| Notes |
- Biography included in The History of Madison County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.
William A. Gage.
On December 25, 1833, there settled eleven miles east of Huntsville, on King’s River, John Gage and his wife. They entered land among the very first in that neighborhood, and on January 19 following their first child, Rhoda, was born. They lived there to rear a family of eleven children, all of whom but one lived to manhood and womanhood. John Gage was a farmer, and in 1859 went to Shawnee County, Kas., which place he left in 1866 to reside in Greenwood County, where he is now living at the age of eighty-one. He was born August 5, 1807 in Hardman County, Tenn., and when a boy went to Pulaski County, Mo., where he married Lydia Clement, who died December 14, 1871, in Kansas. Eight of the children are now living, all residents of Kansas except William A. He was born January 9, 1836, and grew to manhood beneath the paternal roof. After his marriage he engaged in farming upon the home place until the close of the war, when he purchased a place a short distance above, upon which he lived until 1874. Being then elected county clerk, he sold his place and came to Huntsville, and has since served in the same office four consecutive terms. His farm, which is located one-half mile north of Huntsville, is one of the nicest in the neighborhood. Mr. Gage served some time in the third Arkansas Infantry during the war, but was discharged on account of disability, but afterward served as orderly-sergeant in John Carroll’s company. He is now engaged in stock raising in connection with his farming, and for five year did a mercantile business in Huntsville. April 12, 1860, he married Angelina Hargis, who was born April 19, 1839, in Georgia, and accompanied her parents to this State in 1859. Her mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Gage have five children: James T. and Joseph A., editors of the Madison County Democrat; Lydia E., Kate and Ella. Two children, John W., the oldest and Maggie B., the youngest, are deceased. Mr. Gage is a leading Democrat of the county, and for many years was chairman of the Democratic County Central Committee. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a highly esteemed citizen.
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- April 8, 1879, the court appointed M. Knight, A. A. Brodie, William Marrs, F. M. Sams, F. O. Massie, John F. Proctor, N. G. Heflin and W. A. Gage commissioners to select a site for a new court-house. The lot, then vacant, adjoining the public square on the north was favored by many, but the commission failed to agree, and the old site was chosen by the county judge. G. N. Heflin was appointed building commissioner January 5, 1881, but declined; John R. Simpson was appointed in April, 1881. The contract was awarded to W. A. Gage May 24, 1881, at his bid of $3,000. February 6, 1882, S. P. Jackson contracted to finish and furnish the interior for $1,000. The building is built of brick, 40×50 feet, and is twenty-six feet high from the foundation to the roof.
There are four doors, and two halls crossing in the center of the lower floor, thus giving convenient access to four rooms, each 12×27 feet. The entire upper story is used as a court-room. The building was formally accepted by the county court October 4, 1882, and constitutes the present court-house.
Huntsville Lodge No. 364, F. &. A. M., was instituted January 16, 1879, with James Gilliland, W. M.; C. K. Polk, S. W.; John A. Proctor, J. W.; W. A. Gage, J. E. Plummer, P. W. Newton, F. M. Sams, G. T. Berry, C. B. Sanders, John Bowen, William Stotts and Neal Dorsey, as members and officers.
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- Madison County, Arkansas records show that William was appointed as one of a group of commissioners on April 8, 1879 to select a site for a new courthouse, as the previous one had been "burned by the federals in 1863". When the group failed to agree on a site, the county judge ordered that the new courthouse would be built on the site of the previous one. A contract was awarded to William A. Gage on May 24,1881 with a bid of $3000 to build the new structure. In Goodspeed's "History of Madison County, AR" a biography of William A. Gage is printed. The following information was taken from that biography. William A. Gage, son of John Gage and Lydia Clement, grew to manhood under the paternal roof. He served some time in the third Arkansas Infantry during the Civil War, but was discharged on account of disability, but afterward served as orderly sergeant in John Carrol's Co. After his marriage he engaged in farming upon the home place until the close of the war, when he purchased a place a short distance above, upon which he lived until 1874, at which time he was then elected county clerk. He sold his place and moved to Huntsville, and served four consecutive terms in that office. Upon moving to Huntsville, he purchased a farm located one-half mile north of Huntsville. He engaged in stock raising in connection with his farming, and for five years did a mercantile business in Huntsville. William was a leading Democrat of the county, and for many years was chairman of the Democratic County Central Committee. He was also a Royal Arch Mason. His sons James and Joseph were editors of the "Madison County Democrat."
New York Times
April 28, 1894
SAMUEL F. VAUGHAN EXECUTED
The Wealthy Arkansan Had TO Be Carried To The Gallows
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., April 27.
