September 21, 2025 • 50 mins
At the turn of 20th century, a sucessful peddler in Aiken county was well liked and respected by most, but not all. A customer on his route developed a deep seeded and irrational hatred for the man and acted on it one fateful day in 1903. The episode is chock full of changing stories, alternative narratives, and an unbelievable trial.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
For over three hundred and fifty years, the state of
South Carolina has been the setting for some of the
most horrendous crimes ever committed. Some have gained global notoriety,
some have been forgotten, and others have been swept under
the rug completely. Now, two South Carolina natives and true
(00:25):
crime enthusiasts have teamed up to examine these heinous acts
in detail, giving their perspective of the evil that has
resided in the Palmetto State. You're listening to Carolina Crimes.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two hundred and forty.
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, and this week
Danielle Myers is on administrative leave, so filling in for her.
Two special guests that have been on the show before.
We greatly appreciate him. They just both have to be
(01:03):
passing like two ships in the night through rock Hill
this week and stop. Please welcome Amanda Hall and Ashley
Richards back to the show.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yay, thank you, thank you Matt for having us back on.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yes, no, and y'all just threw out, hey, we're going
to be in rock Hill Saturday. I was like, well,
if y'all are going to make it a weekend, would
you mind staying over. We had to put Danielle on
administrative leave again, So thank y'all very very much.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Thank you so glad to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
And two forty this is going to be a wild
one from way back in the day. Okay, before we
get started, As always, we take care of the housekeeping notes.
If you're not already following us on social media, check
us out at Facebook at Carolina Crimes Podcast. Also over
on Twitter at sc Crimes Pod. If you're looking to
(01:52):
support the show and you're listening on Spotify, Apple iTunes
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that purple subscribe button and tell us a little something
you like about the show, your pet's names, anything like that.
Next week we're gonna have a lot of thank you
for folks that did that. Also, if you're looking to
support the show and get you some sweet sweet Carolina
(02:13):
Crimes paraphernalia like both of these ladies are rocking today,
head on over to Carolina crimesstore dot com. We would
greatly appreciate it. The weather is gonna change soon, not
this weekend. I think it hit ninety, so I hope
everybody stayed cool out there and I was able to
(02:33):
maybe enjoy some outdoor activities and maybe cook out and
have some food, and yeah, I sure did.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Yeah, we heard about the delicious crab lights. I'm jealous because.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I, yeah, got invited to a former coworker's birthday party
and they had crab legs, shrimp, these lobsters, the corn,
the potatoes, ribs, grilled chicken, fried chicken, deviled eggs, broccoli,
castle macaroni and cheese, dirty rice, everything, a whole salad
(03:08):
bar set up outside and a DJ. And they know
how to party. They know how to party. But we're
not gonna talk about a party this week. It's something
super tragic and it's gonna come to us out of
Achin County.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
Yeah, the Stomping Grounds, y'all.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Are very familiar with it, and I'm gonna rely on
y'all a little bit because, as always, if you're familiar
with the show, we go into the background, the setting
of where we're going each week. And just a few
weeks ago, we were in Achin County and we covered
a lot of the history and we've done that several times,
So we're gonna go through some fun facts, some things
(03:49):
about ache and everybody might not know that might not
come out in our history portion, and you can chime
in whenever you like. So Achin County. It's located in
central western South Carolina along the border with the state
of Georgia, right there at the Savannah River. And like
I said, we've covered the history of Acin several times
in our previous episodes that are back in the archive
(04:11):
if you want to go and check that out. But
some fun facts I did not know about achen Achin
is home to the oldest continuously run farmers market in
the state of South Carolina. And I think they're open
like Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays or something of that.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
So y' all been there popular on the weekends, Yes, sir,
it is.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
It's downtown. And shout out to Macdaddy macaroons because they
make those and sell those down there.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, my friend from high school actually bakes them and
decorate them and does a lot. But they have great
bakeries too, along with the frush fruits. And it's really
cool because you'll see how the vendors there have made
their own little community. Okay, it's a great small town field.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Well, if you're around the Aching area or that vicinity.
Go check it out. Achin County is also home to
the DuPont Planetarium.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
It is the only planetarium in the United States with
a camera obscura. So I had to see exactly what
that meant. But that's we made one in school with
a Quaker oats box I remember, with a little pinhole. Yeah,
and that's the camera that they use. It's like a
little pinhole that they filter the light through and it
(05:37):
projects an upside down image on the opposite wall. So
whatever they're showing, I guess they've got to turn it
upside down so it looks right side up in the
planetarium to not get everybody seasick or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
It's actually pretty cool. We took field trips as in
elementary school there and it's just this big round room
and it's almost like they open up part of a
wall like it, I don't know how to describe. Its
like triangular shape, like little phone pieces, and then they're
just separating. It's like a black oh wow screen like
(06:13):
picture and then you just go through the solar system.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Well, you know, you check that out if you're around Achen.
And that sounds like something I want to see. Aichen
County is also home to the largest urban forest in
the United States, Hitchcock Woods.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Oh, Hitchcock Wood.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, yeah, it's two thousand acres. It says it has
over seventy miles of walking trails throughout that And that's
that's unbelievable. Achin County was once considered the polo capital
of the world. Of course, known as horse country. All
the thoroughbreds down there, the steeplechase races, horse breeding, the
(06:54):
what's the one with the little carts, the little guys.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Oh, that's what usc ache In is the and so
and that's what they used for the to race where
the little carts and the what's the correct word for
the rider?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I know I had it and I didn't write it
in my margin, but google machine.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Yeah, what does the Google machine say?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Google machine? Also, this was interesting downtown aken Every year
they have the Great American Lobster Race. This is seems
fairly new. It takes place each spring, so I.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Don't think it's continued since COVID. Oh, but as a child,
I went to those lobster races.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Oh, so it's been around for a while.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
It's been a while forty.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Years young.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
But it's it's kind of like any local festival. You know,
you've got your food trucks and your vendors.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
But yeah, so question when you have the lobster Festival,
are there vendors that sell seafood eats? It seems like
it's like carnage.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I can't remember, but maybe like the White House turkey pardon.
The winner of the lobster race gets to go free.
Yea gets an express trip back to the botto to
the bailu.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
I'm sorry, but they're so delicious in the butter.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Yes, So that was that was eye opening. I was like,
that's that's a little odd. You're not on the coast
and I could see that in like bangor Maine or
somewhere like that. But agin South Carolina lobster races get going.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
And as Makings in the fall.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Oh yeah, okay, well, now what is Aikins Macons.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Aikins Makings is a craft show. They said. They close
down part of the streets in downtown and you have
vendors and funnel cakes and homemade lemonade and everybody brings
their like homemade talents.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
And it's great for families because I mean you do,
like you were talking about small time or you know
that small family community it is. It's a lot of
local vendors, you know, pottery, you know, wood crafts, food,
Tweltz decor.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
So that's probably coming up.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
It's usually in September, around the tenth through the twelfth.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
It's usually around Okay, so maybe we just missed it. Sorry, folks,
but mark your calendar for next next year. Aikins Macons
or Macons Akins, Aikins Macons. All right, well today we're
gonna go way back in time and we're gonna start
our story by talking about a man named Abram Seraski
(09:28):
or Abraham, kind of like the Bible, I mean it
had it was Abram first, then Abraham. It's kind of
like this gentleman now Abram Seraski. He was born in
eighteen seventy three in the Shettle and I had looked
up what that meant, but it meant small town of Canison,
(09:49):
Holand Okay, so yes, Abram. He was the youngest of
five brothers, and one of his brothers u addict. He
actually immigrated to American eighteen ninety and became a successful
merchant in Aiken County, peddling goods able to open up
(10:10):
a general store, and he made enough money to move
his other four brothers, including Abram, and his family over
to America in nineteen hundred. Now Abram he had a wife, Mary,
and they had two young daughters together, Dorothy and Mildred.
