The
Galveston Daily News
Galveston, Texas
May 27, 1889 Monday
pg 2
DARK AND BLOODY DEED
ROBERT MAY, SHERIFF OF GRAYSON COUNTY, SHOT TO
DEATH
While in the Discharge of His Official Duties
- Officers
and Bloodhounds Round the Slayer up -
Particulars
of the Crime
Sherman, Tex., May 29. - One of the most
startling tragedies ever known
in Grayson county took lace eight miles from
the city this morning and
a little over a mile west of the village of
Howe on the Houston and
Texas Central railway, in which Bob May,
sheriff of Grayson county, a
valued and efficient officer, lost his life
under unexpected
circumstances. Just a week ago to-day two
young men arrive in Howe from
Elliott county, Ky. They were the distant
relatives of D. H. Hanna,
John Hanna and John Eades, who live in Howe,
and have been stopping
with these people since their arrival.
The young men were fist cousins and had come
out to Texas on a prospecting tour and had
given it out that they intended
to visit both Oklahoma and Arkansas before
returning home to Kentucky.
Mandrew Isom is 21 years and Benjamin 21
years. They had been knocking
about town a great deal, during which time
they had been drinking more
or less. Friday last, preparatory to the trip
they were to take through
Oklahoma and Arkansas, the two Isoms came to
Sherman and purchased
a full supply of fire arms, including
Winchester rifles, pistols,
ammunition, etc. These they brought back and
left at the house of John
Eadus, in the caster part of the town of Howe,
and at which house they
were stopping for the last day or two.
Friday evening the Isoms got into a game of
marking for the treats, in which they got a
little vexed. Yesterday afternoon Ben
Isom and J. M. Culver were marking for the
cigars in Simpson's saloon. Isom accused
Culver of having swindled him. Culbert
remonstrated with him, but Isom became more
and more abusive and finally drew his pistol
with the evident intention of
using it on Culver. He was seized by Mr.
Simpson and another gentleman
and disarmed. As soon as the pistol was taken
away from him he left
with his cousin, Mandrew Isom, going directly
toward the residence of
John Eades.
At this place they secured their weapons and
went east to a dense
thicket on the Captain Marshall farm, east of
Howe, a mile or two. Town
Marshal Campbell of Howe summoned a posse and
went in pursuit, but they
could not be found, and the crowd
returned to Howe without their men.
A messenger came to Sherman this morning at an
early hour and filed a
complaint before state attorney, C. H. Smith,
charging Ben Isom with
carrying a deadly weapon. The warrant issued
by virtue of the complaint
was placed in the hands
of Sheriff May who left for the scene at an
early hour this morning
with Deputies Scott Creager and James May,
brother of the sheriff. They
reached Howe about 8 o'clock this morning and
went at once to work
gathering up data relative to the occurrence
yesterday. After learning
all necessary they rode over to the residence
of Capt. Tom Barker half
mile east of town, and on a prominence
overlooking the thicket n the
lowland into which the Isoms had gone when
pursued by the posse, under
the town Marshal of Howe.
About 9 o'clock two men were seen cutting
across the fields in the
direction of the thicket and were recognized
to be David Hanna, son of
John Hanna, and John Eades. Leaving their
horses at Captain Burkes, the
officers followed the men into the thicket
where they surprised the two
Isoms in conversation with young Hanna and
John Eades. Before reaching
the men, however, Sheriff May and his deputies
had in a measure
scattered. Deputy James May was at some
distance from the sheriff while
Deputy Creager was behind him, perhaps
twenty-five feet.
Sheriff May commanded them to throw up their
hands, but this they did not do, raising and
firing as they came, both
discharging their winchesters. Sheriff May
fired one shot with a pistol and sank down,
and the two Isoms dashed off into
the thick undergrowth and brush, and were lost
to view. Deputy Creager fired one shot, but it
was inefficient. Hearing
the shots, James May dashed through the brush
to find Deputy Creager bending over the dead
body of the murdered sheriff.
James May went prostrate to the town and
acquired the services of a
doctor, who examined the body, which had been
carried to the residence
of Captain Burke, but life was extinct.
Deputy Creager states that he heard the shots,
and as he ran by Sheriff
May he was standing by a little tree, leaning
against it.
And that when he (Creager) fired he turned
around and the sheriff had
sunk down to the ground. He hastened to his
side and raised his
head, asking him if he was hurt very badly.
