THE HURT FAMILY HISTORY page 3

Copied from Rollin HURT's notebook written in the year of 1907 by him and loaned to Ruby TAYLOR in 1962 by Mrs. Ralph HURT.
(Ruby TAYLOR's notes are in ITALICS)

Many thanks to Carl Johnson for submission of this bio.

I have heard my father say that the most desperate and undaunted man with whom he ever met, was one Isham KEITH. About the close of the Civil War, this man KEITH stole a very fine stallion in the state of West Virginia and fleeing with him came into this county. He was pursued by one Captain RIZEN, who had been a Confederate soldier. When RIZEN came into this county, he was directed to my father as the Sheriff of the county, by some person who gave the Capt. a description of the personal appearance of my father. RIZEN and my father met upon the public highway- neither of them attended by anyone. RIZEN instantly recognized him, from the description, and solicited his assistance in capturing KEITH and the horse. My father said that from experience, he had learned where a man would naturally rendezvous in this county, when he knew what crime he was guilty of. He and RIZEN immediately proceeded to the Harvey's Ridge. RIZEN gave a good description of the horse but did not know the man. When they came near the house of Cager FLETCHER (Hawk FLETCHER, as he was called) my father left RIZEN in a place of concealment and he rode up to the house of FLETCHER to investigate and make inquiries for KEITH. Just as he arrived at FLETCHER's yard fence, a man, whom my father knew by the description of the stolen horse, rode out from FLETCHER's upon the horse. KEITH was a large, powerful man of over 200 lb. weight and six feet tall. My father desiring to bluff him into submissions approached him and presenting a pistol at his breast demanded his surrender. KEITH entirely undaunted instantly presented his revolver which my father grasped with his hand and undertook to take away from KEITH. KEITH held on and in his efforts to disarm KEITH was dragged down from his horse. There followed then a terrific struggle for the mastery. Sometimes one would be down and then the other and the nearby rail fence was thrown to the ground for several yards. Several times my father could have shot KEITH and ended the contest but he deferred that until the last necessity. Finally they were both upon their feet and each of them still holding to KEITH's pistol with a death-like grip. My father called upon FLETCHER to come to his assistance but FLETCHER feared to do so. My father was just raising his pistol to shoot KEITH, when FLETCHER's bull-dog came to the rescue and seizing KEITH by the leg held him like in a vise until my father could wrest the pistol from him and search him. He then beat off the dog and gave a loud call for RIZEN, who thinking that he was in distress, came at his horse's topmost speed and with a cocked pistol in his hand. My father in the meantime, having handed KEITH's pistol to FLETCHER to hold, RIZEN seeing FLETCHER, with the cocked pistol, thought that FLETCHER was KEITH and that he was standing my father off. RIZEN, galloping up at once threw his cocked pistol on FLETCHER and demanded his name. FLETCHER answered, "FLETCHER! FLETCHER! FLETCHER!" a great many times. Matters were then explained and my father turned KEITH over to RIZEN, who tied him upon the stolen horse. KEITH never at any time evinced the least fear or trepidation.

