E. Junius Foster - Editor of the Sherman Patriot

E. Junius Foster, Esq. was founder and owner of the Sherman Patriot newspaper until his death in 1863.  Foster died at the hands of James D Young, in revenge for an editorial Foster published applauding the death of Young's father and condemning the Confederacy.

Foster was born about 1812 in North Carolina.  Not much can be found concerning Foster's personal life.  No record has been found of his parents or siblings and it does not appear that he ever married.

In the 1850 Federal Census, Foster is listed as a single man living in Avoyelles, Louisiana.  "Editor" is listed as his occupation.  Avoyelles county is on the Mississippi River.

Source Citation: Year: 1850 United States Federal Census; Census Place:  , Avoyelles, Louisiana; Roll: M432_229; Page: 116A


By 1853, Foster had moved to Texas.  On the 29th of March 1853, the Nacogaches Chronicle newspaper reported, "The Star State Patriot, published at Marshall [Texas], has changed hands, J. Marshall, Esq. retires, and is succeeded by S. H. Parsons, and E. Junius Foster."  At the time, the Patriot was one the only Whig newspapers in Texas.

Foster bought out his partner, Parsons, and in 1856, he acquired a newspaper in Paris, Lamar County, Texas, which was called the "Frontier Patriot."

Texas State Gazette Newspaper, 15 Mar 1856

Foster then moved his press to Sherman and founded the Sherman Patriot in 1858.  He remained a Whig and Unionist in his political views and opposed secession.

Texas State Gazette, 3 Jul 1858

Belton Independent (Belton, Texas) 19 Feb 1859

Foster is again listed as a single man in the Grayson County, Texas 1860 Federal Census.  His occupation is Editor.

Source Citation: Year: 1860 United States Federal Census; Census Place: , Grayson, Texas; Roll: M653_1295; Page: 148; Family History Library Film: 805295.  Note: The census taker mistakenly listed Foster as a female.

Starting in 1861, there was increased vigilantism against those who would not support secession, conscription and the Confederacy.  McCaslin states that "During May, 1861, to silence Unionist editor Foster, vandals ruined his press."   After the hangings in Gainesville, Foster published editorials that condemned the hangings of the Unionists and claimed that the murder of Col. William C. Young by Union men was one of the best things that could have happened.  In an act of revenge, Young's son, James, shot and killed Foster.  Young had two other men with him at the time of the murder.


The Handbook of Texas Online, describes the events leading to Foster's death.
"In the first years of the Civil War, Foster's loyalty to the Union cause resulted in an increasingly "radical" reputation for the Sherman Patriot. Using the Patriot as a platform for his views, Foster's paper was derided as "submissionist" for the proposal to demarcate a new state in North Texas for supporters of the Union. In 1862, after an editorial in which he praised the murder of Col. William C. Young by Union men, Foster was confronted by the victim's son, Jim Young, and two other men. When he refused to recant his criticism of Colonel Young and the Confederacy in general, Foster was shot and killed. Although Jim Young confessed twenty-two years later, none of the assassins were jailed."
Randolph Lewis, "SHERMAN PATRIOT," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ees25), accessed April 15, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

See the post about the trial for Foster's murder.

Another News Article about the Heroic Escape of the DeLemeron family.

Here is another newspaper article about the heroic escape of the DeLemeron family from the Confederates around Gainesville.  This article was printed in the San Francisco Bulletin on 30 Sep 1863 and was entitled "Letter from St. Louis," with a subtitle of "Refugees from Texas and Arkansas."  It varies from the previously posted newspaper article, in that this article gives the given name for Joel DeLemeron's wife, which is Sarah Frances, and the full name of the man who helped her, Edward York. 
As stated in a previous post, Joel Francis DeLemeron was tried for treason against the Confederate Government a month after the Hangings. His "crime of treason" involved helping a few of the wives whose husbands were involved with the peace party (Ware and Boyles.)  He was sentenced to life in prison.

Transcription of above news article:

Refugees from Texas and Arkansas

A party of some 25 or 30 men, women and children, arrived here the other night, over the Pacific railroad, from Rolla and Springfield, having journeyed to the latter place on foot and in wagons from Texas and Arkansas.  The families were driven from their homes by the rebels.  Among the way-worn wanderers was a Mrs. Sarah Frances DeLimerind, with a young child, from Gainesville, Cook County, Texas.  Her story is eventful and affecting, comprising the following statements:

Her husband Jacob F., was born in St. Louis, and she in Morgan county, Illinois.  They were married in Texas 8 years ago.  On the occurrence of the war, he was a Unionist, and accordingly was hated inveterately.  47 men, who thought and felt like him, were hung, two men shot, and he was sentenced to the penitentiary for treason.  His wife “took an appeal” in the case, and furnished him with an augur and a saw, with which he broke jail.  They were then going to seize and punish her, having threatened to hang her for effecting his release, but she one night left the town with her child, and set out for the far away north.  Jacob had advised her to do so, saying he should go to Mexico, and thence try to get North by sea.  She “run off” one of her horses to Collier county, Texas, and had it sold for $61 Confederate money, which form her only means for traveling.  The rest of her property was taken by the rebels.  It consisted of horses, mules, wagons, etc. and $900 in gold.  The woman engaged to drive a wagon for Edward York, a Union man, who was also going North, and she fulfilled her contract.  He stopped below Rolla, while she came on with the party named to St. Louis.  She is an intelligent and apparently a very reliable woman.  She states that hundreds of Unionists in Texas are “out in the woods,” and praying and waiting for the coming of the Federal army.

BlogNote: With a name like DeLemeron, it not surprising that there are many different spellings: DeLamirande, DeLemeron, DeLimerind, DelaMirand.  We have decided to go with the spelling in Diamond's Account of the Hangings and the McCaslin Book, which is DeLemeron.

Morris Men Revisited

New information has been found on the Morris Men -- a partial list of victims from an 1880 newspaper article.  In a previous post, the Galveston Weekly Newspaper article (6 May 1880) containing information about the Great Hanging, lists four men by the name of Morris -- "William, John, Wesley and Work Morris."  Note: The "Work" Morris is most likely a transcription error and should be "Wash" Morris. 
This new list may help figure out the names of the Morris Men who were hanged.
Refer to the previous post about the Morris Men,  Who's Who The Morris Men.
  
Morris Men comparison chart

Online familytree databases for John W. Morris (married to Lucretia in 1860 Cooke County census) show him as one of the men who was hanged.  His father is listed as Isaiah Morris.  In 1850, the Isaiah Morris family is in Lawrence County, Tennessee -- The same county where Wesley & Wash Morris can be found living in 1850.  Is this a coincidence or a connection?

We welcome any further information, insights or corrections concerning any of the Morris Men. 

Any information, however small, might help with the research for these men.  We want to make sure we have the right men who were hanged, along with their parents, sibings, wives and children.  Thanks.

Galveston Daily News 1880

EXECUTION AT GAINESVILLE

Galveston Daily News

Publication date: 1 May 1880

The Galveston News ran an article on 1 May 1880 about an Execution by Hanging of a man named Noftsinger.  The Noftsinger hanging took place in Gainesville on 30 Apr 1880 and the scaffold was "within view of the celebrated 'hangsman tree' of Cooke County.  A portion of the article then goes on to discuss the earlier hangings that took place on the 'hangsman tree' in Gainesville during October 1862.

