Bio

Records about Polly Barclay’s early life are scarce. Her date of birth is not known. Much of what is written about her comes from local histories and the work of Eliza A. Bowen, who collected old county papers and stories.

Polly lived in Wilkes County near the town of Washington, Georgia. She married a man who is usually called Mr. Barclay in the records. Contemporary accounts describe him as older than she was.

She had a brother named William Nowland. Some sources also name a young man, Mark Mitchum, who worked on the Barclay farm and who figures in the surviving accounts of her life.

Writers of the time and later local historians often commented on her appearance and manners. They called her unusually beautiful, magnetic, and well educated for the area. Some reports say she dressed in fine clothes, including a silk dress noted by later writers.

Beyond these brief notes, few verifiable facts about Polly Barclay’s childhood or family background appear in the surviving records. Much about her early years remains uncertain.

Murder Story

In the fall or winter of 1805 Mr. Barclay was shot and later died. People at the house said a shot was heard after two men made noise near his cotton house. Those present said Polly Barclay urged her husband to go out. When he was found alive, the ball had cut off his tongue. He died a few hours later. He was buried near the road, marked by two unhewn stones.

Some accounts say the murder followed Mr. Barclay’s sale of cotton in Augusta and that questions about money raised suspicion. Other accounts say Polly wished to be with her lover. Sources report the motive was likely a mix of money and desire to be with the lover.

Polly Barclay was accused as a co-conspirator. Her brother William Nowland and her lover Mark Mitchum are named in the reports. Traditions and local accounts say Polly did not fire the fatal shot and that the actual doer escaped.

Court records transcribed by Eliza A. Bowen show a true bill against William Nowland and Polly Barclay. On May 8, 1806, William Nowland was tried and found not guilty. He then appeared as a witness for the state. On May 9, 1806, Polly Barclay was tried. The jury found her guilty but recommended mercy.

Judge Charles Tait’s sentence, as transcribed, ordered Polly Barclay to be hung between ten in the forenoon and two in the afternoon on a day in late May. Some sources report she was executed in Wilkes County, Georgia, in May 1806. One date given in several sources is May 13, 1806. Other transcriptions give May 30, 1806, as the scheduled day for execution.

Accounts say Polly Barclay was hanged near the town of Washington in Wilkes County. Some reports add that she wore a fine silk dress to the execution and that she was buried in an unmarked, undisclosed grave. Some sources call her the first white woman hanged in Georgia, while other research says Alice Riley of Savannah held that distinction and that Polly Barclay was the second.