Solomon Hinson's Son

A couple of years ago I posted a short description of Solomon Hinson. His connection to the Cane Creek Massacre was tenuous, but not incredibly so. A newspaper quoted a returned missionary who claimed it was Solomon Hinson  who spread around an inflamatory newspaper article about Mormons, riding house to house, even reading it outload to those who could not read it themselves. The missionary, Elder George Woodbury, was certainly a secondary source. And the only one. It proved only that there might have been rumors that Solomon Hinson was somehow involved beforehand.

After the post was published, a descendent of Solomon Hinson contacted me. Family tradition stated that yes he was indeed involved; not just before hand, but in the shooting itself. It was enough corroboration for me to consider his participation probable.

With the testimony of Harriet Conder, there is a third source. It is true that this source is even more removed. It is a second hand version, and it was not recorded until 65 years after the fact. And she does not actually claim he was at the massacre, only that he had a reason to be.  But the existance of a third independent source means I can be confortable with keeping him in the probable category.

Harriet called him Sol Hinson. A few documents refer to Solomon Hinson by the nick name Sol. A biography collected by the Lewis County Historical Society, a death certificate for one of his sons, and a census record, all indicate he was called Sol, making the connection between Harriet's Sol Hinson and Solomon Hinson a pretty good bet. There might have been other Sol Hinson's, but multiple matching points (i.e. related to Dave Hinson, the use of the nick name Sol, having a son of marriagable age in 1884) make the identification pretty reliable.

As for Sol's son, the one who Harriet claimed was getting baptized that day; Solomon Hinson had eight children. Seven were sons. It could be any one of them, or none of them.

Thomas J. Hinson was born in 1852. He was married in1872 to Margaret Hensley. Thomas does not appear in the 1880 census. There is a Thomas Hinson in Perry County who was very friendly with the missionaries in 1880 and 1881. But reference to him disapear after that and his home was on Roan Creek at the far side of Perry County from Lewis and Hickman counties. Other than their name, there is nothing connecting the two Thomas Hinsons.

David Green Hinson was born in 1854. He married a sister of his older brother's wife, Martha J.Hensley, in about 1876. He does apear in the 1880 census in Hickman County. No one by that name appears in missionary journals in that area.

John Andrew Hinson (1855-1944). He married Mary Ann Carroll on 26 Dec 1877. His wife's family name, Carroll, poses an interesting idea. Several members of the Carroll family were members of the LDS Church by 1884. Most baptisms at the time were relatives of existing members. Other Carroll family members were close friends of the missionaries. Sheriff John Carroll did have a daughter named Mary Ann. But in 1880, she was still living at home, single. If the marriage date is correct, then they could not be the same person.
In a twist, the descendent of Sol Hinson that I mentioned earlier, is descended through John A. Hinson. He added that his grandmother's brother, Clyde Hinson, said that John Andrew Hinson was at the Massacre too. Clyde went on to describe John as a very mean person who cared only about himself. I can imagine a scenario where John was at one time interested in the LDS Church, perhaps because of his wife, but was persuaded to change his mind by some inflammatory literature. But it is more likely that he was involved in order to protect a younger brother from being converted.

Andrew C. Hinson (1858-1929) married Sarah Atlanta Harris in about 1882. Andrew is a possibility but no one by that name appears in missionary journals in that area.

Polk D. Hinson was born in 1860, but did not marry his wife Drucilla Spears, until 1885, and so does not match Harriet's description.

Sarah A. Hinson. Although a child of Solomon Hinson she could not have been referred to as one of his sons.

William W. Hinson was born in 1865. He married Mary A.Talley, but marriage date has not been recorded. Like Mary Ann Carroll, Mary A. Talley may have been related to existing members of the church. There is a women by that name living in the area for whom no marriage is recorded. She is the niece of Eli Talley.

Solomon Jr. Hinson was born in 1868, was probably too young to have been married at the time or to have been baptized without a parent's permission.

Family Photos

One of the resons I like a blog as a medium for sharing Mormon history is that it encourages feedback from readers. Well, this was a week for feed back. 

