Rose Ella (Dunn) Flemming (1878 - 1955)

Born 5 Sep 1878 in Cowley County, Kansas, USA

Ancestors

Wife of Charles Albert (Nobel) Noble — married 4 Dec 1897 in Oklahoma, United States

Died 11 Jun 1955 at age 76 in Lewis County, Washington, USA

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Rose Dunn was known as the Rose of the Cimarron.^[1] She was best known for her romantic involvement with outlaw George Bittercreek Newcomb when she was a teenager.Rose's five brothers were the Dunn Brothers, a group of Old West bounty hunters from Pawnee, Oklahoma.

"For many years, many believed that the woman on this photo was Rose Dunn. Actually, she was a prisoner who posed to illustrate a story about the Rose of the Cimarron" (per Wikipedia 29 May 2023)

Biography

Rose Dunn was born in 1879 in Kansas. When Rose was 12 years old, two of her older brothers became outlaws. Rose was a tomboy; she wanted to be like her brothers so they taught her how to ride, rope and shoot. Rose met George "Bittercreek" Newcomb through her brothers in 1893 when she was only 15 years old.^[2]They became romantically involved ,^[3], which is adamantly denied by Rose's account as described below^[4]. George Newcomb's gang were fiercely defensive of her, and Rose was also very loyal to them.

Rose began helping George Newcomb and his gang. She started going into town for supplies as they were wanted and could not leave their hideout. George Newcomb was now riding with Bill Doolin and the Wild Bunch gang. Rose's brothers were no longer outlaws, and had become well-known bounty hunters called the Dunn Brothers.

An unverified account of Rose helping George Newcomb states that on September 1, 1893, the gang was cornered in Ingalls, in what was known as the Battle of Ingalls, George Newcomb was badly wounded, and while he lay in the street, Rose Dunn is said to have run from the Pierce Hotel with two belts of ammunition and a Winchester rifle to where he lay wounded. She fired the rifle at the Marshals while Newcomb reloaded his revolvers, and Newcomb was able to escape. As described below, Rose's involvement in this incident is inaccurate.

During the shootout three Deputy Marshals were killed. George Newcomb and Charley Pierce were wounded, but both escaped. Another member of the gang Arkansas Tom Jones was slightly wounded and captured by Deputy Marshal Jim Masterson. Rose Dunn hid out with George Newcomb and the other gang members for two months. She helped nurse the injured back to health.

There was now a reward out for George Newcomb: $5,000 dead or alive. On May 2, 1895, Rose's brothers, who were now bounty hunters, shot and killed both George Newcomb and Charley Pierce in front of the Dunn house while they were visiting Rose. The brothers collected the bounty of $5,000 each. Rose Dunn was accused of having set George Newcomb up. She denied this, and her brothers later said that she had no knowledge of their intentions, and Rose never revealed the location of the hideout. Rose was never charged for her involvement with George Newcomb and the gang. In 1897 Rose married her first husband Charles Albert Noble, a local politician. He died in 1930. Her second husband was Richard Fleming; they were married in 1946. Richard and Rose lived in Lewis County, Washington. Rose lived the rest of her life as a respectable citizen.^[5] She died June 11, 1955, at the age of 76 in Salkum, Washington.^[6]

Husband Clears Rose's name - 1955

On 2 Oct 1955, The Oklahoman newspaper published Rose's version of events, as told to her 2nd husband, Richard Fleming^[7]. He had promised to clear her name after her death. She was emphatic there was no romantic relationship between her and George Newcomb, and she did not participate in any gunfights, etc.. She did, however, characterize herself as a "true friend" of the gang and never betrayed them. The notarity which came to her from the many lies told followed her most of her life; so, for the most part, she remained in seclusion. (Article attached.)

Sources

1. ↑ McCubbin, Robert G. "Who is Rose of Cimarron? TrueWest. May 1, 2005.
2. ↑ Rutter, Michael. "The Rose of Cimarron: Common Country Girl or Epic Heroine?" Bedside Book of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the Old West. Farcountry Press, 2008. Pages 67-71.
3. ↑ Lackmann, Ronald W. "Gunfighters' Wives and Lovers, and Female Outlaws." Women of the Western Frontier in Fact, Fiction, and Film. McFarland, Jan 1, 1997. Pages 47-49.
4. ↑ The Oklahoman. Published 2 October 1955. Mate Kills Legend of 'Cimarron Rose'. Oklahoma City, OK; Stillwater Bureau. Pg. 84.
5. ↑ Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKC-ZN7M : 11 July 2016), Rose Ella Dunn (Noble) Fleming, 1955; Burial, Salkum, Lewis, Washington, United States of America, Salkum Cemetery; citing record ID 31046893, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
6. ↑ "Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3B5-GBX : 5 December 2014), Rose Ella Fleming, 11 Jun 1955; citing Centralia, Lewis, Washington, reference 11498, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Olympia; FHL microfilm 2,033,535.
7. ↑ The Oklahoman. Published 2 October 1955. Mate Kills Legend of 'Cimarron Rose'. Oklahoma City, OK; Stillwater Bureau. Pg. 84.

See Also

• Christian Fiction Historical Society - Wild Women of the Old West - Cimarron Rose
• Legends of America - Historic Women - C-D
• Wikipedia - Rose Dunn
• History Girls.Wordpress - Legends of America – Rose Dunn
• The Non Blonde - OUTLAW PERFUME- ROSE OF CIMARRON
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFP5-3X6 : 21 December 2021), Rose E. Dunn in household of William H. Dunn, Walnut Township, Cowley, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
• "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2Z5-N5BT : 22 July 2021), Charles A Noble and Rosa Dunn, 04 Dec 1897; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm.
• "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2M1-BRR4 : 23 March 2020), Charles A Noble and Rose Dunn, 05 Dec 1897; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm.
• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMGD-YN3 : accessed 26 December 2021), Rose Noble in household of Charles H Noble, Eden & Glencoe Townships, Payne, Oklahoma Territory, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 186, sheet 18A, family 378, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,341.
• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGSL-VPP : accessed 26 December 2021), Rosella Noble in household of Chas Noble, Mountainair, Torrance, New Mexico, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 272, sheet 11A, family 268, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 919; FHL microfilm 1,374,932.
• "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q5QW-M6W7 : 18 July 2020), Mrs Rose Noble in entry for Charles D Dunn, 1925.
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCMD-PC4 : accessed 26 December 2021), Roselle Noble in household of Charles A Noble, Precinct 15, Torrance, New Mexico, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 18, sheet 1A, line 48, family 12, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1400; FHL microfilm 2,341,135.
• "New Mexico Deaths, 1889-1945," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLYX-6FQ : 10 March 2018), Rose Noble in entry for Charles Albert Noble, 05 Oct 1930; citing Mountainair, Torrance, New Mexico, reference , Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Santa Fe; FHL microfilm 1,913,288.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMRP-39R : 6 January 2021), Rose D Noble, Election Precinct 15B Mountainair, Torrance, New Mexico, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 29-22, sheet 1A, line 5, family 1, 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, roll 2454.
• "Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLN3-ZJ8 : 29 April 2021), Richard L Fleming and Rose Noble, 1946.