My grandfather's mother Maggie is the daughter of renowned one-eyed southeast Missouri desperado and clown killer Jake (Jacob) Killian.
Too good to be true. But it is! Oh, and he lost his eye in the War Between the States -- when he was shot in the face during a card game. Wild Bill Hickock married the clown's widow, btw... Ah, Missouri, you miserable little piece of mud, you.
Jake Killian's father, Cyrus, still a direct grandparent of mine, removed from North Carolina on the 1833 Trail of Tears, ending where I eventually was born and grew up. Jake was murdered in Empire City Kansas, which is now Galena KS - where in my h.s. years I often drank beer and danced like an idiot at a club called The Ranch. I don't know if this is why Cyrus came to the area in 1833, though.
Perhaps more importantly, Cyrus's father was signed up w/ the 3rd regiment of NC Militia in the War of 1812 as a resident in, get this... Buncombe County NC. Asheville is the county seat. Hey, guys, I'm baaaaaaack!
It requires numerous generations of the Monarch butterfly to complete their annual community migration and return home. Might be the same with people. :-) Using my generation to reverse my grandfather's original migration on the Trail of Tears somehow feels right. What's a couple hundred years when you're having fun?
1 comment:
I am Randy's cousin. The clown killing is true. And, Randy looks a lot like his dad, and our Granpa Russell.
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