[5] Career Reeves and his family farmed until 1875, when Isaac Parker was appointed federal judge for the Indian Territory. Among them were Bob Dozier, a master criminal whose illegal activities included cattle and horse theft, land swindles, and murder, and who eluded Reeves for several years before being killed after refusing to surrender in the rain and mud in the Cherokee Hills. He married Nellie Jennie (or Jinney), a Texas native, in 1864, and they raised a family of ten, five boys and five girls. years before being tracked down and killed after refusing to surrender. An illustration of a Confederate campsite during the Civil War. In 2011, the bridge that connects Muskogee and Fort Gibson in Oklanahoma was named the Bass Reeves Memorial Bridge. Paid in fees and rewards, he would make a handsome profit, before spending a little time with his family, and returning to the range once again. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Born Mary Fields in about 1832, Black Mary, as she was sometimes referred to, was a slave at birth. It was during the Civil War that Reeves made his great escape. He was a lawman from the Old West and a hero. Since he was illiterate Reeves often memorized warrants that were read to him by the (1870 US Census, 1880 US Census). Dozier was known as a jack-of-all-trades when it came to committing crimes, as they covered a wide range from cattle and horse rustling, to holding up banks, stores, and stagecoaches; to murder and land swindles. Bass Reeves was born during the Antebellum Era, a turbulent time period before the American Civil War. So much of history is lost on us today. ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc. That man's son, Colonel George R. Reeves, took Bass with him when he joined the Confederate Army in the Civil War. . Ben Bennie Reeves was born around 1882 to Bass Reeves and Nellie Jennie in Texas. Despite his many disguises and calling cards, Reeves always treated his position with great respect. formId: "bb101386-3a24-451d-80af-5e725ebb6c69", You can always change this later in your Account settings. The stray gunfire kills an unfortunate camp cook. An illustration of a shootout in the Wild West. Add to your scrapbook. Just one grandparent can lead you to many Ben Reeves remained in Okmulgee and later married Fleccia Cromartie of Iowa. Parker hired U.S. . Bass Reeves was born a slave in Arkansas in 1838. It's an interesting move and one that I think is very positive. Little is known of their early relationship but in less than two years, it ended in her murder and his incarceration at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. This account has been disabled. Reeves and his family farmed in Van Buren until 1875. On July 1, 1896, the gang was hanged. He would appear to felons as a cowboy, farmer, or even as a fellow outlaw. Nats father passed away when he was about 15 years old. . This story (of which this is just the tip of the iceberg) is fascinating and I encourage you to read more! and fled to the Indian Territory where he lived as a fugitive slave among the Creeks 1875, Indian Territory. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Jane Reeves (147727516)? Any chance I get to revisit historical moments of our country is important to me.. Lula Reeves 1881 - 1899. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. In 1992 Reeves was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Center. Reeves was married twice and had eleven children. Bass Reeves, Jr 1887-1901 *Added July 12, 2017* While Jane or Jennie Reeves was reportedly born in 1850 in the 1870 and 1880 U.S. Census, the deponent (a family member) of her burial record stated that she was 56 years old at the time of her death. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. After the death of his wife, Reeves married Winnie Sumter of Muskogee, Okla., and. Ben kept in close contact with his sisters and their stepmother, but his relationship with his father appears to have been strained. It also may have been an inspiration for the film Django Unchained. Maybe the law aint perfect, but its the only one we got, and without it we got nuthin Bass Reeves. Indian Territory was where the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, and Chickasaw tribes who were forcibly removed from their homes were resettled following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The New York Public LibraryAn illustration of a shootout in the Wild West. A year later, he married Nellie Jennie of Texas. During the prior two years, not a single crime was committed in his patrol area. Freedmen[2]is a term given to emancipated slaves and their descendants after slavery was abolished in the United States following the American Civil War. He cut an imposing figure as he patrolled the 75,000 