Author: Fay Burnett

Publisher:

Published: 2019-02-10

Total Pages: 151

ISBN-13: 9781791623623

On a cold December night in 1884 a few miles from the small town of Stapleton, Georgia, Mr. Jack McCauley found himself on the wrong end of a double-barrel shotgun. When neighbors arrived the next morning, Miss Elvira Ivey confessed to the murder, but there was doubt as to Elvira's guilt from the beginning. Some said Jack and Elvira were lovers; some said they weren't. But this was certain:Jack McCauley was a married man with children, and Miss Elvira Ivey was a beautiful woman with a reputation. Just to complicate matters, at the time of the murder Elvira had a suit in court for seduction against another lover, Solomon Jones. The case of seduction as well as the trial for murder pitted two of the most noted lawyers in Georgia against each other, Thomas E. Watson and Col. W. D. Tutt.Elvira's great beauty, as well as the bitter rivalry between Tom Watson and Col Tutt, made for fascinating drama in the Superior Court of Jefferson County - the story even making it into the "New York Times."The Columbus (Georgia) "Daily Enquirer-Sun" stated: "The case is an interesting and mysterious one, and will be a celebrated one in the court annals of the state."The "Weekly Constitution," (Atlanta) added: "The case is a very strong one; the lawyers, and indeed others, declaring that they had never read or heard tell of another similar one."As they say, "There's not much to see in a small town, but what you hear makes up for it."Dr. Fay Stapleton Burnett is a retired dentist, wife of a Presbyterian minister, proud Grandmother and now author. The research of her family line has led her for the second time to write the true story of a Georgia woman accused of murder in the 1800s. Her first book, "The Hanging of Susan Eberhart," and this book, "Miss Elvira Ivey," offer similarities as well as striking differences - the most noted difference being the outcome of their trials and punishment.