This 1880 news article is interesting because it includes a partial list of names for the victims of the Great Hanging and it was supposedly the first time these names had appeared in print.  The article called the Citizens Court the "court of inquisition"  and the weeks in which the Citizens Court was holding it's trials, the "fifteen days of terrorism in 1862."

Transcription of above news article.

Galveston Daily News (newspaper), 1 May 1880

OVER THE STATE. 
Special Telegrams to the Galveston News --- The Execution at Gainesville, April 30
[The first part of the article is about a legal hanging in Gainesville that took place on April 30, 1880. Then the article reflected upon the Great Hangings of 1862.]

"THE SCAFFOLD,
erected in the northeastern suburbs of the town [Gainesville], is within view of the celebrated “hangsmen tree” of Cook County. Upon the low, outstretching limbs of this monarch of the woodland, forty men were gibbeted during the fifteen days of terrorism in 1862. The circumstance has often been alluded to in political harangues and commented upon by the press, but thus far the names of the parties executed, and those of the members of the court of inquisition, have never appeared in print. The object of the secret organization, whose members were gibbeted, is more a subject of surmise than of fact. The secessionists at the time, held that the organization was a league to butcher the confederate command at Wichita, kill all pronounced secessionists, burn and destroy their property, and order out of the country all known southern sympathizers. The anti-secessionists, on the other hand, contended that it was a peace party favorable to an alliance with the disaffected reservation Indians, with the object of cooperating with the union army, in the event of federal success in Arkansas, in restoring order in that portion of the state, then the frontier of Texas.
MURDER RAMPANT
Be that as it may, the knife and the rifle of the assassin were rampant. On the first of October, 1862, several hundred persons assembled at Gainesville, in response to a circulated notice, alleging that a treasonable plot had been discovered. A meeting was held in the Methodist Church, and the following members of the court of inquisition appointed to investigate the matter, which court held its sessions in the Masonic lodge-room: Samuel Doss, Thomas Barrett, Wiley Jones, Benjamin Scandland, Thos. Wright, Daniel Montague, J. P. Long, J. E. Hughes, Reason Jones, W. S. Simpson, John N. Hamil, and James Jones. Some one hundred alleged traitors were arrested and brought before the tribunal for trial, during its sixteen days sessions, forty of whom were adjudged guilty and hanged upon the tree in question.
THE VICTIMS
The names of the parties gibbeted were: Dr. Childs; William, John, Wesley and Work Morris, John Crisp, Dr. Eli Thomas, Frosty, George and William Anderson, E. C. Scott, B. Dossen, Thomas Floyd, Ramsey Dye, James Powers, and the following, whose given names are not remembered Chiles, Fields, Locke, Hampton, Wiley, McNice, Worrel, Birch, Goss, Jones, Esmon, and thirteen others, whose names are not recollected. On the 2nd of the month two were hanged, on the 4th two, on the 7th one, on the 8th one, on the 10th one, on the 12th three and on the 13th eleven. On the 12th the inquisition adjourned, subject to call between that date and the 15th. Col. Young, one of the most popular men in north Texas, was assassinated, together with several other confederate officers. The inquisition reassembled and passed sentence on nineteen members of the league, all of whom were hanged on the 17th. There were three degrees in the league. Those who had only taken the first degree were invariably acquitted, and those who had subscribed to the second and third oath, taken by those degree members, invariably executed. The NEWS reporter has been unable to learn the character of the several oaths."

The above newspaper article can be found on THE PORTAL TO TEXAS HISTORY website:
The Galveston Daily News(Galveston, TX), Vol. 39, No. 34, Ed. 1 Saturday, May 1, 1880, page 1:   http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth462743/m1/1/?q=Saturday  

Related Posts:
List of Men who Died in Hangings 
James L Clark's List of Victims
Diamond's List of Men Tried and Convicted
Occupations of Hanging Victims

The John Mansil Crisp Letter

The following is an exerpt of a letter written in 1921 by John Mansil Crisp, the son of John Crisp, who was hanged in the Great Hanging at Gainesville.  Transcribed copies of this letter can be easily found online on message boards and in familytree databases, but a digitized copy of the actual letter has not been found. 

Exerpt of a letter to George M. Crisp from his father John Mansil Crisp.


Roswell, New Mexico October 20, 1921
Dear Son, Daughter and Grandson,
..........
You asked to know about the Crisp relation. They are a numerous relationship but about all who spell their names, as we do, can be traced back to one kinship. - But I have not kept up with their genealogy as well as I should.
My father, John M. Crisp was born June 23, 1824 - in Kentucky. He had one brother, Samuel Crisp, a famous Christian Preacher. He died on the Colorado River about the year 1896, very old, somewhere in the 90's--Uncle Sam had four sons, one named Green, one Bill, Jim & Bob, two girls, Eliza and Nancy. They mostly live or did on the Colorado River in Texas. Bob and Green are said to be very wealthy. I visited them in the year 1883 Lohn Co., Texas.
My grandfather's name was William L. Crisp. He was born in KY. About the year 1790 - lived to be 94 years old. Died in Cook Co., Tex. He taught 52 terms of school during his life. He had brothers; (1) Chas. F. Crisp of Georgia, Speaker of the House of Congress for many years. (2) James T. Crisp went to Oregon and served as Gov. for many years. (3) John T. Crisp of Kansas City, Senator of Mo. for a number of years. (4) Reding Crisp, came to Tex. with Grandfather Crisp. He and his two sons, Reding and Carroll settled near Sulfur Springs in Hopkins Co. Tex. and became great landowners and stockmen. Reding had great ranches of cattle and Carroll turned his attention more to raising horses and had several big ranches in western Texas.
It was Reding Crisp boy Bob that visited us here last week. He is living at Allen Reed, Donley Co., Tex. He has a big ranch joining Ed Johnson's in West Texas. Bob has a brother "Reding" who lives at Clinton, Okla. Also a sister. Carroll married a cousin of your mothers named Minnie Brooks. She is still living at Sulpher Springs, Tex. They have quite a number of children in Tex. and Okla.
My grandmother on Fathers side was Elisabeth Matthews. She was born in KY and died in Cook Co., age 98 yrs. - I just can remember of seeing her - I forget her father's Christian name. She had a brother Mansil Matthews. He was a Doctor, Lawyer, and Preacher. I was named Mansil for him--He helped to draft the Constitution of Texas, and was elected several times to Congress (all the relations will remember Uncle Mansil Matthews.) His daughter was Bill Weaver's mother. His only child was Claud Weaver of Oklahoma City. Bill Weaver was a great lawyer, poet, politician and drunkard. He died of Delirium Tremens at Austin while serving as State Senator. I cast my first vote for Bill Weaver.
Bill Weaver had a brother Joe, and some more. They own and control the Town of Alvarado, Texas. I was there in the year 1890 and when they found out who I was, they liked to have hugged me to death. They had parties nearly every night. I stayed there and nearly everything I met was a cousin or such--They gave me a high old time.
Uncle Joe Matthews, another bro. of my Grandmother lives in Somerville Co., Tex. and served as County Judge for more than 20 years in Steal County. He has a son John Matthews who runs a big Dept. store in Glenrose. They are very wealthy--The Milams there are also cousins. They own about ten thousand acres on the Pulaski River and have more artesian wells than you ever saw.
The Matthews and Milams own and run Glenrose like the Weavers and Matthews do Alvarado.
..........a further history of our people;......
It is about the sad history of my Father and his Death at Gainsville Tex. 1863- He was a Blacksmith by trade. A devoted member of the Christian Church and a Deacon for many years and he wielded a big influence in his county. In the year 1860, the whole country became arrested as you know from history, over the question of secession. My Father was opposed to secession and before the election stumped the country against it. He had great influence and a big following but failed to carry the county. As you know secession carried, but in his zeal for the Union he made many enemies.
After secession carried the officers of the state were deposed and lawlessness went wild. All over the state and men were shot down and mobbed on every side and property confiscated or stolen on every side without any recourse at law; in fact they had no law---that led to organizations in different sections of the state for the Protection of the lives and Properties of its Members. My Father belonged to one of such organization in which there were about 100 members, most of which were settlers of Cooke Co. and his close neighbors. Nearly all of which had voted against secession and were still opposed to fighting against the Union.
Along Red River on both sides were a bunch of mixed breeds and lawless whites that pretended to be strictly Secish, but refused to join any army, claiming to be "home guard". Over this organization they had as Captain one Hugh Boland, a half breed-. He lived on the north side of the river in the I.T. On the south side of the river lived a renegade from Miss. named Nute Chance . . . They had a considerate organization. This bunch became the terror of the country. A bunch of them would ride up to a man's house, take his horses, cattle and what else they wanted and drove them across Red River to Bolands-- If the man objected they would shoot him down.
More than a dozen thus lost their lives. This organization, as it was called was the cause of the other bunch organizating - of which my father belonged. Boland and his bunch soon made a raid in our settlement, gathered a big bunch of stock and killed 2 men. One of which was our local preacher.... They started off with their property and my father and about 73 others of the community overtook them and had a scrap with them, capturing the bunch and took them to Gainesville for trial. Meanwhile, some of their bunch went to the confederate camp which was about 25 miles away and brought their whole forces, claiming that the citizens bunch was the bunch that had voted against secession. And was therefore fighting against the Southern Confederacy. They, therefore, held what they called a court martial trial and condemned the whole bunch--and without ceremony or time executed the whole bunch of more than 60 men. Thus wiping out a whole community and church. They then proceeded to confiscate their property, even tearing down their houses and taking them away.
Thus it occurred that my mother, sister (Mary) and myself was forced to loose all our property and go to my Grandfather in Montague Co. without protection or property.
After the confederacy was whipped the government arrested about 60 of the mob and tried them for murder----but they all proved alibis and failed of conviction. But I will say that several of their leaders have bit the dust since.
Please write soon, to your father.
J. M. Crisp

