The outlaw
My latest “Your famous ancestor” listing on the Ancestry.com app nearly made me cry.
Why? Because I wanted to call Dad and hear his reaction.
As you may recall from The Maine man (sadly, the final story Dad and I worked on together), he reacted unexpectedly when I shared with him that his grandfather George was once accused of arson:
“Oh, boy! Ever since I was I kid, I’d hoped there was a criminal somewhere in our family tree! Not a murderer, of course. But maybe a stagecoach robber.”
Well, Dad … I’ll see your stagecoach robber will raise you a train robber!
Meet Sam Bass:
He was born in Mitchell, Indiana, of all places. On a farm. On July 21, 1851.
Sam Bass was orphaned by the time he was 13 years old. Escaping an abusive uncle, he headed south a few years later and ended up working for a sheriff in Texas. Bass tried life as a gambler until the horse he raced became too old. Next, he partnered with a friend; they organized a cattle drive for several ranchers, but ultimately gambled the proceeds away.
The last few years of his young life, Sam Bass was part of an outlaw gang. In addition to stagecoach heists, the gang robbed a Union Pacific Railroad gold train of what would amount to $2 million in today’s money. It then disbanded.
Back in Texas, Sam assembled a new gang and hit up stagecoaches and trains in the Dallas area.
A Pinkerton National Detective Agency manhunt began, along with a special company of Texas Rangers, all determined to get their man. Dirty tricks ensued, as the desperately ill father of one of the outlaws was taken into custody and held without medication until his son turned informant.
On July 19, 1878, Sam Bass was wounded in a gunfight with the Texas Rangers. He died two days later, on his 27th birthday.
Maybe someone can explain to me why we glorify criminals. There are events, roads – and even a fire department – named for Sam Bass.
Now that I see the list of Westerns that included a Sam Bass character, I can be fairly certain Dad was aware of the outlaw. In those 17 lonely months after Mom passed away, I would call Dad with the nightly schedule for old-time radio show reruns. He was always pleased to catch Tales of the Texas Rangers and The Lone Ranger.
He’d been a fan since his childhood years:
And so how are we related? Sam Bass is our half 8th cousin, three times removed.
On Dad’s side of the family, of course!
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