***Scroll down for information on the feud***
Tom first married Lavina "Vina" Catherine Duff on 9-10-1897. She was the daughter of Marcus Duff and Rebecca Wells. Vina had previously married Jacob Neace on 9-19-1892 and had three children with him: James (born 9-2-1893); Mack (born 2-6-1894); and Martha (2-12-1896). But Jacob had died on 2-21-1897. Tom and Vina had a daughter named Serena Bell (born 1-1-1899).
On 6/27/1898, Tom enlisted to fight in the Spanish-American War, as a private in the 4th Kentucky Infantry, Company D. He was discharged, eight months later, on 2-12-1899.
Shortly after that was when all the shooting and killing became really serious in Breathitt County, and when he went to work for Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, as a "henchman." His brother Anse White (sometimes called "Devil Anse") was also involved in several killings.
Tom was convicted of being involved in the murder of attorney James B. Marcum, in Jackson, Kentucky, on May 4, 1903. His friend Curtis Jett (FAG #213324879) apparently actually fired the shots. Both Tom and Curtis were sentenced to life in prison. But because they had been hired by the powerful Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, they were later paroled.
After Tom was sent to the Kentucky Penitentiary, his wife Vina was seen in the 1910 Census Report, in Breathitt County, living near George's Branch. Living with her was her daughter Serena Bell, and her three children with her first husband: James, Mack, and Martha. Her husband Tom was in prison.
Tom was paroled on January 3, 1917, and it is assumed that he went back home to Breathitt County.
However, while Tom was in prison, Vina apparently had an affair with a man named John Bush, who lived nearby, in Altro. They had a daughter named Rebecca Bush who was born on 8-25-1917, but only lived for three hours. Vina apparently died during that childbirth, or shortly thereafter.
Strangely, Tom had been paroled on January 3, 1917, and so Vina was about two months pregnant when Tom came home. However, it was John Bush who signed the death certificate for the infant child, who died on 8-25-1917. John Bush named himself as being the child's father, and he named "Vina Duff" as being the child's mother, and the child's name was shown as "Rebecca J. Bush." (Vina's mother's name was Rebecca.)
Tom got remarried to Charlotte "Lottie" Stidham Davidson on 12-9-1920. But, in August of 1928, Tom violated the conditions of his parole, and he was returned to prison (just a few months after his daughter Serena Bell had died). But he was apparently paroled once more, sometime after that. He then went home to Breathitt County, to his second wife.
Tom had been provided a small pension, probably from his brief military service. However, he spent it all on alcohol and he was frequently drunk. Tom and his second wife Lottie lived on River Road, in George's Branch, in Breathitt County. One night, Dec. 4, 1935, Tom came home drunk, around midnight, and he got too close to the fireplace. His clothes caught on fire and he yelled out for Lottie to help him. She was asleep in another room. She ran in there and threw water on him, but he had already been badly burned. He was taken to the Veteran's Hospital where he died the next day.
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The worst feud, in the history of Breathitt County, Kentucky was the "Marcum-Cox-Hargis-Callahan Feud." It took place between 1902 and 1912, mainly in, and around, the town of Jackson. Like most feuds, it involved people killing their own relatives. Nearly forty people were murdered, during that feud.
The four main participants who were killed:
Attorney James B. Marcum (FAG #25200348)
Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox (FAG #39042227)
Judge James Hargis (FAG #25215180)
Sheriff Ed Callahan (FAG #87428193)
Other people who were killed:
Town Marshall James Cockrell (FAG #142998482)
Willie Sewell (FAG #249550712)
John "Tige" Hargis (FAG #112052026)
Ben Hargis (FAG #112052674)
Other people who were involved:
Detective Jerry Cardwell (FAG #67769279)
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell (FAG #30020355)
Town Marshall Tom Cockrell (FAG #142998463)
Beech Hargis (FAG #249580424)
B.J. Ewen (FAG #5375207)
The two main killers:
Curtis Jett (FAG #213324879)
Tom White (FAG #249931405)
The "Marcum-Cox-Hargis-Callahan Feud" actually began, back on October 31, 1896. That was when Detective Jerry Cardwell killed John "Tige" Hargis, who was a brother of Judge James Hargis (one of the four main participants in the feud).
Jerry Cardwell was a train detective. He had boarded the train in Jackson, which was headed to Beattyville. During the train ride, John "Tige" Hargis had become very drunk and disorderly. The train conductor asked Detective Cardwell to maintain the peace. As soon as Detective Cardwell entered the train car where Hargis was sitting, Hargis drew his gun and fired. But he only wounded Detective Cardwell. When the detective returned fire, he killed Hargis. The Hargis family later took Detective Cardwell to court, and they were able to get him sentenced to two years in prison. However, Cardwell appealed the case, and the Governor pardoned him.
The following year, on September 14, 1887, Willie Sewell, who was a half-brother of Judge James Hargis, was shot in the back, from ambush, while he was out in his yard, making molasses. Willie then fell into the vat of boiling molasses. People were able to pull him out, but he soon died. Nobody was ever punished for killing Willie.
In the spring of 1901, a primary election was held in Jackson, Kentucky, in which James Hargis and Ed Callahan fraudulently secured positions on the November ballot. Both men then "won" the election that November: James Hargis was elected judge, and his good friend Ed Callahan was elected sheriff.
However, the ballot boxes had obviously been tampered with; people were intimidated to vote for Hargis and Callahan, instead of their opponents; many people who were going to vote against Hargis and Callahan were not permitted to vote; people who were not registered to vote were allowed to vote for Hargis and Callahan; and Hargis even counted the votes himself. Everyone in the county knew about these problems. So an investigation was launched, and Attorney James B. Marcum was put in charge of it.
Shortly after that, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan went to Mr. Marcum's office, in order to give their depositions. But the arguments became heated, and Hargis and Marcum drew their guns. Mr. Marcum then ordered everyone to leave.
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell then had to issue arrest warrants for Hargis and Marcum, for brandishing their pistols in town. Thomas Cardwell was a brother of Detective Jerry Cardwell, who had killed Judge James Hargis' brother, John "Tige" Hargis, back in 1896. So obviously, Judge James Hargis hated Thomas Cardwell.
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell first went to see Mr. Marcum, who simply paid the $20 fine and so he was not arrested. But when Cardwell went to see Hargis, Hargis turned and ran into his store, The Hargis Brothers Department Store, where his good friend Sheriff Ed Callahan was waiting. Cardwell knew there was going to be trouble, and so he asked Tom Cockrell, who was the Town Marshall, to go into the store with him, and help him arrest Hargis. Tom Cockrell's brother, James Cockrell, who was also a Town Marshall, went with them.
When the three law enforcers walked into The Hargis Brothers Department Store, Tom Cockrell told Judge James Hargis that he was under arrest. But Hargis claimed that he had already "surrendered" to Sheriff Ed Callahan (his friend), who was standing there, which was ridiculous. Hargis started to draw his pistol, but Tom Cockrell beat him to it. Then Callahan drew his pistol on Tom Cockrell. Right then, James Cockrell drew his pistol and pointed it at Callahan. It was two pistols against one, and so Hargis and Callahan backed down. But Hargis was not arrested, and the three law enforcers left the store. Mr. Marcum later asked Police Judge Thomas Cardwell to drop the charge against Hargis, in an attempt to calm things down. But things only became more heated.
Several weeks later, on February 20, 1902, Town Marshall Tom Cockrell and his friend Ben Hargis, who was a brother of Judge James Hargis, met at a saloon called "John A. Bailey & Co.," in Jackson, for a drink. But they soon got into an argument. Both men drew their guns and shot at each other. Both men were hit. Tom Cockrell was only injured, but Ben Hargis was killed. Judge James Hargis, and his brother, Senator Alex Hargis, demanded that Tom Cockrell be prosecuted for murder. Judge James Hargis was even able to get Tom Cockrell stripped of his position as Town Marshall.
Fearing for his life, Tom Cockrell first hid out inside of his house; he soon left Breathitt County, and he was even given protection in the Stanton Jail for awhile. James B. Marcum was his attorney. Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox had been a witness to the shooting, and he was going to testify. The trial was postponed many times. Mr. Marcum demanded a change of venue, to Wolfe County, because it was obvious that Tom Cockrell could never get a fair trial in Breathitt County. However, Judge James Hargis and his brother Senator Alex Hargis protested, claiming that they would be ambushed if they rode to Wolfe County. The trial finally took place in Wolfe County, in October of 1902. The jury found Tom Cockrell not guilty; he had killed Ben Hargis in self-defense.
By that time, Judge James Hargis was livid. Two of his brothers (John "Tige," and Ben), and his half-brother Willie Sewell, had been killed, but yet, nobody was being punished for their murders. So Hargis decided to "take care of things himself," and he made a list of the men he wanted assassinated. He would soon find a "henchman" to do most of "the dirty work" for him. His name was Curtis Jett.
Curtis Jett was born on December 19, 1875, in Jackson, Kentucky (Breathitt County). His parents were Hiram Jett and Sarah Jane Sewell.
Curiously, Curtis Jett's mother, Sarah Jane Sewell, was a half-sister of Judge James Hargis, because they had the same mother (Evaline Brittain). Evaline had first married William Sewell, and they were the parents of Sarah Jane Sewell (as well as Willie Sewell, who was shot in 1887). After William Sewell died, Evaline married John Seldon Hargis, and they were the parents of Judge James Hargis. That also made Judge James Hargis the half-uncle of Curtis Jett.
Also curious is the fact that Curtis Jett's father, Hiram Jett, was a brother to Sarah Jane Jett, who was the mother of Town Marshall Tom Cockrell, and his brother, Town Marshall James Cockrell. In other words, the two Cockrell brothers were Curtis Jett's first cousins. (Also strange is the fact that the two Cockrell brothers also had a brother named Curtis Jett Cockrell.)
Curtis Jett's paternal great, great grandfather was Stephen Jett (1735-1793), who had migrated to southeastern Kentucky, in 1791, with his friend Joseph Back (1745-1819). Joseph had purchased a Treasury Warrant for land in Kentucky, and he had sold half of that warrant to Stephen. After the two men arrived in southeastern Kentucky, with their families, Stephen Jett and his family first lived with Mason Combs, in his cabin that overlooked the North Fork of the Kentucky River, near the present-day city of Hazard.
When Curtis was a young boy, there were numerous feuds in, and around, Jackson. It got so bad that "people started locking their doors after dark." At one point, Curtis' house was bombarded with rocks, because of an argument that his father had with another man. In 1877, when Curtis was two years old, his parents decided to leave Breathitt County, because of all of the feuds. They went to Madison County, and settled in Doylesville. His mother later operated a boarding house there.
As Curtis grew up, he heard stories about all of the feuds that were taking place back in Breathitt County, including the 1887 murder of his uncle, Willie Sewell (Curtis' mother's brother), who was also the half-brother of Judge James Hargis. Curtis always said that he never forgot that story about the molasses, and also, that he believed that it was his lifelong responsibility to avenge his uncle's death.
Curtis started drinking alcohol when he was young, and he became an alcoholic. He also became an expert marksman. When Curtis was a teenager, he and his family moved to Winchester, Kentucky, which is in Clark County. His father died shortly thereafter, in 1892, when Curtis was only seventeen years old. The death of his father enraged him, and from that point on, he was always in trouble, and getting into fights.
In early 1898, Curtis married Regina Reynolds. That summer, Curtis joined the military, and he went off to fight in the Spanish-American War. But the war ended, before he got to Cuba. He returned to Kentucky, and settled in Jackson. He soon began hanging around Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan. By the spring of 1902, Curtis was "working for" Hargis and Callahan.
On April 13, 1902, the first man from Hargis and Callahan's list was assassinated. It was Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox. Dr. Cox had been a longtime friend of both the Cardwell family, and the Cockrell family, who were staunch enemies of Hargis and Callahan.
In 1893, Dr. Cox had married Cordelia Cardwell, who was a sister to Detective Jerry Cardwell and Police Judge Thomas Cardwell. Dr. Cox had also been appointed the guardian of Town Marshall Tom Cockrell, his brother Town Marshall James Cockrell, and their young siblings, after their parents had died, in 1890. Furthermore, Dr. Cox was also a close friend of Attorney James B. Marcum, who became Tom Cockrell's attorney, in February of 1902, after he had shot Ben Hargis.
So, on the evening of April 13, 1902, at around 8pm, Dr. Cox received a message that there was a patient who needed to see him, at her house in Jackson. So he left his house to tend to that patient. As he walked down the street, near the courthouse, and near a barn that was part of Judge James Hargis' farm, Dr. Cox was shot three times. The shots came from the Hargis barn. It was said that one of the killers then ran up to Dr. Cox and shot him again. It was also said that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were watching the murder, from a second-floor window, in Hargis' house. It was suspected that Curtis Jett killed Dr. Cox.
