One Legged Man Saves The Records

William Kenyon Jones - My 2nd Great Grandfather

Excerpt from the publication titled

“Florida's Clerks of the Circuit Courts.”

“The One-Legged Man”

“At least one clerk faced immediate crisis that threatened his life and the safety of his family. The situation arose in Lafayette County in 1865, just as the Civil War neared its close. A mob of Union men and Confederate deserters raided the county seat of Old Troy, causing much damage. Tax assessor and clerk, William Kinnon Jones, informed that the raiders planned another destructive attack, acted to save the county records. Aided by his thirteen-year-old daughter, Rhonda, he moved the documents to his home on the edge of town. That night Old Troy, including the courthouse, was put to the torch. Nor did the marauding raiders spare the clerk's home. They burned his house and threatened to kidnap him. Finally, the blaze was doused and Jones was released, but the men confiscated his food, killed his chickens, and ran off his stock. Nonplussed, the clerk kept his secret and saved the county records.”

Included in the same article was another version of W. K.'s reported heroic deed.

“One interesting account of Jones' actions was preserved by a local historian and provides tantalizing additional detail. Drawn from the memory of an aged citizen, it recounted the following tale.

At the time of the burning of the Troy Courthouse, a one- legged man took the records from the courthouse because he had overheard men talking and knew they were planning to burn the courthouse. He was a farmer and had his cribs full of corn at the time. He hid the records underneath the corn. While the courthouse was burning the light was so bright that people living near it said they could read a newspaper by the blaze.

After they were satisfied that the courthouse would burn down, they went to the house of the one-legged man for they had a suspicion he had hidden the records and they wanted them destroyed because some of them had criminal records they wished done away with. They knew the one- legged man kept the records for the county. They set fire to his house but when he came out and begged them to have mercy on him because he was crippled, they spared his corn crib. He looked so helpless they said they couldn't do such a dastardly thing to the crippled old man so they went back and put the fire out. Thus the records of Lafayette County were saved for future generations because of the bravery of the one-legged man”

Another newspaper story supplied to me from a Jones family member is from an interview with Mrs. Rhoda Jones Scarborough (daughter of William Kennon mentioned in above story) of Mayo. It reads:

“In 1856 a log house was built for the Court House, at Old Troy, the county Seat. In 1865, the last year of the civil war, a mob of Union men and deserters raided the county seat, destroying everything in their path. Mrs. Mary Mills who operated a hotel at Old Troy, was the first to be threatened by the mob. Mr. William Kinnon Jones, Tax Assessor and Clerk of the circuit Court from his office in the court House, saw Mrs. Mills weeping in front of the hotel. He went to her and asked: 'Mrs. Mills, what on earth has happened?' She replied, 'I can't tell you.' She pointed to some men in wagons who were hauling furniture and throwing it in the river, and added: 'But I will tell you this much-If you want to save anything you had better hide it. I am sworn under oath not to tell, and if I do, I will be killed.' Mr. Jones with the help of his thirteen-year-old daughter, Rhoda, moved all records from the Court House to their home. As Mr. Jones was making one of his trips, he came in contact with a man who said, “Uncle Kinnon, you have always put me under oath, but now I am going to put you under oath, and if you send out an alarm, I will see that you are killed. The Yankees and deserters are going to destroy Old Troy tonight.” That night the town was destroyed by fire. The burning of the Courthouse was witnessed by Rhoda Jones, who, as Mrs. Rhoda Jones Scarborough is today a resident of Mayo, Florida. ‘The raiders then went to the edge of town where Mr. Jones lived. They called him out of the house and told him they were going to take him away, but one of the men interceded and begged the mob not to take him. After his house had been stopped from burning, the mob went inside and helped themselves to all the food they could find, which consisted of sweet potatoes roasted in the fireplace, all butter which had been stored away, and a large pot of Gruel which they cooked on the open fire. After eating, they went out and killed all of the chickens and run off all stock. Thus through the courageous action of Mr. Jones and his daughter, all volumes and important records of the county were preserved.”