Joe Townsend is a semi-retired CPA from Winona, MS who has lived in Hattiesburg for most of his adult life with his wife, Marsha. They have two sons. Spence and his wife, Julia, who live in Flagstaff, AZ with their son, Otis, and Davis and his wife, Carrington, who live in Hattiesburg with their daughter, Anne Wesley.
Joe has always been fascinated with history and a few years ago he read a series of articles in his hometown newspaper, The Winona Times, about a feud that started in Texas in 1859 and moved to his hometown. The feud may or may not have led to the assassination of Winona’s mayor in 1870 and the murder of his brother, a highly decorated Confederate general a few months later.
As Joe researched to learn more about these events, he began to suspect that there was a very exciting story, perhaps a novel or even a movie or Netflix series, that could be written about these events. In 2021 as he recovered from major surgery Joe began to develop a story line based on historical information, but to finish the project, he sought the assistance of his cousin, Anne Hart Preus who grew up in Webb, Mississippi. Anne is a retired English teacher and a gifted writer. By the summer of 2022, they self-published their historical novel, Out of Texas.
Joe is here today to talk about the historical elements of the Baltzell-Brantley Feud and its aftermath as well as his experiences in self-publishing.