Byers Genealogy & Research Services

07/25/2026

The Franklin Riot

Summary: “General Carlin attributes the riot to escalating tensions between the Colored Loyal League (a Republican political organization of formerly enslaved African Americans) and Conservative whites, many of whom were former Confederate soldiers, along with some Black Conservatives.”

Recently I came across some court witness testimony regarding those who were in Franklin the day of the Franklin Riot in 1867. The testimonies weren't that interesting, but the subject was so I looked for an account on Newspapers.com.

I found a two full-column article that is much too long to include here, so I had AI transcribe it for me. I did copy part of the article that you can read.

After that, I had AI do a summary of the events which turned out to be very succinct and easy to understand, unlike the original article, which follows:

This newspaper article, published in the Nashville Republican Banner on July 18, 1867, reproduces the official report of Brevet Major General W. P. Carlin, Assistant Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau in Tennessee, concerning the Franklin Riot that occurred in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee, on July 6, 1867.

Background
Members of the Colored Loyal League had recently begun holding evening marches with drums and a fife.
These marches were repeatedly disrupted by opponents, who fired shots and harassed the participants.
Unable to obtain legal protection, some League members armed themselves for self-defense.
Conservatives viewed the League's marches as a threatening military display, while League members feared violent attempts to suppress their constitutional rights.

Events of July 6, 1867
A Republican political rally was held peacefully in Franklin.
Later, a Black Conservative speaker addressed a crowd, leading to increasing tension.
League member J. C. Bliss was assaulted by Colonel John House and armed supporters.
League members withdrew to a nearby grove, where Republican leaders urged them to disperse rather than continue a planned torchlight procession.
They ultimately agreed only to march through the public square before breaking ranks and returning home.
Conservative Preparations
While the League met in the grove, Conservatives gathered approximately 25–30 armed men, ammunition, and weapons around Colonel House's store.
Witness testimony quoted in the report describes explicit threats to kill members of the League before they reached town.

The Riot
As the League marched toward the square, armed Conservatives took concealed positions.
According to Carlin, a white Conservative stepped forward and fired two pistol shots toward the procession.
Testimony differed over which side fired the first volley after those shots.
Regardless of who fired first, the ensuing exchange left numerous casualties.
Carlin notes that 27 wounded Black participants were shot in the back, suggesting they were fired upon while retreating or fleeing rather than advancing.

Carlin's Conclusions
General Carlin concludes that:
Local civil authorities failed to prevent the violence despite knowing a confrontation was likely.
There was effectively no functioning police presence in Franklin.
The Conservative group bore primary responsibility for provoking the violence.
Nothing done by the Loyal League justified what he characterized as a "murderous assault."
Although some League banners carried provocative political slogans (such as "Remember Fort Pillow"), these did not justify armed violence.
The League marched under the United States flag, and the flag bearer was wounded.
Aftermath
By July 8, the town had become quiet.
U.S. troops remained in Franklin to prevent further violence.
Carlin expressed confidence that the Williamson County Circuit Court would investigate the incident fairly.
He also noted that both Conservatives and Republicans contributed money and supplies to aid the wounded after the riot.

Historical Significance
This report is an important Reconstruction-era primary source because it documents:
Political violence in Tennessee following the Civil War.
Conflict over African American political organization and voting rights.
The role of the Freedmen's Bureau in investigating racial violence.
The differing interpretations of responsibility for the Franklin Riot.
Carlin's report clearly places most of the blame on the armed Conservative faction and criticizes local officials for failing to intervene before violence erupted.

06/20/2026

Choctaw Indian Denied Tribal Membership by Indian Agent in 1830

John Harper, a full-blooded, Choctaw Indian scout, who gave patriotic service during the American Revolution and is recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution was denied his rightful membership to the Mississippi Choctaw tribe by a U.S. Indian agent.

I found the deposition of a man who swore he knew John Harper, and his brother, Charles who also applied, to be full-blooded Choctaw Indians who had been denied membership to their tribe by an Indian agent who told them to go West and get land there. It’s a damning document of the injustice to John and Charles Harper and their descendants, many of whom applied for tribal membership and were rejected.

The above is a very brief synopsis of a very compelling story. See the original document for more.

What’s even more heartbreaking is the original, handwritten document from 1832 where John Harper sold 4,680 acres in Morgan County, KY that he had inherited to four men for $100.00.