Dr. Cox was only 35 years old. His wife was five months pregnant, when he died. Her son Brackye was born that August; and she died, two months later, of typhoid fever.
Three months later, in mid-July of 1902, Town Marshall James Cockrell ran into Curtis Jett, one night, in the dining room at the Arlington Hotel. They got into an argument and drew their pistols. Shots were fired, but neither man was hit. But there were bullet holes left, all over the walls.
A few days later, on July 20, 1902, Town Marshall James Cockrell was assassinated, while he was standing on the street, near the courthouse, talking to someone. Some people said he was also eating a sandwich. He was first shot in the back, and then several more bullets hit him. The shots came from the second-story windows of the courthouse, and there appeared to be more than one shooter. It was said that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were watching the murder, from a second-story window of The Hargis Brothers Department Store.
It was strongly suspected that Curtis Jett killed James Cockrell. It was said that, after the shooting, Curtis stayed hidden, inside the courthouse, until the middle of the night, when some of his friends brought a horse around to the back, so that he could escape.
Meanwhile, ever since Attorney James B. Marcum got involved in investigating the rigged elections of 1901, multiple threats had been made on his life. He first went to Washington, DC for awhile, hoping that things would cool off, in Jackson. But, while he was gone, Dr. Cox was killed. When Mr. Marcum returned to Jackson, a man named Mose Feltner went to his house and told him that some people had hired him to kill him. After that, Mr. Marcum told people that he was "marked for death," and so he rarely left his house. He made plans to move away from Breathitt County.
If Mr. Marcum did leave his house, he carried his infant son in his arms. That's because there was an old, unspoken "rule," in the hills of Kentucky, that you never shoot someone if they were carrying a child. But on the morning of May 4, 1903, which was shortly before he was going to move out of Breathitt County, Mr. Marcum left home, without carrying his child, and he went to the courthouse to file some final papers. It is not known why he didn't carry his infant son that day.
After he filed the papers, Mr. Marcum walked to the front door of the courthouse, with his friend, Belvin James "B.J." Ewen. As they stood in the doorway, talking, Curtis Jett, who was standing behind them, in the hallway, shot Mr. Marcum in the back. Mr. Marcum yelled, "Oh Lordy! I'm shot! They've killed me!" Marcum fell forward, down the courthouse steps. Curtis then ran up to him, put his pistol up against Mr. Marcum's head, and shot him again, point blank. Mr. Ewen witnessed it all. He then saw Curtis run back down the hallway, towards a man named Tom White, while Curtis bragged about his "aim." Both men escaped from the courthouse through a side door.
While Mr. Marcum was being shot, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were calmly rocking, in rocking chairs, in front of The Hargis Brothers Department Store, which was right across the street from the courthouse. They saw the entire murder, but they did nothing. Afterwards, neither of them made any effort to look for Curtis Jett, or Tom White. Mr. Marcum's murder was the most shocking murder yet, in Jackson. People were shocked that a highly respected attorney was shot and killed, right on the steps of the courthouse, in broad daylight.
Because so many people had witnessed Mr. Marcum's murder, and there was such a public outcry, three weeks later, on May 21, 1903, Curtis Jett and Tom White were indicted for the murder of Attorney James B. Marcum. Three other men were indicted for conspiracy to murder Mr. Marcum: Mose Feltner, John Smith, and John Abner. Curtis Jett was also indicted for the murder of Town Marshall James Cockrell, but there was not enough proof to charge him with the murder of Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox.
In fact, it was understood, among the residents of Breathitt County, that Judge James Hargis had planned the assassinations of those three men, to extract his revenge upon them (Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox; Town Marshall James Cockrell; and Attorney James B. Marcum). All three men were murdered within seventy yards of the Breathitt County Courthouse, in Jackson. Hargis, and his good friend Sheriff Ed Callahan, had hired Curtis Jett, and some other men, to do the actual killings. In fact, Curtis Jett was often referred to as being one of Callahan's "deputies."
So, by this point in time, the residents of Jackson were terrified. They stayed in their homes with the drapes closed and the lights turned off. Dozens of armed state troopers were brought into town, to maintain the peace.
It was difficult to seat a jury, and it was difficult to get witnesses to testify, because people were terrified to get involved. They were afraid of retaliation. They were afraid that either they, or their family, would be killed, or their house or business would be burned down. (In fact, between 1900 and 1903, fourteen homes and businesses, owned by friends of the Cardwell's and the Cockrell's, were burned down, in Jackson. There was no fire department in Jackson, and insurance companies had cancelled all polices there, because of all of the arson.)
But finally, the trial began. Judge James Hargis paid for Curtis Jett's attorneys, which was quite telling. B.J. Ewen was the main witness that testified against Curtis Jett, but just two nights later, on June 14, 1903, Ewen's hotel, in Jackson, was burned down. People were even afraid to help put out the fire, for fear of retaliation. Just before the fire, Mr. Ewen had been offered $5,000, by friends of Hargis and Callahan, to recant his testimony, but he had refused.
Mose Feltner testified that Judge James Hargis, Sheriff Ed Callahan, and Fult French had hired him, John Smith, and John Abner, to kill Mr. Marcum, but they did not go through with it. All three of them were let go.
Finally, after all sorts of delays, Curtis Jett and Tom White were both convicted of killing Attorney James B. Marcum, on August 15, 1903, and they were both sentenced to life in prison. Five weeks later, Curtis Jett was convicted of killing Town Marshall James Cockrell, on September 23, 1903, and he was sentenced to death. Curtis Jett and Tom White were then sent to the Kentucky State Penitentiary, in Frankfort.
Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were indicted for complicity in the murder of Mr. Marcum. But, after five trials, they were both acquitted. They had claimed that they had nothing to do with any murder. Of course, everyone knew that was a lie.
Mrs. Marcum was devastated. She was left with five little children to raise, including her one-year-old son, named after her husband. She soon filed a civil suit against Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, for $100,000. She was eventually awarded $8,000, which the two men finally paid. Mrs. Marcum died in 1953.
Judge James Hargis was the most powerful man in Jackson, and in Breathitt County. He used his money and his influence (his brother Alex was a State Senator, as was their father, John Hargis), to intimidate people and to make them do as he wanted. He literally "ran" the town of Jackson. He even owned a controlling interest in the newspaper in Jackson, and so he made sure that he had a say in what was printed, or not printed.
After Curtis had been sent to prison, in 1903, his wife Regina apparently had an affair with a man named Daniel Griffith. She gave birth to a son she named Benjamin Carlisle Jett, on August 7, 1909. (Daniel Griffith's father's name was James Carlisle Griffith.)
Amazingly, on June 13, 1906, Curtis Jett made a confession, from prison. He confessed that he had killed Attorney James B. Marcum, and that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan had planned it all, and had hired him to do it. He even said that Sheriff Ed Callahan had given him the gun that he used to kill Mr. Marcum. He further stated that Mr. Ewen told the truth at the trial.
Curtis Jett also confessed that he had killed Town Marshall James Cockrell, and that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan had planned it all, and had hired him to do it. He further stated that John Smith and John Abner were the two other men who had fired shots at Mr. Cockrell.
Curtis declared that he did not kill Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox. He said that, when he heard the shots that night, he ran outside and saw Judge James Hargis, his brother Elbert Hargis, Sheriff Ed Callahan, Bill Britton, and Jess Spicer, standing there, with two shotguns. (It was suspected that it was Bill Britton and Jess Spicer who actually pulled the triggers. However, they were never brought to trial.)
While Curtis was in prison, he allegedly "found God, and studied the Bible." It was said that he became "a model prisoner." Both Judge James Hargis, and his brother Senator Alex Hargis petitioned for Curtis to be paroled, for several years. They had probably promised him that they would do that, before the killings.
Curtis was paroled from prison on December 11, 1918, after serving 15 years of a "death sentence" and a "life sentence." Records show that his parole was made possible by Senator Alex Hargis (because both Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were dead by then). When he was released, Curtis spent his first night at the Phoenix Hotel, in Lexington. The next day, he went to his parent's home in Doylesville. (Curtis' wife Regina had married Daniel Griffith, on December 16, 1916, who was probably the father of her son Benjamin. As soon as Regina learned that Curtis was released from prison, she, Daniel, and young Benjamin left Kentucky and moved to Warren County, Ohio. They were seen living there, in the 1920 Census Report. Daniel died in 1930, and then Regina and her son moved to Yakima, Washington.)
Curtis married Alice Parks on February 15, 1921, in Madison County, Kentucky. But that marriage did not last very long. He married Lina Webber, in 1926, also in Madison County. They were seen living together, in the 1930 and 1940 Census Reports. It is not known what happened to either of those women.
Curtis wrote a little book titled, "From Prison to Pulpit: Life of Curtis Jett." In it, he blamed alcohol for making him kill people. He didn't say he was sorry for what he had done, and he didn't take any responsibility for any of the murders he committed. He just blamed alcohol. In his book, he even included transcriptions of several alleged letters that he claimed people had written to him, or about him. All the letters praised Curtis (of course). The letters were only "signed" by initials, not by any real names. The book was ridiculous, and a slap in the face to the families, and the friends, of his victims.
Curtis roamed around Kentucky, trying to sell copies of his little book, for fifty cents each. He tried to give public sermons, simply to gather people together, to get them to buy his book. He was a minister for awhile, but then he quit that and became a merchant. He died of a heart attack on February 3, 1956, and his body was cremated.
As for Tom White, he was paroled on January 3, 1917, which was nearly two years before Curtis Jett was paroled. When Tom got back home to Breathitt County, he learned that his wife Lavina was pregnant with another man's child. She died in childbirth, in August of 1917. Tom got remarried to Mrs. Charlotte Stidham Davidson, who was a widow, in 1920. But Tom violated his parole, in 1928, and he was sent back to prison. But he was soon released again, and he went back home to Charlotte.
Tom received a small pension, probably for his brief military service, but he spent it all on alcohol. He was frequently drunk. On December 4, 1935, he came home drunk, around midnight. He got too close to the fireplace and his clothes caught on fire. He yelled for his wife to come help him. She threw water on him, but he was badly burned. He was taken to the hospital, where he died, the next day.
Meanwhile, back in Jackson, justice was eventually done.
Judge James Hargis had one son; his name was Beauchamp, and he was known as "Beech." The judge had beaten that boy, even since he was a child, even whipping him with a rope. Beech's behavior was erratic, and his mother had to often bail him out of jail, including when he went on a binge, up in Cincinnati. Beech was a bad alcoholic, and most people thought he was mentally ill as well.
On February 5, 1908, Judge James Hargis slapped his son Beech over something that Beech had done. Beech then got drunk. He later went into The Hargis Brothers Department Store and swiped a pistol out of his father's desk. The next morning, Beech appeared in town with a red and swollen face, and he told people that, "the old man hit me." He also said that he "wasn't going to let anyone, including his father, ever hit him like that again." He went into his father's store and sat down in a chair. His father saw him and made some negative remarks about him, to a customer. The judge then walked over to Beech, who stood up and started shooting at his father. The judge grabbed him and the two of them fell to the floor. Beech shot him four more times. The judge yelled, "He has shot me all to pieces!" He died within a minute. One of the customers got hold of Beech and dragged him out to the street; he held him there until law enforcement arrived.
Beech Hargis was indicted, tried, and convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison. He was sent to the Kentucky Penitentiary as well. In the 1910 Census Report, Beech was listed as being in the prison. He was listed right next to Curtis Jett, and so they may have been cellmates. How ironic is that.
Beech's mother kept trying to get Beech paroled. He was finally paroled in December of 1916, from a "life sentence." Some people said that he returned to Jackson for awhile. But he soon left town. His mother later said that the last time she had heard from him, which was in 1918, that he was in Canada. Nobody knows what happened to him.
As for Sheriff Ed Callahan, he became fearful for his life as well, especially after Judge James Hargis had been killed. He moved out to the country, in nearby Crockettsville, where he ran a small store. On May 3, 1910, someone shot at him, from a clump of trees on the other side of the road. He was wounded, but he survived. He then built a stockade around his house and his store, so that he could go from his house, to the store, without being seen outside where he could get shot.
But On May 4, 1912, Callahan was shot, through the window of his home. The killer had hid in the same clump of trees, across the road from Callahan's house, as the man who had tried to kill Callahan, back in 1910. Obviously, it was a revenge killing, because it was done exactly, nine years, to the day, that Attorney James B. Marcum had been shot and killed. However, Callahan did not die right away. He died about one week later. His killers were said to have been Dock Smith, Andrew Johnson, and James Deaton.
So, in the end, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, finally got what they deserved. They were shot, and they died violent deaths, just like all the people who they had ordered shot and killed.
(Strangely, Senator Alex Hargis, who was the brother of Judge James Hargis, was actually related to Attorney James B. Marcum. His wife, Joanna Lindon, was the daughter of America Marcum, who was the sister of Mr. Marcum. In other words, Senator Alex Hargis had married Attorney James B. Marcum's niece.)
