Previously:
[May 20, 1870] -
A KENTUCKY TRAGEDY.
Four Men Taken from Jail in Laurel County and Hanged by a Mob--Effect of a Family Feud.
[Special Mt. Vernon (Ky.) correspondence (May 10) of the Louisville Commercial.]
A large portion of the county was thrown into a state of great excitement some days ago over a terrible murder committed just above Rockcastle river, in the border of Laurel county. The victim's name was P. H. Bullock, a young lawyer of Laurel county, and of good standing as a citizen. Young Bullock resided on his father's farm, between whom and some of his neighbors and relations, by the name of Parker, there has, for over a year, existed a mortal feud, which culminated as above stated, in the death of the young Bullock and the wounding of his little brother, sixteen years old, five times. The Bullocks were planting corn in a field adjoining a very dense wood, and when within fifty yards of the wood, advancing toward it, they were suddenly fired on out of the brush by five or six persons; two of the party in the field escaped unhurt. There was no positive proof against the Parkers, but a great many strong circumstances pointed to them as the murderers, and accordingly they were arrested, and after some delay tried before an examining court and committed for further trial without bail. On Saturday morning last (14th), at about one o'clock, the guard state that from 100 to 200 men, all in disguise, suddenly surrounded the jail and demanded the keys, telling the guard they did not intend them any harm, but unless they surrendered the keys they would tear down the jail." (I have neglected to say that four of the Parkers were arrested and in jail, and a man by the name of William Shelter, an accomplice making five in all). The guard readily gave them up, [...illegible...] of the party went in, took out the five unfortunate men, and carrying them some half a mile from town on the Manchester road, hung four of them to one tree, where they were found next morning by the citizens, stark and cold in death, with a notice pinned to one of them, "Don't cut them down before twelve." The youngest of the five, Allie Parker, is missing. It is unknown what became of him. Some think he probably escaped the mob. All four of the doomed victims have left wives and little children to bewail their terrible fate. While in all probability they had forfeited their lives to the laws of the country, still, all good citizens condemn the act of hanging them. Thus, within the short space of two weeks, out of one little neighborhood five human beings, hurled into eternity without warning and unprepared, and five families of women and little children, besides gray-haired fathers and tottering old mothers, bowed down in sorrow, heart-broken, bereft and refusing to be comforted. [1]
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[May 22, 1870] -
P. H. Bullock, a young lawyer, and his little brother, of Rock Castle county, were fired on by some assassins one day last week, and the former was killed, and the little boy was wounded. Five men, viz: William Hullan and Pleasant, Daniel, Willis and Alex. Parker, Jr., were arrested on suspicion and sent to jail. On the same night an armed band of men, numbering about 70, took them by force from the jail in London, and hung all but Alex. Parker, whose fate is involved in mystery. It is believed the party were guilty of the assassination. --Louisville Courier. [2]---
[May 30, 1870] -
FOUR MEN HANGED IN KENTUCKY.
Ambushing and Murdering Corn-Planters--In Prison on Suspicion--Judge Lynch Makes a Descent--Are These Four Men Guilty?
A correspondent of the Louisville Commercial gives the following particulars of the recent lynching in Mount Vernon, Ky.
The whole party of the county was thrown into a state of excitement over a terrible murder committed just across Rockcastle river, in the border of Laurel county. The victim's name was P. H. Bullock, a young lawyer of Laurel county, an of good standing as a citizen. Young Bullock resided on his father's farm, between whom and some of his neighbors and relations by the name of Parker, there has, for over a year, existed a mortal feud, which culminated, as above stated, in the death of Young Bullock, and the wounding of his little brother, 16 years old, five times. The Bullocks were planting corn in a field adjoining a very dense wood. Advancing toward it, they were suddenly fired on out of the brush by five or six persons. Two persons escaped unhurt of [t]he party in the field.
