Ep 40 Cherokee Bill & Judge Isaac Parker

Crawford Goldsby, also known as Cherokee Bill, was a notorious outlaw in Indian Territory in the late 1800s. He committed multiple crimes, including robberies and murders, and was part of the Cook gang. He was eventually captured by deputy marshal Ike Rogers and taken to Fort Smith for trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to death, but his execution was postponed. Crawford planned an escape, but his lawyer claimed he was being villainized by Judge Isaac Parker. In the meantime, Crawford made friends with a prison trustee named Sherman Van. Hi I'm Jess and I'm Tiff and we're your Curious Cousins where we talk about everything kooky and spooky in the state of Oklahoma. Welcome to episode 40. Lordy lordy look who's lordy. Sorry about that. You're welcome. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I am fantastic. The day before a vacation. Yeah that's always fun. It is. I'm ready. We're going to Colorado. Nice. Nice and cool. It will be. We had to pack pants and jeans and I had to pull out some hoodies and some sweatpants sweatpants and things. I'm looking forward to it. My cousin Rachel on my dad's side. Mm-hmm. Longtime listener. Hey Rachel. Hey Rachel. She is having a baby so I'm going to her baby shower. Well congratulations to Rachel. I'm so excited. I'm excited. I can't wait to have a little girl. I can't wait. So I'm going to see her and we're just gonna take in the mountain air while we're there. I hope you guys have a great time. I think we will. Thank you. In a safe trip for sure. Yeah it'll be a good time. Nice. How are you? I'm good. I got some news that my brother who's supposed to be moving to the Netherlands might be coming up to visit in a couple weeks. So hopefully as they do they'll be able to like go see grandma. Yeah. Hopefully see y'all. We should have a pitmaster Yoda. Oh I mean yeah that would be a lot of fun. That'd be a lot of fun. We should plan. We should. But yeah no I'm good. So okay. Any business? Oh I don't think so. I don't think so. I wanted to do this that or I wanted to mention that on oh actually I had something. I've got a little half pad of paper over there that has like flip-flops on it or something inside that gold container. It's in the very back. I got a stand up. Okay. I have some correction for it. Okay. Something I noticed when I was editing. All right. Oh I did have something about last week's episode about Patrick Henry Sherrill. I had made a I misquoted myself. Oh okay. I had mentioned that he had graduated Harding High School in 1951 and that was not true. He graduated in 1959. Oh okay. So I just wanted to put that out there that I caught that while I was editing last week. Oh. So yeah. Good thing it wasn't me because I wouldn't have known. No. And then I probably wouldn't have heard it yet. So but yeah I wanted to make that correction. And then also we had said that we would give away another book when we reached a hundred followers on Instagram. Yes. And we last I checked we're at 77 or 78. Oh. So we're still inching up there. So if you have not followed us on Instagram yet please do so. Yeah. At Curious Cousins. Okay. Who doesn't want a free book. Right. For sure. Yeah. We've got some new good goodies to pass along to people too. Other than that. That's all I had. Yeah. I don't think I have anything. Wait. Is my mic on? Yes. Okay. Sorry I scared myself. All right. So for episode 40 we decided to go back. Yes. Go back to our origins. Yes. We're gonna do another outlaw episode. Yes. This one's gonna be I mean not that they're not all fun. But this one's gonna be this will be fun. No I agree. I am covering Crawford Goldsby aka Cherokee Bill aka the Terror of Indian Territory. Oh I hadn't heard that moniker before. Yeah. Oh okay. I use Wikipedia Legends of American America dot-com Oklahoma Historical Society Cherokee Bill Black Cowboy Indian Outlaw book by Art T Burton who was the author of the Bass Reeves book. Oh okay. 100 Oklahoma Outlaws Gangsters and Lawmen from 1839 to 1939 by Dan Anderson and Lawrence Yadin and Outlaw Tales of Oklahoma by Robert Barr Smith. Nice. Some of our favorite. Yes. So I'm so excited. Let's jump in. Yes. Crawford Goldsby was born February 8th 1876 at Fort Concho in San Angelo Texo. I'm gonna say it all over again because I can't talk apparently. Okay. Crawford Goldsby was born February 8th 1876 at Fort Concho San Angelo Texas and died March 17th 1896 in Fort Smith Arkansas. He was executed by hanging. Uh huh. He was convicted of murder. He was believed to have murdered between eight and 13 men including his own brother-in-law. So hmm like a outlaw serial killer kind of thing or like a. I don't think any of his any of his murdering. None of his murdering was just. It was a result of other circumstances. Yes. Other. Okay. It wasn't any. He wasn't planning to murder. Okay. Well you know I thought I'd throw it out there. You never know. It's feasible. He was known to terrorize Indian territory for two years. So he had a very short crime spree. But kind of thinking about outlaws in general that's probably kind of typical when you. Yeah. You don't typically live a long time. Well in eight to 13 people in two years. I mean that's quite a big amount. Right. Right. So in his early years which I kind of laugh at is or you know scoff at the early years because he if you noticed he died at age 20. He's pretty young. So his early years kind of. Okay. Like I said he was born in San Angelo Texas. He had one sister named Georgia two brothers named Luther and Clarence. His father was George Goldsby from Perry County Alabama. He was a sergeant in the 10th U.S. Calvary and a Buffalo soldier. Oh the dad. Yes. Okay. In the beginning George was a hired servant of the Confederate infantry. Okay. And during the Battle of Gettysburg he escaped to Harrisburg Pennsylvania and sought employment with the Union Army. Okay. He enlisted for the Union Army as a white man. George was biracial being Caucasian and African-American. And he was enlisted as a white man in the 21st Pennsylvania Calvary Regiment under the name of George Goosby or Goosley. The spelling is different on a different document. Yeah. So it's you know one of those two people. At the conclusion of the war he returned to Selma Alabama but discovered that he was sought for capture and lynching because he had fought for the Union. Oh wow. So he fled to Indian Territory and in 1867 enlisted in the 10th Calvary Regiment as a Buffalo soldier under his proper name of George Goldsby. And in 1872 he was promoted to sergeant. I couldn't find when his mother and father when they met and got married. I am assuming and I don't really want to assume but I'm kind of assuming based on just information I found out that they probably met in Indian Territory. Oh okay. And then made their way to Texas together. Crawford's mother Ellen was a Cherokee Freeman of African-American Native American particularly Cherokee and Sioux and white heritage. For those who don't know a Freeman is a freed enslaved person from either the Cherokee or other native tribes. Typically they are African and some of them are full African-American but many of them are usually biracial sharing their ethnicities with African-American and Native Americans. Right. So this in my mind is kind of a kooky thing. This made Crawford like a true American. He was a melting pot of those ethnicities. Oh yeah absolutely. He could he could claim to be white or African-American or Native American and even they says there may have been some Mexican American in him. Oh. I am I couldn't find where at in his family that he could be Mexican. However you just never know. You never know. You never know. So and like I said it was unclear how and where Crawford's parents met