outlaws and crimes – Page 2 – Texas History Notebook

James A. Brooks, Texas Ranger

Ranger James Abijah Brooks was one of the “Four Great” captains in Texas history, along with Captains John R. Hughes, William J. McDonald and John H. Rogers. Brooks was born in Kentucky in 1844 to Dr. John Stroke Brooks (1802 – 1862) and Mary Jane Kerr Brooks (1818 – 1912). His father was a doctor and a farmer. John Stroke Brooks died in 1862. In the 1860 and 1870 census forms, James was living in Kentucky with his family. He left Kentucky for Texas in 1876, settling in Collin County. There, he worked on ranches until he joined the Rangers in 1883, at the age of twenty-seven. Brooks enlisted as a private and over the years was promoted to corporal, sergeant, and lieutenant before being promoted from lieutenant to captain by Governor Sul Ross while serving with Company F in 1889.

1878 Texas & Pacific Train Robbery (Sam Bass Gang)

The outlaw Sam Bass was born to Daniel Bass (1821 – 1864) and Elizabeth Jane Sheeks Bass (1821 – 1861) on July 21, 1851 in Lawrence County, Indiana. Elizabeth died when Sam was ten. Sam was the third son and the fourth of seven children born to Daniel and Elizabeth. Daniel married Margaret Seibert one year after Elizabeth died and the couple had one son before Daniel died in 1864. Sam’s parents and all of his siblings except one are buried in Indiana.

The Lee Brothers

These were three brothers: James, Tom and Pink Lee who came from a large family. Their parents were Robert Culpepper Lee and Amanda Giles Lee. The three brothers settled in Cooke County, Texas. They were accused of stealing cattle. One of them, Jim Lee, was reportedly married to a Choctaw woman and was able to establish a ranch in the Delaware Bend area of Indian Territory where the Red River makes a loop to the south.

“Deacon Jim” Miller, Outlaw

James Brown “Jim” Miller was an outlaw who lived from 1861 to 1909. He was suspected of killing twelve to fifty people during his lifetime. He was born in Van Buren, Arkansas but his parents moved to Franklin, Texas in Robertson County when he was young. Miller’s father Jacob died in 1869 while Miller was still a youth and his mother moved with the family to Evant, Texas.

Reese-Townsend Feud

This was one of the names given to an armed conflict in Colorado County, located between Austin and Houston in south Texas. Alternatively it is referred to as the Colorado County Feud.