Rube & Jim Burrow -- 1880s Train Robbers

Rube Burrow

Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is in Colbert County, while Lamar County is immediately to the southwest, bordering Mississippi. While in Muscle Shoals in 1993, I ended up in their local hospital. The folks there were absolutely wonderful, just as most folks are in the South. 

During my stay in the hospital, a nurse talked to me about some of the local history and some of the more colorful characters in that area. That's when I first learned about the notorious Burrow brother outlaw gang. 

Allen Henry Burrow, 1825 to 1892, was a farmer and former-Confederate Army Private who served in Company H, of the 5th Alabama Cavalry. At least ten years before the start of the Civil War, around 1850, he married Martha Caroline Terry Burrow, 1828 to 1912. After getting married, they settled in Sulligent, in Lamar County, to start farming there. The production and processing of cotton was an important industry in Sulligent. 

It's said that Alan and Martha Burrow, sometimes misspelled as "Burrows," had ten children. I've only been able to confirm that they had seven. I've found that they had three sons and four daughters -- all supposedly born in Sulligent.

The Burrow's first child was their son William Jasper. He, according to his headstone, was born in 1851. He would have been 9 or 10 years old at the start of the Civil War, and either 13 or 14 when the war ended. So, was William Burrow old enough to have served in the Confederacy? The answer to that question is yes. 

If we consider there were very young boys serving in both the Union and the Confederate, then it's very possible that young William Jasper Burrow served in the Civil War. Obviously, he could have. But frankly, while his family may know, I haven't been able to say yes or no. 

Why do I bring up the question about his possible service during the Civil War? It's because there were much younger boys who did serve. For example, Edward Black is generally considered the youngest soldier to serve in the Civil War. Black joined the Union Army's 21st Indiana Volunteers as a drummer boy at just 8 years old on July 24, 1861. 

One famous young soldier was John Clem. He became a legendary drummer boy at age 9. Known as "Johnny Shiloh" or the "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga," Clem ran away to join the 22nd Michigan Regiment in 1861. Clem is the youngest person to ever become a Noncommissioned Officer in U.S. Army history at age 12.  

There's Avery Brown who enlisted in 1861 at the age of 8. And yes, there is George Penfield Bennett who enlisted in Company B, 1st Marine Regiment, in 1861, at the age of 9. So yes, many young boys served as drummer boys, musicians, or helpers, also known as "powder boys" in the Union and Confederate Army. In fact, that's why the Civil War is sometimes referred to as "The Boy's War" because of the high number of Soldiers under 18.

While William Jasper Burrow passed away in 1927, aged 75 or 76, there isn't much information available about him. So, if you're also curious about why he wasn't drawn to the outlaw way of life the same way that his younger brothers Rube and Jim were, I don't know the answer to that question. 

Alan and Martha Burrow's third child was son Reuben Houston Burrow, known as "Rube." He was born on December 11, 1855, and he would turn out to be a pretty bad hombre. Their fourth child, was their son James Buchanan Burrow, simply known as "Jim." He was born sometime in 1858. Those two turned into outlaws, train robbers, and mankillers starting in 1876. 

Of the two Burrow brothers who turned to crime, Jim Burrow's older brother Rube was the more infamous of the two. Rube Burrow would become a nationally infamous train robber and known killer in the South and Southwest. All in all, Rube was a cold-blooded murder who also earn the distinction of being the only man in American history to rob a train by himself.

Their start in life was not much different than most youngsters in the South at the time, as Rube and Jim worked on their family's cotton farm near Sulligent. Most accounts say both of the boys read as many news stories and dime novels about the "adventures" of the James Gang as they could. At the time, newspapers routinely glorified the James Gang's robberies.

Let's remember that following the Civil War, the James Gang, which was led by brothers Frank and Jessie James, became legendary through sensational news headlines and popular fictionalized dime novels. Those stories lied when they portrayed them as Robin Hood-style figures fighting Northern oppression. In fact, they were cold-blooded killers, extremely violent criminals. Dime novels, such as those from the Wide Awake Library and Log Cabin Library, capitalized on these headline-making robberies from the 1870s until well after Jessie's death in 1882.