but they they did and they raised their family in San Angelo. In 1878 due to unrest in San Angelo between the black soldiers and the Cowboys and Hunters fights often took place. After a particular one where a cowboy ripped the chevrons from a soldier's sleeves and the stripes from his pants the soldiers went to the fort to get help. And so many soldiers returned and a gunfight ensued. Oh gosh. And where one of the hunters was killed two were wounded and then one soldier was killed. So this brought the Texas Rangers in and they attempted to arrest George Goldby because they claimed he armed the soldiers in the shootout. He probably had nothing to do with it. Right. So in fact the fort's colonel challenged this. However being the time that it was the time that it was George knew that they wouldn't be able to protect him. So he went AWOL and escaped back to Indian Territory. Here's a kooky fact. George assumed a new identity in Indian Territory. He became William Scott. Okay. He remarried and eventually settled in Kansas and died in 1922. So when he went AWOL he did not take his family with him. He just left and that was the end of George Goldby. Interesting. So George abandons his wife and three children in Texas. Crawford was two at the time. Ellen his mother was raised in Indian Territory so she returned there with her children to Fort Gibson. She ended up leaving Crawford in the care of quote auntie you know just an auntie. Auntie Amanda Foster until he was sent to Indian School in Cherokee Kansas at age 7. Between ages 10 and 12 Crawford was sent to an Indian industrial school in Carlisle Pennsylvania. He would return to Fort Gibson at age 12. During this time Crawford's mother remarried a William Lynch. Lynch was part of the Knights Calvary and like a tale as old as time Crawford and William Lynch did not get along. Crawford now found himself seeking out friends because he didn't like his home life and lo and behold he had to find the unsavory kind. He began to drink and rebel against authority. Crawford was also reported as being very large for his age. Maybe it made people think he was older than he really was but by age 15 he moved in with his sister and brother-in-law Moses Brown and they moved to Nowata or he moved to Nowata where they were from. Guess what? What? Him and Moses didn't get along either. I'm sure you're right. Maybe he just had a poem with like authority. Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah. Tales here get mixed up. It is believed Crawford killed his brother-in-law over a squabble regarding feeding some pigs. Oh gosh. It was rumored that he killed Moses when he was 12 years old yet wasn't prosecuted due to his age. However some sources say he didn't move in with them until he was 15. So and then others say it didn't happen until he was 18. Oh gosh that's a big. But so many sources did say it was over this fight over pigs over feeding these hogs or something. Oh man. There were some that did report that Crawford shot Moses for beating his sister with a whip and so when this happened Crawford moved back to Fort Gibson into the home of Bud Buffington to do just do some odd jobs. All right. These odd jobs were not sustaining his lifestyle. Of course they weren't. Let's go into his outlaw life. Let's do it. Some of Crawford's first run-ins were the typical sort for that time period like whiskey and stealing horses. We are in Indian territory. Alcohol is illegal. Yep. At age 18 he had a confrontation with Jake Lewis about a dispute with his Crawford's brother. It's also a rumor that it was over a lady friend too but we'll get to that later. Lewis proceeded to beat the snot out of Crawford and a few days later with his six shooter in hand Crawford shot Lewis. Believing Lewis to be dead Crawford went on the run meeting up with the intimate outlaws Jim and Bill Cook. Namesakes of the Cook gang and mixed Cherokee bloodline. Wow. Kooky fact. Jake lived. Later rumors believed that Lewis and Crawford scuffled over a lady. Like I said they were at a dance and scuffled over this lady. Friends and family of Crawford urged him to turn himself in. He was under the jurisdiction of the Cherokee Nation and Lewis lives though he may have might have may have you know gotten about one year in jail. Yeah. In 1894 the Cooks and Crawford headed to Tahlequah to claim their $265.70 payout for the land the U.S. had purchased from the Cherokee Nation because they were members of the Cherokee Nation. During this time Crawford was wanted for shooting Lewis and Jim Cook was wanted for larceny. Kids don't don't quit school. Yeah right. Not wanting to be spotted they had their friend Effie Crittenton. Crittenton. I don't know how to say that correctly. Go to Tahlequah to receive their money. On her way back Effie was followed by a sheriff Ratling Gord and I don't know if that isn't a more western name Ratling Gord. I don't know. That name is up there with you know Doc Holiday. Yeah. You know those kind of names. On June 17th of 1894 Sheriff Gord with a posse got into a gunfight with Crawford and the Cooks. Deputy Sequoyah Houston was killed and Jim Cook was wounded. Authorities fled but later questioned Effie who claimed it was Cherokee Bill who was involved not Crawford Goldsby. Thus the nickname of Cherokee Bill was born. Oh interesting. This nickname claimed he was the most dangerous man in Indian territory and Crawford Goldsby relished it. Oh I'm sure. He had to live up to it now. Oh man. So this led to the formation of a Cook gang and their reign of terror across Indian territory. From August to October of that year the gang was on a serious crime spree. They robbed banks, stagecoaches, and stores killing mercilessly those who got in their way even any innocent bystanders. Cookie facts. At this time Crawford started to lose his hair. It was a disorder inherited from his grandfather. This led him to simply just start shaving it all off. So he was bald. Interesting. Here is a list of Cherokee Bill's most notable crimes. May 26 1894 robbery of T.H. scale store in Wetumpka. He stole 35 cents. $12.35 today. Oh wow. On June 17th 1894 the killing of Deputy Houston. July 4th 1894 Kansas and Arkansas Railroad brakeman Samuel Collins was shot through the bowels after injecting a drunkard for trying to steal a ride to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. A tramp who was on the same car tried to run was shot and died later. The assailant was Crawford Goldsby. According to the 1896 account Collins apparently died as well. Wow. July 6th of 1894. He was busy that year. He was busy. July 6th of 1894 Mississippi Railway station agent A.L. Dick Richards of Nowata was reportedly killed by Cherokee Bill of which he later boasted but then even later denied. On July 18th of 1894. These are the days apart. Yeah. Goldsby and his gang robbed Wells Fargo Express Company and the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Railroad train at Red Fork. On July 30th 1894 they robbed the Lincoln County Bank in Chandler and made off with $500 which is $17,637 today. Killing J.B. Mitchell in the process. Oh wow. September of 1894 Goldsby shot and killed his brother-in-law Joseph Moses Brown. See this is where the timing gets off. Yeah. Either over an argument about some hogs or because he thought that Brown got more of the parental estate than was due to him or because he beat his sister with a whip. It's really unclear. I don't know. Oh man. But something clearly happened. Yeah. Something there was some sort of argument between the two of them. Yeah. September 14th 1894 robbery of Parkinson's store at Ocmulgee. October 9th 1894 robbery of Express Office and Depot at Choteau. Oh man. October 20th train robbery at Coretta. October 22nd Goldsby and three other robbed the post office