P.S. I just had an interesting experience while trying to sharpen the letter via ChapGPT, I got the following message, “We’re so sorry, but the image we created may violate our guardrails around harassment, discrimination, bullying, or similar prohibited content. If you think we got it wrong, please retry or edit your prompt.” When I asked it to sharpen “this historical document from 1830” it did. Unfortunately, the new image is riddled with errors so I hope you can read the original. It’s well worth your time!

06/19/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CTS6C6AzR/

One organization in Williamson County is making sure those killed amid historical racial violence are not forgotten.

05/25/2026

Oden Familty Bible

Bible of Thomas Hardin Oden
Born Dec. 25, 1824

This bible lists a total of 37 individuals of the Oden Family.

Seven marriages, 34 births, and 15 deaths are recorded.

The earliest marriage is 1873 and the latest is 1883.

The earlist birth is 1824 and the latest is 1876.

The earliest death is 1860 and the latest is 1883.

This Bible is in the possession of the C. K. McLemore family, McLemore Road, Franklin, Tennessee.

Bible Title Page
HITCHCOCK’S NEW AND COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF THE HOLY BIBLE:

or the whole of the OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS

Arranged According to Subjects In Twenty-Seven Books.

Revised and Edited By Rev. Roswell D. Hitchcock, D. D., LL.D.

Published in New York by A. J. Johnson, 11 Great Jones Street

MDCCCLXXV (1875)

MARRIAGES
Mary Mc. Oden was married to C. R. Berry on the 18th Dec., 1873

Bettie F. Oden and C. W. Davis were married Sept. 9, 1874

Annie R. Oden and H. L. Flippen were married Sept. 23rd 1874

Sol F. Oden and Mollie S. Oden were joined in Holy Wedlock the 20th Jan., 1875

Lula R. Oden was married to C. T. Cook on the 27th July, 1879

Anne L. Carmack was married to T. H. Oden, Jr. on the 15th Jan.1884

Thos. H. Oden and Sallie A. Carmack were married Nov. 22nd 1883

BIRTHS
Thos. H. Oden was born Dec. 25, 1824

R. H. Oden wife of Thos. H. Oden was born March 6, 1828

Sol F. Oden was born Nov. 17, 1848

Bettie F. Oden was born May 29, 1850

R. Annie Oden was born Dec. 14, 1852

Mary M. Oden was born Jan. 12, 1854

Thos. H. Oden, Jr. was born Dec. 25, 1855

Lulie E. R. Oden was born Dec. 15, 1858

Robert Ella Oden was born Dec. 31, 1859

Felix Hill Oden was born May 10, 1861

Robert E. Lee Oden was born Sept. 5, 1864

DEATHS
Departed this life 22nd July, 1860 Robert Ella fifth daughter of Thos. H. & R. H. Oden

Departed this life 3rd Sept., 1865 Robert E. Lee Oden fourth and infant son of Thos. H. & R. H. Oden

Departed this life Feby. 1st, 1883, Rebecca H. wife of T. H. Oden and daughter of Robt. & Francis Reams

MISCELLANEOUS
Thos. Hardin Oden Berry son of C. R. & Mary Oden Berry was born Sept. 5, 1875

Tillman Hardin Flippen son of H. L. Flippen and Annie R. Oden Flippen born July 6, 1875

Thomas Ellsworth Oden son of Sol F. and Mary S. Oden was born Feb. 5, 1876

Transcribed by June 14, 2023 Bettye Liberty for the Williamson County USGENWEB page.

05/25/2026

Bible of John Fitzgerald Sr. -Born April 18, 1778

Family Bible records like this are true treasure to family historians and genealogists!

