Baxter Shemwell was born in Tyro (Davidson County), North Carolina on March 12, 1858. For much of his life, Shemwell was a criminal menace, engaging in several shoot outs that resulted in injury or death and passing bad checks at various banks in North Carolina and neighboring states. In May 1932, he pulled a gun and fired on two men in downtown Davidson, who returned fire and mortally wounded him. He died in a hospital on May 31. For more information, see "Street Battle is Fatal to Shemwell," Statesville Record and Landmark, 3 June 1932.