On the night of August 26, 1922, Sheriff William Sherman Mathis, Muhlenberg County, his son Orville and his nephew Denny, his deputies, went to the home of John T. Annis. (Although most stories give the family the last name of Ennis, Annis is the correct spelling.) They were in search of Clyde Harper, for whom they had a warrant for breach of the peace (what we would now call disorderly conduct). In a tragic mistake, they were seeking Harper at the wrong cottage, however – as there were two roads out of the small community of Nelson, six miles from Central City, and at each, there was a country store with a cottage beside it. Annis lived in one, while Harper lived in the other.
The deputies when to the back and side of the Annis cottage, to watch for anyone escaping. Sheriff Mathis went to the front door, knocked and demanded Harper. Annis denied that the Sheriff had any warrant for him, or that he had “done anything to be arrested for.” The Sheriff, thinking he was speaking to Harper’s father, demanded “the boy.” Annis denied there was any boy at the house. Sheriff Mathis kicked in the door and Annis opened fire with his shotgun. Deputy Orville Mathis ran to the door and shot Annis over his father’s fallen body. He hit Jennie, Annis’s daughter. Annis fired the second barrel at Orville Mathis, before Denny Mathis, firing though a window, struck both Annis and Ella Smith, another daughter. Annis later stated that he thought that the Sheriff was Mrs. Smith’s husband, with whom she “had trouble.”
Sheriff William Mathis died the next day in Central City. Orville Mathis, who had been hit in the chest and abdomen by buckshot, was sent to Louisville’s St. Anthony Hospital.
Although not expected to survive, John Annis, age 72, did. His daughter, Jennie, shot in the shoulder, also did, but his daughter, Ella Smith, did not, passing away in Louisville some weeks later. Before Mrs. Smith’s death at the Deaconess Hospital, she claimed she had pled for mercy before being shot. The Commonwealth’s Attorney, Hubert Meredith, had suspicions about the situation, thinking it was “not entirely the result of a mistake.” The Sheriff had been at the home for some minutes before he attempted to force entry, more an ample opportunity to explain any mistake. As the Sheriff had been active in waging a fight on bootlegging, he thought the Sheriff may have been deliberately directed to the wrong home. He also thought someone else might have been in the house, and fled before other officers arrived. (As evidence, it was noted that one of the windows in the house was shot out in a way that caused the glass to fall outward.)
As was not uncommon at the time, Mrs. Flora Mathis took office as Sheriff days later. She would be expected to hold the position for some 14 months, until a special election could be held.
In late September, John T. “Uncle Dud” Annis was indicted for wilful murder. He stood trial in January, 1923. A special sheriff had to be appointed, as Mrs. Mathis was still serving as Sheriff. At the trial, the trial jury could not reach a verdict, and Ennis was discharged. A few months later, Mrs. Mathis resigned as Sheriff, and one of her deputies, Cecil Lewis, was appointed to serve in her stead.
John T. Annis passed away in 1930.
Sheriff William S. Mathis, age 54 at the time of his death, had only taken office the previous November. He was well respected and it was noted that “in this case, his weapon caused no death.” He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery, in Greenville, Muhlenberg County. His wife, Flora, survived him by many years; she passed away just after her 100th birthday. She is buried with him. He was also survived by five children, including his injured son, Orville.
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