and Donaldson's store at Watova. November 8th when the men robbed the Shoe Felt and Sun General store Goldsby shot and killed Ernest Melton who happened to enter the store during the robbery. Wrong place wrong time. Oh yeah. He died too. And December 23rd 1894 Goldsby and an accomplished Jim French held up and robbed Nowata Oklahoma station agent Bristow of $190 which would be approximately $6,700 today. So in the span of one year almost only six months. Yeah really. It really amped up between August and October but really if you go back it's almost the span of six months where he was just living life. I mean he took that to a whole new outlaw level. I agree. So let's talk about his downfall. All right let's do it. Due to the murder of Ernest Melton authorities really stepped up their efforts in pursuing the Cook gang particularly Cherokee Bill. Rewards were offered upwards of $1,300 which would roughly be about $46,000 today. Many men from the gang were captured or killed during this pursuit but Cherokee Bill continued to escape. Many of his acquaintances started to agree to help Oh. January 31st 1895 Crawford was in love with one Maggie Glass. They agreed to meet up at her cousin's house. I didn't read this part very well. They agreed to meet up at her coven. Hmm are you are you Jessica now? They agreed to meet up at her cousin's house and one deputy marshal Ike Rogers. Before you all just say wait a second. Rogers had been relieved of his duty because he was caught working with outlaws. I had a feeling. Rogers though wanted his job back so he went to marshal Crump who agreed to consider reinstating him if he helped catch Cherokee Bill. Interesting okay. So I'm going to read from one of our favorite texts or favorite books uh Outlaw Tales of Oklahoma by Robert Barsmith to just kind of tell you like how the capture went down. Okay. So in early February of 1895 Rogers enlisted a neighbor Clint Scales to help him lay Cherokee Bill by the heels and invited both Maggie and her suitor to visit him. As always Cherokee Bill was alert and wary he did not trust Rogers at all neither did Maggie who urged the outlaw to leave. Cherokee Bill stayed on at Rogers place and held his Winchester constantly on his knees. He refused a drink of whiskey which Rogers had thoughtfully spiked with morphine and the men played cards most of the night. When they finally turned in at about 4 a.m. Rogers shared a bed with Cherokee Bill but each time Rogers moved he did also. It was not until after breakfast that Rogers got his chance when Cherokee Bill rolled a cigarette and reached down to the fireplace for a cold to light it with Rogers bashed him in the head with a chunk of wood. A wild wrestling match followed until Rogers and Scales finally subdued Cherokee Bill. Oh isn't that wild? That's nutty. That's wild. So he was captured by Ike Rogers and I didn't tell you what kind of deputy he was did I? No. He was a National Park Service deputy. Okay, okay. And then of course Clint Scales of Nowater. Clint Scales of Nowater and they were taken then those two took the took Cherokee Bill. I can't. Do you want to do that again? No. Start from the captured. Yeah. So I didn't tell you what type of a deputy Ike Rogers was. No. What kind? He was National Park Service deputy. Oh okay. So Ike and his friend Clint of Nowater they take Cherokee Bill to Fort Smith Arkansas for trial. Well we know what that means. Exactly. Here's another kooky. Two of the constables who helped deal with Crawford were tried for assault on Crawford. Crawford aka Cherokee Bill claimed he was hit over the head 12 times by the constables. The constables stated that they did hit him over the head but only because Crawford had a hold of one of the men's thumbs in his mouth and would not release it. Oh my gosh. This is wild. I know both constables were acquitted. Oh my goodness. That's nuttier than squirrel poo. Oh my gosh. All right. It's like this this is this is real life. I know. It's so crazy. April 13th 1895 Cherokee Bill was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging by none other than Judge Isaac Parker aka the hanging judge himself for the murder of Melton. Crawford's lawyer was able to get the execution postponed. Reports claimed Crawford seemed unconcerned with his trial perhaps because he was already planning an escape. Crawford's lawyer claimed that Judge Parker was villainizing Crawford. They claimed Judge Parker claimed that Crawford was a bloodthirsty mad dog who killed for the love of killing and the most vicious of all of Oklahoma Territory outlaws. I don't know that that was lying. I don't know if it's all the truth but I don't know. In June of 1895 a pistol was discovered in the Fort Smith jail's bucket. Oh. Crawford told authorities Ben Howell a prison trustee had brought in the gun and then fled. Crawford then made a friend with a one Sherman Van another prison trustee. If you didn't know I didn't know I had to look it up a prison trustee. Their job was to act as a prison guard and control other inmates on a day to day basis in the residential camps or out on the field work crews. These they were sometimes unarmed trustees who performed janitorial clerical and other medium menial tasks for the prison staff. And then there was these other prison trustees and they were armed usually. That makes sense. Sherman snuck in Crawford's Colt revolver. It just kind of makes you wonder like how is he able to just like almost like charm these people. I don't know. Or like what did he bribe them with or you know it's just right crazy to think about. Anyway sorry keep going. No you're fine. July 26 1895 Crawford attempted a jailbreak. He had jumped the night guard with his revolver shot him once in the stomach. This is Lawrence Keating that he shot and then shot him again in the back. This obviously alerted the other guards who were able to prevent Crawford from escaping. However they weren't able to enter the jail. They're literally having a standoff now at the jail. Oh good grace. So here's where this story is going to start to sound very familiar. Rewind back to episode one. Enter one Henry Starr who convinced the guards to let him into the jail. He went and talked with Crawford. They were known to quote work together at times. They were friends. They were acquaintances of each other for sure. He was able to convince Crawford to give it up and they exited the jail with Crawford being unarmed. This led to Henry Starr of course getting released early from prison. The Galveston Daily News reported that after this attempt Crawford was kept shackled to his cell. He wasn't allowed visitors not even his mom. He placed a blanket over the cell door and he was and when he was granted visitors Crawford would charge them a fee to see him. They paid it Jess. They paid it. He ended up collecting quite a bit of money doing this. I said what is he going to do? I don't know. Did he give it to his mom? Maybe yeah maybe his mom got it. Guards were reported to be extremely uneasy around Crawford which completely makes sense because he was so unpredictable. He was completely unhinged it sounds like. He was at this point. Honestly. I think he'd lost it. So this jailbreak attempt and the murder of Keating called of course for a second trial presided over U.S. District Judge Isaac Parker. He was found guilty and sentenced once again to death by hanging. His initial death date was September 10th of 1895. He was given a stay of execution pending an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Crawford was a protected citizen of Indian Territory and a citizen of the Indian Nation. He was believed to be outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. plus an Indian Territory. Not all the nations were working together and they had different