Thomas KEETON was one of the noted outlaws and free riders, who harassed this portion of the country during the Civil War filling the people with fear. The mother's silenced their children by threats of his coming. He had at first enlisted as a soldier in the Federal army but was either discharged or became disconnected from the army in some way. He then associated himself with a band of men, who were like himself, and at their head, he infested the counties of Cumberland, Clinton, Russell, Adair, Metcalfe, Green, Taylor, and Marion. Under pretense of being an attaché of the Federal cause, he did not scruple to commit either murder, robbery, larceny or arson. He was a very daring man, who always made his words good, and was a superb horseman and a fine shot. My father learned that he was sojourneying about four miles from Columbia, near the Columbia and Burksville road and was accompanied by three of his men. My father called to his assistance, Benjamin STOTTS and his two sons, Samuel STOTTS and Dallas STOTTS, who were then scarcely grown men, and all well armed went in search of KEETON and his forces. The parties being equal in numbers encountered each other upon the Columbia and Burksville just after nightfall. Each recognized the other but not until my father's party had dismounted. My father called upon KEETON to surrender and instantly, man for man, they covered each other with guns and pistols. KEETON seemed to realize that the hazard was too great to play for, and asked for a parley. My father covered by the weapons of KEETON and his party walked forward and seized KEETON's horse by the bridle, all the time declaring that if a shot was fired into him, that he would certainly be able to kill KEETON and keeping his pistol with a drawn bead upon KEETON's eye. KEETON made a movement to pull his horse backward and my father realizing that this was meant to distract his bead upon his eye, and instantly to fire, he warned KEETON not to move the horse again under penalty of instant death. Thus, they stood for a minute, each with a bead drawn upon each other's eye - a duel of nerve - when KEETON unconditionally surrendered and at the same time, handed to my father his pistols and then his associates also surrendered and were disarmed. Just at this time my father discovered that he had an ally, of whom up to this time, neither of the parties had any knowledge. Hiram K. TURK, an old and reputable citizen, who lived near by and seeing what was impending had approached in the rear of KEETON's party, and sinking upon his knees, so as to avoid injuring my father or any of his party had covered KEETON or some of his party with a musket. My father under an order from court took KEETON and his party to Louisville and placed them in jail there. General John M. PALMER of Illinois was then the military commander for the district of Kentucky, and his attention being called to the matter under some pretense, I do not know what, he issued a military order directing the release of KEETON from prison, which was immediately done, and he returned to Columbia on the day following my fathers return, and immediately proceeded to rob, plunder and murder, as before. He became emboldened by his release from prison, and everywhere threatened to kill my father, at the first sight of him and my father's friends confidently believed that he would very soon carry out his threat. Shortly after this, Judge James GARNETT and my father riding together from Columbia, upon the Columbia, Jamestown and Creelsboro road and just as they were descending the hill at the "Long View" upon said road, they heard a galloping of horses, which seemed to come along a road, which led from the Crocus road, where the CONOVER mill road intersects the Crocus road, across to the "Long View." In a moment KEETON and two other men, all armed, dashed up the road my father was traveling, and there halted, as though to wait for him. They had evidently been lying in wait for my father upon the Crocus road, but discovering that he had taken the other road, they galloped across to it, to intercept him. If my father had fled or shown any signs of trepidation, they would certainly have killed him, but inquiring of GARNETT if he was armed and receiving an affirmative answer, he directed GARNETT to draw and prepare for fighting and at that, same time he produced a revolver and holding it in his hand, cocked, he and GARNETT rode, at the same gate they were traveling, up to KEETON and his men. GARNETT said, "How are you, Gentlemen?" and this was the only word spoken by any of the parties and KEETON and his men turned about and galloped back in the direction by which they had come, without offering any injury to either of them. They evidently calculated that my father was going to sell out as early as possible, and feared that some of them would, also, meet death in the melee. My father had evidently, by this time gotten KEETON intimidated, because shortly afterward, he came to Columbia with a body of men for the avowed purpose of slaying John W. SUDDARTH, and proceeded to make search and inquiry for him. Thomas E. BRAMLLETTE was then Governor of Kentucky and resided at Columbia as well as General SUDDARTH, who was the Adjutant-General of the State. They approached my father and appealed to him to prevent the murder of John W. SUDDARTH, protesting that it was my father's duty as Sheriff to interfere. My father then summoned the Governor and Adj.-Gen. to assist him, when they tried to excuse themselves, pleading their high office, but he was inexorable and required them to arm and come with him. My father then called KEETON aside and taking his watch in his hand, notified him that if he and his companions were not out of sight within fifteen minutes, that he intended to proceed to kill every one of them. Within the stipulated time, KEETON and all of his, companions had disappeared. Shortly after this, KEETON met his death near the Muldraugh's Hill in Taylor County, as it was alleged from the kick of a horse, but many believed from a blow he received upon the head by one of his companions.

