Joseph Lexington (Leck) WHITT

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His sister, Elizabeth, was shot and killed by Elijah Risner as she sat by a coal oil lamp at the kitchen table in her home. The house was located across the road from the Smith & Molly Brown place on White Oak Creek and at the former site of Gardner Oney's potato patch. Elijah Risner was in turn killed by Joseph Lexington Whitt.

Mountain Outlaw, Hated by many in the mountains of KY. Shot by a number of people in the town of Sayersville, Magoffin County about 1910.So many shots hit him, no one knows who killed him.

KENTUCKY MOUNTAIN EXCERPT: From the Friday, January 19, 1912, Vol, 1, no. 2 issue: LOCAL NEWS: There were the following murders in 1911: Buddy Whitt, James Harper, Leck Whitt, and John Shepard.


Told by Virgil Whitt of Cincinnati, Ohio to Juanita Collinsworth Oney and Opal Collinsworth Harper.

There have been many different opinions and views on the killing at the Magoffin County Courthouse in Salyersville, KY on July 26, 1911. That was in the time period when people rode horse back into town for many different reasons. In some cases the whole family would hitch their mules or horses to the wagon and go into town to by their monthly supply of groceries. They usually bought a barrel of flour, a can of lard, fifty or one hundred pounds of sugar, soda, salt, and coffee. That was about the limit of their grocery order. Then there were rounds of mule shoes, nails, and maybe some leather strings to mend the harnesses. Also they might buy some leather half soles to mend their children's worn out shoes. It was always a big for day and an all day adventure going into town. And on this particular day, the town was bustling with country folks that had no idea what was about to happen. On this particular Jimmy Harper told his wife, Nannie, that he was going into town to kill Leck Whitt. She begged him not to go, but he wouldn't listen, and when it was all over three men lay with their bodies riddled with bullets. Leck Whitt was dead. Jimmy Harper and Buddy Whitt lay mortally wounded. Almost all land owners in the county at that time cut and sold their timber. After the timber was felled and the logs cut, they were floated down the Licking River. The logs were tied together like a raft and branded or stamped on the end in order to tell who owned them. It was rumored that Leck Whitt would go to the river and "scalp," cut off the ends of the logs and put his stamp on them. He was caught and had to spend time in prison for this offense. Apparently he was doing the same thing again, once he got out of prison. Jimmy Harper decided to put an end to it. So on that fatal morning he met Leck Whitt at the courthouse and said to Leck, "How's the log scalping business?" About that time the shooting started. Leck Whitt killed Jimmy Harper and his nephew, Buddy Whitt. Tom Whitt, another nephew, shot Leck six times, but Leck kept shooting. Tom Whitt was married to Leck's daughter, Agglesa Whitt. It was told that Will Amyx threw rocks until things got too hot and he ran off.

Jimmy Harper's wife, Nannie was several months pregnant with their first child, a son, who they named Jimmy. Leck Whitt left a large family. Buddy was younger, but had a family. People talked about the killings for years afterward and even now eighty years later.

My Mom was a young woman at the time and she was in town on that day in 1911.

Joseph married Sarah ELSWICK 6 Nov 1870, Home of John Hile Gates, Magoffin Co., KY. Sarah was born 1856. [Group Sheet]

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