OklahombreS Online! oklahombres.org oklahombres.org General Oklahombres Oklahombres "Gangster era" (1907 - 1939) Garvin County Sheriff Claude Swinney
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During a recent visit to Pauls Valley's library for research on my Albert Rennie biography project, I discovered in the manuscript files a rather extensive collection of clippings and such on Claude Swinney, Garvin County Sheriff for a period that exceeded thirty years. My father, David Alexander Rennie, was his undersheriff for a time in the mid-thirties.
Has anything of substance been written about Sheriff Swinney's administration of the law in Garvin County? As I recall the clippings in the file, there was at least one rather sensational murder case during his term of office. Perhaps that period would make a good history book . . . at least a lengthy essay . . . DAR Lexington (the cultural center of the universe), Oklahoma David A Rennie |
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Hi,
I have heard of him, but which sensential murder case are you speaking of? This would help to possibly pin-point if someone has already written about the case or not. M.Koch |
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Dear Mr. Koch, Thanks for responding. I'm sorry but I do not recall the name(s) associated with the particularly newsworthy case. I'll have to return to the PV Library soon and I'll look it up. Actually, my inquiry was more of a general nature regarding writings about the rather lengthy term of sheriff Swinney's administration which exceeded thirty years. Surely that long a period in an elective office is noteworthy; especially in such a risky profession. DAR David A Rennie |
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Claud B. Swinney arrived at Cherokee Town at the age of 9 in 1889. He was Garvin County Sheriff from 1914 to 1957. In addition, he was a county oil field deputy, deputy U. S. Marshal, and Chief of Police. The articles referred to were both a bit outside the time line for this board. The first was a discussion of the killing of Bill Paul and Lon Pearson, two of Swinney's deputies in 1947 in a 1990 article for the Oklahoma State Trooper by the late Glenn Shirley. The entire story can be seen on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial website. The second was the man hunt for Elmer Lee Haggard for the killing of John Hardy Baugh in Wynnewood in 1950. This article, written by Charles H. Murphy, appeared in Real Detective, date not known.
I knew Claud when I was a kid. He was old school and the word among the little hellions I ran with was that if he was around, you behaved because Claud would shoot you and not even feel sorry about it. To my knowledge, there has never been a full descriptive article on the man. |
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Hi,
So the truth comes out, you were a little "Hombre." Ha! Good report. M.Koch |
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I knew I could count on you, Mike! As usual, your scholarship astounds me. Thanks for the characteristically complete response. Perhaps I'll use it as a "springboard" for an article of my own. I'd be particularly interested to know if any of the records of his office might be preserved and, if so, where. --?-- DAR David A Rennie |
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Yeah, well I figure my memories of those "wild times" is about as reliable as other such yarns from any other wrinkle browed smooth mouth. Louis Lamour said romance (adventure) is a dangerous situation viewed from the comfort of an easy chair.
By the way, the Pauls Valley Police Department website has quite a bit on those stories for any who are interested. Go for it David. You might find some records at the Pauls Valley Court House but I wouldn't count on it. The Sheriff's office has a tradition of retiring officers taking records with them. Last time I asked about old records they looked at me like I was nuts. Another possibility is the District Attorney records buta lot of them are gone as well. To be honest, the Court House lacks storage space and offices there tend to discard what is not absolutely necessary. I suspect it is the same all over. |
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OklahombreS Online! oklahombres.org oklahombres.org General Oklahombres Oklahombres "Gangster era" (1907 - 1939) Garvin County Sheriff Claude Swinney
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