Tom first married Lavina "Vina" Catherine Duff on 9-10-1897. She was the daughter of Marcus Duff and Rebecca Wells. Vina had previously married Jacob Neace on 9-19-1892 and had three children with him: James (born 9-2-1893); Mack (born 2-6-1894); and Martha (2-12-1896). But Jacob had died on 2-21-1897. Tom and Vina had a daughter named Serena Bell (born 1-1-1899).
On 6/27/1898, Tom enlisted to fight in the Spanish-American War, as a private in the 4th Kentucky Infantry, Company D. He was discharged, eight months later, on 2-12-1899.
Shortly after that was when all the shooting and killing became really serious in Breathitt County, and when he went to work for Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, as a "henchman." His brother Anse White (sometimes called "Devil Anse") was also involved in several killings.
Tom was convicted of being involved in the murder of attorney James B. Marcum, in Jackson, Kentucky, on May 4, 1903. His friend Curtis Jett (FAG #213324879) apparently actually fired the shots. Both Tom and Curtis were sentenced to life in prison. But because they had been hired by the powerful Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, they were later paroled.
After Tom was sent to the Kentucky Penitentiary, his wife Vina was seen in the 1910 Census Report, in Breathitt County, living near George's Branch. Living with her was her daughter Serena Bell, and her three children with her first husband: James, Mack, and Martha. Her husband Tom was in prison.
Tom was paroled on January 3, 1917, and it is assumed that he went back home to Breathitt County.
However, while Tom was in prison, Vina apparently had an affair with a man named John Bush, who lived nearby, in Altro. They had a daughter named Rebecca Bush who was born on 8-25-1917, but only lived for three hours. Vina apparently died during that childbirth, or shortly thereafter.
Strangely, Tom had been paroled on January 3, 1917, and so Vina was about two months pregnant when Tom came home. However, it was John Bush who signed the death certificate for the infant child, who died on 8-25-1917. John Bush named himself as being the child's father, and he named "Vina Duff" as being the child's mother, and the child's name was shown as "Rebecca J. Bush." (Vina's mother's name was Rebecca.)
Tom got remarried to Charlotte "Lottie" Stidham Davidson on 12-9-1920. But, in August of 1928, Tom violated the conditions of his parole, and he was returned to prison (just a few months after his daughter Serena Bell had died). But he was apparently paroled once more, sometime after that. He then went home to Breathitt County, to his second wife.
Tom had been provided a small pension, probably from his brief military service. However, he spent it all on alcohol and he was frequently drunk. Tom and his second wife Lottie lived on River Road, in George's Branch, in Breathitt County. One night, Dec. 4, 1935, Tom came home drunk, around midnight, and he got too close to the fireplace. His clothes caught on fire and he yelled out for Lottie to help him. She was asleep in another room. She ran in there and threw water on him, but he had already been badly burned. He was taken to the Veteran's Hospital where he died the next day.
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The worst feud, in the history of Breathitt County, Kentucky was the "Marcum-Cox-Hargis-Callahan Feud." It took place between 1902 and 1912, mainly in, and around, the town of Jackson. Like most feuds, it involved people killing their own relatives. Nearly forty people were murdered, during that feud.
The four main participants who were killed:
Attorney James B. Marcum (FAG #25200348)
Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox (FAG #39042227)
Judge James Hargis (FAG #25215180)
Sheriff Ed Callahan (FAG #87428193)
Other people who were killed:
Town Marshall James Cockrell (FAG #142998482)
Willie Sewell (FAG #249550712)
John "Tige" Hargis (FAG #112052026)
Ben Hargis (FAG #112052674)
Other people who were involved:
Detective Jerry Cardwell (FAG #67769279)
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell (FAG #30020355)
Town Marshall Tom Cockrell (FAG #142998463)
Beech Hargis (FAG #249580424)
B.J. Ewen (FAG #5375207)
The two main killers:
Curtis Jett (FAG #213324879)
Tom White (FAG #249931405)
The "Marcum-Cox-Hargis-Callahan Feud" actually began, back on October 31, 1896. That was when Detective Jerry Cardwell killed John "Tige" Hargis, who was a brother of Judge James Hargis (one of the four main participants in the feud).
Jerry Cardwell was a train detective. He had boarded the train in Jackson, which was headed to Beattyville. During the train ride, John "Tige" Hargis had become very drunk and disorderly. The train conductor asked Detective Cardwell to maintain the peace. As soon as Detective Cardwell entered the train car where Hargis was sitting, Hargis drew his gun and fired. But he only wounded Detective Cardwell. When the detective returned fire, he killed Hargis. The Hargis family later took Detective Cardwell to court, and they were able to get him sentenced to two years in prison. However, Cardwell appealed the case, and the Governor pardoned him.
The following year, on September 14, 1887, Willie Sewell, who was a half-brother of Judge James Hargis, was shot in the back, from ambush, while he was out in his yard, making molasses. Willie then fell into the vat of boiling molasses. People were able to pull him out, but he soon died. Nobody was ever punished for killing Willie.
In the spring of 1901, a primary election was held in Jackson, Kentucky, in which James Hargis and Ed Callahan fraudulently secured positions on the November ballot. Both men then "won" the election that November: James Hargis was elected judge, and his good friend Ed Callahan was elected sheriff.
However, the ballot boxes had obviously been tampered with; people were intimidated to vote for Hargis and Callahan, instead of their opponents; many people who were going to vote against Hargis and Callahan were not permitted to vote; people who were not registered to vote were allowed to vote for Hargis and Callahan; and Hargis even counted the votes himself. Everyone in the county knew about these problems. So an investigation was launched, and Attorney James B. Marcum was put in charge of it.
Shortly after that, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan went to Mr. Marcum's office, in order to give their depositions. But the arguments became heated, and Hargis and Marcum drew their guns. Mr. Marcum then ordered everyone to leave.
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell then had to issue arrest warrants for Hargis and Marcum, for brandishing their pistols in town. Thomas Cardwell was a brother of Detective Jerry Cardwell, who had killed Judge James Hargis' brother, John "Tige" Hargis, back in 1896. So obviously, Judge James Hargis hated Thomas Cardwell.
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell first went to see Mr. Marcum, who simply paid the $20 fine and so he was not arrested. But when Cardwell went to see Hargis, Hargis turned and ran into his store, The Hargis Brothers Department Store, where his good friend Sheriff Ed Callahan was waiting. Cardwell knew there was going to be trouble, and so he asked Tom Cockrell, who was the Town Marshall, to go into the store with him, and help him arrest Hargis. Tom Cockrell's brother, James Cockrell, who was also a Town Marshall, went with them.
When the three law enforcers walked into The Hargis Brothers Department Store, Tom Cockrell told Judge James Hargis that he was under arrest. But Hargis claimed that he had already "surrendered" to Sheriff Ed Callahan (his friend), who was standing there, which was ridiculous. Hargis started to draw his pistol, but Tom Cockrell beat him to it. Then Callahan drew his pistol on Tom Cockrell. Right then, James Cockrell drew his pistol and pointed it at Callahan. It was two pistols against one, and so Hargis and Callahan backed down. But Hargis was not arrested, and the three law enforcers left the store. Mr. Marcum later asked Police Judge Thomas Cardwell to drop the charge against Hargis, in an attempt to calm things down. But things only became more heated.
Several weeks later, on February 20, 1902, Town Marshall Tom Cockrell and his friend Ben Hargis, who was a brother of Judge James Hargis, met at a saloon called "John A. Bailey & Co.," in Jackson, for a drink. But they soon got into an argument. Both men drew their guns and shot at each other. Both men were hit. Tom Cockrell was only injured, but Ben Hargis was killed. Judge James Hargis, and his brother, Senator Alex Hargis, demanded that Tom Cockrell be prosecuted for murder. Judge James Hargis was even able to get Tom Cockrell stripped of his position as Town Marshall.
Fearing for his life, Tom Cockrell first hid out inside of his house; he soon left Breathitt County, and he was even given protection in the Stanton Jail for awhile. James B. Marcum was his attorney. Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox had been a witness to the shooting, and he was going to testify. The trial was postponed many times. Mr. Marcum demanded a change of venue, to Wolfe County, because it was obvious that Tom Cockrell could never get a fair trial in Breathitt County. However, Judge James Hargis and his brother Senator Alex Hargis protested, claiming that they would be ambushed if they rode to Wolfe County. The trial finally took place in Wolfe County, in October of 1902. The jury found Tom Cockrell not guilty; he had killed Ben Hargis in self-defense.
By that time, Judge James Hargis was livid. Two of his brothers (John "Tige," and Ben), and his half-brother Willie Sewell, had been killed, but yet, nobody was being punished for their murders. So Hargis decided to "take care of things himself," and he made a list of the men he wanted assassinated. He would soon find a "henchman" to do most of "the dirty work" for him. His name was Curtis Jett.
Curtis Jett was born on December 19, 1875, in Jackson, Kentucky (Breathitt County). His parents were Hiram Jett and Sarah Jane Sewell.
Curiously, Curtis Jett's mother, Sarah Jane Sewell, was a half-sister of Judge James Hargis, because they had the same mother (Evaline Brittain). Evaline had first married William Sewell, and they were the parents of Sarah Jane Sewell (as well as Willie Sewell, who was shot in 1887). After William Sewell died, Evaline married John Seldon Hargis, and they were the parents of Judge James Hargis. That also made Judge James Hargis the half-uncle of Curtis Jett.
Also curious is the fact that Curtis Jett's father, Hiram Jett, was a brother to Sarah Jane Jett, who was the mother of Town Marshall Tom Cockrell, and his brother, Town Marshall James Cockrell. In other words, the two Cockrell brothers were Curtis Jett's first cousins. (Also strange is the fact that the two Cockrell brothers also had a brother named Curtis Jett Cockrell.)
Curtis Jett's paternal great, great grandfather was Stephen Jett (1735-1793), who had migrated to southeastern Kentucky, in 1791, with his friend Joseph Back (1745-1819). Joseph had purchased a Treasury Warrant for land in Kentucky, and he had sold half of that warrant to Stephen. After the two men arrived in southeastern Kentucky, with their families, Stephen Jett and his family first lived with Mason Combs, in his cabin that overlooked the North Fork of the Kentucky River, near the present-day city of Hazard.
When Curtis was a young boy, there were numerous feuds in, and around, Jackson. It got so bad that "people started locking their doors after dark." At one point, Curtis' house was bombarded with rocks, because of an argument that his father had with another man. In 1877, when Curtis was two years old, his parents decided to leave Breathitt County, because of all of the feuds. They went to Madison County, and settled in Doylesville. His mother later operated a boarding house there.
As Curtis grew up, he heard stories about all of the feuds that were taking place back in Breathitt County, including the 1887 murder of his uncle, Willie Sewell (Curtis' mother's brother), who was also the half-brother of Judge James Hargis. Curtis always said that he never forgot that story about the molasses, and also, that he believed that it was his lifelong responsibility to avenge his uncle's death.
Curtis started drinking alcohol when he was young, and he became an alcoholic. He also became an expert marksman. When Curtis was a teenager, he and his family moved to Winchester, Kentucky, which is in Clark County. His father died shortly thereafter, in 1892, when Curtis was only seventeen years old. The death of his father enraged him, and from that point on, he was always in trouble, and getting into fights.
In early 1898, Curtis married Regina Reynolds. That summer, Curtis joined the military, and he went off to fight in the Spanish-American War. But the war ended, before he got to Cuba. He returned to Kentucky, and settled in Jackson. He soon began hanging around Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan. By the spring of 1902, Curtis was "working for" Hargis and Callahan.
On April 13, 1902, the first man from Hargis and Callahan's list was assassinated. It was Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox. Dr. Cox had been a longtime friend of both the Cardwell family, and the Cockrell family, who were staunch enemies of Hargis and Callahan.
In 1893, Dr. Cox had married Cordelia Cardwell, who was a sister to Detective Jerry Cardwell and Police Judge Thomas Cardwell. Dr. Cox had also been appointed the guardian of Town Marshall Tom Cockrell, his brother Town Marshall James Cockrell, and their young siblings, after their parents had died, in 1890. Furthermore, Dr. Cox was also a close friend of Attorney James B. Marcum, who became Tom Cockrell's attorney, in February of 1902, after he had shot Ben Hargis.
So, on the evening of April 13, 1902, at around 8pm, Dr. Cox received a message that there was a patient who needed to see him, at her house in Jackson. So he left his house to tend to that patient. As he walked down the street, near the courthouse, and near a barn that was part of Judge James Hargis' farm, Dr. Cox was shot three times. The shots came from the Hargis barn. It was said that one of the killers then ran up to Dr. Cox and shot him again. It was also said that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were watching the murder, from a second-floor window, in Hargis' house. It was suspected that Curtis Jett killed Dr. Cox.
Dr. Cox was only 35 years old. His wife was five months pregnant, when he died. Her son Brackye was born that August; and she died, two months later, of typhoid fever.
