A Howard Family Feud submitted by John Howard November 21, 1998
Charles, This is the story as it was told to me by my grandfather who was born in Harlan February 13, 1901.
His name was Elbert Martin Howard. My father was born in Louellen (Harlan County) April 9, 1928 and they moved to Jefferson county Indiana in 1932. The town was washed away in a flood in the 30's and was moved up the mountain further. My great-grandfather's name was John W. (Washington) Howard and his father was Adrian Howard. According to them the first white child born in Harlan County was Sam Howard who was the son of Wicks (?) Howard.
They, I believe were my great-great grandfather's great-grandfather and great-great grandfather. So much for the lineal history. As I understand it, John W. Howard's aunt or cousin's wife was working in her garden and three Turner's decided to stop and talk to her. She apparently was not interested in engaging in conversation with them and did not appreciate the topic and told them to get the hell out. They did not appreciate the rebuff and proceeded to beat her until she was unconscious. It was implied that there was more than a beating but I was to young at the time to hear the details. When her husband found her he contacted his relatives and they hunted them down and ambushed them killing all three.
He was eventually arrested and was jailed until the trial. During the trial a number of the Howard's smuggled guns into the courtroom (there have been several sheriffs named Howard in Harlan) and used them to convince the folks holding him to release him. The Turner family was not too happy about the turn of events and formed a small troop to correct things. There were several Civil War veterans in both families. The Howard's got wind of the formation of this group and compiled a similar but somewhat larger company of men to meet them. They apparently had quite a shootout in which the majority of the Turner clan was killed. The remnants were hunted down and killed with a very few exceptions escaping into West Virginia.
There was never a second trial and as far as I know, never contact with a Turner again. My grandfather would not even speak to anyone named Turner even if they were not remotely related to the event. I would like to find some corroboration for this event but have no access to the resources necessary. If you know of anyone with access to the information could you please let me know. I would appreciate any assistance. I hope this has been helpful. Thanks, John M. Howard