There was no positive proof against the Parkers but a great many strong circumstances pointed to them as the murder some delay, tried before an examining court after some delay, tried before an examining court, and committed for further trial without bail. On Saturday morning, the 14th, at about one o'clock, the guards state that from one to two hundred men, all in disguise, suddenly surrounded the jail and demanded the keys, telling the guard they did not "intend them any harm, but unless they surrendered the keys they would tear down the jail." (I have neglected to say that four of the Parkers were arrested and in jail, and a man by the name of Wm. Shelter, an accomplice, making five in all). The guard readily gave them up, whereupon some of the party went in, took out the five unfortunate men, and, carrying them some half a mile from the town on the Manchester road, hanged four of the to one tree, where they were found next morning by the citizens, stark in death, with a notice pinned to one of them: "Don't cut down before 12." The youngest of the five, Allie Parker, is missing. It is unknown what became of him. Some think he probably escaped the mob. [3]
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[May 30, 1870] -
TRAGEDY IN KENTUCKY.--A young lawyer, of good standing as a citizen, P. H. Bullock, of L[aurel] county, Ky., was murdered recently by some neighbors and relatives named Parker. Four of the Parkers were arrested and lodged in jail with an accomplice named Wm. Shelter. On the 14th inst., over 100 men, all in disguise, took out the five prisoners and hung four of them half a mile from the jail. The youngest of the Parker brothers is missing and may have escaped. On the back of one of the Parker corpses was a note, concluding as follows:
"We never interrupt good men. We bid your county adieu. Be honest men and you will never suffer; but woe to the murderers!" [4]
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Numbers 7, 8, 9 and 12 on 1870 Census Mortality Schedule, Laurel County, Page 3. [5]
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[March 25, 1871] -
William Sheldon, Pleasonton Parker, Daniel Parker, Willis Parker, hung by mob in Laurel County, May 14, 1870. [6]
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[1] "A Kentucky Tragedy." New York Herald, New York, NY. May 20, 1870. Page 9. Genealogybank.com.
[2] Columbus Daily Enquirer, Columbus, GA. May 22, 1870. Page 1. Genealogybank.com.
[3] "Four Men Hanged in Kentucky." Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH. May 30, 1870. Page 1. Genealogybank.com.
[4] "Tragedy in Kentucky." Galveston Tri-Weekly News, Galveston, TX. May 30, 1870. Page 1. Genealogybank.com.
[5] 1870 Census Mortality Schedule, Laurel County, Page 3.
[6] Excerpt from "Memorial of A Committee Appointed at a Meeting of Colored Citizens of Frankfort, Ky., and Vicinity." Miscellaneous Documents of the Senate of the United States, for the First Session of the Forty-Second Congress. Letter written March 25, 1871; before Congress on April 11, 1871. Pages 53-56 for Google Books version.
Also reported in:
[] "More Lynching." Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH. May 18, 1870. Page 4. Genealogybank.com.
[] "Judge Lynch in Kentucky." Memphis Daily Appeal, Memphis, TN. May 19, 1870. Page 1. LOC. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045160/1870-05-19/ed-1/seq-1/
[] "Lynching in Kentucky." Jackson Citizen Patriot, Jackson, MI. May 24, 1870. Page 3. Genealogybank.com.
.
See also:
[] Sentinel-Echo, London, KY. August 12, 1954.
4 comments:
I am interested in this story. The wife of James Bullock was a sister to the Parker's. What happened to her? She was not listed in the 1870 census.
James Bullock was married to Matilda Parker. They were my GGGP's. From what I can determine, Matilda Parker Bullock was deceased before Feb. 21, 1866 when James sold land without her name or signature. All other land records have both names listed. She was definitely deceased before the 1870 census.
There has been a great deal of speculation regarding "why" this event happened. Some websites/articles mention that James abused Matilda and the kids but that seems untrue, as they had several children and the children were shot at as well. Peter (PH) became an attorney and James was well respected by the community and the courts. He was often sought out by the courts to present information and to act as administrator of wills guardianships.
