Martha Peyton Sentenced For Bootlegging - 1926

Author: Sarah Dye | June 2026

It was January 4^th, 1926, in King George County, Virgina.  The country was in the middle of the Prohibition and Virginia was no exception. The Prohibition was signed into law under the 18^th Amendment prohibiting the manufacturing, transporting, and selling of any alcohol. It would last from 1919-1933. The 21^st Amendment repealed the Prohibition formally. There was great rejoicing!

Martha Peyton was born in 1843 and had been an enslaved “mammy” until the end of the Civil War in 1864. There isn’t much known about her life, but in 1926, at 80 years old, she was standing before Judge Frederick W. Coleman in KG County Circuit Court with the charge of illegally selling two pints of homemade wine. She of course denied her guilt, and the only evidence was two men who testified she had sold it to them. As was common in those days, she waived her right to a trial by a jury and threw herself at the mercy of the court. Judge Coleman handed down the minimum sentence for this charge and sentenced her to three months in the county jail and a $25 fine.

The Daily Star noted how scared this poor woman was as the sheriff tried to guide her out of the courthouse. She cried out to the judge saying, “For God’s sake judge, don’t put me in prison.” Unfortunately, this did not deter the judge, and she was taken to the county jail. Of course, there is no record of the two men who allegedly purchased the illegal alcohol receiving any consequence for their part in the transaction. There was very little she could do from a defense standpoint. The attorneys (all white men) present at the trial disapproved and believed the sentence was too severe. The judge indicated it was the court’s place to impose the law as it was written and if they objected to the law then they would need to take it up the legislative chain.

Protection for women at this time in our country’s history was very minimal. They were generally unable to secure legal representation and forensic verification was non-existent. Witness testimonies were the “evidence” the courts had to mostly go on. So, if you were arrested, your fate was a true gamble unless you had money or the ability to plead your case effectively with evidence and witnesses.

However, for this woman, mercy was just around the corner. After she was taken to the county jail, the attorneys signed a petition for her pardon and sent it to Virginia Gov. E. Lee Trinkle.

Governor Trinkle, Date Unknown (LOC)

The basis for their petition focused on the verdict was based on the testimonies of the two witnesses who allegedly purchased the liquor and one of the sales supposedly had occurred approximately 12 months before this date. The following attorneys were W. A. Rose, Thos. L. Hunter, Commonwealth attorney Jos. A Billingsley, Geo. O. Tayloe, W. W. Butzler, C. O’Conor Goolrick, Lee J. Graves, C. Marshall King, W.B.F. Cole, and George Mason. The petition attracted a surprising amount of interest across Virginia. Not only did these men plea for leniency, but an unknown member of the House and ex-Senator contacted the Governor as well.

On January 16^th, 1926, Martha Peyton received a full pardon from Gov. Trinkle. She only spent 2 weeks of the three-month sentence in the King George County jail and was reported to have received the news with “feigned delight and went back to her home rejoicing that she had gained her liberty.” In his letter of pardon, the Governor lists that under the conditions and her age should be respected. Also considering the character of the two witnesses, the confidence he has in the ten men who filed the petition on her behalf, and she had maintained her innocence- he should give her the benefit of the doubt and approved the petition for pardon.

Martha’s happy ending is rare, indeed. As I mentioned above that women had limited resources at this time and were generally unable to successfully appeal sentencing once it was handed down. However, this story is a testament that civility, kindness, and respect existed in this southern community at a time when memories of life before the Civil War faded into stories and the wounds of the battles had become scars. If the 10 men had not stepped up to fight for this woman’s safety and freedom, it’s unknown if she would have even survived.

Sources

Bain News Service, P. E. Lee Trinkle. [No Date Recorded on Caption Card] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2014716887/.

The Daily Star. (January 19, 1926). Newspapers.com. Retrieved January 1, 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-star/187830090/

The Daily Star. (January 5, 1926). . Newspapers.com. Retrieved January 1, 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-star/187934635/

The Daily Star. (January 19, 1926). . Newspapers.com. Retrieved January 1, 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-star/187830027/