Solomon J Hinson



One reader sent in two photographs of his ancestors who, according to family tradition were among the vigilantes who attacked the Conder home in 1884. 

The two were father and son Solomon Jordan Hinson and John Andrew Hinson (aka Turkey John).

The story was originally told by Clyde Hinson, a granson of Turkey John.



Turkey John Hinson

"He told us that his grand father 'John A. Hinson' was there, and did take part in the terrible day. He told me also about what kind of person John was, and it was not good. Clyde said that he was a very mean person who cared only about himself. He said that he use to ride his mule up and down Indian Creek with his shotgun by his side."



 But I also found it interesting that this reader had relatives on both side of the conflict. While his grandmother was a Hinson, his grandfather was a Carroll. There were several members of the Carroll family who were members of the Cane Creek Branch, including Malinda Carroll Conder.





Archibald Andrew Brown's Death

Last month, while looking through the bookshelves at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, I saw a book titled Death Notices from the Hickman County Pioneer Newspapers 1878-1893. Now, to just about anyone else that would probably call for a yawn. But , the Hickman County Pioneer was probably the primary news source for Hickman County and the northern parts of Lewis County as well. Since that includes Cane Creek, I figured the deaths at the Cane Creek Massacre would probably be in there. At the very least the death of David Hinson, a Hickman County resident would be in there.

Well, they weren't and he wasn't. It makes me wonder. What would be big enough to be considered news. I've gone back and looked at the microfilm for the Hickman Pioneer. There is a news story about it, but there are also many missing issues. The Pioneer was a weekly paper. But several of the weeks are just not there. That makes me think Nothing on the Massacre, and no obituary for David Hinson.

But I did find one on Archibald Andrew Brown. By a coincidence Arch Brown was one the mobbers identified by John Garrett. According to the obituary, he died on November 27, 1884 of Typhoid Fever. Which reminded me of the handfull of newspaper articles describing the fate of the mobbers. Some of the "fates" decribed have been gruesome. I'm not one to believe that God punishes us mortals in this life for our bad choices. I think he reserves that for the next life. So I read the "fates" of the mobbers with a healthy dose of doubt. But this is one I have been able to verify from an independent source.

Was Parson John Vandiver in the Mob?

Was Parson Vandiver in the mob that killed four Mormons in 1884 in an event now called the Cane Creek Massacre?

Parson John Hunter Vandiver (Vandever?) is identified in Belnap’s journal, though not as one of the vigilantes. He met with the Elders on March 9th 1880 and preached against them then. He is also in John H Gibbs’ journal. Gibbs and Vandiver got into a verbal argument. He appears in the Hickman Pioneer, under the name J. H. Vandeveer as preaching at Indian Creek the Sunday before June 13th 1884. He appears in John Nicholson’s discourse as John Clayton Vandiver as the primary mover of the Red Hot Address. He also appears in a list of Lewis county marriages as solemnizing more than one marriage under the name John H Vandiver. Plus he shows up as the first postmaster at Hohenwald (with Ruben Mathis as the first mail carrier).

It has been speculated that Vandiver was one of the vigilantes. George J. Woodbury made this claim in an interview with Deseret News. Mormons in other areas who experienced persecution often found ministers leading the way. In addition, Vandiver was at the front of anti-Mormon verbal attacks. But all this falls short of an actual accusation. In the same article we find this note.

John Vandiver, one of the mob, who was a rather noted Baptist preacher in that region and did all he could previous to the massacre to stir up a murderous feeling, by going around the country reading the villainous "Red Hot Address" published in the salt Lake Tribune to his congregations, was last year excommunicated from his church for rape, but was afterwards reinstated on declaring publicly to his congregation that the victim of his outrage was as much to blame as he was. Since then he has been preaching away as hard as ever, with undiminished popularity.

Another article describes the "news" from a lady who had lately arrived from the area of the Massacre.

The sister gave me some interesting details concerning the mobocrats. It appears that Parson Vandever, the person referred to in Elder Nicholson's lecture, the leader of the mob, and the person who catechised Elder Jones upon religious questions, has gone crazy and is a complete mental wreck.

