Dilson S. Kimbrel was born November 19, 1803 in Oglethorpe Co., GA. There is no proof yet, but we have believed in the past that his father might have been Daniel, listed in the 1820 Oglethorpe Co., GA census. Two other males are listed, one 26-45 years of age and one 16-26 years of age. Dilson would have been age 17 in 1820. One female is also listed age 16-26, six slaves (3 male, 3 female).

The 1830 & 1840 Henry Co., GA census lists Mary Kimbrel, possibly Dilson's mother.

Dilson S. Kimbrel married Mary L. "Polly" Williams, November 20, 1833 in Henry Co., GA. On this date Dilson was 30 years, 9 months old and Mary L. "Polly" was 14 years, 11 months old, a difference of 14 years, 9 months. Mary L. "Polly" Williams was born November 25, 1817 in Morgan County, GA, the daughter of Henry J. Williams, born February 4, 1780 in NC and Patsy Kirby, born April 14, 1783, also in NC.

Dilson is listed on page 840 of the 1840 Henry Co., GA census as married with no children.

The first "known" child of Dilson and "Polly" Kimbrel was James Henry Kimbrel, born September 8, 1840, probably in Henry Co., GA. He died October 18, 1849 at age 9 and is buried at the Sinai Cemetery, approximately 3.5 miles southwest of Florence, Rankin Co., MS, on Cleary Road. James Henry is the only Kimbrel known to be buried at this cemetery and his gravemarker indicates it is the oldest one there.

The November, 1850 Rankin Co., MS census lists:

Dilson S. Kimbrel, age 40, male, farmer, born GA
Mary age 36, female, born GA (age apparently an error)
Lawson age 8, male, born GA
William age 6, male, born GA
 

This census also indicates Dilson owned 7 slaves, 2 males ages 50 and 6, and 5 females, 30, 25, 20, 10, and 8, all black, no mullattoes.
 

Owen Struderic "Shep" Kimbrel is not listed on the 1850 MS census, but was the fourth known child of Dilson and "Polly". He was born March 22, 1847 and would have been 3 years of age in 1850.

The Kimbrel family moved to Wheeling, Winn Parish, LA sometime after the 1850 census. Records in the Winn Parish prior to 1885 are almost non-existent, mainly because Kimbrel family and associates burned it to the ground in the late 1860s (this story will be referred to later). There is one abstract book at the Winn Parish Clerk's Office which indicates that Dilson procured/patented/homesteaded about 160 acres of land about a mile west of Wheeling but I do not have the dates at present. I am certain it was in the mid 1850s. This homestead was on the El Camino Real, also known as Three Notches Trail, also known as the Harrisonburg Road, or the Natchez Trace, or the Trace, or the St. Augustine. Dr. Frank Mobley's EL CAMINO REAL (1995) describes the history of this early "major" highway in the United States and has a chapter in it concerning the West-Kimbrel Clan, a notorious gang operating along the trail after the War for Southern Independence until their demise in the early 1870s. Another book by Richard Briley, published in the 1960s, entitled NIGHTRIDERS, THE INSIDE STORY OF THE WEST-KIMBRELL CLAN, is another book about the Dilson Kimbrel family, relatives, and cohorts.

The Kimbrel family operated a store/post office at Wheeling crossroads and their home served as a way-station for east-west travellers. They rented rooms and operated and were considered fairly well-to-do, and were well-respected church-going people. Dilson was a Mason, belonging to newly formed Eastern Star Lodge, Winnfield, and later joined the Montgomery Masonic Lodge shortly after it formed. He served that Lodge as an officer and was given a Masonic funeral at the time of his death, which preceeded the exposure of the West-Kimbrell Clan.

The Kimbrel Cemetery adjoins the old homesite, directly between where the Kimbrel home stood, and the Barefoot School, a neighborhood school which the Kimbrel family established, so named because all those in attendance were barefooted. For many years, school tax proposals referred to on ballots read "Kimbrell School District".

The oldest burial in the Kimbrel Cemetery is Phillip Norman Kimbrel, known as "Buddy Babe", born November 22, 1850, died February 8, 1851, age 2 months 16 days. He was born in Rankin Co., MS, the fifth child of Dilson and "Polly" Kimbrel. The second burial, 17 years, 10 months later, that occurred at the Kimbrel Cemetery, is that of William D. "Billy" Kimbrel, born December 31, 1845, died December 21, 1868. "Billy" was killed by a U. S. Marshal while fleeing justice and the Marshal draped Billy's body over a horse, returned him to the Kimbrel home, and dumped the body over the fence into the yard.

