Week Four: "Extra, Extra, Read All About It!"
Hello, reader! This week has proven to be a huge breakthrough regarding my research on Michael Gladden Sr. Dr. French and I were able to uncover a series of articles detailing the murder of Michael Gladden Sr. and the trial that ensued thereafter. Ever since I started my research on the Gladden Collection, Ms. Boykin has always told me that Michael Gladden Sr. was murdered in 1924 after being caught in an affair, ending with his body being later discovered in an outhouse. In most sources, such as Shofner's or Perrine Slim’s books and articles, no details are divulged about Michael Gladden Sr.’s murder; oftentimes, his cause of death is not even mentioned at all. However, that all changed this week! Dr. French was able to find a series of articles from the Orlando Sentinel Star (Now the Orlando Sentinel) detailing Michael Gladden Sr.’s murder as of October 12, 1924, which claimed the murder had occurred the previous Monday (October 6th, 1924). In the Sentinel Star’s story, they described that a fracas had broken out between Michael Gladden Sr. and Will Wilson following a domestic dispute, ending in Michael Gladden Sr. being stabbed to death by Wilson. In October, he was exonerated by a coroner’s jury, the reason possibly because they considered Wilson’s attack to be in self-defense. The story progressed in December with the introduction of a new trial accusing Will Wilson of second-degree murder. A Florida Prison Register from 1924 indicates that Will Wilson received a 20-year prison sentence and received a conditional pardon, ending documented coverage of this tragedy in the Orlando Sentinel Star.
On my own, I was able to find an original article from The Apopka Chief that allegedly was published the same day that Michael Gladden Sr. was murdered. I expected this date to be October 6th, 1924, as written in the Sentinel Star, but discovered that it was referring to the morning of October 9th, 1924. Deviating further from the Sentinel Star, I found that The Apopka Chief was the originator of the affair story. In their coverage, the Chief divulged that Will Wilson found Michael Gladden Sr. and Wilson’s wife, Hattie Wilson, in an outbuilding together. Much like the Sentinel Star, the two men were said to have broken out into a fight, where Wilson stripped Michael Gladden Sr. of his revolver and stabbed him multiple times. Wilson went to his rooms and changed his bloodied attire before disappearing, later turning himself in to the city’s Justice Witherby. The Chief confirms that Wilson was placed in the city jail, where he admitted to killing Michael Gladden Sr. To end the story, the writer adds that Gladden “kept a little store just outside of Apopka on the road to Ocoee,” referring to what would become M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries. In my past research, writers went out of their way to separate South Apopka’s “Black Wall Street” from the main city. That portrayal of inherent spatial and social difference when describing Mr. Gladden’s business was extremely poignant to me, knowing that the manufactured dissociation between “White” and “Black” Apopka still exists to this day.
Given the discrepancies in both newspapers, Michael Gladden Sr.’s exact death date is still unknown. Until I can find further evidence, I am placing it between October 6th and 9th, 1924. While The Apopka Chief’s newspaper article came first, the Sentinel Star has aligned most closely with recoverable documents detailing the case, including the Florida Prison Register. Regardless, both sources will be included in the Gladden Archive’s informational resources because of their historical importance as primary sources for cracking an age-old murder mystery. I am eager to discover what else the Gladden Collection can uncover, reader! Until next week!
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