Rube and Jim came to idolize Jesse James and his gang. So yes, it's a safe bet to say that that's what later turned the brothers away from farming to take up robbing trains. Farming turned out to be sometime meant for people of tougher stock than what they were made of. 

In fact, by age 18 in 1872, Rube had enough with farming and moved to Stephenville, Texas. His father had arranged for him to work as a cowhand on his uncle Joel Burrow's cattle ranch in Stephenville, Texas. In 1876, Rube's brother Jim joined him in Texas. 

Also, in 1876, Rube met and married Virginia Alvison. While I can't find much information on her, I found out that the couple had two children. They had a son named William and a daughter named Mary. His wife Virginia died of yellow-fever in 1880, and he was left with caring for two small children.

By 1884, Rube remarried and moved to Alexander, Texas, where he again tried his hand at farming. But, when in 1886 his crops failed, he turned to robbing trains. In fact, in December of 1886, Rube and his brother Jim, along with cohorts W.L. Brock, Leonard Brock, Henderson Brumley, and Nep Thornton robbed the Denver & Fort Worth Express in Bellevue, Texas, on December 1, 1886. That was their first train robbery.

Their plan was born from a dime novel. The Burrow brothers and their gang waited at the train depot at Bellevue, Texas, until the train returning  from a roundtrip to the Indian Territory had arrived. As soon as the train pulled in, the outlaws drew their guns on the train crew. Yes, all in plain view of the passengers in the train cars. 

After that, the outlaws entered the train to rob the the train's passengers. But, the Burrow gang didn't have a big start to their train robbing career since they were only able to gather up about $300 after picking through the passengers on their first outing. Part of the reason for their lousy haul was the fact that the robbers held up the crew at gunpoint in plain view of the passengers. So, once the passengers saw what was taking place and realized what was happening, the passengers' hid most of their valuables by the time the train robbers approached them.

Something else happened during that train robbery. While the passengers were being robbed in one car, located in another train cars was an armed Army detail, a Sergeant and two Privates, who were escorting two Army deserters.

Sources say the Soldiers didn't open fire on the train robbers when they could have since they had the two deserters were in shackles. Also. both prisoners were told to get on the floor of the train car, so apparently it looked as though those Soldiers were going to try to stop the Burrow gang. But, the Soldiers didn't open fire at the train robbers. Supposedly, as the story goes, other passengers in that train car pleaded with the Soldiers not to open fire on the outlaws. Whether true or not, it does sound about right that later when their command found out about the incident, the Sergeant and two Privates was charged with cowardice.

As for the Burrow Gang? They hit their second train at Gordon, Texas, in January of 1887. While their first attempt at robbing trains was a bust, their second attempt was successful with them taking $4,200 from the express car. 

In that robbery, the gang robbed the Texas & Pacific Express heading eastbound from Ben Brooks, Texas. Supposedly, Rube held the engineer at gunpoint and forced him to stop the train on a trestle outside the town to stop passengers from getting out of their passenger cars and interfering with what they were doing. Later that year, on September 20, 1887, they robbed a second train at the same spot.

The Pinkerton Detective Agency got involved, along with local lawmen, bounty hunters, and citizens wanted to find and hang the men responsible for stealing their payrolls. News reports estimated that the Burrow gang made off with between $15,000 and $30,000 from train safes alone. That meant workers expecting to get paid were not going to get paid -- because of them. So yes, vigilantes also got involved trying to track them down.

After one of the gang was caught because he left behind a raincoat which was eventually traced to a store in Dublin, Texas. A sales clerk identified the man who bought the coat as Jim Brock, and he was arrested. 

While in custody, Brock was asked about information regarding the Burrow gang. Brock initially refused to talk. It's said the Pinkerton Detectives and local lawmen told Brock that they were going to turn him over to the vigilantes, to let him explain to them why their payroll was stolen. 

