Home > Canada > Ontario > Rainy River District > Rainy River > Forest Lawn Cemetery > John Batson Hysler Sr.

John Batson Hysler Sr.

Birth	:	11 Dec 1894 Baldwin, Duval County, Florida, USA
Death	:	26 Sep 1928 Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, USA
Burial	:	Forest Lawn Cemetery, Rainy River, Rainy River District, Canada
Coordinate	:	48.7220100, -94.5491000
Description	:	The following is excerpted from a Sep 1992 Bill Foley column: The FL Times-Union Jacksonville, Duval, FL 21 Feb 1999 'Whiskey King Met His End on Acosta' The following was excerpted from a Sep 1992 Bill Foley column: This was the rum-running, gun-slinging heyday of Prohibition, and all hats were gray in the dark. The Hyslers were hard cases - all of them - no doubt about that. "Stormy petrels," the newspaper called them, referring to the whole family: Tom, Dan, James and John. This early fall of 1928, John was hardest of them all. "Liquor czar," the press called him. "Whiskey... Read More	The following is excerpted from a Sep 1992 Bill Foley column: The FL Times-Union Jacksonville, Duval, FL 21 Feb 1999 'Whiskey King Met His End on Acosta' The following was excerpted from a Sep 1992 Bill Foley column: This was the rum-running, gun-slinging heyday of Prohibition, and all hats were gray in the dark. The Hyslers were hard cases - all of them - no doubt about that. "Stormy petrels," the newspaper called them, referring to the whole family: Tom, Dan, James and John. This early fall of 1928, John was hardest of them all. "Liquor czar," the press called him. "Whiskey king of Duval County." That, in the minds of many people, did not necessarily make John Hysler a bad person. More than 1,500 friends and relations turned out for his funeral. His pallbearers were lawyers and cops. The town's most respected clergyman did the preaching. The line between the perceived forces of Good and the alleged forces of Evil often was blurred that season of 1928. Cops became robbers; robbers became cops. The wash of whiskey, the gargle of wealth, lapped both ways. John's own big brother Tom had been a law officer, deputy to the same sheriff who spent his days chasing John. That was before Tom killed a man. A jury found him guilty, but nothing ever came of it. Tom Hysler was shot to death in 1922 while sleeping at a Maxville lumber camp. The law got word early that Wednesday morning in September 1928 that John Hysler was going to be making a bootleg whiskey run from Mineral City. Mineral City was a scruffy swatch of shoreline then. It grew up to be Ponte Vedra Beach. Lot of hooch came ashore there before the place got tony. John and his buddy, Jerry McInerney, picked up 30 sacks of red whiskey at Mineral City and were hauling them to Jacksonville. The customs boys got a look at them down there, but John ran away from them. He was in a Chrysler roadster with Alabama license plates. The roadster had been used to shoot up some cops several months before. The customs officers called J.C. Ray in Jacksonville. Ray was acting prohibition agent for all Florida. Ray ordered two agents, King and Tim Easton, to stop Hysler at what then was called the St. Johns River Bridge. The bridge - later called the Acosta Bridge, then the old Acosta Bridge - was the only way to get to Jacksonville from the beach in those days. It was the Gateway to Florida. Moonshiners, bootleggers and Yankees going to Miami were paying for it with bridge tolls. Agent Hope King, 26, of Quitman, Ga., stationed himself at the tollbooth, dead in the center of the bridge. Easton waited at the foot of the bridge, on the viaduct at the western end. Hysler and McInerney drove up just before 2:15 p.m. Toll-taker J.E. Starratt walked to the car to get the toll ticket. King stepped from the station and put his foot on the running board. King said later that he identified himself. He said he told Hysler that he thought the men had whiskey in the car. Starratt said King reached inside the car for the keys. McInerney knocked him from the dashboard. Hysler drove away. Nobody knows who fired first. King said Hysler had a gun in his lap and pointed it at him. Starratt said King fired as Hysler drove off. Starratt said he thought that King's first shot hit Hysler. The car ran up on the curb. Hysler leaned from the window and fired back. McInerney jumped from the car. Hysler fired again, hitting King. King kept walking toward the car, firing his .45 automatic. Both men fired until their guns were empty. Starratt reached the car. He asked Hysler if he were hit. ''My God, he hit me all over,'' Hysler said. ''I'm full of lead.'' McInerney jumped back into the car. He drove to the foot of the bridge. Easton helped them reach St. Vincent's Hospital. Hysler was hit five times - in the shoulder, twice in the chest and twice in the neck. King was hit in the chest and ankle. Hysler died about 7 p.m. The following biography info was extracted from an article found at www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-nov-a-century-of-murder-mayhem-and-fraud-in-jacksonville/page/3 John was regarded fondly at the time of his death as "The Whiskey King of Duval County". Prohibition was in full force but was very unpopular with many civilians. As a notorious bootlegger, John provided a living for his family. He was known variously as the "Liquor King," "Liquor Czar," and "Whiskey King" of Jacksonville or Duval County. Due to rampant police corruption and liberal bribery, the Lackawanna resident had evaded arrest for years. His luck ran out on the September 26, 1928. As he was returning from Mineral City (now called Ponte Vedra Beach) Federal Agents caught up with him on what was commonly called the Jacksonville bridge (correctly known as the Acosta Bridge). There was a shoot out with 1 Federal Agent winding up hospitalized in critical condition and John B. Hysler, Sr. being killed.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is John Batson Hysler Sr.'s memorial?
John Batson Hysler Sr.'s memorial is located at: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Rainy River, Rainy River District, Canada.
When did John Batson Hysler Sr. death?
John Batson Hysler Sr. death on 26 Sep 1928 in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, USA
Where are the coordinates of the John Batson Hysler Sr.'s memorial?
Latitude: 48.7220100
Longitude: -94.5491000

