We will never know why John B. Haynes hated houses. From his brief description as a “yeoman” in various court documents it appears that he owned one. Nor will we ever know what Cary Bibb did to anger him, like William Badger, it appears that she* and her property simply existed at a point in time when John B. Haynes wished for its discontinuation. What we do know is this:

Sometime during the day of January 10, 1814, John B. Haynes “did riotously and unlawfully assemble at the dwelling house of Cary Bibb.” At this point in the narration I feel it necessary to highlight that someone underlined riotously. Haynes forced his way inside her home and brought his friend, George Hays, with him. Cary Bibb testified that eight men in total entered her home, though she only recognized Haynes and Hays. They brought guns to emphasize their point. Once the men finished assembling all hell broke loose.

John B. Haynes looked around the house of a probable widow, “and did then and there destroy and injure the household furniture of the said Bibb…to the great terror of all other good citizens and against the peace and dignity of the Mississippi Territory,”

This man hated furniture more than you will ever hate anything else in your life.

*after the case was dismissed in favor of John B. Haynes (I have a feeling that the Grand Jury simply feared him visiting their homes), judge Obadiah Jones ordered a certain Samuel Donahoo to pay the court costs. Although Cary is a unisex name the presence of Samuel Donahoo indicates that he was ‘her next friend’ – an old legal term to describe the male representing a grown-ass woman in a court case. Although solicitors/lawyers often served as next friends, the lack of his mention prior to discussing court costs leaves me to believe that Samuel Donahoo is a male relative and that Cary Bibb might be a widow. Although this is a very tenuous line of reasoning.

citation:

The Territory v. John B. Haynes, Minute Book of Madison County Mississippi Territory of the Superior Court in Law and Equity, 1811-1819. p. 184/148-185/149 (1814).