Bonnie & Clyde, Barrow Gang Newspaper Articles (1933-1935)

Description

Bonnie and Clyde: A Criminal Chronology and Cast

1930

• January: Bonnie Parker (19) and Clyde Barrow (21) meet in Texas.
• Early 1930: Clyde is sent to prison. Bonnie attempts to help him escape by smuggling a gun to him; he briefly escapes but is recaptured.

1932

• February: Bonnie and Clyde are reunited when Clyde is paroled.
• Later in 1932: Bonnie and Clyde join up with Raymond Hamilton.
• November: Raymond Hamilton leaves the gang and is replaced by William Daniel Jones.

1933

• March 23: Clyde’s brother, Ivan M. “Buck” Barrow, receives a full pardon from the governor of Texas and is released from Texas State Prison.
• Soon after March 23: Buck Barrow and his wife, Blanche Barrow, join Bonnie, Clyde, and Jones, expanding the gang to five members.
• May 20: The United States Commissioner at Dallas, Texas, issues a federal warrant for Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker for interstate transportation of a stolen automobile, allowing the FBI to join the manhunt.
• July 29: The gang engages in a shootout with police in Iowa, resulting in Buck Barrow being fatally wounded and Blanche Barrow being captured.
• November: William Daniel Jones is captured in Houston.
• November 22: The Dallas, Texas sheriff and deputies set a trap near Grand Prairie, Texas, but Bonnie and Clyde escape their gunfire.

1934

• January 16: Bonnie and Clyde free five prisoners, including Raymond Hamilton, from Eastham State Prison Farm at Waldo, Texas. Two guards are shot by the escaping prisoners with pistols previously hidden by Barrow, who covers their retreat with machine-gun fire. Henry Methvin is among the escapees.
• April 1: Bonnie and Clyde encounter and shoot two highway patrolmen near Grapevine, Texas, before the officers can draw their guns.
• April 6: Bonnie and Clyde kill a constable and abduct and wound a police chief in Miami, Oklahoma. This escalation in violence against law enforcement intensifies the manhunt.
• May 21: Law enforcement receives tips that Bonnie and Clyde are in the Louisiana and Texas border area with the Methvins. They are reported to have staged a party at Black Lake, Louisiana.
• May 23: Bonnie and Clyde approach Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, in their Ford sedan. A posse of Louisiana and Texas police officers, including Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, ambush them along the highway. Bonnie and Clyde are killed instantly by the officers’ gunfire.

Cast of Characters

• Bonnie Parker: A central figure in the Barrow Gang, known for her partnership with Clyde Barrow. She was 19 when she met Clyde and was married to a convicted murderer at the time. She was killed alongside Clyde Barrow on May 23, 1934.
• Clyde Barrow: The notorious leader of the Barrow Gang and Bonnie Parker’s partner. He was 21 when he met Bonnie. He had a history of imprisonment and was responsible for orchestrating escapes and committing various crimes. He was killed alongside Bonnie Parker on May 23, 1934.
• Raymond Hamilton: An early member of the Barrow Gang who later left the pair but was freed from prison by Bonnie and Clyde in 1934.
• William Daniel Jones: Replaced Raymond Hamilton in the Barrow Gang in November 1932. He was captured in Houston in November 1933.
• Ivan M. “Buck” Barrow: Clyde Barrow’s brother. He joined the gang after receiving a full pardon from the governor of Texas on March 23, 1933. He was fatally wounded in a shootout with police on July 29, 1933, in Iowa.
• Blanche Barrow: Buck Barrow’s wife. She joined the gang with her husband in 1933. She was captured in Iowa on July 29, 1933, during the shootout that killed her husband.
• Henry Methvin: An individual from Louisiana who was freed from Eastham State Prison Farm by Bonnie and Clyde on January 16, 1934. He was associated with Bonnie and Clyde near the time of their deaths.
• Frank Hamer: A Texas Ranger who was part of the posse that ambushed and killed Bonnie and Clyde on May 23, 1934, in Louisiana.

Bonnie & Clyde, Barrow Gang Newspaper Articles (1933-1935)

270 full sheet newspaper pages dating from January 8, 1933, to May 5, 1935, with coverage of Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker, and the Barrow Gang.