Upon another occasion my father had a warrant for the arrest of a horse thief, who had taken up with the company of the 13Th Cavalry, of which one Thomas WOODS was Captain. He went to make his arrest to a house on Leatherwood Creek, where he had information that he then was. My father was accompanied by two men and when they drew near the house at about dusk in the evening, the man wanted came out of the house and opened fire upon them. My father's two assistants took to flight at their horses greatest speed. My father returned the fire then the man retired into the house and my father rushed into the house with the intention, then and there, having it out with him, but to his great surprise, when he came into the house, he found there Captain WOODS and several of his men. He instantly recognized from the fact that the soldiers had drawn and cocked pistols that he had no chance to make the arrest and was in imminent peril of being killed himself besides. After passing a few words he retired from the house backwards and escaped in the dark. After he left he heard someone following him at a gallop and not being in a very pleasant mood, he withdrew to the shadow of a tree beside the road and waited for his pursuer with the intention of shooting him when he arrived. When the horseman arrived, it was Captain WOODS and when my father notified him of his intention to shoot him, WOODS begged piteously for his life and any complicity with the thief upon his post. My father then gave up the purpose of shooting WOODS and left. On the next day when the 13Th Cavalry were passing through Columbia my father arrested the thief and put him in jail.

One of the Captains of the 13th Cavalry was John R. CURRY. He was a native of this County. He was a very brutal, tyrannical and lawless man. On one occasion when he was in command of a company stationed at Columbia --- (dim)--- and gagged one of his men, whose name was GRIMES. GRIMES was lying in the street with his face upturned to a hot July sun. He observed my father passing near him and appealed to him for assistance. My father stopped and was saying to the man, that he had no power to assist him; that he, GRIMES, was a soldier and under the jurisdiction of his officers and that he -my father- had no influence with his Captain. CURRY observing this came to where GRIMES was and drew the gag in his mouth tighter and so much so that the poor fellows mouth was torn and he began to cry. Whereupon CURRY presented a pistol at him and after considerable abuse, said to him that if he did not stop his snubbing that he would blow his brains out. This was too much for the blood of my father and whipping out a revolver he placed it against CURRY's head and told him that if he did not put his pistol in its scabbard and cut GRIMES thongs and release him, that he would scatter his brains upon the street. CURRY had a drawn and cooked pistol but my father had the drop on him and CURRY was compelled to holster his pistol and to take his sword and stoop down and cut the thongs and release GRIMES. My father then required CURRY to put his hands above his head and walk away far enough from him that he could not use a weapon, This was done in the presence of several persons and CURRY felt the humiliation of it greatly and filling himself with liquor, on that afternoon he had started across the public square to raise a quarrel with my father, who observing it, prepared to defend himself in a very summary manner, but on the way across the square CURRY's attention was called to a young man named LONG, whom CURRY had ordered to be arrested. The soldiers who made the arrest brought LONG to CURRY when CURRY undertook to murder him, shooting at him several times. LONG broke away and ran for his life, when Dr. S.K. RHORER furnished LONG with a pistol and he turned upon CURRY and in the pistol duel which followed, between LONG and CURRY, CURRY was killed. CURRY had caused LONG to be arrested because he was a paroled rebel soldier.

Beau SHORT was a very noted guerrilla during the Civil War. His scene of operations was chiefly in Monroe and Cumberland Counties. He was finally killed in Monroe County in bed. On one occasion he was in Columbia, on some mission or other, and my father asked him to point out to him a certain desperado for whom he had a warrant and to assist in his arrest. SHORT assented at once to do so and mounted on their horses, he and my father proceeded to hunt the man. When near the old Presbyterian Church, they met the man and my father demanded his surrender. The man immediately drew a pistol, when my father putting his spurs to his horse cast him against the mount of the desperado so suddenly that he overturned him and his horse. SHORT then undertook to shoot the fallen man and my father only prevented it by threatening with drawn pistol to kill SHORT if he did and to shoot the other fellow, if he did not submit, which the desperado did. My father did not know, at the time, that SHORT and the man were enemies.

