If
we don't know our history, how the heck can we know what we're doin' or where
we’re goin’?! The Trail of Tears, War Chief Jumper, amongst many others, are a
fascinating history. I had the pleasure of working for former Governor
George Nigh, a notable Oklahoma historian. He passed much of this along to me
and I love to pass it along to others. I am a proud Okie--that darned red dirt
runs through my veins, just like the music--Red Dirt genre...
I
posted these stories here to prompt discussion about Seminole anything history.
My grandfather and my father told me many stories and provided colorful
anecdotes. Many of the "Lawmen and the Lawless" around these parts
left descendants that still live/ lived and play/ played here today. These
stories need to be told. Please tell them, whether absolute fact, family
anecdotes, whoppers and tales. I am sure many of us would love to know them. I
moved back here finally to retire after living in other places--OKC,
Washington, DC, Knoxville, TN, etc. I was away from 1977 through May of 2015,
although I came back in 2005-6 to take care of mom following a stroke and again
in 2012-13 before leaving again to care for a friend with a broken leg.
Although I was away, in many ways, I never left, always being kept up by family
and friends and returning often for vacations etc. I am retired and I would not
do it anywhere else. I love being an Okie and especially an Okie from Seminole.
I would love to hear YOUR stories.
David
Samuel “Sam” Robertson, Constable / Deputy Sheriff
Wolf Township / Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
Seminole County Deputy Sheriff Robertson also served as the Constable for the small town of Wolf, two miles south of Bowlegs. In the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 11, 1929, Robertson was raiding a gambling game in Wolf. Otis Lackey was acting as a lookout for the game but had left his post when Constable Robertson entered the game. Robertson was standing near the game, amiably telling the players to present themselves in front of the judge the next day, when Lackey returned and saw him. Lackey drew a gun and shot the officer twice in the back. Robertson died several hours later. Seminole County Deputies John Poe and Jim Villines arrested Lackey the next day. Lackey was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Deputy Robertson was survived by his wife and eight children. Robertson was one tough SOB!
The Muskogee Phoenix on September 22, 1894 carried a story about a shooting Rufus Cannon was involved in: "About a year and a half ago, Rufus Cannon and W.L. Stanphill, deputies under Marshal Yoes, had a fight near Wewoka with a portion of the Woodward gang. Joe Pierce was killed and his friends claim that the killing was unjustifiable. They attempted to have the deputies indicted for murder, but failed. The special grand jury.......took up the case again and returned indictments against both. Stanphill was in the city and surrendered at once. Rufus Cannon was out in the Seminole Nation, but came in today and gave himself up to C.J. Lamb. Both had admitted to bond and are confident of their acquittal."
Belle Starr
Sam Starr, John Middleton and maybe other associates of Sam's were suspected of the robberies of the Creek and Seminole Nations treasuries. A posse raided Younger's Bend looking for Starr and Middleton and evidence to tie them to the robberies. The pair was not at the ranch when the marshals arrived and the posse found nothing to implicate them in the hold-ups. With the heat on at Younger's Bend, Middleton decided to go back to his home in Dardanelle, Arkansas and asked the Starr's to help him. Sam and Belle hid Middleton in a wagon covered with a tarp. With their saddle horses tied to the back and the children little Ed and Pearl in the wagon, Belle and Sam headed for Arkansas. When the group camped for the night on the first day out, probably near Keota, OK, Middleton somehow offended Belle Starr and she refused to go any further or to allow Middleton to take her horse.
Wolf Township / Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
Seminole County Deputy Sheriff Robertson also served as the Constable for the small town of Wolf, two miles south of Bowlegs. In the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 11, 1929, Robertson was raiding a gambling game in Wolf. Otis Lackey was acting as a lookout for the game but had left his post when Constable Robertson entered the game. Robertson was standing near the game, amiably telling the players to present themselves in front of the judge the next day, when Lackey returned and saw him. Lackey drew a gun and shot the officer twice in the back. Robertson died several hours later. Seminole County Deputies John Poe and Jim Villines arrested Lackey the next day. Lackey was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Deputy Robertson was survived by his wife and eight children. Robertson was one tough SOB!