The threat of being lynched by people who he wronged made Brock confess to his part in the robberies. It was Jim Brock who identified Rube Burrow as the gang's leader. Until then, Rube and Jim were unknown to the authorities simply because they had no prior criminal records. That changed when Brock started talking. Of course, Brock tried to save himself from being killed by Rube by saying that he did not know where the gang was hiding out.

But that didn't matter, the Pinkertons intercepted a letter to Brock from Rube Burrow. Supposedly, Rube wasn't aware of Brock's arrest or that Brock had identified him. So yes, as dumb as it sounds, the return address showed Rube sent the letter from a house in Lamar County, Alabama.

A large posse was formed and arrived at that house on January 8, 1888. The posse surrounded the house. But Rube was already gone. The fact is, the posse just missed him. Rube is said to have left as fast as he could after being warned by his brother Jim that his home was surrounded.

In February of 1888, between robberies, the notorious outlaws Rube Burrow and his brother Jim were seen on a train. That happened when a train conductor recognized the outlaws from a previous robbery. The brothers were on a Louisville & Nashville train in southern Alabama.

In what was pretty quick work, lawmen gathered a posse and surrounded the Nashville train station. When the train pulling in, lawmen trapped Rube and Jim in a passenger car. Soon, a huge shootout started. During the shooting, Rube was able to escape by shooting his way out.

As for Jim, he was taken into custody and jailed in Texarkana. His trial for the Genoa train robbery was still underway when he died from tuberculosis in a Texarkana jail on October 5, 1888. I'll talk more about the mystery surrounding Jim Burrow in my next blog post. It's a good story about the mystery surrounding Jim Burrows death.

As for Rube Burrow, he kept robbing trains. And at on point, it's said he shot and killed an unarmed Lamar County postmaster who refused to hand over a package addressed to W. W. Cain -- an alias Rube used. That happened in July 1889, when Rube Burrow shot and killed postmaster Mose Graves. It's said Rube shot the unarmed postmaster out of spite and in cold-blood.

I find it interesting that Rube killing that postmaster was similar to what Jessie James did when he shot and killed bank teller Joseph Lee Heywood First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. It was also in cold-blood out of spite and frustration.

On September 7, 1876, the James-Younger gang attempted to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. Out of frustration over bank teller Joseph Lee Heywood refusing to open a safe, Jessie James shot Heywood in the head at point-blank range execution style before exiting the bank. Can you imagine, Jessie James who many try to romance as some sort of Robin Hood, shot Joseph Lee Heywood in the head after Heywood refused to cooperate with the outlaws and open the vault.

As for Rube Burrow, it is said that the cold-blooded murder of the postmaster turned local residents against him, increased the pressure on his capture, bounties were increased, and wanted posters with his face and a reward was widely circulated. The result was that Rube exited the area on the run. 

So, Rube Burrow became the subject of one of the biggest manhunts in American history. Of course, there were risks to those citizens trying to capture him. For example, during the near captures of the killer, one posse on his trail in 1889 was forced to turn back after two posse men were killed and three others were wounded. Rube Burrows was a very dangerous man, and he was proving that anytime a posse was close.

Of course, during this time, believe it or not, Rube Burrow was still making a name for himself as a train robber and highway man. As for being captured? While I haven't read where he was but once, it's said that he had a plan if he were captured. His plan was to befriend and entertain his captors with jokes. He would offer them a $100 if they were to just look the other way and let him go. According to legend, some accepted his offer. According to legend. once Rube was freed, he'd normally put a bullet in the person who freed him and take his $100 back. 

So yes, during that time, Rube Burrow continued to rob trains despite being a wanted fugitive. He was still robbing trains, even though he evaded capture and eluded authorities for two years.

Then, on October 8, 1890, after riding into Linden, Alabama for supplies, Rube Burrow was recognized by a local storeowner who was also a posse-man and part-time Sheriff's deputy. His name was J.D. "Dixie" Carter. It was Carter and two unknown "Negroes" who actually apprehended killer Rube Burrow. To Rube, that must have seemed like quite the insult. After all, it was a "storekeeper" and two unknown "Negroes" who put Rube in jail. 