In January of 1930, Bonnie who was 19 and married to a convicted murderer, met 21-year-old Clyde in Texas. Not long after Clyde was sent to prison. Bonnie while visiting Clyde in prison gave him a gun, she had hidden on herself. He used the gun to escape prison but was soon captured.

In February 1932, they were reunited when Clyde was paroled. Later that year Bonnie and Clyde joined up with Raymond Hamilton. Hamilton left the pair and was replaced by William Daniel Jones in November 1932.

The gang expanded to five members when Clyde’s brother Ivan M. “Buck” Barrow, on March 23, 1933, received a full pardon from the governor of Texas. Soon after leaving Texas State Prison, Buck and his wife Blanche joined Barrow, Parker, and Jones.

On May 20, 1933, the United States Commissioner at Dallas, Texas, issued a warrant for Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. They were charged with the interstate transportation of a stolen automobile. This federal crime allowed the FBI to enter the hunt for the pair.

On July 29, 1933, the gang got into a shootout with police in Iowa. Buck Barrow was fatally wounded, and Blanche was captured. In November of 1933 Jones was captured in Houston.

On November 22, 1933, a trap was set by the Dallas, Texas sheriff and his deputies to capture Bonnie and Clyde near Grand Prairie, Texas, but the couple escaped the officer’s gunfire.

On January 16, 1934, five prisoners, including Raymond Hamilton were freed from the Eastham State Prison Farm at Waldo, Texas by Barrow and Parker. Two guards were shot by the escaping prisoners with automatic pistols, which had been previously concealed in a ditch by Barrow. As the prisoners ran, Barrow covered their retreat with bursts of machine-gun fire. Among the escapees was Henry Methvin of Louisiana.

On April 1, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde encountered two highway patrolmen near Grapevine, Texas. Before the officers could draw their guns, they were shot. On April 6, 1934, a constable at Miami, Oklahoma was killed by Bonnie and Clyde, they also abducted a police chief, whom they wounded.

This increase in violence against law enforcement led to an increase in efforts by law enforcement to end their crime spree. The FBI and local law enforcement received tips that Bonnie and Clyde were in the Louisiana and Texas border area. It was learned that they were with the Methvins and had staged a party at Black Lake, Louisiana on the night of May 21, 1934, and were due to return to the area two days later.

On May 23, 1934, Barrow and Parker approached Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana in their Ford sedan. There one of America’s most remarkable manhunts came to an end. A posse composed of police officers from Louisiana and Texas, including Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, concealed themselves in bushes along the highway near Sailes, Louisiana. In the early daylight, Bonnie and Clyde appeared in an automobile and when they attempted to drive away, the officers opened fire. Bonnie and Clyde were killed instantly.

Newspapers in this collection include:

Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, TX)
Henderson Daily News (Henderson, TX)
La Grange Journal (La Grange, TX)
The Meridian Tribune (Meridian, TX)
The Shamrock Texan (Shamrock, TX)
The Cuero Record (Cuero, TX)
The Mexia Weekly Herald (Mexia, TX)
The Daily Sun (Goose Creek, TX)
Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, TX)
Brenham Banner-Press (Brenham, TX)
The Tribune (Hallettsville, TX)
The Lampasas Daily Leader (Lampasas, TX)
The Big Lake Wildcat (Big Lake, TX)
The Cotulla Record (Cotulla, TX)
The Clifton Record (Clifton, TX)
The Wortham Journal (Wortham, TX)
The Daily Sun (Goose Creek, TX)
The Orange Leader (Orange, TX)
The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, TX)
Timpson Daily Times (Timpson, TX)
Cleburne Times-Review (Cleburne, TX)
The Deport Times (Deport, TX)
Mt. Pleasant Times Review (Mount Pleasant, TX)
Evening Star (Washington, DC)
Imperial Valley Press (El Centro, CA)
Telegraf (Baltimore, MD)
The Chapel Hill Weekly (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Henderson Daily Dispatch (Henderson, NC)
The Waterbury Democrat (Waterbury, CT)
The Key West Citizen (Key West, FL)
The Bismarck Tribune (Bismarck, ND)
The Times-News (Hendersonville, N.C.)
The Indianapolis Times (Indianapolis, IN)
Roanoke Rapids Herald (Roanoke Rapids, NC)
El Democrata Del Condado de Costilla (San Luis, CO)
The Eureka Mirror (Eureka, MT)
The Nome Nugget (Nome, Ak)