Family Members:

Parent

John Baston “Bats/Bates” Hysler

(1853 - 1898)

Isabel Catherine Stalls Robinson

(1857 - 1929)

Spouse

Bertha Mae “Betty” Peterson Mosley

(1896 - 1969)

Siblings

Lee Ander Hysler

(1875 - 1923)

Oriska Hysler Peterson

(1878 - 1933)

Thomas Walker Hysler Sr.

(1880 - 1922)

Isabell Catherine “Belle” Hysler Parrish

(1891 - 1937)

Daniel Franklin Hysler Sr.

(1896 - 1970)

Children

John David Hysler Sr.

(1913 - 1956)

Clifford Frederick Hysler

(1916 - 1949)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Forest Lawn Cemetery
Rainy River, Rainy River District, Canada
Coordinate: 48.7220100, -94.5491000

2. Spooner Townsite Cemetery
Baudette, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7129300, -94.5629900

3. Old Town Cemetery
Baudette, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7172220, -94.5930550

4. Elm Park Cemetery
Baudette, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7010994, -94.5939026

5. Swentik Family Cemetery
Baudette, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.6940910, -94.5990140

6. Silver Creek Cemetery
Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.6883011, -94.4852982

7. Borchardt Family Cemetery
Baudette, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.6866060, -94.6473260

8. Clementson Community Cemetery
Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.6850014, -94.4338989

9. Wabanica Lutheran Church Cemetery
Baudette, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7774400, -94.6948800

10. Pitt-Riverside Cemetery
Pitt, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7158610, -94.7351670

11. Riverdale Cemetery
Border, Koochiching County, USA
Coordinate: 48.6996994, -94.2818985

12. Andreas Wessman Burial Site
Baudette, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.5308890, -94.6268340

13. Henry Johnson Family Cemetery
Potamo Township, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.6602780, -94.8430830

14. Potamo Park Cemetery
Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.6702995, -94.8557968

15. Graceton Cemetery
Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7475014, -94.8703003

16. James Marshall Burial Site
Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7480940, -94.8707620

17. Spruce Grove Cemetery
Carp, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.5120290, -94.6469620

18. Hillside Cemetery
Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.8436012, -94.8822021

19. Hamilton Farm Cemetery
Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.5111008, -94.7731018

20. Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church
Stratton, Rainy River District, Canada
Coordinate: 48.6776996, -94.1629629

21. Pine Hill Cemetery
Williams, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7708015, -94.9441986

22. Williams Catholic Cemetery
Williams, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.7644400, -94.9590900

23. Birchdale Cemetery
Koochiching County, USA
Coordinate: 48.6268997, -94.1224976

24. Prosper Township Cemetery
Birch Beach, Lake of the Woods County, USA
Coordinate: 48.8863450, -94.9375190