Today in Wheeling History: July 7--Taylor Strauder, a former slave and carpenter from Wheeling, and his attorney B.B. Dovener wrote to U.S. Attorney General Charles Devens requesting the Supreme Court's official ruling and instructions be sent to West Virginia courts, a pivotal moment in Strauder's nearly decade-long legal battle that challenged West Virginia's 1872 statute limiting jury service to white males and ultimately led to a landmark Supreme Court decision declaring this law unconstitutional (1880).
Taylor Strauder, a former slave and carpenter in Wheeling, West Virginia, murdered his wife Annie with a hatchet on April 18, 1872. The night before, Strauder had been at a domino parlor where his friends joked about his wife's alleged infidelity. Upon returning home, he believed he saw a white man leaving his house. This led to an argument with Annie, which continued into the next morning. Their nine-year-old stepdaughter, Fanny, was present when Strauder struck Annie twice in the head with the blunt end of a hatchet, killing her. He then threatened to kill Fanny if she screamed.
Strauder fled Wheeling but was arrested on April 25, 1872, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was found working as a carpenter. He initially denied his identity but later confessed to two acquaintances from Wheeling who identified him.
Represented by attorney George O. Davenport, Strauder was initially convicted in July 1873 and sentenced to death. After appeals, he faced a second trial in November 1874, again resulting in a conviction. Davenport and his partner B.B. Dovener appealed Strauder's case, challenging West Virginia's 1872 law excluding African Americans from jury service as a violation of the 14th Amendment.
The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, with oral arguments heard in late 1879. On March 1, 1880, in a 7-2 decision, the Court ruled in Strauder v. West Virginia that the state's exclusion of blacks from juries was unconstitutional. On July 7, 1880, both Strauder and Dovener wrote to U.S. Attorney General Charles Devens, requesting the Court's mandate be sent to West Virginia's courts and informing him of Davenport's death on June 8, 1880.
Despite this landmark ruling, Strauder remained imprisoned until May 2, 1881, when he was released by a federal court in Parkersburg, only to be immediately rearrested by Wheeling officials. Dovener successfully argued for Strauder's final release on May 3, 1881, in an Ohio County court. At age 42, after over 9 years of incarceration during which he taught himself to read and write, Strauder walked free, his case setting a crucial precedent for civil rights and jury selection.
To learn more: (https://shorturl.at/lpZbm) (https://shorturl.at/NomN6) (https://shorturl.at/YiKK0) (https://shorturl.at/zWExy)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Library of Congress, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
Taylor Strauder, a former slave and carpenter in Wheeling, West Virginia, murdered his wife Annie with a hatchet on April 18, 1872. The night before, Strauder had been at a domino parlor where his friends joked about his wife's alleged infidelity. Upon returning home, he believed he saw a white man leaving his house. This led to an argument with Annie, which continued into the next morning. Their nine-year-old stepdaughter, Fanny, was present when Strauder struck Annie twice in the head with the blunt end of a hatchet, killing her. He then threatened to kill Fanny if she screamed.
Strauder fled Wheeling but was arrested on April 25, 1872, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was found working as a carpenter. He initially denied his identity but later confessed to two acquaintances from Wheeling who identified him.
Represented by attorney George O. Davenport, Strauder was initially convicted in July 1873 and sentenced to death. After appeals, he faced a second trial in November 1874, again resulting in a conviction. Davenport and his partner B.B. Dovener appealed Strauder's case, challenging West Virginia's 1872 law excluding African Americans from jury service as a violation of the 14th Amendment.
The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, with oral arguments heard in late 1879. On March 1, 1880, in a 7-2 decision, the Court ruled in Strauder v. West Virginia that the state's exclusion of blacks from juries was unconstitutional. On July 7, 1880, both Strauder and Dovener wrote to U.S. Attorney General Charles Devens, requesting the Court's mandate be sent to West Virginia's courts and informing him of Davenport's death on June 8, 1880.
Despite this landmark ruling, Strauder remained imprisoned until May 2, 1881, when he was released by a federal court in Parkersburg, only to be immediately rearrested by Wheeling officials. Dovener successfully argued for Strauder's final release on May 3, 1881, in an Ohio County court. At age 42, after over 9 years of incarceration during which he taught himself to read and write, Strauder walked free, his case setting a crucial precedent for civil rights and jury selection.
To learn more: (https://shorturl.at/lpZbm) (https://shorturl.at/NomN6) (https://shorturl.at/YiKK0) (https://shorturl.at/zWExy)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Library of Congress, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
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