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William "Billy" B. Fain, aka: Billy Profane (1856-1929) - Born in
Tennessee, Fain moved to
California in 1883. A tough and rugged man with a
forceful manner of speaking, he soon gained the nickname, "Billy Profane."
In 1884, he killed his own uncle, james C. Fain, but the killing was ruled
self-defense. While living in the Warner Springs area of San Diego
county, he got into a dispute with the Helm brothers and in 1887 a shootout
occured between Fain and Chat Helm. Though Fain was tried twice on assault to
murder charges, he was later cleared and moved on to Oak Grove,
California.
There, he was elected constable, a position he held until July, 1890. He ten
moved on to Yuma,
Arizona, where he married, raised a family, and lived until
his death on March 20, 1929.
H. D. Fannin - U.S.
Deputy Marshal commissioned in the Western District at
Fort Smith,
Arkansas .
After Fannin had arrested a man named Jason Labreu in 1883, for the rape and
murder of a woman, Labreau escaped on the way to
Fort Smith,
Arkansas and was
killed by Fannin. Later that same year, Fannin was one of the deputy marshals
that helped capture Johnson Jacks, who had been charged with the killing of U.S.
Deputy Marshal Addison Beck.
Edward J. Farr (1867-1899) - Born on
November 22, 1867 at Kerrville, Texas, he later moved to New Mexico
with his older brother, Jeff. Later, both men moved to Huerfano County, Colorado, where Edward
was
elected sheriff in 1898. It was during this time that the Ketchum Gang
was roaming the area robbing trains, banks and post offices. On July
11, 1899, Sam
Ketchum,
Will Carver and
Elza Lay pulled a heist without their leader,
Thomas
"Black Jack" Ketchum in
Folsom,
New Mexico. Though the bandits made off with some $50,000, they
were quickly pursued by a posse, which included Sheriff Farr, to a
hideout in Turkey Canyon, near
Cimarron,
New Mexico.
On July 16th, the posse caught up with the bandits which quickly
resulted in an all out gun battle. when it was over, Sheriff Farr had
been shot three times and killed. Also seriously wounded was posse man, Henry M. Love of the Colfax
County, New Mexico who would die of his wounds on July 21st. Of the
gang,
Sam Ketchum
was hit and taken into custody, where he died on July 24th. Also, hit
was
Elza Lay, but he, and Will
Carver were able to make their escape. Lay was caught up with in
August and sent to prison. Carver would later be killed two years
later by Texas by lawmen.
Jefferson "Jeff" Beauregard Farr (1862-1920) - The older
brother of Edward J. Farr, was born in Kerrville, Texas and when he
grew up moved to New Mexico. Later, his younger brother Edward
joined him and the pair made their way to
Huerfano County, Colorado, where Edward was elected sheriff in 1898.
Jeff went to work for his brother as a deputy sheriff and when
Edward went after the Ketchum Gang in July, 1899, he left Jeff in
charge. Unfortunately, Edward was killed by the gang near Cimarron,
New mexico on July 16th. Jeff then became sheriff, a position he
retained until 1917. He then worked as a rancher and cattleman.
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Sam Farris
(18??-1894) - While serving as a Canadian County Deputy Sheriff
in Oklahoma Territory, Farris recognized two outlaw brothers named
James and Victor Casey in Yukon, Oklahoma on May 21, 1894. The
Caseys were suspected of murdering two men near El Reno earlier in
the month and when Farris confronted them, the brothers shot the
deputy. However, Farris returned the fire, wounding Vic Casey in the
foot before he died. Vic Casey would later develop blood poisoning
from the wound and die on November 12, 1894. His
brother Jim was later arrested and placed in jail in Oklahoma City.
On June 30, 1895, when he tried to escape the jail with the
Christain brothers, he was killed.
John F. Fields
(18??-1892) - A half-blooded Cherokee Indian, Fields was
commissioned as a U.S. Deputy Marshal in
the Western District at
Fort Smith,
Arkansas.
In June, 1885 Fields was riding with Sam Six Killer to a murder
scene near Fort Gibson, Oklahoma where notorious outlaw Dick Glass and
his gang of rustlers killed a man named William Cobb and seriously
wounded another named Alex Cowan. The deputies trailed Dick Glass and his outlaw
buddies to about five miles south of Emet, in the Choctaw Nation where
Glass was killed in a shoot-out by Sam Sixkiller. In October, 1892,
when Fields rode with a posse to arrest Cherokee outlaw Ned Christie, he
would not be so lucky. On October 19th, as a posse approached Christie’s cabin ordering the
fugitive to come out, Christie came out of his cabin with his guns
blazing. Fields recived a fatal gunshot to the neck, another
deputy was wounded and the posse retreated.