tribal laws and many of his crimes happened across different tribes. Sounds like a nightmare. Right. So during this time not only was Henry Starr the famous outlaw housed with Cherokee Bill but also Rufus Buck. Buck credits Cherokee Bill as being his teacher. As a mentor? Yes. Later on in life during a robbery Buck announced I am a member of the Cherokee Nation and I am a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. So he's a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. He's a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. He's a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. During a robbery Buck announced I'm Cherokee Bill's brother give me all your money. Oh my gosh. Kids don't don't leave school. All right. The United States Supreme Court affirmed the Fort Smith conviction so his second execution date was scheduled for March 17, 1896. So that day came. Crawford was woken up at 6 a.m for a smoke break he ate a light breakfast sent from a hotel in town from his mother. At 9 20 Ellen Goldsby Lynch his mother and Auntie Amanda Foster arrived to see Crawford along with a Catholic priest Father Pius. The hanging was scheduled for 11 a.m however it was postponed until 2 so Crawford's sister Georgia could see him. She was scheduled to arrive by the 1 p.m train. At 2 p.m Crawford was led to the gallows rumored to have been whistling and singing on his way there. On the gallows he told his mother she shouldn't have come. He's rumored to have commented that the day was a good day as any to die. Then rumored to have said goodbye all you chums down that way. Goldsby was asked if he had anything to say and he replied I came here to die not to make a speech. About 12 minutes later Crawford Cherokee Bill Goldsby the notorious the most notorious outlaw in the territory was dead. His body was placed in a coffin in a box and taken to the train depot. His body was escorted by his mother and sister back to Fort Gibson and he is buried at the Cherokee National Cemetery there. Wow it's a kooky fact. Okay April 20th 1897 Clarence Goldsby Crawford's actual brother shot and killed Ike Rogers. Oh so remember back to our episode about the McBride house? Yeah. Okay so Cecilia Black believes that Cherokee Bill's spirit could have been that spirit that at one time tried to haunt her house. Right the angry. The angry one that would like press on and scare and whatever. It was rumored that Crawford's mother had put his body on display once she got back to Fort Gibson. Oh yeah I think I vaguely remember you saying that. Yes she lived in the house across the street from the McBride house. That's just like. And it was I mean it was there. That's just like a recipe for spookiness. Right it was rumored she did this to show school children what would happen if they lived a life of crime. Or she did it for money. Right which is probably both because she probably charged people to look at it. Now here's some really kooky facts. Some speculate he was simply just unlucky because of the number 13 and how it surrounded him. Listen this is kind of creepy. Okay I'm giving you a weird look. I'm giving you a weird look right now. He was found guilty of murder in 13 minutes. Reported to have killed or be responsible for the murder of 13 men. A $1,300 reward if found dead or alive. The trial took a total of 13 hours. The jury plus the foreman equaled 13 men. 13 witnesses were brought forward by the prosecution. The second trial he was also found guilty in 13 minutes. For that trial the foreman and the jury those 13 men were housed in a boarding house room number 313. Melton's murder case was decided on April 13th and his jailbreak attempt was July 26th which is 13 times 2. Oh here we go you want some more. So maybe maybe I mean why not lucky number 13 is my lucky number. I don't think I have one. He was reported to have once worked for the Turley family. The family whose town is their namesake. He was known associates of outlaw Sam McWilliams aka the Verdigris Kid. He was a member of the Cook gang and that actually made the Buck gang their rivals. So even though it was rumored that Rufus Buck looked up to him they were rival gangs. I was going to say how did that work out? The first wanted poster was for Dead or Alive with a $250 reward and which would be about 9,000 a day but then you could see how it shot up to 1300. The Cook gang with Crawford got so bad that the Cherokee Nation's law enforcement wired Washington D.C. asking for military assistance. Oh my gosh. And that is Crawford Cherokee Bill Goldsby. Wow how crazy. I know man I think he's probably one of the wildest ones we've got. I agree. I mean he has got to be up there with Billy the Kid and you know Jesse James and those that those illustrious ones. He really is and I think he lived just exactly how he died and it was going to come fast. Wow yeah that's just so crazy. I know yeah that was like real life. Yeah wow that was really good. Oh thank you. I appreciate you doing that one. That was good. Well so on the other hand are you ready for mine? Yes I'm so excited. So you covered Cherokee Bill. I did I did. I'm covering Judge Isaac C. Parker aka The Hanging Judge. This is gonna be good. We planned this. Yes we did. I'm so excited to know more about him. I honestly okay well we'll get into it but um my sources I used Oklahoma Historical Society, National Park Services, crazy enough legendsofamerica.com, National Park Services that mentioned Cherokee Bill because of Ike Rogers, Encyclopedia of Arkansas.net, Isaac C. Parker, Federal Justice on the Frontier by Michael J. Broadhead is how I think you say it, and Hell on the Border by S.W. Harmon. So a little little background. Okay I just want to say first um when I hear the the name Judge Isaac Parker Hanging Judge like I I'm sure I'm not the only one but I had in my mind like this kind of hard um harsh um no nonsense kind of very strict kind of person and who maybe took things too far and like getting into it there's just so much more to it than it was more than just than what you think and honestly I was like I didn't even know half the stuff you know I just kind of had this picture in my mind and I just wanted to like throw that out there really fast but anyway let's get into him he's interesting guy. So a little bit of background Isaac Charles Parker was born in a log cabin near Barnesville, Ohio on October 15, 1833. His parents were Joseph and Jane Parker and he was their youngest son. Now I tried to see how many children they actually had since they said he was their youngest but I never could actually find a number so I have no idea how many siblings he had but he was the youngest so there we go. Um his father Joseph Parker he had a reputation of quote a man of remarkable energy strict and domestic discipline but mild and persuasive in his methods. Well take that I don't know so just take that as you see it really sure what kind of person that makes him. I don't either his his mom on the other hand she was known for her strong mental qualities whatever that means and um also for her business habits and she was very active in the Methodist church and Parker um would later attribute his success to the way he was raised and especially in relation to his mother. So his um oh whoops I just read that okay I don't know what that was either. Parker received his primary education at see now you're rubbing off that was not my fault. Parker received his primary education at Breeze Hill School. Next he attended a private academy um the Barnesville Classical Institute and to help pay for his schooling there he taught in a country school for four years to help pay for his education. So he taught school and attended school at the same time? Yes. Okay um he alternated schoolwork with helping out