Grayson County; an illustrated history of Grayson County, Texas. Page: 64
180 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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MISS NETTIE BASS RESIDENCE, SHERMAN-Dr. R. L.
Bullock already noted as the owner of a palatial house of two
rooms on South Travis Street, built this house at 215 West
Houston in the 1850s. The house was famous for containing the
first window glass in the county. The J. M. Gatewood family
lived here before moving into the Frank Richards house on the
southwest corner of the square. In 1867 the widow of Robert
Hocker of Virginia occupied the house on West Houston. Ada
Hocker married T. C. Bass. Their daughter, Miss Nettie, was
born in 1868 and has made the old house her lifelong home.was believed that the immediate object of the plot was
to destroy or seize ammunition and arms stored at
Sherman. Such troops as could be called to the area were
brought in to guard against uprising. As many union
sympathizers as could be found were rounded up and
held at Gainesville
perhaps about 150. How many
of these were Grayson County men we do not know,
for their names are not recorded and only one, John M.
Wiley, has come to light. Mob rule took over
orderly
and determined-yet mob rule nevertheless.
The church bell of Gainesville was rung, and a mass
meeting selected a jury. Over his strong opposition
the Rev. Mr. Barrett was chosen as one of this group.
Again over his opposition it was determined that condemnation
would be by a simple majority vote of the
jury.
The first seven men to appear before the jury were
sentenced to death in rapid succession. Barrett, feeling
that he had had all that he could stomach, got up to
leave. The jury thought so highly of Barrett's reputation,
however, that they were loath to continue if he
did not remain. They therefore agreed to condemn only
on a two-thirds majority.
Meanwhile mobs were forming demanding death
for all who had been imprisoned. The jury now found
itself besieged upon two sides. The families of the accused
men formed one side, the mob the other.
While affairs were at this juncture, two related and
unfortunate events occurred. On October 16 James
Dickson was attempting to arrest further suspects for
trial when he was ambushed near Gainesville and shot.
There can be no doubt that he was shot by members64
of the Clan. Col. William C. Young, who was on leave
from his regiment because of sickness, was at his home
at Sivill's Bend, to which he had moved from Grayson
County in 1858. When he heard of Dickson's death, he
set out for the brakes of the Red River, where Dickson's
killers were likely to be in hiding. Instead of capturing
the killers, Young himself was shot and died on the
spot, the unknown assassin escaping without detection.
Young had been very popular with the Red River
people ever since the days when he had led them in
protection of their homes against the Indians. His death
could be attributed to none other than the Clan's efforts.
When the mob heard of his murder, they demanded
that the jury surrender the remaining prisoners for
what they deemed justice. Unable to resist and perhaps
not desiring very strongly to do so, the jury released a
certain number to the mob without pretense of trial.
The hangings had begun on the second of October
and were over on the nineteenth. On the days when
many were executed, the prisoners were taken in twos
from the place of their imprisonment. They were carried
through the streets in a wagon driven by a Negro
slave. As soon as two had been hanged from an elm tree
on the bank of Pecan Creek, the bodies were carried
back to town and laid in a row on the floor of a building
on the east side of the Gainesville square. Then
the wagon returned to the prison to transport two more
wretches to execution. Through it all Dr. Barrett refused
to witness any of the hangings, but he sat on the
porch of the hotel and watched the doleful procession
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Grayson County: An Illustrated History of Grayson County, Texas. (Book)
An illustrated history of Grayson County, Texas with numerous photographs and a pioneer name index (p. 120).
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Landrum, Graham. Grayson County; an illustrated history of Grayson County, Texas., book, 1960; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth24647/m1/68/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.