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- [S106] The Mountain Press, 27 Jun 2015.
Upland Chronicles: Asa Derrick lived out his life under an alias
CARROLL MCMAHAN
Asa Derrick changed his name to Albert Harper and eventually settled in New Mexico after fleeing Tennessee to avoid the law.
Cal Derrick was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in the attempt to rob the Bank of Sevierville in 1899; after his early release he moved to Missouri and changed his name to Frank Jones.
On Oct. 14, 1938, a man known as Albert Ralph Hunter, 74, died at his farm about five miles north of Mountainair, N.M. He was a respectable farmer who, along with his faithful wife Mattie, raised their five children and worked from daylight to dusk. Perhaps no one in the mountain community knew of his checkered past.
Asa Palmer Derrick was born in the shadow of English Mountain on Feb. 29, 1864. He was a son of Calvin Derrick and his first wife Calister Ward. His father died when he was young and he was sent to Missouri to live with his aunt.
On Aug. 31, 1891, Asa and an accomplice robbed a bank in Corder, Mo. Although his partner was apprehended and hanged, Asa escaped and returned to Tennessee and once again escaped capture after his involvement with his two half-brothers, Cal and Will Derrick.
In 1899, his brothers and Pearl Thurman were involved in a thwarted robbery of the Bank of Sevierville in which Thurman was killed and Will Derrick committed suicide to avoid capture. Cal Derrick was convicted of felonious assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison. After his parole, he moved to Missouri, where he married, changed his name to Frank Jones, raised 10 children, and became a successful shoe repairman.
A few years before Cal was sent to prison, Asa had escaped prosecution after his involvement in another crime with his notorious brothers, fleeing to the home of his sister Martha Jane Burchfiel and her husband Frank in Anthony, Kan.
According to one legend, Asa's brothers sealed him in a box addressed to their sister in Kansas, drove him 50 miles in a covered wagon, and put the box on a train headed for Kansas. He changed his name to Albert Ralph Hunter, the name he would use for the remainder of his life.
After working for his brother-in-law for a few years Asa, aka Albert Hunter, grew concerned he might get his sister and brother-in-law in trouble, so he decided to move to Texas. He went to a refuge for young delinquent boys and stayed there for a while, working as a ranch hand.
Somehow law enforcement agents heard of his whereabouts and came looking for him. His boss picked up a gun and told the sheriff "not to come any closer because he planned to rehabilitate the young man." The sheriff retreated. Not altogether comfortable after the encounter, Albert decided to move to San Saba, Texas, where he found a job as a cotton picker for Henry Dove.
There he met Mattie Rebecca Dove, a daughter of his boss, and after a short courtship they married in 1894. The couple purchased a small farm five miles north of San Saba and started a family; in the ensuing years they had a total of five children: Otha, Verna, Cliff, Francis and Clarence.
In 1920, Mattie developed some health problems which a doctor diagnosed as tuberculosis and suggested she move to a higher, drier climate. Albert decided to move his family to Gran Quivira, N.M. to homestead. Mattie refused to go because it was too far from a doctor. They gave the land Albert had staked out to their oldest son, Otha, who lived there the required three years and later sold it.
In 1921, Albert purchased a farm about five miles north of Mountainair. They traveled by train with their livestock and machinery loaded into a boxcar and shipped to their new address.
Crops grown on their high-altitude farm included alfalfa and pinto beans. They set out fruit trees and eventually had a large orchard consisting of cherries, peaches and several varieties of apples. People came from miles around to purchase fruit at Hunter's Orchard.
Although Albert was industrious and well-respected in the community, he was always a very private person. He never went out socially, and although Mattie was a good Christian woman and always took the children to Sunday school, he never went to church. However, all the years the children were growing up they never suspected their father of any wrongdoing.
Curious about his father's relatives, their youngest son Clarence decided to take a trip to Kansas to meet some of his father's relatives after he was grown and married. Surprisingly, his mother begged him not to go. But he ignored her pleas and went anyway.
His Aunt Martha invited him to her home and also asked her children to come and meet their cousin. Clarence immediately started asking questions about his father. His cousins looked questioningly at each other and left the room for a conference. After a lengthy discussion they returned and asked Clarence if he really wanted to know the truth.
After he assured them that he really wanted to know regardless, the astonished son was told about his father's involvement in the bank robberies and his escaping and living on the lam.
Clarence returned to New Mexico and told his siblings that their father had gone to his grave without ever revealing his true identity to them.
When Albert Hunter, ala Asa Derrick, died in Mountainair, 1,416 miles from Sevier County, he had been away from his homeland for almost half a century. His brother Cal died in Missouri on Nov. 11, 1948, at age 74, never revealing his past.
Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S112] Census, 1870.
Name: Asa E Derrick
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1870
Event Place: Tennessee, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 6
Race: White
Race (Original): W
Birth Year (Estimated): 1863-1864
Birthplace: Tennessee
Page Number: 13
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Calvin Derrick M 36 Tennessee
Nancy Derrick F 23 Tennessee
James T Derrick M 10 Tennessee
Martha J Derrick F 8 Tennessee
Asa E Derrick M 6 Tennessee
Florence Derrick F 5 Tennessee
William B Derrick M 0 Tennessee
Nancy J Derrick F 20 Georgia
Andrew H Derrick M 20 Tennessee
- [S112] Census, 1930.
Name: Albert Hunter
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1930
Event Place: Punta, Torrance, New Mexico, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 66
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Race (Original): White
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Head
Birth Year (Estimated): 1864
Birthplace: Tennessee
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: South Carolina
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Albert Hunter Head M 66 Tennessee
Mattie Hunter Wife F 52 Texas
Clifton Hunter Son M 19 Texas
Clarance Hunter Son M 12 Texas
- [S87] Death Certificate.
Name: Albert Ralph Hunter
Event Date: 14 Oct 1938
Event Place: Mountainair, Torrance, New Mexico
Gender: Male
Age: 74
Birth Year (Estimated): 1864
Father's Name: Calvin Hunter
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 116988597).
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: C. Derrick
Spouse's Name: C. P. Ward
Event Date: 27 Oct 1859
Event Place: Jefferson, Tennessee
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