The
Barber-Mizell Feud
The
government became particularly oppressive to the Barber family with the
institution of a stiff tax on large herds.
When the Mizells tried to enforce the government’s regulation of the
cattle industry from their official positions of power, resentment that had
been building against them began to boil over.
Barber
family tradition holds that Andrew Jackson “Jack” Barber, a son of William
Barber, was singled out by the Mizell brothers to serve as an example to his
neighbors and kinfolk. They claim that
Jack was continually harassed by warrants issued against him that did not even
mention the date, place, or nature of his alleged offences. Even when he was cleared of charged brought
against him, he was still made to pay court costs. Eventually, the Mizells did manage to convict Jack of some
trumped-up charge and had him briefly incarcerated at the state prison at Chattahoochee.
Jack
Barber’s nephew, Deed barber, also ran into trouble with the Mizells when his
prize heifer “Taterpeelin” strayed onto the land of Morgan Mizell, a younger
brother of Judge John Mizell and Sheriff David Mizell. In retrieving the heifer, he was intercepted
by the sheriff who accused him of intending to steal some of Morgan’s
herd. He wanted to indict the
14-year-old Deed, but diffused the situation for a time by choosing instead to
slaughter the heifer and dividing the butchered carcass between the families.
The
final straw for the barbers came when Sheriff David seized a large portion of
Old Moses Barber’s Herd as a penalty for his refusal to pay the state cattle
tax. Old Moses publicly threatened the
sheriff: “The next time you enter my herd, you’ll come out feet first!”
More:
8.
Aftermath