There was also a story that Joseph Bullock, son of James and Matilda was mentally challenged and the Parkers became upset with him. It is true that Joseph was listed as "insane" in census records and shortly after the shooting, James had Joseph committed to the Western State Lunatic Hospital in Hopkinsville, KY. One record I found indicated that Joseph had been shot during the incident but not fatally. In my opinion, Joseph's illness is not a strong enough case for the cause of the shooting.
In the vain of "follow the money", land feuds seems the most likely reason this happened. Matilda's father, Pleasant, was deceased and James was one of the executors of the will along with Alexander Parker (one of the hanged men and brother of Matilda Parker). There were a LOT of land transactions where James M Bullock purchased many parcels of land belonging to originally to the Parker family. In February 1863, James M. Bullock obtained a license to use PL Parker roadside stand, which probably caused hurt feelings. Peter had also began to purchase Parker lands, one transaction from Joseph parker and another from Margaret Parker.
Other than James having Joseph committed to the institution (which is referenced in the Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Volume 1), there are very few legal records for James Bullock after the shooting. In 1876, he sold 96 acres on Parker Creek but he owned many more acres, for which there are no sales records. On July 6, 1880, he is listed on the Lincoln County Census as a shingle cutter. This the the Last Known Reference that I can find of my grandfather.
Only two of James M Bullock' and Matilda Parker's children had families. I descend through William, who had several children in Pineville, Bell Co, KY. Another son, Pleasant Lewis "Parks" Bullock had three children before he was killed in a tunnel explosion in Morgan Co, KY. His wife remarried and Parker's children were raised by his spinster sister, Sarah. She and the children later moved to Oklahoma.
James Bullock was married to Matilda Parker. They were my GGGP's. From what I can determine, Matilda Parker Bullock was deceased before Feb. 21, 1866 when James sold land without her name or signature. All other land records have both names listed. She was definitely deceased before the 1870 census.
There has been a great deal of speculation regarding "why" this event happened. Some websites/articles mention that James abused Matilda and the kids but that seems untrue, as they had several children and the children were shot at as well. Peter (PH) became an attorney and James was well respected by the community and the courts. He was often sought out by the courts to present information and to act as administrator of wills guardianships.
There was also a story that Joseph Bullock, son of James and Matilda was mentally challenged and the Parkers became upset with him. It is true that Joseph was listed as "insane" in census records and shortly after the shooting, James had Joseph committed to the Western State Lunatic Hospital in Hopkinsville, KY. One record I found indicated that Joseph had been shot during the incident but not fatally. In my opinion, Joseph's illness is not a strong enough case for the cause of the shooting.
In the vain of "follow the money", land feuds seems the most likely reason this happened. Matilda's father, Pleasant, was deceased and James was one of the executors of the will along with Alexander Parker (one of the hanged men and brother of Matilda Parker). There were a LOT of land transactions where James M Bullock purchased many parcels of land belonging to originally to the Parker family. In February 1863, James M. Bullock obtained a license to use PL Parker roadside stand, which probably caused hurt feelings. Peter had also began to purchase Parker lands, one transaction from Joseph parker and another from Margaret Parker.
Other than James having Joseph committed to the institution (which is referenced in the Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Volume 1), there are very few legal records for James Bullock after the shooting. In 1876, he sold 96 acres on Parker Creek but he owned many more acres, for which there are no sales records. On July 6, 1880, he is listed on the Lincoln County Census as a shingle cutter. This the the Last Known Reference that I can find of my grandfather.
Only two of James M Bullock' and Matilda Parker's children had families. I descend through William, who had several children in Pineville, Bell Co, KY. Another son, Pleasant Lewis "Parks" Bullock had three children before he was killed in a tunnel explosion in Morgan Co, KY. His wife remarried and Parker's children were raised by his spinster sister, Sarah. She and the children later moved to Oklahoma.
My great- grandmother, Margaret Parker Parrett, was a sister to the hanged men. She was married to Joseph Parrett, a Civil War veteran. They lived in Jackson County. I am not certain when she died, but he moved to Rockcastle County in the 1890s and remarried.
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