Rube Burrow, the Outlaw


Book Description




Rube Burrow, Desperado


Book Description

Rube Burrow was a prolific train robber in the 1880s and early 1890s ranging from Texas to Arkansas to Mississippi and Alabama. He ended his career with a cold-blooded murder that triggered a major manhunt. Rick Miller through diligent research has laid out the true story from primarary resources (see 456 endnotes) correcting many errors previously written about Burrow and his cohorts.




Engines of Redemption


Book Description

After the upheavals of the Civil War and Reconstruction shattered the plantation economy of the Old South, white southerners turned to the railroad to reconstruct capitalism in the region. Examining the rapid growth, systemization, and consolidation of the southern railroad network, R. Scott Huffard Jr. demonstrates how economic and political elites used the symbolic power of the railroad to proclaim a New South had risen. The railroad was more than just an economic engine of growth; it was a powerful symbol of capitalism's advance. However, as the railroad spread across the region, it also introduced new dangers and anxieties. White southerners came to fear the railroad would speed an upending of the racial order, epidemics of yellow fever, train wrecks, violent robberies, and domination by corporate monopolies. To complete the reconstruction of capitalism, railroad corporations and their allies had to sever the negative aspects of railroading from capitalism's powers and deny the railroad's transformative powers to black southerners. This study of the New South's experience with the growing railroad network provides valuable insights into the history of capitalism--how it evolves, expands, and overcomes resistance.




The Old West's Infamous Train Robbers and Their Historic Heists


Book Description

What sort of person undertakes to rob a multi-ton train surging down a set of rails at high speed? For the Old West’s most famous outlaws, including Jesse James, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the Dalton Gang, and Black Jack Ketchum, it was as much about the thrill of the crime as the riches to be won, thumbing their noses at the authorities, and getting away with their crimes more often than not. These men, and at least one woman, were dare devils, rule breakers, adventurers, and rebels. In addition to their train robberies, they led colorful, dramatic, and dangerous lives. The Old West's Infamous Train Robbers and Their Historic Heists profiles sixteen noted train robbers (or train robbing gangs) along with the details of each their forty-seven hold-ups. The mechanics of each of their train robberies—planning, execution, and escape—are dissected and discussed. Pertinent background information relating to each outlaw/gang is included as well as what became of them following their train-robbery days.




Sins of the Pioneers


Book Description

When the Civil War ended, many disenchanted Southerners poured into Central Texas, toting guns and grudges. Shots of whiskey loosened tempers and soon bullets were flying. Within a few years, the Lone Star State had become the nation’s murder capitol. The small town of Stephenville, where 139 people were hauled to prison between crimes 1864 to 1891, dealt with Comanche warriors, restless outlaws, crime rings, and the ruthless vigilante group known as “The Mob.” Sins of the Pioneers: Crimes & Scandals of a Small Texas Town explores Stephenville’s emergence from wild frontier to bustling village. Studded with shocking tales—sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant—it tells of crooks, bigamists, prostitutes, saloon brawlers, and mysterious murderers. James Pylant chronicles John Gilbreath, the intimidating, determined sheriff who bent rules to jail criminals—including his own kinfolks; Julia Williamson, Stephenville's hell-raising madam; armless Jack Hollis and his jail escape; accused horse-thief Jennie Sadler; schemer Gordon Bradshaw’s “accidental” shooting of his wealthy bride; lovely teenaged axe murderess May Bruce; and Annie Cooper, who risked exposing her shady past to rescue a troubled girl. “Author Pylant creates an enlightening portrait of the routine and not-so-routine criminality and scandals, surgically exposing the underbelly of Stephenville's raunchy and racy and sometimes perilous past.” —Bob Alexander, author of Riding Lucifer’s Line "meticulously researched . . . riveting." —Bill Neal, author of Sex, Murder and the Unwritten Law "Sins of the Pioneers is every bit as salacious as its title suggests." —The Midwest Review




People and Things from the Marshall County, Alabama, Guntersville Democrat 1880 - 1891


Book Description

The Guntersville Democrat was not the first newspaper to be published in Marshall County, but it is the one most complete from the 19th century. It was first published in October of 1880 by a Gadsden newspaperman, William M. Meeks. Over the years it chronicled much of the history of Marshall County. This book attempts to capture mentions of births, marriages, deaths and obituaries. It also reproduces articles of interest and importance in the development of the county-all with a full name index. Here, you can find all of Judge Louis Wyeth's "History of Marshall County," as well as an unnamed contributor who penned a series called "Reminiscences of Old Times in Marshall County by an Old Citizen." This book contains several biographies of old citizens, traces the development of the Tennessee and Coosa Railroad, and reports on Rube Burrow and his alleged murderous romp across Sand Mountain. This book will be important to any student of the history and genealogy of Marshall County.




Legends and Lore of Birmingham & Central Alabama


Book Description

From Jasper to Selma to Hoover, central Alabama is bursting at the seams with unique stories and legendary characters. Read about the Goat Man, the famous wandering traveler who wrestled a bear, narrowly avoided being lynched by the Ku Klux Klan, was pronounced dead and taken to the morgue and later became an ordained preacher. Learn the story of the Alabama White Thang, a seven-foot-tall creature covered in white hair that has appeared all over the region. Be charmed by Fred, the Rockford town dog that became everyone's best friend and had his fifteen minutes of fame on Animal Planet. Author Beverly Crider brings the most bizarre facets of the Alabama spirit to life with dozens of strange stories in central Alabama.




The Wild West


Book Description

An extensively illustrated day-by-day adventure that tells the stories of pioneers and cowboys, gold rushes, and saloon shoot-outs on America’s frontier. Beginning in the nineteenth century, the lure of land rich in minerals, fertile for farming, and plentiful with buffalo bred an all-out obsession with heading westward. The Wild West: 365 Days takes you back to these booming frontier towns that became the stuff of American legend, breeding characters such as Butch Cassidy and Jesse James. Prize-winning journalist and historian Michael Wallis spins a colorful narrative, separating myth from fact, in 365 vignettes. Learn the stories of Davy Crockett, Wild Bill Hickok, and Annie Oakley; travel to the O.K. Corral and Dodge City; ride with the Pony Express; and witness the invention of the Colt revolver. Included throughout are images drawn from Robert G. McCubbin’s extensive collection of Western memorabilia, encompassing rare books, photographs, ephemera, and artifacts, including Billy the Kid’s knife.




Lamar County


Book Description

Charming, historic Lamar County, Alabama, lies just within hours of such metropolises as Birmingham, Montgomery, and Nashville. The county was established in the nineteenth century on lands once inhabited and hunted by Native American tribes. Known first as Jones and then as Sanford County, the county was named Lamar in 1877, in honor of L.Q.C. Lamar, a senator from Mississippi. Since its founding, Lamar County has enjoyed bountiful farming, hunting, and fishing; myriad recreational opportunities provided by area waterways; and steadfast family values and community pride. In this captivating collection of vintage photographs readers will be transported to the Lamar County of yesteryear, joining the pioneer settlers who came by covered wagon from Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. They came with little more than the dream of moving westward to a promising future, and settled a community that would always be defined by its hardworking, unyielding spirit. The early families who came to Lamar County-who built homes, toiled the land, and established local traditions-are the subject of this engaging retrospective. In their faces the story of the county unfolds, and in their legacy the spirit of the county lives on.




Six-Guns and Saddle Leather


Book Description

Authoritative guide to everything in print about lawmen and the lawless—from Billy the Kid to the painted ladies of frontier cow towns. Nearly 2,500 entries, taken from newspapers, court records, and more.