Black Sheep

.....We like to look back at those members of our families who have gone on before as wonderful upstanding individuals. But, there are not many of us who do not have at least one individual who was what some have called a "blacksheep." Being somewhat of a rogue myself, I wanted to see if I did indeed have a family member who had been hanged.
.....Well, I didn't find him, but someone else did. I am a member of the King/Yeager family website. One day, there was posted on the site the tragic story of my 2nd cousin Peter King. Peter is recorded as being the first and last person to be hanged at a public hanging in Monroe County, Ohio. Peter died on May 28, 1880.

.....Born in 1859, Peter was the son of William and Nancy King. He was the grandson of Peter Asbury and Sarah Hickman King. He was the great grandson of John William and Christina Yeager King. Peter was accused of killing an old farmer who was his neighbor. Although Peter is said to have at least singed a written confession, many think that he was innocent. Some believe that it was his first cousin actually did the deed. It is also believed by some that Peter was "slow" and wasn't able to defend himself. All I know is that what might be left of my 2nd cousin Peter King lies in a lonely corner of the Hickman Cemetery. And, he is the cousin of all of us John King Family Cousins. Peter's relationship chart is 169 pages long.

.....Another young man who came to grief was my wife's cousin Rodney Hoke. Om July 10, 1925, he is supposed to be the first person to have died in the Virginia electric chair. He wasn't quite nineteen years-old.

......Born September 30, 1906, he was the son of Hubert and Molly Mae Weise Hoke. He was the grandson of Christopher Columbus and Barbara Isabelle Lewis Hoke. He was the great grandson of John and Elizabeth Harmon Lewis. He was the 2nd great grandson of Peter and Mary Biggs Harmon. He was the great grandnepthew of Mary Ann Harmon. My lelationship chart for him is a modest 45 pages long. But, there are a lot of folks in that chart.
.....What happened? Well it seems that he and his wife, Ruth Cox Hoke, were living at Jerrys Run on top of Allegheny Mountain. Although the Great Depression had not hit, it had always been a "great depression" for folks trying to scratch out a living back on the mountains, ridges and hollows. I don't think any of us today understands how hard it was to live in those places back then. One dollar could loom huge. Whether because of pure meaness, or desperation, or lack of mnental stability, Rodney is said to have killed a peddlar for just a few dollars. His wife Ruth was only 16. She passed away February 24, 1991 and was the wife of my good friend Rass Hylton for more than fifty years. Her nrother Bill was probably the best story teller that lived in this area.

.....There are a lot of stories to be had from these mountains. Most of these folks are good hardworking folks who, if they like you and you treat them right, will always give you a helping hand.

.....There are always a few rascals among the good. I have known some who were rough and tough, but who had a good heart. I have cried in my shaving water more than once on the morning of a funeral that I was going to conduct for a friend. If there has been any without a flaw, I haven't met them. And, that is especially true for the one who looks back at me from the mirror. It is by the mercy and grace of God that we did not become a blacksheep. And, God loves blacksheep and longs to have them inhis fold.