Posted on Aug 25, 2018
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The outlaw Bill Doolin is killed by a posse at Lawson, Oklahoma.
Born in Arkansas in 1858, William Doolin was never as hardened a criminal as some of his companions. He went west in 1881, finding work in Oklahoma at the big ranch of Oscar D. Halsell. Halsell took a liking to the young Arkansan, taught him to write and do simple arithmetic, and eventually made him an informal foreman on the ranch. Doolin worked for several other ranchers in the next decade and he was widely considered trustworthy and capable.
By the 1890s, however, Doolin had become at least a part-time thief. For six years, he participated in a variety of bank and train robberies, sometimes in partnership with the infamous Dalton gang. A careful and methodical man, Doolin planned his robberies well. Though he was shot several times, the wounds were never serious.
Success inevitably brought increased pressure from law enforcement. In 1895, Doolin and several of his partners went into hiding in New Mexico. Doolin made several offers to surrender in exchange for a light sentence, but his offers were rejected. In January 1896, the famous lawman Bill Tilghman single-handedly captured Doolin at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The outlaw, who was at the springs to take in the medicinal waters, was caught by surprise, and Tilghman arrested him peacefully. Jailed at Guthrie, Oklahoma, while awaiting trial, Doolin escaped on July 5, 1896.
Doolin managed to elude the pursuing posse for nearly two months. When the posse finally caught up with him at Lawson, Oklahoma, Doolin apparently decided he was not going to be captured alive. Badly outnumbered, Doolin drew his gun. A rain of shotgun and rifle fire instantly killed him. He was 38 years old. Doolin was buried in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
Born in Arkansas in 1858, William Doolin was never as hardened a criminal as some of his companions. He went west in 1881, finding work in Oklahoma at the big ranch of Oscar D. Halsell. Halsell took a liking to the young Arkansan, taught him to write and do simple arithmetic, and eventually made him an informal foreman on the ranch. Doolin worked for several other ranchers in the next decade and he was widely considered trustworthy and capable.
By the 1890s, however, Doolin had become at least a part-time thief. For six years, he participated in a variety of bank and train robberies, sometimes in partnership with the infamous Dalton gang. A careful and methodical man, Doolin planned his robberies well. Though he was shot several times, the wounds were never serious.
Success inevitably brought increased pressure from law enforcement. In 1895, Doolin and several of his partners went into hiding in New Mexico. Doolin made several offers to surrender in exchange for a light sentence, but his offers were rejected. In January 1896, the famous lawman Bill Tilghman single-handedly captured Doolin at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The outlaw, who was at the springs to take in the medicinal waters, was caught by surprise, and Tilghman arrested him peacefully. Jailed at Guthrie, Oklahoma, while awaiting trial, Doolin escaped on July 5, 1896.
Doolin managed to elude the pursuing posse for nearly two months. When the posse finally caught up with him at Lawson, Oklahoma, Doolin apparently decided he was not going to be captured alive. Badly outnumbered, Doolin drew his gun. A rain of shotgun and rifle fire instantly killed him. He was 38 years old. Doolin was buried in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
Outlaw Bill Doolin is killed - Aug 25, 1896 - HISTORY.com
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Old West
Murder
Death
Posted >1 y ago
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Thank you my friend TSgt Joe C. for making us aware that on August 25, 1896 that outlaw Bill Doolin was killed by a posse at Lawson, Oklahoma.
Background from nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/killing-of-bill-doolin.htm
"Killing of Bill Doolin
After his escape from the Guthrie jail, Bill Doolin spent some time in Mexico before returning to Oklahoma to see his wife and child. On August 25, 1896, Deputy Heck Thomas finally crossed upon Doolin's trail. He employed the help of Bill Dunn, his brothers and Tom and Charlie Noble to set up an ambush near Lawson in Payne County. When Doolin happened along the road through town that night, the deputies called to him to surrender. Instead, the outlaw wheeled about and fired once with his Winchester and three times with a revolver. The posse returned the fire, emptying a double-barreled shotgun that drove Doolin to the ground. The infamous killer was dead, "cleverly riddled with buckshot." In fact, reports indicated that there were twenty buckshot wounds in the chest, four that had entered the heart.