Fitzgerald Family Bible of Williamson Co, TN
Bible of John Fitzgerald Sr.
Born April 18, 1778
This bible lists a total of 41 individuals of the Fitzgerald Family.
Thirty-one births and 15 deaths are recorded.
The earlist birth is 1778 and the latest is 1923.
The earliest death is 1844 and the latest is 1916.
Title Page
The title page of this Bible was torn, only the upper half remained. What remains is as follows:
The HOLY BIBLE containing the OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, Translated Out of the Original ———-. Diligently compared with all former translations———to which are added Special Explanato————. Designed to aid the read————understanding——-.
In the front of the Bible was a marriage certificate that certifies Miss Mollie Fitzgerald and Mr. Tim Dodson were united in the Holy Bonds of Matrimony at Mothers Residence on the Seventh day of Nov 1889.
Births Recorded
John Fitzgerald was born on the 18th day of Aprile 1778.
Ellen Fitzgerald was born on the 18th day March 1780.
Bird Fitzgerald was born on the 9th day of September 1803.
Elizabeth Fitzgerald was born on the 9th day of November 1806.
John Fitzgerald was born on the 11th day of November 1816.
Mary Fitzgerald was born on the 12th day of November 1811.
Frances Fitzgerald was born on the 9th day of February 1822.
Nancy Fitzgerald was born on the 12th day of June 1814.
William R. Fitzgerald was born on the 17th day of October 1823.
Nancy Fitzgerald was born on the 22nd day of November 1853.
Melvina Fitzgerald was born on the 25th day of November 1825.
Bird Fitzgerald was born on the 27th day of June 1844.
Mary Fitzgerald was born on the 14th day of January 1856.
Eliz Fitzgerald was born on the 7th day of March 1846.
John W. Fitzgerald was born on the 5th day of Aprile 1867.
John Fitzgerald was born on the 17th day of February 1849.
Elizabeth Fitzgerald was born on the 14th day of February 1851.
Fannie E. Fitzgerald was born on the 1st day of December 1869.
Fannie Fitzgerald was born the 11th day of August 1886.
Minnie Fitzgerald was born on the 8th day of November 1871.
Inez Stephens was born on 24th day of August 1873.
Birddie Fitzgerald was born on 8th day of May 1874.
Deaths Recorded
John Fitzgerald Sr Died on the 21st day of January 1858.
Ellen Fitzgerald Died on the 15th day of May 1844.
Ellen Fitzgerald Died on the 24th day of November 1847.
John Fitzgerald Died on the 29th day of February 1849.
Bird Fitzgerald Died on the 13th day of January 1874.
Bird Fitzgerald Jr Died on the 15th day of February 1873.
John Fitzgerald Died on the 3d day of June 1884.
Elizabeth Fitzgerald Died on the 8th day of August 1889.
Mrs. Fannie Fitzgerald Died on the 31st day of Dec 1895.
Other Family Records Recorded
Jim Duresse Dodson was born Sept 26 1891 Died Aug 30, 1913.
Percy Dickinson Dodson was born June 25, 1893 – Died Dec. 13, 1916.
Hugh Bass Dodson was born Feb 20, 1896.
Tim Dodson was born Dec. 27, 1840.
Jim Dodson died Dec. 2, 1909.
John Fitzgerald was born Nov. 11, 1816. Died Jan 3, 1884.
Bettie Fitzgerald was born Feb. 14, 1851, Died Aug. 8, 1889.
Fannie Fitzgerald was born Feb. 1822, Died Dec. 31, 1895 (no day of month listed).
Mary Frances Dodson was born Aug. 13, 1918.
William Fitzgerald Dodson was born Feb. 27, 1923.

Transcribed by by Bettye Liberty on the Williamson County USGENWEB page.

05/20/2026

YOUNG ENGAGED WOMAN COMMITS SU***DE

In December 1898, 18-year-old Ophelia Mays of Williamson County, Tennessee, died after taking a fatal dose of laudanum. Newspapers reported that she had been engaged to James Lazenby and was distraught after her grandmother ordered Ophelia, her mother, and sister, to leave the family home at very short notice.

According to the articles, Lazenby proposed they marry immediately, went to obtain a marriage license and promised to find housing, but was unsuccessful. Hours later, Ophelia took the overdose.

Ophelia’s final su***de note to Lazenby was given to the newspaper to protect the grandmother’s reputation.

More than a century later, the surviving newspaper accounts raise more questions than answers.

So why did Ophelia commit su***de? Was it heartbreak after Lazenby failed to return? Fear of homelessness and separation from her family? Or did her letter reveal a longer struggle with despair that those around her never fully understood?

Any thoughts? Some people have suggested she was pregnant.

04/20/2026

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=982694480774239&set=a.191242386586123&__cft__[0]=AZYrvWnjWIeK7WpUygCXe1JOw9LBbPIPtiznAhdZ56-Tw7tZsTx6inStlP6irCi2efdBXwLjBpnsZOGbs_w5QpomN9V637RcHR1v27UMz5eLYcNORB7JZ9LQ3aJsyWjnkBJ_4cGcKiRSvgh5yrakMpXpV6RVHpGpDJtvTej27_LL8qo3Dk3KoXRUz73fmGpqrRA&__tn__=EH-R

COLONIAL TOMBSTONES HAVE THE BEST ART AND EPITHETS!

"First comer" Phineas Pratt died 346 years ago today, on April 19, 1680.
He is buried at Phipps Street Burying Ground.

