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Sources: Newspaper articles; Other publications; Petit Jean River bridge; Jack Daniel changed his name to Smith; True Grit.
OUTLAWS IN YELL COUNTY: William {M.} Potter Murdered in Cold Blood
"The people on Iron Creek, as in most, permit their hogs to run at large. Recently two of the residents there, William {M.} Potter and George Noles by name, found a number of their hogs in possession of Riley Blocker and Jack Daniels. They established their ownership by the marks beyond all doubt, and quietly took possession of the animals, the men who had them apparently having no objection. A day or two later, while Potter was at work in his field, he was surprised by the presence of Daniels, Blocker and a third man whom he did not know. They commanded him to follow them, and he at once yelled with all his power several times to alarm his wife. His murderers then dragged him off to the woods and shot him to death before his wife reached him. When she arrived the murderers had fled, but her dying husband told her the particulars. The first shot missed him entirely, but the second fired from a Winchester rifle by Jack Daniels, struck him in the side and passed entirely through his body. The poor man lingered for two hours in terrible agony before he breathed his last. The half-crazed woman ran from neighbor to neighbor, and spread the sad news, creating great excitement." Excerpt from OUTLAWS IN YELL COUNTY William {M.} Potter Murdered in Cold Blood, Fort Smith Elevator 5 Nov 1880-4 Jul 1884 micro film dates.
Newspaper Articles: The Arkansas Gazette published 49 articles between April and December 1883. Most of the articles included below were copied from microfilm, so the quality is not very good. Sources: Fort Smith, AR Library, Fort Smith Elevator, Hot Springs Sentinel, Little Rock Gazette, Yell County Record: Series of 2012 articles on the murder of William "Bill" Potter.
Weekly Sentinel, Fort Wayne, IN 2 May 1883 William Potter murdered in his field Ft Smith Elevator April 1883 OUTLAWS IN YELL COUNTY: William {M.} Potter Murdered in Cold Blood Hot Springs Sentinel 18 May Deputy Sheriff Prichard unsuccessful in finding murderers. Arkansas Gazette April-Dec 1883 Index to articles Arkansas Gazette 29 April William Potter murdered in cold blood Arkansas Gazette 29 June Gov. Berry proclamation on murder in the mountains Arkansas Gazette 29 June Gov. Berry proclamation Arkansas Gazette 29 June Murderers take possession of a church Arkansas Gazette 6 July Murderers take possession of church Arkansas Gazette 21 July Criminals intend to stay in Three Corners Arkansas Gazette 21 July Outlaws take possession of Three Corners Arkansas Gazette 31 July Shelton Caldwell killed Arkansas Gazette 31 July transcribed special telegraph articles on Shelton Caldwell and bloodhounds Arkansas Gazette 1 August Another possee formed; John Coker lynched Arkansas Gazette 1 August War against Daniels continues Arkansas Gazette 2 August Desperate Daniels and their deeds Arkansas Gazette 2 August Over two hundred men in possee Arkansas Gazette 3 August Shelton Caldwell killed Arkansas Gazette 4 August Daniel brothers headingtoward Saline Co Arkansas Gazette 4 August Driven out Arkansas Gazette 4 August Situation becoming more complicated Arkansas Gazette 5 August Latest information respecting the Daniel brothers Arkansas Gazette 8 August What has become of Daniel deperadoes Arkansas Gazette 9 August Latest news from Daniel desperadoes Arkansas Gazette 10 August Rial Blocker captured Arkansas Gazette 12 August Difficulty appears to be heading toward crisis Arkansas Gazette 11 September Coker & Flood lynched Arkansas Gazette 12 September Gov. offers $200 reward Arkansas Gazette 12 September Gov. offers $4,500 reward Arkansas