John Vandiver was actually from Lawrence county, just south of Lewis County, where he was also a Baptist minister. He was married to Martha Roberts and they had two children, William and Martha. By 1880 his children have grown up he has moved to Hohenwald where in 1883 he marries a widow by the name of Mary Ann Hinson. I haven't figured out how she is related to the rest of the Hinsons in Lewis County. That would explain his association with the Hinsons.

According to Vandiver family records he died in 1931 at the age of 105. If for no other reason than his age, I would love to see that documentation. I'm not saying I doubt the family, but it is rather incredible.

Solomon Hinson

Solomon Jordan Hinson was a brother of "Grey George" Hinson who was the father of David Hinson. For two days prior to the Massacre, Solomon rode around to homes in Lewis County “inciting the people to hatred of the Mormons and gathering men for the contemplated raid upon Cane Creek.” He took with him an anti Mormon article, even reading it to those that could not read. For this reason he has been called the main instigator of the Massacre

Shortly following the Massacre, Solomon contracted tuberculosis. For the next couple years he slowly wasted away and in 1886 was near death. But he doesn’t actually die until March 5th, 1913.

The only source linking Solomon Hinson to the Massacre is an 1886 Deseret News
newspaper article based on an interview with a missionary, George J. Woodbury, that had just (in September 1886) returned from Tennessee. Although Elder Woodbury was certainly not a firsthand witness to the Massacre, and spent much of his time in the southern Tennessee, he did know many of the people involved and would have been exposed to all the rumors, gossip, as well as some reliable information concerning the Massacre. From a distance of over 120 years later, we may never be able to discern between accurate and inaccurate information. At the very least we can say that in 1886 Solomon Hinson’s involvement in Massacre was rumored.

Hugh Kirk Plummer

This is another in a series on alleged vigilantes at the Cane Creek Massacre]

Having gone through the list of known vigilantes, I get to the first person for which the evidence of his participation is less reliable. From here on I run the danger of accusing someone of participating that had no real involvement. And yet to have been involved would not have held the same stigma in 1884 that it does today. Often these were "prominent men." And if there were any of the alleged vigilantes who were considered a pillar of the community it was Dr. Hugh Kirk Plummer. He was well respected, well educated, and well known. As a doctor, he frequently travelled around Lewis, Hickman and Perry counties to tend to the sick. If he were typical, he was paid very little for his services.

He was born in the Palestine community, Lewis County, January 20 1844.

During the Civil War, Hugh enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in Company H, 19th (Biffle’s) Brigade, Tennessee Cavalry. His name is on the roll of Company E, same regiment, at the surrender of command by General Richard Taylor of Citronella, AL, May 10,1865.

Hugh married Mary Narcissus in Palestine, Lewis County, TN on Sept 25, 1866. He received his M.D. in 1867 from the University of Tennessee when it was still in Nashville. He practiced medicine in Lewis, Hickman, and Perry counties and before the birth of his last daughter moved his family to Linden TN.

The family attended the Methodist Church and Hugh was a member of several Masonic Lodges. He was also a member of the State Legislature from 1881 to 1883, representing Lewis, Hickman and Perry counties. He died in Linden TN on August 15, 1898. (Lewis County est 1843)

Several sources name him as being in the mob that came to the Condor home on August 10th, 1884.

Hyrun Belnap recorded in his autobiography the contents of a letter from John Garrett. The letter listed 12 names as being men in the mob. Dr Plummer is on the list, though in 1914, when the letter was written Dr Plummer was already dead.

Willard Washington Bean, recorded an interview in 1895 with John Anthony who had lived on Cane Creek near the Condor farm.

"The Condor boys decided to defend the Mormons and one of them grabbed a gun from over the door, but before he got a chance to use it, Doc Plummer, who seemed to be one of the leaders; shot him down."

John Anthony's testimony should be viewed with skepticism. He also claimed that the mob showed up in "white cap uniform." Of course, this was incorrect. The mob at Cane Creek wore colorful outlandish costumes, not the "white" that has become the well know image it is today. This error makes me seriously doubt John Anthony had first hand knowledge of the massacre, though not necessarily doubt his claim that "Doc Plummer" participated.

