Thriller Thursday~Corn Liquor, Guns and Back Room Drinking = Death

DIES BY HANDS OF BROTHER-IN-LAWLafayette Rivers Slain by W. Gary Smith
No Witnesses To Killing
Deplorable Family Tragedy Occurs in Back Room of Matheson Building in Bennettsville

Special to the State.
Bennettsville, Feb. 18. – C. Lafayette Rivers was shot and instantly killed here this evening by W. Gary Smith. The homicide occurred in a room in the rear of the Matheson building on Broad Street near the Bennettsville and Cheraw Depot. No one else was in the room at the time of the shooting.
Rivers was shot in the face, just below eye, the ball entering the brain. Smith was shot in the neck, the ball entering from the front, slightly to the right, and passing through the neck. From the testimony and circumstances it seems certain that Rivers fired the first shot.
The homicide is a most deplorable affair. Rivers married a sister of Smith, and Smith married a sister of Rivers.Rivers was almost 37 years old and leaves a widow and two children. Smith is about 35 years old and his wife and three children are living. Smith was arrested and is in jail.
The coroner’s jury returned the formal verdict; Smith’s wound is not regarded as necessarily fatal. The two men, with other friends, had been in the room several times during the day and all had been drinking.  A two gallon jug partly filled with corn liquor was found in the room.
[“The State”, Columbia, SC, 19 February 1911, page 2, col 5]

Columbus Lafayette "Buck" Rivers Sr. was born on 1 Apr 1874 in Marlboro County, South Carolina.^{1 2} He was shot and killed on 18 Feb 1911 at the age of 36 and was buried at McCall Cemetery in Marlboro, South Carolina.^3–4 5
Columbus Lafayette "Buck" Rivers Sr. married Atlanta Nell "Addie" Smith on 26 Dec 1902 in Bennettsville, Marlboro, South Carolina.⁶
Atlanta Nell "Addie" Smith, daughter of William Angus Smith and Julia , was born on 1 Sep 1886 and in Marlboro County, South Carolina.^{7 8 9 10}
 
Columbus Lafayette Rivers and Atlanta Nell “Addie” Smith had the following children:

i. Rachel Rivers, born abt 1908, Marlboro, South Carolina, United States; married Marvin Townsend, abt 1925.
ii. Columbus Lafayette Rivers Jr., born 8 Jan 1911, Marlboro County, South Carolina; married Christine Charlotte Reeves.

The killing of her husband by her brother left Addie a widower with two babies to raise on her own. Rachel was just barely 2 years of age and young Columbus, Jr.  was a new born baby.
With few choices it wasn't very long until  Atlanta Nell “Addie” Smith Rivers was remarried. Her new husband was a young man named Alton John Weatherly.  There had 3 known children.

Atlanta Nell “Addie” Smith Rivers Weatherly died on 25 Apr 1930 at the age of 43 and was buried McCall Cemetery in Marlboro County, South Carolina.^{11 12–13 14} Two years later her new husband also passed away leaving 3 young children ranging in age from 9 to 18.







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1. Mark Rivers and Caroline Dean Rivers Family Bible Holy Bible, (New York, New York: n.p., n.d.); Obtained from Betty Lee Hefty, 8 Xeroxed page from Original Bible. BIRTH - 1 April 18748 February 1911, Columbia Lafayette "Buck" Rivers Sr..
2. 1880 U S Census, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Adamsville, Marlboro County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #104, Page: 359A; Line 39, Dwelling 6, Family 6, Household of Mark Rivers; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 22 July 2011); citing National Archive Microfilm T9, Roll 1235.
3. Mark Rivers and Caroline Dean Rivers Family Bible, DEATH - 18 February 1911, Columbia Lafayette "Buck" Rivers Sr.>.
4. Leon Madison Rivers, "Leon M. Rivers Genealogical Collection," genealogical data, 1920's, Box 3, Folder 75, reviewed 14 June 2005, Leon M. Rivers Genealogical Collection; South Caroliniana Library, Columbia, South Carolina. Elijah Davis married Mattie Deese.
5. Elizabeth C. Drake, Marlboro County Cemetery Survey; Marlboro County Historical Society, 1984, page 201. Tombstone of C. L. RIVERS; 1 April 1874–18 February 1911, McCall Cemetery, Bennettsville, Marlboro County, South Carolina.
6. Mark Rivers & Caroline Dean Rivers Family Bible Holy Bible, (New York, New York: n.p., n.d.); Obtained from Betty Lee Hefty, 8 Xeroxed page from Original Bible. MARRIAGE, Atlanta Nell Smith & Columbia Lafayette Rivers.
7. 1900 U. S. Census, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Smithville Township, Marlboro County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #99, Page 277, Line 1, Dwelling 1, Family 1, Household of William SMITH; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 22 July 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm  T623_1536.
8. Ibid.
9. 1920 U. S. Census, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Red Hill, Marlboro County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #130, Page 257B; Line 71, Dwelling 313, Family 315, Household of Alton J. WEATHERLY; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 23 September 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm T625, Roll: 1703.
10. 1930 U. S. Census, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Bennettsville, Marlboro County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #16, Page 52B; Line 63, Dwelling 103, Family 109, Household of Alton WEATHERLY; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 23 September 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm T626_2205.
11. Atlanta S Weatherly, death certificate #006485 (25 April 1930), Vital Records, Department of Health, Austin, Travis County, Texas.
12. Ibid.
13. Elizabeth C. Drake, Marlboro County Cemetery Survey, Marlboro County Historical Society, 1984. Tombstone of Addie Smith Weatherly.
14. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, digital image, (http://www.findagrave.com : Accessed on 23 September 2011); Headstone for Atlanta "Addie" Smith Weatherly; (1 September 1887–25 April 1930); Records of the McCall Cemetery; Bennettsville, Marlboro County, South Carolina, USA.