Three months later, in mid-July of 1902, Town Marshall James Cockrell ran into Curtis Jett, one night, in the dining room at the Arlington Hotel. They got into an argument and drew their pistols. Shots were fired, but neither man was hit. But there were bullet holes left, all over the walls.
A few days later, on July 20, 1902, Town Marshall James Cockrell was assassinated, while he was standing on the street, near the courthouse, talking to someone. Some people said he was also eating a sandwich. He was first shot in the back, and then several more bullets hit him. The shots came from the second-story windows of the courthouse, and there appeared to be more than one shooter. It was said that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were watching the murder, from a second-story window of The Hargis Brothers Department Store.
It was strongly suspected that Curtis Jett killed James Cockrell. It was said that, after the shooting, Curtis stayed hidden, inside the courthouse, until the middle of the night, when some of his friends brought a horse around to the back, so that he could escape.
Meanwhile, ever since Attorney James B. Marcum got involved in investigating the rigged elections of 1901, multiple threats had been made on his life. He first went to Washington, DC for awhile, hoping that things would cool off, in Jackson. But, while he was gone, Dr. Cox was killed. When Mr. Marcum returned to Jackson, a man named Mose Feltner went to his house and told him that some people had hired him to kill him. After that, Mr. Marcum told people that he was "marked for death," and so he rarely left his house. He made plans to move away from Breathitt County.
If Mr. Marcum did leave his house, he carried his infant son in his arms. That's because there was an old, unspoken "rule," in the hills of Kentucky, that you never shoot someone if they were carrying a child. But on the morning of May 4, 1903, which was shortly before he was going to move out of Breathitt County, Mr. Marcum left home, without carrying his child, and he went to the courthouse to file some final papers. It is not known why he didn't carry his infant son that day.
After he filed the papers, Mr. Marcum walked to the front door of the courthouse, with his friend, Belvin James "B.J." Ewen. As they stood in the doorway, talking, Curtis Jett, who was standing behind them, in the hallway, shot Mr. Marcum in the back. Mr. Marcum yelled, "Oh Lordy! I'm shot! They've killed me!" Marcum fell forward, down the courthouse steps. Curtis then ran up to him, put his pistol up against Mr. Marcum's head, and shot him again, point blank. Mr. Ewen witnessed it all. He then saw Curtis run back down the hallway, towards a man named Tom White, while Curtis bragged about his "aim." Both men escaped from the courthouse through a side door.
While Mr. Marcum was being shot, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were calmly rocking, in rocking chairs, in front of The Hargis Brothers Department Store, which was right across the street from the courthouse. They saw the entire murder, but they did nothing. Afterwards, neither of them made any effort to look for Curtis Jett, or Tom White. Mr. Marcum's murder was the most shocking murder yet, in Jackson. People were shocked that a highly respected attorney was shot and killed, right on the steps of the courthouse, in broad daylight.
Because so many people had witnessed Mr. Marcum's murder, and there was such a public outcry, three weeks later, on May 21, 1903, Curtis Jett and Tom White were indicted for the murder of Attorney James B. Marcum. Three other men were indicted for conspiracy to murder Mr. Marcum: Mose Feltner, John Smith, and John Abner. Curtis Jett was also indicted for the murder of Town Marshall James Cockrell, but there was not enough proof to charge him with the murder of Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox.
In fact, it was understood, among the residents of Breathitt County, that Judge James Hargis had planned the assassinations of those three men, to extract his revenge upon them (Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox; Town Marshall James Cockrell; and Attorney James B. Marcum). All three men were murdered within seventy yards of the Breathitt County Courthouse, in Jackson. Hargis, and his good friend Sheriff Ed Callahan, had hired Curtis Jett, and some other men, to do the actual killings. In fact, Curtis Jett was often referred to as being one of Callahan's "deputies."
So, by this point in time, the residents of Jackson were terrified. They stayed in their homes with the drapes closed and the lights turned off. Dozens of armed state troopers were brought into town, to maintain the peace.
It was difficult to seat a jury, and it was difficult to get witnesses to testify, because people were terrified to get involved. They were afraid of retaliation. They were afraid that either they, or their family, would be killed, or their house or business would be burned down. (In fact, between 1900 and 1903, fourteen homes and businesses, owned by friends of the Cardwell's and the Cockrell's, were burned down, in Jackson. There was no fire department in Jackson, and insurance companies had cancelled all polices there, because of all of the arson.)
But finally, the trial began. Judge James Hargis paid for Curtis Jett's attorneys, which was quite telling. B.J. Ewen was the main witness that testified against Curtis Jett, but just two nights later, on June 14, 1903, Ewen's hotel, in Jackson, was burned down. People were even afraid to help put out the fire, for fear of retaliation. Just before the fire, Mr. Ewen had been offered $5,000, by friends of Hargis and Callahan, to recant his testimony, but he had refused.
Mose Feltner testified that Judge James Hargis, Sheriff Ed Callahan, and Fult French had hired him, John Smith, and John Abner, to kill Mr. Marcum, but they did not go through with it. All three of them were let go.
Finally, after all sorts of delays, Curtis Jett and Tom White were both convicted of killing Attorney James B. Marcum, on August 15, 1903, and they were both sentenced to life in prison. Five weeks later, Curtis Jett was convicted of killing Town Marshall James Cockrell, on September 23, 1903, and he was sentenced to death. Curtis Jett and Tom White were then sent to the Kentucky State Penitentiary, in Frankfort.
Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were indicted for complicity in the murder of Mr. Marcum. But, after five trials, they were both acquitted. They had claimed that they had nothing to do with any murder. Of course, everyone knew that was a lie.
Mrs. Marcum was devastated. She was left with five little children to raise, including her one-year-old son, named after her husband. She soon filed a civil suit against Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, for $100,000. She was eventually awarded $8,000, which the two men finally paid. Mrs. Marcum died in 1953.
Judge James Hargis was the most powerful man in Jackson, and in Breathitt County. He used his money and his influence (his brother Alex was a State Senator, as was their father, John Hargis), to intimidate people and to make them do as he wanted. He literally "ran" the town of Jackson. He even owned a controlling interest in the newspaper in Jackson, and so he made sure that he had a say in what was printed, or not printed.
After Curtis had been sent to prison, in 1903, his wife Regina apparently had an affair with a man named Daniel Griffith. She gave birth to a son she named Benjamin Carlisle Jett, on August 7, 1909. (Daniel Griffith's father's name was James Carlisle Griffith.)
Amazingly, on June 13, 1906, Curtis Jett made a confession, from prison. He confessed that he had killed Attorney James B. Marcum, and that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan had planned it all, and had hired him to do it. He even said that Sheriff Ed Callahan had given him the gun that he used to kill Mr. Marcum. He further stated that Mr. Ewen told the truth at the trial.
Curtis Jett also confessed that he had killed Town Marshall James Cockrell, and that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan had planned it all, and had hired him to do it. He further stated that John Smith and John Abner were the two other men who had fired shots at Mr. Cockrell.
Curtis declared that he did not kill Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox. He said that, when he heard the shots that night, he ran outside and saw Judge James Hargis, his brother Elbert Hargis, Sheriff Ed Callahan, Bill Britton, and Jess Spicer, standing there, with two shotguns. (It was suspected that it was Bill Britton and Jess Spicer who actually pulled the triggers. However, they were never brought to trial.)
While Curtis was in prison, he allegedly "found God, and studied the Bible." It was said that he became "a model prisoner." Both Judge James Hargis, and his brother Senator Alex Hargis petitioned for Curtis to be paroled, for several years. They had probably promised him that they would do that, before the killings.
Curtis was paroled from prison on December 11, 1918, after serving 15 years of a "death sentence" and a "life sentence." Records show that his parole was made possible by Senator Alex Hargis (because both Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were dead by then). When he was released, Curtis spent his first night at the Phoenix Hotel, in Lexington. The next day, he went to his parent's home in Doylesville. (Curtis' wife Regina had married Daniel Griffith, on December 16, 1916, who was probably the father of her son Benjamin. As soon as Regina learned that Curtis was released from prison, she, Daniel, and young Benjamin left Kentucky and moved to Warren County, Ohio. They were seen living there, in the 1920 Census Report. Daniel died in 1930, and then Regina and her son moved to Yakima, Washington.)
Curtis married Alice Parks on February 15, 1921, in Madison County, Kentucky. But that marriage did not last very long. He married Lina Webber, in 1926, also in Madison County. They were seen living together, in the 1930 and 1940 Census Reports. It is not known what happened to either of those women.
Curtis wrote a little book titled, "From Prison to Pulpit: Life of Curtis Jett." In it, he blamed alcohol for making him kill people. He didn't say he was sorry for what he had done, and he didn't take any responsibility for any of the murders he committed. He just blamed alcohol. In his book, he even included transcriptions of several alleged letters that he claimed people had written to him, or about him. All the letters praised Curtis (of course). The letters were only "signed" by initials, not by any real names. The book was ridiculous, and a slap in the face to the families, and the friends, of his victims.
Curtis roamed around Kentucky, trying to sell copies of his little book, for fifty cents each. He tried to give public sermons, simply to gather people together, to get them to buy his book. He was a minister for awhile, but then he quit that and became a merchant. He died of a heart attack on February 3, 1956, and his body was cremated.
As for Tom White, he was paroled on January 3, 1917, which was nearly two years before Curtis Jett was paroled. When Tom got back home to Breathitt County, he learned that his wife Lavina was pregnant with another man's child. She died in childbirth, in August of 1917. Tom got remarried to Mrs. Charlotte Stidham Davidson, who was a widow, in 1920. But Tom violated his parole, in 1928, and he was sent back to prison. But he was soon released again, and he went back home to Charlotte.
Tom received a small pension, probably for his brief military service, but he spent it all on alcohol. He was frequently drunk. On December 4, 1935, he came home drunk, around midnight. He got too close to the fireplace and his clothes caught on fire. He yelled for his wife to come help him. She threw water on him, but he was badly burned. He was taken to the hospital, where he died, the next day.
Meanwhile, back in Jackson, justice was eventually done.
Judge James Hargis had one son; his name was Beauchamp, and he was known as "Beech." The judge had beaten that boy, even since he was a child, even whipping him with a rope. Beech's behavior was erratic, and his mother had to often bail him out of jail, including when he went on a binge, up in Cincinnati. Beech was a bad alcoholic, and most people thought he was mentally ill as well.
On February 5, 1908, Judge James Hargis slapped his son Beech over something that Beech had done. Beech then got drunk. He later went into The Hargis Brothers Department Store and swiped a pistol out of his father's desk. The next morning, Beech appeared in town with a red and swollen face, and he told people that, "the old man hit me." He also said that he "wasn't going to let anyone, including his father, ever hit him like that again." He went into his father's store and sat down in a chair. His father saw him and made some negative remarks about him, to a customer. The judge then walked over to Beech, who stood up and started shooting at his father. The judge grabbed him and the two of them fell to the floor. Beech shot him four more times. The judge yelled, "He has shot me all to pieces!" He died within a minute. One of the customers got hold of Beech and dragged him out to the street; he held him there until law enforcement arrived.
Beech Hargis was indicted, tried, and convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison. He was sent to the Kentucky Penitentiary as well. In the 1910 Census Report, Beech was listed as being in the prison. He was listed right next to Curtis Jett, and so they may have been cellmates. How ironic is that.
Beech's mother kept trying to get Beech paroled. He was finally paroled in December of 1916, from a "life sentence." Some people said that he returned to Jackson for awhile. But he soon left town. His mother later said that the last time she had heard from him, which was in 1918, that he was in Canada. Nobody knows what happened to him.
As for Sheriff Ed Callahan, he became fearful for his life as well, especially after Judge James Hargis had been killed. He moved out to the country, in nearby Crockettsville, where he ran a small store. On May 3, 1910, someone shot at him, from a clump of trees on the other side of the road. He was wounded, but he survived. He then built a stockade around his house and his store, so that he could go from his house, to the store, without being seen outside where he could get shot.
But On May 4, 1912, Callahan was shot, through the window of his home. The killer had hid in the same clump of trees, across the road from Callahan's house, as the man who had tried to kill Callahan, back in 1910. Obviously, it was a revenge killing, because it was done exactly, nine years, to the day, that Attorney James B. Marcum had been shot and killed. However, Callahan did not die right away. He died about one week later. His killers were said to have been Dock Smith, Andrew Johnson, and James Deaton.
So, in the end, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, finally got what they deserved. They were shot, and they died violent deaths, just like all the people who they had ordered shot and killed.
(Strangely, Senator Alex Hargis, who was the brother of Judge James Hargis, was actually related to Attorney James B. Marcum. His wife, Joanna Lindon, was the daughter of America Marcum, who was the sister of Mr. Marcum. In other words, Senator Alex Hargis had married Attorney James B. Marcum's niece.)
