Solomon George Washington Dill (c. 1818 – 1868) was an abolitionist and member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and a delegate of the state's 1868 Constitutional Convention.
He held openly anti-slavery views and advocated against propositions like literacy and property ownership as qualifications for voting, stating, “I do not believe that anybody with a Christian heart…would introduce such a bill…it is a fraud or a swindle.”[1] After he publicly announced he was a Republican, he was consistently harassed, and even believed he would be murdered[2] Dill had a friend stand guard outside of his house every night because of the constant death threats he would receive.
Opponents of Dill spread propaganda that he discussed hatred and advocated violence, but during the investigation of his murder, no evidence of those claims was found.
After the federal passing of the 14th Amendment, South Carolina was mandated to ratify it and create a new constitution that allowed African Americans to vote.
Dill and 123 other delegates met in Charleston, South Carolina, beginning on January 14, 1868, and lasted until March 17th, totaling 53 working days.
Just after sunset at eight o’clock, a group went to his home and ended up shooting Dill in the cervical portion of the spine and Ellison in the head, killing both men.
She told investigators they were sitting inside the house when an unknown gunman began firing shots into their home.
[10] After the community made limited and short-lived efforts to find Dill's killers, Army 1st Lieutenant George Price and a detachment of soldiers were sent to the town to investigate the murder further.
According to his investigation, Dill was native to South Carolina and had “a fair education” and “some property.”[2] A $10,000 reward was offered to anyone who gave information that led to the arrest of any of the murderers.
The Greenville Enterprise noted that arrests were made, but cast doubt on whether there was evidence against the "respectable white men" taken into custody.