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| Simon Daniel (1823-1857) |
Simon Daniel of Stewart County, Tennessee, was a tough, gun-toting slave owner with a silver plate attached to his skull (cranioplasty). His descendants spoke glowingly of him as a "typical" Southern gentleman who owned up to 24 enslaved humans--a chilling reminder of my maternal ancestors' participation in a horrific institution.
Still, generations of storytellers admired Simon Daniel for his social standing and wealth. They revered our patriarch for his gun-slinging persona and grinned at his bad-boy bravado. In 1857, nightriders galloped on horses into Simon's farmyard, brandishing weapons. They demanded to see Simon's "favorite" slave--to teach him a lesson. Simon raised his rifle, charging that no one would beat his slaves but him. The angry men stormed out of the farm yard.
A few months later, on an early August evening, Simon's horse ambled into the farm yard with 33-year-old, unconscious Simon slumped on the horse's back. His slave carried him into the house. He died five days later.
Some descendants believe Simon died from brain fever stemming from an infection near the silver plate; others think he was ambushed by the nightriders and beaten so severely he never healed from his wounds.
Although Simon died tragically and left behind a widow and five children, I was mortified that my great-great-great-grandfather ostensibly beat his slaves.
Other violent stories cling to Simon's branch like kudzu.
Simon's detested stepmother was killed by a shotgun in her home--possibly by Simon or one of his brothers; his father buried three wives; his father-in-law was charged with battery of a neighbor woman; his brother-in-law was hanged in Missouri; his son died from a headwound after an attack by a fellow logger; two of his great-grandsons robbed a bank, and two of his kinsmen shot and killed a witness in a courtroom in 1861.
After hearing these stories for years, I never understood the adulation for my antebellum Daniel ancestors. They seemed crude, cruel, and unapologetic for participating in the practice of enslaving people and allegedly abusing women. And yet, the stories of extreme violence and murder intrigued me. Who WERE these bad boys in my mother's bloodline?
For over five years, I researched Stewart County court documents, including the 1861 transcribed witness testimonies to a courtroom murder involving two men likely related to Simon and me. As I investigated, a true crime narrative emerged, ultimately changing my perspective of myself, my ancestors, and Southern storytellers.
Simon's and other "Bad Boy" stories are in my upcoming book, Bad Boys on the Family Tree and the 1861 Courthouse Murder in Dover, Tennessee. For a preview of the book, see the sidebar on this blog: Book --Bad Boys on the Family Tree & the 1861 Courtroom Murder in Dover, Tennessee.
Most stories mentioned above come from Simon's grandchildren, including Frankie (Daniel) Sellas's manuscript: The Home Folks: 200 Years In The Cumberland Settlement (also known as Appendix D).
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