Another person Bean interviewed, identified only as Bill and who admitted he was not living in Lewis County when the massacre occurred, related the following:

"One of the Condor boys asked them what they meant by comin here with guns and reached for his rifle over the door, and while one of the mobbers wus grapplin with him for the gun, Doc Plummer shot the boy down. This was the match that touched off the powder."

It is hard to believe Bill's account since it was at best second hand, and quite possibly more distant than that. But we can certainly say he heard about Doctor Plummer's alleged participation and that it was considered common knowledge.

Miles L. Jones reported in 1934 that based on interviews with Ruben Mathis and Andrew Jackson Talley the following about the doctor.

"Someone was asked to go for a doctor, which they did, as he lived just a few miles from there; when they arrived at his house he had just unsaddled his horse that showed signs of having been recently ridden, and the doctor had not yet removed all of his disguise, and it was plainly evident that he was one of the mob. He responded, however, and pretended to give proper assistance to Sister Conder. He set her limb, but it afterwards developed that the leg was not properly set, and the bones were lapped an inch or so, and consequently she was crippled the rest of her life; she did, however, get able to walk around, and lived for nearly 32 years after the occurrence."

Dr. Plummer's name is never used in this version, but it is not unreasonable to assume about whom this story referred. There were a small number of physicians in rural Lewis County. And fewer who lived near the Condor home.

Using Jeremy Ricketts characterization of the typical vigilante, Dr Plummer fits the profile. He was a prominent member of the community who feels an obligation to the safety of the community. Of the all the members of the mob, he is the most likely to be motivated purely by the perceived danger presented by the Mormons missionaries rumored salacious intentions. The only surprise is that he easily believed the scurrilous stories for which there was no evidence.

Lindsey "Babe" Hinson

[This is a continuation of my series on the vigilantes at the Cane Creek massacre.]

Lindsey Hinson was the brother of David Hinson who was killed at the massacre. Known as "Babe", he has been identified as one of the vigilantes in several sources.

Babe was born in Tennessee in around 1850 to George "Grey George" Hinson and Nancy. His wife was called Jane or sometimes Sarah J. Though I have no marriage date or her maiden name.

In Frank Smith's history of Maury County, there is an undated account by William Hill McCaleb. In it William claimed that after David Hinson was killed...

"All the Hinson crowd ran except Babe Hinson, brother of Dave. It is said that it was Babe who remained. He killed the two Condor boys, the two Mormon
elders, and wounded Mrs John Carroll in the thigh. Mrs Carroll got well. None of the crowd disguised. Nobody wounded in the crowd except Dave, who was killed.
... Babe Hinson was unhurt, now living on Beaver Dam Creek."

When compared to other stories, this one seems to put Babe in the center of the action, they way you would expect it if Babe was the one telling the story. Babe is a hero and David Hinson's death caused Babe to exact his revenge by killing the two Elders, the two Condor boys and wounding their mother. But there are some critical errors that make the story harder to accept. Mrs John Carroll was not the one who was shot, rather it was John Carroll's sister, Malinda Carroll Condor. And several witnesses note the disguises. There are several other problems in portions not quoted here. So we are certainly not dealing with someone with first hand knowledge.

In 1895, Willard Washington Bean interviewed a man known only as "Bill." He considered Babe Hinson as still quite dangerous.

"But I reckon the Mormons and the folks around here have parted company, and it wouldn't be healthy for 'em to come back so long as Babe and Bill Hinson are around here. They seldom go anyplace without their guns. Babe wouldn't even go to the depot without strappin his gun on."

"Bill" certainly paints a picture of a dangerous man.

Babe is also included in Hyrum Belnap's autobiography. Probably recorded in 1914, it claims that John Garrett sent him a letter listing twelve men and claiming they were the ones who killed Elders Gibbs and Berry.

Jack Wells

[This is a continuation of my series on the vigilantes at the Cane Creek Massacre.]

