Larger than Life

                                     Harlan County, Kentucky


My great-grandpa Calvin James Middleton was born on February 14, 1875, in rugged Harlan County, Kentucky. He was born to Benjamin Franklin and Sarah “Sallie” Blevins Middleton. His father Benjamin had fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and according to his widow when filing for his Civil War pension, he had been at Appomattox Court House when the war closed.                                               

Benjamin Franklin Middleton

  

                             Sarah "Sallie" Blevins Middleton

Calvin was born in a wild mountain area a few years after the close of the war, but the war had left lingering resentments. Blood feuds to rival the famous Hatfield and McCoy feud were not an uncommon occurrence. Three of the brothers of Calvin’s father had been killed, one had been left “crippled” and two of his brother-in-laws had been shot down dead in the Howard-Turner feud. Calvin was born in an untamed area during untamed times and he seemed untamed enough himself to fit right in. 

                                    Harlan County, Kentucky

In 1895, Calvin would wed another Harlan County native, Rhoda King, at the home of her parents. The couple lived there in Harlan County for several years and all of their children, save their last, was born there.

Now, Calvin and Rhoda lived and farmed land on Yocum Creek in Harlan while raising a family of seven young’uns. That was no easy way of life, but it was the way of life that most of the folks Calvin and Rhoda knew experienced. It was just to be expected.

                            Calvin and Rhoda King Middleton 

                                 and some of their children

Calvin’s occupation was listed as farmer on all of the censuses I have seen, but family members and folks in the area say that he was also a Baptist preacher. He did not have his own church, rather he traveled a circuit. One Sunday, he would preach in one church. The next Sunday, he would travel to a different church. He would make the rounds of the churches he preached at and when a round was completed, he would start all over. One of his granddaughters, Ms. Leola, says that often during the week, he would travel to places and hold revivals. She says that he could be gone quite long for his preaching at his revivals. 

Calvin Middleton

Calvin did not make a living or any money from his preaching. A thankful family might let him stay in their home while he was riding the circuit. A family might invite him to their home for a meal. They might offer him a jar of their family’s special preserves or apple butter. Calvin might be given a still wearable pair of britches that the family’s kids had outgrown but that might fit one of Calvin’s young’uns.                            

                                          Calvin Middleton


Now, Ms. Leola, my dad, his grandson, and other family members have told me that Calvin had another side occupation. They tell me that when the local law was, according to what they have heard, too chicken to go after a fugitive themselves, they would call on Calvin. They would deputize him and then Calvin would go off after the fugitive.

Now, Calvin would return sometime later with the fugitive. Hopefully, the fugitive would be able to walk into the jail on his own two feet. Unfortunately, at times, he would have to be carried into the local undertaker’s place. I am certain that Calvin tried his best to bring back the fugitive alive, but sometimes the fugitive would just not cooperate.

Now, Calvin had helped the local law apprehend fleeing fugitives many times and back in this time period, Harlan could be a pretty rowdy place. Most folks had guns, they knew how to use them, and they were not loathe to do so. Calvin’s family and friends began to fear for the safety of Calvin and his family. Several folks recommended to him that he move away from Harlan for his family’s safety.

Sometime after 1918 and before 1920, Calvin’s family moved west to Clay County, Kentucky. They lived in Clay, but were very close to the Owsley County border. It is here that Rhoda and Calvin would have their last child, a daughter Fern. Sometime later when Fern was growing up, Calvin and Rhoda would separate. No one is for certain why, but Ms. Leola thought that perhaps Rhoda was a little less strict with Fern than Calvin thought they needed to be. That is a guess though and no one really knows. 

                             Calvin and Rhoda King Middleton

Ms. Leola says that Calvin would return to Harlan several times over the years after their move. He still had family in the area and I imagine that he was probably preaching, holding revivals or perhaps he was even being deputized still. She says that he could be gone for several days.

                                Two of Calvin's sisters in front;
                           his brother-in-law and Calvin in back

Calvin did not tolerate orneriness in his new home any better than he had back in Harlan. Ms. Leola remembers that there was a church in the area that was pretty much being ruined by a bunch of ruffians. She says that a Sheriff Brewer was even shot through the church window while attending the church.

Calvin decided that this was just not acceptable. He went to the church and told them that he was gonna take up the preaching. He told them that he would be preaching and he told them that if anything bad happened, the law was not gonna be called. He told them that he, himself would take care of it.