The wounded man tried to peak, gave his deputy
just one look, the the chin dropped and with a
sign the spirit of one of the
bravest and finest men and officers Grayson
county or the state of Texas has ever known
winged its flight to the reward
which such manhood and steadfastness
merits.
Announcement of the affair in Sherman was like
the bursting of a bomb.
The streets were crowded with people going to
and from the churches,
and all was bright and pleasant, but like a
pall of gloom the news
settled down on the entire community.
Hundreds of men volunteered, hundreds of
willing hands grasped
winchesters, shotguns and pistols and begged
for the privilege of
assisting in the capture of the slayers.
Deputy Sheriff Cam Whitesides and Policeman
Geno Andrews left at once
for Howe, reaching there in thirty-five
minutes from the time the
telephone message announcing the killing
reached Sherman. Other
officers followed.
At 10 o'clock Mandrew Isom came up to the
depot at Howe and surrendered
to Deputy sheriff Creager, who at once search
him but found nothing. A
subsequent search in the thicket where the
tragedy occurred developed
the fact that Isom had left his winchester and
pistol there. John Eades
was arrested at the home of D. H. Hanna by
Officers Spencer and
McKinney. Eades is a young man about 24 years
of age who came to Howe
from Dell county about the 1st of March. He
has been working at
intervals, having been in bad health most of
the time. About the same
time David Hanna, son of John Hanna, was
arrested at the residence of
his brother, F. H. Hanna, by J. M. Culver.
Eades and Hanna said, when they were arrested,
that they had gone out
to tell the Isoms to either leave the country
or to come in and
surrender and settle the matter. Another
report hat it that they had
gone out to carry the concealed Isoms their
breakfast.
Mandrew Isom, who came in and surrendered to
Creager, said: "We had
made arrangements, I and Be, to shoot up in
the air if we were
surprised, and then if the officers did not
weaken, we were to run off
through the woods. I shot in the air as I had
agreed, but Ben fired at
the sheriff, and I suppose that is the shot
which killed him."
At 12 o'clock orders were received at the
armory of the Grayson Rifles to hold
themselves in readiness to leave at once for
the scene, and Captain J. F. Mahoney was
appointed by the county judge
as sheriff pro-tem, with instructions to
appoint all necessary forces
to maintain order.
At about 1 o'clock Captain Mahoney with the
rifles left on a special
train accompanied by Assistant State Attorney
Zol Woods. The body of
Sheriff May was removed to the waiting room of
the depot where it was
viewed by a large constant flow of people.
it was placed on the north bound train and
brought to Sherman. A hearse was in readiness
at the depot.
The three prisoners were taken off the train
by a detachment of
policemen and placed in an ___bus and hurried
to the Houston street
prison, before the crowd had time to realize
just what was taking
place. The hearse containing the dead sheriff
moved slowly up the
streets, which were literally jammed full of
people.
When the body was carried into the lavatory of
the jail and Mrs. May entered with the
fatherless children, the scene was too
sad and affecting for pen to describe.
In answer to a telegram Sheriff Chaney of
Fannin county arrived in Sherman at 1:37 p.m.
with a pack of trained dogs, and a
special train was sent with the Fannin
officers and dogs about 5 o'clock.
The dogs struck the trail directly, and the
deep baying echoed and
resounded through the low lands. A party of
three, consisting of Joe
Simpson, William Holt and J. M. Tacket were
standing at the head of the
thicket watching for him to come out of a
ravine, the dogs being on the
opposite side of the thicket, when a man was
seen to creep out of the
brush and go in the direction of a cornfield.
The three above mentioned rode up toward him,
and when they reached a point about 200 yards
from him he rose and surrendered.
He was perfectly cool and said, while Tackett
was searching him: "I thought I would give up,
as I did not care to die." He was
turned over to Captain Mahoney and placed on a
special train and brought in at 6 o'clock and
placed in jail.
The dead body of the sheriff is lying in the
reception room at the Houston street prison
which is heavily guarded by
a detachment of military under Sergeant
Whitman.
The single wound which cost Sheriff May his
life, entered near the waist band of his pants
on the left side, passed entirely
through the body, coming out near the spine.
Dallas
Morning News
May 29, 1889
DISASTROUS RUNAWAY
Alleged Horse Thief Arrested - Another Charged
with Horse Theft Jailed.
