Shooting Affray North of Hector - Max Henry

William McKinley Henry, born August 6, 1897, also known on records as Max or Mack

Who is Max Henry to us: Zola's paternal uncle. Brother of Clint Henry and Pearl Henry.

Courier-Democrat News of Russellville Arkansas
Tuesday, June 24, 1913

Shooting Affray North of Hector

***

Two Brothers Involved in Trouble 

with Brother-in-Law Who uses Winchester Rifle

on Both. One Fatally Shot.

On a farm about 15 miles north of Hector, Munroe Bohanan and the Henry brothers became involved in a quarrel last Saturday afternoon with the result that Bohanan shot one of the Henry brothers through the abdomen but failed to hit the other at whom he shot as he was running away. The exact cause of the trouble is not obtainable at this time. Bohanan is a brother-in-law of the Henry boys and has been sued by his wife for divorce.

The wounded man is in a very critical condition, the rifle ball having passed completely through his body. It is stated by a reputable physician at Appleton that from the very nature of the wound any hope of recovery should be abandoned.

The Sheriff has two deputies in that section looking into the details of the occurrence, and as to what guilt attaches to the participants if any. {end}


Courier-Democrat News of Russellville Arkansas
Monday, June 30, 1913

Alleged Murderer Gives Himself Up

***

Monroe Bohanan, Who Fatally Wounded Mack Henry, 

Voluntarily Surrenders After Eluding Officers One Week

  

Saturday afternoon, one week after he had shot and fatally wounded Mack Henry, Monroe Bohanan walked up to Deputy Sheriff Quince Hill on the street in this city and told him that he had come to surrender. He was taken to jail and locked up to await his preliminary trial which will be held some time this week. Officers had scoured the county north of Hector where the tragedy occurred, without finding any trace of the fugitive. They got the promise of his brother-in-law Jim West Gross, however, that Bohanan would come in and give himself up as soon as he could get word to him, and true to the promise made by his brother, Bohanan came in Saturday in spite of the fact that Henry died in the meantime and the charge against him was therefore more serious than contemplated at the time the promise was made.

The tragedy in which Henry was fatally wounded was reported in these columns last week. Bohanan and the two Henry brothers engaged in a quarrel in the northern part of the county some fifteen miles north of Hector. Mack Henry was shot through the abdomen the fire ball passing entirely through his body and his brother was barely grazed by a bullet which inflicted no wound. Physicians held out no hope for the wounded man and he died on Thursday following.

Details of the tragedy have not been given out, but it is claimed to have been the result of a family quarrel. Bohanan is a brother-in-law of the Henry boys and a suit for divorce had been filed by his wife and is now pending.

Bohanan is a young man about about 21 years old, and is a son of Neal Bohanan, deceased, a well-to-do and prominent farmer of the section. {end}

State of Arkansas

Against || Indictment

Monroe Bohanan

Pope County Circuit Court

November, term 1913 

The Grand Jury of Pope County, in the name and by the authority of the State of Arkansas accuses Monroe Bohanan of the crime of Murder in the First Degree committed as follows, to-wit:

The said Monroe Bohanan in the County, and State aforesaid, on the 20th day of May 1913 did unlawfully willfully feloniously after deliberation and premeditation and with malice forthought shoot, kill and murder Max Henry a person with a certain gun a winchester rifle then and there loaded with gun power and leaden balls, then and there had and held in the hands of him the said Monroe Bohanan with the unlawful willful felonious malicious deliberate and premeditated intent to kill and murder him the said Max Henry aforesaid. {end}

Our cousin Robin, said her mother told her the following: Pearl and Mun Bohannon were getting a divorce. During a town meeting in the Northwood area, a drunk Bohanan rode up to the building where they were meeting and just started shooting inside the building hitting Max who was just 16 years old. Someone rode ahead telling the family and my grandmother (Myrtle, the youngest Henry sister) said she and Pearl ran to meet the wagon. Max died lying on their porch.

Final news article found:


Courier-Democrat News of Russellville Arkansas, 1916

Mun Bohanon Pardoned

***

Youthful Murder of Max Henry Granted Freedom

for Good Record in Penitentiary

Mun Bohanon of Pope County serving a six-year sentence in the penitentiary for the murder of Max Henry in 1913, has been pardoned by Governor Hays and is now at home with his wife and parents.  He had been made a trusty at the state farm, and when a bunch of eighteen prisoners escaped last week he refused to accompany them.  He went with the officials in pursuit of the convicts, and in a gun fight when some of the prisoners were overtaken he wounded one of the most desperate of them.  He was granted the pardon as a reward for his good behavior since going to the pen a little less than a year ago and for his fidelity and devotion at the time of the escape.  Bohanon was convicted at a special term of court in August 1915, for killing Max Henry two years previous.  Both were boys of prominent families in the northern part of the county.  Henry being but 16 at the time of his death, and Bohanon being but 20 at the time of his conviction.  According to evidence at the trial, the boys had previously quarreled and on the morning of the tragedy Bohanon went to young Henry's home leaving his Winchester in the woods, the quarrel was renewed.  Bohanon went after his gun, Henry in the meantime arming himself with a shot gun, and upon Bohanon's return shooting commenced.  Bohanon fired four or five shots, Henry being wounded by the first on and firing once as he fell.  Bohanon married between the time of the killing and his trial and conviction. {end}

This all makes me sad.  He served less than 1 year for killing Max.  Monroe married Lillie Sanders in December of 1914, before being convicted and sentenced.  

Also, it's interesting the very different accounts from Myrtle - she says they shot into a building, but the newspaper makes it sound more like a fight.  I wanted to see if there were more court records.  In doing some digging and a "miss click" I found a William Renfro living with the Bohanon family on the 1900 census, thirteen years before this whole mess took place.  

Who is William Renfro to us?  William Renfro is Great-Grandma Thornsberry's oldest brother.  Margaret Elizabeth Renfro Henry Thornsbury.  So William would be Zola's maternal uncle.

From census records it appears that William was working for Cornelius "Neal" Bohanon, Monroe's father.  William was a border (lived with them) and farm laborer.  It indicated he had been employed for 5 months.  By the 1910 census Neal Bohanon had passed away and William Renfro married Doris Ballard in May of 1904.  By September of the same year William passed away at the age of 23.  

Speculation on my part - I wonder if that's how Clint Henry and Margaret Renfro met (Zola's parents).  They all lived in the Retta/Hector area.  I just find it strange that William Renfro, Clint's future brother-in-law, was living with the man (Monroe Bohanon) who would eventually kill his little brother.  Of course we can't forget Pearl, Pearl is Clint's sister.  Pearl was married to Monroe, Monroe who had no intention of living with anyone but his mother.  So Clint's brother-in-law killed his little brother.

Well, I'm, glad that was all cleared up. I wonder . . . How did Monroe like living away from his mama in the pen?