Now for work, and I really went down the rabbit
(10:32):
hole on this. Abram took up the age old trade
of a pedlar. Oh okay, And I was like, okay,
you hear nowadays the only time you hear that term,
I think is a drug peddler or you know the
pedlar steakhouse that used to be in Greenville. Yeah, those,
(10:54):
But I was kind of got in depth, and a
pedler at the turn of the century in the nineteen
hundreds was one who took their own wagon around the
countryside and sold goods and wares that the folks would
need for everyday life. The staples, maybe cookware, tools, things
(11:16):
of that nature, a little bit of everything.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
When you said peddlar, my teacher mind immediately went to
caps for sale because it talks about a pedlar, the
pedal caps and he wears them on their heads.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Okay, So yeah, but the beauty, the beauty of the
peddlars were that they were convenient, you know, they came
to you, and they were essentially like the very early
version of Amazon.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Yeah, I yes, Amazon on horse, Yes, and peddlers.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
They were a vital part of the economy and community
in the early nineteen hundreds. And what they would serve
as is they would prevent people from having to make
the sometimes day long trip into town to get to
the store. They would bring it to you, they'd have conversations,
they'd know what you needed this, so hey, I'll keep
(12:09):
an eye out for that next time I'm around. This
is probably how much it's gonna cost. I'll be back
with that. Now, this next statement is gonna sound like
I'm stereotyping, and maybe this is a stereotype, but this
actually comes directly from the Journal of Southern Jewish Historical
(12:32):
Society in two thousand and five, Volume eighte, speaking of
Abram Serowski. His family was Jewish of the Jewish faith,
and the journal stated that the occupation of peddler was
very common to Jewish immigrants.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
I did not realize that.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
I didn't either, and I just didn't want people to
think I was painting with a broad brush all on
my own I didn't go road, but that was documented
in that journal that that was a very common occupation
in most peddlers in the South Carolina countryside were the
Jewish faith.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
I didn't realize that. That's really interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I didn't either. Well. Abram Seroski himself, he became generally
well liked, much like his brother that preceded him in America,
Benedict and Abram. He was respected all along his route
in Aiken County, but unfortunately, once he started getting his
(13:34):
business off the ground, tragedy befell the Saroski family not
long after their immigration to South Carolina, and Abram's wife,
Mary passed away. It wasn't specified how she met her demise,
but nonetheless she did leave him a single father. Now,
(13:56):
Abram he did have the help of his brothers and
their families to help raises two young girls while he
continued to grow his thriving pedling route and peddling in general,
it was an occupation that made one very vulnerable at
(14:16):
turn of the century America. They were out all day
traveling to these rural outstretches of the countryside. They were alone.
Oftentimes they had things of well all the time they
had things of value on their wagon, and usually if
(14:37):
it was towards the end of their out they probably
had a pocket full of money too. But Abram Sarowski,
as we mentioned, he was well liked and his family
was respected, so he didn't really worry much about security
because everybody he was familiar to everyone. They knew him,
They knew he was an honest businessman. They enjoyed trading
(15:01):
with him and his brother Benedict that we talked about earlier.
He had become super successful. As we mentioned, he opened
that general store and he actually served on the Akin
City Council back then, which was for someone that's his descent,
that was a big deal because he wasn't He wasn't
(15:22):
Baptist or Lutheran or one of these very common faiths.
One neighbor even described Abram as the nicest man you'd
ever want to meet. He was referred to as a gentleman.
And what was really cool about Abram too, he didn't
(15:44):
discriminate either. He would sell equal goods for equal prices
to both white and black customers along his route, which
was kind of a rarity. Some peddlers would steer clear
of the African American households for some reason. I don't
know if they I don't know. I mean, well we know,
(16:07):
but yeah, we know why. But it is it sounds like.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
He had a great character to do that and just
be kind to everybody.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
He did. He did. But while Siroski he had a
generally good reputation, there were detractors in the community, not
specifically to him, but to peddlers in general. There were
disputes and they still go on in households today. Spouse
(16:40):
versus spouse, I don't want to say husband versus wife
because it could be the other way around. Wise versus
Husband's about spending money, Yes, I'm thinking.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
About like Patrick, don't look at the Amazon credit card.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
I love you, yes, And I mean I've come home
and I've told Ashley, I'm like, you know, this week
it's been like, let's make it. I come home and
there's three Amazon boxes on the porch like every other day.
What's going on? And it's stuff we need And I
mean she's the CFO, she takes care of it. So yeah,
(17:13):
whatever you want to do. But yeah, that can cause
especially if money's tight, and these people are usually and
generally depending on crops for their income. Which isn't always
a steady market. You know, money can get tight, it can.
There was also the anti Semitism that people of the
(17:35):
Jewish faith had to deal with and are still dealing with,
where people just discriminated against Jewish people flat out. They
the journal that I was reading it said that they
some of them thought of them as Christ killers and
just generally didn't like them because they were from foreign countries.
(17:57):
They believed in something they didn't understand and and didn't
take the time to communicate with them and realize there,
you know, these are human beings.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Right, and that leads to peddling because that's their own business, right.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
And also some jealousy, right, yeah, because pedaling, they had
things that everybody wanted and they were making money handover
fists from everybody else. So man, why couldn't I be
born a peddler? Now? The peddlers would also, like most
general stores or entities during the time, they would extend
(18:35):
credit to people, and the pedlars were famously persistent about
collecting their debts from people, and rightfully so it was
money that was owed to them, so you know, better
have my money. Well, one of the Aiken County residents
that did not like peddlers was a man by the
(18:58):
name of Lee Green. Now Lee and his wife Dora.
They were regulars on Saraski's route, but they also they
would buy from other peddlars as well, but Saraski was
kind of their main guy. Okay, Seraski said was their Amazon,
but other pedlars frequented the Green Home. And if Saraski
(19:23):
was Amazon, others might have been Etsy or Wayfair, Timu
or or whoever is Yes, Sheen.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Yeah, Uber eats No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Well, Lee Green, he made it very clear that he
did not like peddlars. He would bad mouth them to
neighbors every chance he got, and in fact, in early
nineteen o three, there was a peddler by the last
name of Levy delivering something there and Lee Green thought
(19:55):
it would be funny or just being mean to shoot
a shot in his general direction to make him drop
his bundle.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
That's awful a bully, So.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Yes, he was a bully. So on Tuesday, July eighth,
or I'm sorry July twenty eighth, nineteen three, Abram Seroski
he was making his rounds and he came to the
Green Home now, his visit was twofold. He was there
to of course sell goods, but he was also there
(20:28):
to collect a debt on the credit he had extended
to the Greens. Okay, but luckily for Abram Seroski, Lee
Green was not at home. Only his wife, Dora was there.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
He immediately kind of breathed a sigh of relief. He
is like, Okay, she's ways easier to deal with than
Lee Green, so this may be a quick stop. I'll
just tell her what she owes and we'll, you know,
we'll square up. And Dora Green, she was a gracious lady.
She liked Abram and actually invited him inside their home.
(21:06):
But the visit was cut short when Lee came home.
And right after this quick word from our sponsors, we'll
get into exactly what went down at the Green home
that Tuesday morning in nineteen oh three. Folks will be
right back after this quick word from our sponsors. Hi, friends,
(21:40):
Matt Hire's here. One of my favorite parts of bringing
you Carolina Crimes each week is spotlighting the many wonderful
towns and communities within our great state. And today I'm
proud to encourage you all to check out one of
my personal favorites. Rather on a road trip or a
weekend get away, discover Mulleins. Once a vibrant depot town
(22:02):
and the former tobacco capital of South Carolina, Mullins is
a hidden treasure in the PD region. Explore our offerings
by savoring a cup of coffee at our delightful coffee shop,
enjoying lunch at any of our charming restaurants, visiting old
Brick Square, and shopping on our quaint retail stores, which
include an antique market located in a repurposed tobacco warehouse.
(22:26):
Your visit would not be complete without a stop at
the South Carolina Tobacco Museum, situated in the historic train
depot in downtown Mullens, South Carolina. Here you can explore
various exhibits such as models of tobacco plants at each
growth stage, a blacksmith shop, a log tobacco barn filled
with cure tobacco, a farmhouse kitchen showcasing vintage equipment, and
(22:49):
a photo gallery highlighting contemporary tobacco practices. The Mullins Room
honors our town's origins and its swift growth driven by
the railroad and the tobacco industry. Additionally, in late June
twenty twenty five, the Reverend Daniel Simmons Museum will open
its doors to the public. Within the Tobacco Museum, Reverend
(23:11):
Simmons was one of the victims of the Mother Emmanuel
nine tragedy, and he spent his childhood in Mullins and
worked in its tobacco warehouses. Thanks to a generous loan
from his daughter Rose, we will exhibit many of his
personal belongings, including his beloved Bible. The documentary of his life,
One Last Breath, will be continuously streamed in the museum.
(23:33):
Whether it's for a road trip or a weekend getaway.