His reputation must have preceded him. Calvin preached the service the next Sunday and his Ms. Leola was told that you could have heard a pin drop. It seems that the ruffians may have been scared straight and the church knew peace again.

Sometime after all of this happened, Ms Leola, who had just married, heard her husband talking to one of his cousins. Her husband’s cousin was from Harlan and was talking about some mean old preacher man who had killed several people in the line of duty while deputized.

Her husband asked if this mean old preacher man’s name was Calvin Middleton and his cousin told him that it was. He laughed and told his cousin that Calvin’s granddaughter was his new wife! Well, talk of the mean old preacher man ceased. I do not know if that was out of respect for his granddaughter or due to the fact that the cousin could not be sure how far the apple had fallen from the tree!

Now, most of the info that I have about my great grandfather was relayed to me by his granddaughter, Ms. Leola. Ms. Leola loved and admired Calvin so very much. She has told me that she reckons that she has never known a person as smart as Pap. She tells me that he would make up stories and even poems. 

                      Calvin Middleton and his brother-in-law

Ms. Leola has told me that sometimes Calvin would be sitting very quietly for some minutes. After a while, he would throw his head back in laughter. Ms. Leola would say; “Pap, what you laughing at?” He would answer that he was working on something and he would tell her when it was finished. After a while, he would tell her that he was finished and recite off a poem that he had just made up. She still recalls parts of those poems. Unfortunately, he didn’t write them down. He just recited them to her so she relies on her memory to relay the parts she recalls.

Sometime in the past, Ms. Leola had written my dad a letter in which she had tried to remember some of Calvin’s poems and wrote them down. She could not remember all of them. She told Dad that maybe he could make something up and finish them out. Well, Dad didn’t do that, so I decided that I would give it a shot. I told Ms Leola that I remember several years back Natalie Cole did a duet with her father Nat King Cole after he had already passed on. Older recordings were combined with newer recordings to look like it was real. Ms. Leola remembered that too. She also mentioned that Hank Williams Junior had done something similar with a Hank Williams recording.

So this is my family’s own collaboration between the past, my great-grandpa Calvin’s words, and the present, my words that fill in for his words that have been forgotten. It concerns a ruckus that took place at the Anglin Church house. It seems that a rumor had gotten started. Great-grandpa Calvin Middleton supposedly had said something to a Preacher Sasser concerning a Bass Huff and perhaps somehow involving tithing. Bass Huff was the preacher at Anglin church. Preacher Sasser was from another church nearby.

Well, Preacher Bass got mad at Brother Middleton. The congregation scheduled a special meeting at the church house to clear everything up. Preacher Sasser came to the meeting to tell that Calvin had not said any such thing to him. Ms. Leola says that Preacher Bass had wanted to get rid of Calvin from the congregation, but Preacher Huff ended up losing his job over the ruckus. Myrtle was Preacher Huff's wife.

Ms Leola could not remember the first part of Calvin’s poem, so I tried to finesse the details into a poem of sorts. It is followed by the part Pap wrote that Ms. Leola can recall.

My part:

Like so often happens, the ruckus started in a "he said/she said" kind of way.
It remained to be seen, whether the truth would know the light of day.
Well, Brother Calvin had supposedly told Preacher Sasser something concernin’ Preacher Huff.
Preacher Huff didn’t take it lightly, in fact, he took it kinda rough.
But Brother Calvin leavin’ the congregation might appease him just enough,
‘Cause you see, it seems that the preacher had worked himself into quite a huff!
Well, to clear the confusion, a meetin’ was called at Anglin Church.
Hopefully, when the dust cleared, no one would be left standin’ in the lurch.
Folks went to the meetin’; Preacher Sasser, Brother Calvin, Columbus his son,
Hugh Edwards, Doc Byrd, Brother Bass Huff; arrivin’ one by one.
Anticipatin’ trouble, Calvin carried a half-empty pint bottle in his pocket.
If it got too heated, that bottle could whip out and tap a noggin quick as a rocket!
Calvin’s son Fred rode a horse to a neighbor’s house also expectin’ trouble.
He borrowed himself a pistol and returned to the church house on the double!
As Fred arrived, he passed Hortense Smith and a couple of her friends outside.
He shouted, “Wanna see the roof blown off the church house?” as he brandished his pistol atop his ride!
Hortense fainted straight away, witherin’ to the ground,
As outside the church house her friends gathered ‘round.
Meanwhile inside the church house, tensions were growin’ pretty thick.
Brother Edwards looked like he might hit Calv, but Calv’s bottle was ready should he need it quick!
And Brother Bass jumped to the pulpit, pullin’ out a blade;
Well, Columbus strode toward the pulpit pullin’ out a Bowie, and Bass’ bluster sure did fade!
Huff said hang on Brother Columbus, I’m just gonna cut me a chew.
Columbus stared at him coldly, sayin’ “ Brother Bass, I chew tobacco too!”
Well I suppose that Preacher Sasser was finally given a chance to talk. And when the dust finally settled, Calvin would stay. Huff would be the one to walk! Ashamed to take the main road................

