1

Knoxville
24^th May 1829.

Dear Sir

On my way to this county in passing through
White County, (one of the counties of my district)
I was properly informed of the fact that there
had been an outrage committed upon the
laws of the county that required the assistance
of ^the Executive of the state of Tennessee in
order to bring the offenders to justice and this
being the first convenient opportunity I hasten
to request your aid in behalf of the good
people of the State. On the 9^th of May (inst)
in White county Jesse Hunt an aged and
infirm old man was most brutally and
inhumanely murdered by two men, one
by the name of Hancock Smith, and the
other by the name of Jesse Sullins, the case
is something like this, Smith and Sullins
(Brothers in Law) steped [sic] out of the house to fight
when a young man by the name of Hunt a
son of the Dec^d steped out and begged the
two not to fight, apon [sic] which, they fell on him
(young Hunt) the Dec^d old Hunt then steped [sic] out
& told them for Gods sake not to kill his son
apon [sic] which they swore then they would kill him
and made at him. he made off as fast as he
could. they persued him some distance, say
100. yards and knocked him down with a
rock and both beat him some time. they left
him and returned to the house the old man