John Crisp Family

John Crisp was born on 23 Jun 1824 in Booneville, Owsley, Kentucky. John’s parents were William W. Crisp (1783-1857) and Elizabeth Matthews (1789-1868). John was hanged in "The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas, 1862" on 19 Oct 1862 at the age of 38. See previous post about his trial by the Citizens Court.

In 1850, John was living with his parents in Hopkins County, Texas. They were next door to John’s older brother, Samuel Crisp.

1850 Federal Census, Hopkins County, Texas

Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 8, Hopkins, Texas; Roll: M432_911; Page: 139B

John Crisp and Harriet Pittman were married on 8 Jan 1852 in Hopkins County, Texas. Harriet probably died sometime after the birth of the baby, because John married again in 1857. John and Harriet had one known child, a son: William L. Crisp was born about 1854 in Texas. William was with his father and step-mother in the 1860 census in Cooke County, Texas. No records have been found for him after 1860.

John Crisp and Alcey Hawkins Stephens were married on 4 May 1857 in Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas. Alcey was born on 18 Jul 1839 in Hannibal, Marion, Missouri. Alcey is the daughter of Charles Washington Hawkins and Mary Packwood. Alcey Hawkins first marriage was to Charley Stephens in June 1855 Cooke County, Texas. He either died or left, because in May 1857, Alcey was free to marry again. After the hanging, Alcey took her young family to Montague County and raised her children that county until she moved to Oklahoma after 1900. Alcey died on 11 May 1919 at the age of 79 in Moore, Cleveland, Oklahoma.
Name variations for Alcey found on census records, marriage records, and familytrees: Alcey, Alice, Ailey, Ailia, Alsey, Ailsey, Ailcey, Alixy, Alicey.

John and Alcey Crisp had the following children:

1. Mary Elizabeth Crisp was born on 9 Feb 1858 in Texas. She died on 3 Jul 1933 at the age of 75. Mary never married.
2. John Mansil Crisp was born on 10 Nov 1859 in Gainesville, Cooke, Texas. He died on 27 Jan 1941 at the age of 81 in Yukon, Canadian, Oklahoma. He was buried on 29 Jan 1941 in Rose Hills Burial Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. John married Martha Alice Wilson (1872-1937) on 12 Jun 1892 in Montague County, Texas. Their children were: George, Leonora, Claud, Ethel, Albert and Walter.
3. Minna Anne Crisp was born on 5 May 1862 in Cooke County, Texas. She died a month later on 7 Jun 1862.

1860 Federal Census, Cooke County, Texas

Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: , Cooke, Texas; Roll: M653_1291; Page: 247; Family History Library Film: 805291

John’s relationship to other men who died in the Hangings:

1. John’s niece, Elizabeth Martha Crisp, the daughter of his brother Samuel Crisp, married Hudson John Essman who was hanged by the Citizens Court.
2. Through his mother’s side of the family, the Matthews and Box families, John was connected to the David Miller Leffel family.

We welcome any corrections or additions on the John Crisp family.

Trial of John M. Crisp

John Crisp was hoping for understanding, mercy and forgiveness from the jury of the Citizens Court as he begged for his life.  Instead, he was given a rope around his neck.

"TRIAL OF JOHN M. CRISP
The State vs. John M. Crisp – Disloyalty & Treason

Eli Thomas sworn.
[Witness] John M. Crisp swore me into a secret organization having for its object the reconstruction of the old Constitution and Union. He gave me the sign, grip, and password.

Crisp, himself, when brought before at before the Court, admitted that he had been initiated into the organization. Pending his trial, he addressed the Court the following letter:

Fully believing this to be the last time that I will be permitted to communicate with the Honorable tribunal by which I am to be tried, I adopt this method to do so; and for this reason: Having never before been brought before a Court, and my natural disposition and constitutional powers being so framed, the presence of that august body has the effect to scatter my mind. And while in your presence I cannot collect my thoughts, I will now make in writing these further statements in behalf of my injured Country:
Some time in the month of August, 1862 Dr Thomas and Parson Baker, came to my shop; and being there a short time, went out and seated themselves some distance from me. They returned and requested me to initiate him (Thomas), I understanding him to mean, to enter as a member into the Secret institution to reinstate the old Constitution, I refused, pointing to Baker, [and] told him to get Baker to do it. Thomas laughed, and said no; but for me to do it. I told him I was awkward but would do the best I could. Not having a regular form of oath, I framed one, in like manner, as I have stated before your Honors heretofore; giving him the signs, grip, and password. Parson Baker and myself, about one week before the above stated time, were initiated by Dr McCarty. McCarty told Baker he could initiate also.
A few days after this I was informed that each member had the right to initiate his neighbor. I have initiated six persons, in all, towit: Sam'l Crisp, H. J. Essman, Eli Hinkle, I. M. Baily, Mansell Baily, and Dr Eli Thomas. I suppose Essman and Hinkle are not yet arrested. Dr Thomas informed me that he had initiated an old man, by the name of Parson Howard.
I desire to explain one other thing, which I named to one of your honorable body just as I left the jury room. James Harryman came to my house the day before I was arrested and informed me that they had held a secret meeting, and said that Capt. Garrison, or Lock, had been to a Mr Love's in the Chicasaw [sic] Nation and had initiated him; and that he had plenty of powder that the order could have whenever they wanted it. And now, I acknowledge my wrong and implore you that while examining the testimony I have given, if I have, or seemed to quibble, I pray you to remember the situation of my mind, and deal with me in mercy.
John M. Crisp