square miles of Indian Territory. And fugitives took full advantage of the area. In any case, Reeves went to live among the Creek and Seminole Indians. Bass Reeves was credited with arresting more than 3,000 felons. The Ft. Leavenworth Warden himself wrote to the Honorable Leo Bennett, U.S. Marshall for the Indian Territory, Western District, of Muskogee, OK on April 24, 1909, requesting permission to appoint Reeves as a trustee. After their emancipation and citizenship, the Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants struggled to be accepted as a legitimate part of the Cherokee Nation. He lists his closest relative as Zola Reeves and gives his name as Bennie Bass Reeves. Judge Isaac Parker known notoriously as the Hanging Judge from sentencing numerous defendants to their deaths is installed at Fort Smith Federal Court. In 2007 the US Route 62 Bridge crossing the Arkansas River, connecting Muskogee with Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, was named the Bass Reeves . and his owner had an altercation over a card game. He became a barber and on November 20, 1900, married Castella Brown. Reeves and his wife Nellie Jennie raised a family of ten children, five boys and five girls. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. There is where Bass met his first wife, Nellie Jennie from Texas. Leave a message for others who see this profile. Handbook of Texas Online, Reeves, though reluctant to take on the difficult task, did the job when no other deputy dared to. When Isaac C. Parker was appointed judge for the Federal Western District Court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, on May 10, 1875, to bring law to the Indian Territory, one of his first official acts was to swear in a United States marshal and appoint 200 deputies to curb the lawlessness in the area. In the early afternoon of June 7, 1902, a young Ben Reeves paid a visit to his estranged wife, Castella Brown, at her cousins house not far from their home in Muskogee, OK. During the chaos of the Civil War, Indian Territory where federal and state governments had virtually no jurisdiction had become a popular hiding ground for outlaws. He was known for his politeness and courteous manner. Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr., and Lonnie E. Underhill, "Negro Marshal in Indian Territory," Journal of Negro History 56 (April 1971). All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. His children were named Newland, Benjamin, George, Lula, Robert, Sally, Edgar, Bass Jr., Harriet, Homer and Alice. Next, Bass took a job as a patrolman with the Muskogee, Oklahoma Police Department. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XVFF-WTT. In 1889, Love married his wife Alice and retired from cowboy life. 1898 - The Muskogee Years Reeves transfers to Muskogee, Indian Territory Nov 28, 1901. Nudie E. Williams, "Bass Reeves," Negro History Bulletin 42 (April-May-June 1979). Nellie Jennie married Bass Reeves and had 11 children. -1863 The Emancipation Proclamation is issued by President Abraham Lincoln; Bass Reeves, still living in confederate territory, is now legally a free man and no longer must live as a fugitive. He married Nellie After his first wife's death, Reeves married Winnie Sumter of Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1900 and started a second family. And perhaps most exciting, he was portrayed in the HBO series Watchmen in 2019. But interestingly enough, the inspiration behind The Lone Ranger may have actually been the real-life Deputy U.S. [3] Several people petitioned for his release including E.H. Hubbard of the U.S. Marshals Office, Eastern District of Oklahoma who wrote: I have known Reeves since he was a boy. Failed to remove flower. He waited along the route that the gang was known to have used and surprised Tom Story with an arrest warrant. When the Civil War broke out, William Reeves' son George was made a colonel in the Confederate army and took Bass to war with him. Ben grew into a tall, lean man with slate blue eyes. After refusing to surrender, Reeves killed Dozier in an accompanying gunfight on December 20, 1878. In 1907, law enforcement was assumed by state agencies and Reeves duties as a deputy marshal came to an end. She was a Creek Freedwoman and a full member of the Creek Nation. During this time, young Bass impresses the owner of his family with his pleasant demeanor and aptitude for working with livestock. However, dodging bullets was by no means his only skill. His mother died in 1896 due to consumption (tuberculosis) leaving his father widowed with eleven children to care for. In addition to farming and ranching, Reeves occasionally worked as a scout and guide for U.S. Deputy Marshals entering "Indian Territory" on business of the Van Buren Federal Court. S > Sumter | R > Reeves > Winnie (Sumter) Reeves, WIKITREE HOME | ABOUT | G2G FORUM | HELP | SEARCH. trips that sometimes lasted for months." Bass Reeves, is the first African-American to be deputized by the U.S. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. For the next thirty-two years Bass Reeves brought to justice over 3,000 criminals Reeves, thinking quickly, explains that he needs to write down the date of their capture, buying him enough time to draw his revolver, which he used to shoot dead one of his attackers. Three men ambush and corner him. He was paid fees in those days that sometimes amounted to thousands of dollars for a single trip . Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. While there is not a large amount of information on Wiley Escoe in circulation, he was known as a lawman, and a Black deputy U.S. If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. But we dont necessarily get that reality when the only image of a cowboy that we have in our minds is John Wayne or The Lone Ranger. Section 107 related to Copyright and Fair Use for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. He is named for his grandfather, Bass Washington. He then quickly disarmed a second and shot a third, only injuring him. In 2013, he was inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame. Try again later. Please reset your password. However, when the purpose served him, he was a master of disguises and often utilized aliases. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. Bass Reeves was born in 1838, at birth place, Arkansas. There was an error deleting this problem. As the story goes, Reeves beat up his master after a dispute over cards and then fled to avoid punishment. The New York Public LibraryAn illustration of a Confederate campsite during the Civil War. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real . In The Harder They Fall, Elba plays the role of Rufus Buck, the man responsible for killing Nat Loves parents, and carves a cross into Loves forehead. But they weren't the only citizens of Indian Territory. He was a skilled fighter and made a living as a fur trader in the old American West. Born a slave in Paris, Texas and owned by George Reeves, Your Scrapbook is currently empty. He tracked down Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. His son was tried, convicted to life in prison, and sent to Kansas Leavenworth Penitentiary. The Life Summary of Benjamin When Benjamin Reeves was born in June 1880, in Arkansas, United States, his father, Bass Reeves, was 41 and his mother, Nellie Jennie, was 30. They had 11 children: Robert E Reeves, Bass Reeves and 9 other children. He learned their languages and customs, and sharpened his skills as an ambidextrous marksman. She passed away on 19 March 1896. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. She was the second womanand first African American womanto have that occupation. The Lone Ranger, Tonto, and his silver stallion from the 1950s TV series, 9 iconic Black soldiers who risked it all to fight for America. He was always acquitted of the deaths of his prisoners. Nellie married Bass Reeves in 1864, at age 24 in Arkansas, United States. Winnie married Deputy U.S. west of the Mississippi River. hbspt.enqueueForm({ You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Bass Reeves was the first African American commissioned to serve as a deputy marshal Nevertheless, Reeves was a real, well known deputy marshal He married Nellie Jennie, a Texan, and fathered ten children, five boys and five girls. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. He married Nellie Jennie (or Jinney), a Texas native, in 1864, and they raised a family of ten, five boys and five girls. By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our. Arkansas is granted statehood, entering the United States as a slaveholding state. Like the many outlaws he had arrested, he was tried before Judge Isaac Parker. your viewers to Bass Reeves, the lawman. Territory,Journal of Negro History 56 (April 1971); Nudie E. Williams, Bass Reeves, Negro History Bulletin 42 (April-May-June 1979); Art T. Burton Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves. Try again later. Dependability and devotion to duty were the benchmarks of Reeves's service to the government. He sent the deed to Castellas land as payment for his legal fees to obtain a pardon or commutation of sentence.[6]. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. After the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Reeves, now free, moved to Van Buren, Supreme Court. Bass Reeves, 1838 - 1910. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. He lived in Muscogee, Georgia, United States in 1900. 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