During his visit to Cane Creek in 1895, Willard Washington Bean met with a man who claimed to be in the mob at the Condor home. His name was Jack Wells. He met Elder Bean while he was being shown around by his guide, Mr. Simpson. Bean wrote down Wells testimony in his journal later that night.

"Well to be candid with you Simpson, I believe the whole thing was a big mistake. I believe that damn newspaper article started the whole thing. Some fellers from the villiage rode up the creek here letting all read it as could read, and them that couldn't read, they read for them, and got us all excited. Yes I was there and saw all that happened. But me and some of the others, were only in favor of whipping them and giving them a good scare, but when they began to shoot I thought pretty fast, and realized I had made a big mistake; but I had nothing to do with the killin. I didn't even draw my gun. I dodged bullets until I saw a chance to get outside. No sir, I never approved of the killin. I saw Babe Hinson shot down in the yard, and some of us started to beat it, but one of the Hinson boys leveled his gun at us and said - 'come back here you damn cowards and help me take care of this man or you'll get it too.'

I went down,with others, next morning to view the scene of the trouble, and I tell you it was a sorrowful lookin sight. I felt like I would like to help clean up the mess. I have regretted ever since that I had anything to do with it. Blood was spattered over the floor and out in the yard. Nobody would live there after that, and as so many curious came to view the place, that some body set it afire and burned it up; it is rumored that one of the Hinson boys burned it up."

We could easily take Mr Wells at his word. It is not an easy thing to confess to being part of murder. But we do need to sort through his testimony carefully.

First off all, there is an obvious problem with his claim that he saw Babe Hinson shot down in the yard." Of course, it was David Hinson who was shot down. He was the only one of the mob who was killed, and no one in the mob was injured. But the problem has a couple explanations. It could be simply a problem with the transcription. Bean wrote down Mr Wells testimony several hours after it occurred. It would be remarkable that Bean got all of this long quote correct. Another possibility is that Mr. Wells simply misspoke. Oral interviews are a funny thing and people make obvious errors all the time. Another possibility is that Jack Wells was not really there and was ignorant of this particular detail. I find this unlikely, as at least Simpson acknowledged that Wells "probably [knew] more about this affair than" he did. Add to this the fact that Babe Hinson was still living in the area and was well known. It is unlikely that Mr. Wells did not know Babe Hinson.

Second, Mr Wells testimony places him in the house at the time of the shooting, leaving the house as soon as the shooting starts and outside when David Hinson was shot. He is on hand when another of the mob, one of the Hinson brothers, threatens to shoot someone if they don't help move the dying David Hinson. Such specifics make him one of the three or four vigilantes who actually went in the house; a unique and important posiion.

We don't find much more about Jack Wells. We do find a John (Jack) Wells born in 1864 very near the site of the Massacre, still living with his father on the 1880 census. And there are notes indicating he had died by 1945.

Ruben Mathis

[This is a continuation of my series on the vigilantes at the Cane Creek massacre. The photo is probably from 1934 and is courtesy of Sammye Jo Lawson.]

Ruben Mathis, or Rube as his friends and family, was a farmer on the east fork of Cane Creek. According to Ernest S Pollock, in 1881, when Hohenwald was founded Rube brought the first U.S. mail in from the town of Gordon by mule. He served under J. H. Vandiver as Postmaster (Republican Banner, Jan 15, 1938).

Rube revealed his identity as one of the vigilantes on multiple occations. Some of these were recorded. Once was during the visit of Miles L. Jones in 1934. Jones described Mathis as

"a tall slender man, whose figure is erect. He has a long white beard, and although he is eighty two years of age, he is able to get around very briskly. He is a typical rural Tennessean."

Miles L. Jones goes on to explain Mathis' role in the massacre as though it was already a well know fact, although I have no written evidence earlier than Jones' manuscript.

Mathis was included in the vigilante meetings prior to the massacre, and felt pressured to participate. This was probably because of a kinship he had with David Hinson. There have been claims that they were first cousins or brothers-in-law, though I have not been able to document either one.

