William Harness
William Harness was a Scott County man murdered in 1921.
Biography
Born in 1848, William Harness was the son of Samuel and Nancy Harness. His father was the first Harness to settle in the Bull Creek community south of Huntsville.
William’s siblings included Mary Harness, Elizabeth Harness, John Harness, Nancy Harness, Winfield Harness, Jincy Harness, and Eveline Harness.
William married Elvina Brown (1851-1913), the daughter of John Brown and Sarah Ann Tucker. They had a number of children, including Samma Harness (born 1870), Leander Harness (1872), Jasper Harness (1873), Helen Harness (1884), Rachel Harness (1886), Franklin Harness (1887), Sarah Harness (1888), Vicy Harness (1890), Vira Harness (1893), and Lindsay Harness (1896). Other children may have included Eddie Harness, Georgia Harness, Johnnie Harness, and Nancy Harness.
Following Elvina’s death in 1913, William remarried to Mary Jane Lawson (1888-1921), who was 40 years his junior. Her first husband, John E. Bowling, had died in 1913. They may have had two more children together: Laura Mae Harness (1916), and Eva Harness (1920). Mary Jane also had three children from her first marriage: Leamon Bowling (1910), Dillard Bowling (1912), and Effie Bowling (1913).
Some online sources state that William and Mary Jane were married in 1891. However, this is inaccurate. The 1910 census shows William living with Elvina, his first wife. She died in 1913. William and Mary Jane were living together when the 1920 census was taken.
William Harness was a half-brother to Thomas Harness, whose son — also named Thomas Harness — married Talitha Brown. She and her son were murdered at Bull Creek in the 1880s, leading to another lynching.
Murder
William Harness was murdered in February 1921, allegedly by Berry Bowling, a brother of Mary Jane’s first husband.
The Journal & Tribune newspaper reported that Bowling “went to the home of the deceased, and while there shot him with a pistol,” before fleeing into the mountains. He was arrested on Feb. 11, 1921 by Scott County Sheriff Mitchell Phillips, and deputies James Potter and Marion Phillips.
Harness was buried at the Bowling Harness Cemetery on Bull Creek.
State prosecutors argued at Bowling’s trial that he had shot Harness because Bowling “was showing much attention to Mrs. Harness and her daughter, and it was the state’s theory that Bowling feared Harness would learn of the fact and killed him,” according to the Knoxville Sentinel.
However, attorneys for Bowling argued that the shooting was accidental, saying Bowling did not realize his pistol was loaded when he pointed it at Harness.
The 12 jurors could not agree on a verdict, causing a mistrial to be declared. Two jurors wanted to convict him of first degree murder; the other 10 wanted to convict him of manslaughter. He was released on bond.
On May 4, 1921, Mary Jane Harness was shot and killed. She had testified against Bowling at his trial. According to the Knoxville Sentinel, “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
Bowling was taken from the Scott County Jail by a masked mob and hanged on May 6, 1921. No one was ever convicted.
Mary Jane was buried at the Bowling Harness Cemetery, as was Bowling.
The last of William’s children, Laura Mae Harness Gibson, died in 2016.
Read More: The Lynching of Berry Bowling (Murders in the Heartland)