The following account is a deposition I transcribed from a murder trial in which the defendants were Heck Thomas and my gg-grandfather, Charles Woody. They were acquitted. The Doolins herein concerned were the sons of Bill Doolin's half-brother Barton ( a brief genealogy is included).------Mark

Testimony of Wm. L. Beard, 24 August, 1887

Charge of Murder against Heck Thomas, U.S. Marshall, and Charles Woody

(The) defendants came by my house and wanted me to go with them to (illegible) to look for Bill Watson. They wanted me to show them to Watson's house. I went with them. (We) found Watson at home. They arrested him. We stayed there in the neighborhood that night. Next morning they said they wanted to go look for George Doolin and Jasper Doolin.

We went up near their place there and it was said they were kind of on the look out. One of (illegible) the boys was at house to work and the other was on the look out. Mr. Wingo and Watson started and went to the house. Defendants and myself went around the place so as to come in at sort of on the back side. They said if he was not at the house and (illegible) around they would find him by going that way. I knew (he?) was around that way. As we went on around the fence, we seen a man running from off of a ridge. The ridge was covered with timber. There was prairie between us and (the) timber.

Woody said "I believe that is George Doolin now."

Thomas said "Yes that is him."

He came running right toward us. He was (on) horseback. As he was running towards us, Thomas ordered him to halt. Woody, I believe, said "Hold on George."

He checked his horse a little and Thomas said "Hold on George" again; "Come this way; I got a writ for you. Don't come making any bad break."

Doolin would make several starts to go (to) him. He would back (up) thence (move) forward again. By this time Thomas had his pistol in his hand and told him again to hold on, that he had a writ for him. Doolin whirled around and started to run off, and as he wheeled his horse around and threw his hands into his saddle pockets and then Thomas ordered him to halt. He would not halt and then Thomas shot, though (the) shot went in ahead of him. Then Thomas shot again. Doolin was running off. Then Thomas told Woody to shoot his horse. (I) think Woody fired. (I) think three or four shots (were) fired. Then they got over (to) the fence. Doolin fell off (his) horse after the shooting. I did not see Doolin draw out his pistol. During the shooting, he, Doolin, had his hand in his saddle pocket. When I got across (the) fence, I rode up to him. He was lying on (the) ground close to (the) branch. He was sort of on his side. Woody brought his horse back. We were on the outside of the fence around the farm. (The) deceased was on the inside of the fence; the fence was between us.

When we got up to him, Doolin (was) lying there with a six shooter lying on (the) ground close to where he was. I took it to be a six shooter; I never touched (the) pistol. I turned (the) body over a little and commenced to raise him up. Thomas said that we had better send up to (the) house and see if we could not move him away. So I and Woody got on our horses and started towards (the) house. On the way up there, in crossing a ravine, there we found Wingo, Watson, Jack Doolin and Lee Pemberton. Doolin and Pemberton were digging a well. We told them what had happened Wingo then arrested Jack Doolin. I loaned Pemberton my horse to go after a wagon. He went off and came back with a wagon and team and his women and another man. We went back to where the body was and when we got there he was dead. They loaded him in (the) wagon and they took him to (the) house. After they got back to the house, we left. (The) deceased was not dead when we went up to him (at) first. (I) think he was almost dead. (I) cannot tell you where he was shot. (I) never examined him at all.

When Thomas was calling on him to halt, Doolin said something, but (I) do not recollect what it was. After (the) deceased put his hand in his saddle pocket, then Thomas halted him twice after he had his hands in his saddle pocket, and so did Woody. Then Thomas fired. When (the) deceased put his hand in his saddle pocket, I thought he was going to shoot from his movements. His conduct and actions indicated he was going to shoot. Woody did not fire until after Thomas did. Until it seemed Doolin was going to shoot, Thomas did not fire, but when it seemed Doolin was going to shoot, Thomas halted him twice and fired. This was on Bill Newton's place in (the) Chickasaw Nation. This was about noon on about the 21st of June last. Thomas called on him to halt once or twice before (the) deceased threw his hands on (the) saddle pocket, and he halted a little too. Thomas also told him before he threw his hands in (his) saddle pocket that he had a writ for him. When I and Woody left, Thomas remained at (the) body.

Samuel Wingo, duly sworn, says: (I) had gone up to the house where the Doolins were supposed to be. At the house, a woman told us that Jasper was below the house digging a well (and) that she did not know where George was. We went on down to (the) well and found Jasper drawing dirt out of (the) well. We stopped, talking to Jasper. Watson was acquainted with him; I was not. We stopped there a few minutes and Watson asked him in a round about way where his brother was. He said he did not know. Just about this time, I heard three, four, or five shots down below us fired in quick succession. We stayed there four or five minutes after we heard shots. While there, Woody and Beard rode up. Woody spoke to Jasper and told me to "go up to (the) house and get a wagon; we have just killed George."

I then arrested Jasper, telling him I had a writ for him. Thomas was down at (the) body. Then I and Pemberton, who had been down in the well, went to Pemberton's house and got (the) wagon and drove back to Doolin's house. At this place, two women, a man, and a child got on the wagon. Then we drove on to (the) body. When we got there, there was a pistol lying near where (the) body was. Jasper Doolin, Woody, Beard, and Watson started from (the) well back on the direction of the shooting when I left with Pemberton after the wagon. The pistol was not cocked. It was just lying on the ground. The body was taken and put on the wagon and taken off. We had a writ for Jasper Doolin and George Doolin. Thomas at the time was a deputy Marshall. I was riding as his posse. Mr. Woody was his posse also. The writ was for larceny. It looked like a Colt's short pistol.
















1 John DOOLIN Birth: in Ireland; married Cathy ROWE about 1805.

2 Michael DOOLIN married (1) Mary Elizabeth STEPHENS

3 Barton DOOLIN b. about 1832; married Elizabeth SELF (b. about 1835 in AR, daughter of Elijah SELF and Sarah FLETCHER). Marriage ended in divorce.

4 Mariah DOOLIN b. 1857 in Newton Co., AR

4 Andrew Jackson DOOLIN b. 1858 in Newton Co., AR

4 Jasper DOOLIN b. 1859 in Newton Co., AR

4 George DOOLIN b. 1861 in Newton Co., AR

4 Sterling Price DOOLIN b. 1862 in Newton Co., AR

Michael's second marriage was to Artemima BELLAR in 1856

3 Bill DOOLIN b. 1858 in Johnson, AR; d. 1896. Famous for his outlaw career with the Wild Bunch. Married Edith ELLSWORTH

4 Jay DOOLIN (took his stepfather's last name: MEEK)

3 Tennessee DOOLIN b. about 1859

Exceptional!! Out of curiousity, do you know where in the CN this took place?

Tower-- As near as I can tell, this incident took place somewhere in the Burnieville/Courtney Flat area, east of Marietta. The deponent, Willam Beard, states in the deposition that his house is near Burnieville, and there was a Lee Pemberton who lived at Courtney Flats. Ironically, according to family history, Charles Woody was killed by outlaws in February of 1904 at the now defunct town of Belton, north of Tishomingo. I have never been able to find out any information concerning his death. Part of the property he owned there is still in our family's possession. Regards---Mark

Whoops----I meant WEST of Marietta-----M

quote:

Testimony of Wm. L. Beard, 24 August, 1887

Charge of Murder against Heck Thomas, U.S. Marshall, and Charles Woody

Samuel Wingo is my great uncle, have some things on him and am trying to find out his ending, last I have him is riding with the Dalton Gang in Demming New Mexico.