Death in the Appalachian Mountains: The Chilling Tale of Frankie Silver
- agchast2
- Mar 26
- 3 min read
It’s never a good idea to mess with an Appalachian woman. These fiery females are raised with the same stubborn resolve and immovable strength of the mountains they call home, and they are not to be crossed, y’all. Or, you may end up on the wrong side of the dirt. One such woman who exemplifies this in a fascinating and almost scary way is one who has been a source of much legend and folklore over the years — Frankie Silver.
Frances Stewart Silver, known by family and friends as Frankie, was likely the first woman ever executed in North Carolina, and she was the only woman to ever be hung in Burke County.. But, was she a cold-blooded woman who hacked away at her husband with an axe in a fit of rage? Or, was she a desperate young mother who fought off her husband, Charlie Silver, in self-defense? This story is a doozy, y’all, so let’s talk about it.
Source: UNC Libraries
In the depths of winter in 1831, Frankie arrived with her 17-month-old daughter Nancy to her in-law's house. She told them Charlie hadn’t come home from an extended hunting trip up on the Toe River, and she was worried. The Silvers let Frankie stay with them for a couple of days, but when Charlie still didn’t come home, they began to get worried, too. It was time to go looking for him.
In late December 1831, several residents of Mitchell County went out searching for Charlie. A local hunter, Jack Cullis, decided to look in Frankie and Charlie’s cabin, and there, he made a haunting discovery.
They found an axe with chips in the blade. There was ash in the fireplace, and it was unusually greasy. In the ash, there were pieces of bone fragments. And, when the search party lifted the floorboards, which were scrubbed clean on top — they found that they were soaked with blood underneath.
It’s said that Charlie’s remains were found scattered, and his head found in a hollowed tree. Legend also has it that after Charlie’s remains were buried, more were found, and he’s now buried in three separate graves.
Now, this was a time when it wasn’t unusual for a man to murder his wife and get away with it. We have to remember, y’all, this was a long time ago in the 1830s, nearly 200 years ago now. It was a sexist society, where men were expected to dominate their wives and women had few legal rights. But, this was a different case, and now the tables had been turned, so to speak. It appeared that Frankie Silvers had hacked her husband to death with an axe, decapitated him, and burned the evidence.
Frankie was arrested and taken to the Morganton County jail. A couple of her family members — her mother, Barbara Steward, and her brother, Blackstone Stewart — were suspected of helping her take part in the crime and were also arrested. But the evidence against them was scarce, so Frankie Silver was left alone to face the heavy hand of the law.
Speculation surrounding the case was fierce. Those who sympathized with Charlie thought that Frankie was a bitter, jealous wife. Rumor had it that Charlie was a cheating, abusive husband who would regularly beat young Frankie. However, Frankie also drummed up a good bit of sympathy herself. She was no more than 16 or 17 years old at the time of the murder (her birth year is unknown, but it’s thought to be in 1814 or 1815). She was a young mother, and many women in the area believed that she must have acted in self-defense on a night when Charlie was particularly violent. Some women even wrote letters to the Governor of North Carolina on Frankie’s behalf, but to no avail. Frances Stewart Silver was found guilty by an all-male jury, and sentenced to the gallows on July 12, 1833.
Since that day, this case has been a source of much legend and folklore. Some say that Frankie sang a ballad as her final words, while others say that Frankie’s father shouted, “Die with it in you, Frankie,” before her noose was tightened.
Well, ain’t that story something? I thought it was an interesting one, y’all.
References:
It Happened in the Great Smokies by: Michael R. Bradley
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