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Samuel “Sam” Bass (1851-1878) - Born on a farm near Mitchell, Indiana on July 21, 1851, Bass hated school and by the time he grew up, he was illiterate. As a young man, he moved to Denton, Texas where he went to work for Sheriff W. F. Egan as a teamster. But he soon tired of the hard work of loading and unloading the wagons and quit to become the full-time owner of a one-man racing stable. Later he worked as a cowboy and drove a large herd of cattle north to Kansas, along with two other men named Jack Davis and Joel (Joe) Collins. However, once they arrived, they began to hear of the gold strike in Deadwood, South Dakota and after a bout of drinking, they decided to keep the cattle owner's profits and join the rush. After drinking and gambling the money away, Bass became a true outlaw and began to rob stage coaches in the Dakotas. Later, he organized a gang, robbing trains and banks.

The gang soon headed back to Texas and planned to rob a bank in Round Rock. However, they were unaware that the gang had been infiltrated with an informer named Jim Murphy, who set a trap for them. When they went to rob the bank on July 19, 1878, the Texas Rangers were waiting and in the inevitable gunfight, Seaborn Barnes was shot in the head and Bass was severely wounded. Though he made it to his horse and rode out of town, he was found lying helpless in a pasture north of town the next day. Bass was brought back to Round Rock where he died on July 21st. It was his 27^th birthday.
 

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