law enforcement – Page 5 – Texas History Notebook

Will Fritz

John William Fritz was born on June 15, 1896 to Blake and Ada Hamilton Fritz in Dublin, Erath County, Texas. Will was the oldest of four boys. In 1900, Blake was a farmer in Erath County. By 1910, the family had moved to Chaves County, New Mexico in or near a small community by the name of Lake Arthur where Blake was trying to make a living as a horse and mule rancher. Lake Arthur was small back then. Even now, it is only about ten streets north to south and east to west. By all accounts, Will had a normal childhood for the son of a rancher and grew up around the ranch, acquiring cowboy skills from Blake and other workers.

Machine Gun Kelly

His birth name was George Kelly Barnes, but he was better known as “Machine Gun Kelly.” George was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1895 (Alcatraz records say 1900) and lived much of his early life there. He was in his 20s during the years of Prohibition (1920s and 1930s) when it was illegal to make or sell alcohol products. He became a “bootlegger” who trafficked in illegal alcohol products, and this was a major source of income when he was in his twenties. He was briefly married to Geneva Ramsey when he was about 19 years old. Ramsey and Barnes had two sons, but were later divorced.

H. Joaquin Jackson, Texas Ranger

Jackson was a Texas Ranger during most of his law enforcement career, serving in the Uvalde area and later in Alpine. He was born in 1935 and hired on with DPS briefly before becoming a Texas Ranger. He served a total of 27 years with the Texas Rangers before retiring in 1993.

John Salmon “RIP” Ford, Texas Ranger

John Salmon Ford was born in 1815 in South Carolina. His family later moved to Shelbyville, Tennessee where he studied medicine. Ford came to Texas shortly after the Battle of San Jacinto, arriving in June of 1836. One of his first memories in Texas was to attend a Forth of July celebration in San Augustine in which Sam Houston was honored. Houston was still suffering from his wounded leg, but he gave a rousing speech. Ford joined the Texas Army and served until about 1838 under Col. Jack Hays, participating in many Indian battles. He then set up a medical practice in San Augustine which he operated until about 1844. During this time, he also studied law and passed the bar exam. In 1844, he won an election and began serving in the Texas House. It was Ford who introduced the resolution for Texas Annexation by the United States.

Floyd Hamilton, Public Enemy No. 1

(Book cover: pictured are Chaplain Ray Hoekstra and Floyd Hamilton)

Floyd Garland Hamilton was born June 13, 1908 in Henrietta, Oklahoma to John Henry and Sarah Alice Bullock Hamilton and died July 24, 1984 in Grand Prairie, Texas at the age of 76. According to his wishes, there was no funeral service, his body was cremated and his ashes were spread near the grave of his wife in Irving, Texas.