***Scroll down for information on the feud***
Tom first married Lavina "Vina" Catherine Duff on 9-10-1897. She was the daughter of Marcus Duff and Rebecca Wells. Vina had previously married Jacob Neace on 9-19-1892 and had three children with him: James (born 9-2-1893); Mack (born 2-6-1894); and Martha (2-12-1896). But Jacob had died on 2-21-1897. Tom and Vina had a daughter named Serena Bell (born 1-1-1899).
On 6/27/1898, Tom enlisted to fight in the Spanish-American War, as a private in the 4th Kentucky Infantry, Company D. He was discharged, eight months later, on 2-12-1899.
Shortly after that was when all the shooting and killing became really serious in Breathitt County, and when he went to work for Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, as a "henchman." His brother Anse White (sometimes called "Devil Anse") was also involved in several killings.
Tom was convicted of being involved in the murder of attorney James B. Marcum, in Jackson, Kentucky, on May 4, 1903. His friend Curtis Jett (FAG #213324879) apparently actually fired the shots. Both Tom and Curtis were sentenced to life in prison. But because they had been hired by the powerful Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, they were later paroled.
After Tom was sent to the Kentucky Penitentiary, his wife Vina was seen in the 1910 Census Report, in Breathitt County, living near George's Branch. Living with her was her daughter Serena Bell, and her three children with her first husband: James, Mack, and Martha. Her husband Tom was in prison.
Tom was paroled on January 3, 1917, and it is assumed that he went back home to Breathitt County.
However, while Tom was in prison, Vina apparently had an affair with a man named John Bush, who lived nearby, in Altro. They had a daughter named Rebecca Bush who was born on 8-25-1917, but only lived for three hours. Vina apparently died during that childbirth, or shortly thereafter.
Strangely, Tom had been paroled on January 3, 1917, and so Vina was about two months pregnant when Tom came home. However, it was John Bush who signed the death certificate for the infant child, who died on 8-25-1917. John Bush named himself as being the child's father, and he named "Vina Duff" as being the child's mother, and the child's name was shown as "Rebecca J. Bush." (Vina's mother's name was Rebecca.)
Tom got remarried to Charlotte "Lottie" Stidham Davidson on 12-9-1920. But, in August of 1928, Tom violated the conditions of his parole, and he was returned to prison (just a few months after his daughter Serena Bell had died). But he was apparently paroled once more, sometime after that. He then went home to Breathitt County, to his second wife.
Tom had been provided a small pension, probably from his brief military service. However, he spent it all on alcohol and he was frequently drunk. Tom and his second wife Lottie lived on River Road, in George's Branch, in Breathitt County. One night, Dec. 4, 1935, Tom came home drunk, around midnight, and he got too close to the fireplace. His clothes caught on fire and he yelled out for Lottie to help him. She was asleep in another room. She ran in there and threw water on him, but he had already been badly burned. He was taken to the Veteran's Hospital where he died the next day.
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The worst feud, in the history of Breathitt County, Kentucky was the "Marcum-Cox-Hargis-Callahan Feud." It took place between 1902 and 1912, mainly in, and around, the town of Jackson. Like most feuds, it involved people killing their own relatives. Nearly forty people were murdered, during that feud.
The four main participants who were killed:
Attorney James B. Marcum (FAG #25200348)
Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox (FAG #39042227)
Judge James Hargis (FAG #25215180)
Sheriff Ed Callahan (FAG #87428193)
Other people who were killed:
Town Marshall James Cockrell (FAG #142998482)
Willie Sewell (FAG #249550712)
John "Tige" Hargis (FAG #112052026)
Ben Hargis (FAG #112052674)
Other people who were involved:
Detective Jerry Cardwell (FAG #67769279)
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell (FAG #30020355)
Town Marshall Tom Cockrell (FAG #142998463)
Beech Hargis (FAG #249580424)
B.J. Ewen (FAG #5375207)
The two main killers:
Curtis Jett (FAG #213324879)
Tom White (FAG #249931405)
The "Marcum-Cox-Hargis-Callahan Feud" actually began, back on October 31, 1896. That was when Detective Jerry Cardwell killed John "Tige" Hargis, who was a brother of Judge James Hargis (one of the four main participants in the feud).
Jerry Cardwell was a train detective. He had boarded the train in Jackson, which was headed to Beattyville. During the train ride, John "Tige" Hargis had become very drunk and disorderly. The train conductor asked Detective Cardwell to maintain the peace. As soon as Detective Cardwell entered the train car where Hargis was sitting, Hargis drew his gun and fired. But he only wounded Detective Cardwell. When the detective returned fire, he killed Hargis. The Hargis family later took Detective Cardwell to court, and they were able to get him sentenced to two years in prison. However, Cardwell appealed the case, and the Governor pardoned him.
The following year, on September 14, 1887, Willie Sewell, who was a half-brother of Judge James Hargis, was shot in the back, from ambush, while he was out in his yard, making molasses. Willie then fell into the vat of boiling molasses. People were able to pull him out, but he soon died. Nobody was ever punished for killing Willie.
In the spring of 1901, a primary election was held in Jackson, Kentucky, in which James Hargis and Ed Callahan fraudulently secured positions on the November ballot. Both men then "won" the election that November: James Hargis was elected judge, and his good friend Ed Callahan was elected sheriff.
However, the ballot boxes had obviously been tampered with; people were intimidated to vote for Hargis and Callahan, instead of their opponents; many people who were going to vote against Hargis and Callahan were not permitted to vote; people who were not registered to vote were allowed to vote for Hargis and Callahan; and Hargis even counted the votes himself. Everyone in the county knew about these problems. So an investigation was launched, and Attorney James B. Marcum was put in charge of it.
Shortly after that, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan went to Mr. Marcum's office, in order to give their depositions. But the arguments became heated, and Hargis and Marcum drew their guns. Mr. Marcum then ordered everyone to leave.
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell then had to issue arrest warrants for Hargis and Marcum, for brandishing their pistols in town. Thomas Cardwell was a brother of Detective Jerry Cardwell, who had killed Judge James Hargis' brother, John "Tige" Hargis, back in 1896. So obviously, Judge James Hargis hated Thomas Cardwell.
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell first went to see Mr. Marcum, who simply paid the $20 fine and so he was not arrested. But when Cardwell went to see Hargis, Hargis turned and ran into his store, The Hargis Brothers Department Store, where his good friend Sheriff Ed Callahan was waiting. Cardwell knew there was going to be trouble, and so he asked Tom Cockrell, who was the Town Marshall, to go into the store with him, and help him arrest Hargis. Tom Cockrell's brother, James Cockrell, who was also a Town Marshall, went with them.
When the three law enforcers walked into The Hargis Brothers Department Store, Tom Cockrell told Judge James Hargis that he was under arrest. But Hargis claimed that he had already "surrendered" to Sheriff Ed Callahan (his friend), who was standing there, which was ridiculous. Hargis started to draw his pistol, but Tom Cockrell beat him to it. Then Callahan drew his pistol on Tom Cockrell. Right then, James Cockrell drew his pistol and pointed it at Callahan. It was two pistols against one, and so Hargis and Callahan backed down. But Hargis was not arrested, and the three law enforcers left the store. Mr. Marcum later asked Police Judge Thomas Cardwell to drop the charge against Hargis, in an attempt to calm things down. But things only became more heated.
Several weeks later, on February 20, 1902, Town Marshall Tom Cockrell and his friend Ben Hargis, who was a brother of Judge James Hargis, met at a saloon called "John A. Bailey & Co.," in Jackson, for a drink. But they soon got into an argument. Both men drew their guns and shot at each other. Both men were hit. Tom Cockrell was only injured, but Ben Hargis was killed. Judge James Hargis, and his brother, Senator Alex Hargis, demanded that Tom Cockrell be prosecuted for murder. Judge James Hargis was even able to get Tom Cockrell stripped of his position as Town Marshall.
Fearing for his life, Tom Cockrell first hid out inside of his house; he soon left Breathitt County, and he was even given protection in the Stanton Jail for awhile. James B. Marcum was his attorney. Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox had been a witness to the shooting, and he was going to testify. The trial was postponed many times. Mr. Marcum demanded a change of venue, to Wolfe County, because it was obvious that Tom Cockrell could never get a fair trial in Breathitt County. However, Judge James Hargis and his brother Senator Alex Hargis protested, claiming that they would be ambushed if they rode to Wolfe County. The trial finally took place in Wolfe County, in October of 1902. The jury found Tom Cockrell not guilty; he had killed Ben Hargis in self-defense.
By that time, Judge James Hargis was livid. Two of his brothers (John "Tige," and Ben), and his half-brother Willie Sewell, had been killed, but yet, nobody was being punished for their murders. So Hargis decided to "take care of things himself," and he made a list of the men he wanted assassinated. He would soon find a "henchman" to do most of "the dirty work" for him. His name was Curtis Jett.
Curtis Jett was born on December 19, 1875, in Jackson, Kentucky (Breathitt County). His parents were Hiram Jett and Sarah Jane Sewell.
Curiously, Curtis Jett's mother, Sarah Jane Sewell, was a half-sister of Judge James Hargis, because they had the same mother (Evaline Brittain). Evaline had first married William Sewell, and they were the parents of Sarah Jane Sewell (as well as Willie Sewell, who was shot in 1887). After William Sewell died, Evaline married John Seldon Hargis, and they were the parents of Judge James Hargis. That also made Judge James Hargis the half-uncle of Curtis Jett.
Also curious is the fact that Curtis Jett's father, Hiram Jett, was a brother to Sarah Jane Jett, who was the mother of Town Marshall Tom Cockrell, and his brother, Town Marshall James Cockrell. In other words, the two Cockrell brothers were Curtis Jett's first cousins. (Also strange is the fact that the two Cockrell brothers also had a brother named Curtis Jett Cockrell.)
Curtis Jett's paternal great, great grandfather was Stephen Jett (1735-1793), who had migrated to southeastern Kentucky, in 1791, with his friend Joseph Back (1745-1819). Joseph had purchased a Treasury Warrant for land in Kentucky, and he had sold half of that warrant to Stephen. After the two men arrived in southeastern Kentucky, with their families, Stephen Jett and his family first lived with Mason Combs, in his cabin that overlooked the North Fork of the Kentucky River, near the present-day city of Hazard.
When Curtis was a young boy, there were numerous feuds in, and around, Jackson. It got so bad that "people started locking their doors after dark." At one point, Curtis' house was bombarded with rocks, because of an argument that his father had with another man. In 1877, when Curtis was two years old, his parents decided to leave Breathitt County, because of all of the feuds. They went to Madison County, and settled in Doylesville. His mother later operated a boarding house there.
As Curtis grew up, he heard stories about all of the feuds that were taking place back in Breathitt County, including the 1887 murder of his uncle, Willie Sewell (Curtis' mother's brother), who was also the half-brother of Judge James Hargis. Curtis always said that he never forgot that story about the molasses, and also, that he believed that it was his lifelong responsibility to avenge his uncle's death.
Curtis started drinking alcohol when he was young, and he became an alcoholic. He also became an expert marksman. When Curtis was a teenager, he and his family moved to Winchester, Kentucky, which is in Clark County. His father died shortly thereafter, in 1892, when Curtis was only seventeen years old. The death of his father enraged him, and from that point on, he was always in trouble, and getting into fights.
In early 1898, Curtis married Regina Reynolds. That summer, Curtis joined the military, and he went off to fight in the Spanish-American War. But the war ended, before he got to Cuba. He returned to Kentucky, and settled in Jackson. He soon began hanging around Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan. By the spring of 1902, Curtis was "working for" Hargis and Callahan.
On April 13, 1902, the first man from Hargis and Callahan's list was assassinated. It was Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox. Dr. Cox had been a longtime friend of both the Cardwell family, and the Cockrell family, who were staunch enemies of Hargis and Callahan.
In 1893, Dr. Cox had married Cordelia Cardwell, who was a sister to Detective Jerry Cardwell and Police Judge Thomas Cardwell. Dr. Cox had also been appointed the guardian of Town Marshall Tom Cockrell, his brother Town Marshall James Cockrell, and their young siblings, after their parents had died, in 1890. Furthermore, Dr. Cox was also a close friend of Attorney James B. Marcum, who became Tom Cockrell's attorney, in February of 1902, after he had shot Ben Hargis.
So, on the evening of April 13, 1902, at around 8pm, Dr. Cox received a message that there was a patient who needed to see him, at her house in Jackson. So he left his house to tend to that patient. As he walked down the street, near the courthouse, and near a barn that was part of Judge James Hargis' farm, Dr. Cox was shot three times. The shots came from the Hargis barn. It was said that one of the killers then ran up to Dr. Cox and shot him again. It was also said that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were watching the murder, from a second-floor window, in Hargis' house. It was suspected that Curtis Jett killed Dr. Cox.
Dr. Cox was only 35 years old. His wife was five months pregnant, when he died. Her son Brackye was born that August; and she died, two months later, of typhoid fever.
