The Historical Timeline of Stagger Lee
1895 - 1900
Important Events in the Stagger Lee Story
1895, December 27 "Stag" Lee Shelton shoots William Lyons in the Bill Curtis Saloon, "the most extensive chance emporium in North St. Louis." There is an argument that culminated with Lyons snatching Shelton's Stetson hat. It is only one of five similar murders that day in St. Louis.
VOL 5—NO.213. ST. LOUIS. SATURDAY MORNING. DECEMBER 28,1895—FIVE CENTS
William Lyons, 25, a levee hand, was shot in the abdomen yesterday evening at 10 o'clock in the saloon of Bill Curtis, at Eleventh and Morgan Streets, by Lee Sheldon, a carriage driver.
Lyons and Sheldon were friends and were talking together. Both parties, it seems, had been drinking and were feeling in exuberant spirits. The discussion drifted to politics, and an argument was started, the conclusion of which was that Lyons snatched Sheldon's hat from his head. The latter indignantly demanded its return. Lyons refused, and Sheldon withdrew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen. When his victim fell to the floor Sheldon took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away.
He was subsequently arrested and locked up at the Chestnut Street Station. Lyons was taken to the Dispensary, where his wounds were pronounced serious. Lee Sheldon is also known as 'Stag' Lee.
December 1895 White attorney Nathaniel Dryden, Missouri's first lawyer to successfully prosecute a white defendant for murdering a black victim, takes on Shelton's defense. The courthouse entrance draws 300 protestors opposing Shelton and Dryden.
1896 During a pivotal presidential campaign, St. Louis stands as America's fourth-largest city. Since the Civil War the African American vote has gone overwhelmingly to the Republicans. The Republican party has since ignored African American issues and, amidst growing dissatisfaction, the Democratic party court the African American vote. William Lyons represents Republican interests and Lee Shelton works for Democratic causes.
I think it is a great shame that the musical narrative focuses on the hat incident, or gambling disagrement, and that the political argument gets ignored. However, the song remains forever politically charged.
January 3, 1896 Courts set Lee Shelton's bond at $4,000 (over $150,000 in today's dollars).
February 12, 1896 Grand Jury indicts Lee Shelton on a charge of first-degree murder.
June 25, 1896 Lee Shelton is released on a $3,000 bond paid by pawnbroker, Morris H. Smit. Does the money come from political connections?
July 15, 1896 Lee Shelton's trial starts. Dryden argues self-defense.
July 18, 1896 The jury is unable to agree on a verdict. Seven vote for murder in the second degree, two for manslaughter, and three for acquittal.
1897 – 1918 Ragtime's period of peak popularity.
August 21, 1897 The earliest known reference to the song appears in the Kansas City Leavenworth Herald.
It is understood that Prof. Charlie Lee, the piano thumper, will play 'Stack-a-Lee' in variations at the K. C. Negro Press association. Scarcely any convention held in K. C. is complete unless Prof. Lee is down on the program. The professor is an idol on such a high pedestal in Kansas City that men, women and children fall on their knees in worship of him.
-- Leavenworth Herald, August 21, 1897
August 26, 1897 Nathaniel Dryden, a morphine addict, dies after a drinking binge.
October 7, 1897 The second trial takes place in the court of Judge James E. Withrow, a Republican. The jury takes two hours to return a guilty verdict. Shelton begins a 25 year sentence in the Jefferson penitentiary.