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Thomas, Heck, 1850-1912

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1850-01-06 - 1912-08-14

Biographical / Historical

Heck Thomas was a legendary lawman in Texas, Arkansas and the Oklahoma Territory. As a young man, he served with his father and uncle in the Confederate army. Later he married and moved his family to Texas where he became a railroad detective and then worked for the Fort Worth Detective Association. He became a U.S. Deputy Marshal, first in Arkansas, and then in Oklahoma, where, with fellow marshals Bill Tilghman and Chris Madsen, known as Oklahoma's Three Guardsmen, they are credited with bringing order to the Territory.

Found in 11 Collections and/or Records:

Capt. John West of the Indian Police and at the right, Deputy U.S. Marshal Marshall “Heck” Thomas, undated

 Item — Box Photo R-5, Item: 8
Scope and Contents From the Collection:

Black and white copy and original prints of Judge Isaac Parker and federal marshals who operated out of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Also included are photographs of some of the outlaws captured or killed by the marshals. Charles B. Rhodes Manuscript Collection also in repository.

Dates: undated

Charles B. Rhodes Photograph Collection

 Collection — Box Photo R-5
Identifier: WHC-P-1422
Scope and Contents

Black and white copy and original prints of Judge Isaac Parker and federal marshals who operated out of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Also included are photographs of some of the outlaws captured or killed by the marshals. Charles B. Rhodes Manuscript Collection also in repository.

Dates: 1880-1930

Dorothy Johnson Collection

 Collection — Box 1
Identifier: WHC-M-2535
Scope and Contents

FULL FINDING AID (PDF)

Collection. Stories (n.d.) written by Matie Mowbray Thomas concerning the exploits of Deputy U.S. Marshal, Heck Thomas, including a transcription of a letter written by Isaac Parker recommending Thomas' appointment as marshal of U.S. courts for Oklahoma; Correspondence (1876-1960) concerning Heck Thomas, including a letter to Thomas from U.S. Senator Tom P. Gore, a letter to Bill Doolin from his wife, Edith, and a letter to Matie Thomas from Chris Madsen. Also includes magazine articles (1935) titled "Truth is Stranger than Fiction" and "Heck Thomas Collects" recounting the exploits of Heck Thomas as a railroad express messenger in Texas, and as U.S. deputy marshal in Indian Territory; and diaries (1889-1895) kept by Heck Thomas which include notations about cases, witnesses, etc.

Dates: 1876-1960

First row, L to R: Heck Thomas (U.S. Marshall), Morris Roebecker, Second row: two Osage scouts. Third row: Havihurst, Col. Roy Hoffman., undated

 Item — Box Photo P-34a, Item: 3163
Scope and Contents From the Collection: Black and white original prints, copy prints and glass plate negatives of the Apache, Comanche, Delaware, Temeculz, Kawaiisu, Creek, Umatilla, Chippewa, Paiute, Sioux, Oto, Choctaw, Pawnee, Osage, Ponca, Mohave, Kickapoo, Taos, Pueblo, Yuma, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Crow, Navajo, Kiowa, Tonkawa, Sac and Fox, Kalispel, Kutenai, Flathead, Spokan, Attu, Quileute, Seminole, Wasco, Modoc, Shasta, Yakima, Shoshoni, Kiowa-Apache, Skitswish, Cheyenne, Shawnee, Nez Perce, Arapaho, Caddo, Wichita, Yakima, Makah, and Blackfoot Indians. Also includes images of mining, the oil industry, the military, agriculture, the range cattle industry, education, and transportation in Oklahoma Territory, Oklahoma state, and Indian Territory. Scenes of the towns of McAlester, Edmond, Alva, Weatherford, Pawhuska, Clairemore, Ponca City, Purcell, Duncan, Noble, Lexington, Shawnee, Beaver. Plainview, Lavern, Henryetta, Atoka, Tahlequah, Guthrie, Tishomingo, and Eufaula are included. In addition the first year of...
Dates: undated

Frank M. Canton Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: WHC-M-905
Scope and Contents

FULL FINDING AID (PDF)

Lawman. Canton's correspondence while a U.S. Deputy Marshal and Oklahoma Adjutant General; reminiscenses of his experiences in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Alaska; newspaper clippings about his experiences and related artifacts. Also contains autobiographical material on Canton.

