"White Lightning Feuds": John H. Ramsey Shooting

White Lightning Feud Series: Part 4

            NOTE: This series was originally scheduled to run for six weeks; however, continuing research indicates that the series will run longer than originally planned. This is another in a series of articles reprinting prior published information on the White Lightning Feuds.

 

Historical Series Chronology Resposes have been favorable to this historical series. Additional material continues to come to light. This means the series will be longer than originally expected; therefore, we are including a brief chronology of past articles: Part 1 (printed 10/13/05) - J. H. Tuggle's rabid dog bit several livestock and other animals; W. W. Maddox assassinated by unknown person and rewards totalling $500 offered for arrest and conviction of the killer; J. H. Ramsey wounds J. D. Tuggle near Denman and Co. Hardware in Homer... Part 2 (printed 10/20/05) - Near Denman and Co. Hardware in Homer, J. D. Tuggle shot at John H. Ramsey, missed, and killed Professor J. H. Williams; W. W. Ramsey died and Hamp and Henry Tuggle were wounded in a shootout between the jail and Knighten's saloon in Homer... Part 3 (printed 10/27/05) - J. D. Tuggle and I. N. Glover died when ambushed by unknown assailant about three and a half miles toward Summerfield... Part 4 (printed 11/10/05) - Murray Tuggle, Hamp's 15-year-old son is shot and wounded; continuation of Dosia Williams' account of Hamp Tuggle's stay at Loyd Hall... Part 5 (printed 11/10/05) - Murray Tuggle, Hamp's 15-year-old son is shot and wounded; continuation of Dosia Williams' account of Hamp Tuggle's stay at Loyd Hall Part 6 (printed 11/17/05) - Henry Tuggle killed in field in presence of his three children. Link Waggonner shoots a Mr. Holland, then flees to Texas...

 

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continued from last week......

           

            The sheriff's posse traced this track for some miles across wood and field with the eye [until] it was lost and could be tracked no further. A crowd of men worked all day Sunday  trying to trace the track but failed except as above-stated. Whether there was more than one man implicated in the shooting or not is a matter about which there appears to be some difference of opinion among those who visited the scene of the tragedy and attempted to follow the tracks. Mr. Sam Ramsey says that he saw two men running off after the shooting. Some also think that the shooting of the negro was not intentional, while others think it was intentional as he is said to have been an important witness for Ramsey in the case pending against him and which would have been tried at the approaching term of court had he not been killed.

            There has been too much of this kind of work done in our parish of late, and the strong arm of the law should be exerted to the utmost to punish the guilty, but before anybody can be punished, some way must be discovered by which the guilty ones can be found out. Nobody can be punished so long as the perpetrators of these deeds remain unknown.

— Guardian-Journal, page 3

 August 19, 1891

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We found two other accounts of the J. H. Ramsey shooting, one from an unidentified newspaper and the other from The New York Times. We do not know in what newspaper the following account was originally printed; however, a copy was provided us by Forest and Carolyn Allgood of Summerfield. The original clipping is from a scrapbook in the old Allgood house at Summerfield. The scrapbook was started and maintained by Forest Allgood's paternal grandmother, Jessie Eloise Stana-land Allgood, apparently in the late 1800s. We thank the Allgoods for making available the clipping to The Guardian-Journal for this series.

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Latest From Our Special

Correspondents

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LOUISIANA

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HOMER

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            John Ramsey and a Negro Assassinated—The Story of a Family Feud

            Homer, La. Aug. 17_(Special)_John Ramsey and a negro were waylaid and killed late yesterday  evening about three miles from [Homer] by unknown parties. Ramsey was in town nearly all day yesterday, and late in the evening started for his home in a wagon accompanied by his brother, Sam, and a negro man and woman, and when in about a half mile from his home was fired upon with the above result, twenty buckshot taking effect in his back, four in the back of the negro man's head and two passed through the rim of Sam Ramsey's hat. The latter, however, together with the negro woman, escaped unhurt. Two shots are said to have been fired.

            The killing of John Ramsey yesterday is undoubtedly the outgrowth of the Tuggle-Ramsey feud, which is of long-standing and direct cause of several men losing their lives and the cause of others leaving the parish and state.

            It will be remembered that in the summer of 1890 John Ramsey fired upon Joe Tuggle, on the principal street of [Homer], three times with a double-barreled shotgun, slightly wounding Tuggle. That day the trouble began to boil and both went publicly armed. Some time afterward Tuggle retaliated and fired upon Ramsey, missing his aim and killing Prof. J. H. Williams. In the early part of this year P. [Hamp] Tuggle shot and killed Will Ramsey. In the melee Henry Tuggle received a flesh wound in the arm.

