I'm seeking information about the shooting of David Folsom in 1880. According to his parents' account he was killed by a U.S. Marshal in Caddo, I.T. in February of 1880. They were so upset by the fact that the marshal wasn't charged, they had "murdered" inscribed in his headstone and the bullet that killed him embedded in the top of it. I've seen the headstone, and read the story: who killed him? why was he after David in the first place? Any clues?

I just checked the National Archives, Ft. Worth branch, and they have no record of a David Folsom before 1889, so that's a dead end. The next place to check is the Ft. Smith Elevator and see if mention is made there. The only microfilmed copies of that rag I know of are at the University of Oklahoma.

Ask and ye shall receive. Where is Folsom buried? Is the headstone still located at his grave?

St. Louis Globe Democrat, St. Louis, Missouri, Friday, February 20, 1880
Simple Justice
Caddo, I.T., February 19 – A desperado named David Folsom left Denison in the evening with eight quarts of whisky, and, arriving here drunk and boisterous, was ordered by Deputy United States Marshals Ayers and Stephens[sic/Stephenson?] to surrender. Folsom resisted, and the only reply to the command of the officers was a shot from his revolver, but he missed and the officers shot him in the leg and body fatally. He died shortly after.