Mullins is a perfect place to visit and a place
to call home. Visit Mullins, South Carolina, and welcome back
(24:05):
to Carolina Crimes Episode two forty from Aikin County and
along with our Aikin County specialists that we have in here,
Amanda Hall and Ashley Richards. And when we left off,
we were talking about Abram Seraski, his thriving pedling business,
(24:26):
how he went about his daily activities, and then we
talked about a man named Lee Green who putting it
very mildly and very nicely did not care for the
pedlars whatsoever in the Aikin County area when we left off,
as well as Zaraski, he had come to the Green home.
He was invited in by Lee's wife, Dora, but then
(24:49):
Lee got home. Well, when Lee arrived at his home,
he immediately recognized and saw Abram Siroski's pedling car. And
this brought me back to the old country, esme, you
know that ain't my truck in her job? Yes, yes,
And I was like, okay. I got to see him
(25:10):
pulling up and being like, oh, okay, that dude's here now.
So Lee Green saw Abram's cart and it immediately threw
him into an unwarranted rage, maybe because this guy was
there alone with his wife, maybe because he knew she
(25:32):
was inside picking things out and spending money. He thought
Abram was probably talking her into spending more money up
sailing and quite frankly, Lee Green he hated the Jewish peddlers,
and this was later very well documented so according to
(25:55):
Lee Green himself, and this story will change several times
throughout the episode. But Lee Green, he burst through the door.
Green did not mince words and just shot Seraski.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Oh gosh, oh okay.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
So Abram, who was only wounded, he's like, I got
to get out of here, so immediately sprinted through the
house and out the back door. Well, then Abram he
ran back around the house because he had to get
his cart and stuff and you know, pop smoke and
get out of there. But Green anticipated this that he
(26:40):
was He's going to run around back to the front
of his house. He came out of his front door
and he shot Saraski again. Gosh, Abram Saraski was not
mortally wounded and was still stumbling around begging for help
from Dora inside. And he actually came up to and
(27:03):
in the front door, which was an odd move. He
was just trying to find some kind of help, and
that garnered a third gun shot, which hit Abram, and
he staggered back outside. That's yes, that's when Lee Green
he eyebawled an axe that was propped by the front door. Well,
(27:31):
Lee Green, he grabbed the axe and he stalked towards
the peddler, who was on his hands and his knees,
and Abram Saroski he was able to look over his
shoulder and he pleaded, he said, don't kill me. I
have two motherless children.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Lee Green's reply was g damn you and your motherless
children and swung the axe, which squarely hit Abram's skull.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Oh that's awful.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Well, Lee Green was not finished, and in a rage,
he continued to strike Abram several more times with the axe,
leaving him hacked to the point that he was really
unrecognizable and one of his arms was almost completely detached
from his body.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Now Lee Green was faced with a problem, he kind
of snapped out of it, and he had a dead
peddler in front of his home along with his cart.
So we're gonna take our last quick break and we're
going to tell you how this thing all gets sorted
out or doesn't. We'll be right back after this quick
(28:46):
word from our sponsors, and welcome back to Carolina Crimes,
(29:08):
episode two hundred and forty.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
And this.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Just brutal massacre outside of the Green home and Aiken
County of traveling peddler Abram Saroski by Lee Green, who
had a utter disdain hate for the Jewish peddlers in
the area. And so Lee Green, after committing this brutal
(29:36):
murder shooting Abram three times, completely disfiguring him with this
axe that he had by the door. He now had
a bigger problem on him and he now had to
deal with the aftermath. So Lee Green needed some help,
(29:57):
and his hate got the best of him, so he
went to a home nearby of the Drayton family. They
were very familiar with the Draken's and the Greens and
missus Mary Drayton. She had occasionally helped the Greens with
(30:17):
domestic duties. They would hire her on and Lee saw
her at the home and he asked, but really demanded,
that she come help Dora clean up the blood in
his house.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
What are you wait? Wait, wait, wait, Yes, so he
made all this mess and now he wants his wife
to clan that his wife and his neighbor.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
You said Drayton, and that just in Charleston, just a.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Lot of Drayken's. But now Mary Drayton, she was scared
to say no. A Lee had a reputation of just
a mean bastard. Plus he was brandishing this handgun that
(31:11):
he still had in his hand after killing Abram Seraski.
He was sitting there speaking to her and Mary and
the Draytons. They were an African American family, which you
consider the tensions of the time, and that she had
done hired work for them before, she rightfully or wrongfully
(31:36):
felt an obligate Okay, he's demanding I do this. I
better do what this guy says.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
And in that time period he killed a Jewish peddler.
What would stop him from doing that?
Speaker 4 (31:48):
To her?
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Fear? I could see that fear.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
And now she kind of looked side eyed at the
gun in his hand, and he was like, oh, yeah,
it's isn't for you. Yeah, he said, I've done too
much shooting already today and just gosh, a joke kind
of to her. Mary later testified that mister Green openly
(32:17):
admitted to what he did, but his story to Mary
was vastly different and not really any better than his
original story. Lee told Mary that she arrived or he
arrived home, and Abram Seroski was outside and helped him
(32:38):
with his horse, uh, and that he never liked that peddler,
So when Saroski turned to go in the home, Green
said he shot him in the back. He said that
Seroski then tried to enter the house for safety, and
Green said, so I shot him again. He said Abram
(32:59):
was please for his life, and Lee said that he
then shot him point blank in the head before he
hit him twice with the acts.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
So that's weird.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
I don't know how that story to a third party
that wasn't a witness was supposed to make what he
did sound better, or even if he was trying to
make it sound better, or maybe to scare Mary or
I don't know why he changed the story on that time.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Mary Drayton also later testified and said that three weeks
prior to or Seroski's murder, that Lee Green had actually
told her husband, mister Drayton, that he intended to kill
Seroski oh premitation, yep, yes, Well, after he corralled Mary
(33:53):
and forced her to come help Dora clean up the
blood around the house, Lee Green went to another neighbor,
a guy named Arthur House, to try to get help
disposing of the peddler's body. He told House what he
had done, and Arthur House had the wherewithal to say, hey,
(34:19):
this isn't good, dude. What you did wash was murder.
This isn't right by any stretch of the imagination, And
of course Green said, well, how well, how am I
gonna get out of this. That's all the more reason.
Let's hurry up and help me get this body out
of here. And Arthur House had an idea. He said,
(34:47):
what you need to do is you're obviously going to
be questioned about this. You know, people are sheriff's going
to find out and they're gonna be after you. So
what you need to say is that you walked in
on Sarowski making advances towards your wife. There it is.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I was wondering when it was coming.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
Well, Lee Green thought that idea was brilliant, and he
made Arthur House. He came home, told Dora and Mary,
all right, here's what we're gonna do. This is gonna
be our story. Let's get this thing straight. You know
(35:30):
this peddler he came into the house, forced his way
in and was forcing his self upon my wife. Well
after he got everybody to degree, okay, this is the
story we're gonna tell. All right, ready break. You know
I could see this fool doing this. But then Green
he took Abrahm Swarski's body, loaded it into his own
(35:56):
peddler cart and drove it pretty deep and to the
nearby woods to try to buy himself some time, you know, farther,
you know, this gets away, maybe, you know, maybe people
might forget about it. They're not gonna miss him at all.
I mean, nevertheless, his brother's on city council, and he's
(36:18):
got two daughters wondering why daddy didn't come home, none
of that. But it didn't take long for wildlife to
alert others to what had happened, because buzzards started circling
pretty heavy out there in the woods with with Abram's body, unfortunately,
(36:42):
tragically out there and alone in his car. Well. The
body was found by a man named George Toole, who
sent word to the sheriff. He said, hey, I think
this is Abram Sarosky out here, and he's definitely dead.
(37:05):
It wasn't a heart attack, you know, something something tragic happened.
Looks like he's been hacked up pretty good. And the
sheriff he took this very seriously, and reading this it
sounds way more callous than it was. But the sheriff
(37:27):
told a deputy said, okay, you need to go and
tell the Jews what happened. But he meant, you know,
the Jewish community was very tight knit there, and he said,
you know, we please go break the news to them,
tell them what's going on. We need to get them
involved as well. I mean, this is their family member,
(37:48):
Please please go inform them. But I just thought that
was a I guess like we said the time. I mean,
that's no excuse. But yeah, go tell the Jews what happened.
I mean that sounds harsh. Yeah, like, go tell the
Whites what happened, And that sounds bad. But it wasn't
meant as it was portrayed in the text.