-Samuel F. Vaughan who promised Thomas Hamilton $3,000 if he would kill ex-County Clerk Andrew Gage of Madison County in 1891, was hanged this morning for the murder of Gage. He denied his guilt to the last. His wife and children spent last night with the condemned man, and at 5 o'clock this morning his wife, when told by the Sheriff to take final leave of her husband, dropped on her knees by his side and prayed God for half an hour to kill her husband before he reached the gallows. Vaughan had to be carried to the gallows, from which his body fell a distance of eight feet, almost severing the head from the neck. Samuel F. Vaughan was twice convicted of the same crime. Hamilton will be sent to the penitentiary New York Times
April 28, 1894
Hired to Kill Another Man.
LITTLE ROCK. Ark. Aug. 2l.
-At the Circuit Court in Berryville. Ark., to-day, Thomas Hamilton pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree
for killing W. A. Gage, one of the most prominent citizens of Madison County, three years ago. He was sentenced to eighteen years in the penitentiary. Hamilton was hired to kill Gage by Samuel F. Vaughan, who was hanged at Fayetteville last April.
Appeal from circuit court, Washington county; Edward S. McDaniel, Judge.
Samuel F. Vaughan, convicted of murder in the first degree, appeals. Affirmed.
The other facts fully appear in the following statement by WOOD, J.:
W. A. Gage was assassinated at his home, in Madison county, September 26, 1891. He was fired upon by some one in ambush, as he was returning to his house from his horse lot, and instantly killed. Tracks leading to and from the place of the killing were discovered. Those leading away were made by a person in sock feet. Those leading up to where the assassin stood were made with shoes having plates or irons upon the heels. The shoes of one Thomas Hamilton were compared with the tracks, and found to fit exactly. Also, beggar lice and red dirt were found upon his socks, corresponding to dirt of the same description in the field of the deceased,-the way the party doing the killing had gone. Hamilton was indicted as principal; the appellant, Samuel F. Vaughan, as accessory. Samuel F. Vaughan was suspected and arrested on account of the bitter animosity which he was known to have had against Gage on account of a lawsuit which had been pending for years between them. Samuel F. Vaughan had sued Gage for something between $2,500 or $3,000.and had been heard, at different times and places, and by various witnesses, to express great hatred towards Gage. Had said "that Gage had treated him very bad, or very mean; that it was very hard to bear; that there were two ways a man could get him to kill him,-one, in self-defense; the other, by treating him mean." Also, "that if Gage beat him in his suit he did not know what he would do; that he though he would leave the state; had never been fooled so badly by a man in his life." And, again, "that he had decided in his mind that, If a man beat him out of his just rights, that it would not do him any good; that there was old Andrew Gage, who owed him about twenty-five hundred dollars, and, if he beat him out of it, it should never do him any good." And, again, "that he sometimes thought that, if it were not for his family, or Gage's family, before Gage should testify against him, he would take his gun and kill him." Other witnesses testified that appellant, after being arrested, and on his way to jail, when near deceased's house, fell off his mule, began crying, and told that he had just realized that he was charged with crime; that he regretted the thought of having to be taken among his old friends and neighbors, charged with killing as good a man as Mr. Gage." After Samuel F. Vaughan and Hamilton were lodged in jail, witnesses and letters were introduced to show that Samuel F. Vaughan endeavored to dissuade Hamilton from turning state's evidence, all of which will be set out fully in the opinion. Hamilton, by an agreement with the state's attorney to the effect that he might plead to murder in the second degree, was permitted to testify. Omitting the details of the horrible crime, as given by him, his testimony was, in substance: That he was in most distressed circumstances,-his family sick, and he in want that defendant, Samuel F. Vaughan, at different times when they were hunting together, and on other occasions, talked to him about his trouble with Gage; said that Gage was going to swear him out of his money, if he was not removed, and that he wanted him (Hamilton) to do it, and would give him half Gage owed him if he would kill Gage. Said that Samuel F. Vaughan promised to let him have land to cultivate, furnish him a team, and give him all he could make; that he had nothing against Gage, but finally yielded to the requests of Samuel F. Vaughan, moved through his promises to pay him, and committed the deed in the manner above described, with a double barrel shotgun furnished him by Samuel F. Vaughan. Said that Samuel F. Vaughan planned the way for him to do the killing, and said he (Vaughan) would be suspected, but that he could prove that he was not there, and that he (Hamilton) would not be suspected. The defendant, on his own behalf, denied all the statements of Hamilton, introduced witnesses to show his good character, and that Hamilton had made statements at different times "that he (Vaughan) had nothing to do with the killing." The above, together with the facts set out in the opinion, constitute the substance of the evidence upon which the state asked conviction. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and the case is here by appeal from Judgment of death pronounced upon the verdict.
J. D. Walker and J. W. Walker, for appellant James P. Clarke, Atty. Gen., and Charles T. Coleman, for the State.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46075249/william-andrew-gage
Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 13 June 2019), memorial page for William Andrew Gage (9 Jan 1836-26 Sep 1891), Find A Grave Memorial no. 46075249, citing Huntsville Cemetery, Huntsville, Madison County, Arkansas, USA; Maintained by scott97172773 (contributor 46798626).
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1836 - 1891 (55 years)
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