Gainesville, Tex. - May 28 - The city was
thrown into a furor of excitement yesterday
when the sad news reached here of
the killing of Sheriff Bob May of Grayson
county. Mr. May had a broad acquaintance
here and hosts of warm friends. He
bore the reputation in Cooke county, as he did
wherever he was known, as being a gentleman of
enviable reputation and
one of the most efficient sheriffs in the
state.
Abilene Semi
Weekly Reporter
Abilene, Texas
Friday May 31, 1889
pg 4
Sheriff R. L. May of Grayson county was
murdered last Sunday while arresting a man by
the name of Isom for carrying a pistol.
The deed was unprovoked and the people are
very indignant at the taking
off of one of the most efficient officers and
estimable citizens that
the county every had. Isom was immediately
arrested.
The Sunday
Gazetteer
Denison, Texas
Sunday, June 2, 1889
SHERIFF MAY KILLED
WHILE IN THE DISCHARGE OF HIS DUTY
The Assassin a Young Man from Kentucky -
Full Particulars of the Heart-Rending Tragedy.
One of the most heart-rending tragedies ever
enacted in Grayson county took place last
Sunday near the village of Howe,
on the line of the Houston and Texas Central
railway. Bob May, twice
elected sheriff of Grayson county, a valued
and fearless officer, was
shot down in cold blood while in the discharge
of his duties. The
assassin was a Kentuckian, who had arrived in
the state only a few days
previous. It is opportune to remark here that
the most blood-thirsty
villains who have brought reproach upon the
fair name of Texas came
from other states. The most famous outlaw of
them all was Sam Bass, an
Indianian, and a number of others, equally as
notorious as Bass, have
come to Texas as a field of operation.
The following account of the killing of
Sheriff May is compiled from the Sherman
correspondence of the Dallas News:
Just one week ago to-day two young men arrived
in Howe from Elliott county, Kentucky, and
were visiting at the homes of
D. H. Hanna, John Hanna and John Eads, distant
relatives of theirs,
preparatory to starting on a prospecting tour
through Texas, Oklahoma
and Arkansas. The young men were first
cousins, named Isom - the
eldest, Mandrew Isom, aged 24 years; the
younger, Benjamin Isom, aged
21 years.
On Friday of last week, preparatory to the
trip they were intending to
take, the two Isoms went to Sherman and
purchased a full supply of
fire-arms, pistols,Winchesters,
ammunition, etc. These they took
to Howe and left at the house of John Eads.
That evening the Isoms, who
had spent much of their time since their
arrival drinking about town,
got into a game of marking for the treats,
which ended in a slight row.
The following afternoon they were "marking"
for cigars at Simpson's
saloon, when Ben Isom and J. M. Culver got
into a difficulty, Isom
accusing Culver of having swindled him, which
ended in Isom drawing his
pistol, with the evident intention of using it
on Culver. He was
disarmed by Mr. Simpson and another man. Soon
after, he in company with
is cousin, Mandrew Isom, left the saloon, went
to the house of John
Eads, secured their weapons and went east to a
dense thicket a mile or
so from Howe.
After an ineffectual attempt to capture them
by the town marshal, of
Howe, a messenger went to Sherman early Sunday
morning and filed a
complaint before State's Attorney C. H. Smith,
charging Ben. Isom with
carrying a pistol.
A warrant was issued and placed in the hands
of Sheriff May for execution. Summoning to his
aid deputies Scott Creager
and James May, the Sheriff left for the scene
of action at an early hour of the
morning arriving at Howe about 8a.m.
After learning all necessary particulars, the
Sheriff and posse set out
for the hiding place of the Isoms. Having
reached an eminence
overlooking the thicket in which the fugitives
were supposed to be
concealed, the Sheriff and his party stopped
to reconnoitre.
Seeing two men skulking across a field in the
direction of the thicket,
w ho were recognized as John Hanna and John
Eads, the officers
dis-mounted, leaving their horses at Capt.
Burke's and followed the men
into the thicket, where they cam upon them in
conversation with the
Isoms. Before reaching the men, however, the
Sheriff and his deputies
had separated. James May being some distance
off, while Scott Creager
was behind the Sheriff, perhaps, twenty-five
steps. Sheriff May
commanded the Isoms to throw up their hands,
but instead of doing so,
they rose, advanced on the officer, both
discharging their Winchesters
as they came.
