The
Barber-Mizell Feud
The hasty departure of the barbers did
not bring peace to the area. A flood
saturated the region’s farmland and destroyed the farmers’ crops. They turned to cattle as the only viable
source of income, which resulted in even more rustling, murder, and
lawlessness.
In
the single year of 1871, there were forty-one reported murders in Orange
County. The fact that only ten cases
were ever brought to court and NO guilty verdicts returned speaks for the
ineffectiveness of the Reconstruction Era justice system in dealing with
crime. Peace was finally achieved when
private citizens like Philip Leonardy of St. Augustine realized the lawlessness
was cutting into the industry’s profitability and worked tirelessly to mediate
disputes.
Feelings
between the feuding families continued to simmer below the surface for many
years. In fact, the feud did not really
come to an end for at least three generations when William J. Barber—a grandson
of the murdered Isaac Barber—and Mary Ida Mizell—a descendant of Judge John
Mizell—were married. Today, though
verbal barbs might still be tossed about, they are generally good-humored in
nature.
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