Night Watchman Henry Hampton Joslin

Henry Hampton Joslin

Around 12:40 a.m. on Tuesday, January 31, 1905, H. H. Joslin, the night watchman for the City of Kyle, was patrolling downtown near the train depot when he heard someone approaching from behind. He turned around to see who it was and a man fired one round from a .41 caliber pistol. The bullet struck him in the breast and exited his body. A woman living nearby awakened her son to investigate the shot and the cries of a man calling for help. Joslin was found lying near the depot. He was conscious and stated he could not tell the race of the man due to the darkness and that he had no known enemies. Joslin died about 2:40 a.m. No records have been located to indicate that anyone was ever arrested or the case was solved.

Joslin was a widower with six surviving children. His age in the newspaper was reported as 55, but it appears from the 1900 census that he was born in May of 1851 and was 53 years of age. Earlier censuses reported his year of birth as 1848 and 1849. He was buried by the A.B. Rogers Funeral Home probably in the San Marcos Cemetery in Hays County. No tombstone has been located.