After being condemned, he again addressed the Court as follows:
Gainesville, Oct. 18th 1862
To the Honorable Court now in session, at Gainesville:
Whereas, through the mercies of Almighty God, and the Court, my life has been prolonged to the present time, I greatly desire the patience of the Court, yet a little longer.
I hope the Court will condescend to hear my imperfect petition and offered obligations to my injured country. I do not expect to influence you; but implore you, for mercy - that my life may be spared.
First, if in your wisdom and mercy you see fit to spare my life, and I ever again show any signs of not being true to our Southern Confederacy, then I will not plead for mercy any more; but will submit my life, to pay the forfeit.
Secondly, I desire to be placed under the watch-care of some of our truest and best Southern men, that they may from time to time examine my conduct; and if they find any thing wrong, report me forthwith.
Thirdly, I am willing and anxious at any time to do any thing in my power to sustain the independence of our Country. And forthly, if we can have any correct of the future by the past, I would refer your honorable body to Capt. Roff, Harry Howeth, W. B. Magill, Joseph Martin, Wm. West, and Charles Hibert, and let them say what my actions have been heretofore in giving aid to the volunteers. I now submit by begging your forgiveness for the wrongs which I may have done; and I promise you that if my life is spared, I will never commit wrong again.
John M. Crisp

He was hung in accordance with the sentence of the Court and, no doubt from the record before us, died a much better man than he had lived."

George Washington Diamond's Account of the Great Hanging at Gainesville, 1862, Manuscript Edited by Sam Acheson and Julie Ann Hudson O’Connell, The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. LXVI, January, 1963, No. 3, pages 394-396.

Barnabus Burch

Barnabus Burch
From the Martin-Neely Family History by Louise Neely:
"Barnibus Burch was an old man in his seventies and almost 'bed ridden with rhymatiz', what we now call arthritis. He was one of the two or three men who were hauled to Gainesville in a wagon because he could not mount a horse.
The Burch family lived just north of what is now Burns City.
At the mock trial, Barnibus Burch made the statement: 'one night recently I had a dream, I thought this was a needless war. I thought the North over ran the South. This disheartened me. Truly, old men shall see visions and young men dream dreams." (from Acts 2 verse 17) He was found guilty and hanged. All of the men who were hanged had signed the Montgomery Act.
After Barnibus Burch was hanged, his body, with all of the others who were hanged, was thrown in a warehouse, on the square, that was owned by James Bourland. The next day Burch's wife and daughter, Elizabeth Ann (Burch) Neely went to Gainesville and brought his body back to his farm. The two women dug the deepest grave they could and buried him in a fence row, near Wade Lake. It is now the Marvin Cason place…
The irony of all this is that the son-in-law of Barnibus Burch, James Neely, Jr. was away fighting for the Confederacy when the hangings occurred. James Martin Neely, Jr. was in Morgan’s Battalion and saw action in Arkansas and Louisiana. His Confederate Pension was number 26367 from Cooke Co., Texas."
Neely, Louise Y., Neely-Martin Descendants Privately published in Dallas, Texas; 1982, Chapter 3, page 55-56.

The trial of Barnabus Burch from page 84 of George Washington Diamond's Account of the Great Hanging at Gainesville, 1862:
Trial of Barnabas Birch
“On being arraigned he confessed his guilt, giving the signs, grip and password. He was a participant in the Ramey Dye meeting. While his trial was pending he addressed the court as follows:
One night recently I had a remarkable dream, which runs this way: I thought that the North had overrun and surrounded the South which disheartened me. I could see no way for the South to escape. This dream, with what I heard (of the organization,) determined my course. I further dreamed that the Federals took me prisoner, and an officer gave me some liquor and I drank it; and it proved to be the best liquor I ever drank in my life.
Truly, 'the old men shall see visions, and the young men shall dream dreams.'
Birch was found guilty and hung.”
George Washington Diamond's Account of the Great Hanging at Gainesville, 1862, ManuscripteEdited by Sam Acheson and Julie. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. LXVI, January, 1963, No. 3, pages 331-414.

McCaslin on Barnabus Burch:
“Barnibus Burch moved to Hood County, Texas, from Missouri about 1850, then to Cooke County by 1860. He was approximately seventy years of age, and crippled with arthritis, when he paid twelve cents in taxes on his personal property in 1862. His name is penciled in above that of “Thomas Burch” on the 1862 tax roll for Cooke County found in UNT.”
McCaslin, Richard B., Tainted Breeze: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas 1862, Louisiana State University Press, 1994, page 196.

1830 Morgan County, Illinois
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9: 2
Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39: 2
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39: 1
Free White Persons - Under 20: 4
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 3
Total Free White Persons: 7

In 1850, the Barnabus Burch family is found living in Hickory County, Missouri.

Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 37, Hickory, Missouri; Roll: M432_401; Page: 61B

By the 1860 Census the Barnabus Burch family was living in Hill County, Texas.  They were living in the same household has N. A. and Sarah McPhaul.  Sarah may be an older daughter of Barnabus.

Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Division, Hill, Texas; Roll: M653_1297; Page: 97; Family History Library Film: 805297

The Barnabus Burch Family
Note: Barnabus Burch and family can be found in quite a few message boards and online databases such as RootsWeb.com and Ancestry.com. It seems that most of the information in these databases have just been copy and pasted from each other -- none seem to have sources. We have not found well documented information for the Barnabus Burch family. Below is a sample of what can easily be found online. We would welcome a well researched family history for Barnabus Burch.

Barnabus Burch was the son of James Phillip Burch and Sarah Gillespie (or Whaley). Barnabus was born about 1798 in Surry, North Carolina and died 19 Oct 1862 at Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas.
Barnabus had at least two wives, but he may have had three.
He married (1) M. May about 1822.
Children of Barnabus Burch and M. May are:
1.George Milton Burch, born 1823; died 26 Oct 1889 in Camden County, MO, marr Mary Elizabeth Green (1833-?)
2.Tillman Barnabus Burch, born 19 Feb 1824; died 07 Apr 1893, marr Susan Slaven (1836-1918) 1 Jun 1854 McLennan County, TX
3. Capt. William "Bill" Burch, born 28 Aug 1825 in Monroe Co.,Indiana; died 11 Oct 1893 in Maysville, Garvin Co., Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, Marr Teletha Cox
4. Sarah Cordelia Burch, born about 1829 in Illinois. Married to N. A. PcPhaul? Did he die while serving in the Civil War?
5. Cynthia Burch, born Jul 1834, died Apr 1924, marr Henry Matlock (1843-1896) 20 Dec 1860 Cooke County, TX.  Husband Henry was serving in the Confederate army when the confederate hanged her father.

