around the ink pen to keep a better grip.
She found it difficult to fulfill both roles as sheriff and
mother, so she sought to enroll her boys in a boarding school. She
contacted the headmaster of St. Joseph's Prep School in Bardstown and
learned that she could not afford to pay the tuition. The sympathetic
headmaster was familiar with her dilemma and told her to send all
three of her boys to Bardstown and that they would be properly cared
for and educated. The boys were taken to the school, and they waited
tables and worked at various other small jobs in order to help pay
their way.
A few months before the hanging, she developed a close friendship
with Father Albert J. Thompson of the St. Stephens Catholic Church in
Owensboro. Although they shared identical surnames, there was no
kinship. He was her confidant and mentor, and she shared with him her
most personal concerns. He at one point assured her that she could
perform her duty as sheriff and even perform an execution without
violating the Christian tenets. Father Thompson's advice kept the
Sheriff on an even keel.
Florence maintained her courage and integrity throughout the
Bethea trial and execution. She sought the counsel of various friends
and was willing to perform every duty imposed upon her by law. Even
when the national press began to harry her with questions and to
paint her as a rugged, tough, matron of the law, she bore her cross
in silence. She sought what was honest and right, not glory or fame.
A discussion of Florence Thompson's life after the hanging appears
in the final chapter of this book.