Crawford Goldsby

Crawford Goldsby (February 8, 1876 – March 17, 1896), also known by the alias Cherokee Bill, was an American outlaw. Responsible for the murders of eight men (including his brother-in-law), he and his gang terrorized the Indian Territory for over two years.

Family Crawford's father, George Goldsby, was from Perry County, Alabama, a sergeant of the Tenth United States Cavalry, and a Buffalo Soldier. His mother Ellen Beck Goldsby Lynch was a Cherokee freedwoman of mixed African, Native, and white ancestry. She was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation born in the Delaware District, is listed on the Dawes Rolls, and had Cherokee heritage through her father's side. His mother and her parents, Tempe and Luge Beck, were once enslaved people owned by Cherokee Nation citizen Jeffery Beck; they continued to reside in Indian Territory after becoming free. Crawford Goldsby had one sister, Georgia, and two brothers, Luther and Clarence. His siblings are listed on the Dawes Rolls. In a signed deposition on January 29, 1912, George Goldsby stated that he was born in Perry County, Alabama, on February 22, 1843. His father was Thornton Goldsby of Selma, Alabama, and his mother Hester King, who resided on her own place west of Summerfield Road between Selma and Marion, Alabama. George also stated that he had four brothers and two sisters by the same father and mother: Crawford, Abner, Joseph, Blevens, Mary, and Susie.

George served as a hired servant with a Confederate infantry regiment during the American Civil War. While serving during the Battle of Gettysburg, he fled and went to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he worked as a teamster in a Union Army quartermaster unit and subsequently enlisted as a white man in the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment under the name of George Goosby. (The spelling sometimes varied between Goosbey and Goosley). was killed, and Jim Cook was injured. The authorities fled, but later on, when Effie Crittenden was asked if Goldsby had been involved, she stated that it was not Goldsby, but it was Cherokee Bill. After her statement, Crawford Goldsby got the nickname "Cherokee Bill" 35 cents was stolen. On June 17, 1894, killing of Deputy Sequoyah Houston. On July 4, 1894, Kansas and Arkansas Railroad brakeman Samuel Collins was shot through the bowels after ejecting a drunkard for trying to steal a ride at Fort Gibson, Oklahoma; a prostitute who was on the same car tried to run, was shot and died later; the assailant was Crawford Goldsby; according to an 1896 account Collins apparently died as well. On July 6, 1894, Mississippi Railway Station Agent A. L. "Dick" Richards of Nowata, Oklahoma, was reportedly killed by Cherokee Bill of which he later boasted but which he later denied. On July 18, 1894, Goldsby and his gang robbed Wells-Fargo Express Company and the St Louis and San Francisco railroad train at Red Fork. On July 30, 1894, they robbed the Lincoln County Bank in Chandler, Oklahoma, and made off with $500, killing J. B. Mitchell in the process. In September 1894, Goldsby shot and killed his brother-in-law, Joseph "Mose" Brown, either over an argument about some hogs, or because he thought that Brown "..got more of the parental estate than was due him..." On September 14, 1894, robbery of Parkinson's Store at Okmulgee, Oklahoma. On October 9, 1894, robbery of Express Office and Depot at Chouteau, Oklahoma. On November 8, 1894, when the men robbed the Shufeldt and Son General Store, Goldsby shot and killed Ernest Melton, who happened to enter the store during the robbery.

Jail break Because of the Melton murder incident, the authorities stepped up their pursuit for Goldsby and the Cook Gang. With the pressure on, the gang split up. Most of the men were captured or killed, but Goldsby managed to escape. When the authorities offered a $1300 reward for the capture of Goldsby, some of his acquaintances came forward and agreed to help. On January 31, 1895, Goldsby was captured by Ike Rogers and Clint Scales in Nowata, Oklahoma; $1300 (~$ in ) and taken to Fort Smith, Arkansas, to wait for his trial.

On April 13, 1895, he was sentenced to death after being tried and convicted for the murder of Ernest Melton. However, his lawyer, J. Warren Reed, managed to postpone the execution date.

In June 1895 a pistol was discovered in a bucket at the Fort Smith jail; Goldsby claimed that a prison trustee named Ben Howell had brought the gun in and then had run away a few days later.

In the meantime, Goldsby had made a friend, Sherman Vann, who was a trusty at the jail. Sherman managed to sneak a six-gun into Goldsby's cell, a Colt revolver.

On July 26, 1895, Goldsby attempted a jail break with it. He jumped the night guards as they came to lock him into his cell. A guard, Lawrence Keating, was shot in the stomach. As Keating staggered back down the corridor, Goldsby shot him again in the back. Other guards arrived and prevented Goldsby from escaping, but were not able to enter the jail either. Then another prisoner, Henry Starr, convinced the guards to let him go in and get Goldsby out. Moments later he came back with Goldsby, who was unarmed.

Hanging

The second trial lasted three days, resulting in a guilty verdict and U.S. District Judge Isaac C. Parker sentenced Goldsby to be hanged on September 10, 1895. A stay was granted, pending an appeal to the Supreme Court. On December 2, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Fort Smith court and Judge Parker again set the execution date as March 17, 1896.

In popular culture In the 2021 film The Harder They Fall directed by Jeymes Samuel, the character of Cherokee Bill is played by actor Lakeith Stanfield.

The role of Cherokee Bill was played by the actor Pat Hogan in a 1955 episode of the syndicated television series, Stories of the Century, starring and narrated by Jim Davis.

A 1976 novel, Cherokee Bill, by Jon and Tad Richards (Dell), paralleled the stories of Crawford Goldsby, Judge Isaac C. Parker, and defense attorney J. Warren Reed.