Tom Ketchum - wikipedia Tom Ketchum Black Jack ( 1863 - 10 - 31 ) October 31, 1863 San Saba County, Texas April 26, 1901 ( 1901 - 04 - 26 ) ( aged 37 ) Union County, New Mexico Territory Resting place Clayton Cemetery Other names Black Jack Occupation cowboy, cattle driver, outlaw Criminal charge attempted train robbery Criminal penalty Death Criminal status Executed by decapitation Thomas E. Ketchum ( October 31, 1863 -- April 26, 1901 ), known as Black Jack, was a cowboy who later turned to a life of crime. He was decapitated in 1901 for attempted train robbery. Contents 1 First train robberies and murders 2 Joining the Hole - In - The - Wall gang 3 Capture and death 4 Media portrayals 5 References 6 External links First train robberies and murders Tom Ketchum was born in San Saba County, Texas. He left Texas in 1890, possibly after committing a crime. He worked as a cowboy in the Pecos River Valley of New Mexico, where by 1894, his older brother, Sam Ketchum, had joined him. Black Jack and a group of others were named as the robbers of an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway train that was en route to Deming, New Mexico Territory, in 1892 with a large payroll aboard. The gang supposedly robbed the train just outside Nutt, New Mexico Territory, a water station twenty miles north of Deming. Black Jack and his gang would often visit the ranch of Herb Bassett, near Brown 's Park, Colorado, who was known to have done business with several outlaws of the day, having supplied them with beef and fresh horses. Herb Bassett was the father of female outlaws Josie Bassett and Ann Bassett, who were girlfriends to several members of Butch Cassidy 's Wild Bunch gang. One of Ann Bassett 's boyfriends and future Wild Bunch gang member, Ben Kilpatrick, began riding with Black Jack 's gang about that time. Outlaw `` Bronco Bill '' Walters, later noted for the legend of his `` hidden loot '' near Solomonville, Arizona, is also believed to have begun riding with the gang at this time. The second major crime attributed to Tom was the murder of a neighbor, John N. `` Jap '' Powers, in Tom Green County, Texas, on December 12, 1895. However, information at the Sutton Historical Society in Texas, says that Will Carver and Sam Ketchum were the ones actually accused of killing Powers in Knickerbocker. Fearing the law, they closed their joint saloon and gambling venture in San Angelo, and hit the outlaw trail. Within six months, Mrs. Powers and her lover, J.E. Wright, were arrested for the murder, but it was too late for Carver and the Ketchums. Tom Ketchum By late 1895, outlaw Harvey `` Kid Curry '' Logan and his brother Lonnie Curry were members of Black Jack 's gang. However, in early 1896, a dispute concerning their share of robbery loot prompted the Currys to leave the gang. It is alleged that Ketchum was involved with the February 1, 1896, disappearance and presumed murders of Albert Jennings Fountain and his son Henry Fountain of Las Cruces, New Mexico. In early June 1896, after working for the famed Bell Ranch in New Mexico, Tom and Sam Ketchum, and possibly others, robbed a combined store and post office at Liberty, New Mexico, northwest of present - day Tucumcari. According to contemporary accounts, the Ketchums rode into Liberty on June 12 and purchased supplies. That evening, a thunderstorm began, and they returned to the store, owned by Morris and Levi Herzstein, who invited them to take shelter. Returning the next morning to open his store, Levi Herzstein found that both the store and post office had been burglarized. After gathering a posse, Herzstein set out on the outlaws ' trail. The posse, composed of just four men, took the two outlaws by surprise in the Plaza Largo arroyo, where a shootout immediately began. Seconds later both Levi Herzstein and Hermenejildo Gallegos lay dead. Seeing his comrades fall, Anastacio Borgue turned his horse and rode out of the arroyo. Placido Gurulé, the