Carved by the Stone Cutter of Boston

FUGIT HORA
HERE LYES Yᵉ BODY OF PHINEHAS
PRATT AGD. ABOUT 90 Y^RS DECD. APRIL
Ye^19 1680
& WAS ON OF Yᵉ FIRST ENGLISH
INHABITANTS OF Yᵉ MASSACHUSETS COLONY.

Phineas (aka Phinehas), a joiner from London, was one of the first English settlers in New England and enrolled among the "First Comers" of Plymouth Colony. Pratt arrived as part of the company of Thomas Weston on the 1622 voyage of the ship Sparrow and was among the founders of the Wessagusset (Weymouth) settlement, which failed in March 1623.

The Wessagusset colony was a troubled venture from the start—poorly provisioned, undisciplined, and increasingly at odds with the local Native population over stolen corn. By March 1623, famine had set in. Pratt later wrote of walking the plantation at night and finding men dead where they lay, having died of hunger. At the same time, word reached the settlement that surrounding groups were preparing for hostilities, and that Plymouth itself might also be in danger.

Someone had to get word to Plymouth. No one else was willing to go.

Pratt slipped out of the settlement alone, pretending to dig for ground nuts near a swamp before making his escape. He carried no weapon and had no compass, knowing that if he armed himself after days under watch, it would raise suspicion. He was already weak from lack of food.

He ran through the woods and snow for hours, then continued on foot as best he could. He later wrote of hearing wolves and fearing that his tracks would be followed. At one river, he was forced to cross despite the cold and depth, scrambling over rocks in the current. He avoided making fires when he could, fearing discovery, until exhaustion forced him at one point to shelter in a low place where he could conceal a small fire.

The journey took several days. At times he could go no farther and had to stop, then continue when he was able. He described himself as “faint for want of food” and moving forward with the understanding that if he failed, the rest of the plantation would likely perish.

Keeping the shoreline to guide him once he reached the coast, he finally made his way into the outskirts of Plymouth, where he encountered an Englishman who immediately understood why he had come.

He arrived with his warning as Myles Standish was already preparing to act—having separately received intelligence from Massasoit. The combined warnings led to the expedition that followed and the eventual abandonment of Wessagusset.

In 1623, when Plymouth still numbered only a few dozen dwellings, Pratt joined the colony and later married Mary Priest, daughter of Degory Priest, who had come on the Mayflower but died in the first winter before his family arrived.

In 1662, Pratt set down his account of Wessagusset as part of a petition to the General Court of Massachusetts for recognition as a “First Comer,” which he was granted.

In October 1668, around age 75 and in financial need, he petitioned again, describing himself as “the remainder of the forlorn hope” of the original company. The General Court did not respond. It was the town of Charlestown that ultimately supported him in his final years. His wife Mary, who outlived him, later received similar aid.

The man who made that winter journey to Plymouth died a ward of his town, not his government.

His will, dated January 8, 1677—the year after his son Samuel was killed in King Philip's War—shows him in old age, still providing carefully for his wife. “Crazye of body” in 17th-century usage meant physically infirm, not mentally unsound. He was about 84 when he wrote it.

✦ Will of Phineas Pratt, January 8, 1677. Source: Pilgrim Hall Museum.
I, Phinias Pratt of Charlstown in the Countie of Midellsex Joyner being very aged and Crazye of body yett in my pfect memory and understanding doe make This my last will and Teastamoen. Item I give unto my belovid wife Mary Pratt all my movabl goods and fortie Shillings a year to be payed oute of my land in Charlstowne and the use of the gardon for term of hir life: this fortie Shillings is to be payed by my sonn Joseph Pratt for and in consideration of the having of my land and my wif is to have a convenient room of my sonn Joseph with a chimny in it to hir content to lie in for term of hir life. Wthout molestation or trubl; but If my sonn Joseph doeth not perform this will that then my wif Mary Prat shall have the one half of the land to hir Dispossing for his vest comfort: it is to be understod that the one half wch the new hous standeth one is given to Joseph upon the condistion of providing of a convenient room for me and my wife for term of our lives and this other half for the paying of the fortie Shillings a year paying it quartterly that is to say ten shllig a quarter in mony and fier wood at mony price and If ther be any thing left at the death of my wife it shalbe equally devided a mung all my children. this eight of Jeneary 1677 Phinehas Pratt Sealed and deliverd in the presents of Use Walter alen, the marke of Rebeack Alen.

Sources:
Phineas Pratt on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Pratt

Beyond the Pilgrim's story: https://web.archive.org/web/20131101032212/http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/phineas_pratt.htm

Phineas Pratt's Narrative (Modernized Version): https://plymoutharch.tripod.com/thewessagussettplantation/id3.html