Hamilton

Sheppard arrested for murder; witnesses held, too.

Wilson Daily Times, 14 June 1926.

Howard and Catherine Hamilton were arrested and jailed as witnesses to John Henry Sheppard‘s alleged murder of his wife. Will Lewis, who shot up several cars, trying to chase down Sheppard, was arrested, too.

On 29 August 1926, Raleigh’s News and Observer identified the victim as Lillie Mae Ward in an article detailing the eleven murder cases on Wilson County Superior Court’s docket. On 7 September 1926, the N&O followed up to report that a judge had convicted Sheppard and sentenced him to five years in prison.

Mrs. Hamilton will specialize in embalming.

Wilson Daily Times, 8 July 1941.

Forsyth County, N.C., native Annie M. Thompson Hamilton and her husband Levi Hamilton Sr. were residents and owners of a funeral home in Goldsboro, N.C., but had recently opened a second location in Wilson. Hamilton Funeral Home served Wilson for more than 70 years.