[Granville-Hough] 5 Oct 2009 - Whodunit
Trustees for Granville W. Hough
gwhough-trust at oakapple.net
Sat Oct 7 05:04:25 PDT 2017
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:54:10 -0700
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: Whodunit 5 Oct 2009
Which Hence Sullivan fought Joe Flynt? One of the epic confrontations
occurred at a Court House, so it is said, between Sullivans and Flynts.
It could have been in Smith County or in Covington County. The site was
more likely Collins as the Flint families mostly lived in Cohay Beat of
Covington County south of the Smith County line. There had been a fight
wherein one Hense Sullivan had stabbed Joe Flynt, and Joe Flynt had shot
Hense Sullivan, but did not kill him. Two hundred representatives of the
two families gathered at the courthouse, all armed for battle. One
Sullivan stood up in his saddle and said to the Flynts: ôYou shoot
first.ö The Flynts looked around and there were far more Sullivans than
Flynts, so they galloped away to live and fight again some other day.
The problem today is to determine which Hence Sullivan was in this fight
with Joe Flynt. Was it old Hence, son of Tom, or was it son of old
Hence? The eulogy of old Hence indicates he was a peacemaker and a
stalwart church member. The subsequent life of young Henderson as a
storekeeper and merchant indicates no violent tendencies. Of course, he
was brother to Wild Bill, Neese, and Red Jack, and anything was possible
in his youth.
The third Henderson Sullivan, son of Loderick, never got into a fight in
his life, so far as is known. He lived a life of peace and fathered
preachers and teachers.
Then there was a fourth Stephen Henderson, also called ôHense,ö and he
was son of Neese. He sounds more logical than any of the above. He was
about 30 years old in 1900, just the age for someone with intent to
commit mayhem to do it skillfully.
Since the incident with the Flynts is not dated or placed, it seems
likely to be this person. He could have cut Joe Flynt accidentally; or
Joe could have gotten in the way of someone else swinging a sharp knife
and thought it was Hense. But this particular Hense Sullivan probably
did whatever was done with malicious intent. I have never heard the full
story of this causative event. All I ever heard was that Flynts were
smart enough to go the other way when later faced with overwhelming odds.
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Harold HopkinÆs recollections about Henderson Sullivan, son of
Henderson:
ôMary Eubanks was daughter of Charles Green Berry Eubanks and
Elizabeth Ann Hopkins, both buried at Fairmount. Mary and Henderson
Sullivan were married in early 1870Æs by (her grandfather and) my great
great grandfather Samuel Hopkins (1793-1875) who was a justice of the
peace at the time. This Henderson Sullivan kept a dry goods/grocery
store in Mize and the pair were well liked. Some of their grandsons were
Clint Sullivan, James Sullivan, and I think Barney Sullivan. Clint was
married to Willie George Bradshaw, a classmate of mine in high school
and daughter of Claude Bradshaw, the high school superintendent for some
years in the 1930Æs. IÆve been told that Willie George is still alive
and lives in Clinton, MS (in 2006). I donÆt know about her husband
Clint. I believe that some of this family were intermarried with the
Ashley family, and I used to correspond with Mary Ashley Perry, who
lives in Missouri.ö (Granville Hough was in 7th and 8th grade with the
second Bradshaw girl, and recalls that Claude Bradshaw was
Superintendent at least six years.)
----------------------------
Wisdom of Paramahansa Yogananda as reported by Carol DeMars Collins: "Do
not expect a spiritual blossom every day in the garden of your life.
Have faith that the Lord to whom you have surrendered will bring you
Divine fulfillment at the proper time."
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