on the family farm but he much preferred book learning to farm work and it was said that he would read while resting during his like breaks from his duties like in the hayfield. So while at Barnesville Institute he became quite the enthusiastic and tenacious debater. Parker also had probably a good trade if you're going into law. Right right so he was also like I said um he had a strict Methodist upbringing which kind of factored greatly into um his judicial pronouncements and stuff and one source said that although other biographies claim that Parker is still affiliated with the Methodist church and remains steadfast communicant um a more reliable source said that although he read the bible um and firmly believed in the ideology of Christianity he was not affiliated with any denomination. Okay okay. So when Parker was just 17 years old he decided to study law and he became an apprentice working under a Barnesville lawyer and studied on his own. So he passed the bar in 1859 at the age of 21. Wow. So he began began this is what I get for kind of making fun of you but not making fun of you. I'm laughing at you I guess is how I should say it. He began his legal career when he went to work for his uncle D.E. Shannon in St. Joseph Missouri um and that was at the Shannon and Branch Law Firm and by 1861 he was operating on his own. During this time is when he met his wife Mary O'Toole whom he married on December 12, 1861 and they would end up having two sons uh James and Charles. So over the years Parker built a reputation for being an honest lawyer and a community leader and again by 1861 Parker he was working both in the municipal court and the county criminal courts and in April political the political ambition bug kind of bit him and this led to him winning the election as the city attorney on the Democratic ticket. However he had only been in office for just a few days before the Civil War broke out and yeah kind of it kind of caused him to re-evaluate um some of these his political beliefs that he had. So after that Parker enlisted in the 61st Missouri Emergency Regiment and it was like a home guard uh a home guard unit for the Union forces. Okay. Parker ran for county prosecutor of the 9th Missouri Judicial District on the Republican ticket officially breaking from the Democratic Party. Wait a second. So that was like that was like his break from okay okay from the Democratic Party. So he also he was a busy guy. Yeah. He also served as a member of the Electoral College in the election of 1864 and this is he actually had his vote to Abraham Lincoln. That's awesome. Yeah what a neat what a neat thing. I do say there's a lot of parallels because you know you practice law like Abraham Lincoln he was born you know in a log cabin although he was born in Ohio right is that what you said or Illinois? Ohio. Ohio and you know Abraham Lincoln was born in Illinois but um I was like god there's a lot of parallels here. Well it's funny that you say that because in one of my sources they had kind of mentioned um I wouldn't say like they kind of compared like as far as education went and that kind of thing but it's so it's just kind of funny that you mentioned that. Yeah. They did that. Anyway um oh that's my thought sorry. He served two terms in the U.S. Congress being elected in 1870 and 1872. So while in Congress um it just shows what what kind of guy he was. I just I don't know I just really am liking him is all I'm gonna say. Well I was about to say sorry to interrupt you. No it's fine. Um as a politician and as obviously I know he's going to become a judge he was so well-rounded. He really was. I mean he almost has his hand in every I mean really if you think about it in every branch of government he's got his hand in it. Yes absolutely. So I mean minus I guess the executive branch but yeah but I mean for the most part he was. Yeah I mean but he's well I mean he as far enough on the well I mean I guess he was a member I mean he had to do with I don't know but I mean he was the only one he didn't have was executive branch power but I mean he understood how it worked. Yeah. So I just think that's a great quality to have. Yeah. Like he had to have really understood. Well and I think it's the government and the law. It's really what kind of helps them later on. Yes yes I bet so. So while I will here we go. While he was in Congress he he assisted veterans in his district in securing pensions. He lobbied for construction of a new federal building in St. Joseph. He sponsored legislation that would have allowed women the right to vote and hold public office in U.S. territories. Whoa. Yes. And what year was that? It was when he was in Congress so it was either in 1870 or 1872 when he was had been elected. Oh 50 years before. Yeah yeah. Wow. Yes and he also sponsored legislation that would have organized the Indian Territory under a former territorial government. And it was during Parker's it was during Parker's second term that his speeches supporting the Bureau of Indian Affairs received national attention. So during this time he put most of his effort into Indian policy and the fair treatment of the tribes that were living in Indian Territory. And it was after his second term in Congress that he began to seek a presidential appointment as judge of the Western District of Arkansas in Fort Smith. So that would have jurisdiction over Indian Territory. Yes. So on March 18th 1875 President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him to the position. So based at Fort Smith Arkansas the court had jurisdiction over 11 western Arkansas counties and Indian Territory. So he had. All of Indian Territory. And yes. So he. All of it. He had. Wow. A huge jurisdiction. Enormous. Yes. So essentially the entire state of Oklahoma and 11 counties in Arkansas. Yes. My gosh. Yes. Well the 11 western counties. Yes. So after the Civil War a number of outlaws had increased. You know just wreaking havoc and disturbing the peace. All and this is all in the Indian Territory. And so you know all the tribes that lived in Indian Territory were being terrorized by these outlaws. It's just like it was basically just this nightmare. Kind of like what I said. I mean there were just. There was. It was lawless. Right. I mean it wasn't but it was because you know you could. You could get away with anything. Because you could do a crime in the Cherokee Nation and then flee to the Creek Nation or flee to the Chickasaw Nation and there's nothing they could do. Essentially Indian Territory like we were it was just there. Right. And you know. It's not like we had U.S. marshals and we didn't have. You know we weren't a state yet. And there was just no kind of there wasn't like a strong government hold. Right. So it's like what do you do. So hence. People even wanted to move here. I know. I actually I'm like these people were brave because I can't imagine. Right. They took land from people. Right. Right. But yeah. But so by the time that Parker made it to Fort Smith Indian Territory had become known as a lawless place. You know where outlaws just thought the laws didn't apply to them and terror just reigned. And one means they're not wrong. No. I mean it was in a way they're not wrong. Crazy place to be. So one source said that Parker replaced Judge William Story whose tenure had been marred by corruption. Now what that corruption was I don't know. Oh I'm sure that had something to do with money. I'm sure it was. Yeah. Bribery and all of that stuff. So Parker arrived in Fort Smith on May 4th 1875. Cookie fact Judge Parker at the age of 36 was the youngest federal judge in the West. Wow. Wow. He accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. He really did. He really did. So Judge Parker held court for the first time on May 