Plassibo Calhoun 1

It could be the opening for a John Wayne western: the Illinois Central Railroad Company, desperate to stop a band of thieves who were cutting down timber on railroad land, turned to a local man who was "fully as savage a character as any of those" he was meant to stop. He "fulfilled the same so faithfully that it became a matter of necessity for the desperadoes to rid themselves forever of his obnoxious presence." Accordingly, the thieves set his blacksmith shop on fire one morning and hid in ambush for him to come out of his house. When he appeared, they shot him several times, killing him. Eventually, those responsible were caught and tried in what has been called "the most thrilling court case" that ever happened in Shelby County, Illinois.

But this was no Hollywood production. This was April the 12th, in 1868, and that savage character -- I am proud to say -- was my great-great-grandfather Plassibo Calhoun. (You go, Grampa.) I came across this account by way of a Google search almost 2 years ago. It was published, of all places, in the New York Times in 1870 (referencing an article in the Chicago Times):

Excerpts from New York Times Aug. 1, 1870 article

Growing up, he was just a name on my great-grandmother's death certificate (obtained in 1983):

Death certificate of Mary Ellen Niece, Nov. 25, 1939 in Pana, IL

No one knew anything about that branch of the family, and no stories had been handed down about how her father had been gunned down by criminals. I would wait another 28 years before I stumbled across any significant information about Plassibo, and then I was treated to a full account of how he had died. Granted, over time I unearthed various records, such as his probate inventory, records of court cases (where he was sued for debt or assault), a marriage record, and a couple of census records, but this article really brought his memory to life for me.