Grayson County TXGenWeb

Dallas Morning News
June 29, 1891

THE CANNON SENSATION

Sherman, Tex., June 28 - The recent trouble in the Cannon neighborhood, in which THE NEWS specials from Whitewright and Van Alstyne this morning report G.A. Jackson to have been assaulted on the highway by four masked men, two of whom he is said to have slightly wounded, being in return himself badly wounded, adds a crimson chapter to what has already been a most sensational as well as repulsive story. Considering the interest which has naturally been engendered by the published report this morning, a synopsis of the causes, or at least a portion of them, leading up to the affair would not be amiss.

About a year ago G.A. Jackson, a widower with two or three small children, met and married a young girl, the ward of Mr. and Mrs. Gray, who lived on a farm near Cannon postoffice, at which place Jackson was running a small general supply store. She was but a mere child at the time, and in fact for several months after their marriage the girl wife attended the district public school. Later on Jackson employed a young man by the name of Jasper Hammons to clerk in his store. Jackson himself said to THE NEWS reporter:

"I kept hearing a little here and a little there about my wife, which set me to watching. My worst fears were confirmed and I sued for a divorce."

In his suit for a divorce he alleges that his wife had been too intimate with his young clerk, Jasper Hammons, and further on in the petition gives the names of parties to whom it is alleged she confessed the same. The petition is still on file. Thus matters stood for a few days when Mr. Gray, the gentleman who had raised Mrs. Jackson, went to a neighbor justice of the peace and swore out a warrant
for the arrest of Jasper Hammons for an alleged criminal assault upon Mrs. Jackson, stating to the officers, as he subsequently did to
THE NEWS reporter, that his information came directly from statements made by Mrs. Jackson herself. Hammons was arrested and brought to the county jail in Sherman.

On the night of Hammons' incarceration upon information filed before a justice of the peace in this city a warrant was issued and put into the hands of an officer authorizing the arrest of G.A. Jackson as an accomplice of Hammons in the alleged criminal assault upon his (Jackson's) wife. Jackson tried to evade the officers, who followed him, putting bloodhounds upon his trail. He was finally arrested at
the home of a relative just over the Collin county line and brought to Sherman. He strenuously denied the charge against him and when interviewed at the jail told THE NEWS reporter what is stated above relative to his domestic infelicities. He afterwards explained his
flight from the officers by statement to the reporter that he had repeatedly found nailed to his door warnings and threats and that he was frightened to an extremity and says, he was escaping from no one in particular, simply getting out of the way of danger which he could not locate except generally among those whom he says bore malice toward him.

The cases were called up for preliminary hearing before Justice Hinkle, and the appearance bond of Jackson and Hammons placed at $100 each. Both men were remanded in default, but about a week later Jackson was released on bond and returned to the scene of the trouble. A few days later Mrs. Jackson left the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gray, her foster parents, and joined Jackson, her husband. After remaining at the home of some of his kinsmen for a few days, they came to Sherman and the following morning Mrs. Jackson made a statement to THE NEWS reporter completely exonerating both her husband and Hammons from the charges. Hammons was still in jail and a few days later by the consent of the state, the preliminary hearing was resumed before Justice Hinkle and before him Mrs. Jackson made affidavit that neither her husband nor Hammons were guilty of the charges brought against them and that it had not been by her request that they had been arrested and further more stated that she had been told she would get herself into trouble if she did not come to court and testify against them. She admitted the truth of the allegation of infidelity to her marriage vows contained in the petition for divorce filed by her husband, G.A. Jackson.

The cases against both men were then finally dismissed by the justice of the peace because of reasons filed by the state's attorney, said reasons being that there was not sufficient evidence to convict either.

In the meantime Mr. Gray, the gentleman who had filed the first complaint, which charged Hammons with criminal assault, came to the city and tried to get an audience with Mrs. Jackson, but she refused to talk to him. He, however, stated to THE NEWS reporter that Mrs. Jackson had not only imparted the information to himself and wife, but told others a most terrible story of her treatment by Hammons
and of the alleged unnatural participation of her husband. Mr. Gray's statements have since been corroborated by communications in country papers signed by the parties to whom she is said to have made the statements, said communications being in answer to the statement made by Mrs. Jackson under oath and published in THE NEWS. Mr. Gray says that there is no truth in the statement that he
or anyone of his family tried to induce her to swear to anything but the truth, as they reasonably believed her first statement to be.

THE NEWS brought the first information of yesterday's affair to this city. Shortly after noon todayTHE NEWS reporter went to Jackson's residence, 444 South Rusk avenue near Center street, and found Mrs. Jackson alone with a little infant a few weeks old. She had not heard of the difficulty and before learning it said:

"I don't know when Mr. Jackson will get back. Before leaving for Cannon to settle up his business there, he told me not to look for him until I saw him coming. He left last Friday evening."

The reporter seeing at this point she didn't know of her husband's condition read to her the Whitewright special and asked her if she
could in any way throw light upon the immediate causes leading up to it.

FOUR MASKED MEN

Whitewright, Tex., June 27 - Last night as the plaintiff in a divorce case at Sherman a short time ago was going from Centennial to Pilot Grove he was stopped by four masked men dressed in women's clothes and ordered to get off his horse or he would be shot off. He
had hardly touched the ground when he was seized and blindfolded. Then one of the maskers stepped up and shot him in the left breast. Luckily he had a pocket day book in his breast pocket which caused the bullet to glance, thereby saving his life.

He tore the bandage from his eyes and attempted to run away, firing on the gang as he fled. He shot one through the left hand and another through the thigh before the mob opened a fusillade upon him, one ball striking him in the back. He finally succeeded in getting away, but was able to identify only three of the masked men.

Complaints were filed and City Marshal Chawning and Constable Hamilton set out this morning for the scene and succeeded in arresting the three identified parties and brought them to Whitewright.

One of the assailants had recently filed a complaint against one of Jackson's employees for assaulting Jackson's wife and Jackson was also arrested for being an accomplice, but before the trial Mrs. Jackson claimed she had not been mistreated by Jackson, nor his employees and they were discharged.

Replying to the query of the reporter, he said in substance:

"I guess it all grew out of the trouble we have had. Mr. Jackson expected that he would have trouble when he went down there to fetch his things to Sherman. He took a pistol with him and said that he did not intend to use it unless he was just forced to defend himself."

In letters at the house received recently from friends at Cannon, it is evident from the answers that Jackson had been apprehensive of trouble and had been asking of the movements of parties whom he designates as enemies.