19th 1875. So he got there May 4th and pretty much started immediately. Right. I gave him enough time to look over pending cases. So let's not forget that in 1875 Judge Parker appointed Bass Reeves as a U.S. deputy marshal one of the first black U.S. deputy marshals west of Mississippi. And it wasn't just him that he appointed like he appointed there was like several. And it was to help with this vast jurisdiction. Yeah. Of you know law that he had to crack a whip at. So anyway just wanted to point that out again if you haven't checked out the episode you should because it's a good one. Yes agreed. During his first term Parker found eight men guilty of murder and had sentenced them to death. How long is the term? I don't know. I mean now it's what is it four years now or two or four years for judges. I feel like two years sounds more accurate but I could be wrong. I don't know. I don't know what I mean what it could have been. Well I didn't even think to look it up to be quite honest. Well okay well here this might answer your question. Okay. So Parker's court was supposed to hold four terms each year. Okay. So I think of it kind of like quarters. Okay. Oh yeah that makes sense. So court was supposed to be held in February, May, August and November. But the caseload for the court was so large that the four terms ran together. So it's pretty much like all year. Hopefully that helped to answer that. Judge Parker held court six days a week often up to 10 hours a day and he tried 91 defendants on the bench in his first eight weeks. 91. Well when you think about how bad his jurisdiction was I mean I guess that makes sense completely. Well it was like obviously the judge that was there before was not doing his job in any capacity. Right. So kooky fact of the eight men that he sentenced you know oh wait no I'm sorry I skipped I skipped a line so I'm going to cut that out. Okay. So those eight men that were sentenced to die they were sentenced to die at the gallows which of course we all know that means they were sentenced to hang and that day came on September 3rd 1875. Kooky fact. Of those eight men only six would actually be executed. One man was killed while trying to escape and a second had his sentence commuted to life in prison because of his youth. Of course you know we've kind of talked about this time and time again that the hanging of these men you know. Henry Starr was one of them that got commuted at one point because of his youth. Well maybe it was him who knows. Or was it Tom Starr I don't remember now. As we've talked about before this hanging of these men became a massive media event and it was nothing more than just pure entertainment for most people and reporters came from Little Rock, St. Louis, they even came from Kansas City as well as these newspapermen from from the eastern and northern cities all flocked to Fort Smith and just to make sure that they got the scoop so to speak. A week before the hanging took place the city was already beginning to be just like flooded with people coming from all over the country. I mean who wanted to witness this hanging? And I'll tell you that when like Cherokee Bill was hung they were saying that there was like possibly 3,000 people there just to see it happen. Oh I believe it I believe it 100 percent. This one source said that more than 5,000 people watched as the six men were marched from the jail to the gallows on the day of execution. Isn't it insane that that was a form of entertainment? It's just it's crazy to me. Okay I'm gonna I'm gonna go back to I think our second episode our second outlaw episode when we talked about um who was it Ma Barker maybe? Yeah yeah. And how when Ma Barker and her son Frank were in that house and the FBI agents and the people were bringing picnic lunches to watch a shootout. And I remember too mentioning then at that same time that during the Revolutionary War and I know during like the back and even the Civil War like the Battle of Gettysburg people would bring picnics to watch these battles take place and it just it just baffles me. Yeah it blows my mind and maybe that's because you and I have been fortunate enough that we have not lived in a time period where war has been at our doorstep or something like an FBI stakeout has never been at our doorstep thankfully. I would like to think we have more sense because I would be the person that got hit with by a strangler. Oh yeah yeah I would be too. It's just every time we when every time when I research these it's just it's insane but I know that because now you know granted we have a death penalty even here in Oklahoma and you know they do allow some people in to witness the execution and I'm just like in my mind like but you know I feel like those people you know they have a reason to be there they were victims or you know part of victims family or the actual executionees family you know but I'm like but these this is just any old schmo off the road walks by and is like oh we doing a hanging today oh let me go get my friend you know you know you're saying that about the executions now if you think about it it's not too much different because there's still a lot of people that will flock to those jails and wait out you know until they protest maybe to get to see the body coming out or I mean you're right you're right you're right but anyway I think we just humans just have morbid curiosity I'd like to think I don't but I've never been put in that situation right sorry I didn't mean to interrupt no you're fine you lost that's fine oh so I do have some information on the crimes of the men who were hanged if that's of course okay so the six condemned men were Daniel Evans William J Whittington and James H Moore all three of these were white men Smoker Mankiller and Samuel Sui both were Native Americans and Edmund Heck Campbell was a black man so Evans murder or Evans murdered a youth in the Creek Nation and made off with his horse and saddle and boots Whittington clubbed a man with whom he had been drinking slashed his throat and robbed him of a hundred dollars in the Chickasha Chickasaw Nation I know Moore a horse thief murdered a deputy marshal Mankiller fatally shot a neighbor with a rifle he had borrowed from him I know Sui took the life of a young Cherokee Nation school teacher John Emmett Ness in order to steal the 250 dollars Ness was carrying oh my god and Campbell killed a farmer and his mistress in the Choctaw Nation for no apparent reason mistress mistress so it had to be a reason mistress so it had to be a reason there could have I just said that he's mistress maybe he was hired I don't know which was the farmer's wife each prisoner of course was asked if if any of them had any last words some did some didn't prayers were said and there was some hymn singing the arms of the prisoners were then bound and black hoods were then placed over their their heads George Mildon the hangman adjusted the nooses around the head of each man when where he then pulled back the iron levers and released the trigger bar that caused the doors of the trap to fall and each man died from a broken neck Parker's forceful efforts to ensure swift justice included three mass hangings in two years which well and I just think how many well I don't need hanging I think like six I mean I think it's just like okay okay I think they considered that math okay I just wondered what what constitutes math I don't what number constitutes math painting like sex so sorry my armpits um so because of these three mass hangings in two years it gained national attention and even though the hangings indicated that the once corrupt court was functioning again um he gained notoriety as the hanging judge and his court became known as the court of the damned which I didn't know and I was