Western history author Bill O'Neal, who has documented the Higgins-Horrell feud of Lampasas County, has released his latest publication on the Johnson-Sims feud. Bill O’Neal, author of western history, has published “The Johnson-Sims Feud: Romeo and Juliet, West Texas Style,” the story of the last traditional family feud in Texas.

He first wrote about the Johnson- Sims feud in the closing chapters of his biography of the legendary Pink Higgins and now has explored the story more completely through fresh information from the descendants.

The Johnson and Sims families were pioneer ranchers who settled in the region of Lampasas and Burnet counties just before the Civil War. After the war, two couples from the next generation -- Billy and Nannie Johnson, and Dave and Laura Belle Sims -- established large ranches in adjoining counties in West Texas.

After the turn of the century, the two families united in a marriage of 14-year-old Gladys Johnson to 21- year-old Ed Sims. After a nasty divorce that featured a gun-wielding Gladys, she moved with her daughters to her father’s luxurious ranch house, where Gladys soon fell in love with famed Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, who later was involved in the nationwide hunt for outlaws Bonnie and Clyde.

During a custody battle in 1916, Gladys shot her former husband twice on the Snyder downtown square, which was teeming with Christmas shoppers. Her brother bolted out of their father’s bank and finished off Ed Sims with a shotgun blast.

One of the best lawyers in West Texas, Judge Cullen Higgins -- son of Pink Higgins -- managed to win acquittal for both Gladys and her brother.

In the tradition of Texas feuds since the 1840s, the Sims family sought revenge. More killings and ambushes ensued, as the book details.

“The Johnson-Sims Feud” is printed by the University of North Texas Press. A copy of the book is available at Lampasas Public Library for interested readers.