The Ashland Tragedy: Murder, Mob & a Militia in Kentucky

by H.E. Castle

This true crime history recounts the notorious nineteenth-century murder of three Kentucky children and the shocking aftermath once arrests were made.   On Christmas Eve 1881, a horrible crime shook the small town of Ashland, Kentucky, and captivated the entire nation. Three children were brutally murdered and their house set ablaze. Nothing in the small town’s past had prepared it for what followed. Three men were convicted of the crimes, and two were sentenced to death. But the murderers were protected by the governor’s untrained militia, which would eventually turn their guns on Ashland’s innocent citizens.   Much of these events were recorded at the time by James Morgan Huff, founder of the Ashland Republican newspaper, in a booklet titled The Ashland Tragedy. Now author and Ashland native H.E. “Joe” Castle builds on Huff’s work to reveal the full, true story of one of the darkest chapters in the history of Kentucky.

Genres: True Crime

163 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 22, 2016

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

As much as I wanted to enjoy H.E. “Joe” Castle & J.M. Huff’s work entitled, The Ashland Tragedy: Murder, a Mob & a Militia in Kentucky, I found it poorly written. I do applaud the authors providing a great deal of testimony from the murder of three young teens while they slept, it reads awkwardly and the chapters are disjointed and cumbersome. It also provides accounts from people that could be considered questionable, and while there is a claim that the Citizen’s Committee, which was impaneled to aid in the investigation and capture of the murderer(s), there is no direct link within the body of the work to qualify that claim. All of that is in the biographical section, which does not contain biographies on the deceased or some of the witnesses.

[Carlee Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a old telling of a tragic crime that happened in Ashland, KY. Two young girls and one of their brothers were murdered on Christmas Eve and the author tells of the crime, the discovery of the alleged perpetrators, their trials, and most frequently, the impact and involvement of the town in their prosecution and eventual death. Three men are tried for the murders after one of them confesses to being present. The writing feels very journalistic and lacks all sensationalism. The authors have a strong kinship to the town and spend much of the book defending its citizens and their reactions to the murders and subsequent trials. It was a quick read on an interesting true story, but not a page turner any more than a newspaper story would be. Dateline needs to tell this tale.

[Rhonda Maalouf · Rating 4 out of 5]

My father's home town.

This was a very interesting and tragic part of Kentucky history that I knew nothing about until stumbling upon this book. My father and grandfather were from Ashland. From that point I find it especially intriguing. This was a good read. There are so many details included that it's difficult to remember everything. I believe it to be a well written account of the events that took place during a horrible time in Kentucky history.

[Christy McCleese · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to be into this so badly after seeing the exhibit at the Ashland museum but it was hard to get through. So much unnecessary and uninteresting information was added... I guess just to make it longer? Not a fan.