like oh my gosh he was essentially criticized for the way he handed out swift and harsh punishments but a lot of these critics didn't live in the frontier and didn't understand ethics or the lack of ethics in Indian territory the fear that these people had yeah and at this time it was still considered lawless and untamed and the territory was just inundated with these outlaws and criminals so it's easy to judge or criticize when you have no idea of the situation or the circumstances surrounding you know any of those situations well I'll tell you that looking into you know Cherokee Bill's case you know his case came down in 13 minutes but if you look at it in the long run how many other cases did he have to did Judge Parker have to look at that day yeah you know so maybe he just had really good efficiency he was very efficient yes Harrison let your brother play I don't know if I believe that sorry nope it's fine however on the opposite side it was said that most of the local people approved of Parker's judgments feeling like the utter ruthlessness of the crimes validated the sentences that were handed out and I just want to point out that you know these are not the only cases that we're talking about and I'm not going to go into all of them because I don't want to the crimes validated the sentences that were handed out and I just want to point out that you know these people who approve these harsh punishments these are the ones that were most affected by having to live it outlaws and the crime you know the crimes that are being committed so I mean why wouldn't you want to feel like justice is being served or well and I mean that would probably to them they would say justice is being served for sure even though Parker was harsh on killers and rapists he was also a fair man I think being in the line of work that he was in he had to be tough and I think being in a position like that a person could easily become corrupt oh I'm sure fall into that greedy kind of mindset and you know or like the what would benefit me kind of way of thinking and I think it takes a special kind of person to be able to take a position like that right and still be able to keep your morals and because I can only imagine the type of I mean he's got all these unsavory characters that he is looking at day in and day out like and you know and you know he probably got bribed yeah those people it brings you know those people's friends to town right and I'm going to try to get my friend off anyway I can right well Parker did occasionally grant retrials and you know that sometimes resulted in acquittals or reduced sentences so it wasn't like he was harsh punishments all the time right cookie fact Parker was actually in favor of abolishing the death penalty but he was strictly but he strictly adhered to the law so he said quote I favor the he said quote I favor the abolition is that right because it like isn't sounding right in my head abolition or abolishment one of the two okay abolition the third time this is such karma right now he said quote I favor the abolition of capital punishment too provided that there is a certainty oh why is this so hard I swear this is the last time it just last girl it's fine it's fine it's fine he said quote I favor the abolition of capital punishment too provided that there is a certainty of punishment following I read the wrong line good grief all right I'm thinking about it too much yeah you are now he said quote I favor the abolition of capital punishment too provided that there is a certainty of punishment whatever that punishment may be and the uncertainty of punishment following crime lies the weakness of our halting crime so whenever a jury in his court found someone guilty of murder or rape the judge had no choice but to impose the death penalty it it was federally mandated for that it was a it was a federal law mandated for that to happen so he was often quoted as saying quote I never hanged a man it was the law and okay honestly that's the truth like he was only he was following the law what the law said yeah so most of parker's sympathy was reserved for the victims of the crimes and is now seen as one of the first advocates of victims rights one of parker's main contributions to the betterment of his adopted community of fort smith it was furthering the cause of public education so for several years he sat as a member and sometimes president of the school board he his commitment to education stemmed from his belief that there would be fewer criminals if young people were instructed properly and the responsibilities of citizenship so he was very much um for education and education of of youth and the younger generations in 1887 um parker became one of the founding members of the board of trustees of saint john's hospital he was also instrumental in establishing a library and organizing the county fair his name was also associated with several charities and um fraternal associations that claimed him as a member so he was very much involved in the community nice which i'm sitting here going when did he have time too um and it wasn't just him it said that his wife was also very much involved in the community and um his sons didn't go to a private school they went to the public school of fort smith that was there so in 1883 congress made cuts to the jurisdiction of um of areas and this means that the jurisdiction over some portions of indian territory was given over to federal courts in texas and kansas um which did provide some relief for parker yeah i can imagine however um with a continuous stream of settlers making their way into indian territory um it he still had jurisdiction over this part but the crime rate did increase with new settlers so it was like he had some relief but then he didn't you know it's kind of like uh but your area is smaller but now we're going to put more people right in it and crime is going to increase yes one source said that the restrictions of the courts once that jurisdiction or sometimes a source of frustration for parker and um what bothered him the most were the supreme court reversals of capital crimes that were tried in fort smith so two-thirds of the cases appealed to the higher court were reversed and sent back to fort worth for retrial in fort worth or sorry fort smith hey matt well you might that you know part of texas has taken over so maybe it got moved to fort worth okay i was just checking to make sure um sorry pardon me fort smith and on february 6 1889 congress took the circuit court authority from the federal court at fort smith and allowed u.s supreme court to begin reviewing all capital crimes this went into effect on may 1st of 1889 and it had a major effect on parker so up until this time the president was the only person with the power to commute sentences however now the supreme court could overturn cases as well okay okay it makes sense we've talked about where henry star had president roosevelt well and you had mentioned overturned um jerickey bill tried to appeal or he tried to as well um i can imagine the headache that this was for parker in 1894 judge parker gained national attention again when he got into a dispute with the supreme court over the case of lafayette hudson oh so basically hudson was tried and found guilty of assault with intent to kill and was sentenced to four years in prison which to me i'm sitting here going four years is not that much it's not a life sentence you aren't being hanged right just take it take your punishment hudson entered a motion for a new trial which judge parker overruled and hudson then appealed to the supreme court before the clerk of the fort smith court issued a writ of error hudson applied to the justice um to justice white for a writ of error and um a i don't know if i'm going