James M. McCarthy, Jr. and his wife Martha had a prosperous farm on Duffau Creek on the line between Erath and Bosque Counties. His family noticed that James, Jr. began acting strangely a couple of months before the incident. In September of 1869, James told his wife that he had to be baptized immediately by the Reverend Henry Hurley. He ignored the crops ready to harvest and walked five miles to his father’s house and told him to bring the Reverend. James, Sr. found Henry Hurley and brought him back to the house, but James, Jr. had returned to his cabin. The father and the reverend followed him to the son’s cabin and since it was late, decided to stay the night and perform the baptism to next day. During the night, James, Jr. terrified his wife by loading his shotgun and behaving strangely. Martha ran from the house to bring the neighbors. James, Jr. shot his father and the reverend, and told his son to lie down on the porch where the father smashed his head with a rock. McCarthy then grabbed his daughters, Susan and Ella, and brought them to his father’s house, where he then came to his senses. He was taken to Meridian where he was chained to a tree while while the doctor could be located to examine him. McCarthy explained that the spirits had commanded him to kill. Deemed not responsible for his actions, he was sent to the Lunatic Asylum near Austin, where he soon found a razor and cut his throat.

Sherri Knight, Vigilantes to Verdicts: Stories from a Texas District Court, Stephenville: Jacobus Books, 2009.