| Bolton–Dickens feud | |
| Image1: | Wade H. Bolton (1811–1869) Memphis Commercial Appeal illustration 1898.jpg |
| Caption1: | Portrait of Wade H. Bolton published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, 1898 |
| Date: | 1856–1870 |
| Place: | West Tennessee (and Alabama) |
| Causes: | Money problems for Bolton, Dickens & Co. principals consequent to Isaac Bolton's murder of fellow slave trader James McMillin |
| Status: | Concluded |
| Notes: | At least one account suggests there were multiple "ex-slave" casualties not recorded in the histories; the two families intermarried more than once, see for a brief summary of the relationships |
The Bolton–Dickens feud was a bloody intrafamily conflict in Tennessee in the United States from 1856 to 1870. The principals were former business partners in the extensive multi-state slave trading firm, Bolton, Dickens & Co. In what amounted to a West Tennessee gangland war, between seven and 19 people were ultimately killed, including at least two (and possibly several) unidentified former slaves. The conflict began when Isaac Bolton killed another slave trader over a business deal gone bad. When the cost of getting him acquitted was put into the Bolton & Dickens business accounts, Thomas Dickins protested fiercely and the firm was ultimately dissolved. Following the American Civil War, as various parties requested in court that firm's accounts be settled and remaining funds distributed, tensions rose again. There was a raid on Thom Dickins' house in which two of his servants were killed. Then Thom Dickins walked up to Wade H. Bolton in broad daylight and shot him. Dickins was acquitted at trial, but was himself shot and killed a year later by persons unknown. Dickins' son died shortly thereafter under unclear circumstances, effectively concluding the violence.
Bolton was ultimately acquitted of the crime (reportedly in part thanks to bribing jurors), and then paid his legal expenses out of the business, which was not good for the profits of his partners, and that kicked off the feud, as Tom Dickins felt he was suffering unfairly for Bolton's legal troubles.[1] [2] The defense of Bolton reportedly cost between and . There were plans to resolve matters by shotgun duel but then the American Civil War broke out and such matters were tabled for the duration.
Sometime between the dissolution of the firm and the end of the American Civil War, Isaac Bolton and Washington Bolton died of unremarkable causes. The widow of Washington Bolton sought to have the finances of the firm sorted out so that she could be paid her share of the value. This stoked the smoldering resentments of Dickins against Wade H. Bolton. In 1867, "two ex-slaves" who had once been the legal property of Wade H. Bolton were murdered, and their dead bodies were left to be found "by the roadside" in order to send a message from Dickins to Bolton.[3] In approximately 1868, a man named James "Green" Wilson and female servant, Nancy Dickens, were shot and killed during a nighttime raid on Thom Dickins' house. Thom Dickins and Robert Humphreys survived the attack on the house.[4]
Wade H. Bolton and E.C. Patterson (a son-in-law of Isaac Bolton and supposedly a cousin to U.S. Representative Thomas Patterson) were charged with shooting and killing Nancy through the window. In 1869, two men, Inman and Morgan, believed to be involved in the murders of Nancy Dickins and James Wilson "were tracked into a cave in North Alabama and killed."
On July 14, 1869, Tom Dickins shot Wade H. Bolton in downtown Memphis. Bolton died a week later from his injuries. On July 30, 1870, Tom Dickins was killed in the Hatchie bottom, a short distance from Memphis. He was killed with two shotgun blasts heard from a distance; his horse returned to the stable covered in blood. Dickins' killer was never identified. Two weeks later Dickins' son Samuel Dickins was bushwhacked and killed at the same place.[5] According to a different account, Samuel Dickins was not murdered, but on October 11, 1870, committed suicide by shotgun on the site of his father's murder.