Hopkins Co. TX - Killing & Hanging

Submitted by: June E. Tuck  <1224be@neto.com>

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Andrew Jones was hung on the south side of South Sulphur in Fannin
County, about two miles from the line between Fannin and Lamar, on July
10, 1844. Account given by a man who was an eye witness. The persons upon
whom this summary of justice was administered, were Andrew Jones, Harvey
White, L. Wray and Mitchell, all lately from Missouri, and Jones, if not
the others, very notorious there as a murderer. The immediate cause of
their arrest was the barbarous and unwarrantable murder of some friendly
Indians, supposed to be Caddo, whom they visited under pretense of
friendship when encamped some seven miles above the place of execution.
The Indians were five in number, three of whom they killed, two others
escaped wounded. The Indians were taken by surprise and murdered. The
Indians had twelve horses, four guns and some peltry; all of which these
men got and were in possession of. One of the killed was a small boy who
begged for mercy but was held up at arms length by one of the ruffians,
(Reed, who succeeded in effecting his escape,) while another, Mitchell,
deliberately killed him with a knife. A second cause of arrest, was a
succession of thefts committed by them and the taking up and running off
a negro, supposed to be the one advertised in our paper, of late by Mr.
Bailes of Harrison county. Mitchell was first arrested at home, a short
distance from the place of execution. Wray was next taken on his way back
from some point near Shreveport where he had been selling some of the
stolen property. He had with him a mare and colt which he stole some
where below to ride home on. On the day of execution, he acknowledged the
affair with the Indians and the stealing of eleven horses since his
arrival in this country (Texas) in the later part of last winter. He also
stated that Jones and White said they had killed a man by the name of
Moss, either in Arkansas or Missouri, and they were hired to do it by a
man named Peevey.

Jones and White were taken at Fort Houston by a party of about 20 men,
and both were asleep with arms beside them - a double barreled shot gun
and a Bowie knife between them. They had both been drinking. Jones
screamed several times and shrunk as though to avoid a thrust from knife,
and when afterwards asked the reason, said he thought a party of the
"Turks" had him, and knew if they had, they would instantly stab him. The
Turks are a family in Missouri of whom he had killed one and participated
in the killing of another. Evidence was brought forward in the trial to
show the guilt of the accused, the witnesses being regular sworn, and
upon this and the statements and acknowledgments of Mitchell prior to the
arrest, and the confessions of Wary, sustained by the evidence of his own
son, Andrew Jones, Jewland, and Harris were arrested, but convicted of
nothing more than theft and were made to hang the others and ordered to
leave the county in ten days. Andrew Jones had told his wife, who was
present, that he had expected this for the last six years. Jones was a
man about 40 years of age; Mitchell and White about the same, Wary about
30 or 35. (The Northern Standard, July 31, 1844, Clarksville, Texas)