Three months later, in mid-July of 1902, Town Marshall James Cockrell ran into Curtis Jett, one night, in the dining room at the Arlington Hotel. They got into an argument and drew their pistols. Shots were fired, but neither man was hit. But there were bullet holes left, all over the walls.
A few days later, on July 20, 1902, Town Marshall James Cockrell was assassinated, while he was standing on the street, near the courthouse, talking to someone. Some people said he was also eating a sandwich. He was first shot in the back, and then several more bullets hit him. The shots came from the second-story windows of the courthouse, and there appeared to be more than one shooter. It was said that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were watching the murder, from a second-story window of The Hargis Brothers Department Store.
It was strongly suspected that Curtis Jett killed James Cockrell. It was said that, after the shooting, Curtis stayed hidden, inside the courthouse, until the middle of the night, when some of his friends brought a horse around to the back, so that he could escape.
Meanwhile, ever since Attorney James B. Marcum got involved in investigating the rigged elections of 1901, multiple threats had been made on his life. He first went to Washington, DC for awhile, hoping that things would cool off, in Jackson. But, while he was gone, Dr. Cox was killed. When Mr. Marcum returned to Jackson, a man named Mose Feltner went to his house and told him that some people had hired him to kill him. After that, Mr. Marcum told people that he was "marked for death," and so he rarely left his house. He made plans to move away from Breathitt County.
If Mr. Marcum did leave his house, he carried his infant son in his arms. That's because there was an old, unspoken "rule," in the hills of Kentucky, that you never shoot someone if they were carrying a child. But on the morning of May 4, 1903, which was shortly before he was going to move out of Breathitt County, Mr. Marcum left home, without carrying his child, and he went to the courthouse to file some final papers. It is not known why he didn't carry his infant son that day.
After he filed the papers, Mr. Marcum walked to the front door of the courthouse, with his friend, Belvin James "B.J." Ewen. As they stood in the doorway, talking, Curtis Jett, who was standing behind them, in the hallway, shot Mr. Marcum in the back. Mr. Marcum yelled, "Oh Lordy! I'm shot! They've killed me!" Marcum fell forward, down the courthouse steps. Curtis then ran up to him, put his pistol up against Mr. Marcum's head, and shot him again, point blank. Mr. Ewen witnessed it all. He then saw Curtis run back down the hallway, towards a man named Tom White, while Curtis bragged about his "aim." Both men escaped from the courthouse through a side door.
While Mr. Marcum was being shot, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were calmly rocking, in rocking chairs, in front of The Hargis Brothers Department Store, which was right across the street from the courthouse. They saw the entire murder, but they did nothing. Afterwards, neither of them made any effort to look for Curtis Jett, or Tom White. Mr. Marcum's murder was the most shocking murder yet, in Jackson. People were shocked that a highly respected attorney was shot and killed, right on the steps of the courthouse, in broad daylight.
Because so many people had witnessed Mr. Marcum's murder, and there was such a public outcry, three weeks later, on May 21, 1903, Curtis Jett and Tom White were indicted for the murder of Attorney James B. Marcum. Three other men were indicted for conspiracy to murder Mr. Marcum: Mose Feltner, John Smith, and John Abner. Curtis Jett was also indicted for the murder of Town Marshall James Cockrell, but there was not enough proof to charge him with the murder of Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox.
In fact, it was understood, among the residents of Breathitt County, that Judge James Hargis had planned the assassinations of those three men, to extract his revenge upon them (Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox; Town Marshall James Cockrell; and Attorney James B. Marcum). All three men were murdered within seventy yards of the Breathitt County Courthouse, in Jackson. Hargis, and his good friend Sheriff Ed Callahan, had hired Curtis Jett, and some other men, to do the actual killings. In fact, Curtis Jett was often referred to as being one of Callahan's "deputies."
So, by this point in time, the residents of Jackson were terrified. They stayed in their homes with the drapes closed and the lights turned off. Dozens of armed state troopers were brought into town, to maintain the peace.
It was difficult to seat a jury, and it was difficult to get witnesses to testify, because people were terrified to get involved. They were afraid of retaliation. They were afraid that either they, or their family, would be killed, or their house or business would be burned down. (In fact, between 1900 and 1903, fourteen homes and businesses, owned by friends of the Cardwell's and the Cockrell's, were burned down, in Jackson. There was no fire department in Jackson, and insurance companies had cancelled all polices there, because of all of the arson.)
But finally, the trial began. Judge James Hargis paid for Curtis Jett's attorneys, which was quite telling. B.J. Ewen was the main witness that testified against Curtis Jett, but just two nights later, on June 14, 1903, Ewen's hotel, in Jackson, was burned down. People were even afraid to help put out the fire, for fear of retaliation. Just before the fire, Mr. Ewen had been offered $5,000, by friends of Hargis and Callahan, to recant his testimony, but he had refused.
Mose Feltner testified that Judge James Hargis, Sheriff Ed Callahan, and Fult French had hired him, John Smith, and John Abner, to kill Mr. Marcum, but they did not go through with it. All three of them were let go.
Finally, after all sorts of delays, Curtis Jett and Tom White were both convicted of killing Attorney James B. Marcum, on August 15, 1903, and they were both sentenced to life in prison. Five weeks later, Curtis Jett was convicted of killing Town Marshall James Cockrell, on September 23, 1903, and he was sentenced to death. Curtis Jett and Tom White were then sent to the Kentucky State Penitentiary, in Frankfort.
Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were indicted for complicity in the murder of Mr. Marcum. But, after five trials, they were both acquitted. They had claimed that they had nothing to do with any murder. Of course, everyone knew that was a lie.
Mrs. Marcum was devastated. She was left with five little children to raise, including her one-year-old son, named after her husband. She soon filed a civil suit against Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, for $100,000. She was eventually awarded $8,000, which the two men finally paid. Mrs. Marcum died in 1953.
Judge James Hargis was the most powerful man in Jackson, and in Breathitt County. He used his money and his influence (his brother Alex was a State Senator, as was their father, John Hargis), to intimidate people and to make them do as he wanted. He literally "ran" the town of Jackson. He even owned a controlling interest in the newspaper in Jackson, and so he made sure that he had a say in what was printed, or not printed.
After Curtis had been sent to prison, in 1903, his wife Regina apparently had an affair with a man named Daniel Griffith. She gave birth to a son she named Benjamin Carlisle Jett, on August 7, 1909. (Daniel Griffith's father's name was James Carlisle Griffith.)
Amazingly, on June 13, 1906, Curtis Jett made a confession, from prison. He confessed that he had killed Attorney James B. Marcum, and that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan had planned it all, and had hired him to do it. He even said that Sheriff Ed Callahan had given him the gun that he used to kill Mr. Marcum. He further stated that Mr. Ewen told the truth at the trial.
Curtis Jett also confessed that he had killed Town Marshall James Cockrell, and that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan had planned it all, and had hired him to do it. He further stated that John Smith and John Abner were the two other men who had fired shots at Mr. Cockrell.
Curtis declared that he did not kill Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox. He said that, when he heard the shots that night, he ran outside and saw Judge James Hargis, his brother Elbert Hargis, Sheriff Ed Callahan, Bill Britton, and Jess Spicer, standing there, with two shotguns. (It was suspected that it was Bill Britton and Jess Spicer who actually pulled the triggers. However, they were never brought to trial.)
While Curtis was in prison, he allegedly "found God, and studied the Bible." It was said that he became "a model prisoner." Both Judge James Hargis, and his brother Senator Alex Hargis petitioned for Curtis to be paroled, for several years. They had probably promised him that they would do that, before the killings.
Curtis was paroled from prison on December 11, 1918, after serving 15 years of a "death sentence" and a "life sentence." Records show that his parole was made possible by Senator Alex Hargis (because both Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were dead by then). When he was released, Curtis spent his first night at the Phoenix Hotel, in Lexington. The next day, he went to his parent's home in Doylesville. (Curtis' wife Regina had married Daniel Griffith, on December 16, 1916, who was probably the father of her son Benjamin. As soon as Regina learned that Curtis was released from prison, she, Daniel, and young Benjamin left Kentucky and moved to Warren County, Ohio. They were seen living there, in the 1920 Census Report. Daniel died in 1930, and then Regina and her son moved to Yakima, Washington.)
Curtis married Alice Parks on February 15, 1921, in Madison County, Kentucky. But that marriage did not last very long. He married Lina Webber, in 1926, also in Madison County. They were seen living together, in the 1930 and 1940 Census Reports. It is not known what happened to either of those women.
Curtis wrote a little book titled, "From Prison to Pulpit: Life of Curtis Jett." In it, he blamed alcohol for making him kill people. He didn't say he was sorry for what he had done, and he didn't take any responsibility for any of the murders he committed. He just blamed alcohol. In his book, he even included transcriptions of several alleged letters that he claimed people had written to him, or about him. All the letters praised Curtis (of course). The letters were only "signed" by initials, not by any real names. The book was ridiculous, and a slap in the face to the families, and the friends, of his victims.
Curtis roamed around Kentucky, trying to sell copies of his little book, for fifty cents each. He tried to give public sermons, simply to gather people together, to get them to buy his book. He was a minister for awhile, but then he quit that and became a merchant. He died of a heart attack on February 3, 1956, and his body was cremated.
As for Tom White, he was paroled on January 3, 1917, which was nearly two years before Curtis Jett was paroled. When Tom got back home to Breathitt County, he learned that his wife Lavina was pregnant with another man's child. She died in childbirth, in August of 1917. Tom got remarried to Mrs. Charlotte Stidham Davidson, who was a widow, in 1920. But Tom violated his parole, in 1928, and he was sent back to prison. But he was soon released again, and he went back home to Charlotte.
Tom received a small pension, probably for his brief military service, but he spent it all on alcohol. He was frequently drunk. On December 4, 1935, he came home drunk, around midnight. He got too close to the fireplace and his clothes caught on fire. He yelled for his wife to come help him. She threw water on him, but he was badly burned. He was taken to the hospital, where he died, the next day.
Meanwhile, back in Jackson, justice was eventually done.
Judge James Hargis had one son; his name was Beauchamp, and he was known as "Beech." The judge had beaten that boy, even since he was a child, even whipping him with a rope. Beech's behavior was erratic, and his mother had to often bail him out of jail, including when he went on a binge, up in Cincinnati. Beech was a bad alcoholic, and most people thought he was mentally ill as well.
On February 5, 1908, Judge James Hargis slapped his son Beech over something that Beech had done. Beech then got drunk. He later went into The Hargis Brothers Department Store and swiped a pistol out of his father's desk. The next morning, Beech appeared in town with a red and swollen face, and he told people that, "the old man hit me." He also said that he "wasn't going to let anyone, including his father, ever hit him like that again." He went into his father's store and sat down in a chair. His father saw him and made some negative remarks about him, to a customer. The judge then walked over to Beech, who stood up and started shooting at his father. The judge grabbed him and the two of them fell to the floor. Beech shot him four more times. The judge yelled, "He has shot me all to pieces!" He died within a minute. One of the customers got hold of Beech and dragged him out to the street; he held him there until law enforcement arrived.
Beech Hargis was indicted, tried, and convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison. He was sent to the Kentucky Penitentiary as well. In the 1910 Census Report, Beech was listed as being in the prison. He was listed right next to Curtis Jett, and so they may have been cellmates. How ironic is that.
Beech's mother kept trying to get Beech paroled. He was finally paroled in December of 1916, from a "life sentence." Some people said that he returned to Jackson for awhile. But he soon left town. His mother later said that the last time she had heard from him, which was in 1918, that he was in Canada. Nobody knows what happened to him.
As for Sheriff Ed Callahan, he became fearful for his life as well, especially after Judge James Hargis had been killed. He moved out to the country, in nearby Crockettsville, where he ran a small store. On May 3, 1910, someone shot at him, from a clump of trees on the other side of the road. He was wounded, but he survived. He then built a stockade around his house and his store, so that he could go from his house, to the store, without being seen outside where he could get shot.
But On May 4, 1912, Callahan was shot, through the window of his home. The killer had hid in the same clump of trees, across the road from Callahan's house, as the man who had tried to kill Callahan, back in 1910. Obviously, it was a revenge killing, because it was done exactly, nine years, to the day, that Attorney James B. Marcum had been shot and killed. However, Callahan did not die right away. He died about one week later. His killers were said to have been Dock Smith, Andrew Johnson, and James Deaton.
So, in the end, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, finally got what they deserved. They were shot, and they died violent deaths, just like all the people who they had ordered shot and killed.
(Strangely, Senator Alex Hargis, who was the brother of Judge James Hargis, was actually related to Attorney James B. Marcum. His wife, Joanna Lindon, was the daughter of America Marcum, who was the sister of Mr. Marcum. In other words, Senator Alex Hargis had married Attorney James B. Marcum's niece.)
