He showed up in the Liberty community in the fall of 1880, just one of many drifters who wandered through looking for odd jobs or free meals, and no one knew where he came from or what his name was other than Miller. He initially hired on to do chores for an elderly farmer in northern Lee county but only worked a few days before walking away. A week later he was in Shannon where he met Brown Ridings who was there buying supplies. Ridings owned a small farm two miles south of Liberty church and had a nice home that he shared with his wife Heni and two year old daughter Creola. Ridings, like everyone else in the community, was far from being a wealthy man, but he liked to impress people and would flash a small roll of bills when the opportunity allowed.
Miller struck up a conversation with him and convinced Ridings to hire him to do odd jobs around the farm during the winter. He said he would work for room and board and Ridings, thinking he had pulled one over on Miller, was happy for getting such cheap help. They loaded the supplies Ridings had purchased, climbed on the wagon and headed home.
Miller was a likable fellow, a good worker and quickly gained the respect and confidence of the Ridings family. He slept in a room off the barn but had meals with the Ridings family and performed any chore that needed doing without complaint. He appeared to be an ideal employee, but appearances would soon prove to be decieving.
Two weeks after Miller went to work for Ridings Mr. Malone, who lived a quarter mile west of Ridings and was the closest neighbor, woke up about midnight and went out to do nature's bidding. He saw flames coming from the Ridings home, ran back inside and roused his family. He sent his boys to round up other neighbors, and left at a run for the Ridings house but was too late to do anything except wait for the other neighbors to show up. When daylight came the house had burned to the point the men who had gathered were able to douse what was left of the flames and find the bodies of Ridings, his wife and child, but something wasn't right. The bodies of Ridings and his wife were where they were supposed to be, in the bedroom between the head and foot of the iron bedstead, but little Creola's body was just inside the front door. Someone asked if anyone had seen Miller, that was the first time anyone had thought about him.. Two of the men went out to his room at the barn but he was nowhere to be found.
The men scattered and started looking for him. One noticed what looked liked footprints of someone running in a freshly plowed garden spot just south of the house and they decided it had to have been Miller and he must have had something to do with the fire. A posse was formed, dogs were brought and they started in pursuit.
The posse could see signs of Miller's flight in the dewy grass and followed as fast as they could. When the signs ended at the edge of the road going south they followed the road. Three miles south was Shoaf creek and there they found Miller. He was sitting against the base of a large oak tree just west of the road sound asleep. Needless to say, he was not treated kindly. He was beaten badly, and confessed that he had killed the Ridings and set fire to the house.
He told the posse that while working for the other man he had heard that Ridings had two hundred dollars hid somewhere around the house and concieved a plan to meet Ridings, convince him to give him a job, find out where the money was hid and steal it. He said he listened outside the windows every night in hopes Ridings would mention where the money was hid but it never happened. After a few days he tired of waiting and when Ridings and his wife were asleep he took the axe from the chopping block, went in the house and killed them. He was looking for the money when the baby work up and started crying. He panicked, picked up little Creola and carried here outside on the porch, and went back inside and set the fire. When he went back on the porch Creola was crawling around crying so he picked her up, smashed her head against a porch post and threw her back inside the door. He then ran away as fast as he could, but after running the three miles to Shoaf creek he was tired and winded and sat down against the tree to rest for a minute. He went to sleep and that's where the posse found him.
The members of the posse discussed what to do with him. Some wanted to turn him over to the sheriff, but the majority wanted to handle it themselves. Miller was taken to Pine Grove Cemetery and after another discussion among the posse members about what to do with him a rope was thrown over a limb of a large oak tree, his hands were tied behind him, then a noose was fashioned and placed around his neck. Several men got on the other end of the rope and pulled him up until his feet were off the ground. He thrashed around until he had almost lost consciousness and was lowered to the ground. This was repeated several times, along with more beatings, as the posse thought just getting hung was not punishment enough for what he had done. Then one of the posse came up with an idea. They would hang him again until he was almost dead and then burn him. This was agreed to and while the ones on the rope pulled him back up the others gathered brush, limbs and sticks for the fire. Miller was hung until he could barely struggle, taken down and the wood piled on him. He was conscious enough that he knew what was happening and was able to plead and scream when the fire was lit. After he died, his body was dragged off and buried in a shallow unmarked grave.
