William T. Starmer was killed by the Dalton Gang near Twin Mounds east of Stillwater. William T. and his brothers Nathaniel H. and James L. Starmer and double cousin George G. (Hunk) Starmer msde the run to Oklahoma in "89" and secured land half way between Orlando and Marshall.
William T. and George were U.S. Deputy Marshalls, but I have not been able to find their names on any of the I.T. Marshall lists. There is quite a bit about them in OKLAHOMBRES PARTICULARLY THE WILDER ONES, by Everett Dumas Nix.
Back in October I tried to locate the town of Orlando and followed the turn off from the interstate, talk about a ghost town! I would like any information about the Starmer boys that you might have!
Have been enjoying your discussions!

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Originally posted by Rowdy Nan:
William T. Starmer was killed by the Dalton Gang near Twin Mounds east of Stillwater.

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How nice to see a descendant of WT Starmer posting to this board. If you have more details regarding the above, I'd be very interesting in hearing them, as I think it is fair to say that the incident in which Starmer was supposedly killed is one of the least well documented events in the Dalton history.

Two very reputable historians, Paul Wellman and Harry Sinclair Drago, relate that during the Wharton train robbbery in May of 1891, the Dalton Gang killed a station agent as he telegraphed for help and then one of the posseman, W. T. Starmer, in the ensuing manhunt. I'm not aware that any other historians repeat this story. In Beyond the Law Emmett Dalton devotes an entire chapter to the Wharton (which he spells "Whorton") robbery and its aftermath, but says nothing about any killing. I've forgotten what Nix says about this, but as he did not assume office until some two years later (July 1 1893) his information was probably not first hand.

For your information, the Fort Smith National Historic Site database shows a "Stamer, W.T." on the "unconfirmed" portion of the deputies killed in action section, listing his death in 1892. Their regular list of court employees shows a W.T. "Starver" as a posseman.

The Starmer incident is potentially important for historians, as one view of the Daltons (e.g. Samuelson) is that they were "gentlemanly" bandits, going after railroads and express companies and taking care to avoid harming passengers and railroad employees. A commonly received view is that--if one discounts the train robbery in Alila, CA, where a railroad employee was killed--no one was actually hurt in any of their robberies until the one at Adair, when two doctors were wounded, one dying from loss of blood. Even here, there is controversy as to whether the shots that killed Dr. Goff were fired by the Daltons or by the guards protecting the train.

Any further information you may have on this incident would be most appreciated.

--meursault

Starmer is recognized in Oklahoma as an officer killed in the line of duty. His name is on the state monument in Oklahoma City. Accordry to Oklahoma Heroes, by author Ron Owens, on page 189:
"M-3
Starmer, W. T.
Deputy US Marshal
Posseman
The Fort Smith Roll of Honor lists 3 very similar names as officers slain in the line of duty: WT Starner - 1886, WT Stormer - 1889, and WT Stamer - 1892.
I have been unable to find reports coinciding with any of these 3 names as they are spelled above or those dates. I suspect that they may all be the same man and none of the dates are correct. I have been able to document one similar incident with an officer with a similar name.
William T. Starmer was leading a posse from Orlando, Oklahoma Territory, on the morning of May 2, 1891, chasing 2 men who had stolen some horses nearby.....the Dalton brothers ambushed them...Starmer fell dead...."

Glenn Shirley also writes about Starmer in his book West Of Hell's Fringe beginning on page 47: "Shortly after daylight on May 2, they (the Daltons) reached a colony of Missourians who had settled on Beaver Creek near Orlando.......they took 8 or 10 head of the best saddle stock and continued east. The irate farmers quickly organized and followed the thieves....As they began dismounting, to surround the area, the Daltons opened fire from ambush. The leader of the posse, William T. Starmer, died instantly....."

It does not appear that anyone in this posse actually identified the Daltons in this shooting on May 2. Following the murder of Starmer, the US marshal in Muskogee dispatched Heck Thomas to head west and intercept these outlaws. On May 7, Thomas followed a trail in the Creek Nation believed to be the Daltons. He was forced to stop when the trail reached the Arkansas River. Heck Thomas could not leave his jurisdiction without permission of the marshal. In his book "When the Daltons Rode," Emmett Dalton makes note of this incident. The Dalton gang was across the river waiting in ambush for the Thomas posse. On May 9, the Daltons robbed the train at Wharton.

So, the Daltons were in the vicinity of the Starmer murder on May 7 and 9, admitted to by Emmett Dalton. They lay in ambush for the Thomas posse, the same way in which the Starmer posse was ambushed. This would appear to be consistent with the Daltons being responsible for the Starmer murder.

Thank you for your information about William Tener Starmer, most of what I know about him is from the book Oklahombres, Particularly the Wilder Ones and what family historian Lois Laird has told me. I am trying to put together article to be published in Midwest Historical Genealogical & Historical Society publication.

From an article written by Lois the following information is what I have.
William T. Starmer and brothers Nathaniel H. and James L. Starmer and double cousin George G. Starmer came to Oklahoma together. All made the run of '89 into Oklahoma Territory and secured land about hal way between Orlando and Marshall. James and George relinquished their land in about a year and George went to work as police officer in the town of Perry.
William T. and Nathaniel H. Starmer made numerous improvements on their land and were living and prospering until one day the Dalton Gang came through the neighborhood and stole horses belonging to the settlers. William T. was a U.S. Deputy Marshal and he quickly organized and led a posse in pursuit. He forbade younger brother Nathaniel to join the posse. They trailed the Dalton Gang to the area around Twin Mounds east of Stillwater. There the Daltons holed up in some underbrush along a crek and Bill Starmer and another member of the posse, Bill Thompson went in after them. After a few moments of gun battle, Bill lay dead, his Winchester empty beside him. Thompson was able to get away. Bill's grave is unknown but was probably buried in an early cemetery at Orlando which was used by very early settlers; now lost after being abandoned and uncared for through the years.The date of Bill Starmer's death is recorded in family records as May 2, 1892.
Looking for as much information about George G. Starmer (Hunk) who was also a U.S. Deputy Marshal and Police Officer in Perry. There was quite a bit more written about him in the book by Everett Dumas Nix and sounds like he had some exciting times!

William Starmer was my great grandfather. When he was killed, it left my grandmother an orphan and she was raised by relatives here in Missouri.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jhowren,

HI! Great to hear from a cousin! Please contact me!

Hi
We didn't know if we had Starmer cousins. Grandma was so small when she was orphaned that she didn't have a lot of memories to share with us. She remembered a train ride from Oklahoma to Missouri and she remembered when her dad left her the last time. She said he was supposed to bring back a doll when he returned.
My dad is her only son and she had six daughters.
Have you read the article about Wm Starmer at RootsWeb.com?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jhowren,