A Story Retold

Franklin County Shootout, Saturday, June 10, 1874

About 10:00 A.M.

          By Larry A. Hamblen, Coronado California

My Great-Grandfather

Thomas M. Hamblen

Sep 20, 1850—Dec 2, 1884

One of my earliest memories (in the early 1950s) was a family story told about my great-grandfather, Thomas M. Hamblen, being shot in the hand by the Jesse James/Cole Younger Gang in Franklin County, Arkansas. This story had been handed down to us as oral history, but I always kind of doubted its authenticity.

There was, however, a clipping from an Ozark Arkansas newspaper that gave credence to this family hand-me-down story. It seems a history teacher in Ozark High School, by the name of Jimmy Owens submitted an article to The Ozark Spectator (perhaps the Democrat?) and the article was published about this very shootout. My parents, Jesse Earl and Frankie (Terry) Hamblen, were in possession of that clipping at one time, and some of my siblings remember reading the clipping, but I never read it. Sadly, the clipping was misplaced before I became interested in the family’s past.

That all changed for me, however, in the 1980s and I decided to research and write about my Hamblen past. While researching and writing my family history, I decided to chase down the story and include it in our history. It was such a colorful story and even if I could not prove it happened, I would include it anyway as oral history. I did visit the Ozark Spectator back in the 1980s, but they were unable to locate it. It seems that some of their old copies had been burned or lost accidentally.

Then on a visit to Ozark in August of 1988, I visited with Morgan Jones. His name had been given to me by the then President of the Franklin County Historical Society, Norman Powell. Morgan was 90 years old, but his mind was very keen. I asked him if he knew anything about the Hamblens and the shootout with the outlaws. It was then that I learned that he was the nephew of Frank Hamblen's wife, Mary Morris, daughter of Wesley Green Morris and Martha (Baker) Morris. I got excited because I was a great-great nephew of his Uncle Frank!

Morgan and I drove out to the location where the shootout took place. He described in detail how the events unfolded. I published the story as oral history in my family history (Our Hamblen Heritage), which can be found at the Ozark Library. Later I received proof of the shootout when I found a reference on the internet to an article in the Arkansas Gazette, and sent off to the Arkansas State Archives for a copy. The Gazette had copied and printed the story from the Clarksville Enterprise (Johnson County). Here’s the story with a mix of oral history and the article from the Clarksville newspaper

. . .

Hamblen Home on Old Wire Road

Purchased in 1867 by Pleasant Walker Hamblen

Early on Saturday morning, June 10, 1874, a group of riders stopped at the Hamblen home, built prior to the Civil War, and served as a stage stop and a watering hole at Marble Hill, on the Old Wire Road. Pleasant W. Hamblen, my great-great grandfather, was the owner, and lived there along with his wife, Lucinda (Ransom) Hamblen and family. Lucinda cooked breakfast for these travelers, and then the men continued east toward Johnson County.

My Great-Great Uncle

Wm. Franklin “Frank” Hamblen

Sep 13, 1853—Dec 6, 1915

After these traveling men left the Hamblen place, a posse from Missouri rode up, but these men were too exhausted to continue their pursuit of the men who had eaten breakfast at the Hamblen place. The Clarksville Enterprise stated that these travelers were horse thieves, but did not identify them as the James/Younger Gang. However, the family oral histories of the Hamblens, Powells, Kirbys, Whites and others all hold that the Missouri posse was chasing the Jesse James/Cole Younger Gang.

Six local residents of the Marble Hill area took up the pursuit: Thomas Hamblen and his brother, Frank Hamblen, Hulbert “Hub” Sadler, two Hill brothers and a man named Richards.

Thomas Hamblen was 24 years old. His brother was 21 years old. They were sons of Pleasant Walker Hamblen. Hub Sadler was the son of Dr. Grimalda C. Sadler of Cass, Arkansas, according to Norman Powell, Franklin County historian. Later Hub would be elected to one term as Franklin County Sheriff.

The “Hamblen posse” overtook the outlaws at about 10:00 that morning as they approached the Narrows on Horsehead Creek. This young posse demanded that the outlaws surrender. Joe Bond of Jethro, and great grandson of Thomas M. Hamblen, recalls our grandfather, Wm. M. Hamblen, telling him that Jesse James immediately yelled to his gang, “Every man to a tree!” and the outlaws answered with a volley of fire. There was an exchange of fire that included between fifty and sixty shots.

In that exchange, Frank Hamblen’s horse was shot out from under him, and Frank was shot in the shoulder. There was great concern at the time over whether he would recover. My great grandfather, Thomas Hamblen, was shot through the hand. This ended the shootout and the “Hamblen posse” retreated. Two of the posse’s horses were killed, including Frank Hamblen’s and one of the outlaw’s horses was killed as well.

The outlaws turned north towards the head of the Mulberry Creek (river). About dark, twenty men started in pursuit of the outlaws but failed to overtake them. Presumably they were headed toward the Alfred Younger farm. Local folklore has it that Alfred was the uncle of Cole Younger and his brothers. Our family history holds that they hid out in a cave close to the Younger farm. My grandfather, William M. Hamblen, showed the cave to my cousins, Joe, Max and Bruce Bond.

Morgan Jones also told me that Frank James had settled in Paris, Texas, for a while after the death of his brother, Jesse James, and after all charges were dropped against Frank. Frank Hamblen was living not far away in Sherman, Texas, at that time. Frank Hamblen was a salesman and made contact with Frank James in Paris. They evidently became friends, and Frank James visited Frank Hamblen in Sherman and spent the night with Frank and Mary. Frank James told Frank Hamblen that they could have killed them that day, but just wanted to slow them down and discourage them from chasing after them.

Sources:

1. Family oral histories of several Franklin County families

2. The Clarksville Enterprise, June 17, 1874, as printed in the Arkansas Gazette, State Archives, Little Rock, AR.

3. Conversation with Morgan Jones, Ozark, AR, 1987.