            At this juncture it was currently reported that John Ramsey had left the parish. Joe Tuggle, however, always went heavily armed, and in this position accompanied, in a two-horse wagon by his friend Newt. [I. N.] Glover, both were killed from ambush by unknown parties [March 25, 1891] at night.

            Shortly afterwards John Ramsey appeared on the scene. During the meantime, however, friends of Hamp Tuggle advised him to leave, which, it is thought, he did; also Frank Gill, the barber, and Joe Clingman, friends of Tuggle. These proceeding left John Ramsey in charge of the field, and the matter, so far as the public was concerned, was about dead. Ramsey was, as usual, armed with a double-barreled shotgun when killed.

            The sheriff with a posse of deputies is doing all he can to catch the murderers. The bloodhounds of Mr. Aleck Harrell of Minden were secured, but, up to the close of this report, they failed to follow any trail. John Ramsey was buried here this evening at 6 o'clock.

— Unknown newspaper,

August 18 (?), 1891

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Finally, the account as reported in The New York Times:

 

A FEUD ENDS IN MURDER

 

John Ramsey and a Negro Waylaid, Shot, and Killed

            Homer, La., August 18.— John Ramsey and a negro were waylaid and killed Sunday evening about three miles from this place by unknown parties. Ramsey was in town nearly all day, and late in the evening started for his home in a wagon, accompanied by his brother Sam and a negro man and woman. About a half-mile from his home he was fired upon. Twenty buckshot took effect in his back, four in the back of the negro man's head, and two passing through the brim of Sam Ramsey's hat. Sam Ramsey, however, together with the negro woman, escaped unhurt. It is thought that the negro was accidentally killed.

            The killing of Ramsey is the outgrowth of the Tuggle-Ramsey feud, which is of long-standing and the direct cause of several men losing their lives and of others leaving the parish and State. In the summer of 1890 John Ramsey fired upon Joe Tuggle on the principal street of this place [Homer] three times with a double-barreled shotgun, slightly wounding Tuggle. From that day the trouble began to boil, and both went publicly armed. Some time afterward Tuggle retaliated and fired upon Ramsey and missed his aim, killing Prof. J. H. Williams of the town academy, who was passing at the time.

            In the early part of this year P. (Hamp) Tuggle shot and killed Will Ramsey. In the melee Henry Tuggle received a flesh wound in the arm. At this juncture it was currently reported that John Ramsey had left the parish, but Joe Tuggle always went heavily armed and was accompanied by his friend Newt Glover. Both were killed from ambush by unknown parties in March or April last year at night. Shortly afterward John Ramsey appeared on the scene. In the meantime friends of Hamp Tuggle advised him to leave, which is thought he did; also Frank Gill and Joe Clingman, friends of the Tuggles. These proceedings left John Ramsey in charge of the field, and the matter, so far as the public was concerned, was about dead.

Ramsey was as usual armed with a double-barreled shotgun when killed. The Sheriff with a posse of deputies is doing all he can to catch the murderers. Bloodhounds were secured, but up to the close of this report they failed to follow any trail. John Ramsey was buried here last evening.

— The New York Times,

August 19, 1891

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            The following is from Chapter IX "A Feud and an Indian" of the book War, Reconstruction, and Redemption on Red River, the Memoirs of Dosia Williams Moore, printed in 1990 and edited by Carol Wells.

 

            The book's foreword explains that Dosia Williams Lewis Moore lived in Rapides and Natchitoches Parishes during and after the Civil War. Born in South Carolina, she came at three years of age with her parents to Louisiana. The book is based on Dosia Moore's recollections, accounts stored in the Archives Division of the Watson Library at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.

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            One day in early fall when we were living at Loyd Hall, a party of men rode up and said they wanted to see my husband about picking cotton for him. The group consisted of two men and two boys about fifteen and eighteen years of age. We had several hundred acres in cotton, and it was rather difficult at times to find a sufficient number of pickers, so my husband was glad to get reinforcements.

            The father of the boys, who gave his name as Hamilton, said they would take a cabin for the season, keep house, and pick cotton to make expenses. They had a pair of fine young mules and a new wagon in which they carried a camping outfit. They got the house.

            These men seemed to be gentlemen and talked entertainingly, so my husband soon began dropping in and chatting with them at their camp almost every evening. One evening Mr. Hamilton looked troubled. He said he appreciated William's kindness to them. "I can no longer deceive you," he said. "I will trust you with my sad story, and if, after hearing it, you want us to leave, we will go." This was his story:

There had been a deadly feud [in Claiborne Parish] between the Ramsey's and the Tuggle's, who were related. Fourteen or more men had been killed, and......to be continued.

                                                ............to be continued

NOTE: Bill Hightower and Jimmy Dean researched this article.