The Muskogee Phoenix on September 22, 1894 carried a story about a shooting Rufus Cannon was involved in: "About a year and a half ago, Rufus Cannon and W.L. Stanphill, deputies under Marshal Yoes, had a fight near Wewoka with a portion of the Woodward gang. Joe Pierce was killed and his friends claim that the killing was unjustifiable. They attempted to have the deputies indicted for murder, but failed. The special grand jury.......took up the case again and returned indictments against both. Stanphill was in the city and surrendered at once. Rufus Cannon was out in the Seminole Nation, but came in today and gave himself up to C.J. Lamb. Both had admitted to bond and are confident of their acquittal."
Belle Starr
Sam Starr, John Middleton and maybe other associates of Sam's were suspected of the robberies of the Creek and Seminole Nations treasuries. A posse raided Younger's Bend looking for Starr and Middleton and evidence to tie them to the robberies. The pair was not at the ranch when the marshals arrived and the posse found nothing to implicate them in the hold-ups. With the heat on at Younger's Bend, Middleton decided to go back to his home in Dardanelle, Arkansas and asked the Starr's to help him. Sam and Belle hid Middleton in a wagon covered with a tarp. With their saddle horses tied to the back and the children little Ed and Pearl in the wagon, Belle and Sam headed for Arkansas. When the group camped for the night on the first day out, probably near Keota, OK, Middleton somehow offended Belle Starr and she refused to go any further or to allow Middleton to take her horse.
Another
Jake Sims story:
The robbery of the bank in Kendrick included the shooting of one man. The outlaws escaped in a Nash coupe, and in November 1929 the vehicle was found on the streets of Seminole. Two men were arrested. Within two days, Keirsey learned that Owen Edwards, and possibly other outlaws, were in Harjo, OK, hiding at the Dyer place. A call was quickly made to Oklahoma City for the assistance of agent Claude Tyler of the State Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Tyler immediately travelled to Seminole, where he joined Keirsey, Seminole chief of police Jake Sims, and Seminole County deputy sheriff George Hall. The four lawmen arrived in Harjo shortly after sunset.
The robbery of the bank in Kendrick included the shooting of one man. The outlaws escaped in a Nash coupe, and in November 1929 the vehicle was found on the streets of Seminole. Two men were arrested. Within two days, Keirsey learned that Owen Edwards, and possibly other outlaws, were in Harjo, OK, hiding at the Dyer place. A call was quickly made to Oklahoma City for the assistance of agent Claude Tyler of the State Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Tyler immediately travelled to Seminole, where he joined Keirsey, Seminole chief of police Jake Sims, and Seminole County deputy sheriff George Hall. The four lawmen arrived in Harjo shortly after sunset.
They
left their car in front of the Dyer place and Chief Sims went to the front
door. Keirsey and Tyler went to the back door while Hall covered the side of
the house. Sims encountered Edwards at the front door and a gunfight broke out.
At the back door, Tyler and Keirsey encountered Sam and Ruth Dyer. Tyler held
them at gunpoint in the back room. Sims, having shot Edwards in the shoulder,
continued to stand his ground at the front door. Edwards, seeing that escape in
that direction was blocked, retreated toward the rear of the house and picked
up a second handgun on the way. At this point, James Keirsey stepped through a
doorway with gun drawn and encountered Owen Edwards, who had a gun in each
hand. As Chief Sims moved in from the front of the house, Keirsey told Edwards
to drop his guns. In response, Edwards opened fire with both guns and shot
Keirsey numerous times, killing him. Keirsey returned fire as he fell to the
floor, hitting his killer once or twice. Tyler rushed to the aide of Keirsey -
the Dyers escaped out the back door. Chief Sims approached Edwards from one
side as Tyler moved in from another direction. Edwards was still blazing away
with his handguns. Sims and Tyler filled his head with bullet holes and brought
the gunfight to an end.
