According to the Arkansas Gazette, September 20, 1849, there was an argument during or following a card game and John Coker stabbed Jim Churchman in the breast. The argument was over two dimes.
When Marion County sheriff Billy Brown tried to arrest John Coker, Randolph Coker killed Brown, Sept 1849. The two Coker boys were chained together in the Yellville jail, but someone entered the cell, cut the chain, and the Cokers made their escape. John and Randolph were brothers and sons of Joseph Coker. The next year, Jim Churchman's brother, William, married his brother's widow, Abigail Coker. During all this, Abbie gave birth to a daughter, Nancy Churchman. It is not certain which Churchman brother was the father. Most likely Jim was Nancy's daddy.
Randolph Coker fled to Indian Territory where he was later killed, supposedly by indians. It took fifteen years but he finally got his just desserts. The following article is from the Oklahoma Historical Society. " Murdering of Randolph Coker in 1864. The party that killed Randolph Coker appears to have been Kickapoo, or Kickapoo and Shawnee. The Creeks who buried him reported his hand and face both scapled and one of the arms gone. The Kickapoo were to a certain extent cannibals and the arm and hand fit with their actions." I don't know if this was maligning the Kickapoo. Apparently John Coker's later life was as normal as could be expected in that time period.
The Coker's are my ancestors.
No comments:
Post a Comment