William Fields (18??-1887)
- A full-blooded Cherokee
Indian, Fields was commissioned as a U.S. Deputy Marshal in the
Western District at
Fort Smith,
Arkansas in early 1887. At the same
time, he was also appointed to act as the City Marshal of Tahlequah,
Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Shortly after his
appointment, he attempted to arrest a Choctaw Indian named Cash Ellis,
who had allegedly killed a black man named Busby. However, Ellis was
not to be taken in without a gunfight and wound up with both legs
riddled with bullets. The next time, Fields would not be so lucky. On
the afternoon of April 10, 1887, he and an African-American deputy
named Crowder Nix, were attempting to arrest James H. Cunninus near
Eufaula, Oklahoma for robbing a railroad boxcar. The fugitive; however
began to flee and in a running gun battle, Fields was killed by
Cunninus. Crowder; however, returned the fire, wounding the fugitive
and taking him into custody.
Edward D. Fink - U.S. Deputy Marshal commissioned in
El Reno, Oklahoma Territory in January, 1895 under Marshal Evett Nix.
He later worked out of the Western District of Indian Territory,
serving under Marshal Leo Bennett and assigned to Wetumka, Oklahoma.
In December, 1902, while attempting to arrest two outlaws named
Tunnels and Clark near Wetumka, he was overpowered and received a
pistol whipping that left him unconscious. Two years later, on
November 20, 1904, he would not be so lucky when he attempted to
arrest Indian outlaws, Jim Tiger and Peter Fish. Pursuing the
fugitives on horseback to the Eufaula area, he ordered them to halt
when Fish turned in his saddle and fired his Winchester rifle killing
the deputy. The killers were later apprehended by U.S. Deputy
Marshals Grant Johnson and Bud Ledbetter, tried and Fish received
life imprisonment for Fink’s murder.
 John King
Fisher (1854-1884) - Born northeast of Dallas,
Texas, the
family moved north of Austin around 1960. When Fisher borrowed a horse without
telling the owner, he was soon arrested for horse theft. He soon escaped from
the posse with the help of the horse's owner, who decided not to press charges.
He then made his way to Goliad,
Texas where
he was soon arrested for breaking into a house. He was sent to prison but
pardoned just four months later. Moving on to Dimmit County, he established a
ranch in a area where cattle rustling was rampant. Before long, Fisher was right
in the middle of it, with his ranch serving as a haven for drifters and
outlaws. He
was sometimes known to ride with Mexican rustlers, sometimes making off with as
many as 100 head of cattle. His
outlaw
activities often led to violence and he quickly gained a reputation as a skilled
gunfighter. He was arrested at various times by
Texas Rangers
Leander McNelly and Lee Hall but always managed to avoid conviction. Evidently
by 1876, Fisher had his fill of the
outlaw life,
married and bought a ranch near Eagle Pass.
In 1881 he was appointed deputy sheriff of Uvalde County and two years later
became the sheriff. He turned out to be an efficient and popular
lawman
and made plans to run for re-election in 1884. However, on the night of March
11, 1884, in the Vaudeville Variety Theater in
San Antonio,
Fisher and his companion, noted gunman
Ben Thompson,
were involved in a shootout brought on by a quarrel between
Thompson
and the theater's owners. Both Fisher and
Thompson
were killed.
George W. Flatt (1853-1880)
- A fearless
gunfighter , Flatt was
Caldwell,
Kansas'
first marshal in 1879, but was not well liked. On April 5, 1880, a new mayor was
elected in Caldwell, namely one
Mike Meagher.
One of the first things Meagher did was
discharge City Marshal George Flatt because he disapproved of Flatt’s confrontational way of law enforcement. He then appointed William Horseman as the new marshal; Frank Hunt and Dan
Jones as deputies,
and James Johnson as constable. Flatt was none to happy about this event and
wasted no time voicing his complaints about
Meagher
and the new police department.
He insisted that his only enemies were those of the city
administration and that the rest of the town was behind him. These words would wind
up leading to his demise. On the evening of June 18,1880, a drunken Flatt made
his rounds in a number of Caldwell
saloons, voicing his complaints to anyone who
would listen. Somewhere along the line, he ran into Frank Hunt and the two
argued until Hunt was finally able to persuade Flatt to go home about 1:00
o'clock in the morning. But Flatt wouldn't make it. On his way, he was ambushed
and died in the street with a bullet in the back of his skull. On June 25th,
Sumner County Sheriff, Joe Thralls, arrested Mayor
Mike Meagher,
and police officers William Horseman, Frank Hunt, James Johnson, and Dan Jones
for the murder. Five days later, on June 30th, all but Frank Hunt and William
Horseman were released. Of the event, the local newspaper, the Caldwell Commercial, said on July 1st:
"What the result of all this will be it is
impossible to say, but, if we are correctly informed, the whole thing has the
appearance of a put up job.”
