King County, TX
part of
The TXGenWeb Project
“Red” and “Cripple Will” Mitchell
by Hoyte Cook
Joseph J. “Red” Mitchell served as Sheriff of King County, Texas during the years 1907-1910.
He was born circa 1868 in the Lost Creek area of White County,
Tennessee, -ninth of the ten children of James Wamon and Nancy Jane
Wheeler Mitchell.
“Red” married Ellen Douglas, a native of Warren County,
Tennessee. They were parents of three children: Anna May, Sally
Lou, and Joseph Pratt Mitchell.
“Red’s” younger brother William Riley Mitchell (a.k.a. “Cripple Will”),
tenth of the ten children, was born December 14, 1870. He served
in Company G, First Tennessee U.S.V. during the Spanish American War,
and reportedly sustained a severe leg wound while fighting in the
Philippines.
On the night of Christmas Eve 1916 Joseph J. “Red” Mitchell was shot
dead on the sidewalk in front of a drug store in Knox City,
Texas. A deputy marshal by the name of Reed was also killed in
the same incident. The murderer was “Red” Mitchell’s
brother-in-law, George Douglas.
On March 20, 1917 in the courtroom at Benjamin, Texas, George Douglas
was, in turn, shot dead by “Red” Mitchell’s brother “Cripple Will.”
[For an eyewitness account of the courtroom shooting and the events
leading up to it, please read “When the Motive was Revenge” by John
Bunyon Rhea, Wichita Heritage Magazine, Spring 1990.]
It is known that “Red” Mitchell was buried in the Knox City, Texas
Cemetery, and that the Baker, Bryant, Link Company provided the coffin
and a (probably inexpensive concrete) monument.
A 2014 search of the Knox City Cemetery revealed no engraved headstone
for Joseph J. Mitchell. However, the remnant of a concrete
monument –that appeared to have been destroyed with a sledge hammer-
…was found. A desecrated tombstone reflects a sinister
statement. Could this be what remains of “Red” Mitchell’s grave
marker? Reliable information would be most welcome.
Christmas Eve 2016 will mark the 100th anniversary of the murder of
“Red” Mitchell. We would now like to erect a monument in the Knox
City Cemetery: ‘To The Memory of J.J. (Red) Mitchell, 1868-1916,
Native of White County, Tennessee; Sheriff of King County, Texas
1907-1910.’
We hereby request, and will be grateful for the efforts or
contributions from individuals and organizations who are interested in
helping us provide this monument. Please contact:
David L. Cook, 204 Dry Hollow Road, Doyle, TN 38559-3021
(e-mail: onedryhollow@blomand.net).
Last update: June 15, 2016
Text c2016 Hoyte Cook
Format c1998-2016 Tim Seawolf Self and Barbara Peck