Violent Family Deaths

After I found the ones in the family who died of old age, I wondered how many of our relatives had died from gunshot wounds or the like.Harriet Adams was killed by her sons Elijah and Samuel Wright. She was the daughter of William and Christina Crace. She was married to Andy Wright, son of Joel Martin and Susannah Wright.


John Isom Adams was blown up by a bomb while attempting to kill a squirrel. I think this story deserves it's own blog. He was the son of Benjamin Adams and Nancy Holbrook.

McClellan Adams was killed by Ran Smallwood when he 20 years old. His was the son of George Adams and Sarah Johnson. He was the grandson of William Payne Johnson and Peggy Bates.

James Bates, age 41, was killed by the Union home guard. There is a lot to do with this story so I will put it in its own blog. He was the brother of the Kentucky giant, Martin Van Buren Bates.

Washington Uriah "Rarr" Bates, age 39, was killed by Richard Vance. He was the son of John Wallis Bates and Bett Hall. He was the grandson of John Wallis Bates & Sarah Waltrip and Gunsmith Billy Hall and Margaret Johnson.

Amanda Bentley, age 59, gunshot wound to the abdomen deemed an accident. She died during the surgery to remove the bullet and repair the damage. She was the daughter of Riley Bentley & Lucinda Profitt.Benjamin F.

 "B. F." Bentley, age 40, killed by a gunshot wound, homicide. He was the son of Thomas Bentley and Clarinda Fleming. Grandson of Big Jeff Fleming and Easter Bentley and Fighting Fred Bentley and Nancy Ann Wright.

Charles Willis Bentley, a dry cleaner, died of a gunshot wound at a friendly card game in a hotel in Pikeville. He was the son of James Gilbert & Mary Melissa Reeves Bentley. He was the grandson of William & Rebecca Ramey Bentley and the great grandson of Benjamin Bentley & Elizabeth Crace.

Lona Mae Bentley age 2, died of a gunshot wound to the head, deemed a suicide. It would have made more sense to me to be ruled an accident, but I do have some information coming to me that says it was actually a homicide. When I get that I will do a story on little Lona. She was the daughter of Sam Bentley and Eliza Jane Wright. She was the granddaughter of Solomon Bentley & Jane Bentley and William Jesse Wright and Maggie Perdue.

Edward "Neddy" Boone was killed by Indians at age 39. He was the brother of Daniel Boone. His story will be a separate blog.Ellender Bryan was killed by Indians at age 72. She was Rebecca Bryan Boone's aunt.William "Billy" Boone, age 47, was killed by Indians in 1780.

Charles A. Brummitt was stabbed and killed by his brother, John a Brummit, during a dispute over who owned or was going to wear a suit of clothes. They were the brothers of Mary Brummitt who was married to William Jesse Wright.

John Bryan, age 55, was a captain in the North Carolina Militia in 1780. He was shot by Colonel Edward Fanning for refusing to swear allegiance to the Crown. He was the uncle of Rebecca Bryan who married Daniel Boone.

Louranza Estep wife of Ira Mullins was 32 when she was killed in the Pound Gap Massacre.




Pridemore Fleming, age 48, was killed in a shootout. He was the sherrif of Dickenson County, Virginia. He was the son of Crippled Billy Fleming and Patsy Branham.

Margaret Greer, wife of Joel Wright, was killed by his nephew at the direction of John Wright over mineral rights for Joel's father's land

.George Hall was a revenue agent who was shot while trying to catch two men running whiskey in Ironton. He was the son of Cyrus Hall.

James Henderson "Hen" Hall, age 39, was shot in the back by Dolph Draughn in the Beaver Creek War. He was the son of Stiff Jim Hall and Nancy Jane Davis and the grandson of Gunsmith Billy Hall and Margaret Johnson.

Joe Hall, age 63, my great grandfather died as the result of a gunshot wound which was called a suicide.

John Lewis "Bad Lewis" Hall, age 77, died of gunshot wounds while resisting arrest for bootlegging. I will do a whole article in the future from the newspaper accounts of what happened. He was the son of Jonathan Hall and Nancy Higgins.

Marion Hall was bushwacked and shot in the back. He was the son of Lee Hall and Louisa Little. He was the grandson of Wash and Cindy Hall and the great grandson of Gunsmith Billy Hall and Margaret Johnson.

Thomas Hall was killed by Cherokee Indians in 1794. He was my 6th great grandfather.

Jim Johnson, age 32, was killed by his brother-in-law with a pistol shot to the heart. His wife was Tiny Johnson. He was the son of Will Johnson and Chat Bentley.Tiny Johnson was killed by her father in a domestic dispute. The story is outlined in a blog published on June 26th.

Willard Johnson was shot by Tivis Cola and Sol Johnson for a fee of $25. Willard himself had killed Bert Hamilton, a deputy, and Hayes Johnson, a store owner. He was the son of Will Johnson and Chat Bentley.