Calvin’s part:
Bass Huff slipped up through the cornfield til he got to the Anglin hill.
He said I wouldn’t had this to die in my hands for a hundred dollar bill.
He went on over to Myrtle’s house. She said Bass, what’s this about?
He said I told every lie I could tell, but I didn’t get Middleton out.
Myrtle said Bass I asked you not to go over there and I wrote it on the wall.
Our free will offerin will be cut out, and the calf is sure to bawl. 

                            Inside the Anglin Meeting House

                   Son Columbus, daughter Fern, Rhoda and Calvin

Ms. Leola speaks so glowingly of Calvin that I have often wondered if there was a bit of hero worship going on that was making her memories of Pap a bit larger than life. I recorded all of her memories to share with my family, just the same, but I couldn’t help but wonder if her deep admiration for Pap was making him into a kind of heroic family legend.

I used to wonder about this, but one of my cousins shared with me a description of a trial that involved Great Grandpa Calvin. It follows: 

“Calvin Middleton Trial Date:14-15 May 1897 Hon. H.R. Thompson, Circuit Judge Harlan County, Kentucky On the 14th day of May 1897 Calvin Middleton of Harlan County, Kentucky was called to testify in the matter of the shooting of Ronald Haas. Mr Middleton was not placed under arrest because of the number of witnesses who stated that Mr Middleton had acted in self-defense. There are several references to Calvin Middleton being called on by Sheriff Peters of Harlan County, Kentucky to go with him in times of trouble. Calvin Middleton was called on to give testimony on several occasions during these events. On or about the 2nd day of May, Sheriff Peters found Calvin Middleton in the area of Turner Creek just east of Dizney, Ky. He told Calvin that his cousin had been murdered by Ronald Haas and that Mr Haas had boarded the train in an attempt to make an excape. He asked Calvin to ride by horseback and try to beat the train to the town of Dizney and detain Mr Haas. Sheriff Peters would gather a posse and be behind him. Calvin Middleton and two other men rode along the Yocum Creek and beat the train arriving in Dizney. Calvin Middleton boarded the train and Mr Haas was sitting beside another man. Mr Haas saw Mr Middleton and drew a pistol and dove to the floor. Mr Middleton took cover behind a seat and told Mr Haas to surrender. Mr Haas fired one shot and stood up and ran to the back of the car, exiting. Calvin testified that he didn't return fire for fear of hitting other people riding in the car, Mr Middleton then exited at the end of the car where he had entered and chased Mr Haas to the east. Mr Middleton called several times for Mr Haas to stop and give himself up. Seven people testified that Mr Haas then turned towards Mr Middleton and raised his weapon. Mr Middleton called “Don't do it!” and as Mr Haas raised his weapon to fire, Mr Middleton shot him once in the upper left chest. Mr Haas fell to the ground, pistol still in hand. Mr Middleton walked closer and Mr Haas once again raised his weapon. Mr Middleton fired again, this time striking Mr Haas in the head, killing him instantly. Two witnesses attempted to say that Mr Middleton did not call for Mr Haas to stop and shot the fleeing Mr Haas in the back. A physician's examination clearly shows that Mr Haas was shot from the front. As the judge said in court, the two men claiming this were of “questionable moral character.” Calvin Middleton was cleared on all charges and it was judged that he acted in self defense.”


So, after reading this description, I have decided that perhaps Great Grandpa Calvin may have truly been a bit of a family legend. After all, not many families can lay claim to a poetic, bring’em back dead or alive, mean preacher man!

                                           Calvin Middleton