Deputy U.S. Marshal Floyd Wilson

Floyd Wilson

Deputy Marshal Floyd Wilson was shot and killed near Lenapah, Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma).

His killer was the infamous Henry Starr, leader of the "Henry Starr Gang." From 1892 to 1921, he and his gang robbed more banks than the James and Dalton Gangs put together. Most robberies took place in Oklahoma and Kansas, with a few committed in neighboring states.

Deputy Marshal Wilson and another marshal had been in pursuit of the gang for several weeks. When they received information about where Starr was, Marshal Wilson cornered him alone. The other marshal's horse was unfit for travel. When ordered to surrender, a gunfight resulted. Deputy Marshal Wilson was hit three times. As he lay helpless, Starr put another bullet through his heart. On July 3, 1893, Starr and a member of his gang were apprehended in Colorado Springs. They were transported to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he was tried before "Hanging Judge Isaac Parker." He was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. A new trial was ordered, and he was again ordered to hang. A third trial was ordered, and he received 15 years for manslaughter. On January 15, 1898, he was transferred to the federal prison in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1895 during his stay in the Fort Smith Jail, he assisted in convincing the famous outlaw "Cherokee Bill" into giving himself up after he shot and killed Guard Lawrence Keating, also of the United States Marshals Service. For what he called a very brave act, President Theodore Roosevelt pardoned him on January 16, 1903. A year later, Starr found out that officials in several states were preparing extradition papers to have him arrested for crimes committed before he murdered Marshal Wilson. He went back to his old ways, reformed his gang, and started robbing banks. On May 13, 1908, he was apprehended in New Mexico and extradited to Colorado for bank robbery. He was sentenced to 25 years and paroled on September 24, 1913. During the next 19 months, Starr and his gang robbed 14 different banks in Oklahoma. On March 27, 1915, he and part of his gang were captured as they attempted to rob a bank in Stroud, Oklahoma. He was sentenced to 25 years in the Oklahoma Penitentiary. He was paroled on March 15, 1919. On February 18, 1921, he and three others attempted to rob a bank in Harrison, Arkansas. Here is where his life of crime ended. He was shot and killed. Starr was the first robber to convert from a horse to an automobile in his criminal profession. His uncle, the notorious Sam Starr, was married to the outlaw queen, Belle Starr.

It is believed that Marshal Wilson and Starr were part of the marshal's posse under Marshal Bob Dalton before he turned outlaw. A relative of the suspect also killed the U. S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Officer Frank West in 1893.

Deputy Marshal Wilson had served with the United States Marshals Service for seven years and had previously served with the Little Rock Police Department.