Morgan Martin Killen, age 68, was shot by his son, Alexander. (See blogs written May 1st and May 6th for details.) Morgan was the son of Alf Killen and Lucy Whitaker. Morgan was the husband of Delaney Bentley who was the daughter of John Vint and Annie Potter Bentley.

Thomas Kronis Meade, age 73, died of a gunshot wound. He died in 1876. He was the son of Samuel Meade and Katy Goodbread.Ira Mullins was killed in the Pound Gap Massacre by Marshal "the Red Fox" Taylor when he was 35. Ira was the great grandson of Old Booker Mullins.

John Mullins was killed by Indians in Ft. Griffith, Texas. He was the son of Caleb Mullins and Betsy Caudill.

Reuben Potter was killed by Devil John Wright. He was married to Hulda Wright and was the son of Benjamin Potter and Susannah Hollingsworth.

Drucy Ann Ratliff was killed by her husband, Daniel Hall.Abraham

Walter Smith, age 55, was killed by a handyman who did yard work for him. They lived in Union Township, Montgomery County, Ohio. Abraham was a great grandson of Thomas Smith and Mary Addington. Mary was the sister of Malinda Addington.

Alvin Duvall Tackett, age 48, died of a gunshot wound. He was the son of George Washington & Rebecca Tackett.Henry Vanover was ambushed while he and his wife were in their fields hoeing corn. Clifton Branahm and ahis brother, Tandy, were tried and convicted and sentenced to life in the Kentucky State Penitentiary. Both were released before serving out their sentences and were involved in other bloodshed. His wife was Sarah Bentley, daughter of James Martin Bentley and Sarah Lunsford Tucker. Sarah was the grandchild of Thomas Bentley who was the brother of Daniel Bentley.

Elmer Watkins, age 45, died by a gunshot wound called an accidental death. He story deserves a whole blog entry. He was the son of Caldonia Bentley, the sister of Otho Bentley.

Little Andy Wright was killed by his cousins Elijah and Samuel Wright. He was married to Polly Collier, the daughter of Willaim Dee Collier and Rebecca Meade. His mother was Susuannah Wright, daughter of Joel & Susannah Wright. He was adopted and raised by her brother, William "Uncle Bill" Wright.

Booker Van Buren Wright, age 43, was shot and killed when he went to a house to arrest a suspect on a warrant for public intoxication. The suspect opened fire. Wright returned fire but was shot in the right and left thigh and killed by the suspect. The suspect was arrested and charged with murder, but was found not guilty by reason of self defense. He was the son of Joel Martin & Jane R. Venters. Joel was the brother of William Jesse Wright. There are several other blogs about Joel and Jane's families

.Grant Wright was stabbed and died eight days later from peritonitis. He was the son of Alexander Wright and Hannah Houston. He was the brother of Chigger Jim.James "Chigger Jim" Wright died from a gunshot wound to the face. I have a blog written about this incident but am still checking a few facts before I publish it. He was the son of Samuel Wright and Elizabeth Adams, the grandchild of Joel and Susannah Wright.Joel Wright, husband of Margare Greer, was killed by his nephew at the direction of John Wright over mineral rights of Joel's father's land. Joel's parents were Samuel Wright and Elizabeth Adams. Samuel was given twenty-five cents for the mineral rights.Joel Martin Wright was a deputy sherrif for Letcher county. He was holding his pistol while arresting a man on a warrent. The man's daughter saw the gun on her father. She ran up, grabbed the pistol and shot Joel. He died twenty days after he was shot. He was 36. Both the girl and her father were arrested. I don't know the outcome of the charges against the girl. He was the husband of Mary Killen, daughter of Morgan and Delaney Bentley Killen. He was the son of George Wright and Mary Potter. He was the grandson of Joel Martin and Susannah Wright.John Phillip Wright was killed by Bad Henry Adams. He was the son of Bad John Wright and Mattie Humphries. This will be a separate blog.Margaret Wright was shot by her grandson, William S. Wright, when he was a child. He was either cleaning or playing with the gun when it went off. The bullet went through the ceiling and into his grandmother who was sitting in her rocker sewing. She was the daughter of Joel and Susannah Wright.Samuel "Kinky Haired Sam" Wright, a city policeman for Neon, was involved in a dispute over an electon. He got into a shootout on the street with Dabber Bentley. Both Dabber and Sam were killed. Dabber should be on this list, too, but so far I can't place him in the family tree. Samuel was the son of Joel and Susannah Wright.William "Willie" Wright was ambushed and killed by the Ku Klux Klan. He was the son of William S. Wright and Letty Bates.William "Uncle Bill" Wright was killed by Elijah & Samuel Wright. William was the son of Joel and Susannah Wright.William S. Wright, the grandson of Margaret Wright from above, was killed by Noah and John Reynolds in an ambush after a long series of disputes.There are many other violent deaths in the family. These are the ones I have documented so far in my database.