This comes from a McFerrin cousin. He is the great-grandson of Jackson Benton McFerrin. As he says, who knows what the truth is. I need to get him the name and author of the book that says Benton was killed by Redlegs.

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Arleigh

Jackson Benton was my great grandfather.

It is a fact that he was owed money at what we would consider high interest rates.

The story goes that a person Elizabeth knew came to the house on a cold winter evening and was invited in to have something warm to drink.. Jackson was ill in bed.

A constable Brown from Austin was killed the same night. I believe he was the first person that Elizabeth invited in as a Brown descendant was friends with Samuel Benton later. I wonder if Constable Brown had heard rumors and came to warn Jackson.

A little later there was another knock on the door and, when Elizabeth opened it, the yards had a lot of mask men. Some barged in, shot Jackson while he was in bed, drug him outside and started burning the house. When they saw Elizabeth trying to save Jackson who was still alive they shot him again.

My grandfather, John Breckenridge who was the youngest, told the story that all was left was one feather bed. He also said they hung Jackson by the feet from a tree and shot him again.

Who knows what the real sequence of events were?

Tom