While my father was Sheriff two men were convicted of murder and adjudged to be hanged. The names of these parties were Green JOHNSON and William SMITH. JOHNSON killed a man whose name was John MILLER in this county, at the old Miller house on the Columbia and Creelsboro road. John was brother of Sam MILLER who married Sue HURT. A chicken squawked and John thought a thief was at the backyard and stepped out of the house in the dark and a shot killed him. He was a Union soldier and some rebel or guerrilla shot him it was thought. JOHNSON was found guilty. SMITH killed a man whose name was MORGAN in Cumberland County. My father executed these sentences by hanging them on the hill, which is to the south of the Male and Female High School building (now Junior High-1963). I can remember the occasion of the hanging of one of these men, but which one, I cannot remember, I remember to have seen my father, while at home, preparing the noose. The last time, that the benefit of clergy was ever plead for any criminal in the State of Kentucky, it was done by a lawyer who had formerly lived in Columbia-and whose name was JOHNSTON. This plea had become obsolete at the time and had not been -used or heard of for many years. The criminal was a Negro convicted of assaulting a woman. The place was Glasgow or Bowling Green, tradition does not say which. The granting of the plea by the Judge caused great indignation against him, as well as the lawyer. The mob kept the lawyer up in a hotel for several days, until the news reached Columbia, when a crowd of about twenty of the most resolute men in this county, went to his rescue. They were all large, tall men and my father was one of them. The rescuers took JOHNSTON from the hotel and with him paraded the streets of the town and invited the mob to any kind of conflict it desired but tile challenge was not accepted.

My father was always reputed to be a very true man to his friends and when a young man, his friend and neighbor Stephen WHITE, killed a man named COMES (name was dim) somewhere near the cave out of which the big spring runs, on the farm at the right of the read just on this side of Butter Pint (1963-Forest Jones t cave, just over fence from Joe JOHNSON's farm). My father out of friendship for WHITE's family, concealed WHITE in the garret of the house where BARGER now owns and was then occupied by my father and his mother, for one year, at the end of which time, WHITE came forth and surrendered to the authorities and was thereafter tried and acquitted.

A long time ago when my father was a very young man, a pitched battle was fought to a finish by John C. WHITE and his cousin James WHITE, on the hill south of the dwelling house of Richard DOHONEY. These young men had agreed to settle their differences by a fight to a finish in a ring on a day appointed. The countryside all gathered to see it and my father acted as the second for John C. WHITE who won the fight. The family of James WHITE then became so belligerent that it became necessary for my father to knock two of them down, which he promptly did.

Another incident of my father's life during the Civil War illustrates to what necessities men are driven in lawless times and what one resolute man can accomplish against a host. My father had sold to the Federal authorities a large quantity of corn and the soldiers were removing it with a good many teams. They refused to follow the road to his crib and instead pulled down his fences and were driving through his wheat, to its destruction. father requested them to desist from this but they gave his request no consideration. Thereupon armed with a pistol he rebuilt the fence and when another relay of wagons and soldiers came and approached the fence to pull it open, he warned them not to do so, which warning they insultingly scoffed at and several approached the fence. Presenting the pistol, he declared his purpose to kill the first man who would remove a rail, stating at the same time that he well realized that their numbers were such that they could and would certainly kill him, but that he would be sure to kill some of them. The crowd was awed because no one of them wanted to be the man to die. Whereupon they followed the road to the crib and no more trouble was had.

During the Civil War, at one time, GRIDER's Federal Regiment was encamped at Columbia and being very ill supplied with, the necessities, and a severe winter coming on, they sickened in great numbers and sought shelter everywhere, my father opened his house freely and at one time, there were twenty-four sick, bed-ridden soldiers in his house. Among these were Thomas FORD, Thomas ADAMS, John ADAMS, and BARTLEY, EMERSON, BRAY and others from Monroe County.

Withall being a strenuous man, my father was likewise a man who excelled in the arts of peace. In the year 1859 or 60, I do not know which, he raised, threshed and saved 1400 bushel of wheat upon his farm (now Bargers). So far as I know this is, the largest crop of wheat any one person has raised and saved from one farm in this county, either before or since said time. He bought and introduced the first threshing machine ever in Adair County as well as the first mowing machine and the first cast-iron can.... (page torn) mill. My grandfather had always been a distiller of spirituous liquors and when my father was a young man he made a journey to the city of Louisville for the purpose of purchasing two stills, in order to enter the business himself. He made the purchases and went to his hotel for the night. During the night he considered the matter further and on the next morning returned to the party from whom he had made the purchase and paid him a sum of money to make a rue bargain with him. His mind had changed on the subject during the night and he never engaged in the business.

From newspaper clippings:
My grandfather HURT (William HURT) reputed to have killed a bear at the Eubank Spring in Columbia.
His brother-in-law was killed in the battle of Monmouth.
My grandfather, William HURT, was a member of the first grand jury impaneled in Adair County.

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