to say this right a supersedis okay ordering a stay of proceedings which was granted white also allowed hudson to furnish bond for five thousand dollars and i'm sorry i didn't do any conversions on this i should have but i didn't so of course this did not make judge parker happy his response was to refuse approval of the bond or to discharge hudson and this became a whole big thing between parker and hudson and there's actually a supreme court case hudson versus parker that that went on um i won't really get into it but i'll just say that the point i'm trying to make here though is that this was just another incident that put parker in the national spotlight so to speak and kind of being this like um almost like he's being a bully you know what i mean did you see that no you said don't bully that little nugget's trying to climb on top of gus it's like i can't tell if he's trying to get on his back or he's like trying to push him off the log on his back that's so funny gus is like i'm not having it get away from me go away we're distracted by turtles yeah i'm sorry um okay okay in either 1895 or 1896 my god i'm not sure my sources were conflicting a new courts act was passed by congress this act would remove the last remaining indian territory jurisdiction effective september 1st 1896 so this would move indian territory out of parker's jurisdiction completely okay so following the escape the okay following the escape attempt of cherokee bill in the summer of 1895 which resulted in the death of a jail guard yes judge parker again came into conflict with his superior when he blamed the justice department and the supreme court for the incident cherokee bill was eventually hanged but you know we just heard about that um but the debate was not over yet and a very public argument was carried on between judge parker and the assistant attorney general oh gosh so when august uh when the august 1896 term began parker was too ill to preside over court 20 years of overwork and had contributed to various ailments including dinner degeneration of the heart and bright's disease which we kind of mentioned in the robber's cave episode but um bright's disease is now called nephritis yeah it's an inflammation of the kidneys caused by toxins infection or autoimmune condition it is not strictly a single disease yeah rather a condition with a number of types of causes so when the court's jurisdiction over lands in the indian territory ended on september 1st 1896 the judge um he had to be interviewed by reporters at his bedside oh man so just barely a couple of months after the jurisdictional change took effect judge isaac c parker died on november 17th 1896 judge parker's funeral took place on november 18th or 1896 and at that time was the largest in fort smith flags flew at half mast thousands of mourners made their way to fort smith uh or i'm sorry fort smith national cemetery for a graveside service only blocks from where he once presided at court or as judge i should say judge parker was well liked and was very respected in the community comrades in the grand army of the republic and lodge brothers from the knights of honor and odd fellows attended his funeral along with court personnel members of the bar journalists and townspeople at the conclusion of the formal funeral rites principal chief of the creek nation pleasant porter laid a garland of wildflowers on the casket sadie dove a native american woman placed flowers on the grave the plain soldier's headstone bears only the name isaac c parker and the number 4000 i have no idea what the number 4000 is for but it's there so his courtroom is now the fort smith national historic site in 21 years on the bench judge parker tried 13 there's this number 13 oh 13 490 cases 344 of which were capital crimes 9 454 cases resulted in a guilty pleas or convictions he sentenced 160 men to death by hanging one source said that included four women however only 79 were hanged the rest died in jail appealed or were pardoned wow so just a few things i want to mention about judge isaac parker before we uh conclude um there was a lot more to parker's position than just sitting around in a courtroom trying cases he was occasionally called upon to testify in front of congress or substitute for other federal judges in the area he was also responsible for hearing more than just capital cases he tried many civil cases during his time at fort smith as well so here are some of the famous outlaws that made their way in front of judge isaac parker i didn't list them all because there is way way way too many um cherokee bill yay colorado bill rufus butt gang bell star and so many more so um one last cool thing every star went before him too yeah there's so many there are so many um one last thing i thought was really cool so if you're a western movie fan like me and my dad um or like a clint eastwood fan specifically his movie hang them high the character of the judge uh in the movie is based off judge isaac parker oh okay so um it was really funny because i was kind of reading one of the quotes that one of the prisoner of the first six that were hung um their last words and he went on this like spiel about it wasn't me it was the drink it was the whiskey you know like it was my father's fault you know it was this long thing about parents don't let your children know the devil's water you know it was like this whole thing and i was like oh my goodness so i go and talk to my dad like hey dad i'm gonna read this to you tell me what you think and he goes well that makes me think of hang them high because there's a part in that movie where this guy does the same exact thing so um anyway that was judge that's really good actually interesting i did not know a lot of that i it was uh it was cool to see another side of it right because when you hear the hangin judge you just automatically think how harsh uh no nonsense like you didn't want to go before him that you were gonna go you it didn't matter what you did you were gonna you were gonna get a hang victim exactly sorry verdict yeah and um i honestly feel kind of bad for him a little bit because having that moniker of the hangin nation because it wasn't any it wasn't even anything that he it wasn't like he personally was like oh you're you were guilty you're gonna be hanged yeah it was literally the law and he was just following it right and i think that says something about his character being being so um you know not not able to be persuaded off of what he believes was right and what he knew was right right i agree i agree anyway i thought he was a really cool guy i i it's not often that we see the other side of the law when we talk about our outlaws well and i know that he um i know that he was like living in fort smith i mean that is literally right across the oklahoma border right and i mean literally our weathermen cover fort smith and exactly and on top of that um we could not cover him because he presided over indian territory exactly precisely yes so no i know i think it was great good job anyway actually good i thought i thought you did really well too i liked how it kind of definitely fit in yeah fit in for sure very cohesive well if you have any show suggestions or ideas make sure that you email let us email at us that's weird i will that's fine if you have any show suggestions for us you can email us at curiouscousinsok at gmail.com please make sure that you rate follow and review our podcast on all major streaming services such as apple spotify amazon iheart radio stitcher etc etc you can also follow us on social media at curious cousins okay podcast on facebook at curious cousins okay on instagram and at curious cousins on twitter cousins spelled c u z n and we would 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