Speaker 4 (38:08):
It's a different time, like things were just thought and
said differently than they are today.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
And it's it wasn't today it would be seemed derogatory
untactful at the very least, But he meant it from
a good place, right, Lee Green. He got real squirrely
about the whole thing. Okay, the body was hidden, you know,
(38:36):
the sheriffs they looked at George Toole that found the
body first, and then they started kind of nearing this down,
like Okay, what's going on here? And more people started
to talk, and the biggest talker of all was Lee
Green himself. Now he went into hiding put it in
(38:59):
air quotes, kind of like on the edge of the woods.
He was just like kind of hanging out in the
woods for a couple of days. Edgefield, you were waiting
for that. And he went and gave baby Strong Leurming
a bottle. And I don't know, Strong has nothing to
do with this. Edgefield doesn't either, Yes, yes, but Lee
(39:24):
Green he went into this weird kind of hiding and
Green he ran into like a lot of people, They're like, Lee,
what you doing in the woods? Man?
Speaker 4 (39:35):
God?
Speaker 2 (39:35):
And he was so proud to tell everybody what he did,
anybody that would listen. And he his story continued changing,
and he started giving all these various stories. He said,
you know, I was defending my wife who was actively
being raped when I walked in. And then one time
(39:58):
he said, well, I walked in and there were holding hands,
so I wasn't going to have that he was making
a pass at my wife. And some he said, you know, hi,
you know one less Jewish peddler. And his story it
seemed that it changed all depending on who he was
talking to and depended upon what Lee Green thought would
(40:23):
make him look best, and whoever he was talking to
his eyes. So he threw all these wild stories out there,
and finally the I mean the sheriff. He was like, Okay,
we gotta talk to Lee Green. We gotta. I mean,
he's hanging out of the edge of the woods.
Speaker 4 (40:40):
I don't think his corn bread was done all the
way in the middle.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
No, he is, he's rough and he got a big mouth. Yes.
So after it took about three weeks and Lee Green
was actually caught in August of nineteen oh three and
he was charged with the murder of Abrams Saraski. There
(41:05):
was an article in the Posting Courier that month or
I'm sorry, in September of nineteen oh three that said,
an angry mob that really liked Abram Seraski. Obviously, they
tried to bribe the sheriff of Aikin County two hundred
dollars just to kind of won't you let Lee Green out?
(41:30):
Why don't you give them to us? I can see that,
and so that was that was the only article I
saw about that. But that came out of the Charleston
Posting Career. So this was state news.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Well, the trial of Lee Green, it was slated for
October of that year, but it was put on hold
until the next court session due to the defense's star
witness Dora Green giving birth. Oh okay, and yes it
(42:04):
was it was Lee Greens, so I guess. But finally
in nineteen oh four the trial commenced and there was
depositions and there were testimony from Mary Drayton, who showed
extreme bravery in coming forward and telling the truth. She
(42:28):
did not succumb to his Hey, let's uh, you know,
let's this s weeek this under the rug. This is
what we're gonna say. Mary Drayton testified Arthur House, a
man named H. B. Heath who testified about the shooting
at Levy, the other peddler that he shot and wanted
(42:49):
to scare, and by two men named George Horsey and
David T. Parker. They testified about Green's bragging of what
he did and his hatred of Jewish peddlers. Then it
was the defense's turn and they called their witness Dora Green,
(43:14):
and she stuck with the story that Abram Serowski was
attempting to rape her.
Speaker 4 (43:22):
Oh gosh, I think she was terrified though, Like I mean,
if he was so hateful and did all of that
to Abram, like I wonder, you know, how much did
he scare his wife on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
You know, yeah, this is sickening too. But again, I
don't want to play devil's advocate for this guy and
for these two ladies. But there's nothing pointing that this
(43:57):
is the truth. But I'm also not saying, you know,
this I don't know, could be true, could not be true,
most likely not true. I'm leaning to totally not true.
But the defense attorney for Lee Green brought in two
other women. They testified that Siosky had in the past
(44:20):
tried to rape them as well. Now, this was the
entire the first time anybody in the community had ever
heard this. Not a ill word was spoken about him,
except with the exception of bigots talking about his faith
or probably people that he owed money saying, you know,
(44:42):
he's trying to get extort me. But no one ever
said this before, but these two ladies did. And there's
absolutely zero proof, no reports, no anything. So in early
nineteen oh four, Lee Green, by a jury of nine
of his peers, was found not guilty of the murder
(45:04):
of Abram s Rosky not guilty, and they said it
was a crime of passion that he was trying to
defend his wife who was being assaulted. So Abram Sirosky.
He was buried in unmarked grave in Magnolia Cemetery and
(45:26):
the grave was documented but later found by his brother,
Solomon's grandson Stephen, who delved into this story and wanted
to give proper respect to his that would be your
great great uncle or your great uncle, And in nineteen
(45:47):
ninety three a proper headstone was placed on Abram's grave
finally marketing where he rested.
Speaker 4 (45:53):
Oh wow, so so said, that's awful. And his daughter's
his family and.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
Just a lot of a lot of factors went into that,
a lot of mental health issues. I think on the
port of Lee Green management, well he needs some life management, definitely,
some prejudice on his part as well, anti Semitism, and
(46:26):
a sad story all around, because this was a man,
Abram Siroski, trying to do the best he could make
a good life in a new world for him and
his two daughters that he loved very much, in the
family business. But he's cut down by a madman.
Speaker 3 (46:46):
Really was Do we know if his children stayed in
Achin and raised families.
Speaker 2 (46:51):
I do not know, and I do not know. There
was that article in the journal. It didn't you couldn't
find it. I mean maybe ancestry dot com. But this
was just a wild case. And I know that, you know,
prejudice did run wild back then, and of course against
African Americans also people of Jewish descent. So it's just
(47:16):
it's just a shame, you know, it's nineteen oh three
and a that's an awful one.
Speaker 4 (47:24):
It never hurts to be kind. That's my motto, because
I mean it is like you think about too, like
in our day and time and in the world can
be such an ugly place, but how important it is
just to be kind and just to to listen to
one another. And you know we may not always agree,
but you can always disagree with kindness and in love,
(47:44):
just like you can tell the truth in love. Absolutely,
you know there's no place for hate.
Speaker 3 (47:49):
Right And I think it also goes back to reading
these historical moments, and you know, just like we can
look back at that statement from the Police Office of
US or go tell the Jews. We know, now that's
a harsh statement, but in that time we didn't. But
when we read it through a historical lens, in today's perspective,
(48:10):
you know, no better.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
Do better.
Speaker 4 (48:12):
That's what I was about to say exactly.
Speaker 3 (48:15):
No, better, do better and treat people with love. And
you know, I always go back to when Judas kissed
Jesus on the face to turn him into the Romans.
Jesus addressed him as friend.
Speaker 4 (48:28):
And you're right, because we're supposed to love our enemies.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
Right, that's right. Well, thank you all that gave it.
You all got some philosophical going on in here. We
don't get that from the person on administrative league all
the time.
Speaker 4 (48:46):
We love daniel so much. We did and we missed
you now when I grew up. When I grew up,
I want to be the female version of a mister Rigers.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
All right, all right, positivity, Well, folks, we thank you
for listening to this week's episode. Thank you so so much,
Ashley Richards Amanhal for filling in for Danielle this week.
You know that was just it was a great coincidence.
It's a great happenstance that y'all were in town. And
(49:16):
thank you for lunch yesterday, and thank you, thank you
for filling in today. And folks, if you're not already
following us on social media, we'll put some pictures of
articles anything I could really find about this case it
being so old on our social media on Facebook at
Carolina Crimes Podcast. Also over over on Twitter at sc
(49:39):
Crimes pod. Also, if you're looking to support the show,
you can do so for free if you're listening on Apple, iTunes,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify. Fill us a five star review on
Apple I know that you can mash that purple subscribe button.
Also give us a little something that you like about
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dinner last night. I won't put any amount of money
(50:04):
in the world, not a gambling man, that I had
a better dinner last night than just about any boy
in America.
Speaker 3 (50:11):
The pictures looked amazing.
Speaker 4 (50:13):
Yeah, I'll have to fill y'all in, and we need
to know this friend so we can come to the
next party.
Speaker 2 (50:18):
Oh that's the jam man they had playing the ojs
and fried fish, crab legs ribs man. Fantastic. But go ahead, Uh,
of course, put something in there that you like about
the show, what you had for dinner. I'd greatly appreciate it. Also,
if you're looking to support the show monetarily and get
(50:39):
some sweet Carolina Crime swag, head on over to Carolina
Crimestore dot com ladies, thank you so much, Thank you
and listening to this one out of ac in South Carolina.