Barnabus married (2) Mary McConnell (some add Jackson as a surname?) 18 Apr 1839 in Scott County, Illinois.
Children of Barnabus Burch and Mary McConnell are:
1.David Austin Burch born 1840 Missouri.  Married Lucinda Hutchinson.  Deid 3 Aug 1909 Jasper County, Missouri
2. Elizabeth Ann Burch born 16 Apr 1842 in Neosha, MO; marr James Martin Neely 8 Mar 1861 in Cooke County, TX. While James served for the Confederacy, Elizabeth took her little family to Missouri to be close to her brothers.
3.Catherine Burch born 1845 Missouri
4. Rosetta Burch born 1847 Missouri
5.Lunetta Burch born 19 May 1847 in Missouri.  Died 24 Jan 1911 Newton County, Missouri.  Married Americus Murray 24 Oct 1880 Newton County, MO.
6.Elizetta (Alzetta) Burch born 1851 Missouri married possibly John S. Martin 13 May 1878 Newton County, Missouri.
7.Lucinda Burch, born Apr 1852 Missouri, married possibly Aaron Miles 1874 in Indiana.
8. Angeline Burch, born 1854 Missouri; married Henry M. Land 08 Aug 1880 in Jasper, Missouri. Angeline lived with sister, Elizabeth Neely in 1870 census and brother, David A. Burch in 1880 census.

It seems as if most of the Burch family left Texas and traveled back to Missouri sometime after their father died in the Hanging and before 1870.  As stated in the above Neely-Martin history, Elizabeth Ann Burch Neely left Texas and took her little family to Missouri to live with her older half-brothers.  Elizabeth's younger sisters most likely traveled with her.   Elizabeth Neely can be found in the 1870 Dallas County, Missouri census with her husband,children and youngest sister, Angeline Burch.    Rosetta Burch can be found in 1870 in Dallas County, Missouri, living with the West Family.  Alzetta Burch can be found in 1870 Hickory County, MO, living with J. A. Romans family.  In the 1870 census of Dallas County, Missouri, there is a 20 year old Lunthe Burch, which could be Lunetta or Lucinda.  She is living next door to her brother, Milton Burch, with his mother-in-law, Margaret Green.  So, it seems as if the younger children of Barnabus Burch were scattered, living with whoever would take them in.  It is not known what happened to their mother, Mary.  No records have been found for her.

Any additional information on this family would be appreciated.  Thanks.

George Washington Diamond's Account of the Great Hanging at Gainesville, 1862

"George Washington Diamond's Account of the Great Hanging at Gainesville, 1862," edited by Sam Acheson and Julie Ann Hudson O'Connell, can be accessed here on the The Portal to Texas History website.  This account was published by the Texas State Historical Association in The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963.

George Washington Diamond's Account of the Great Hanging at Gainesville, 1862

Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963, H. Bailey Carroll, editor, Journal/Magazine/Newsletter, 1963; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101196 : accessed April 08, 2011), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association, Denton, Texas.

George Diamond's brother, James Diamond, was one of the key players in trying to rid Cooke county of anyone with Union sentiments. George Diamond was asked to use the records of the court to prepare an "official account" of the court proceedings, with the purpose of "preserving them and so disposing of them that the history of its (Citizen's Court) transactions might be perpetuated and justice done to those who participated (Jurors & accusers) in its deliberations."  Diamond's compilation of "memoranda" was to be offered to the public as a just vindication of the conduct of those whose judgements were under national criticism. So, basically, Diamond's job was to make the court look good.

In his conclusion, Diamond states, "The proceedings of the Citizens Court are characterized with as much wisdom, justice and moderation as may anywhere be found in the history of criminal procedure."  Was he biased or what???  Naturally, the members of the court examined Diamond's account and gave their unanimous and unqualified approval.  Diamond apparently completed the manuscript before the end of 1876, but it was not published during his lifetime.  In 1963, Diamond's account was transcribed and edited by Sam Acheson and Julie Ann Hudson O'Connell, and then published by the Texas State Historical Association. 

On page 27 of CIVIL WAR RECOLLECTIONS OF JAMES LEMUEL CLARK, L. D. Clark gives his opinion of Diamond's Account:
"Diamond had been a newspaper-man before the war and in 1862 held a commission in the Confederate army.  When he went to Gainesville not long after the affair to visit a brother who had helped round up the Unionists, he was entrusted with the court records with the understanding that he would write a thoroughgoing vindication of the hanging.  Not until the mid-1870's did he undertake to fulfill his promise, and what he produced was left unfinished and unpublished at the time of his death.  He arranged some of the testimony from papers in his possession, thought we have no way of knowing whether he transcribed it verbatim.  He introduced a background of sorts and a narrative of events interspersed with commentary, all of it written in a determination to give a noble cast to the outrage, even to the extent of arguing that the action must have been right since it was undertaken by the "best men" in the county...  To make matters worse, while no one can say whether he himself destroyed the records, at best he seems to have taken no care to preserve them, though he did see to the preservation of his own manuscript."

It seems that Diamond's Account published by the Texas State Historical Association was transcribed and edited from Diamond's manuscript, which he in turn had edited and condensed from the actual court proceedings.  Anytime a record is transcribed, even if it is transcribed word for word, there is room for error.  But, as Clark states above, we have no way of knowing "whether he transcribed it verbatim." 

Diamond concluded with the following explanation concerning his edited version.
"We have now written what we designed to write concerning the proceedings of the "Citizens Court."  The Jury as well as all others who were connected with the scenes of that day desired that all the evidence in each case should be published.  It is to be regretted that it has not been done.
But it is the opinion of all that a complete transcript from the record of the Court would have been unnecessary to vindicate the course pursued, and would also have made a volume to too large a size for the general public notice." (Diamond's Account, page 405)

Diamond was not kidding when he stated it was "to be regretted" that all the evidence in each case should NOT be published.  All who are now interested or who will ever be interested in the history of the Hangings, REGRET Diamond's decision to edit and leave to history only his condensed version of the Court!!  And, one has to wonder just how much Diamond edited, changed, or left out from the original "Citizens Court" records???

It is not known what happened to the actual records of the Citizens Court.  We are very much aware of the historical value and significance of Diamond’s account of the Hanging, especially since his account is the only "official" record remaining.  But, it is really, really unfortunate that the complete and original "Citizens Court" records are lost to us.  

Were the originals destroyed when Diamond was finished using them so his would be the only record left, or are they still lying around in some dusty attic?

To view Diamond's list of those tried and executed, click here.

A short biography of George Washington Diamond can be found on the Handbook of Texas Online.

Cooke County Books and Articles

Just found a great website with a list of books and articles on Cooke County, Texas.  Many of the articles contain information about the Great Hanging.  An index to the site can be found the Cooke County Genforum.com message board.   
The Genforum.com post states that "The follow-up posts will contain links to articles/books I've scanned and put online for everyone to read/print."

http://genforum.genealogy.com/tx/cooke/messages/1667.html

You can also get to the list of books and articles by going directly to the Ware's of Woodbine website:
http://waresofwoodbine.envy.nu/pic4.html


UPDATE:
These links no longer work.  The websites appear to be taken down.  Sorry

Who's Who? The Morris Men

According to some accounts of the Great Hanging, there were four Morris Men who lost their lives in the hanging. Most accounts give only initials for the given names, such as W. W. Morris, M. W. Morris, John W. Morris, I. W. Morris, John A. Morris, etc.  It can be a little tricky trying to figure out just who is who.

McCaslin in his book "Tainted Breeze, The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas 1862," lists four men who were hanged with the surname of Morris.
Diamond’s account of the Great Hanging only identifies three men with the surname of Morris that were brought to trial before the Citizen's Court.
James Lemuel Clark has three Morris men on his list of men who were hanged.

In preparing the previous post about Thomas Floyd, we found a small clue about a few of the Morris Men. Supposedly, Clora Carter Floyd (wife of Thomas Floyd) had a sister(s) who married a Morris. They migrated from Tennessee to Texas with a stop-over in Arkansas along the way. And then, they lived next to each other in the 1860 Cooke County Census.  The husband to Clora Carter Floyd's sister supposedly died in the Hanging, also.

