The Killing of Sheffield, Alabama Resident Autrey Broaden on January 5, 1927.

Subject

Crime, The Law, and Punishment

Description

A Series of documents chronicling the shooting of Autry Broaden by Officer MJ Mitchell on January 5, 1927.

According to noted Yale Professor of Music and Sheffield, Alabama native Willie Ruff on pages 22-23 of his autobiography A Call to Assembly, no doubt working from memory:

"Once she had settled in Sheffield, Mr. Autry [sic] Broaden, her second husband, the man Mama always called the best of them, came into her life. He, she said, was a good provider and a balm for the scars of her earlier married hell. But a year after their marriage and shortly after the birth of their baby girl, Mary Louise, Mr. Broaden was shot to death by Sheffield's police. It was, the police said, a case of mistaken identity. Back then, in 1926, the police and the municipalities of our South were routinely not required to make restitution or assume liabilities for Negroes killed under those conditions. So, with one more infant to raise, Mama pressed on, alone and in worse straits than before."

Two Alabama newspapers chronicled Autrey Broaden's (ca. 1894-1927) shooting however the papers both alleged that Broaden had been shot after he fired on undercover officer MJ Mitchell before striking him with his fist in an attempt to evade being arrested for "violating the prohibition law." Supposedly Mitchell fired twice, killing Broaden. Officers waiting nearby heard the noise and responded to the scene, notifying Colbert County Sheriff Cobb, "the occurrence being thrown open to any investigation necessary." Apparently no charges were filed against Mitchell.

This incident hasn't been located in any papers from the Tri-Cities as of yet.

On 10 July, 1926 at the Colbert County Courthouse in Tuscumbia, Manie Mallory married Autrey Broaden, with Probate Judge N P Tompkins performing the ceremony. At the time of his marriage Autrey worked as a "cement finisher."

Autrey Broaden (ca. 1894-1927) was a son of Ben Broaden (ca.1853-aft. 1920) and Fannie Somerhill (ca. 1852-aft. 1900), farmers of the Pride's neighborhood of Colbert County, Alabama.

Creator

1-2. Willie Ruff

Source

1. A Call to Assembly
2. A Call to Assembly
3. A Call to Assembly
4. Albany-Decatur (AL) Daily
5. Birmingham (AL) Age-Herald
6. Colbert County, Alabama 1900 Census, p. 58 A.
7. Colbert County, Alabama 1900 Census, p.184 B.
8. Colbert County, Alabama 1900 Census, p.184 B.
9. Colbert County, Alabama Marriage Records
10. Colbert County, Alabama Marriage Records

Publisher

1. Viking Penguin
2. Viking Penguin
3. Viking Penguin
4. Newspapers.com
5. Newspapers.com
6. Ancestry Library Edition.
7. Ancestry Library Edition.
8. Ancestry Library Edition.
9. Ancestry Library Edition.
10. Ancestry Library Edition.

Contributor

5. Lee Freeman

Rights

Images are available for educational and research purposes. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the interested party to identify the copyright holder and receive permission.

Format

Jpeg

Language

English

Type

Still Images

Files

Call to Assembly Copyright Pg.jpg
A Call to Assembly 1.jpg
A Call to Assembly 2.jpg
2 The_Albany_Decatur_Daily_Fri__Jan_7__1927_.jpg
1 The_Birmingham_Age_Herald_Fri__Jan_7__1927_.jpg
Broaden 1900.jpg
Broaden 1910.jpg
Broaden 1920.jpg
Broaden Mallory Marriage License 1.jpg
Broaden Mallory Marriage License 2.jpg

Citation

1-2. Willie Ruff, “The Killing of Sheffield, Alabama Resident Autrey Broaden on January 5, 1927.,” Shoals Black History, accessed April 27, 2024, https://shoalsblackhistory.omeka.net/items/show/1314.