Your cool and interesting ancestors

[Aries]

We have a famous criminal in our family history.
Blackjack Ketchum was a train robber and thief. (Ketchum Oklahoma on grand lake is named after the legal part of his family)
He was caught and sentenced to hang in Clayton NM.
There was a little issue though. They miscalculated his weight and the length of the rope which resulted in popping his head off when he dropped.

The hanging of Black Jack Ketchum didn't go as planned

I knew we were related to the Ketchum name but on a trip back from New Mexico a few years back we stopped in Clayton for lunch and found a large board with pics of the hanging.
My sister has done an in-depth study of our families history, publishing two books.
The only other famous person is Gabby Hayes who was the cook on the TV series Rawhide. Never knew or saw him other than on TV.

I remember Gabby Hayes... he was in a LOT of stuff, mostly westerns.

Paul Brinegar played the the cook in Rawhide though... but imdb lists 195 titles in Gabby Hayes filmography. Mostly known as a character actor, he played a lot of roles as sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Randolph Scott and John Wayne. Pretty much anyone over 20 years old who has seen a movie probably knows who Gabby Hayes was... doesn't seem possible but he died 52 years ago... I was 12, there's really no reason I should remember him but he's pretty much a Hollywood legend.

 

[Bocephus123]

very cool all the history we have here . guess i need to start reading my granny's writings. i know my great grandfather was mayor of Tulsa in 48-49 i think.the date is correct. and had the first lumber company in Tulsa who supplied lumber to rig n reel -(Flintco) who was building wooden oil derriks at the time.

 

[TerryMiller]

We have a famous criminal in our family history.
Blackjack Ketchum was a train robber and thief. (Ketchum Oklahoma on grand lake is named after the legal part of his family)
He was caught and sentenced to hang in Clayton NM.
There was a little issue though. They miscalculated his weight and the length of the rope which resulted in popping his head off when he dropped.

The hanging of Black Jack Ketchum didn't go as planned

I knew we were related to the Ketchum name but on a trip back from New Mexico a few years back we stopped in Clayton for lunch and found a large board with pics of the hanging.
My sister has done an in-depth study of our families history, publishing two books.
The only other famous person is Gabby Hayes who was the cook on the TV series Rawhide. Never knew or saw him other than on TV.

Gabby Hayes has a lengthy list of movies in which he was featured, including some with John Wayne. Check out IMDb's list below:

Gabby Hayes - IMDb

 

[PanhandleGlocker]

We have a famous criminal in our family history.
Blackjack Ketchum was a train robber and thief. (Ketchum Oklahoma on grand lake is named after the legal part of his family)
He was caught and sentenced to hang in Clayton NM.
There was a little issue though. They miscalculated his weight and the length of the rope which resulted in popping his head off when he dropped.

The hanging of Black Jack Ketchum didn't go as planned

I knew we were related to the Ketchum name but on a trip back from New Mexico a few years back we stopped in Clayton for lunch and found a large board with pics of the hanging.
My sister has done an in-depth study of our families history, publishing two books.
The only other famous person is Gabby Hayes who was the cook on the TV series Rawhide. Never knew or saw him other than on TV.

when he went to rob the train they were ready for him because he robbed it in the same place each time. Near Folsom, NM there’s a spot where the train has to slow way down around a curve. He got shot in the arm pretty badly and they took him to the Folsom Hotel to stay the night before transporting him to Clayton. There is/was a blood stain on the wooden floor on the second level. The stain was still there when I was able to go into the Folsom Hotel a few years ago.

the arm ended up having to be amputated which led to the weight miscalculation, also the fact that while waiting for trial he just got to eat a lot and gain weight.

 

[dennishoddy]

when he went to rob the train they were ready for him because he robbed it in the same place each time. Near Folsom, NM there’s a spot where the train has to slow way down around a curve. He got shot in the arm pretty badly and they took him to the Folsom Hotel to stay the night before transporting him to Clayton. There is/was a blood stain on the wooden floor on the second level. The stain was still there when I was able to go into the Folsom Hotel a few years ago.

the arm ended up having to be amputated which led to the weight miscalculation, also the fact that while waiting for trial he just got to eat a lot and gain weight.

Appreciate the additional intel! Always great to hear about the outlaw relatives.

 

[mightymouse]

Beats me. All my really old ancestors are dead.

 

[John6185]

My dad escaped from Ukraine to prevent being drafted into the Russian Army (they are mean) so I would guess he is a "draft dodger." And my grandmother on my mom's side spoke German very well. Other than that we're a normal family....sort of.

 

[Duncandl]

Sir Richard Fields, Cherokee War Chief and eventual Chief of the Texas Cherokee.

Murdered/executed by his own tribe on the banks of the Sabine river between Texas and Louisiana.

Richard Fields (1770-1827) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Is this your ancestor? Compare DNA and explore genealogy for Richard Fields born 1770 Cherokee Nation (East) died 1827 Nacogdoches, Province de Tejas, Mexico including ancestors + descendants + 1 photos + 9 genealogist comments + DNA connections + more in the free family tree community.

www.wikitree.com

Fields Family History

members.tripod.com

My grandfather is Loe Fields, almost all of the Fields family are buried in our family cemetery in Dodge, Oklahoma.