ORLANDO, Fla. – You’ve probably heard of the Hatfields and McCoys, but did you know that Central Florida had its own feud that claimed the lives of at least 8 people and lasted more than 50 years?
The Barber–Mizell feud began in 1870 after Orange County Sheriff David Mizell was shot and skilled in an ambush, and didn’t officially end until 1940 when members of the Barber and Mizell families were hitched.
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According to Orlando Memory, a community-based digital archive developed by the Orange County Library System, the Reconstruction Era feud was over “disagreements over cattle taxes,” but tensions between the families were already high.
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MOSES BARBER
Moses Barber was a cattle herder who moved his family to Columbia County, in 1833.
Barber’s home, Barber Station, was between Jacksonville and Tallahassee and was used as a headquarters for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
The home was eventually damaged by the Union Army, causing the family to relocate to a settlement called Shake Rag, which was then part of Orange County, but is now in Osceola County near Lake Tohopekalinga.
DAVID MIZELL
David Mizell and his brother, John Randolph Mizell, were born in Columbia County around the same time the Barber family moved there, according to Orlando Memory.
In 1852, the family moved to the Gainesville area, but later moved to Orange County after David Mizell married.
David Mizell served in the Seminole Wars and the Civil War, and John R. Mizell in the Civil War.
“After the Civil War, Florida was under military rule and martial law until July 4, 1868. Money was hard to come by in those times and cattle was worth more than money,” Orlando Memory reports.
Florida governor Harrison appointed David Mizell as Orange County Sheriff in 1868. John R. Mizell was appointed judge in the same year.
According to the Florida Historical Society, after their appointments, Moses Barber refused to pay what he believed were unfair taxes to the U.S. government.
“During the Civil War, Florida was the primary supplier of beef to the Confederate Army, and the Barber family had one of the largest cattle businesses in the state. Once the war was over, some of Barber’s fellow cowmen were taking part in the Reconstruction government, which he saw as a betrayal,” the historical society’s records show.
It is alleged that Barber believed that George Bass, a family friend of David Mizell, made off with some of his cattle.
Barber and his son, Moses B. F. Barber and another man, Thomas Johnson, were charged with forcibly confining George Bass on August 18, 1868. Barber is later found guilty of charges relating to Bass and sentenced to a year in prison.
According to Orlando Memory, around the same time, David Mizell drives cattle off of land belonging to Barber for not paying taxes.
Barber is alleged to have responded by telling Mizell that the next time that he sets foot on his property he will leave “feet first”.
David Mizell, his son Will, and brother Morgan Moses made their way near Holopaw, in what is now Osceola County, and onto the property of Moses Barber to serve an arrest warrant.
As they crossed Bull Creek on their horses, a shot was fired, hitting and killing David Mizell.
It was reported that as David Mizell was dying, he told his son that his death not be avenged, according to the FHS.
But David’s brother, John R. Mizell – the first judge of Orange County – wanted justice for the killing.
According to reports, John Mizell and others captured a man named Needham Yates, who they believed was the person who killed David Mizell. Yates is said to have been shot and killed in their custody.
Within weeks of David Mizell’s death, Barber’s son Isaac was shot and killed and Moses Jr. was drowned by vigilantes. Barber family friends William Yates and Lyell Padgett were shot and killed, also.
According to Orlando Memory, Moses Barber was indicted for the murder of David Mizell on November 11, 1870, but he died on Nov, 27 before ever standing trial.
At least eight people were killed during the feud, but other reports say it may have been as many as 13.
Formally, the feud was not considered over until the 1940s when members of the Mizell and Barber families married.
Today, people can visit the old Mizell family homestead at Harry P. Leu Gardens where Sheriff Mizell is buried in a family plot.
Mizell remains the only Orange County sheriff to be killed in the line of duty.
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