Benjamin "Bennie" Reeves was born 29 Jul 1880 in Arkansas to Bass Reeves and Nellie Jennie Wilson.
Inmate #8513 Leavenworth
Crime: Murder
Rec: 5 Feb 1913
Term: unknown
He shot his wife for messing around with another man.
His father was Deputy Marshal and arrested him and took him to the jail.
The greatest testimony to his devotion to duty was the fact he brought his own son in for murder once he received the warrant. Bass Reeves was one of the greatest peace officers in the history of the American western frontier.
Bass Reeves
Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, born as a slave in Arkansas Territory, grew up in Lamar and Grayson counties, Texas, where he belonged to Col. George R. Reeves, later to become the speaker of the house in the Texas legislature. As a young man Reeves escaped north into theIndian Territory, where he became acquainted with the Cherokee,Creek, and Seminole Indians. It is believed he served as a soldier with the Union Indian Home Guard Regiments during the Civil War. After the war Reeves settled down in Van Buren, Arkansas, as a farmer. On occasion he would serve as a guide for deputy U.S. marshals who worked out of the federal court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, into the Indian Territory. Reeves had once boasted that he knew Indian Territory "like a cook knows her kitchen" and, as a result of his skills and his knowledge of the territory, he was able to make substantial money as a scout and tracker for peace officers. In 1875, when Judge Isaac C. Parkertook over the Fort Smith federal court, Parker commissioned Reeves as a deputy U.S. marshal. He is believed to be one of the earliest African Americans to receive a commission as a deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River.
Reeves worked for thirty-two years as a deputy marshal in the Indian Territory. He was the only deputy to begin with Parker's court and work until Oklahoma statehood in 1907. Reeves, standing six feet, two inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, became a celebrity during his lifetime in the Indian Territory. Muskogee Police Chief Bud Ledbetter said about him, "The veteran Negro deputy never quailed in facing any man." Reeves became an expert with pistol and rifle. Territorial newspapers stated he killed fourteen outlawsduring his career as a peace officer.
When Reeves began riding for Judge Parker, the jurisdiction covered more than seventy-five thousand square miles. The deputies from Fort Smith rode west to Fort Reno, Fort Sill, and Anadarko, a round trip of more than eight hundred miles. Whenever a deputy marshal left Fort Smith to capture outlaws in the territory, he took with him a wagon, a cook who served as guard, and at least one posseman. Reeves transferred to Wetumka, Indian Territory, in 1897 and then to Muskogee in 1898 after federal courts opened in the territory. The Chickasaw Enterprise on November 28, 1901, reported that Bass Reeves had arrested more than three thousand men and women for violating federal laws in the territory.
Newspapers praised Reeves's reputation often. On November 19, 1909, theMuskogee Times Democrat wrote that "in the early days when the Indian country was overridden with outlaws, Reeves would herd into Fort Smith, often single handed, bands of men charged with crimes from bootlegging to murder. He was paid fees in those days that sometimes amounted to thousands of dollars for a single trip . . . trips that sometimes lasted for months."
When Bass Reeves died on January 12, 1910, the Muskogee Phoenix wrote of the legendary lawman, "In the history of the early days of Eastern Oklahoma the name of Bass Reeves has a place in the front rank among those who cleansed out the old Indian Territory of outlaws and desperadoes. No story of the conflict of government's officers with those outlaws, which ended only a few years ago with the rapid filling up of the territory with people, can be complete without mention of the Negro who died yesterday. . . . During that time he was sent to arrest some of the most desperate characters that ever infested Indian Territory and endangered life and peace in its borders. And he got his man as often as any of the deputies. . . ." From Wikipedia
Bennie did get out date unknown and married again to Etta Mae Witson in 1946, she died in 1983 and Bennie died 19 Feb 1958.
This is a true testament to a man who took an oath and a father whom really loved his son.
Crime: Murder
Rec: 5 Feb 1913
Term: unknown
He shot his wife for messing around with another man.
His father was Deputy Marshal and arrested him and took him to the jail.
