The Turpentine Feud of 1911

Pensacola News Journal 3 Sept 1911

The Cooley Tragedy

            On a cool, overcast afternoon in late December 1913, Hyman “Boy” Cooley heard that Leon Rivenbark was at the Flower’s Stockade home of Turpentine operator Alvin Rigell.

            Maybe the heartache and frustration of the last fifteen months finally got to Cooley.  He had heard the whispers. Rivenbark was said to be one of the men who ambushed Alf, and Arch Cooley in September 1911, killing both of them. Alf, or Alfred was the oldest son of Hyman. Arch was his nephew.  No one was arrested for the murders, even though the community in the north part of Santa Rosa County was sure they knew who did it. The Turpentine industry and the people who ran it was a powerful force in the area. Cooley felt it was his duty to get justice for his family.

            So, in the late afternoon of the 23^rd of December 1913, Hyman Cooley armed himself, and made his way to the Rigell home to make things right.

August 1911

            Franklin Gaye ran a turpentine operation between Munson, and McLellan Florida in a community known as Dogwood Grove.  He employed many locals, and utilized about 30 prisoners housed in a nearby stockade.  Three of the convict guards at the stockade were, Leon Rivenbark, William Wolfe, and Alfred Cooley. Rivenbark was married to William Wolfe’s sister.

            Jonah Cooley had timber available to lease to Mr. Gaye, and they struck a deal.  Walter Rivenbark, Leon’s brother, was a “Wood’s rider” for Franklin Gaye.  Upon inspecting the Cooley timber, it was found to be spiked. Nails had been driven into some of the trees. When a “chipper” strikes a nail, an axe-like instrument called a “hack” is broken.  Apparently, the nails were driven by children as a prank.  Cooley assured Gaye that he would have the nails removed, and may have even been contracted to do this. 

            A few days later, it became evident to the turpentine men that either the nails had not been removed, or that more had been driven into the leased timber.  This time Jonah Cooley was summoned to Gaye’s commissary and was beaten severely by Gaye, and Walter Rivenbark.

 

            Jonah’s brother Dan Cooley was involved in other business down near Pensacola.  Upon hearing of the recent events, he sent word that he would be returning to straighten out the trouble.  On Sunday morning the 27^th, Franklin Gaye was standing near the doorway of his commissary when he saw Daniel Cooley riding toward him.  He stated later that Cooley was carrying a shotgun across his legs, and made a movement to raise the weapon.  Gaye reached inside the door and producing his own shotgun, shot Daniel from his saddle, killing him instantly.

            I wish more could be learned about the four days between August 27, and September 1. The Cooley family must have been devastated by the events of the preceding month. Were the Cooley’s speaking of revenge? Certainly. Were their inflamed emotions causing concern among the Gaye-Rivenbark faction?  At this point, it will probably never be determined, but about 8pm on September 1^st, as they made their way north out of Milton on the way toward their home, Dan Cooley’s brother, Archie, and his nephew Alfred Cooley, (son of Hyman), were ambushed and killed. Their bodies were found in the morning by a Mr. Hannah. (Maybe Haywood Hannah, who lived in precinct 1 in Milton, and in the 1910 census is listed as a Turpentine Manager.)

            The Cooley’s were traveling in a buggy after picking up the month’s payroll in town. At the site of the ambush, Archie fell out of the buggy, Alf was found in the buggy about a half a mile away. Numerous shots were heard, and there is nothing noted about the fate of the payroll. There were no arrests made, and even though the locals felt they knew who had done the killing, there was no justice for the Cooley family.

December 23, 1913

            So, Hyman Cooley arrives at the home of Alvin Rigell at what is known as The Flower’s Stockade, and calls out to Leon Rivenbark to come outside.  “I know you killed my son!” says Cooley as he produces his revolver and fires one shot at Rivenbark. The shot missed, and Rivenbark pulls his own weapon and shot one time hitting Cooley in the head, killing him on the spot.  The Coroner’s Jury ruled that it was a “Justifiable Shooting”. 

Aftermath

            By 1920, Leon Rivenbark was living in Rapides Parrish, in Louisiana, working as a Naval Stores Operator, still in the turpentine business.  He lived there with various occupations until killed in an auto wreck in Alexandria, La in May of 1968.  His body was brought back to Santa Rosa Co., and he was buried at Serenity Gardens.

            Walter Rivenbark had a much shorter life. After a bout of Typhoid fever, he passed away on September 13, 1913, and is buried in the Milton Cemetery.  In September of 1908 while working as a woods rider for Franklin Gaye, He shot and killed a black man named Frank Markly, in the woods about 15 miles north of Milton.  Reportedly there had been an altercation between the men, and Rivenbark left to arm himself. According to a woman who witnessed the events, when Rivenbark returned, Markly approached him with a turpentine hook, and Rivenbark shot him with both barrels of a shotgun. An inquest was held and it was determined to be Justifiable homicide.

            Franklin Gaye departed the county before 1920 also. In the 1920 census he is living in Sabine, Texas working as a garage manager.  In 1930 he is listed as a Turpentine manager in Jefferson Co., Florida.  His grave is in Trinity, Texas however where he was buried in 1934.

            William Wolfe, a convict guard, neighbor, and brother in law of Leon Rivenbark was not officially implicated as a participant in the feud.  It should be noted that in 1931, he was the prime suspect and briefly detained in the ambush murder of Aubrey Gainer in Milton. 

            Many members of the Cooley family including the members named in this story, are buried in the Sullivan cemetery, near Munson.  It is a small cemetery, isolated and quiet, located in the woods.

If there are descendants of any of the folks involved in the events described here, I would love to hear from them. I’m sure there are oral stories handed down that I would be very interested in recording.

judgingshadows@gmail.com