fourth member of the posse, also survived to give an account. Gurulé said he had been struck by a. 30 - 30 bullet that knocked him off his horse. He landed on the ground with a blow that knocked the wind out of him. He lay in a semiconscious state as Black Jack Ketchum emptied his rifle into the bodies of Levi Herzstein and Hermenejildo Gallegos. Tom and Sam Ketchum were never tried for the killings at the Plaza Largo arroyo, but Morris Herzstein reportedly was present in Clayton, New Mexico Territory to witness the hanging of Black Jack Ketchum in 1901. Morris Herzstein moved to Clayton shortly after the killing in Liberty, and finally into the Texas Panhandle area. This is memorialized by the inscription on a shoe brush : Herzstein 's Clayton, New Mexico -- Dalhart, Texas. If it 's from Herzstein 's it 's correct. Morris was the father of Albert Herzstein, who became one of the founders of Big 3 Industries in Houston, and is the man who helped the museum in Clayton to become a reality years later. Joining the Hole - in - the - Wall gang Following this event, Thomas Ketchum joined other outlaws of the Hole in the Wall Gang and continued a life of crime, focusing on train robberies, although when not robbing trains they worked for several ranches in New Mexico and Texas. Several other notable outlaws operated out of Hole In The Wall, which was a hideout for numerous outlaw gangs which operated separately. The famous Wild Bunch gang, led by Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay, operated out of there. One Wild Bunch gang member, Kid Curry, along with his brother Lonny Curry, had previously ridden with Black Jack Ketchum and his gang. He and Ketchum did not like each other, and Ketchum avoided Curry as much as possible. Kid Curry would kill nine lawmen over the course of the next eight years. During this time, Tom Ketchum was once identified mistakenly as `` Black Jack '' Christian, another outlaw, and that became his nickname as well. Three of the train robberies that the gang committed were near the same location, between Folsom and Des Moines, New Mexico Territory. This was at the point where the old Fort Union wagon road crossed the Colorado and Southern Rail Road tracks near Twin Mountain. On September 3, 1897, they committed their first robbery at Twin Mountain. Then, on July 11, 1899, the gang, without Black Jack, robbed the train again at Twin Mountain. After the robbery, Sam and several unknown gang members, in addition to Wild Bunch gang members Will Carver and William Ellsworth `` Elza '' Lay, headed for the mountains southwest of Raton, New Mexico Territory. The next day, a posse consisting of Sheriff Ed Farr of Huerfano County, Colorado, Special Agent W.H. Reno of the Colorado & Southern Railroad, and five deputies found their trail and tracked them into Turkey Creek Canyon near Cimarron, New Mexico. There, the posse engaged them in a gun battle. Sam Ketchum and two deputies were wounded seriously, and the gang escaped. Sam Ketchum 's wounds slowed the intended escape, and they made it only a short distance from the initial shootout. Several members of the posse cornered the Ketchum gang a few days later, still in the same area of the Territory. Deputy W.H. Love and Sheriff Ed Farr engaged the outlaws in another gun battle, resulting in both Farr and Love being killed, while the posse wounded at least two unknown members of the gang. Sam Ketchum escaped, but was found a few days later by Special Agent Reno at the home of a rancher, where he was arrested. Sam Ketchum was taken to the Santa Fe Territorial Prison, where he died from his gunshot wounds. He was buried in the Odd Fellows rest Cemetery, now the Fairview Cemetery on Cerrillos Rd. in Santa Fe. `` Elzy '' or `` Elza '' ( William Ellsworth ) Lay was born November 25, 1868, Mt Pleasant, Ohio. Lay had come out west to Denver, and became an outlaw after mistakenly believing he had killed a man. Jailed for life