And until next week, we'll see you on Carolina Crimes.
For over three hundred and fifty years, the state of
South Carolina has been the setting for some of the
most horrendous crimes ever committed. Some have gained global notoriety,
some have been forgotten, and others have been swept under
the rug completely. Now, two South Carolina natives and true
(00:25):
crime enthusiasts have teamed up to examine these heinous acts
in detail, giving their perspective of the evil that has
resided in the Palmetto State. You're listening to Carolina Crimes.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And welcome back to Carolina Crimes, episode two hundred and forty.
I'm one of your hosts, Matt Hyres, and this week
Danielle Myers is on administrative leave, so filling in for her.
Two special guests that have been on the show before.
We greatly appreciate him. They just both have to be
(01:03):
passing like two ships in the night through rock Hill
this week and stop. Please welcome Amanda Hall and Ashley
Richards back to the show.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yay, thank you, thank you Matt for having us back on.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yes, no, and y'all just threw out, hey, we're going
to be in rock Hill Saturday. I was like, well,
if y'all are going to make it a weekend, would
you mind staying over. We had to put Danielle on
administrative leave again, So thank y'all very very much.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Thank you so glad to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
And two forty this is going to be a wild
one from way back in the day. Okay, before we
get started, As always, we take care of the housekeeping notes.
If you're not already following us on social media, check
us out at Facebook at Carolina Crimes Podcast. Also over
on Twitter at sc Crimes Pod. If you're looking to
(01:52):
support the show and you're listening on Spotify, Apple iTunes
or Apple Podcast, please throw us a five star reviews
that purple subscribe button and tell us a little something
you like about the show, your pet's names, anything like that.
Next week we're gonna have a lot of thank you
for folks that did that. Also, if you're looking to
support the show and get you some sweet sweet Carolina
(02:13):
Crimes paraphernalia like both of these ladies are rocking today,
head on over to Carolina crimesstore dot com. We would
greatly appreciate it. The weather is gonna change soon, not
this weekend. I think it hit ninety, so I hope
everybody stayed cool out there and I was able to
(02:33):
maybe enjoy some outdoor activities and maybe cook out and
have some food, and yeah, I sure did.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Yeah, we heard about the delicious crab lights. I'm jealous because.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I, yeah, got invited to a former coworker's birthday party
and they had crab legs, shrimp, these lobsters, the corn,
the potatoes, ribs, grilled chicken, fried chicken, deviled eggs, broccoli,
castle macaroni and cheese, dirty rice, everything, a whole salad
(03:08):
bar set up outside and a DJ. And they know
how to party. They know how to party. But we're
not gonna talk about a party this week. It's something
super tragic and it's gonna come to us out of
Achin County.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
Yeah, the Stomping Grounds, y'all.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Are very familiar with it, and I'm gonna rely on
y'all a little bit because, as always, if you're familiar
with the show, we go into the background, the setting
of where we're going each week. And just a few
weeks ago, we were in Achin County and we covered
a lot of the history and we've done that several times,
So we're gonna go through some fun facts, some things
(03:49):
about ache and everybody might not know that might not
come out in our history portion, and you can chime
in whenever you like. So Achin County. It's located in
central western South Carolina along the border with the state
of Georgia, right there at the Savannah River. And like
I said, we've covered the history of Acin several times
in our previous episodes that are back in the archive
(04:11):
if you want to go and check that out. But
some fun facts I did not know about achen Achin
is home to the oldest continuously run farmers market in
the state of South Carolina. And I think they're open
like Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays or something of that.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
So y' all been there popular on the weekends, Yes, sir,
it is.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
It's downtown. And shout out to Macdaddy macaroons because they
make those and sell those down there.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, my friend from high school actually bakes them and
decorate them and does a lot. But they have great
bakeries too, along with the frush fruits. And it's really
cool because you'll see how the vendors there have made
their own little community. Okay, it's a great small town field.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Well, if you're around the Aching area or that vicinity.
Go check it out. Achin County is also home to
the DuPont Planetarium.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
It is the only planetarium in the United States with
a camera obscura. So I had to see exactly what
that meant. But that's we made one in school with
a Quaker oats box I remember, with a little pinhole. Yeah,
and that's the camera that they use. It's like a
little pinhole that they filter the light through and it
(05:37):
projects an upside down image on the opposite wall. So
whatever they're showing, I guess they've got to turn it
upside down so it looks right side up in the
planetarium to not get everybody seasick or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
It's actually pretty cool. We took field trips as in
elementary school there and it's just this big round room
and it's almost like they open up part of a
wall like it, I don't know how to describe. Its
like triangular shape, like little phone pieces, and then they're
just separating. It's like a black oh wow screen like
(06:13):
picture and then you just go through the solar system.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Well, you know, you check that out if you're around Achen.
And that sounds like something I want to see. Aichen
County is also home to the largest urban forest in
the United States, Hitchcock Woods.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Oh, Hitchcock Wood.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, yeah, it's two thousand acres. It says it has
over seventy miles of walking trails throughout that And that's
that's unbelievable. Achin County was once considered the polo capital
of the world. Of course, known as horse country. All
the thoroughbreds down there, the steeplechase races, horse breeding, the
(06:54):
what's the one with the little carts, the little guys.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Oh, that's what usc ache In is the and so
and that's what they used for the to race where
the little carts and the what's the correct word for
the rider?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I know I had it and I didn't write it
in my margin, but google machine.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Yeah, what does the Google machine say?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Google machine? Also, this was interesting downtown aken Every year
they have the Great American Lobster Race. This is seems
fairly new. It takes place each spring, so I.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Don't think it's continued since COVID. Oh, but as a child,
I went to those lobster races.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Oh, so it's been around for a while.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
It's been a while forty.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Years young.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
But it's it's kind of like any local festival. You know,
you've got your food trucks and your vendors.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
But yeah, so question when you have the lobster Festival,
are there vendors that sell seafood eats? It seems like
it's like carnage.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I can't remember, but maybe like the White House turkey pardon.
The winner of the lobster race gets to go free.
Yea gets an express trip back to the botto to
the bailu.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
I'm sorry, but they're so delicious in the butter.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Yes, So that was that was eye opening. I was like,
that's that's a little odd. You're not on the coast
and I could see that in like bangor Maine or
somewhere like that. But agin South Carolina lobster races get going.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
And as Makings in the fall.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Oh yeah, okay, well, now what is Aikins Macons.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Aikins Makings is a craft show. They said. They close
down part of the streets in downtown and you have
vendors and funnel cakes and homemade lemonade and everybody brings
their like homemade talents.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
And it's great for families because I mean you do,
like you were talking about small time or you know
that small family community it is. It's a lot of
local vendors, you know, pottery, you know, wood crafts, food,
Tweltz decor.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
So that's probably coming up.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
It's usually in September, around the tenth through the twelfth.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
It's usually around Okay, so maybe we just missed it. Sorry, folks,
but mark your calendar for next next year. Aikins Macons
or Macons Akins, Aikins Macons. All right, well today we're
gonna go way back in time and we're gonna start
our story by talking about a man named Abram Seraski
(09:28):
or Abraham, kind of like the Bible, I mean it
had it was Abram first, then Abraham. It's kind of
like this gentleman now Abram Seraski. He was born in
eighteen seventy three in the Shettle and I had looked
up what that meant, but it meant small town of Canison,
(09:49):
Holand Okay, so yes, Abram. He was the youngest of
five brothers, and one of his brothers u addict. He
actually immigrated to American eighteen ninety and became a successful
merchant in Aiken County, peddling goods able to open up
(10:10):
a general store, and he made enough money to move
his other four brothers, including Abram, and his family over
to America in nineteen hundred. Now Abram he had a wife, Mary,
and they had two young daughters together, Dorothy and Mildred.
