Mary Jane Harness
Mary Jane Harness (1888-1921) was a Scott County woman murdered by her former brother-in-law in 1921.
Biography
Born Mary Jane Lawson on Sept. 21, 1888, she was the daughter of Michael Lawson (1858-1934) and Susannah Burchfield (1857-1891). She had a large number of siblings, including Elizabeth Hutson, Samuel, Vicy, William, John, Nancy Barnes, Sarah Bell, Deaner, Lydia Newport, Sherdy, Cordelia Burchfield, Fred, Calven, Martha Burchfield, Cassa, Fealin, M.J., Mitchelle, Delpha, Frank, Pernie, David, and Evelyn Long, along with another sibling who died in infancy.
Mary Jane first married John E. Bowling (1883-1915) in 1909. He was the son of Harrison Bowling, and grandson of Greenberry “Berry” Bowling, the first Bowling to settle at Bull Creek.
Following Bowling’s death in 1915, Mary Jane married William Harness, a man 40 years her senior, whose first wife, Elvina Brown, had died in 1913. Her headstone lists her as “Mary Jane, wife of John E. Bowling.” However, the 1920 census lists her as Mary Jane Harness, wife of William Harness.
Mary Jane’s children included Leamon (born 1910), Dillard (1912), Effie (1913), Laura Mae (1916), and Eva (1920).
Murder of William Harness
In February 1921, Berry Bowling — a brother to Mary Jane’s first husband, John E. Bowling — was accused of killing William Harness, who was shot inside his home. The Journal & Tribune newspaper stated Bowling “went to the home of the deceased, and while there shot him with a pistol.” The newspaper further stated that Bowling fled and hid in the mountains until he was arrested on Feb. 11 by Sheriff Mitchell Phillips and deputies James Potter and Marion Phillips.
Bowling stood trial in March 1921. Prosecutors argued that Bowling “was showing much attention to Mrs. Harness and her daughter, and it was the state’s theory that Bowling fearing Harness would learn of the fact had killed him,” as the Knoxville Sentinel later reported.
Attorneys for Bowling, meanwhile, argued that the tragedy was an accident, that Bowling did not know the pistol was loaded when he pointed it at Harness.
The court proceedings ended in mistrial. Two jurors wanted to convict Bowling of first degree murder, and 10 wanted to convict him of manslaughter. They could not reach an agreement.
Murder of Mary Jane Harness
Two months later, on May 4, 1921, Mary Jane Harness was shot and killed.
According to the Knoxville Sentinel, Mary Jane had testified against Berry at his trial. The newspaper said, “Her testimony was most incriminating, and this is believed by some to have led Bowling to kill her.”
Mary Jane’s oldest child, Leamon, who was about 11 at the time, witnessed both of the murders — first William Harness, then his mother, Mary Jane.
According to newspaper reports, Bowling’s mother — Nancy — and his nephew were both present when he killed Mary Jane. The Knoxville Sentinel reported: “She and Bowling’s nephew begged him not to shoot after they had seen him draw his revolver. However, Bowling fired three times, killing Mrs. Harness almost instantly.”
Following his arrest, Bowling pleaded insanity before Squire W.A. Terry. He was ordered held without bond.
Aftermath
On May 6, 1921, Berry Bowling was taken from the Scott County Jail by a masked mob and hanged from an oak tree nearby. No one was charged in connection with his death.
Mary Jane Harness and her husbands were all buried at the Bowling Harness Cemetery at Bull Creek.
Leamon Bowling, the child who witnessed his mother’s death, died in 1975. The last of Mary Jane’s children, Laura Mae Gibson, died in 2016.
Read More: The Lynching of Berry Bowling (Murders in the Heartland)