Daley Musgrove
Daley (or Daily) Owens Musgrove (1894-1932) was a Scott County man convicted of murdering Willis Greene and was later killed himself.
Biography
Born Sept. 23, 1894, Daley O. “Dale” Musgrove was the son of Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Musgrove (1868-1939) and Rachel Elizabeth “Betsy” Slaven (1870-1948). His siblings included Katie, Nellie Webb, Nancy Jane Daugherty, James O. “Dewey” Musgrove, Alvis Musgrove, Jefferson Musgrove, and Jason Clyde Musgrove.
Betsy Slaven was the great-granddaughter of Richard Harve Slaven, the first settler of the Big South Fork region. The Musgrove family was from McCreary County, Ky.
(Note: When Leamon Musgrove of the Grave Hill community died in 2003, his obituary noted that he was the son of Frank Musgrove and Betsy Hill Musgrove, and was raised by his grandparents, Ed and Sally Slaven. There are an Ed and Sally Thomas Slaven buried at the same cemetery where he was buried. However, records show they were married in 1914. Leamon Musgrove was born in 1916.)
The 1920 census shows Frank and Betsy Musgrove living in District 4 of Scott County with several of their children, including Alvis, Jefferson, and Jason. Dale Musgrove and his oldest siblings, Nellie, Nancy, and Dewey, were not listed in the home. Dale was living in McCreary County with his wife, Willie Hill, and their baby boy, Robert. Dale and Willie were married on Dec. 22, 1919, in Scott County.
Dale had a second child, Steve Silas Musgrove, who died on April 10,1925, at the age of four.
Biographical confusion
When the 1930 census was taken, Willie Musgrove was listed with two daughters: Rennie (born about 1925) and Virginia (born about 1928). Robert was not listed in the household and is not found in subsequent censuses. The father of the two daughters isn’t clear; Dale Musgrove was in prison when both were born. Rennie went by “Hill,” her mother’s maiden name, until she was married.
Dale Musgrove’s marriage certificate, issued in 1919, clearly lists his wife as “Willie Hill.” However, most other records — including Dale’s death certificate — list Willie’s maiden name as “Watson.” She later married a Willie E. Hill and had several more children with him. They were living together and married when the 1940 census was taken.
World War I
Dale Musgrove reported for military duty on July 15, 1918, and was stationed at Camp Shelby, Miss., for training.
Murder of Willis Greene
Musgrove was convicted of first degree murder in the July 1923 death of Willis Greene, a black man traveling through Scott County.
Although Greene’s residential status and family status aren’t clear, he was reportedly walking along Big Ridge Road west of Oneida when he encountered Musgrove. All of what we know about that encounter were related to the Knoxville News Sentinel in 2006 by brothers Charlie and Wallace Marcum, now deceased.
Apparently, Musgrove believed that Greene was a wanted man, and that there was a reward offered for his arrest. Riding on horseback, he forced Greene to walk towards town, beating him along the way. At a place known as “The Narrows” west of what is now Atomic Lane, Greene collapsed. That prompted Musgrove to shoot him dead.
Greene’s body was discovered by Hillery Marcum — the father of Charlie and Wallace — and Esau Foster. They guarded it overnight, and the Marcum family buried it by the road the following day. The headstone reads “Negro Willis Greene.” Charlie and Wallace maintained the grave site for the rest of their lives.
After his conviction, Musgrove was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was initially housed at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tenn. He was later transferred to a state penitentiary in Nashville, where he was being housed when the 1930 census was taken.
Death
Musgrove was released from prison in September 1931 after being paroled by Tennessee Governor Henry Hollis Horton. The Knoxville News Sentinel wrote at the time of his release that he had been a deputy sheriff when he killed Greene. Musgrove was killed in Oneida on July 2, 1932. His death certificate simply states that the cause of death was “gunshot wound.” No other information about his death is available.
He was buried at Foster Crossroads Cemetery.
Willie, his wife, remarried to Willie Hill and had several more children. Her second husband died in 1948 after accidentally falling off a cliff, and was buried at Foster Crossroads Cemetery. She died in 1970 and is buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery in Oneida.