Tom first married Lavina "Vina" Catherine Duff on 9-10-1897. She was the daughter of Marcus Duff and Rebecca Wells. Vina had previously married Jacob Neace on 9-19-1892 and had three children with him: James (born 9-2-1893); Mack (born 2-6-1894); and Martha (2-12-1896). But Jacob had died on 2-21-1897. Tom and Vina had a daughter named Serena Bell (born 1-1-1899).
On 6/27/1898, Tom enlisted to fight in the Spanish-American War, as a private in the 4th Kentucky Infantry, Company D. He was discharged, eight months later, on 2-12-1899.
Shortly after that was when all the shooting and killing became really serious in Breathitt County, and when he went to work for Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, as a "henchman." His brother Anse White (sometimes called "Devil Anse") was also involved in several killings.
Tom was convicted of being involved in the murder of attorney James B. Marcum, in Jackson, Kentucky, on May 4, 1903. His friend Curtis Jett (FAG #213324879) apparently actually fired the shots. Both Tom and Curtis were sentenced to life in prison. But because they had been hired by the powerful Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, they were later paroled.
After Tom was sent to the Kentucky Penitentiary, his wife Vina was seen in the 1910 Census Report, in Breathitt County, living near George's Branch. Living with her was her daughter Serena Bell, and her three children with her first husband: James, Mack, and Martha. Her husband Tom was in prison.
Tom was paroled on January 3, 1917, and it is assumed that he went back home to Breathitt County.
However, while Tom was in prison, Vina apparently had an affair with a man named John Bush, who lived nearby, in Altro. They had a daughter named Rebecca Bush who was born on 8-25-1917, but only lived for three hours. Vina apparently died during that childbirth, or shortly thereafter.
Strangely, Tom had been paroled on January 3, 1917, and so Vina was about two months pregnant when Tom came home. However, it was John Bush who signed the death certificate for the infant child, who died on 8-25-1917. John Bush named himself as being the child's father, and he named "Vina Duff" as being the child's mother, and the child's name was shown as "Rebecca J. Bush." (Vina's mother's name was Rebecca.)
Tom got remarried to Charlotte "Lottie" Stidham Davidson on 12-9-1920. But, in August of 1928, Tom violated the conditions of his parole, and he was returned to prison (just a few months after his daughter Serena Bell had died). But he was apparently paroled once more, sometime after that. He then went home to Breathitt County, to his second wife.
Tom had been provided a small pension, probably from his brief military service. However, he spent it all on alcohol and he was frequently drunk. Tom and his second wife Lottie lived on River Road, in George's Branch, in Breathitt County. One night, Dec. 4, 1935, Tom came home drunk, around midnight, and he got too close to the fireplace. His clothes caught on fire and he yelled out for Lottie to help him. She was asleep in another room. She ran in there and threw water on him, but he had already been badly burned. He was taken to the Veteran's Hospital where he died the next day.
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The worst feud, in the history of Breathitt County, Kentucky was the "Marcum-Cox-Hargis-Callahan Feud." It took place between 1902 and 1912, mainly in, and around, the town of Jackson. Like most feuds, it involved people killing their own relatives. Nearly forty people were murdered, during that feud.
The four main participants who were killed:
Attorney James B. Marcum (FAG #25200348)
Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox (FAG #39042227)
Judge James Hargis (FAG #25215180)
Sheriff Ed Callahan (FAG #87428193)
Other people who were killed:
Town Marshall James Cockrell (FAG #142998482)
Willie Sewell (FAG #249550712)
John "Tige" Hargis (FAG #112052026)
Ben Hargis (FAG #112052674)
Other people who were involved:
Detective Jerry Cardwell (FAG #67769279)
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell (FAG #30020355)
Town Marshall Tom Cockrell (FAG #142998463)
Beech Hargis (FAG #249580424)
B.J. Ewen (FAG #5375207)
The two main killers:
Curtis Jett (FAG #213324879)
Tom White (FAG #249931405)
The "Marcum-Cox-Hargis-Callahan Feud" actually began, back on October 31, 1896. That was when Detective Jerry Cardwell killed John "Tige" Hargis, who was a brother of Judge James Hargis (one of the four main participants in the feud).
Jerry Cardwell was a train detective. He had boarded the train in Jackson, which was headed to Beattyville. During the train ride, John "Tige" Hargis had become very drunk and disorderly. The train conductor asked Detective Cardwell to maintain the peace. As soon as Detective Cardwell entered the train car where Hargis was sitting, Hargis drew his gun and fired. But he only wounded Detective Cardwell. When the detective returned fire, he killed Hargis. The Hargis family later took Detective Cardwell to court, and they were able to get him sentenced to two years in prison. However, Cardwell appealed the case, and the Governor pardoned him.
The following year, on September 14, 1887, Willie Sewell, who was a half-brother of Judge James Hargis, was shot in the back, from ambush, while he was out in his yard, making molasses. Willie then fell into the vat of boiling molasses. People were able to pull him out, but he soon died. Nobody was ever punished for killing Willie.
In the spring of 1901, a primary election was held in Jackson, Kentucky, in which James Hargis and Ed Callahan fraudulently secured positions on the November ballot. Both men then "won" the election that November: James Hargis was elected judge, and his good friend Ed Callahan was elected sheriff.
However, the ballot boxes had obviously been tampered with; people were intimidated to vote for Hargis and Callahan, instead of their opponents; many people who were going to vote against Hargis and Callahan were not permitted to vote; people who were not registered to vote were allowed to vote for Hargis and Callahan; and Hargis even counted the votes himself. Everyone in the county knew about these problems. So an investigation was launched, and Attorney James B. Marcum was put in charge of it.
Shortly after that, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan went to Mr. Marcum's office, in order to give their depositions. But the arguments became heated, and Hargis and Marcum drew their guns. Mr. Marcum then ordered everyone to leave.
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell then had to issue arrest warrants for Hargis and Marcum, for brandishing their pistols in town. Thomas Cardwell was a brother of Detective Jerry Cardwell, who had killed Judge James Hargis' brother, John "Tige" Hargis, back in 1896. So obviously, Judge James Hargis hated Thomas Cardwell.
Police Judge Thomas Cardwell first went to see Mr. Marcum, who simply paid the $20 fine and so he was not arrested. But when Cardwell went to see Hargis, Hargis turned and ran into his store, The Hargis Brothers Department Store, where his good friend Sheriff Ed Callahan was waiting. Cardwell knew there was going to be trouble, and so he asked Tom Cockrell, who was the Town Marshall, to go into the store with him, and help him arrest Hargis. Tom Cockrell's brother, James Cockrell, who was also a Town Marshall, went with them.
When the three law enforcers walked into The Hargis Brothers Department Store, Tom Cockrell told Judge James Hargis that he was under arrest. But Hargis claimed that he had already "surrendered" to Sheriff Ed Callahan (his friend), who was standing there, which was ridiculous. Hargis started to draw his pistol, but Tom Cockrell beat him to it. Then Callahan drew his pistol on Tom Cockrell. Right then, James Cockrell drew his pistol and pointed it at Callahan. It was two pistols against one, and so Hargis and Callahan backed down. But Hargis was not arrested, and the three law enforcers left the store. Mr. Marcum later asked Police Judge Thomas Cardwell to drop the charge against Hargis, in an attempt to calm things down. But things only became more heated.
Several weeks later, on February 20, 1902, Town Marshall Tom Cockrell and his friend Ben Hargis, who was a brother of Judge James Hargis, met at a saloon called "John A. Bailey & Co.," in Jackson, for a drink. But they soon got into an argument. Both men drew their guns and shot at each other. Both men were hit. Tom Cockrell was only injured, but Ben Hargis was killed. Judge James Hargis, and his brother, Senator Alex Hargis, demanded that Tom Cockrell be prosecuted for murder. Judge James Hargis was even able to get Tom Cockrell stripped of his position as Town Marshall.
Fearing for his life, Tom Cockrell first hid out inside of his house; he soon left Breathitt County, and he was even given protection in the Stanton Jail for awhile. James B. Marcum was his attorney. Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox had been a witness to the shooting, and he was going to testify. The trial was postponed many times. Mr. Marcum demanded a change of venue, to Wolfe County, because it was obvious that Tom Cockrell could never get a fair trial in Breathitt County. However, Judge James Hargis and his brother Senator Alex Hargis protested, claiming that they would be ambushed if they rode to Wolfe County. The trial finally took place in Wolfe County, in October of 1902. The jury found Tom Cockrell not guilty; he had killed Ben Hargis in self-defense.
By that time, Judge James Hargis was livid. Two of his brothers (John "Tige," and Ben), and his half-brother Willie Sewell, had been killed, but yet, nobody was being punished for their murders. So Hargis decided to "take care of things himself," and he made a list of the men he wanted assassinated. He would soon find a "henchman" to do most of "the dirty work" for him. His name was Curtis Jett.
Curtis Jett was born on December 19, 1875, in Jackson, Kentucky (Breathitt County). His parents were Hiram Jett and Sarah Jane Sewell.
Curiously, Curtis Jett's mother, Sarah Jane Sewell, was a half-sister of Judge James Hargis, because they had the same mother (Evaline Brittain). Evaline had first married William Sewell, and they were the parents of Sarah Jane Sewell (as well as Willie Sewell, who was shot in 1887). After William Sewell died, Evaline married John Seldon Hargis, and they were the parents of Judge James Hargis. That also made Judge James Hargis the half-uncle of Curtis Jett.
Also curious is the fact that Curtis Jett's father, Hiram Jett, was a brother to Sarah Jane Jett, who was the mother of Town Marshall Tom Cockrell, and his brother, Town Marshall James Cockrell. In other words, the two Cockrell brothers were Curtis Jett's first cousins. (Also strange is the fact that the two Cockrell brothers also had a brother named Curtis Jett Cockrell.)
Curtis Jett's paternal great, great grandfather was Stephen Jett (1735-1793), who had migrated to southeastern Kentucky, in 1791, with his friend Joseph Back (1745-1819). Joseph had purchased a Treasury Warrant for land in Kentucky, and he had sold half of that warrant to Stephen. After the two men arrived in southeastern Kentucky, with their families, Stephen Jett and his family first lived with Mason Combs, in his cabin that overlooked the North Fork of the Kentucky River, near the present-day city of Hazard.
When Curtis was a young boy, there were numerous feuds in, and around, Jackson. It got so bad that "people started locking their doors after dark." At one point, Curtis' house was bombarded with rocks, because of an argument that his father had with another man. In 1877, when Curtis was two years old, his parents decided to leave Breathitt County, because of all of the feuds. They went to Madison County, and settled in Doylesville. His mother later operated a boarding house there.
As Curtis grew up, he heard stories about all of the feuds that were taking place back in Breathitt County, including the 1887 murder of his uncle, Willie Sewell (Curtis' mother's brother), who was also the half-brother of Judge James Hargis. Curtis always said that he never forgot that story about the molasses, and also, that he believed that it was his lifelong responsibility to avenge his uncle's death.
Curtis started drinking alcohol when he was young, and he became an alcoholic. He also became an expert marksman. When Curtis was a teenager, he and his family moved to Winchester, Kentucky, which is in Clark County. His father died shortly thereafter, in 1892, when Curtis was only seventeen years old. The death of his father enraged him, and from that point on, he was always in trouble, and getting into fights.
In early 1898, Curtis married Regina Reynolds. That summer, Curtis joined the military, and he went off to fight in the Spanish-American War. But the war ended, before he got to Cuba. He returned to Kentucky, and settled in Jackson. He soon began hanging around Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan. By the spring of 1902, Curtis was "working for" Hargis and Callahan.
On April 13, 1902, the first man from Hargis and Callahan's list was assassinated. It was Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox. Dr. Cox had been a longtime friend of both the Cardwell family, and the Cockrell family, who were staunch enemies of Hargis and Callahan.
In 1893, Dr. Cox had married Cordelia Cardwell, who was a sister to Detective Jerry Cardwell and Police Judge Thomas Cardwell. Dr. Cox had also been appointed the guardian of Town Marshall Tom Cockrell, his brother Town Marshall James Cockrell, and their young siblings, after their parents had died, in 1890. Furthermore, Dr. Cox was also a close friend of Attorney James B. Marcum, who became Tom Cockrell's attorney, in February of 1902, after he had shot Ben Hargis.
So, on the evening of April 13, 1902, at around 8pm, Dr. Cox received a message that there was a patient who needed to see him, at her house in Jackson. So he left his house to tend to that patient. As he walked down the street, near the courthouse, and near a barn that was part of Judge James Hargis' farm, Dr. Cox was shot three times. The shots came from the Hargis barn. It was said that one of the killers then ran up to Dr. Cox and shot him again. It was also said that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were watching the murder, from a second-floor window, in Hargis' house. It was suspected that Curtis Jett killed Dr. Cox.
Dr. Cox was only 35 years old. His wife was five months pregnant, when he died. Her son Brackye was born that August; and she died, two months later, of typhoid fever.