Dates: 1886-1928

Frank Phillips Photograph Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WHC-P-1133
Scope and Contents Black and white original prints, copy prints and glass plate negatives of the Apache, Comanche, Delaware, Temeculz, Kawaiisu, Creek, Umatilla, Chippewa, Paiute, Sioux, Oto, Choctaw, Pawnee, Osage, Ponca, Mohave, Kickapoo, Taos, Pueblo, Yuma, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Crow, Navajo, Kiowa, Tonkawa, Sac and Fox, Kalispel, Kutenai, Flathead, Spokan, Attu, Quileute, Seminole, Wasco, Modoc, Shasta, Yakima, Shoshoni, Kiowa-Apache, Skitswish, Cheyenne, Shawnee, Nez Perce, Arapaho, Caddo, Wichita, Yakima, Makah, and Blackfoot Indians. Also includes images of mining, the oil industry, the military, agriculture, the range cattle industry, education, and transportation in Oklahoma Territory, Oklahoma state, and Indian Territory. Scenes of the towns of McAlester, Edmond, Alva, Weatherford, Pawhuska, Clairemore, Ponca City, Purcell, Duncan, Noble, Lexington, Shawnee, Beaver. Plainview, Lavern, Henryetta, Atoka, Tahlequah, Guthrie, Tishomingo, and Eufaula are included. In addition the first year of...
Dates: 1870-1930

Noah Hamilton Rose Photograph Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WHC-P-1109
Scope and Contents

Black and white copy prints from the original nitrate negatives of early Texas history, Texas Rangers, lawmen, outlaws, gunfighters, and wild west shows. Also included are photographs of ranchers, cattlemen and cowboys of the Southwest, the U.S. Army during the Apache campaigns, the Little Big Horn battlefield and the Indian Wars of 1876 and 1890-1891, along with churches, cathedrals, and missions of Texas, California and Arizona. The collection also contains images of Comanche, Sioux, Shoshoni, Pueblo, Creek, Chippewa, Maricopa, Arapaho, Papago, Kickapoo, Yuma, Modoc, Cheyenne, Pawnee, Kiowa, Navajo, Apache, and Crow Indians. Prominent western personalities include Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill, Geronimo, Quanah Parker, Sitting Bull, Frank and Jesse James, Heck Thomas, Bill Tilghman, Chris Madsen, Pat Garrett, Billy the Kid, the Daltons and Youngers, Judge Roy Bean, George A. Custer, California Joe, the Sundance Kid, Butch Cassidy, and the Earp brothers.

Dates: 1836-1940

U.S. District Court Collection: Western District of Oklahoma

 Collection
Identifier: WHC-M-1321
Scope and Contents

FULL FINDING AID (PDF)

Stenographers' notebooks (1893-1910); books (1873-1912) of statutes, cases, and rules of procedure; U.S. Marshal's records (1890-1912), and Court Clerk's records (1892-1921) concerning witness, juror, prisoner, and court staff expenses; ledgers (1898-1935); and correspondence (1894-1926) of the Court Clerk and the Marshal with the Attorney General, the United States Attorney and others. U.S. District Court Photograph Collection also in repository.

Dates: 1890-1935

W. E. Tomlinson Photograph Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WHC-P-1643
Scope and Contents

Black and white original and copy prints of Lawton, Oklahoma Territory, including street scenes, businesses, United States marshals, the Lawton police, and railroads. W. E. Tomlinson Manuscript Collection also in repository.

Dates: 1878-1901

Walter S. Ferguson Photograph Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WHC-P-1170
Scope and Contents

Black and white original and copy prints of Oklahoma outlaws, lawmen, agriculture, wild west shows, land openings, businesses, towns and cities, schools, settlers, members of the state government and of the U.S. Army. Also included are images of Cherokee, Osage, Delaware, Seminole, Comanche, Creek, and Apache Indians. Walter S. Ferguson Manuscript Collection also in repository.

Dates: 1870-1920

Walter Stanley Campbell Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: WHC-M-84
Scope and Contents

Professor. Personal correspondence (1897–1957); correspondence with Campbell’s relatives (1822–1896); correspondence with publishers and literary agents (1920–1958); literary manuscripts (circa 1914–1957); diaries, notebooks, and journals (1901–1926); and business papers (circa 1925–1959) regarding Campbell’s writings on the West, Indians, and Oklahoma, with emphasis on transportation, fortifications, cowboys, wars and battles, criminals and outlaws, and American Indian chiefs, along with original Indian art by Carl Sweezy. [Boxes 104 through 121 of this collection are available online at the OU Libraries website.]FULL FINDING AID (PDF)

Dates: 1800-1964