Now for work, and I really went down the rabbit
(10:32):
hole on this. Abram took up the age old trade
of a pedlar. Oh okay, And I was like, okay,
you hear nowadays the only time you hear that term,
I think is a drug peddler or you know the
pedlar steakhouse that used to be in Greenville. Yeah, those,
(10:54):
But I was kind of got in depth, and a
pedler at the turn of the century in the nineteen
hundreds was one who took their own wagon around the
countryside and sold goods and wares that the folks would
need for everyday life. The staples, maybe cookware, tools, things
(11:16):
of that nature, a little bit of everything.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
When you said peddlar, my teacher mind immediately went to
caps for sale because it talks about a pedlar, the
pedal caps and he wears them on their heads.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Okay, So yeah, but the beauty, the beauty of the
peddlars were that they were convenient, you know, they came
to you, and they were essentially like the very early
version of Amazon.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Yeah, I yes, Amazon on horse, Yes, and peddlers.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
They were a vital part of the economy and community
in the early nineteen hundreds. And what they would serve
as is they would prevent people from having to make
the sometimes day long trip into town to get to
the store. They would bring it to you, they'd have conversations,
they'd know what you needed this, so hey, I'll keep
(12:09):
an eye out for that next time I'm around. This
is probably how much it's gonna cost. I'll be back
with that. Now, this next statement is gonna sound like
I'm stereotyping, and maybe this is a stereotype, but this
actually comes directly from the Journal of Southern Jewish Historical
(12:32):
Society in two thousand and five, Volume eighte, speaking of
Abram Serowski. His family was Jewish of the Jewish faith,
and the journal stated that the occupation of peddler was
very common to Jewish immigrants.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
I did not realize that.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
I didn't either, and I just didn't want people to
think I was painting with a broad brush all on
my own I didn't go road, but that was documented
in that journal that that was a very common occupation
in most peddlers in the South Carolina countryside were the
Jewish faith.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
I didn't realize that. That's really interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I didn't either. Well. Abram Seroski himself, he became generally
well liked, much like his brother that preceded him in America,
Benedict and Abram. He was respected all along his route
in Aiken County, but unfortunately, once he started getting his
(13:34):
business off the ground, tragedy befell the Saroski family not
long after their immigration to South Carolina, and Abram's wife,
Mary passed away. It wasn't specified how she met her demise,
but nonetheless she did leave him a single father. Now,
(13:56):
Abram he did have the help of his brothers and
their families to help raises two young girls while he
continued to grow his thriving pedling route and peddling in general,
it was an occupation that made one very vulnerable at
(14:16):
turn of the century America. They were out all day
traveling to these rural outstretches of the countryside. They were alone.
Oftentimes they had things of well all the time they
had things of value on their wagon, and usually if
(14:37):
it was towards the end of their out they probably
had a pocket full of money too. But Abram Sarowski,
as we mentioned, he was well liked and his family
was respected, so he didn't really worry much about security
because everybody he was familiar to everyone. They knew him,
They knew he was an honest businessman. They enjoyed trading
(15:01):
with him and his brother Benedict that we talked about earlier.
He had become super successful. As we mentioned, he opened
that general store and he actually served on the Akin
City Council back then, which was for someone that's his descent,
that was a big deal because he wasn't He wasn't
(15:22):
Baptist or Lutheran or one of these very common faiths.
One neighbor even described Abram as the nicest man you'd
ever want to meet. He was referred to as a gentleman.
And what was really cool about Abram too, he didn't
(15:44):
discriminate either. He would sell equal goods for equal prices
to both white and black customers along his route, which
was kind of a rarity. Some peddlers would steer clear
of the African American households for some reason. I don't
know if they I don't know. I mean, well we know,
(16:07):
but yeah, we know why. But it is it sounds like.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
He had a great character to do that and just
be kind to everybody.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
He did. He did. But while Siroski he had a
generally good reputation, there were detractors in the community, not
specifically to him, but to peddlers in general. There were
disputes and they still go on in households today. Spouse
(16:40):
versus spouse, I don't want to say husband versus wife
because it could be the other way around. Wise versus
Husband's about spending money, Yes, I'm thinking.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
About like Patrick, don't look at the Amazon credit card.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
I love you, yes, And I mean I've come home
and I've told Ashley, I'm like, you know, this week
it's been like, let's make it. I come home and
there's three Amazon boxes on the porch like every other day.
What's going on? And it's stuff we need And I
mean she's the CFO, she takes care of it. So yeah,
(17:13):
whatever you want to do. But yeah, that can cause
especially if money's tight, and these people are usually and
generally depending on crops for their income. Which isn't always
a steady market. You know, money can get tight, it can.
There was also the anti Semitism that people of the
(17:35):
Jewish faith had to deal with and are still dealing with,
where people just discriminated against Jewish people flat out. They
the journal that I was reading it said that they
some of them thought of them as Christ killers and
just generally didn't like them because they were from foreign countries.
(17:57):
They believed in something they didn't understand and and didn't
take the time to communicate with them and realize there,
you know, these are human beings.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Right, and that leads to peddling because that's their own business, right.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
And also some jealousy, right, yeah, because pedaling, they had
things that everybody wanted and they were making money handover
fists from everybody else. So man, why couldn't I be
born a peddler? Now? The peddlers would also, like most
general stores or entities during the time, they would extend
(18:35):
credit to people, and the pedlars were famously persistent about
collecting their debts from people, and rightfully so it was
money that was owed to them, so you know, better
have my money. Well, one of the Aiken County residents
that did not like peddlers was a man by the
(18:58):
name of Lee Green. Now Lee and his wife Dora.
They were regulars on Saraski's route, but they also they
would buy from other peddlars as well, but Saraski was
kind of their main guy. Okay, Seraski said was their Amazon,
but other pedlars frequented the Green Home. And if Saraski
(19:23):
was Amazon, others might have been Etsy or Wayfair, Timu
or or whoever is Yes, Sheen.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Yeah, Uber eats No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Well, Lee Green, he made it very clear that he
did not like peddlars. He would bad mouth them to
neighbors every chance he got, and in fact, in early
nineteen o three, there was a peddler by the last
name of Levy delivering something there and Lee Green thought
(19:55):
it would be funny or just being mean to shoot
a shot in his general direction to make him drop
his bundle.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
That's awful a bully, So.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Yes, he was a bully. So on Tuesday, July eighth,
or I'm sorry July twenty eighth, nineteen three, Abram Seroski
he was making his rounds and he came to the
Green Home now, his visit was twofold. He was there
to of course sell goods, but he was also there
(20:28):
to collect a debt on the credit he had extended
to the Greens. Okay, but luckily for Abram Seroski, Lee
Green was not at home. Only his wife, Dora was there.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
He immediately kind of breathed a sigh of relief. He
is like, Okay, she's ways easier to deal with than
Lee Green, so this may be a quick stop. I'll
just tell her what she owes and we'll, you know,
we'll square up. And Dora Green, she was a gracious lady.
She liked Abram and actually invited him inside their home.
(21:06):
But the visit was cut short when Lee came home.
And right after this quick word from our sponsors, we'll
get into exactly what went down at the Green home
that Tuesday morning in nineteen oh three. Folks will be
right back after this quick word from our sponsors. Hi, friends,
(21:40):
Matt Hire's here. One of my favorite parts of bringing
you Carolina Crimes each week is spotlighting the many wonderful
towns and communities within our great state. And today I'm
proud to encourage you all to check out one of
my personal favorites. Rather on a road trip or a
weekend get away, discover Mulleins. Once a vibrant depot town
(22:02):
and the former tobacco capital of South Carolina, Mullins is
a hidden treasure in the PD region. Explore our offerings
by savoring a cup of coffee at our delightful coffee shop,
enjoying lunch at any of our charming restaurants, visiting old
Brick Square, and shopping on our quaint retail stores, which
include an antique market located in a repurposed tobacco warehouse.
(22:26):
Your visit would not be complete without a stop at
the South Carolina Tobacco Museum, situated in the historic train
depot in downtown Mullens, South Carolina. Here you can explore
various exhibits such as models of tobacco plants at each
growth stage, a blacksmith shop, a log tobacco barn filled
with cure tobacco, a farmhouse kitchen showcasing vintage equipment, and
(22:49):
a photo gallery highlighting contemporary tobacco practices. The Mullins Room
honors our town's origins and its swift growth driven by
the railroad and the tobacco industry. Additionally, in late June
twenty twenty five, the Reverend Daniel Simmons Museum will open
its doors to the public. Within the Tobacco Museum, Reverend
(23:11):
Simmons was one of the victims of the Mother Emmanuel
nine tragedy, and he spent his childhood in Mullins and
worked in its tobacco warehouses. Thanks to a generous loan
from his daughter Rose, we will exhibit many of his
personal belongings, including his beloved Bible. The documentary of his life,
One Last Breath, will be continuously streamed in the museum.
(23:33):
Whether it's for a road trip or a weekend getaway.
Mullins is a perfect place to visit and a place
to call home. Visit Mullins, South Carolina, and welcome back
(24:05):
to Carolina Crimes Episode two forty from Aikin County and
along with our Aikin County specialists that we have in here,
Amanda Hall and Ashley Richards. And when we left off,
we were talking about Abram Seraski, his thriving pedling business,
(24:26):
how he went about his daily activities, and then we
talked about a man named Lee Green who putting it
very mildly and very nicely did not care for the
pedlars whatsoever in the Aikin County area when we left off,
as well as Zaraski, he had come to the Green home.
