"It was a dark and
stormy night....."
....on March 1, 1892, when John Wesley Bright, insanely
jealous of his lovely wife Matilda Gideon being a little
too friendly with their neighbor, Mr. Jones, shot her
through the heart and left her dead near the creek
outside their Taney County, Missouri cabin. He returned
to the cabin, stuffed his pockets with food and bullets,
and told the children to stay away from the creek. Then
he headed off into the hills. The children, left alone
and afraid, went down to the creek to find their mother
dead. Their daughter Rosa, oldest of their four small
children, ran for help to the neighbors, and soon a posse
was after Bright. The children went to stay with their
aunt Nancy Minerva Gideon and her husband, Isaiah
Stewart.
Bright was soon captured and jailed on murder charges,
and held in the Forsyth jail. Forsyth, home to a large
faction of the "Bald Knobbers" vigilantes of
the post-civil war Ozarks, didn't take too kindly to one
of their own women being treated in such a rude fashion.
Why, Matilda's uncle, J.J. Gideon, had been a star
defensive attorney for the Bald Knobbers in one of their
many trials for hanging no-count ruffians like Bright.
So, the cards were stacked somewhat against the hapless
Mr. Bright as he sat awaiting trial in the flimsy Taney
lockup.
On March 12, after the first day of hearings, a tension
could be felt in Taney. Men stood on street corners,
talking in hushed tones. The local saloon was doing a
brisk business. After several hours of drinking, a group
of men appeared in front of the jail and began pounding
on the locked door with a sledgehammer. Bright, alone
inside the jail, must have been feeling a little
concerned about then.
Sheriff Cook and Deputy Williams watched from across the
street. Rumor had it that Cook was himself a Bald
Knobber, and he did nothing to stop the mob. Finally,
Deputy Williams decided to put an end to the uprising.
Pushing through the crowd, he blocked the door of the
jail and ordered the men to go home.
In the heat of the moment, two shots rang out from the
crowd, and Deputy Williams fell dead on the ground. Now,
Bright was undoubtedly getting *real* nervous. Two men
crossed the street to the town well, and cut the rope
from the bucket. It was soon tied around Bright's neck as
he was dragged from the cell. He was hoisted onto a horse
behind another rider and the mob headed for the big oak
tree in the cemetery. They threw the rope over a sturdy
branch, and soon John Wesley Bright paid the price for
shooting Matilda Gideon through the heart.
Sheriff Cook, wanting to make an example of Bright, threw
his body on the steps to the Taney Courthouse and left it
there, the rope still around his neck, for days. Wild
hogs dined on the murderer's corpse.
While the local citizenry was largely pleased with
Bright's demise, the murder of Deputy Williams left the
good people of Forsyth a tad uneasy. The Governor of
Missouri offered a reward for the capture of the lynch
mob.
Arrested for taking part in the murders were several
cousins of Matilda Gideon: Abraham Lincoln
"Link" Weatherman, Samuel W. Weatherman, Martin
Weatherman, Luther Keithley, and James Stewart, along
with about a dozen other men. George Friend, at the
center of the controversy, turned state's evidence and
agreed to testify against the others. Many were prominent
citizens of Forsyth, including Link Weatherman, Justice
of the Peace.
In a bizzarre incident, as the prisoners were transported
to a trial hearing in an open wagon,they were all
unshackled and given loaded guns to protect themselves in
case of an attack by Bright's relatives. No attack
occurred, and none of the prisoners attempted an escape.
Were they perhaps confident of an acquital?
Sheriff Cook himself selected the jurors for the trial,
most of whom were Bald Knobbers. At this point, the
prosecuting attorney dropped all charges against George
Friend, since he had promised to testify against the
others. Then, upon taking the stand, Friend immediately
refused to testify, so the prosecutor dropped all charges
against the others.
John Wesley Bright had signed over all his property to
his brother-in- law, Isaiah Stewart, who in turn agreed
to post his bail money...which, of course, Bright never
got a chance to use. (Cousin James Stewart was part of
the Lynch Mob.) Stewart transferred the property to the
names of the four young orphaned children of Matilda
Gideon and John Wesley Bright. Isaiah Stewart and Nancy
Minerva Gideon raised the four children.
This was the final incident in the long history of the
Bald Knobbers, and was decisive in ending the midnight
rides of the infamous vigilantes of the Ozarks.
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(Most of this story is
summarized from the book, "Bald Knobbers...
Vigilantes on the Ozarks Frontier", by Mary Hartman
and Elmo Ingentron. It is must reading for anyone
interested in the history of Taney County, Missouri and
surrounding areas. It can be ordered directly from
Amazon.com. Also, special thanks to Woody Franklin, Audie
Canida, and Debbie Gordon for the information they
provided.)
If you have any information from your Gideon ancestors
about this deadly tale, or pictures of those involved,
please email me!
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~Be sure to read the
sensational news articles at the link below~
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