Frances Stewart Silver was born in 1814, the daughter of Isaiah and Barbara Stewart. She was raised along a big bend in the Toe River around Morgantown (Morganton) N.C. She was one of several children, including her brothers Jackson, Joe and Blackstone.
Frankie, as she was called, grew into a beautiful girl and enjoyed her life in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains.
As was the custom of the day, she married at only 14 years old. Her new husband, Charles Silver, was a local boy who was just a year or so older than Frankie. The couple moved into a small cabin not far from Frankie’s parents.
At first everything went good in the marriage and within a year a baby girl (Nancy) was born.But soon thereafter, a deep dark cloud would take over the marriage. Charles began drinking heavily and quarrels and fights became normal between the couple. Some folks even said that Charles abused Frankie when he was there and other times he would be gone for days at a time, supposedly hunting.
With all the chores of frontier life and a young child to raise, it became hard for Frankie to cope mentally or physically with everyday life. Even in today’s world with all its conveniences, life sometimes seems unbearable; but in Frankie’s case it went off the deep end.
Early in the morning, just before Christmas of 1831, Frankie knocked on the front door of her in-laws’ cabin. With her baby in her arms, she told the Silver family that Charles was missing from a hunting trip and she was a’feared he had drowned trying to cross the icy Toe River. As she was warming by the fireplace, some family members braved the cold and went out and searched for Charles; but to no avail.
As the days went by, folks still had seen nothing of Charles — but meantime Frankie and the baby had moved in with her parents. Why, they just figured he had been swept down by the river or had just run off to another part of the country.
This is where the story takes a grisly turn. Seems Charles’ folks somehow didn’t quite believe that Frankie was telling the whole truth about their son’s disappearance. There just happened to be an old conjure man living in the community and some of the Silver family paid him to help find Charlie.
The old conjure man rolled his bones and looked down into his glass ball; only to say that Charles Silver was still at his own cabin. Well this was puzzling to most folks, but a local hunter and trapper by the name of Jack Cullis took it upon himself to go check out Charles’ cabin.
As Cullis arrived at the cabin, no one was there. He searched though the cabin and as he stirred through the ashes in the fireplace, he was horrified to find human teeth and bones amongst the heap of ashes that still lay in the fireplace. ‘Bout then Frankie appeared in the door of the cabin and asked in a very loud voice, “what in the h—- are you doing here?” Cullis didn’t say anything, he stuck the teeth and bones in his pocket and hurried out the door to go get the sheriff.
It took a while for the High Sheriff to come; meanwhile, Cullis buried some of the human body parts in a shallow grave.
When the High Sherriff arrived at the Silver’s cabin, more human bones and parts with cut marks were discovered under the floor of the cabin. Some of these body parts were buried in another shallow grave.
As the days went by, the Sheriff had no way of telling whose body this was until by chance, Charles’ own dog, drug up part of a foot that still had Charles’ boot attached to it. By now, the High Sheriff knew that the murdered victim was indeed Charles Silver as he had suspected all along. The foot was buried in another grave and thus Charles Silver was actually buried three times.
With all the evidence being found, Frankie was the prime suspect and was arrested for the axe murder of her husband. Also arrested were her mother, Barbara, and brother, Blackstone, for helping dispose of the body. The mother and brother were later let go because of lack of evidence.
In March of 1833, Frankie Silver’s trial began in the Burke County Courthouse. Hardly any hardcore evidence was presented against Frankie, but the jury remained convinced that jealousy prompted her murderous action. The prosecutor alleged that Frankie believed Charles to be unfaithful.
Some local folks believed that Frankie was an abused wife and had just taken all she could stand.
Regardless of the evidence, Frankie Silver never gave her testimony. For you see, in the early 19th century, women weren’t allowed to do so. This law was changed in 1859, too late for Frankie. Why, she never even confided with her attorney or the judge just what happened. Even if she would have pleaded self-defense, she would more than likely have been acquitted. But it wasn’t to be, for the jury found Frankie Stewart Silver guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced her to hang.
The story doesn’t end here. For while she was waiting in jail for the appeals, her own family broke her out of jail. She hid under a wagon load of hay to get out of Morgantown and after they got out of town, she changed into man’s clothes but was later arrested a couple days later in Rutherford County and was returned to prison.
Like I said before, some folks believed she was an abused wife and had murdered Charles in self-defense. They even signed petitions to have her pardoned. Nonetheless, their efforts failed and she was to be hanged on July 12, 1833.
On that fateful day, Frankie walked up the scaffold wearing a white dress that was given to her by some of the wealthier women in the county who believed she was innocent.
Before being hanged, she was asked by the sheriff if she had any last words. Before she could say anything, her father yelled from the crowd, “Die with it in ye, Frankie!”
Legend has it that she told the sheriff that she did have something to say but she’d rather sing it. The legend says that Frankie had written a poem while in jail titled “Frankie Silver’s Confession” and that she sang it before being hanged.
Some of the verses say: “On one dark and dreary night, I put his body out of sight, to see his soul and body part, It strikes with terror to my heart. The jealous thought that first gave strife, To make me take my husband’s life, For days and months I spent my time, Thinking how to commit this crime. But O, that dreadful judge I fear, Shall I that awful sentence hear, Depart, ye cursed, down to Hell, and forever there to dwell. Farewell, good people, you all now see, What my bad conduct brought on me, To die of shame and disgrace, Before the world of human race.”
Then Frankie pulled the black cloak over her face and with one quick jerk her soul departed this earth.
J.A. Bolton is a member of the N.C. Storytelling Guild, Anson County Writer’s Club, Anson and Richmond County historical societies and author of “Just Passing Time,” which is available at Richmond County Tourism and Museum, Ellerbe Pharmacy, Hamlet Hardware and Mabry’s Drug.