The Ridings family is buried in one grave at Pine Grove Cemetery. They have a three part single stone that has their names and states they were murdered on Dec 17, 1880. The tree Miller was hanged on is still there, although the limb was cut off several years ago. Most of the men in the posse were church members, and none of them would talk about what happened for a long time. My great grandfather, David Monroe (Doc) Brown and one of the founders of Liberty Baptist Church, was a member of the posse and passed the story down through my father, but it was almost 50 years later before he talked about it.
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Miller struck up a conversation with him and convinced Ridings to hire him to do odd jobs around the farm during the winter. He said he would work for room and board and Ridings, thinking he had pulled one over on Miller, was happy for getting such cheap help. They loaded the supplies Ridings had purchased, climbed on the wagon and headed home.
Miller was a likable fellow, a good worker and quickly gained the respect and confidence of the Ridings family. He slept in a room off the barn but had meals with the Ridings family and performed any chore that needed doing without complaint. He appeared to be an ideal employee, but appearances would soon prove to be decieving.
Two weeks after Miller went to work for Ridings Mr. Malone, who lived a quarter mile west of Ridings and was the closest neighbor, woke up about midnight and went out to do nature's bidding. He saw flames coming from the Ridings home, ran back inside and roused his family. He sent his boys to round up other neighbors, and left at a run for the Ridings house but was too late to do anything except wait for the other neighbors to show up. When daylight came the house had burned to the point the men who had gathered were able to douse what was left of the flames and find the bodies of Ridings, his wife and child, but something wasn't right. The bodies of Ridings and his wife were where they were supposed to be, in the bedroom between the head and foot of the iron bedstead, but little Creola's body was just inside the front door. Someone asked if anyone had seen Miller, that was the first time anyone had thought about him.. Two of the men went out to his room at the barn but he was nowhere to be found.
The men scattered and started looking for him. One noticed what looked liked footprints of someone running in a freshly plowed garden spot just south of the house and they decided it had to have been Miller and he must have had something to do with the fire. A posse was formed, dogs were brought and they started in pursuit.
The posse could see signs of Miller's flight in the dewy grass and followed as fast as they could. When the signs ended at the edge of the road going south they followed the road. Three miles south was Shoaf creek and there they found Miller. He was sitting against the base of a large oak tree just west of the road sound asleep. Needless to say, he was not treated kindly. He was beaten badly, and confessed that he had killed the Ridings and set fire to the house.
He told the posse that while working for the other man he had heard that Ridings had two hundred dollars hid somewhere around the house and concieved a plan to meet Ridings, convince him to give him a job, find out where the money was hid and steal it. He said he listened outside the windows every night in hopes Ridings would mention where the money was hid but it never happened. After a few days he tired of waiting and when Ridings and his wife were asleep he took the axe from the chopping block, went in the house and killed them. He was looking for the money when the baby work up and started crying. He panicked, picked up little Creola and carried here outside on the porch, and went back inside and set the fire. When he went back on the porch Creola was crawling around crying so he picked her up, smashed her head against a porch post and threw her back inside the door. He then ran away as fast as he could, but after running the three miles to Shoaf creek he was tired and winded and sat down against the tree to rest for a minute. He went to sleep and that's where the posse found him.
The members of the posse discussed what to do with him. Some wanted to turn him over to the sheriff, but the majority wanted to handle it themselves. Miller was taken to Pine Grove Cemetery and after another discussion among the posse members about what to do with him a rope was thrown over a limb of a large oak tree, his hands were tied behind him, then a noose was fashioned and placed around his neck. Several men got on the other end of the rope and pulled him up until his feet were off the ground. He thrashed around until he had almost lost consciousness and was lowered to the ground. This was repeated several times, along with more beatings, as the posse thought just getting hung was not punishment enough for what he had done. Then one of the posse came up with an idea. They would hang him again until he was almost dead and then burn him. This was agreed to and while the ones on the rope pulled him back up the others gathered brush, limbs and sticks for the fire. Miller was hung until he could barely struggle, taken down and the wood piled on him. He was conscious enough that he knew what was happening and was able to plead and scream when the fire was lit. After he died, his body was dragged off and buried in a shallow unmarked grave.
The Ridings family is buried in one grave at Pine Grove Cemetery. They have a three part single stone that has their names and states they were murdered on Dec 17, 1880. The tree Miller was hanged on is still there, although the limb was cut off several years ago. Most of the men in the posse were church members, and none of them would talk about what happened for a long time. My great grandfather, David Monroe (Doc) Brown and one of the founders of Liberty Baptist Church, was a member of the posse and passed the story down through my father, but it was almost 50 years later before he talked about it.
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It is a natural instinct that wimmin have. 