after the killing of Sheriff Farr after the Folsom robbery, he was released in 1906. He returned to Alma, New Mexico Territory and lived there for two years. He stayed with Louis and Walter Jones, who in 1904 had built a large merchandise store at Alma. Elzy died aged 65 in Los Angeles, on November 10, 1934. Capture and death Ketchum on the scaffold before hanging, April 26, 1901, Clayton, New Mexico Sepia - tone photo from a contemporary postcard showing Tom Ketchum 's decapitated body. Caption reads `` Body of Black Jack after the hanging showing head snapped off. '' On August 16, 1899, Tom Ketchum, supposedly knowing nothing of the July 11 hold - up which ended in the death of his brother Sam, single - handedly attempted to rob the same train again at the same place and in the same way that he and Sam and others had robbed it just a few weeks earlier. The train conductor, Frank Harrington, saw Tom approaching the moving train. He recognized him, grabbed a shotgun, and shot Tom in the arm, knocking him off his horse. The train continued, and the next day a posse came out and found Tom beside the tracks, badly wounded. He was transported to medical facilities at Trinidad, Colorado, and his right arm had to be amputated. He was nursed back to health and then sent to Clayton, New Mexico Territory, for trial. At the trial, Ketchum was convicted and sentenced to death. He was the only person ever hanged in Union County, New Mexico Territory ( now Union County, New Mexico ). He was also the only person who suffered capital punishment for the offense of `` felonious assault upon a railway train '' in New Mexico Territory ( which did not become a state until 1912 ). Later, the law was found to be unconstitutional. Ketchum was executed by hanging in Clayton. Nobody in Clayton had any experience in conducting hangings ; the rope was too long, and since Ketchum had gained a significant amount of weight during his time in jail, he was decapitated when he dropped through the trap door. His last words were reported by the San Francisco Chronicle as : `` Good - bye. Please dig my grave very deep. All right ; hurry up. '' A popular postcard was made showing the body. Afterwards his head was sewn back onto the body for viewing, and he was interred at the Clayton Cemetery. Media portrayals Howard Duff played Ketchum in the 1957 American Western film, Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado. Rhodes Reason played Ketchum in a 1959 episode of the American Western television series Frontier Doctor. Western actor Jack Elam portrayed Ketchum in an episode of the 1954 -- 55 syndicated television series Stories of the Century, tales of the American West starring and narrated by Jim Davis. References Jump up ^ `` NEW MEXICO LEGENDS Train Robber - Black Jack Ketchum ''. Legends of America. Retrieved December 29, 2014. Jump up ^ Texas State Historical Association ( TSHA ) Jump up ^ `` Tom Ketchum and His Gang ''. History Net. June 12, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2014. Jump up ^ `` W.H. Love ''. Officer Memorial Page. Retrieved December 29, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Ed Farr ''. Officer Memorial Page. Retrieved December 29, 2014. ^ Jump up to : San Francisco Chronicle, 27 April 1901 - Digital Copy. External links The Spradley 's Home Page at www.hal-pc.org Biography Clayton, New Mexico `` Thomas Edward `` Black Jack '' Ketchum ``. Western Outlaw. Find a Grave. January 1, 2001. Retrieved December 22, 2015. American Old West Notable people Explorers and pioneers John Bozeman Jim Bridger William Clark Davy Crockett John C. Frémont Liver - Eating Johnson Meriwether Lewis Joe Mayer William John Murphy John Wesley Powell Jedediah Smith Jack Swilling Trinidad Swilling Ora Rush Weed Henry Wickenburg Brigham Young Native Americans Black Hawk Black Kettle Bloody Knife Chief Joseph Cochise Crazy Horse Geronimo Irataba Mangas Coloradas Manuelito Massai Quanah Parker