So now, imagine, if you would, you arrest a mankiller and march him into jail. And miraculously, some say a bribe to a deputy may have been involved, but that mankiller escapes in just two hours or so after being locked up. Was it Rube working his plan to befriend and entertain his captors, offer them a $100 if they were to just look the other way and let him go? Where did Rube get that pistol from when he escaped? 

Let's look at this for a moment. Today, almost daily, we see people who have too much vanity at work. This is true, especially when it comes to politicians and people in Hollywood. They are predictable for their tendency toward excessive conceit and preoccupation with themselves. They do things like making statements about things they have no knowledge of, or they know are lies, just to make themselves popular in the eyes of their friends. They act out in self-serving and superficial ways, often driven by a need for admiration, and to make their fans think they're smarter than they are.  

Look at all of the dumb statements made by politicians, actors, and so-called comedians. They are driven by an inflated sense of self-importance or an obsessive need to look superior to others. They are usually foolish, self-centered, and self-absorbed. And really, they demonstrate self-serving vain behavior. 

Rube Burrow demonstrated that aspect of human nature after escaping custody that day. He was so filled with himself, so vain, and conceited, and filled with self-destructive vanity, that he could not simply ride away. So, vanity being what it is, Rube must have been pretty insulted that it wasn't lawmen, or the Pinkertons, or bounty hunters that put him in jail. He must have hated that it was a storekeeper who was a part-time Sheriff's deputy and two Negroes who put him in jail.  

So yes, instead of jumping on a horse and taking the opportunity to leave town as fast as possible, that mankiller, Rube Burrow, with a supposedly stolen gun, goes after storekeeper Dixie Carter. Yes, imagine that. Instead of fleeing when he had the chance, Rube Burrow went after storekeeper Carter when he escaped from jail just a few hours after being locked up.

For Rube Burrow, he would learn a lesson that most Old West outlaws learn once. It's that lesson they learn after they've been shot and lay dying. It's a lesson that comes too late in his life for most outlaws. 

The lesson is simply this: Someone who is excessively proud of themselves, someone who possesses an exaggerated, inflated opinion of their own abilities and self-worth, someone who lives with such an large ego that they truly have an "I'm better than everyone else" mindset, should not think they cannot be killed in a gunfight. 

So, in the town of Linden, in Marengo County, Alabama, Rube Burrow met up with Carter in a local feed store. And instantly, Rube shoots at Carter. Carter is hit in the arm. But that doesn't stop Carter from pulling his own pistol, and he returns fire. He shoots Rube Burrow in the stomach.

The mankiller Rube Burrow turns and staggers out of the feed store and into the street. Carter, while holding his wounded arm, goes after the mankiller and finishes of Rube Burrow outside by gunning him down in the street. As for Carter, he is said to have put in for the reward for killing Rube Burrow -- but is denied because the reward was for a "conviction, and not "dead or alive." Imagine that.

Of course, that was not the end of outlaw Rube Burrow. The train robber's dead body was placed in a simple pine coffin and shipped back to his family in Lamar County by way of Birmingham. Before getting there, Rube's body was displayed at the Union Station until on October 9. It was kept on display for everyone to see before finally being put on another train that stopped at Sulligent Station. 

All in all, Rube was quite the draw. He became a point of ghoulish entertainment, a sort of sideshow dressed up with a rifle and a six-gun. Just so all sorts of folks would come out to see his dead body before it was finally buried at Fellowship Cemetery in Vernon, Alabama. 

During the final years of the Old West, Rube Burrow became one of the most hunted outlaws in the Old West. For four years, from 1886 to 1890, the Burrow Gang robbed trains in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, the Indian Territory and Texas. All, while being pursued by lawmen, posses, bounty hunters, and Pinkerton detectives throughout the South and Southwest. And in the end, his vanity got him killed. 

Tom Correa