Three months later, in mid-July of 1902, Town Marshall James Cockrell ran into Curtis Jett, one night, in the dining room at the Arlington Hotel. They got into an argument and drew their pistols. Shots were fired, but neither man was hit. But there were bullet holes left, all over the walls.
A few days later, on July 20, 1902, Town Marshall James Cockrell was assassinated, while he was standing on the street, near the courthouse, talking to someone. Some people said he was also eating a sandwich. He was first shot in the back, and then several more bullets hit him. The shots came from the second-story windows of the courthouse, and there appeared to be more than one shooter. It was said that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were watching the murder, from a second-story window of The Hargis Brothers Department Store.
It was strongly suspected that Curtis Jett killed James Cockrell. It was said that, after the shooting, Curtis stayed hidden, inside the courthouse, until the middle of the night, when some of his friends brought a horse around to the back, so that he could escape.
Meanwhile, ever since Attorney James B. Marcum got involved in investigating the rigged elections of 1901, multiple threats had been made on his life. He first went to Washington, DC for awhile, hoping that things would cool off, in Jackson. But, while he was gone, Dr. Cox was killed. When Mr. Marcum returned to Jackson, a man named Mose Feltner went to his house and told him that some people had hired him to kill him. After that, Mr. Marcum told people that he was "marked for death," and so he rarely left his house. He made plans to move away from Breathitt County.
If Mr. Marcum did leave his house, he carried his infant son in his arms. That's because there was an old, unspoken "rule," in the hills of Kentucky, that you never shoot someone if they were carrying a child. But on the morning of May 4, 1903, which was shortly before he was going to move out of Breathitt County, Mr. Marcum left home, without carrying his child, and he went to the courthouse to file some final papers. It is not known why he didn't carry his infant son that day.
After he filed the papers, Mr. Marcum walked to the front door of the courthouse, with his friend, Belvin James "B.J." Ewen. As they stood in the doorway, talking, Curtis Jett, who was standing behind them, in the hallway, shot Mr. Marcum in the back. Mr. Marcum yelled, "Oh Lordy! I'm shot! They've killed me!" Marcum fell forward, down the courthouse steps. Curtis then ran up to him, put his pistol up against Mr. Marcum's head, and shot him again, point blank. Mr. Ewen witnessed it all. He then saw Curtis run back down the hallway, towards a man named Tom White, while Curtis bragged about his "aim." Both men escaped from the courthouse through a side door.
While Mr. Marcum was being shot, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were calmly rocking, in rocking chairs, in front of The Hargis Brothers Department Store, which was right across the street from the courthouse. They saw the entire murder, but they did nothing. Afterwards, neither of them made any effort to look for Curtis Jett, or Tom White. Mr. Marcum's murder was the most shocking murder yet, in Jackson. People were shocked that a highly respected attorney was shot and killed, right on the steps of the courthouse, in broad daylight.
Because so many people had witnessed Mr. Marcum's murder, and there was such a public outcry, three weeks later, on May 21, 1903, Curtis Jett and Tom White were indicted for the murder of Attorney James B. Marcum. Three other men were indicted for conspiracy to murder Mr. Marcum: Mose Feltner, John Smith, and John Abner. Curtis Jett was also indicted for the murder of Town Marshall James Cockrell, but there was not enough proof to charge him with the murder of Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox.
In fact, it was understood, among the residents of Breathitt County, that Judge James Hargis had planned the assassinations of those three men, to extract his revenge upon them (Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox; Town Marshall James Cockrell; and Attorney James B. Marcum). All three men were murdered within seventy yards of the Breathitt County Courthouse, in Jackson. Hargis, and his good friend Sheriff Ed Callahan, had hired Curtis Jett, and some other men, to do the actual killings. In fact, Curtis Jett was often referred to as being one of Callahan's "deputies."
So, by this point in time, the residents of Jackson were terrified. They stayed in their homes with the drapes closed and the lights turned off. Dozens of armed state troopers were brought into town, to maintain the peace.
It was difficult to seat a jury, and it was difficult to get witnesses to testify, because people were terrified to get involved. They were afraid of retaliation. They were afraid that either they, or their family, would be killed, or their house or business would be burned down. (In fact, between 1900 and 1903, fourteen homes and businesses, owned by friends of the Cardwell's and the Cockrell's, were burned down, in Jackson. There was no fire department in Jackson, and insurance companies had cancelled all polices there, because of all of the arson.)
But finally, the trial began. Judge James Hargis paid for Curtis Jett's attorneys, which was quite telling. B.J. Ewen was the main witness that testified against Curtis Jett, but just two nights later, on June 14, 1903, Ewen's hotel, in Jackson, was burned down. People were even afraid to help put out the fire, for fear of retaliation. Just before the fire, Mr. Ewen had been offered $5,000, by friends of Hargis and Callahan, to recant his testimony, but he had refused.
Mose Feltner testified that Judge James Hargis, Sheriff Ed Callahan, and Fult French had hired him, John Smith, and John Abner, to kill Mr. Marcum, but they did not go through with it. All three of them were let go.
Finally, after all sorts of delays, Curtis Jett and Tom White were both convicted of killing Attorney James B. Marcum, on August 15, 1903, and they were both sentenced to life in prison. Five weeks later, Curtis Jett was convicted of killing Town Marshall James Cockrell, on September 23, 1903, and he was sentenced to death. Curtis Jett and Tom White were then sent to the Kentucky State Penitentiary, in Frankfort.
Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were indicted for complicity in the murder of Mr. Marcum. But, after five trials, they were both acquitted. They had claimed that they had nothing to do with any murder. Of course, everyone knew that was a lie.
Mrs. Marcum was devastated. She was left with five little children to raise, including her one-year-old son, named after her husband. She soon filed a civil suit against Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, for $100,000. She was eventually awarded $8,000, which the two men finally paid. Mrs. Marcum died in 1953.
Judge James Hargis was the most powerful man in Jackson, and in Breathitt County. He used his money and his influence (his brother Alex was a State Senator, as was their father, John Hargis), to intimidate people and to make them do as he wanted. He literally "ran" the town of Jackson. He even owned a controlling interest in the newspaper in Jackson, and so he made sure that he had a say in what was printed, or not printed.
After Curtis had been sent to prison, in 1903, his wife Regina apparently had an affair with a man named Daniel Griffith. She gave birth to a son she named Benjamin Carlisle Jett, on August 7, 1909. (Daniel Griffith's father's name was James Carlisle Griffith.)
Amazingly, on June 13, 1906, Curtis Jett made a confession, from prison. He confessed that he had killed Attorney James B. Marcum, and that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan had planned it all, and had hired him to do it. He even said that Sheriff Ed Callahan had given him the gun that he used to kill Mr. Marcum. He further stated that Mr. Ewen told the truth at the trial.
Curtis Jett also confessed that he had killed Town Marshall James Cockrell, and that Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan had planned it all, and had hired him to do it. He further stated that John Smith and John Abner were the two other men who had fired shots at Mr. Cockrell.
Curtis declared that he did not kill Dr. Braxton D. "B.D." Cox. He said that, when he heard the shots that night, he ran outside and saw Judge James Hargis, his brother Elbert Hargis, Sheriff Ed Callahan, Bill Britton, and Jess Spicer, standing there, with two shotguns. (It was suspected that it was Bill Britton and Jess Spicer who actually pulled the triggers. However, they were never brought to trial.)
While Curtis was in prison, he allegedly "found God, and studied the Bible." It was said that he became "a model prisoner." Both Judge James Hargis, and his brother Senator Alex Hargis petitioned for Curtis to be paroled, for several years. They had probably promised him that they would do that, before the killings.
Curtis was paroled from prison on December 11, 1918, after serving 15 years of a "death sentence" and a "life sentence." Records show that his parole was made possible by Senator Alex Hargis (because both Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan were dead by then). When he was released, Curtis spent his first night at the Phoenix Hotel, in Lexington. The next day, he went to his parent's home in Doylesville. (Curtis' wife Regina had married Daniel Griffith, on December 16, 1916, who was probably the father of her son Benjamin. As soon as Regina learned that Curtis was released from prison, she, Daniel, and young Benjamin left Kentucky and moved to Warren County, Ohio. They were seen living there, in the 1920 Census Report. Daniel died in 1930, and then Regina and her son moved to Yakima, Washington.)
Curtis married Alice Parks on February 15, 1921, in Madison County, Kentucky. But that marriage did not last very long. He married Lina Webber, in 1926, also in Madison County. They were seen living together, in the 1930 and 1940 Census Reports. It is not known what happened to either of those women.
Curtis wrote a little book titled, "From Prison to Pulpit: Life of Curtis Jett." In it, he blamed alcohol for making him kill people. He didn't say he was sorry for what he had done, and he didn't take any responsibility for any of the murders he committed. He just blamed alcohol. In his book, he even included transcriptions of several alleged letters that he claimed people had written to him, or about him. All the letters praised Curtis (of course). The letters were only "signed" by initials, not by any real names. The book was ridiculous, and a slap in the face to the families, and the friends, of his victims.
Curtis roamed around Kentucky, trying to sell copies of his little book, for fifty cents each. He tried to give public sermons, simply to gather people together, to get them to buy his book. He was a minister for awhile, but then he quit that and became a merchant. He died of a heart attack on February 3, 1956, and his body was cremated.
As for Tom White, he was paroled on January 3, 1917, which was nearly two years before Curtis Jett was paroled. When Tom got back home to Breathitt County, he learned that his wife Lavina was pregnant with another man's child. She died in childbirth, in August of 1917. Tom got remarried to Mrs. Charlotte Stidham Davidson, who was a widow, in 1920. But Tom violated his parole, in 1928, and he was sent back to prison. But he was soon released again, and he went back home to Charlotte.
Tom received a small pension, probably for his brief military service, but he spent it all on alcohol. He was frequently drunk. On December 4, 1935, he came home drunk, around midnight. He got too close to the fireplace and his clothes caught on fire. He yelled for his wife to come help him. She threw water on him, but he was badly burned. He was taken to the hospital, where he died, the next day.
Meanwhile, back in Jackson, justice was eventually done.
Judge James Hargis had one son; his name was Beauchamp, and he was known as "Beech." The judge had beaten that boy, even since he was a child, even whipping him with a rope. Beech's behavior was erratic, and his mother had to often bail him out of jail, including when he went on a binge, up in Cincinnati. Beech was a bad alcoholic, and most people thought he was mentally ill as well.
On February 5, 1908, Judge James Hargis slapped his son Beech over something that Beech had done. Beech then got drunk. He later went into The Hargis Brothers Department Store and swiped a pistol out of his father's desk. The next morning, Beech appeared in town with a red and swollen face, and he told people that, "the old man hit me." He also said that he "wasn't going to let anyone, including his father, ever hit him like that again." He went into his father's store and sat down in a chair. His father saw him and made some negative remarks about him, to a customer. The judge then walked over to Beech, who stood up and started shooting at his father. The judge grabbed him and the two of them fell to the floor. Beech shot him four more times. The judge yelled, "He has shot me all to pieces!" He died within a minute. One of the customers got hold of Beech and dragged him out to the street; he held him there until law enforcement arrived.
Beech Hargis was indicted, tried, and convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison. He was sent to the Kentucky Penitentiary as well. In the 1910 Census Report, Beech was listed as being in the prison. He was listed right next to Curtis Jett, and so they may have been cellmates. How ironic is that.
Beech's mother kept trying to get Beech paroled. He was finally paroled in December of 1916, from a "life sentence." Some people said that he returned to Jackson for awhile. But he soon left town. His mother later said that the last time she had heard from him, which was in 1918, that he was in Canada. Nobody knows what happened to him.
As for Sheriff Ed Callahan, he became fearful for his life as well, especially after Judge James Hargis had been killed. He moved out to the country, in nearby Crockettsville, where he ran a small store. On May 3, 1910, someone shot at him, from a clump of trees on the other side of the road. He was wounded, but he survived. He then built a stockade around his house and his store, so that he could go from his house, to the store, without being seen outside where he could get shot.
But On May 4, 1912, Callahan was shot, through the window of his home. The killer had hid in the same clump of trees, across the road from Callahan's house, as the man who had tried to kill Callahan, back in 1910. Obviously, it was a revenge killing, because it was done exactly, nine years, to the day, that Attorney James B. Marcum had been shot and killed. However, Callahan did not die right away. He died about one week later. His killers were said to have been Dock Smith, Andrew Johnson, and James Deaton.
So, in the end, Judge James Hargis and Sheriff Ed Callahan, finally got what they deserved. They were shot, and they died violent deaths, just like all the people who they had ordered shot and killed.
(Strangely, Senator Alex Hargis, who was the brother of Judge James Hargis, was actually related to Attorney James B. Marcum. His wife, Joanna Lindon, was the daughter of America Marcum, who was the sister of Mr. Marcum. In other words, Senator Alex Hargis had married Attorney James B. Marcum's niece.)
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