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Case Description
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David W. Mizell, the Orange County Sheriff, was ambushed and killed on February 21, 1870, near Holopaw, Florida, in what is now Osceola County. Mizell was on his way to arrest cattleman Moses E. Barber when he was shot. The ambush was the result of a long-standing feud between the Mizell and Barber families over the payment of taxes on cattle. Moses Barber had refused to pay what he considered unfair taxes, leading Mizell and his family to seize Barber's cattle as payment for delinquent taxes. D ...Read More
Links to Additional Sources (7)
See any mistakes?Victim Details
David W. Mizell
Male
White / Caucasian
Holopaw
FL
1870-02-21
36
David
Mizell
11/19/2025
Forum Posts (3)
I recently came across the Mizell-Barber feud while reading about Florida's history, and it got me t... ...Read More
03/08/2024
03/08/2024
I've been reading through the history of the Barber-Mizell feud, and one detail that struck me was h... ...Read More
01/07/2024
01/07/2024
I've been thinking a lot about the broader implications of Sheriff David W. Mizell's murder in 1870.... ...Read More
08/27/2023
08/27/2023
