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| Pace sons fatally wounded Aderholt |
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| Question: Please do a follow up on the story of the Pace family, featured last week, to include the story of a shooting you mentioned. |
| Answer: Last week's column made brief mention of the Aderholt-Pace shooting and information about this shooting or gunfight is obtained from various sources. Evidently, M. L. Aderholt was a man of means - landowner, banking board member and distiller - but a person who could be vicious when things did not go his way. Case in point: he had made threats and had carried them out by beating up the first attorney his wife had hired in divorce proceedings against him, according to Ralph Rae, local writer and author of Boone County and Its People. |
| Known to carry a gun, Mr. Aderholt certainly "barked up the wrong tree" when his wife secured the services of Captain W. F. Pace. |
 Pace was not intimidated by Aderholt. Maybe he should have been, because Aderholt shot Pace, only inflicting a slight wound.
Then the story gets deeper.
Pace had three sons - Frank (pictured right), Henry and Troy - and they armed themselves just in case Aderholt tried, once again, to harm Captain Pace.
Now remember, this was in 1898 - although it sounds like the sons might have been ready for what some people would call "mountain justice," certainly they were protecting their father. An account of the incident was reported in the Harrison Republican and appears in the History of Boone County, Arkansas with a Narrative by Roger V. Logan, Jr.:
"On the morning of the fatal shooting, Frank and Henry Pace were walking down the street south and Aderholt was going west, when they met near the southeast corner of the square. When Aderholt saw the Paces, he at once threw his hand back for his pistol, but Frank Pace, who was walking with his hand in his pocket, quickly drew his pistol, and he and Aderholt fired almost simultaneously. |
| "A number of shots were fired and Aderholt, after having fired two shots, fell to the ground, mortally wounded, the ball having entered his right side and passed almost entirely through his body. A number of shots were fired on both sides after he fell. Troy Pace, in the meantime, came from near Paul's Store to the corner at Hastings Store, where he fired two or three shots. |
| The Paces, at once, surrendered to the authorities. Mr. Aderholt was carried to the office of Kirby and Evans where he received medical attention." (Information obtained by Logan from the Mountain Echo, January 13, 1899.) |
| Aderholt died the following Monday. An indictment for second degree murder was returned against Henry, Frank and Troy Pace. |
| Logan writes, "The Paces were a prominent family but the indictment was the more remarkable because Frank Pace, one of the accused brothers, native of Harrison, was a successful attorney who practiced in Yellville." |
| "At the trial, Circuit Judge E. G. Mitchell and Sheriff Ceaf Parker both disqualified to testify on behalf of the defendants. J. W. Black presided over the case as special judge, and J. Y. Wilson served as special sheriff. Frank Pace was tried first. His trial, in the old Boone County Courthouse, began January 26, 1899. The old courthouse was packed as the trial began." |
| More than 60 witnesses were subpoenaed for the state and about 50 for the defense. |
| On February 2, 1899, the jury returned its verdict, saying it found Frank Pace not guilty of second degree murder. Charges against the other brothers were continued and then dismissed. |
| As a bit of irony, while doing some research, this writer found that on the week of April 22, 1899, two juries failed to agree as to the insanity of Mrs. M. L. Aderholt. Evidently her conduct in court convinced the county judge to declare her insane and appointed County Treasurer Flinn as her guardian. |
| Did living with Mr. Aderholt and the tings that happened in the preceding months play a part in her insanity? |
 Another tidbit of information about the Pace family: Frank Pace and his wife, Flora Layton Pace, became the parents of Frank Jr. on July 5, 1912. Frank Jr. graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School, had a brilliant Army career, became executive assistant to the United States Attorney General; Assistant Postmaster General; Director of Bureau of the Budget; and from 1950 to 1953 he served as Secretary of the Army. From 1953 until 1962 he was CEO of General Dynamics Corp., and from 1968 until 1972 he was the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Frank Pace Jr. appeared on the cover of Time magazine on January 20, 1958. He died in Greenwich, CT on January 8, 1988 at age 75.
One can only speculate that he must have inherited great genes from his Boone County ancestors.
The Boone County Heritage Museum strives to preserve the history of Boone County and we encourage you to join us in that effort. Become a member of the Historical Society or become a volunteer at the museum. Your help is needed and appreciated. |
| The museum, located at the 124 South Cherry, is observing winter hours and is open only on Thursdays until March 1. Hours are from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. |
| This column appears Fridays in the Harrison Daily Times. Mail questions to Boone County Heritage Museum, P. O. Box 1094, Harrison, AR 72601. Marilyn Breece can be contacted at bchm@windstream.net |
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