The third burial at Kimbrel Cemetery was that of Dilson S., who died June 16, 1869, age 66 years, 3 months, 28 days. Affectionately known in the Wheeling Community as "Uncle Dan", Dilson was travelling an area several miles from the homeplace when he spotted campers, one a known horsetrader, and Dilson stopped, shot the horsetrader, and apparently robbed him and/or others. Weeks later, he went to the well once too often as he spotted campers at the same location and as he approached, a young man who turned out to the the son of the slain horsetrader, shot Dilson on site, wounding him severely. Dilson managed to return home and was attended to by the family until a Dr. Harrison was kidnapped by the masked Kimbrel boys, hoodwinked so he would not know who he was dealing with, and brought to the Kimbrel compound. Dilson was also hoodwinked, and Dr. Harrison attended Dilson who lived only a short time before he died. As stated earlier, Dilson was buried with Masonic honors, and at that time no one seemed to suspect any criminality among the Kimbrel family.

The fourth burial in the cemetery was Mary L. "Aunt Polly" Williams Kimbrel, wife of Dilson who died December 14, 1883 at age 66 years, 19 days. A listing of known graves in the Kimbrel Cemetery is in my possession and will be gladly furnished to anyone requesting it.

The 1860 Winn Parish Slave Census indicates that Dilson owned 22 slaves, a high number for Winn Parish, LA which was not necessarily a slave "mecca". He was apparently wealthy for the times. Of the slaves, 13 were female, 9 male, 18 black, 4 mulatto. Also listed on the census were 3 slave houses. Dilson's worth was established as $2300 real estate, and $20,000 personal property.

Back to the death of William D. "Billy" Kimbrel at the hands of U. S. Marshal Tim McLaughlin. "Billy" and other members of the gang had shot and killed U. S. Army Colonel Henry Butts in northern Winn Parish and robbed him of $ 8,000 in gold. Evidence leading to Billy was established and Marshal McLaughlin came to the Wheeling community in search of Billy, who was warned by his baby brother, Thomas Weatherby, to flee. During the chase, supposedly Billy's horse bogged down crossing a bayou and McLaughlin managed to catch up to him and kill him. As mentioned earlier, the scene surrounding the dumping of Billy's body over the fence in front of his mother caused serious stress. McLaughlin fled the scene immediately with family and friends chasing. He managed to cross the ferry at St. Maurice and the gang waited on the east side of the Red River for the ferryman to return, then shot him to death for not turning the ferry around and returning Mclaughlin as they had ordered.

It is not my purpose to justify or defend nor persecute or condem the Kimbrel family or the West family, or any of their comrades. I am a blood relative of Dilson's children and my wife a direct descendant of Dilson. I am a career law enforcement man of better than 16 years and I teach criminal justice classes at Northeast Louisiana University so one would think I would be prejudiced against the Kimbrels, et al. But I would like to state a few things surrounding the early formation of the gang.

First, in Briley's book Dilson is portrayed as an outlaw from way back. My grandmother, who personally knew the surviving Kimbrel children and was related to them, always said that Briley's book was part true, part embellishment. Briley did not have access to family records as I and other relatives have had so I know that a lot of what he wrote is false. Sadly, much of it is true. They were a ruthless gang of murderers and robbers, but my theory as to when it began coincides with history and is in agreement with local historians of the past.

Immediately following the not so Civil War, Winn Parish, already a poor, hungry, downtrodden area before the fight, was occupied by carpetbaggers, scalawags, and occupation soldiers. Accounts from the period tell of these folks raping, robbing, and pillaging any and everything they desired. The bitterness had to have developed into madness and finally, a homeguard was established among the disenfranchised white men of the parish. This was the beginning of the clan (not the Ku Klux Klan). A bit of local history is necessary here if for no other reason than to make me feel better.

Winn Parish voted AGAINST secession and was bitterly opposed to Civil War. Though one-fourth of the population was black, mostly slaves but some free, only a few folks owned more than one slave. The large majority of slaves resided on about three plantations in the delta area of south Winn Parish, and several hundred square miles of Winn Parish had never been occupied by the first slave. Blacks ate at the same table as our ancestors, attended the same church and were members, not simply allowed to sit in a loft or outside the door. Accounts of Reconstruction era politicians, or radicals, stated that "the country folks and the darkies get along too well. We are having too much trouble causing dissention between them. They attend church together, they eat together, they even raise each others children. Our mission here is not easy. We have been unable to cause any rise among the nig.... Now we in the South, who have long been labeled racist and uncaring, were guilty IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE WAR OF GETTING ALONG WITH OUR BLACK FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, FORMER SLAVES, AND YES RELATIVES IN MANY CASES. So it goes, the winners get to write the history.