Knowing what was going to happen, Mathis went to the Conder home on the Friday the 8th of August, to warn them about the impending trouble. According to Miles L. Jones, Mathis

"told them that threats had been made by some that they were going to whip the Elders, but he said that the Conder boys told him that it was just some young fellows that were trying to run a bluff. He said no, that it was older men and that they had better be careful and not do anything that would give an excuse for something serious to happen."

In 1974, Leslie Talley would attribute the following statement to Court Talley, who claimed to be Mathis' grandson:

"Mathis had gone along, at least partially, to keep things quiet because many of the men had been drinking. He begged them to leave their guns behind but they refused."

Mathis was with the vigilantes when they stopped Elder William H. Jones on the far side of the creek. And when they left Elder Jones to deal with the other missionaries, Mathis was left in as a guard against his escape. When the shooting started, however, it was Mathis who let Elder Jones escape. Even giving him directions of where to go so he could escape to Shady Grove undetected.

"After the shooting and commotion at the home, two men came running down the road and asked where Elder Jones was, and when informed that he had made his escape, one of them raised his gun to shoot Mr Mathis, but the other man, who by the way was Mr. Mathis' brother, said to him, "If you shoot Rube, I'll kill
you", and consequently the man did not carry out his threat." - Miles L. Jones

Ruben Mathis had two brothers we know of, John Jackson Mathis (aka Jack), and William Henry Mathis. There is no indication, however, which brother this was.

William Walter Pollock wrote in 1943 that Elder William H. Jones

"learned many years ago who his liberator was and that each year nice presents were sent to the old gentleman who has now passed to his reward"

Rube was born September 12, 1851. He is the son of John Mathis and Martha Henrietta Hinson. (I have yet to find a connection between Rube's mother and David Hinson). He was married September 27, 1868, in Lewis County to Elizabeth Williams who was born January 4, 1850. The two of them had five children.
1) Virginia Elizer Mathis (Nov. 3, 1869-Nov. 4, 1869),
2) Thomas Hunter Mathis (March 5, 1873 - Feb. 16, 1891),
3) Robert T. Mathis (1876-April 1, 1943) married Lizzie Thompson (1883-Jan.15, 1965) on March 1901 in Lewis County, Tennessee.
4) Jane Mathis (Sept. 22, 1880 - Feb. 1, 1885)
5) Mary Etter Mathis (May 7,1878 - February 1, 1912) married Lewis "Scott" Talley (July 29, 1876 - March 2 1963).

Among the children of Robet T. Mathis are Willis and Claude Mathis, Ophelia Mathis Hinson, Viola Mathis Talley, Louisa Mathis Talley, and Rosenia Mathis Dabbs.

Mary Etter Mathis had at least six children: Thomas Talley, Oliver Talley, Lou Talley, Alfred Talley, E. Claude Talley and Elizabeth Ellen Talley.

Rube's wife, Elizabeth died Nov. 11, 1932. A few short years later, Rube died in 1935 or 1936. They, and all their children, are buried in the Betty Bastin Cemetery.

David Hinson

[Editors note: This post is about David Hinson, one of those killed at the Cane Creek Massacre.]

I debated long and hard about creating a post on members of the mob. There are a couple of reasons. First, most of what I have is hearsay. I don't really know much about them because, with a couple of exceptions, they did not come forth with their side of the story. Plus, I'm not really interested in tarnishing to name of someone's ancestor. Which, of course, leads me to the next reason. I don't really know who they were. I have some names, but nothing concrete.
The exception to this is David Hinson. We know he participated, though we don't know why, since he died after being shot by John "Riley" Hutson. Many people have made accusations and guesses. But these are, of course, a little too convenient since those making the accusations may be trying to shift the blame to the one person who can't defend himself. Unfortunately, these accounts are all we have to go on.

Of course the other side of this is that these people were as much participants in these events as any one could be. To ignore their story would be doing them a disservice. Below is a sampling of what has been written about David Hinson. Where possible I have included the exact words written by those who would know best.