The
newspaper was correct. The other two men were discharged after a court examination on July 3rd. Though all of the men were bound
over for trial, the judicial system would follow through only with William
Horseman. A year later he was acquitted.
Frederick Fornoff (1859-1935) - Born at Baltimore, Maryland on February
6, 1859, Fornoff moved to Galveston, Texas in 1877. Two years later, he was
working as a miner in Colorado, and in 1880 landed in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
where he became a policeman and worked himself up to the position of Chief of
Police. In 1898, he enlisted in the Rough Riders, serving with them until they
disbanded. Afterwards he became a U.S. Deputy Marshal, while simultaneously
working as a deputy sheriff of Bernalillo County, New Mexico. He then moved on
to the New mexico Mounted Police where he became a Captaan. In that position he
was tasked with investigating the murder of Pat Garrett on February 29, 1908.
Fornoff concluded that Garrett had been killed by hired killer, Jim Miller,
although others disagreed. He later served in a number of capacities for the
Federal Government and for the Santa Fe Railway. He died on November 26, 1935 in
Sheridan, Wyoming.
William "Bill” or "Will” D.
Fossett (1851?-1940) - Fossett began his career as a lawman when he
worked as an assistant marshal in Caldwell, Kansas during
its reckless
cowtown period. In 1881, he moved on to Kingman, Kansas,
where he served as City Marshal until 1887. He then worked on the construction
crews building the railroads until 1889, when he joined with thousands of others
taking part in the Oklahoma Land Rush. Lining up west of the Kingfisher Station,
he claimed a piece of the land for himself and soon went to work for the
railroad as a special agent.
Later, he was appointed as a U.S. Deputy
Marshal. He was serving with U.S. Deputy Marshals Heck Thomas and Bill Tilghman,
along with Sheriff Rhinehart, when they Doolin Gang member, Little Dick West in
April, 1897 near Guthrie, Oklahoma. The four lawmen shared the $2000 "Dead or
Alive” reward. On November 6, 1897, Fossett was appointed as Chief Deputy of
Oklahoma Territory. When outlaws Bob Hughes, Bill Bourland, and other gang
members tried to rob a Rock Island train near Pond Creek, Oklahoma, they were
surprised to find Deputy Marshal Fossett guarding the train. Fossett killed
outlaw leader Bob Hughes in the fray and the rest of the gang fled without any
loot. The rest of the gang was captured a few days later by Deputy Marshal Chris
Madsen. Fossett later rode with Bill Banks and other posse members when they
drove the notorious Zip Wyatt and Ike Black from their strong hold in the Gloss
Mountains, which ultimately resulted in the death of the fugitives.
Fossett served as a lawman in various
capacities for some 50 years. He continued to live in Kingfisher until his death
in 1940.
George
Milton Frazer (1828-1908) – Born at Brownsville, Tenneessee on January
5, 1928, Frazer was in Texas in 1835, where he first lived at San Gugustine and
later in Sabine county. In May, 1846, he joined the army in the Mexican War for
two years. He then settled at Santa Fe, new Mexico, where he worked as a wagon
master and did some mining. He later settled in southern New Mexico, opening an
express business from Mesilla to Pinos Altos. Close to the Arizona state line,
he commissioned a company of Arizona Rangers to fight the Indians in 1861. The
Arizona Rangers were mustered into Confederate service at Fort Fillmore in
August, 1861 and fought in several battles, primarily against the Indians. He
eventually achieved the rank of captain and after the Civil War, he settled in
San Antonio, Texas, then to Pecos County, where he worked in the ranching and
mercantile business. Later, he resided at Toyah, Texas where he served as a
judge before his death on August 2, 1908.
William B. Freeman
- U.S. Deputy Marshal commissioned on July 19, 1869 serving in the District
Court at Van Buren, Arkansas under Marshal William A. Britton. By 1894, Freeman
was working out of the Southern District Court of Indian Territory at Paris,
Texas when he took part in a posse of deputy marshals that attempted to arrest
Bill Dalton near Ardmore, Oklahoma on June 8, 1894.
As the posse approached Bill's home, the
fugitive, with a pistol in hand, jumped out of a window and ran toward the
posse, ignoring orders to halt. He was killed immediately.
Continued
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