Marion Henderson Brumley (1844 - 1940)

Born 2 Dec 1844 in McNairy County, Tennessee

Ancestors

Husband of Louise Jane Keith — married before 1866 in Texas

Died 30 Nov 1940 at age 95 in Abilene, Taylor County, Texas

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Biography

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Early Life

Marion Henderson was born about 1844, McNairy County, Tennessee. He was the seventh child of James Calvin Brumley and Malinda Majors both from Tennessee. Marion was at about 5 when the family moved from Tennessee to Erath, Texas, where his younger brother Henry was born.^[1][2][3][4]

Marion grew up on cattle ranch, His father had bought 80 acres of land Texas and started a cattle ranch and by 1862 had a cattle head count of 400. As Marion grew older he worked with his father and older brothers on the ranch. learning the ways of the ranching and cattle driving.^[1][5][6]

1861 The Civil War. Marion was 17 years old when his father James Brumley , brothers Jasper Brumley , Calvin Brumley , Nelson Brumley , left to fight in the Civil War leaving at home his mother and possibly his younger brother Henry, to run the ranch while his father was gone.

Marriage

After his father and brothers came home the war had ended and Reconstruction began, Marion married Louisa Jane Keith about1866 in Erath, Texas, she was 16 and he was 22. The Keith family did not live far from the Brumley’s and both families are shown on the 1850 census. By the 1880’s Marion and Louisa were living next to his brother Jasper Brumleyon one side and the Keith’s on the other side. Living the life of a Texas cowboy cattle driving and ranching. Marion and Louisa had 12 children, six boys and six girls.^[2][3][4]

• William Benjamin b: 1860 TX
• Emily Elizabeth b: 1867 TX
• Lucy C b:1869 TX
• Josephine b: 1870 TX
• Virginia 1871 TX
• Sonora “Nora”b: 1873 TX
• Mary Texana "Texie" b: 1873 TX
• James Nicodemus b: 1875 TX
• Paul Henderson b: 1877
• William b: 1879 TX
• George Jordan b: 1883 TX
• Dickie Long b: 1888, Tx

From Cows to Guns and Trains

It is said that Marion (then went by the name of Henderson),Ruben and Jim Burrow meet through some cattle drives as they all lived in Erath Co, Texas.

On December 11, 1886 coming back from a trip to Oklahoma, Marion, Rube, Jim, William Brock, and Nep Thorton came up on a Ft Worth/Denver train that had stopped for water in Bellevue just outside of Wichita Falls. Drawing guns they decided to rob the train. This began their career in robbing trains.

Just over a month later January 23, 1887 , they robbed another train, this time it was a Texas/Pacific train just outside of Gordon in Palo Pinto County. In June of 1887 they had to leave Erath County and rode up Penbrook just southeast of Ft. Worth. There they robbed yet another Texas/Pacific train. It was said that Rube and Henderson were the one’s who stopped the train and climbed in the train’s engine , ordering the Engineer to pull over a trestle bridge that went over Mary’s Creek. Engineer was then escorted to the mail car where the money was held. No passengers were able get off the train as they were stranded on the bridge. So between the the first three train robbing it netted them about $5600, which in todays money value would be about $150,000.00. Later on in September of 1887, since the robing Texas/Pacific train worked so well the way they did on Mary’s Creek bridge , they decided to hit the train again using the same method. After this one they bolted from Texas, Pinkerton’s and Texas Rangers hot on their trail.

They went on to robbing trains in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Soon after the Arkansas & Texas Railroad train in Arkansas, December 1887, One of the Burrow gang William Brock was caught by the Pinkertons. He gave the names of the gang members and this was the decline of the Burrow Gang.

It’s not know exactly when Marion Henderson Brumley was taken in custody, but there was articles from Ft Worth Dailey Gazette, where Henderson was brought up for trial for the Texas/Pacific Train robbery dated January 29, 1888. Henderson’s lawyer filed under Habeas corpus, law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether the detention is lawful. There fore the state wound up releasing him and then the Federals arrested him. (Ft Worth Dailey Gazette - Jan 29 1888)

After skipping a bond that was posted, Henderson took off again. Eventually he decided to turn himself back in to his bondsman. He was asked about the where abouts of Nat Thorton, But Henderson told them he did not know.(Ft Worth Dailey Gazette - July 20 1888).^[7][8][9]

The later Years

There is no further information on Marion Henderson on whether he was charged and went to prison or if he did it was not a long time. In the next Census of 1900 we find him in Scurry Texas with his family and back to ranching, which is far southeast of Erath Co. Texas.^[3][4]

By 1940, Marion Henderson, with his wife passed on and all of his children grown up with families of their own, he moved to Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas to live with his youngest daughter Dickie and her husband Jim W Echols.^[10]

Death

He passed away later in 1940 at the age of 95, in Abilene, Taylor Co., Texas. He buried next to his wife back in Scurry Co, Hermleigh Cemetery.^[11]

Marion Henderson Brumley lived to a ripe old age. But for his cohorts , Reuben Houston Burrow, James "Jim" Buchanan Burrow and William Brock it didn’t end so well.`

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6S4W-RG2?cc=1401638&wc=95R6-2JF%3A1031318301%2C1031987901%2C1031987902 : 9 April 2016), Texas > Titus > Titus county, part of > image 59 of 76; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBN-9531?cc=1417683&wc=X4D4-PTL%3A1589414395%2C1589414480%2C1589395631%2C1589395361 : 24 December 2015), Texas > Erath > Precinct 1 > ED 149 > image 41 of 41; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., n.d.)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6Q3Q-S4Q?cc=1325221&wc=9B7B-WQ7%3A1030553601%2C1035457001%2C1035457002 : 5 August 2014), Texas > Scurry > ED 134 Justice Precincts 1-2 & 4 Snyder town > image 18 of 44; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYB4-GQD?cc=1727033&wc=QZZC-4FY%3A133641501%2C140374901%2C133663901%2C1589089271 : 24 June 2017), Texas > Fisher > Justice Precinct 2 > ED 94 > image 7 of 16; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
5. ↑ "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-WMSK-5B?cc=1827575&wc=M638-LTL%3A161473701%2C161392802 : 22 May 2014), Erath county > 1862 > image 2 of 15; State Archives, Austin.
6. ↑ "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-WMSK-FQ?cc=1827575&wc=M638-LNL%3A161473701%2C161401001 : 22 May 2014), Erath county > 1864 > image 2 of 13; State Archives, Austin.
7. ↑ Double Trouble: The Burrow Gang and the Train Twice-Robbed https://hometownbyhandlebar.com/?p=6501
8. ↑ Ft Worth Dailey Gazette - https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24474337/henderson-brumley-state-charges/
9. ↑ The Galveston Daily News - https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=24475774&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjIyMjgzMjQwLCJpYXQiOjE1OTcyNjgxMjcsImV4cCI6MTU5NzM1NDUyN30.kCec0kX0x-akIN7tMhMA-WNp6fUjV_sMvdLI0pnnjoI
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MY-DTP?cc=2000219&wc=QZX5-1QW%3A792575201%2C799219701%2C804030802%2C804046601 : accessed 23 March 2021), Texas > Taylor > Justice Precinct 1, Abilene > 221-18A Justice Precinct 1, Abilene City bounded by (N) S 7th; (E) Locust; (S) S 15th, Oak, S 14th; (W) Butternut > image 21 of 56; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.
11. ↑ Find A Grave - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82116056/marion-henderson-brumley