Morgan Reynolds was accused of organizing the gang that raided her home .She and her son Sherwood were killed. Two other sons, Henry and Sam ,escaped
Death: of as a result of a gang beating by the Reynolds gang of Ku KluxKl in NOV 1900 in Boone Creek, Letcher County, KY
172. John Lewis (Bad Lewis) Hall
The following news article from the Atlanta Constitution o f 11 Feb1912 r eports the circumstances of his death.
FEUD LEADER AND SON ARE SHOT TO DEATH
PIKEVILLE, KY., February 10 -- One of the most noted feud l eaders inth e BIG SANDY VALLEY, LOUIS HALL, who had boaste d of killing twenty-twomen, was shot and instantly kille d at SHELBY GAP, in the Pine mountains,yesterday morning b y CONSTABLE GEORGE JOHNSON and his son, MORGAN HALL,met th e same fate a moment later at the same cool hands. People o f thatsection fear a revival of the feud war.
JOHNSON had a warrant for MORGAN HALL, who was suspected o foperating a " blind tiger," and had openly defied detecti ves to enterhis home at the forfeit of their lives. JOHNSO N followed HALL out of astore to the porch, and was in th e act of reading the warrant when HALLmade signs of resist ance. The elder HALL, who was 83 years old, rushedout of h is home a short distance away, carrying the rifle on the st ockof which it was his boast he notched the score of his v ictims. JOHNSONat once opened fire, shooting first the fat her and then the son.
[Transcription courtesy of researcher Ona Hall-Scalf (2004)]
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The following report of the shootout was carried in the Cen tralia(WI) E nterprise and Tribune on 16 May 1891:
GUNFIGHT IN THE SOUTH: THREE MEN KILLED AND ONE WOUNDED FOU R TIMESIN WEST VIRGINIA
Perryville, W.Va., May 11 -----Lewis Hall and his son, Lewi s Hall,Jr., got into a quarrel near Knox Creek, with Samue l Steel and his sonHiram.
In the fight which ensued, Lewis Hall, Jr., was shot throug h theheart and instantly killed; Hiram Steel was pierced w ith seven bullets,and died in a few minutes.
Samuel Steel was mortally wounded, dying shortly afterward , andLewis Hall received four slight wounds, but escaped t o the mountains.
[Transcription courtesy of Ona Hall-Scalf, 2004]#
"Bad Lewis" Hall he is called, and the shotgun that he carries isfamous throughout the mountains for its exploits. Most men of his typecarry rifles, but Bad Lewis will trust nothing but this old - fashionedgun of his. I innocently asked
him if he had killed any game with it and the question appeared toamuse him greatly, confirming him in the opinion that I was a tenderfoot.# Note:
# Note:Then he explained that he was a "bad man" and reputed to havecommitted eighteen murders in the various "troubles" in which he had beenengaged. He was a near relative to "Talt" Hall, who was brought to thegallows in Wise County, Virginia,
by the "Red Fox of the Mountains" a few months before the lattersuffered the death penalty for his own misdeeds. "Bad Lewis," withbecoming modesty, assured me, however, that his own record was too highlycolored by popular tradition.# Note:
# Note: "I ain't killed mo' than three in my day and time," he declared,"an' I jest had ter kill them. They was no account, triflin' folks, theywas, an' 'peared like they would be plum better off whar they kaint do nomo' whar they be now."
# Note:
# Note:Singularly enough, "Bad Lewis" is at present on the side of the law,and has no use for the Kuklux Gang, in this quarrel appearing to sidealtogether with John Wright. He expressed considerable solicitude, also,as to my welfare while
tramping through the kuklux land, and gave me a sort of way bill tothe houses that would be best for my health to leave severely alone.Considering the source, the advice was not without a touch of grim humor.# Note:
# Note:"Ef yo' meets up wi' one o' them lawbreakers, " he said as we wereparting not far from the Pound Gap, "don't meddle nor make wi' him. Hemought be a kukluxer, an' he mought not. Ef he ain't a kukluxer he moughthave a trouble o' his'n,
an' then ef yo' meddle wi' him, his trouble will be yourn. An' ef hebe a kukluxer, atter all, he's lookin' fer trouble wi' you an' eve'r manhe meets. So, the best thing fer you, stranger, is to keep yo' gun handy,yo' feet squar' en the
road, an' yo' mouth shet so tight, th' devil hiss'ef couldn't squeezeout o' hit."
173. Jonathan J. Hall
Military Civil War
He apparently fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War . Hesubmitte d a Confederate Soldier's and Widow's Pensio n application(#0675) with t he state of Kentucky on 10 Ju l 1912. His widow, PollyCook Hall, of K nott County, file d a Confederate Soldier's and Widow'sPension application ( #3650) with the state of Kentucky on 26 Oct 1916.