Gazette 12 September Rial Blocker escapes Arkansas Gazette 25 October Blocker breaks jail Arkansas Gazette 29 October News of Daniel brothers Arkansas Gazette 10 November Our lawless elements Arkansas Gazette 19 December Daniels wife commits suicide The Atlanta Constitution 24 FEB 1886 The Other Side of the Feud Yell County Record 2008 Series of Articles on the Historic Petit Jean Bridge and the Murder of William "Bill" Potter Yell County Record 23 APR 2008 A Town Too Quiet by J. Randall Houp Yell County Record 30 APR 2008 A Town Too Quiet by J. Randall Houp Yell County Record 7 MAY 2008-1 A Town Too Quiet by J. Randall Houp Yell County Record 7 MAY 2008-2 A Town Too Quiet by J. Randall Houp Yell County Record 7 MAY 2008-3 A Town Too Quiet by J. Randall Houp Yell County Record 2012 Series of Articles on the Historic Petit Jean Bridge and the Murder of William "Bill" Potter Yell County Record 18 JAN 2012 Vol 113, # 3: Potter Cousin Reunion Yell County Record 1 FEB 2012 Vol 113, # 5: Granny Tolitha Caldwell Potter Phillips Yell County Record 15 FEB 2012 Vol 113, #7: Part 3 of the Series Yell County Record 14 MAR 2012 Vol 113, #11: Part 4 of the Series Yell County Record 11 APR 2012 Vol 113, #15: Part 5 of the Series: June 1883
Other publications on the Potter-Daniel Feud of 1883.
The Deadly Summer, by Orval E. Albritton. Posted by permission of the Garland County Historical Society, Hot Springs, AR.
Old West Magazine story: The Daniel-Potter Feud of 1883
Jack's Story - Trials and Hairbreadth Escapes
Jack Daniel Changed his Name
Threads of Destiny An Apex Biography of R. J. Daniel Author of the book “Hair-breadth Escapes of R. J. & Bud Daniel, So-called Outlaws of Arkansas
The Petit Jean River Bridge. The Petit Jean River Bridge, mentioned in the Potter-Daniel Feud, was made a National Historic Bridge on 1 JAN 2010. It was manufactured by the King Iron Bridge Co. on 31 JUL 1867.
Jack Daniel changed his name to Smith: William Potter was murdered by Jack Daniel, who was originally from GA. Jack Daniel and his brother, Bud, escaped back to GA. Later Jack Daniel settled in/around Lufkin, TX, changing his name from Daniel to Smith. He passed away in 1916 and was buried in the Old Union Cemetery, Lufkin, TX. According to the wife of the late grandson of Jack Daniel,upon the grandson's release from the Navy, he changed his name from Smith to "Bonney". The grandson was very interested in the "Feud" and spent a lot of time researching it, wanting to understand both sides of the "Feud." The family tree for Jack Daniel: https://familysearch.org/search/treeDetails/show?uri=http://tree.familysearch.org:8080/www-af-webservice/person/25619970. See Jack Daniel Changed his Name. Source: Jack Potter, great-grandson of William M. Potter.
True Grit by Charles Portis, copyright 1968, of Little Rock, AR. The novel is initially set not far from Dardanelle, Yell Co. AR. The story mentions a Mr. Barlow and a Deputy Marshall Potter who attempted to apprehend 3 men who were butchering 5 or 6 hogs. The men killed Deputy Potter. The book states, "He died in this city six days later of septic fever. Leaves a wife and six babies." The story line somewhat follows William M. Potter's murder--he had six children living at the time of his death. During a telephone conversation with Mr. Portis on 23 March 2010, he did not recall having come across any information on William M. Potter during his research for True Grit and he stated he had disposed of his research materials. Source: Jack Potter, great-grandson of William M. Potter.
Yell County, Arkansas Links:
Cemeteries: Aly Cemetery; Bluffton Cemetery; Killian, Aly; Mt. Zion Cemetery -- Briggsville; New Bethel Cemetery; All Yell County Cemeteries
Yell County Information and Voter Registration List, Yell County, Arkansas 1868-1873
