Once upon a time there was a Hessian mercenary soldier.  His unit was leased to the British to help quelsh a bunch of colonists.  He was my great grandmother's great grandfather.  

     Casper Cable (Gaspar Goebell in German) was a Hessian Grenadier, Captured at Trenton, New Jersey, December 26, 1776.  Recaptured by the British, he deserted at John's Island, South Carolina, June 4, 1779.  He fought in the Revolutionary Army of Nathaniel Greene at Cowpens, South Carolina.

     " The Cable line in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee began with Casper Goebell, one of the Hessian soldiers, hired by the British to fight on their side in the Revolutionary War.  he was born in Rodenhausen, believed to be in the Hanover area, one of the German Villages, whose identity has been lost.  He was 22 years old when conscripted in 1776 and placed in Rall's regiment, one of the first to come to America after the war started.  Rall was killed and most of his regiment, including Casper, was captured at the Battle of Trenton the morning after Washington's celebrated crossing of the Delaware, Christmas night, 1776.
     It is believed that Casper was released from prison in Lancaster, Pa., to enlist in the American army and was recaptured by the British to account for his deserting them in south Carolina two years later. "  This is the only incident I have ever heard of where one man fought on both sides of a war and was also captured by both sides in the war.....maybe the worse soldier ever.....

Maybe the worst bank robber in history....Stole $ 84,000 in gold and went off and left it? (My great grandfather and name sake on my mother's side of the family)

     I sent a letter to the newspaper office in Clinton (Henry Co. MO) attempting to prove or disprove some of the stories I had heard about Charlie and Harve Stark.  My letter stated that Charlie and Harve were supposed to have held up a bank in Clinton and stashed the money under a suspension bridge outside of town.  They then fled to Joplin and then to Kansas. 
     Now to get back to what Ike Harvey told George Mount back in 1952.  Mr. Harvey related that his grandfather had told about two or three men robbing the Clinton bank back in the 80's.  Harvey said that the loot included $84,000 in gold coins which was cached in a cave near Clinton.  The cave years ago was covered by a landfall.   After the robbery here he never returned to Clinton.  Pierson also had this line in his letter:  


Maybe the worst horse trader in history.. takes a year to find out the horse he bought as a race horse is lame......  ( my great, great great grandfather on my dad's side of the family)

Lawrence Co. KY Abstracts of Court Records  1821-1873  GEN976.9 W367 WEBB

David Large VS James F Stone and Lewis Adams, Dec 11, 1837

David Large complains that on the 16th of Sep, 1836 he purchased from Lewis Adams a "certain sorrel mare for which he agreed to pay Adams $175.00.  At that time they made the contract, your orator (Large) paid down a certain horse at the sum of $45.00 in part payment and his note for $120.00." He now claims that Adams "falsely and fraudulently represented said mare to be sound, only seven years of age, a fine blooded animal and possessing great superiority as a race nag assuring your orator she was equal to if not superior to a well known race mare called Pol Stokes."

Mr. Large now finds, one year later, that "she is unperceivably disabled in one of her postern hoints which rendered her lame and useless and wholly valueless as a race nag."  He has learned Adams is an itinerate man and prays the court assess damages against Adams.

(No answer on how the case turned out)


Maybe the worst lawful driver ever......
 

    One of the stories my dad William Thomas "Billy" "Bill" Pierson told me was about when he was 8 or 9 years old.  He was traveling with his dad down one of the country roads around Weir, Kansas.  Kansas is laid out in sections one mile by one mile squares.  Before they planted the Hedge rows to stop the soil erosion you could see at least a half a mile in either direction when you approached an intersection of the roads.  None of the roads were paved, so dust clouds from other traffic was easy to see.  When my grandfather would see a STOP sign, he would stop immediately (even if he were several hundred feet or yards from it.) and then start up and go right through the STOP sign intersection.

On one trip, my dad recalls, Wes stopped because he saw a STOP sign and then started up as usual.  My dad saw a cloud of dust on the right about a quarter of a mile from the intersection moving quickly.  As both vehicles approached the intersection my dad started shouting, " Dad, you have to stop, there's another car coming." 

"I already stopped, I'm not stopping two times for only one STOP sign."
May dad said he thought he was going to die that morning.  Just before they got to the intersection, the other car whizzed through and they crossed through the dust cloud.  My dad said that Wes never even blinked over the whole thing.

There are more, but will have to wait for a bit longer.....