Now, back on track. Following the war, and with the formation of a home guard for stated reasons, many of the occupation troops, carpetbaggers, etc., were killed or run away from the Parish. Not adding to the already blemished character of John West, co-leader of the gang, but he was truly a bad man before coming to Winn Parish. His real name was Elbert Weston and he had fled Texas after murdering a man in a bank robbery. He changed his name to John West, fought for the Confederacy, and became a somewhat land and business tycoon for the area following the war. He and the Kimbrels became friends, allies, etc., and together formed what was known as the "inner circle" of the West-Kimbrel Clan. Only a few select men were allowed access to this inner web and they were the ones responsible for the robbing, killing, and misdeeds. Those on the outer circle were not aware of the goings on of the inner circle. They simply thought they were part of a homeguard established to protect the community. We are talking about ministers, dedicated church members, and community leaders here. And the Kimbrels and West were too, except they were the bad guys no one knew of until one of the members of the inner circle exposed them.

Jackson Lawson Kimbrel,the eldest living son of Dilson and Polly, had fought in the war with a friend named Dan Dean. Dean has been labeled a hero for exposing the Clan, but how would he have exposed them had he not been a member of the inner circle? I cannot defend Dean because I have always believed he was mixed up in the middle of the bad just as West, the Kimbrels, and the others of the inner circle. But he and West fell out, were gunning for each other, and Jackson Lawson "Laws" Kimbrell saved him from West. West then kidnapped or arrested (West was a deputy sheriff/constable believe it or not) Dean's family in order to draw Dean out into the open. Dean had exposed the Clan secretly and many area Masons had banded together and began preparing to end the Clan's regime. On Easter Sunday, (the year is in question but probably was either 1872 as indicated by family records showing Owen's (Shep) death or 1871, due to confidential minute records of an area Masonic Lodge which makes reference to business related to the West-Kimbrel Clan), a huge crowd of area vigillante gathered in Atlanta, LA and shotgunned John West and others to death. West was shot in the throat and his head was torn off his body. Believe it or not, for many years, his skull was lodged atop a fence post in Atlanta. Those not shot at that time were herded up and lined in a firing squad. So no one would shoulder the burden, a firing squad was chosen by drawing straws or casting lots, and every other gun furnished to the squad was loaded with blanks so no one would ever know who killed who. Due to the fact that "Laws" Kimbrel had saved Dan Dean's life, "Laws" was allowed to escape by Dean, and was never heard of again in the area. It was said that he was hanged in Texas for horsethievery but this was not true. Many years later, Laws showed up in Montgomery, LA on a train, went to a relative's home, and stayed the day. He left that evening, and no one ever knew anymore of him. This is according to family who refused to tell the story of Laws or his whereabouts. Those who were killed in Atlanta that day were buried in a common grave OUTSIDE THE METHODIST CEMETERY, as no one would agree to allow such a band of outlaws to be buried with good people.

I realize that I am not a writer and that this abbreviated story of the Dilson Kimbrel family is by no means a good, well-written account. But I also realize that those of you like me, who are simply interested in tracing their roots, will enjoy much of it.

The West-Kimbrel Clan killed numerous people. Men, women, nor infants were spared. Robbery was their eventual motive and their greed and cold-blooded spirit was relentless. Dilson, his wife, and the three oldest boys were bad people, evidently. Those who survived lead good, decent lives. They were too young to have participated in the reign of terror. They were church goers, well to do business people, and respected in the community in spite of their outlaw relatives.

Anyone interested in obtaining a copy of NIGHTRIDERS can email me and I will gladly send you a copy. The cost is $ 10 and I will pay the postage. A cousin of my wife's, unrelated to the Kimbrel family, bought the copyright several years ago and began reprinting the book. I assure you it is interesting, even though some of it may be fiction, much of it is true.

The 1860 Winn Parish, LA Census:
 

Dilson S. Kimbrel, 57, male, farmer, born GA
Mary L., 41, female, born GA
Lawson J. 15, male, born AL (Jackson Lawson)
William D., 13, male, born MS
Owen S., 12, male, born MS (Owen Struderic)
Thomas W., 5, male, born LA (Thomas Weatherby)
Melmoth W., 7, female, born LA (Melmoth Winn)
Permelna N., 4, female, born LA (Permella Niece)
 

Greggory Ellis Davies