So, first we will list and compare information about the Morris Men found in the different accounts.

Diamond’s list of 3 Morris Men who were tried by the Citizens Court:
W. W. Morris – Seventh man tried by the Citizens Court - individual trial
John A. Morris – Tried together with Edward Hampton
M. W. Morris – Group trial with Goss, Anderson, Miller and Dawson.

McCaslin's list of 4 Morris Men, along with his notes on each man:
William W. Morris – (1860 Cooke County Census) age 50, born Georgia, farmer. Wife, Nancy, age 35, born Alabama. Will written 28 Feb 1861 and probated 27 Oct 1862. Wife, Nancy, is only heir mentioned. No known children. Trial, hanged on October 8th. In his trial, W. W. Morris states he was initiated into the Peace Party with (Thomas) Floyd.
BlogNote: Probably the W. W. Morris referred to in Diamond’s account
John A. Morris – (1860 Montague County Census) age forty, born Arkansas, wife, Marguerite 39 b. Indiana, oldest three children born Arkansas and youngest born Texas. John Morris paid taxes in Cooke County in 1861 & 1862. Tried by Citizen’s court in a double trial along with Ed Hampton, hanged on October 19th.
M. W. Morris – paid a poll tax in 1861 & 1862, Cooke County. McCaslin states that M. W. Morris is a brother to William Morris.
Tried in a group trial, along with Goss, Anderson, Miller and Dawson. Hanged on October 19th.
John W. Morris -- (1860 Cooke County Census) age thirty, born Tennessee. Wife, Lucretia, and their two sons (ages 11 & 9) born in Tennessee.
BlogNote: There was NO mention in Diamond's account of a trial for John W. Morris. Was he the witness named I. W. Morris in the trial of Ramey Dye, stating that he had been at the meeting for the rescue of Harper?  Witness Gilbert Smith mentions John W. Morris as being present at the Dye meeting.

Clark’s list of 3 Morris Men, along with our BlogNotes:
Clark said there were two Morris brothers - Wesley & Wash - that were hanged:
Wesley Morris – landholder – probably the Wesley Morris listed in 1860 Cooke County census, wife: Ann 33 b. TN, daughters: Martha Ann & Clora. He lived next to Thomas Floyd and Washington Morris in the 1860 census.
Wash Morris – landholder – probably the Washington Morris listed in 1860 Cooke County census, wife Josephine 22 b. TN, twins Wm R. & Sarah 3 yrs old.
Clark also listed:
 J. Morris - ? This is probably the John A. Morris in Diamond’s account, but it could be either one of the two John Morris men listed by McCaslin.
BlogNote: Some may argue that Clark's list included men that were not hanged and did not include some that were.  The Clark family and the Morris brothers were listed on the same page of the 1860 census, making them close neighbors.  Clark would have known close neighbors who were also hanged along with his father. 

So, who exactly are the Morris Men who died in the hangings? Were there 3 or 4? Which ones were brothers? Who were their families?

On page 227 of the 1860 Federal Census for Cooke County, the following men are listed next to each other:
Household 89 - Thomas Floyd family (Thomas Floyd hanged)
Household 90 - Wesley Morris family (According to J.M. Clark, Wesley Morris hanged)
Household 91 - Robert Morris family
Household 92 - Washington Morris family (According to J.M. Clark, Wash Morris hanged)
Household 93 - Madison Lynch family
Household 94 – N. M. Clark family (Nathaniel Miles Clark hanged)
Household 95 – Alex Powers (Father of James Alexander Powers, who was hanged)

According to the above mentioned “small clue” we found in the Lewis County, Tennessee History Book: Thomas Floyd married Clora Carter and she had sister(s) who married a Morris and lived next to them in Cooke County, Texas.  Note, we were only able to find one sister that married a Morris.

Research into the marriage records for Lewis County, Tennessee, shows a Michael W. Morris who married Ann Carter on 10 July 1850. The marriage was performed by K. Carter (Kinchen Carter) who was the father of Clora and Ann Carter.   Floyd and Clora Morris named their first son, Kinchen, after her father.  Wesley and Ann Morris had 2 known daughters, one of them named Clora, after Ann's sister.

The household 90 from the above 1860 census page shows the Wesley Morris family. Wesley’s wife is Ann, age 33 born in Tennessee. It appears that the Wesley Morris on Clark’s list is the Wesley Morris in the 1860 census.  His full name is Michael Wesley Morris and he is the M. W. Morris listed in Diamond’s account.  

In 1860, Wesley was living next door to his brother-in-law, Thomas Floyd. Wesley Morris and Thomas Floyd married sisters, Clora and Ann Carter of Lewis County, Tennessee. Thomas and Wesley were also living next to at least one more Morris brother, Washington Morris, and perhaps another, Robert Morris.

WHO'S A BROTHER TO WHO?  McCaslin states that the M. W. Morris on his list was a brother to William W. Morris. McCaslin's William W. Morris was 50 years old born in Georgia. It seems more likely that Wesley was the brother to Wash Morris (Clark's account) than to William W. Morris (McCaslin's account.)  Clark was a close neighbor to the Morris brothers, as shown in the above 1860 census for Cooke County and would have had personal knowledge of the relationship between Wesley Morris and Wash Morris.  According to the 1860 census, Wesley was 32 years old born in Tennessee. He was living next to Washington Morris, age 21 born Tennessee in the 1860 census. 

In the 1850 Census for Lawrence County, Tennessee, the following Morris family can be found with both a Wesley and Wash. Lawrence County borders Lewis County, where the Carter family lived.

1850 Lawrence Co., Tennessee, Page 371 line 1-11, Dwell 180/Family 180
Morris, Shadrick, 44, M, Farmer, Value of Real Estate $1500, NC
Morris, Sarah A. 44 , F, SC
Morris, Wesley, 19, M, TN
Morris, Sam'l C., 18, M, TN
Morris, Mary, 16, F, TN
Morris, Wash P., 11, M, TN
Morris, Shadrick F., 7, M, TN
Morris, George M., 6, M, TN (Moved to Texas by 1860)
Morris, Sarah J., 3, F, TN (Moved to Texas by 1860)
Morris, Felix G., 22, M, Farmer, TN (Moved to Texas by 1860)
Morris, William M., 2, TN (son of Felix & Henrietta Pollack Morris)

The above family from the 1850 census is most likely the family belonging to Wesley and Wash Morris in 1860 Cooke County, Texas and referred to by James Lemuel Clark. 
Wesley Morris is most likely the M. W. Morris but was Wash Morris one of the McCaslin/Diamond men?
Several Morris Men had a "W" initial.  But, in the above 1850 census, Wash's middle initial is “P” and we know from further research his son was called Washington P(erry) Morris, so, his name was most likely Washington "P" Morris.  That does not fit any of the men on the Diamond or McCaslin list.  But, how careful was Diamond in transcribing the original court records?  Could Diamond have gotten the initials wrong? Diamond's account lists only 3 trials for Morris men.  McCaslin added John W. Morris (he was mentioned during court testimony and I. W. Morris was a witness.)  A recently found newspaper account from 1880, lists Wesley and Work Morris.  Work is probably a transcription error for Wash.

