Hi, this is an answer to a man who is researching for the new Rube Burrow Museum in Alabama near the Tombigbee Waterway- home of the Burrow Families. Since Rube and Uncle lived on Cottonwood Creek , Dublin,Texas, someone might be interested. The Alabama researcher is Calvin Dean- or [email protected] or go to the Tombigbee Site via Google.com and click on people- heroes- or History. The Alabama Rube Burrow story is there without Texas being mentioned. -or was this 2 men useing the same name???This is longer than normal but may have a link or two which would help someone. --------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Charles A. Wyly" <[email protected]> Hi, The info below is from GRAND OL' ERATH-the story of a Texas West Cross Timbers County, by H.G. (Grady ) Perry, 1974-,Stephenville, Erath County. Texas. His sources include info from Rube's second wife from Alexander, Texas- on the old Texas Central- then Katy Railroad. This second wife was the aunt of his barber friend (and my barber sometimes) E.E. Haley of Stephenville (Part Cherokee) . Grady had a letter from one of Rube's granddaughters, 1974, in California, wanting to know more about Rube, her grandad. Grady also grew up near Dublin, and Joel Burrow, Rube's Uncle , had a farm between Dublin and Alexander- a very respected man. Rube came to Stephenville from Alabama in 1873 and worked for his Uncle. He also had several business trips back then, and apparently had visited with or worked with Sam Bass, the notorious Bank and train and stagecoach robber. When he returned he had some cash, which some thought he got from rounding up a few stray cattle and driving them to a cattle Trail, possibly Goodnight- Loving or John Chissum of Concho River Valley. Maybe not. Grady said Rube was said to have recruited Henderson Brumley, Nep. Thornton, Joe Jackson, and William and Jim Brock at one time or another. He robbed his first Texas Train , after leaving Sam Bass, Bellvue, Clay County, Texas, another in Gordon, Palo Pinto County, Texas, then robbed the same train crew twice in Benbrook, Tarrant county, Texas He would return to his Uncle Joel's each job until he bought a house across Cotonwood Creek from his Uncle's farm and lived there with his second wife, doing some farming. he left for Alabama with a Texas Reward of $7000.00 Railroad money on his head. he never robbed a train in Erath County .He was killed shortly after his arrival back in Alabama. Wonder if the man in Alabama claimed his reward? Who was he? Grady said if any family has no black sheep, they haven't looked good. Now a relative of his is Governor of Texas. In Texas Rube did not have a killer Reputation like John Wesley Hardin or Billy the Kid AKA William Bonney AKA William Henry Roberts AKA Billy McCarty AKA Brushy Bill Roberts I knew in Hico, Texas, down Hwy 6 from Dublin. Billy's aunt had married a McCarty then a Bonney in Oklahoma, where Billy visited his dad, a Civil War Vet, riding with Jesse James and Quantrill . Jesse James was said to have taught 12 year old Billy to shoot riding full speed under a horse's neck. This version says that Billy Barlow, a Mexican cook and butcher was shot in the back by Pat Garrett, once Billy's Friend before the Cattle range wars on the Goodnight- Loving Trail around Lincoln, New Mexico. Barlow was buried in the grave marked Billy the Kid and present headstone placed by a movie Company. This is also the version taught by several P.Hd. Teachers and lawyers from Spanish Folk Tales of those loosing their Spanish land grants to commercial cattle ranches with some British money backing. Dr. Janary P. Valdez, attorney from De Soto,Texas has written a long poem of Billy's life. A former Hamilton County Attorney and County Judge, a Mr. Heffner, carried Brushy Bill back to Lincoln County to claim his promised pardon for testimony in Lincoln County Trials. Brushy Bill told Mr. Heffner where and when to turn after they were inLincoln County. A New Mexico judge refused to pay Pat Garrett the Reward money as he said he personally knrew Billy was alive and in Central Texas- the Brushy Bill I knew, who died on a Hico Street of a heart attack, age 93. One block south of his statue with pistols blazing is the Museum which has proofs of this version from several sources, including Dr. janary Valdez, an old friend of Lyndon Johnson. This story is also borne out by Historic reprints of the Tombstone ( Arizona) Epitath It was claimed that Billy killed 3 or 4 men in the Lincoln County Range Wars protecting his bos's cattle.He also killed a Jailer who had worked for a rival ranch. Eastern Pulp Magazines and Dime novels wrote all sorts of trash to sell scandal sheets and dime novels- like the Globe and National Inquirer of Today in the Supermarket checkout lines. Some authors had never been west of the Mississippi Sad thing some of this fictionalized info is bering set into secondary reference books and school Textbooks. The errors continue as sources for later books, some approved by Texas State Textbook Committee and sold to other Southwestern States. I was reading some new Textbooks up for adoption last week in Waco Schools, Not one Texas Textbook today even mentions the Texas Navy. More I study, more I think that if Admiral Moore had not left Annapolis at request of Sam Houston, to become Admiral of Texas Navy, Texas might have not won its independence. Admiral Moore had 4 large ships- 2 financed in New Orleans, and several smaller gunboats and armed Shrimpers, sort of a navy Militia, some privately owned. he sailed from Galveston to the Yucatan Peninsula where Yucatecians and Mayans were also rebelling against Santa Anna after he sent Congress home and became a Dictator, The Yucateans in old Spanish Ships and Texians Navy sealed or blocaded the Verazruz harbor before Santa Anna's Supply Ships left port. Look art yourt map. Santa Anna expected a supply ship in each river he crossed. Texians in the Runaway Scrape tried what Russians or General Sherman would have done- destroy all shelter and food as they approached San Jacinto. By then. Santa \Anna and Army were hungry, thirsty, and no Dr. pepper from Dublin or Waco ( Pardon the plug)> In other words the Mexican Army was a tired and unhappy bunch of campers. Also, Sam Houston had a spy in Santa Anna's camp- the Yellow Rose of Texas, or the San Antonio Rose- a high yellow slave in Alabama and freed in Texas, She would live with Camp followers - today we call them Haliburton or Brown and Root type civilian contractors who shined shoes, repaired equipment, did laundry, and cooked and polished for the soldiers. She would enter his tent and serve his meals and pour his drinks while she studied his maps. What did she send to Houston? We do not know, possibly she told him if there was a Mexican supply ship as they crossed the rivers.None were. I learned this in a Johnsville, Texas elementary school Texas music Textbook. First to 4 th grades had to memorize the version of the song written by Black Cowboys singing to calm a herd at night. Bob Wills of Turkey, Texas could have learned the song from the Matador Ranch cowboys-Some Black cowboys played Fiddle and Banjo for dances and musicals attended by Black and white., especially in theRolling Plains and Badlands below the Caprock. We learned the old version, We sang the song on KFPL Dublin Radio, Stephenville Studios in Arch Evans Tire store show room. She was a hero of the Texas Centenial in 1936. Today neither she or Admiral Moore's Texas Navies are mentioned in textbooks The Moore family and Admiral Moore settled in San Angelo, Texas after the Texas Revolution ( The third one, which worked). Good luck on your Rube Burrow Museum there on the Tombigbee. How far apart are the river and the Canal on I-20??? Take Care, Charles A, Wyly