Oldest Story
This is not a story that was handed down to me, but it is one of many I have found on my family history journey. This sad and gruesome tale occurred in 1863 in the sparsely settled rugged and beautiful areas of Bledsoe County, Tennessee, where many generations of my dad’s ancestors lived. As stories go, some of the details vary, but the end result was that John Tollett Jr., a land owner and farmer, and my 3rd great grandfather Francis (Franklin) Monday were murdered on the night of April 30, 1863, during the height of the Civil War. Here is what happened on that fateful night, according to the stories told and passed down.
John Tollett Jr. was a wealthy man, and it was rumored that he kept a lot of money and/or gold in his home. A few days before he was killed two masked men came to his house, and demanded they give them his money or they would kill him. Tollett refused, and for some reason the men couldn’t find the gold, so they left.
But, on April 30, 1863 the men returned, again threatening Tollett with death if he didn’t turn over the gold. But Tollett had already taken the gold to his son Elijah Gore Tollett’s home. And that night “Old Man” Frank Monday happened to be in the house with Tollett. It also happened that one of Tollett’s daughters Sarah Leticia was staying with him. She told the story that the two men broke into the locked house through a back window. And even though they were masked, she recognized one of them as John K. Young, because of his hairy arms. John Young was married to another of Tollett’s daughters.
The other suspected murderer was Aaron “A” Swafford, (who ended up as an heir to Tollett’s estate). He was never charged, and the crime was never able to be proven, but an intense hatred between the Swaffords and Tolletts seemed to have started with this murder.
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| The Swafford Tollett Feud was likely started because of this incident |
Here is what happened, according to the book “The Swafford - Tollett Feud” by Thomas V. Swafford. I am paraphrasing the events below:
“Tollett knew they were going to get shot so he requested that he get his hat so that if was to die, he would die with his hat on. He also requested to be allowed to stand in front of a certain tree so the lead could be retrieved.
Their captors tortured John Tollett Jr. and “Old Man” Frank Monday to force them to tell the location of Tollett’s riches. Both men were dragged out and tied to a large tree on a hill about 1,000 feet northwest of the home overlooking the valley. They were stabbed and shot during the course of the night, in an attempt to find where the gold was hidden. Both Tollett and Monday died that night between April 30 and May 1, 1863. The captors never did find out where the gold was.”
I had read about this incident, and also knew my 3rd great grandfather was killed that night. However, I had never been able to locate where he was buried. I had a first cousin that lived in the area, and asked her if she might know anyone that might know. Turns out she did! I couldn’t believe it! So when my brother Jim and I were visiting there in October 2016, this “new” cousin was able to drive us there.
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| Helen and Gordon, two "new" cousins to me back in 2016. Helen is my Frank Monday cousin. |
Well no wonder we couldn’t find it. He was not in any cemetery, but way back in the woods, about 50’ to 75’ off a gravel road, all by itself, supposedly on property he used to own. He is buried with his second wife, Elizabeth Monday, nee Hill. His first wife, Rebecca Hawkins, died at age 19 in 1823, after having given birth to their daughter Lucinda Monday.
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| (left) Elizabeth Monday c1810 - c1890. Frank Monday c1805-1863 |
The inscription at the bottom says:
HE WAS TORTURED AND KILLED IN SEQUATCHIE VALLEY DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
I took lots of photos, and even got a video of the drive there so I wouldn’t forget how to find it. The photos are now on findagrave.com, with specific directions for others to follow if they want to find the place. I have had so many other descendants of Frank Monday share these photos and directions. There were so many people trying to find his final resting place. The link to his memorial on findagrave is below with part of the story of his murder.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50995165/francis-monday#source50995165
Here is the family history path from Frank and Rebecca to me:
Frank Monday and Rebecca Hawkins (my 3rd great grandparents) >
Lucinda Monday (1823-1883) married Lorenzo Dow Harris (1816-1902) >
Emily “Emma” Harris (1848-1934) married James Nathan Hinch (1848-1929) >
Stewart Hinch (1880-1960) married Rebecca Catherine Oxier Sherrill (1885-1967)>
Roscoe Hooper Hinch (my dad) (1911-1991) married Dorothy Mae Harley (1918 - 2017)
All of my dad’s family going back 4 and 5 generations lived in the same areas of Tennessee, in Cumberland, Bledsoe, and Rhea counties, many living on Hinch Mountain. I'd love to ask him if he had ever heard this story!