I have a photocopy of the case file, State of Missouri vs. Erastus W. Hill, filed August 4, 1866, in a Stoddard County justice of the peace court. It is 25 pages long and includes the sworn statements--direct examinations and cross examinations--of a number of witnesses to the death of Thomas B. Walker. The court file also contains the unsworn statement of the accused, Erastus Hill (he was the only man charged because he was the only one that Walker's wife recognized). Reuben Barnes is mentioned prominently in the testimony. Barnes was mortally wounded at the edge of a field, while Walker made it 150 yards away before he was killed in a hail of gunfire.

It is unfortunate that the court file has disappeared. In decades past the state archives went in a photocopied a lot of court records around the state, so maybe it survives on their microfilm in addition to my Thomas B. Walker file. In any event, I will be more than happy to provide a copy of what I have to anyone and everyone who wants it. I'll figure out what my expenses will be and will charge no more than that. Click the email link above to contact me. Hopefully some of the area historical societies will join in to preserve this court record.