Did your ancestor suddenly disappear from the records? Perhaps he is listed in this new book. Jean Bennett, the genealogy librarian for the Weatherford (Texas) Public Library, has recently published a book highlighting hangings in and around Parker County dating back to the mid 1800s.
The book, Twisting in the Wind: Springtown Hangings of the Hill Women and Other North Texas Hangings, features 15 stories of hangings in Parker County and surrounding areas.
The first chapter of her 41-page book spotlights on the Hill Hangings where the Hill family in Springtown were nearly wiped out in a week’s time by either hanging or being shot. Her book also features John Luckey who may been hung for supporting the Union forces during the time of the Civil War, the first legal hanging in Parker County and the tale of a Poolville preacher who was able to keep an angry mob ready to hang a man for incest occupied with his war stories until the authorities arrived on horseback to handle the situation.
Copies are available for $10 at the Weatherford Public Library and proceeds benefit the Parker County History and Heritage which benefits the genealogy department of the library. For more information on this organization visit www.parkercohistoryandheritage.com.
You can read more in an article by Crystal Brown in the Weatherford Democrat web site at http://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/local/local_story_356161955.html.
