The Search for Dennis Haynes, Winn Parish, LA Contributed by Greggory E. Davies 120 Ted Price Lane Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** This article was first published in LEGACIES AND LEDGENDS, the quarterly publication of the Winn Parish Genealogy Society. It is reprinted with the full knowledge and permission of that Society. Genealogy is history, and I have taken the liberty of trying to present more of a historical article for this edition of Legacies & Legends. I have long been a Winn Parish history buff, as many others have, but as we all know, so much of our history has been lost due to several reasons. First and probably foremost, the three Winn Parish courthouse fires destroyed years and generations of valuable historical material. Secondly, and sadly, the educational level of many of our ancestors was not so high, disabling them from leaving much written history even had they chosen to do so. Further, what we see every day, does not appear to be important to us, but certainly is to future generations, yet we fail to record it. The famed Long-Allen political dynasty and the famed Populist Movement that had deep roots in Winn Parish along with other historically important events of the area are not really news to us locals. A couple of years ago, I began working on a project which I had no plan to publish. Meanwhile, I have decided to one day publish my work concerning the men and boys from Winn Parish who served in the War For Southern Independence. The work is not limited to Confederate soldiers. It includes all the Union men, as well, that I have been able to document who served in this war so wrongfully described as "civil". I have spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours researching this project. No doubt I have failed to list some of the men from here or connected to Winn Parish in some way. Hardly a day goes by that I don't do some work toward the project. The biggest problem I have is the fear of publishing work that might give erroneous information or that I might omit some information that was simply overlooked or I failed to for diligently. A couple of years ago I stumbled across a reference to the Southern Claims Commission, which was set up by Congress during "Reconstruction" to entertain claims by the people of the South who were Union sympathizers and who had aided the Union cause in-kind, through donations of livestock, foodstuffs, or other means. I searched the index and found that three Winn Parish men had filed claims, seeking restitution. They were Dr. David H. Boultt of St. Maurice, Dr. Issac Peters of what would now be considered Hudson or New Hope or Gaar's Mill, Winn Parish, and Dennis Haynes, who I had never heard of or seen any reference to. I contacted the National Archives and the only one of these claims they had on file was that of Dr. Payne, which I obtained, and which gives a lot of valuable information. Relatives of Dr. Payne were jubilant when I furnised them copies of the information. I had a lot of information concerning Dr. Boultt who resided at the St. Maurice or Prothro Plantaion. I gave up on Dennis Haynes. Some time later, I found a list of Winn Parish Postmasters which long time Winn historian, Mr. "Buck" Sowers had assembled and lo and behold, Dennis Haynes was listed as Winnfield Postmaster for a short time during the 1870s. I realized that Haynes' holding such a prominent position during "Reconstruction", coupled with the fact that he had aided the Union cause, he was no doubt in favor of Louisiana's Radical Republican regime of the period. Still, nothing else came to light concerning this mystery man. As a member of the Louisiana Historical Association, I receive the Association's quarterly which features scholarly articles by some real historical heavyweights. Upon receiving the Winter 1997 edition, I opened it, and was shocked to see an article by an acquaintance, Dr. Arthur Bergeron, on DENNIS HAYNES. I skimmed the article with pessimism, knowing that I could not be lucky enough to have found information on "the" Dennis Haynes who had mysteriously appeared in Winn Parish during "Reconstruction" and in turn had just as mysteriously disappeared. I read and reread the article, which had references to Winn Parish, and immediately contacted Dr. Bergeron to question him about it. Dr. Bergeron assured me that he was about to republish Dennis Haynes' book, entitled "A Thrilling Narrative of the Sufferings of Union Refugees, and the Massacre of the Martyrs of Liberty of Western Louisiana: Together With a Brief Sketch of the Present Political Status of Louisiana, As to Her Unfitness for Admission into the Union. With Letters to the Governor of Louisiana and Noted Secessionists in That State, and a Letter to President Johnson on Reconstruction." Believe it or not that is the title of Haynes' book. I would venture a guess that no one in Winn Parish had realized that such a high ranking official of the "Reconstruction" movement, an author none the less, had resided here. Equally as shocking to me was that in the 1870 Census, this man was listed as living in the home of John Long, father of Huey P. Long, Sr., later the grandfather of Governor, U. S. Senator, and presidential hopeful Huey P. Long, Jr., Governor Earl K. Long, and Winn Parish District Attorney Julius Long. How happy I was to make the discovery. I offered to drive to Virginia and borrow from Dr. Bergeron one of the two copies of this book, known to exist, but Dr. Bergeron did not seem to open to the idea, though he found it somewhat humorous. Again, he assured me he was in the process of reprinting the book, which could shed some historical light on Winn Parish. Of interest, Haynes told of his capture by Confederates and the fact that he was a Mason, and that his communication with Confederate authorities who were also Masons, saved him from being executed. I examined the rolls and minutes of Eastern Star Masonic Lodge No. 151, F. & A. M., Winnfield, Louisiana, and did not find that Haynes had ever affiliated with the Winnfield Lodge, but that does not mean he never attended Lodge while here. Of further interest, Haynes was affiliated with the 2nd Louisiana Cavalry Scouts, USA, a unit in which several Winn Parish men served. No doubt many who are interested in genealogy are not necessarily interested in the "Civil War", but it is not every day we discover that Winn Parish had in its midst such a prominent Union man, an author no less, during a time period which we know so little about. How sad it is that there are no known Winn Parish newspaper accounts for this critical period. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to read about what Winn was like during the "Reconstruction" days, or when the West-Kimbrel Clan was extinguished? Sources: Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association Winter, 1997; Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1; "Dennis Haynes and His "Thrilling Narrative of the Sufferings...Martyrs of Liberty of Western Louisiana" by Dr. Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr. Southern Claims Commission (U. S. Congress)