A
Seminole newspaper started a benefit fund for James Keirsey's family, which
included his wife and three children. According to the newspaper, he was known
as an "upstanding, fearless and intelligent gentleman, engaged in
upholding the law and protecting the members of society." Almost 10,000
people attended Keirsey's funeral, the largest ever held in Durant.
Here is more on the Keirsey story:
Cliff Keirsey began his law enforcement career when he became a Bryan County night jailer in 1914. He then served as a Bryan County deputy sheriff, a Durant city policeman, a Texas peace officer, an Ardmore policeman, and he served with the Seminole police department for 12 years. James A. Keirsey was born in about 1890 and upon becoming an adult he served as a Durant policeman for many years. James moved to Seminole during the oil boom days and served as a city policeman. In late 1928 or early 1929 he was asked to fill the unexpired term of the Durant police chief. James returned to Durant for a period, and then resumed his work at the Seminole police department, where he was the assistant chief of police in 1929.
During his law enforcement career, James Keirsey had arrested Owen Edwards a few times. Edwards was reportedly a member of the old Kimes gang of bank robbers and had escaped from jail in Arkansas in the summer of 1928. He was a suspect in a string of 1929 Oklahoma bank robberies, including the banks in Minco, Prague, and Kendrick. During the time period that Keirsey was temporarily the chief of police in Durant, Owen Edwards reportedly vowed to kill Keirsey.
The robbery of the bank in Kendrick included the shooting of one man. The outlaws escaped in a Nash coupe, and in November 1929 the vehicle was found on the streets of Seminole. Two men were arrested. Within two days, Keirsey learned that Owen Edwards, and possibly other outlaws, were in Harjo hiding at the Dyer place. A call was quickly made to Oklahoma City for the assistance of agent Claude Tyler of the State Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Tyler immediately travelled to Seminole, where he joined Keirsey, Seminole chief of police Jake Sims, and Seminole County deputy sheriff George Hall. The four lawmen arrived in Harjo shortly after sunset.
To be continued.
Here is more on the Keirsey story:
Cliff Keirsey began his law enforcement career when he became a Bryan County night jailer in 1914. He then served as a Bryan County deputy sheriff, a Durant city policeman, a Texas peace officer, an Ardmore policeman, and he served with the Seminole police department for 12 years. James A. Keirsey was born in about 1890 and upon becoming an adult he served as a Durant policeman for many years. James moved to Seminole during the oil boom days and served as a city policeman. In late 1928 or early 1929 he was asked to fill the unexpired term of the Durant police chief. James returned to Durant for a period, and then resumed his work at the Seminole police department, where he was the assistant chief of police in 1929.
During his law enforcement career, James Keirsey had arrested Owen Edwards a few times. Edwards was reportedly a member of the old Kimes gang of bank robbers and had escaped from jail in Arkansas in the summer of 1928. He was a suspect in a string of 1929 Oklahoma bank robberies, including the banks in Minco, Prague, and Kendrick. During the time period that Keirsey was temporarily the chief of police in Durant, Owen Edwards reportedly vowed to kill Keirsey.
The robbery of the bank in Kendrick included the shooting of one man. The outlaws escaped in a Nash coupe, and in November 1929 the vehicle was found on the streets of Seminole. Two men were arrested. Within two days, Keirsey learned that Owen Edwards, and possibly other outlaws, were in Harjo hiding at the Dyer place. A call was quickly made to Oklahoma City for the assistance of agent Claude Tyler of the State Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Tyler immediately travelled to Seminole, where he joined Keirsey, Seminole chief of police Jake Sims, and Seminole County deputy sheriff George Hall. The four lawmen arrived in Harjo shortly after sunset.
To be continued.
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