Washington Morris married Josephine Hawbuckle [Hornbuckle] 20 Oct 1859 in Cooke County, Texas.  In the 1860 census, there are 2 three year old children listed.  Since Washington and Josephine were married less than a year when the census was taken, the children listed on the census could be children from a previous marriage for Josephine.  If that is the case, then Hawbuckle/Hornbuckle is probably not her maiden name but a previous married name.  Josephine and Wash Morris had one son, named Washington Perry Morris, who was born in November 1862.  If Washington Morris was one of the men who died in the hanging, then that means his wife, Josephine, gave birth to a baby boy a month after the hanging.   In 1867, Josephine remarried a man by the name of William Alpin, so we know she was free (widowed) to marry by 1867.

It's very unforunate that the only surviving records of the court (Diamond's account) listed some of the men by initials only!  Research is much more difficult when only initials are known for the given name, especially if the surname is common in the locality of research. 

***UPDATE ON THE MORRIS MEN FOUND HERE.***

Any help, suggestions, additions or corrections to any of the Morris Men would be appreciated. We have not been able to find information posted by descendants on any of the online family trees on RootsWeb.com, Ancestry.com, etc.

Thomas B. Floyd

The following short biography was sent by a Floyd descendant:

Thomas B. Floyd was born about 1831 in Tennessee (1860 Cooke County, Texas Census show his age as 29). Thomas married Cloe Carter (born 14 Feb 1835 in Maury Co., Tennessee, died 29 Jan 1900 Cooke Co., Texas). Cloe is interred in New Hope Cemetery, Burns City, Cooke County, Texas. They married 4 May 1851 in Maury County, Tennessee.

They had a son, named Kinchen Floyd born about 1852 in Tennessee. He was 8 years old in the 1860 Census. No record of him has been found since the Great Hangings.

They had a daughter, named Martha Jane Floyd born 20 April 1858 in Cooke Co., Texas, died 1906 in Cooke Co., Texas and interred in the New Hope Cemetery. Martha married Wilber Fisk Riley 25 October 1872 in Cooke Co., Texas. They had seven children.

Cloe Carter Floyd had another child: Thomas Hammond Floyd born 31 Dec 1863 and died 18 May 1937. He married Sarah Katherine Parsons in Cooke County, TX. They are interred in New Hope Cemetery, Burns City, Texas. Thomas Hammond's death certificate shows T. H. Floyd as his father.

Cloe Carter Floyd married Alison W. Roark. They had two daughters, Cordelia (born 1870, died 1915) and Charity (born 1872, died 1937). Both married men by the last name of Howard. They are interred in the New Hope Cemetery, Burns City, Texas.

The family account says that THOMAS B. FLOYD was shot in the back at an ambush on Elm Creek. The family does not know where he was buried. All records have been searched to no avail. a Historian for Cooke County said that if the bodies were not claimed after the Hanging, they were buried in a mass grave on Elm Creek.

Marriage Record, Lewis County Marriage Records Book 1

Thomas B. Floyd Married Cloey Carter 4 May 1851

by S. D. Edmiston, J.P. in  Lewis County, Tennessee.

1860 Census US Federal Census, Cooke County, Texas, page 227

The following biography was found in a Lewis County, Tennessee History Book:

Lewis County, Tennessee: Est 1843, Lewis Historical Society, Turner Publishing Co., Kentucky, 1995, pg 89

CARTER-JOHNSON
Family history has been my interest for many years and my connection with Lewis County was in its earliest creation.  The Carter and Johnson families came to Maury county from North Carolina before 1820.
My great-great-grandfather, Kinchen Carter, was married to Kessiah Johnston on Feb 6, 1822, by Charles Harrington. (MauryCounty Marriage Record 1807-1837 by Priest and Alexander 1962).
Kinchen Carter was elected a magistrate of District 8 after Lewis County was formed in 1843. (Goodspeed’s History of Lewis County, p. 803)  According to Lewis County’s Minute and Quarterly Court Records, he served as commissioner and juror until 1852.  His brother, Gideon,also served in county government.
At least 11 children were born to Kinchen and Kessiah Carter, including my great-Grandmother, Clora Carter.  She supposedly was of half-Cherokee blood.  She married Thomas B. Floyd on May 4, 1851.  (Lewis County Marriage Records Book 1)  A son, Kinchen Floyd,was born before they migrated with other members of the family to Texas.  Two of Clora’s sisters married Morris’ and were neighbors in the 1860 Cooke County, Texas census.
Two other children were born to the Floyds.  A daughter, Martha Jane, married Wilber Riley and a posthumous son, Thomas Hammon Floyd, who married Sarah Parsons.  Descendants still live in the Cooke County area.
Thomas B. Floyd, a Unionist, was shot and killed while trying to escape and W.W. Morris was hung for “Disloyalty and Treason” after Texas joined the Confederacy. (Great Hanging at Gainesville 1862 by G. W. Diamond, p.89)
Clora Carter Floyd later married my great-grandfather, Allison W. Roark, and had two daughters.  Charity and Cordelia married two Howard brothers, who originally came from Lincoln County, TN.

Cordelia and George Wesley Howard had seven children while moving to Oklahoma and New Mexico.  My father, George Wesley Jr., married Lois Amanda Teeters in Wichita, KS and later moved to Colorado and King County,Washington.  This is where I grew up and stayed after my own marriage.

The Kinchen Carter family lost two son-in-laws during the hanging in Gainesville: Thomas Floyd (shot) and M. Wesley Morris (hanged).

The following family history information for the Kinchen Carter family is from Jackson County (Arkansas) Historical Society “Stream of History,” Vol. IV, No. 3, page 8, published July 1966.

Kinchen Carter, died in Jackson County about 1855, married Kezziab (Cazar) Johnston, who was born about 1805 in Tennessee, died March 31, 1868, in Jackson Co., Ark. (She was probably a sister of James Johnston, father of Andrew Aridy" Johnston.) They had fourteen children, two of whom died in infancy. The others were:
1. John. Carter: living 1868 in Lawrence County, Tennessee; married and had issue with Jessie Carter, Emma Carter.
2. Fannie Carter: living 1868 in Lawrence County, Tennessee; married William Floyd and had issue: Caroline, Mandy.
3. Anne Carter: living 1868 in Cook Co., Texas; married Wesley Morris, who had died before 1870.
4. Chloe Carter: living 1868 in Cook Co., Texas; married Thomas Floyd, who had died before 1870.
5. Vicey Carter: died before 1870; married Mac Carroll, who had died before 1870; issue – William James Carroll, living 1868 in Lawrence Co., Tennessee.
6. William Carter: died before 1870; married and had. William James “Mack” Carter living 868 in Lawrence Co, Tenn.
7.Gideon G, Carter: died before 1870; married and had James Carter, residence unknown in 1868.
8. Martha Carter: born about 1846 in. Tenn.; married James C. Grubbs (born 1837) and had Mary, James, John, Cora, and Lizzie.
9. Sarah Carter: born 1848Tenn.; living 1868 Jackson Co., Ark.; married Dec. 1, 1865, Joseph Sutherland, born about 1844, died about i884; had issue: Bud Sutherland and four others.
10. Charles Dufield Carter: born Jan. 1839 in Tenn.; died about 1866; married Sept. 9, i88, N. Arenia Turner, born Sept.1842 in Ark., living i868 in Jackson Co., Ark.; issue-Kansas Carter, born 1859, and Andrew Carter.
11. Jane Carter: born 1842 Tenn.; died before 1870; living 1868 in Jackson Co., Ark.; married M. L. Garland, who died before 187O issue--Elizabeth.
12. Jarrett Record “Cord” Carter, also called “Jack” Carter in younger days: born Jan. 26, 1840, Tenn., died Jan. 11, 1912; married 1863 Mrs. Melissa (Benson) Jones; married Mary Jane Sutherland, born May 7, 1850, died July ), 1911. Issue by Mary Jane Sutherland--Betty (born Mar. 12, 1873, married John Pennington, who was born Aug. 12, 1868), Sarah (born Oct. 2, 1874), Jarrett R. Jr. (born Jan. 17, 1877, married Lula ford, daughter of Bill ford, and had Ben, Tom, Linzy), Mabel (born Sept. 5, 1883, married first a Ford, then Charles Evins), Rosenell (born Oct. 17, 88, married Artie Evins), arid Maud (married Adolph Huey).

