texas rangers – Texas History Notebook

Andrew Jackson Sowell, Author and Texas Ranger

Andrew Jackson Sowell was a native Texan born August 2, 1848 in Seguin, Texas to Asa Jarmon Lee Sowell and Mary Mildred Turner Sowell, one of about thirteen children born to the couple. He was named for an uncle of whom it is said fought in many major battles of the Texas Revolution including the Battles of Gonzales, Concepcion, the Grass Fight and others. The uncle was serving with the garrison of the Alamo but happened to be away on assignment with Byrd Lockhart buying cattle for the garrison when the Mexican seige began out or he would have died there. The uncle took part in the Council House Fight, the Battle of Plum Creek, the Battle of Salado Creek and served in the Mexican-American War. A large contingent of the Sowell family had come to Texas from Tennessee as a group around 1829, settling along the Blanco River.

Tales of the Texas Rangers

“Tales of the Texas Rangers” refers to two programs which aired in media during the 1950s. The first was a radio program and the second was a television series.

The radio program: It was conceived as a weekly half-hour program to broadcast fictionalized stories pertaining to the former law enforcement agency. It was set in the 1880s and used scripts in a style that might be reminiscent of shows like “Dragnet.” Stacy Keach, father of actor Stacy Keach, Jr., was producer and director. Joel Murcott was the head writer of the series.

George (Red) Bingham, Texas Ranger

Little is actually known about the personal life of Ranger George R. “Red” Bingham. His date of death is July 3, 1880. A member of Company D under Captain D. W. Roberts, Bingham died in a gun battle in far West Texas. He is said to have been about 28 years old. His story is intertwined with that of an outlaw named Jesse Evans. In those days, most Texas Rangers were single men, which was most likely a requirement for employment at that time. Bingham was among a group of five rangers who were tasked with locating and arresting a group of outlaws believed to hide out in the area south of the territory of New Mexico and southwest of Fort Davis, Texas. Bingham was killed in a gun battle with the outlaws on July 3, 1880.

Bobby Paul Doherty, Texas Ranger

Ranger Bobby Paul Doherty was born July 19, 1936 in Mt. Calm, Hill County, Texas to Paul Edward Doherty (1907 – 1975) and Doris Scruggs Doherty (1914 – 2007). His father listed his job as “teamster” in the 1930 federal census and “oilfield construction” in the 1940 census.

Richard Clayton Ware, Texas Ranger

Richard Clayton “Dick” Ware was born November 11, 1851 near Rome, Georgia to Benjamin Franklin Lafayette Ware and Mary Jane Price Ware. Ware is the Texas Ranger traditionally credited for giving outlaw Sam Bass his fatal gunshot wound in Round Rock, Texas in July, 1878.