on his own property was threatened and left town, as did the Matthews family (though some members including his then-15 year old son later returned). Trial After a special investigation, Wheeler was tried in May 1884. The New York Times covered the trial. The carefully chosen, all-white jury quickly returned a verdict of not guilty, much to the pleasure and expectation of the judge and the community. The jury posted a statement noting that if an "error" occurred, it was "one of the head, and not of the heart." J.T. Dameron, a merchant, testified that he saw Ras Wheeler in a street car in the capital of Jackson on the 13th or 14 February. He said that Wheeler was talking in a low tone. He said; "Yes, old Hoar is coming down here on an investigation committee. If I get a crack at him I will kill him, too. I killed Print Matthews, or rather it was the Democratic party that did it. If it had not been for politics, I would not have done it; but it was politics that did it." Ras Wheeler went on to have a successful political career in the state. Legacy Matthews was survived by his wife Mary "Tine" Barlow, whom he had married on June 6, 1862. Their son John Prentiss Matthews, Jr. carried on his father's principles and became a leader in Republican politics. President Benjamin Harrison made him postmaster of a town 130 miles away, Carrollton, Mississippi. On Christmas Day, 1890, local Democrats shot the 22 year old dead. Another son, Simon Matthews, became an activist in the People's Party during the 1890s, when a biracial coalition temporarily elected some positions, defeating the Democrats. References External links 1840 births 1883 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights American social reformers Assassinated American civil rights activists Deaths by firearm in Mississippi People from Hazlehurst, Mississippi People murdered in Mississippi Male murder victims Political violence in the United States