The tombstone carver who placed the name on Hinshaw's stone, must have been one of the few persons who ever got it right. In all Official Records reports dealing with the burning of the Lick Creek railroad bridge, JACOB MADISON HINSHAW, was referred to "Jacob M. Hensie" or "Matt Hincher". On his marriage record, he is called "Jacob M. Hinchey". The 1850 census taker listed him as "Madison J. Hinchy".

His father, William Hinshaw, was a "master potter", and a native of North Carolina. His name too, was often misspelled. In Greene and Hawkins Counties, where the Hinshaws lived, the name is still often pronounced "Hinchey", which probably accounts for the frequent misspelling.

Because of the error in spelling, it became a historical fact recorded in the Official Records, that the man hanged at Greeneville, Tennessee, on November 30, 1861, was Jacob M. Hensie....a person who never existed at the time and place.

In other words, the men who carried out the execution orders of Colonel Danville Leadbetter, never knew who they hanged. To the best of my knowledge, all modern accounts written, have repeated the mistake.

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