He was invited in by Lee's wife, Dora, but then
(24:49):
Lee got home. Well, when Lee arrived at his home,
he immediately recognized and saw Abram Siroski's pedling car. And
this brought me back to the old country, esme, you
know that ain't my truck in her job? Yes, yes,
And I was like, okay. I got to see him
(25:10):
pulling up and being like, oh, okay, that dude's here now.
So Lee Green saw Abram's cart and it immediately threw
him into an unwarranted rage, maybe because this guy was
there alone with his wife, maybe because he knew she
(25:32):
was inside picking things out and spending money. He thought
Abram was probably talking her into spending more money up
sailing and quite frankly, Lee Green he hated the Jewish peddlers,
and this was later very well documented so according to
(25:55):
Lee Green himself, and this story will change several times
throughout the episode. But Lee Green, he burst through the door.
Green did not mince words and just shot Seraski.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Oh gosh, oh okay.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
So Abram, who was only wounded, he's like, I got
to get out of here, so immediately sprinted through the
house and out the back door. Well, then Abram he
ran back around the house because he had to get
his cart and stuff and you know, pop smoke and
get out of there. But Green anticipated this that he
(26:40):
was He's going to run around back to the front
of his house. He came out of his front door
and he shot Saraski again. Gosh, Abram Saraski was not
mortally wounded and was still stumbling around begging for help
from Dora inside. And he actually came up to and
(27:03):
in the front door, which was an odd move. He
was just trying to find some kind of help, and
that garnered a third gun shot, which hit Abram, and
he staggered back outside. That's yes, that's when Lee Green
he eyebawled an axe that was propped by the front door. Well,
(27:31):
Lee Green, he grabbed the axe and he stalked towards
the peddler, who was on his hands and his knees,
and Abram Saroski he was able to look over his
shoulder and he pleaded, he said, don't kill me. I
have two motherless children.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Lee Green's reply was g damn you and your motherless
children and swung the axe, which squarely hit Abram's skull.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Oh that's awful.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Well, Lee Green was not finished, and in a rage,
he continued to strike Abram several more times with the axe,
leaving him hacked to the point that he was really
unrecognizable and one of his arms was almost completely detached
from his body.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Now Lee Green was faced with a problem, he kind
of snapped out of it, and he had a dead
peddler in front of his home along with his cart.
So we're gonna take our last quick break and we're
going to tell you how this thing all gets sorted
out or doesn't. We'll be right back after this quick
(28:46):
word from our sponsors, and welcome back to Carolina Crimes,
(29:08):
episode two hundred and forty.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
And this.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Just brutal massacre outside of the Green home and Aiken
County of traveling peddler Abram Saroski by Lee Green, who
had a utter disdain hate for the Jewish peddlers in
the area. And so Lee Green, after committing this brutal
(29:36):
murder shooting Abram three times, completely disfiguring him with this
axe that he had by the door. He now had
a bigger problem on him and he now had to
deal with the aftermath. So Lee Green needed some help,
(29:57):
and his hate got the best of him, so he
went to a home nearby of the Drayton family. They
were very familiar with the Draken's and the Greens and
missus Mary Drayton. She had occasionally helped the Greens with
(30:17):
domestic duties. They would hire her on and Lee saw
her at the home and he asked, but really demanded,
that she come help Dora clean up the blood in
his house.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
What are you wait? Wait, wait, wait, Yes, so he
made all this mess and now he wants his wife
to clan that his wife and his neighbor.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
You said Drayton, and that just in Charleston, just a.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Lot of Drayken's. But now Mary Drayton, she was scared
to say no. A Lee had a reputation of just
a mean bastard. Plus he was brandishing this handgun that
(31:11):
he still had in his hand after killing Abram Seraski.
He was sitting there speaking to her and Mary and
the Draytons. They were an African American family, which you
consider the tensions of the time, and that she had
done hired work for them before, she rightfully or wrongfully
(31:36):
felt an obligate Okay, he's demanding I do this. I
better do what this guy says.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
And in that time period he killed a Jewish peddler.
What would stop him from doing that?
Speaker 4 (31:48):
To her?
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Fear? I could see that fear.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
And now she kind of looked side eyed at the
gun in his hand, and he was like, oh, yeah,
it's isn't for you. Yeah, he said, I've done too
much shooting already today and just gosh, a joke kind
of to her. Mary later testified that mister Green openly
(32:17):
admitted to what he did, but his story to Mary
was vastly different and not really any better than his
original story. Lee told Mary that she arrived or he
arrived home, and Abram Seroski was outside and helped him
(32:38):
with his horse, uh, and that he never liked that peddler,
So when Saroski turned to go in the home, Green
said he shot him in the back. He said that
Seroski then tried to enter the house for safety, and
Green said, so I shot him again. He said Abram
(32:59):
was please for his life, and Lee said that he
then shot him point blank in the head before he
hit him twice with the acts.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
So that's weird.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
I don't know how that story to a third party
that wasn't a witness was supposed to make what he
did sound better, or even if he was trying to
make it sound better, or maybe to scare Mary or
I don't know why he changed the story on that time.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Mary Drayton also later testified and said that three weeks
prior to or Seroski's murder, that Lee Green had actually
told her husband, mister Drayton, that he intended to kill
Seroski oh premitation, yep, yes, Well, after he corralled Mary
(33:53):
and forced her to come help Dora clean up the
blood around the house, Lee Green went to another neighbor,
a guy named Arthur House, to try to get help
disposing of the peddler's body. He told House what he
had done, and Arthur House had the wherewithal to say, hey,
(34:19):
this isn't good, dude. What you did wash was murder.
This isn't right by any stretch of the imagination, And
of course Green said, well, how well, how am I
gonna get out of this. That's all the more reason.
Let's hurry up and help me get this body out
of here. And Arthur House had an idea. He said,
(34:47):
what you need to do is you're obviously going to
be questioned about this. You know, people are sheriff's going
to find out and they're gonna be after you. So
what you need to say is that you walked in
on Sarowski making advances towards your wife. There it is.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I was wondering when it was coming.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
Well, Lee Green thought that idea was brilliant, and he
made Arthur House. He came home, told Dora and Mary,
all right, here's what we're gonna do. This is gonna
be our story. Let's get this thing straight. You know
(35:30):
this peddler he came into the house, forced his way
in and was forcing his self upon my wife. Well
after he got everybody to degree, okay, this is the
story we're gonna tell. All right, ready break. You know
I could see this fool doing this. But then Green
he took Abrahm Swarski's body, loaded it into his own
(35:56):
peddler cart and drove it pretty deep and to the
nearby woods to try to buy himself some time, you know, farther,
you know, this gets away, maybe, you know, maybe people
might forget about it. They're not gonna miss him at all.
I mean, nevertheless, his brother's on city council, and he's
(36:18):
got two daughters wondering why daddy didn't come home, none
of that. But it didn't take long for wildlife to
alert others to what had happened, because buzzards started circling
pretty heavy out there in the woods with with Abram's body, unfortunately,
(36:42):
tragically out there and alone in his car. Well. The
body was found by a man named George Toole, who
sent word to the sheriff. He said, hey, I think
this is Abram Sarosky out here, and he's definitely dead.
(37:05):
It wasn't a heart attack, you know, something something tragic happened.
Looks like he's been hacked up pretty good. And the
sheriff he took this very seriously, and reading this it
sounds way more callous than it was. But the sheriff
(37:27):
told a deputy said, okay, you need to go and
tell the Jews what happened. But he meant, you know,
the Jewish community was very tight knit there, and he said,
you know, we please go break the news to them,
tell them what's going on. We need to get them
involved as well. I mean, this is their family member,
(37:48):
Please please go inform them. But I just thought that
was a I guess like we said the time. I mean,
that's no excuse. But yeah, go tell the Jews what happened.
I mean that sounds harsh. Yeah, like, go tell the
Whites what happened, And that sounds bad. But it wasn't
meant as it was portrayed in the text.
Speaker 4 (38:08):
It's a different time, like things were just thought and
said differently than they are today.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
And it's it wasn't today it would be seemed derogatory
untactful at the very least, But he meant it from
a good place, right, Lee Green. He got real squirrely
about the whole thing. Okay, the body was hidden, you know,
(38:36):
the sheriffs they looked at George Toole that found the
body first, and then they started kind of nearing this down,
like Okay, what's going on here? And more people started
to talk, and the biggest talker of all was Lee
Green himself. Now he went into hiding put it in
(38:59):
air quotes, kind of like on the edge of the woods.