Gainesville Hanging Marker

The marker for the "Great Hanging at Gainesville, 1862" is located in the Georgia Bass Park on the east bank of Pecan Creek, between Main Street and California Street.  The marker was erected in 1964.  According to a local, at one time the Gainesville Hanging marker was located west of I-35, near Elm Creek and later moved to it's present location.

Close-up of the marker - marker text at bottom of this post.

Marker Text:Facing the threat of invasion from the north and fearing a Unionist uprising in their midst, the people of North Texas lived in constant dread during the Civil War. Word of a "Peace Party" of Union sympathizers, sworn to destroy their government, kill their leaders, and bring in Federal troops caused great alarm in Cooke and neighboring counties. Spies joined the "Peace Party" discovered its members and details of their plans. Under the leadership of Colonels James Bourland, Daniel Montague and others, citizens loyal to the Confederacy determined to destroy the order; and on the morning of October 1, 1862, there were widespread arrests "by authority of the people of Cook County." Fear of rescue by "Peace Party" members brought troops and militia to Gainesville, where the prisoners were assembled, and hastened action by the citizens committee. At a meeting of Cooke County citizens, with Colonel W.C. Young presiding, it was unanimously resolved to establish a Citizens Court and to have the Chairman choose a committee to select a jury. 68 men were brought speedily before the court. 39 of them were found guilty of conspiracy and insurrection, sentenced and immediately hanged. Three other prisoners who were members of military units were allowed trial by Court Martial at their request and were subsequently hanged by its order. Two others broke from their guard and were shot and killed. The Texas Legislature appropriated $4,500 for rations, forage used by State troops here during the unrest. (1964)

Not sure why the names of all the men who died in the hanging were not placed on the marker. It would seem that they deserve being remembered by name!

Found an article on the Gainesville Hanging marker by author James Loewen.

In his book, Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong, James Loewen gives an interesting take on the Gainesville Hanging historical marker.   Loewen considers the modest marker an "extended excuse" for what happened in October 1862.   He explains how years earlier in 1911, Gainesville put up a Confederate monument on the courthouse lawn that was "a counterfactual statement to cover over the awful crime that the Confederates carried out on these very grounds in October 1862."

Ceremony Commemorates Great Hanging 2010

Last Saturday, the fourth annual Gainesville Hanging Commemoration was sponsored by the Cooke County Historical Commission.  The following newspaper article is from the GAINESVILLE DAILY REGISTER, Gainesville Texas. October 18, 2010

Ceremony Commemorates Great Hanging

By PAMELA ROBINSON, Register Staff Writer

Gainesville Daily Register

Gainesville — History can lie buried, like a civilization covered over by centuries of dust and then layers of earth. But, it is still there, and can be brought back to life by someone researching the site or event.

The Gainesville history of The Great Hanging was unearthed by Leon Russell, who made it his business to shed light on an unsettling event that took place in our town.  Russell is credited for starting the yearly ceremony to commemorate the victims of The Great Hanging which took place in 1862.

Saturday morning, Russell was at the fourth commemoration in his wheel chair and one arm in a sling, at the Georgia Bass Park, the actual site of the hangings in 1862. He said his intent has always been to bring justice to a group of men whose lives were ended.

During the ceremony Ron Melugin, Chair of the Cooke County Historical Commission and fellow commission member Colleen Clark Carri, walked through the rows of crosses and read each name and rang a bell in remembrance of each person.

Russell then spoke to those at the gathering.  “Now that we’ve heard the names, who are these people?” Russell asked. “Well, for the most part, they were non-slave owners, with one or two exceptions, and for the most part they were out in the eastern part of the county and for the most part, they were grubbing their living out of a little garden spot and trying to perfect their claim under the Peters colony. Most of them would have been subject to the draft, the Confederate draft, and they really didn’t want to go fight the rich man’s war, the planter’s war. They left 42 widows and about 170 children.”

Russell joked that people might look at him and say, “well, what’s an old guy in that shape, what would be his interest in something like this, and I can tell you right quick, when I first learned of this I thought it was just such a horrible injustice. And this is a country that’s supposed to have been formed on the basis of justice. What happened to the idea that every man is considered innocent until proven guilty by a competent court by a jury of his peers?”  Russell became very emotional during his address and said, “The people that did it trashed that and I’m here to speak out against them. And if I don’t get to say anything more, I hope they’re watching,” he said as he looked around, “because I want to say, ‘you didn’t get us all yet,’” to the applause of the gathered audience.

Russell himself is not a descendant of anyone involved in The Great Hanging but said, “The scale of justice has to be re-balanced somewhere, that’s our fundamental belief.”

L.D. Clark was the featured speaker at the commemoration and wrote the book, “A Bright Tragic Thing,” about the hanging.  Melugin introduced Clark as a noted author and specialist on the Great Hanging and a decedent of Nathaniel Miles Clark who was hanged. Clark is now as a resident of Gainesville. 
“You know why we are gathered here today? Because 148 years ago in 1862, there started what is called a ‘reign of terror’ in Gainesville because over a three-week period, 42 men were hanged and a couple were shot. This went on for three weeks and you can imagine what it was like in the whole county,” Clark started. “They had a so-called jury...You might as well say it was a mob to begin with.”

Clark said most of the people got the sham trial, but pointed out that his ancestor Nathaniel Miles Clark and 11 other men never even got the sham trial. “When everything is going into chaos, that’s when the rule of law is supposed to kick in,” Clark said.

Clark introduced two of Ephraim Chiles’ great-granddaughters, Barbara Parcell of North Richland Hills and Shirley Clough of Kansas. Clough addressed the audience and told them about the history they are working on, which led then to Gainesville for the first time for the commemoration. Chiles and his brother Henry Chiles were the first two men to be hanged.

The Commemoration of the Great Hanging started four years ago after Russell went before the Gainesville city council to start the ceremony.  “He felt it just needed to be done,” his daughter Gayle Russell said.  Russell grew up in Woodbine and when someone mentioned The Great Hanging to him, he had no idea what they were talking about.  “It started hanging on his heart,” Carri said, “and he contacted Ron Melugin and said ‘I want to do something about it and I’m running into roadblocks and I can’t get anybody to talk to me about this.’ Ron said, ‘well, I’ll talk about it. So one thing led to another...’”

Russell and his wife and his nurse also made the crosses, one for each victim, for the commemorations.

The commemoration is sponsored by the Cooke County Historical Commission.

A huge memorial stone commemorating the events is located in Georgia Bass Park. The park is located between California Street and Main Street and is east of Pecan Creek.


Previous Memorial Events:

2007 Memorial Service - 1st Commemoration

2008 'Great Hanging' Commemoration 

2009 Family Members attend Dedication Ceremony