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James E. Martin Killed by George Carlton

  May 4, 1926—Pauls Valley Democrat--J. E. Martin, old time resident of Garvin County, was shot and instantly killed Tuesday afternoon by George Carlton, as he sat in his car in the alley near the post office here.  A large crowd was near and heard the shots being fired and rushed to the scene immediately after the killing.  Six shots penetrated the body of Martin; most any one of them would have been fatal.  It is presumed that he lived only a few seconds after the shooting started.

The killing was the result, it is supposed, of hard feeling of long standing between Carlton and the Martin family.  Trouble has been narrowly averted on several occasions. Carlton was the son-in-law of Henry Martin, one of the sons of J. E. Martin, and the trouble is originally presumed to have been family trouble.

Martin is one of the early settlers of Garvin County and for a number of years was a Deputy United States Marshal for this district....Martin is survived by his wife and three sons, Ed, Henry, Albert, and a number of grandchildren.  Funeral services were held from the residence on North Chickasaw Street at 3 pm Wednesday, conducted by Rev. J. O. Peterson, pastor of the Methodist Church, followed by interment in Mt. Olivet cemetery.

Submitted by Michael Tower