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| Union United Methodist Church Photo credit Sharon Phillips McMurray |
There are two accounts of a tragic event that occurred at the Union Meeting House in April of 1866. The first account is from Mrs. Bean, wrote a letter to Richard Nye Price in 1910. She was not a witness, but since she lived close to the church, she recalled what her neighbors told her. The second article is from a newspaper article that was published soon after the event and later published in the Evening Telegraph (Philadelphia).
Old Letter from Mrs Bean to the Reverend Richard Nye Price dated 1910
Mrs Bean lived one mile
away from the church and relates the following details:
Bn Hichey had an
appointment to preach and it seemed like a very large crowd had
formed
Theopholus "Theo
"Schrivener and two of his sisters were among the congregation.
Two boys named Ben and Clint Walters had been lured by a bad man
named Frank Monday to prevent Mr Hichey from preaching. However, Mr
Hichey had not arrived and the boys began to make trouble with Mr
Shrivener.
The Walter's boys were
armed and demanded that Me Schrivener come out.
At this point, Mr Eldridge
Hord and William Shelton, both old men. took the ring leaders to the
door and put them out roughly. He turned around and shot Mr Hord in
the crowd.
Sam Smith, on the outside
of the house, shot Mr Walters, then the other Walter brother shot
Smith. Although hit, Smith fired and hit his assailant, severely,
but not fatally.
The first boy lay in the
yard dying and asking someone to pray for him. Ephriam Brown went
out to pray for him.
The other wounded men
recovered.
Not withstanding all ot
his Ben Hichey came out at last and preached.
Mrs. B.L. Bean
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| The old log church and cemetery Photo credit: Sharon Phillips McMurray |
Fatal
Tragedy at a Funeral
The Bristol (Tenn.)
News reports the following
particulars of a fatal tragedy which occurred last Sunday, at a
church called Union, in the northeastern portion of Hawkins county,
Tenn. The funeral of John Ellis, Jr., who had been a Confederate
soldier, was to be preached by the Rev. R. M. Hickey, of the Holston
Conference.
Two men by the name ot
Walters, perhaps brothers, manifested a disposition to disturb the
quiet of the
ssembly. Eldridge Hord, Esq., ot that community, remonstrated against their conduct, some angry words ensued, and Walters shot Hord, wounding him severely in the thigh.
ssembly. Eldridge Hord, Esq., ot that community, remonstrated against their conduct, some angry words ensued, and Walters shot Hord, wounding him severely in the thigh.
Whereupon Samuel Smith,
who bad been a Confederate soldier, fired twice upon Walters,
killing:
him on tbe spot. The other Walters then shot Smith, wounding him slightly. Smith returned
the fire, wounding the second Walters mortally, and then made his escape.
him on tbe spot. The other Walters then shot Smith, wounding him slightly. Smith returned
the fire, wounding the second Walters mortally, and then made his escape.
(Source: Emory & Henry College Archives: Link
(Source: The evening telegraph.
(Philadelphia [Pa.]), 25 April 1866. Chronicling America: Historic
American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
<http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025925/1866-04-25/ed-1/seq-1/>