He was just like kind of hanging out in the
woods for a couple of days. Edgefield, you were waiting
for that. And he went and gave baby Strong Leurming
a bottle. And I don't know, Strong has nothing to
do with this. Edgefield doesn't either, Yes, yes, but Lee
(39:24):
Green he went into this weird kind of hiding and
Green he ran into like a lot of people, They're like, Lee,
what you doing in the woods? Man?
Speaker 4 (39:35):
God?
Speaker 2 (39:35):
And he was so proud to tell everybody what he did,
anybody that would listen. And he his story continued changing,
and he started giving all these various stories. He said,
you know, I was defending my wife who was actively
being raped when I walked in. And then one time
(39:58):
he said, well, I walked in and there were holding hands,
so I wasn't going to have that he was making
a pass at my wife. And some he said, you know, hi,
you know one less Jewish peddler. And his story it
seemed that it changed all depending on who he was
talking to and depended upon what Lee Green thought would
(40:23):
make him look best, and whoever he was talking to
his eyes. So he threw all these wild stories out there,
and finally the I mean the sheriff. He was like, Okay,
we gotta talk to Lee Green. We gotta. I mean,
he's hanging out of the edge of the woods.
Speaker 4 (40:40):
I don't think his corn bread was done all the
way in the middle.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
No, he is, he's rough and he got a big mouth. Yes.
So after it took about three weeks and Lee Green
was actually caught in August of nineteen oh three and
he was charged with the murder of Abrams Saraski. There
(41:05):
was an article in the Posting Courier that month or
I'm sorry, in September of nineteen oh three that said,
an angry mob that really liked Abram Seraski. Obviously, they
tried to bribe the sheriff of Aikin County two hundred
dollars just to kind of won't you let Lee Green out?
(41:30):
Why don't you give them to us? I can see that,
and so that was that was the only article I
saw about that. But that came out of the Charleston
Posting Career. So this was state news.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Well, the trial of Lee Green, it was slated for
October of that year, but it was put on hold
until the next court session due to the defense's star
witness Dora Green giving birth. Oh okay, and yes it
(42:04):
was it was Lee Greens, so I guess. But finally
in nineteen oh four the trial commenced and there was
depositions and there were testimony from Mary Drayton, who showed
extreme bravery in coming forward and telling the truth. She
(42:28):
did not succumb to his Hey, let's uh, you know,
let's this s weeek this under the rug. This is
what we're gonna say. Mary Drayton testified Arthur House, a
man named H. B. Heath who testified about the shooting
at Levy, the other peddler that he shot and wanted
(42:49):
to scare, and by two men named George Horsey and
David T. Parker. They testified about Green's bragging of what
he did and his hatred of Jewish peddlers. Then it
was the defense's turn and they called their witness Dora Green,
(43:14):
and she stuck with the story that Abram Serowski was
attempting to rape her.
Speaker 4 (43:22):
Oh gosh, I think she was terrified though, Like I mean,
if he was so hateful and did all of that
to Abram, like I wonder, you know, how much did
he scare his wife on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
You know, yeah, this is sickening too. But again, I
don't want to play devil's advocate for this guy and
for these two ladies. But there's nothing pointing that this
(43:57):
is the truth. But I'm also not saying, you know,
this I don't know, could be true, could not be true,
most likely not true. I'm leaning to totally not true.
But the defense attorney for Lee Green brought in two
other women. They testified that Siosky had in the past
(44:20):
tried to rape them as well. Now, this was the
entire the first time anybody in the community had ever
heard this. Not a ill word was spoken about him,
except with the exception of bigots talking about his faith
or probably people that he owed money saying, you know,
(44:42):
he's trying to get extort me. But no one ever
said this before, but these two ladies did. And there's
absolutely zero proof, no reports, no anything. So in early
nineteen oh four, Lee Green, by a jury of nine
of his peers, was found not guilty of the murder
(45:04):
of Abram s Rosky not guilty, and they said it
was a crime of passion that he was trying to
defend his wife who was being assaulted. So Abram Sirosky.
He was buried in unmarked grave in Magnolia Cemetery and
(45:26):
the grave was documented but later found by his brother,
Solomon's grandson Stephen, who delved into this story and wanted
to give proper respect to his that would be your
great great uncle or your great uncle, And in nineteen
(45:47):
ninety three a proper headstone was placed on Abram's grave
finally marketing where he rested.
Speaker 4 (45:53):
Oh wow, so so said, that's awful. And his daughter's
his family and.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
Just a lot of a lot of factors went into that,
a lot of mental health issues. I think on the
port of Lee Green management, well he needs some life management, definitely,
some prejudice on his part as well, anti Semitism, and
(46:26):
a sad story all around, because this was a man,
Abram Siroski, trying to do the best he could make
a good life in a new world for him and
his two daughters that he loved very much, in the
family business. But he's cut down by a madman.
Speaker 3 (46:46):
Really was Do we know if his children stayed in
Achin and raised families.
Speaker 2 (46:51):
I do not know, and I do not know. There
was that article in the journal. It didn't you couldn't
find it. I mean maybe ancestry dot com. But this
was just a wild case. And I know that, you know,
prejudice did run wild back then, and of course against
African Americans also people of Jewish descent. So it's just
(47:16):
it's just a shame, you know, it's nineteen oh three
and a that's an awful one.
Speaker 4 (47:24):
It never hurts to be kind. That's my motto, because
I mean it is like you think about too, like
in our day and time and in the world can
be such an ugly place, but how important it is
just to be kind and just to to listen to
one another. And you know we may not always agree,
but you can always disagree with kindness and in love,
(47:44):
just like you can tell the truth in love. Absolutely,
you know there's no place for hate.
Speaker 3 (47:49):
Right And I think it also goes back to reading
these historical moments, and you know, just like we can
look back at that statement from the Police Office of
US or go tell the Jews. We know, now that's
a harsh statement, but in that time we didn't. But
when we read it through a historical lens, in today's perspective,
(48:10):
you know, no better.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
Do better.
Speaker 4 (48:12):
That's what I was about to say exactly.
Speaker 3 (48:15):
No, better, do better and treat people with love. And
you know, I always go back to when Judas kissed
Jesus on the face to turn him into the Romans.
Jesus addressed him as friend.
Speaker 4 (48:28):
And you're right, because we're supposed to love our enemies.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
Right, that's right. Well, thank you all that gave it.
You all got some philosophical going on in here. We
don't get that from the person on administrative league all
the time.
Speaker 4 (48:46):
We love daniel so much. We did and we missed
you now when I grew up. When I grew up,
I want to be the female version of a mister Rigers.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
All right, all right, positivity, Well, folks, we thank you
for listening to this week's episode. Thank you so so much,
Ashley Richards Amanhal for filling in for Danielle this week.
You know that was just it was a great coincidence.
It's a great happenstance that y'all were in town. And
(49:16):
thank you for lunch yesterday, and thank you, thank you
for filling in today. And folks, if you're not already
following us on social media, we'll put some pictures of
articles anything I could really find about this case it
being so old on our social media on Facebook at
Carolina Crimes Podcast. Also over over on Twitter at sc
(49:39):
Crimes pod. Also, if you're looking to support the show,
you can do so for free if you're listening on Apple, iTunes,
Apple Podcasts, Spotify. Fill us a five star review on
Apple I know that you can mash that purple subscribe button.
Also give us a little something that you like about
the show, your pets names, or what you had for
dinner last night. I won't put any amount of money
(50:04):
in the world, not a gambling man, that I had
a better dinner last night than just about any boy
in America.
Speaker 3 (50:11):
The pictures looked amazing.
Speaker 4 (50:13):
Yeah, I'll have to fill y'all in, and we need
to know this friend so we can come to the
next party.
Speaker 2 (50:18):
Oh that's the jam man they had playing the ojs
and fried fish, crab legs ribs man. Fantastic. But go ahead, Uh,
of course, put something in there that you like about
the show, what you had for dinner. I'd greatly appreciate it. Also,
if you're looking to support the show monetarily and get
(50:39):
some sweet Carolina Crime swag, head on over to Carolina
Crimestore dot com ladies, thank you so much, Thank you
and listening to this one out of ac in South Carolina.
And until next week, we'll see you on Carolina Crimes.
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Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.