Sheriff May fired one shot with his pistol,
then sank down in the path, and the Isoms fled
into the thick undergrowth and
were lost to view. Creager sent an ineffectual
shot after the
fugitives. Hearing the shots, James May dashed
through the thicket, to
find Creager bending over the dead body of the
murdered Sheriff, who
expired almost immediately after Creager
reached him. Thus died a
brave, true man in the discharge of his duty.
As soon as news of the tragedy reached Sherman
hundreds of brave men tendered their services
to aid in the capture of
the murderers, and the wildest excitement
prevailed. A delegation of officers and others
left immediately for Howe.
At 10 o'clock Mandrew Isom came up to the
depot at Howe and surrendered
to deputy Creager. John Eads was arrested at
the home of D. H. Hanna by
Officers Spencer and McKinney. About the same
time David Hanna, son of
John Hanna, was arrested at the residence of
his brother, by J. H.
Culver.
All of these, connected with the Isoms, are
new-comers to Howe, except
D. H. Hanna, who is an old resident of Texas,
and who tried to prevent
the lawlessness of his visiting relatives, by
taking away from them
their weapons, but it seems without
much effect.
The capture of Ben. Isom was effected later in
the day, by means of a
picked posse under the charge of Sheriff
Chaney, of Bonham, and a pack
of blood hounds. After a considerable chase
Ben. Isom, was driven from
a thicket, where he had taken refuge, into a
corn field, where he was
overtaken, and taken in charge by Messrs.
Simpson, Holt and Tackett. He
was turned over to Officer Mahoney, placed on
a special train, and
taken to Sherman jail. He was perfectly cool
and collected, not seeming
to realize the gravity of his crime.
The body of Sheriff May was also placed on a
special train, and brought
to Sherman, and taken at once to his
home on Houston street. Thus
ended the lite-tragedy of one more brave man.
The funeral took place Monday from his
residence, the remains being
taken to Whitesboro by train and from there to
Gordonville and laid to
rest by the side of loved ones in the family
burying ground, a large
crowd attending the funeral. The Gazetteer
extends its heartfelt
sympathy to the heart-broken widow and orphans
in this, their saddest
of all bereavements.
THE VERDICT
The wound, which caused the death of Sheriff
May almost instantly, is fully described in
the verdict below, and which is
as follows:
I, J. C. Campbell, justice of the peace in and
for precinct No. 1, county of Grayson and
state of Texas, sitting as a
court of inquest upon the dead body of R. L.
May having examined into the cause, time,
manner and place of the death
of the deceased, do find as follows, to wit:
That the said deceased came to his death about
one and a half miles northeast
of Howe, on or about the hour of 10 o'clock
a.m. on the 26th day of May, A. D., 1889. That
the death of the said deceased
was caused as follows and in the following
manner to wit: That on the 26th day of
May,1889, Ben Isom and Mandrew Isom,
of their malice aforethought, in said county
and state, did shoot the deceased with guns,
inflicting upon the body the
following wounds, caused by the ball from the
guns, entering the abdomen in the right iliac
region, close to the ilium,
ranging diagonally through and passing out on
the left side of the pelvis, n ear the
junction of the sacrum and ilium,
probably severing one of the iliac arteries,
from the effects of which wounds the said
deceased died at the time
and place heretofore stated.
Fort Worth
Daily Gazette
Fort Worth, Texas
Sept 15, 1889 Sunday
pg 11
SHERMAN
Work of the Grand Jury - Talk Regarding
the Coming Race for Congress
Special to the Gazette
Sherman, Tex., Sept 14 - The grand jury which
has been in session here
for the past week made its report this
morning. They returned
forty-three true bills, twenty-eight of which
were for felonies and
fifteen for misdemeanors. All four of the
parties arrested for killing
Sheriff Bob May were indicted for murder.
The Sunday
Gazetteer
Denison, Texas
Sunday, December 15, 1889
pg 1
The case of the State vs. Ben Isom, charged
with the murder of Sheriff May, was decided
Wednesday afternoon, the jury
bringing in a verdict of murder in the first
degree and assessing the punishment at
imprisonment in the penitentiary
for life. The trial of Mandrew Isom, his
brother, on the same charge, will be tried in
Bonham next March.