The greatest testimony to his devotion to duty was the fact he brought his own son in for murder once he received the warrant. Bass Reeves was one of the greatest peace officers in the history of the American western frontier.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, born as a slave in Arkansas Territory, grew up in Lamar and Grayson counties, Texas, where he belonged to Col. George R. Reeves, later to become the speaker of the house in the Texas legislature. As a young man Reeves escaped north into theIndian Territory, where he became acquainted with the Cherokee,Creek, and Seminole Indians. It is believed he served as a soldier with the Union Indian Home Guard Regiments during the Civil War. After the war Reeves settled down in Van Buren, Arkansas, as a farmer. On occasion he would serve as a guide for deputy U.S. marshals who worked out of the federal court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, into the Indian Territory. Reeves had once boasted that he knew Indian Territory "like a cook knows her kitchen" and, as a result of his skills and his knowledge of the territory, he was able to make substantial money as a scout and tracker for peace officers. In 1875, when Judge Isaac C. Parkertook over the Fort Smith federal court, Parker commissioned Reeves as a deputy U.S. marshal. He is believed to be one of the earliest African Americans to receive a commission as a deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River.
Reeves worked for thirty-two years as a deputy marshal in the Indian Territory. He was the only deputy to begin with Parker's court and work until Oklahoma statehood in 1907. Reeves, standing six feet, two inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, became a celebrity during his lifetime in the Indian Territory. Muskogee Police Chief Bud Ledbetter said about him, "The veteran Negro deputy never quailed in facing any man." Reeves became an expert with pistol and rifle. Territorial newspapers stated he killed fourteen outlawsduring his career as a peace officer.
When Reeves began riding for Judge Parker, the jurisdiction covered more than seventy-five thousand square miles. The deputies from Fort Smith rode west to Fort Reno, Fort Sill, and Anadarko, a round trip of more than eight hundred miles. Whenever a deputy marshal left Fort Smith to capture outlaws in the territory, he took with him a wagon, a cook who served as guard, and at least one posseman. Reeves transferred to Wetumka, Indian Territory, in 1897 and then to Muskogee in 1898 after federal courts opened in the territory. The Chickasaw Enterprise on November 28, 1901, reported that Bass Reeves had arrested more than three thousand men and women for violating federal laws in the territory.
Newspapers praised Reeves's reputation often. On November 19, 1909, theMuskogee Times Democrat wrote that "in the early days when the Indian country was overridden with outlaws, Reeves would herd into Fort Smith, often single handed, bands of men charged with crimes from bootlegging to murder. He was paid fees in those days that sometimes amounted to thousands of dollars for a single trip . . . trips that sometimes lasted for months."
When Bass Reeves died on January 12, 1910, the Muskogee Phoenix wrote of the legendary lawman, "In the history of the early days of Eastern Oklahoma the name of Bass Reeves has a place in the front rank among those who cleansed out the old Indian Territory of outlaws and desperadoes. No story of the conflict of government's officers with those outlaws, which ended only a few years ago with the rapid filling up of the territory with people, can be complete without mention of the Negro who died yesterday. . . . During that time he was sent to arrest some of the most desperate characters that ever infested Indian Territory and endangered life and peace in its borders. And he got his man as often as any of the deputies. . . ." From Wikipedia
Bennie did get out date unknown and married again to Etta Mae Witson in 1946, she died in 1983 and Bennie died 19 Feb 1958.
This is a true testament to a man who took an oath and a father whom really loved his son.
love his story!
ReplyDeleteGreat Tribute Gwen!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much
DeleteBen Reeves Looks like My Father! Really Amazing. His story is To Close 4Comfort. Parallel Mine! please, please contact me About this Story on Bass/Ben Reeves. I love that he was Apart of Indian tribes. I have mukti- Indian ancestry. please Someone Call/Email Me. Thank U Kindly Frank Hayden. 225-205-0734. frankhayden86@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome and you can also google his name there are lots of info out there on him.
DeleteI am David Reeves, I Love Our Families History my Father David Lee Reeves use to tell me stories about Bass and my other Great Uncle the Alabama Kid (Clarence Reeves). The Reeves Family sends Our Love and thanks for telling Our hHistory. Never knew the Long Ranger connection. Wow.
DeleteThank you so much for commenting. You are very welcome. What a wonderful stories to have, sad also, but exciting.
DeleteIf the white power structure thought so highly of Bass Reeves, then there's a very good chance that he was a coon.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, which means what??? He was black?? Yes he was.
DeleteWhat a great story. Truly enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome and thank you.
DeleteBass Reeves is among the many Black men and women who played a vital role in the west. There are so many more to learn about.
ReplyDeleteYes he was, that is so very true.
Delete