There was some confusion over who actually killed Doolin because of the numerous shots fired from the lawmen. There were even rumors that there were a lack of bloodstains on the body when it was delivered to the morgue and that Doolin must have died a natural death. This theory said that he was set up against a tree and filled with buckshot to make believe he had been killed to collect the reward. But Doolin had bled profusely according to Heck Thomas' widow who witnessed the bloody wagon the body was transported in. Heck Thomas finally collected a reward of over $1400 for the killing of Doolin. He divided this among the seven members of his posse.
Doolin's body was put on display in Guthrie. A local photographer made two pictures of the dead outlaw. Mrs. Doolin and her brothers composed a poem about the outlaw which they had printed on postcards and sold it with the pictures to all who would buy them at twenty-five cents each. The profits were to be used for burial expenses, but the government actually ended up paying for the embalming and burial because of the need of preserving the body for identification purposes.
Doolin's funeral took place on Saturday, August 29, 1896, and his grave, in what is today the Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, was marked by a twisted, rusty buggy axle. Doolin's widow filed a $50,000 damage suit against the U.S. Marshal for the unlawful death of her husband but it was dismissed in February 1897."
Bill Doolin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VarkdBZ0oc
FYI Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown 1stSgt Eugene Harless CW5 John M. MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Michael Thorin SGT (Join to see) SGT Robert George SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SPC Margaret Higgins Maj Marty Hogan SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt Brian Brakke
Background from nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/killing-of-bill-doolin.htm
"Killing of Bill Doolin
After his escape from the Guthrie jail, Bill Doolin spent some time in Mexico before returning to Oklahoma to see his wife and child. On August 25, 1896, Deputy Heck Thomas finally crossed upon Doolin's trail. He employed the help of Bill Dunn, his brothers and Tom and Charlie Noble to set up an ambush near Lawson in Payne County. When Doolin happened along the road through town that night, the deputies called to him to surrender. Instead, the outlaw wheeled about and fired once with his Winchester and three times with a revolver. The posse returned the fire, emptying a double-barreled shotgun that drove Doolin to the ground. The infamous killer was dead, "cleverly riddled with buckshot." In fact, reports indicated that there were twenty buckshot wounds in the chest, four that had entered the heart.
There was some confusion over who actually killed Doolin because of the numerous shots fired from the lawmen. There were even rumors that there were a lack of bloodstains on the body when it was delivered to the morgue and that Doolin must have died a natural death. This theory said that he was set up against a tree and filled with buckshot to make believe he had been killed to collect the reward. But Doolin had bled profusely according to Heck Thomas' widow who witnessed the bloody wagon the body was transported in. Heck Thomas finally collected a reward of over $1400 for the killing of Doolin. He divided this among the seven members of his posse.
Doolin's body was put on display in Guthrie. A local photographer made two pictures of the dead outlaw. Mrs. Doolin and her brothers composed a poem about the outlaw which they had printed on postcards and sold it with the pictures to all who would buy them at twenty-five cents each. The profits were to be used for burial expenses, but the government actually ended up paying for the embalming and burial because of the need of preserving the body for identification purposes.
Doolin's funeral took place on Saturday, August 29, 1896, and his grave, in what is today the Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, was marked by a twisted, rusty buggy axle. Doolin's widow filed a $50,000 damage suit against the U.S. Marshal for the unlawful death of her husband but it was dismissed in February 1897."
Bill Doolin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VarkdBZ0oc
FYI Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown 1stSgt Eugene Harless CW5 John M. MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"SCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Michael Thorin SGT (Join to see) SGT Robert George SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SPC Margaret Higgins Maj Marty Hogan SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt Brian Brakke
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SFC Shirley Whitfield MSG Mark Million COL Lee Flemming LTC (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSgt Harvey "Skip" Porter SCPO Morris Ramsey SFC William Farrell Alan K. LTC Greg Henning SSgt (Join to see) MSgt Stephen Council Sgt Trevor Barrett Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. MSG Andrew White SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth Cpl Scott McCarroll LTC John Shaw LTC John Griscom
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Here it is, I found it quite offbeat, actually, filled with desultory little historical pearls....
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