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Legend of St. Francois County
SAM HILDEBRAND’S CONFESSION
Reprinted from the County Advertiser by Farmington News Printing Company
September 26, 1979
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Confessions of Sam HILDEBRAND
TYPIST’S NOTE: I have not altered the manuscript at all, including all spelling and punctuation. The ONLY change I have made is to capitalize all surnames. - BethK
ROOTS... IN SEARCH OF SAM HILDEBRAND
Many St. Francois County residents have been able to add another chapter or two to their family trees as a result of the reprinting of the “Sam HILDEBRAND” story which appeared in the County Advertiser for several consecutive months.
Upon reading the story, one lady remarked that the story explicitly tells how Sam’s motley group came upon her great grandfather and killed him. Her grandmother was but a small child and could only remember a group of men on horses riding onto their place and killing her father. The story named her great grandfather as being killed in one of the chapters and it apparently was the approximate time her grandmother could remember.
Several readers were skeptical as to the authenticity of the story’s content, as their were several books written in similarity to the original “Confessions of Sam HILDEBRAND.” So armed with cameras and others, just to satisfy their own curiosity, went in search of tombstones, old homesteads, etc. that might prove the story to be the correct one.
One of those skeptics, Mrs. Freida JOHNSON, took camera in hand in search of the old farm that is thought to be the HILDEBRAND homestead mentioned on numerous occasions in the story.
Another skeptic, Bill MAUK, searched until he found the grave of J.V. TYLER, mentioned in the story as being the owner of a store that HILDEBRAND and his group came upon and killed the owner of that store. The date of death on the tombstone and the date in the story both coincide, thus proving that the authenticity of the story is very near if not perfectly correct.
We’re sure the reading of this story will encourage such skeptics to go in search of additions to their family trees, or just to satisfy their search for adventure in proving or disproving the story of “Sam.”