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Legendary lawman joins the Texas Rangers
On this day in 1906, Frank Hamer enlisted in the Texas Rangers. Hamer,
born in Fairview in 1884, was recommended for a position with the Rangers
after capturing a horse thief while working as a cowboy in 1905. In 1908
he resigned from the force to become marshal of Navasota and then a
special officer in Harris County. He rejoined the Rangers in 1915 and
patrolled the South Texas border from the Big Bend to Brownsville. He was
criticized for his use of force, and legislator José T. Canales accused
Hamer of threatening him in 1918. In 1934 Hamer became a special
investigator for the Texas prison system and was assigned to track down
outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. After a three-month search, he and
his men shot and killed them near Gibsland, Louisiana. Congress awarded
Hamer a special citation for stopping the pair. Hamer retired in 1949 and
lived in Austin until his death in 1955.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- HAMER, FRANCIS AUGUSTUS
- TEXAS RANGERS
- CANALES, JOSE TOMAS
- PARKER, BONNIE
- BARROW, CLYDE CHESNUT
- SHERMAN RIOT OF 1930
- BORGER, TX
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- Texas forces win at San Jacinto (1836)
- First internees arrive at Kenedy Alien Detention Camp (1942)
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