Sunday’s Obituary~Smith Oliver Fatally Cut

Fatal Cutting Scrape in Chesterfield County
Supervisor Oliver Smith Received Gash on Throat Six Inches Long
Both Parties Prominent Citizens

Special to The State.
Ruby, Sept. 24. – There was considerable excitement in town for a while yesterday morning. Mr. W. N. Ratliff, a prominent citizen of Mt. Croghan, and Supervisor Smith Oliver of this place became involved in a very serious cutting fracas, in which Mr. Oliver was seriously and probably fatally cut on the neck and throat, receiving an ugly gash six inches long, which very nearly severed the jugular vein. Dr. J. R. Threatt was quickly on hand and dressed the wound and reports hid patient doing as well as could be expected. The affair is much deplored as both parties are prominent citizens and well liked.¹

While the headlines reports this as a fatal cutting; I could find no record of a Smith Oliver dying in Chesterfield County in 1904.

There is a very young (age 16) Smith Oliver that died 23 February 1905 whose tombstone can be found in the Smith Family Cemetery, Ruby, South Carolina. ²

Smith Oliver, b, 14 Feb. 1871 and his wife Maggie had a son, called Smith, born in February 1899.

If you have any information on the above Smith Oliver please post your comments here or contact me through my e-mail posted on the home page of this blog.




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[1] Fatal Cutting Scrape in Chesterfield County obituary, The State, Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina, 25 September 1904, page 11, column 3. Supervisor Oliver Smith Received Gash on Throat Six Inches Long.
[2] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 6 March 2015); Memorial page for Smith Oliver; (20 February 1889–23 February 1905); Find a Grave memorial # 44685924, Citing Smith Family Cemetery; Ruby, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, USA.