David Hinson enlisted at age 19 in the 3d Tennessee Infantry Regiment alongside is brother James P.. He was captured in the Confederate surrender at Fort Donelson, sent with his regiment to Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois and later exchanged in September, 1862 near Vicksburg, Mississippi. David fought in every battle the 3d Tennessee took part in for the remainder of the war. He was paroled after the Confederate surrender in North Carolina in April, 1865. After the war, he returned to Lewis county as did his other comrades in arms. The luck that was with him all through the fierce struggle of the war ran out several years later in 1884 when, during a visit to his old 3rd Tennessee comrades, the Conder boys on Cane Creek, he was killed along with them during the Mormon Massacre. He was aged 40 years. (Contributed by his descendant, Charles Hinson, Vice President of the Maury County Historical Society) http://www.tngennet.org/lewis/civil_war.htm

David’s widow was Rebecca "Caroline" Curry. He had three children in the 1880 Census, Margaret, Martin, and Janetta. At the time of the massacre they would have been 21, 20 and 15. His parents were George & Nancy Hinson, from North Carolina. They all lived in Hickman County. David had several brothers, Lindsey "Babe" Hinson, James P. Hinson, and George Hinson being just some of them.

The Hickman Pioneer, on 15 August 1884, described Hinson as

"a well-known citizen and distinguished for his daring courage and good marksmanship. He was a jovial man, and liked by all who knew him."

David lived about seven miles from the Condor farm on Brushy Fork Creek. John D. Westbrook called David Hinson a Methodist minister. That could be true, but the census listed him as a farmer. And no other source calls him a minister. And the Methodists were known for requiring their ministers to be educated. I see no evidence that David Hinson received such an education.

John H Gibbs records a meeting with two ministers by the names Vandeveer and Henson, and called them Baptist and Methodist respectively. Some have jumped to the conclusion the Henson was David Hinson. While I have no evidence to the contrary, I see no reason to assume that in a county with at least two large Hinson families, that this one had to be David Hinson.

It is possible that Hinson was a lay leader of some kind. But regardless of his position, he was clearly more invested in the events. Some accounts name him as the one who fired first. Even if you do not believe that, in all versions, he is the first at the door of the Condor home.

William Hill McCaleb recorded in 1907 that:

"Dave Hinson had two nieces, Misses ____, who were supposed to be inclined to the Mormon faith. Dave got a crowd of boy friends with switches to whip the Mormon elders and drive them out of the country, and went to the meeting."

If Dave Hinson believed the claims made in the Red Hot Address, specifically the salacious intention of "all" Mormon elders, that alone could have spurred him to action. Even though McCaleb is pretty clear that the intent was only to drive the elders out of the county he went on to say:

"About a week before the killing, David Hinson swapped a knife for a fine double barrel shot gun with Fayette Bates. ... Bates knew Dave Hinson's intentions toward the Mormons, and advised him to drop it."

McCaleb's account, however, has other factual errors, some quite severe, that take away from his credability. Of course, Mormons did not record the names of those who almost get baptised, so we will never know for sure about Hinson's nieces.

W. W. Pollock in 1943 wrote that:

"...had all members of the mob been sober, there would have been no killing. After years of very close study of this tragedy and coversations with many who were present at the time of the killing, I have reached that conclusion."

I can certainly respect that Pollock's proximity to the killings (in time and geography) gave him a better position to make that claim than I have. Unfortunately, Mr. Pollock did not cite his sources. Regardless, we can infer that Mr. Pollock felt he had evidence that at least those who did the shooting, including Dave Hinson, were not sober.

In an interview with Miles L. Jones, Ruben Mathis said that:

"[David Hinson] was a man that feared neither God, man, nor the devil, and would kill a man on the least provocation."

Of course, Mathis was implicating himself as a member of the mob. So attributing more blame to Hinson may have been self serving. Miles L. Jones also recorded that David Hinson did not die for another hour after the shooting. He was carried away (dragged by the arms by former slave "Old Kudge Sisco" and an unnamed member of the mob) some distance and sat down under a tree. Reportedly he asked for water but made no other comments before he died.

David Hinson was burried on August 12th, 1884 in the Banks-Hinson Cemetery on Brushy Fork Creek "at intersection of chert road that leads to Wades' Branch Road." His grave has the following inscription:

"Hinson, David - 1843-1884 - Killed Aug. 10 by Mormons"