An update based on reader-submitted “evidence” regarding the oral history that Hezekiah Clem was the first person hanged in Harlan County in 1860.
From June 29 to July 5, a four-part blog was written about Hezekiah Clem. An analysis of the oral tradition raises doubts whether he was the first person executed by hanging in Harlan County, Kentucky.
An open request for information that supported or refuted the claim was provided on July 20 from a reader:
“Hezekiah Clem did indeed hang in Harlan, Ky. in 1860 for the murder of Ben Irvin. There are even pictures of him hanging. I have one myself…”
After an exchange of emails, the reader was kind to provide the referenced picture, sent as a 260×318 JPG:
After years of examining old photographs for dating clues, locations, and other information, I immediately had my doubts. If this was an actual photo that had been digitized, either by scanning or by photograph, then it must have been cropped. This makes it difficult to determine if it was a genuine 1860 photo.
At first glance, it appeared to have a few issues.
To start, the picture does not have the tone common with photos from the 1860’s, and the brightness and contrast giving it the silhouette effect was troubling. Giving the benefit of the doubt, this could have occurred during the digitizing process.
I also noticed the hand(s) and wondered why they weren’t bound with cuffs or rope. However, when looking through other vintage photos of public hangings, there are some convicts that do not have their hands bound.
The account of the hanging states that Clem “was taken there, and a wagon driven under a tree. A rope was tied around his neck and to a branch of the tree, and the wagon was then driven out from under him…” If so, why are the feet so low to the ground? Why use so much rope?
Imagine a wagon under the tree in the photo. This person’s head would be in the leaves, with a lot of slack in the rope. With their hands untied, and the rope slack, what prevents them from hanging on the branch, preventing the noose from tightening, and using the other hand to free themselves?
Looking at the feet, there appears to be something that the person once stood on, making this look more like a suicide than an execution.
While all of the issues above are circumstantial and raises a lot of alternative questions and answers, the most glaring inaccuracies are shown in the lower left and lower right corners.
Pictured in the lower left corner is what appears to be a 55-gallon steel drum with the reinforcing chimes (“ridges”). The earliest steel drum did not appear until 1905.
In the lower right corner are three stacked tires. Judging by the dimensions, these tires would not be around until 1925, at the earliest, and quite possibly much later.
After doing a reverse Google image search, the earliest date this picture was posted to the internet (as of the time of this blog) was 2009. And it appears everywhere, most associated with the title of a hanging woman, and most associated with news articles about male hangings in Asia. The picture also appears as the background for several memes.
In my opinion, the photo is not of Hezekiah Clem.
Do you agree, or disagree?
Philip Farmer is currently assisting families break down their genealogical brick walls and find information on their ancestors. He is also the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky.
“Very well written and researched…”
Ms. L. King