Red Cloud Sacagawea Sitting Bull Ten Bears Touch the Clouds Tuvi Victorio Lawmen Elfego Baca Charlie Bassett Roy Bean Morgan Earp Virgil Earp Wyatt Earp Henry Garfias Pat Garrett Jack Helm `` Wild Bill '' Hickok Bat Masterson `` Mysterious Dave '' Mather Bass Reeves George Scarborough John Selman John Horton Slaughter William `` Bill '' Tilghman James Timberlake Harry C. Wheeler Outlaws Billy the Kid Black Bart `` Curly Bill '' Brocius Butch Cassidy Billy Clanton Ike Clanton Bill Dalton Bill Doolin John Wesley Hardin Johnny Ringo Jesse James Tom Ketchum Frank McLaury Tom McLaury Joaquin Murrieta Cochise County Cowboys Belle Starr Soapy Smith Sundance Kid Cole Younger Soldiers and scouts Frederick Russell Burnham Kit Carson `` Buffalo Bill '' Cody Texas Jack Omohundro James C. Cooney George Crook George Armstrong Custer Samuel P. Heintzelman Tom Horn Calamity Jane Luther Kelly Ranald S. Mackenzie Charley Reynolds Philip Sheridan Al Sieber Others John Jacob Astor William H. Boring Jonathan R. Davis George Flavel C.S. Fly John Joel Glanton George E. Goodfellow Doc Holliday Seth Kinman Nat Love Sylvester Mowry Emperor Norton Annie Oakley Thomas William Sweeny Jack Swilling Native Americans Apache Arapaho Arikara Assiniboine ( Nakota ) Blackfoot Cahuilla Cayuse Cheyenne Chinook Chippewa ( Ojibwe ) Caddo Cocopah Comanche Crow Dakota Five Civilized Tribes Hidatsa Hopi Hualapai Kickapoo Kiowa Ktunaxa Kumeyaay Lakota Mandan Maricopa Modoc Mohave Navajo Nez Perce Nootka ( Nuu - chah - nulth ) Paiute Pawnee Pend d'Oreilles Pima Pueblo Shoshone Sioux Tohono O'odham Tonkawa Umpqua Ute Washoe Yaqui Yavapai Yuma ( Quechan ) Frontier culture American bison Barbed wire Boot Hill Cattle drive Cowboy poetry Cattle rustling Cow town Fast draw Ghost town Gunfights Homesteading Land rush Manifest destiny Moonshine One - room schoolhouse Rodeo Stagecoach Train robbery Vigilante justice Western saloon Tack piano Westward expansion Wild West shows Transport and trails Barlow Road Bozeman Trail Butterfield Trail California Trail Chisholm Trail Great Platte River Road Great Western Cattle Trail Lolo Pass Meek Cutoff Mormon Trail Oregon Trail Pony Express Santa Fe Trail Southern Emigrant Trail Tanner Trail First Transcontinental Railroad Folklore Dead man 's hand Dime novel John Henry Johnny Kaw Lone Ranger Long Tom 's treasure Lost Dutchman 's Gold Mine Lost Ship of the Desert Montezuma 's treasure Paul Bunyan Pecos Bill Seven Cities of Gold Gold rushes Black Hills Gold Rush California Gold Rush Confederate Gulch and Diamond City Klondike Gold Rush Pike 's Peak Gold Rush Gunfights Battle of Coffeyville Battle of Lincoln Frisco shootout Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Long Branch Saloon gunfight Variety Hall shootout Military conflicts Battle of the Alamo Battle of Glorieta Pass Battle of the Little Bighorn Battle of San Jacinto Battle of Washita River First Battle of Adobe Walls Indian Wars Sand Creek massacre Wounded Knee Massacre Range wars and feuds Earp - Clanton feud Johnson County War Lincoln County War Mason County War Pleasant Valley War Sheep Wars Sutton -- Taylor feud Lists Arizona Rangers Cowboys and cowgirls Gangs Gunfights Lawmen Mountain men Outlaws Timeline of the American Old West Influence Western genre Western lifestyle Places Alaska Anchorage Iditarod Nome Seward Skagway Arizona Territory Canyon Diablo Fort Grant Prescott Phoenix Tombstone Tucson Yuma California Bakersfield Fresno Jamestown Los Angeles Sacramento San Diego San Francisco Colorado Creede Denver Telluride Trinidad Dakota Territory Bismarck Deadwood Fargo Pine Ridge Rapid City Yankton Idaho Territory Fort Boise Fort Hall Illinois Fort Dearborn Kansas Abilene Dodge City Ellsworth Hays Leavenworth Wichita Missouri Independence Kansas City St. Louis Montana Territory Billings Bozeman Deer Lodge Fort Benton Fort Peck Helena Livingston Missoula Virginia City Nebraska Chadron Fort Atkinson Fort Robinson Nebraska City Ogallala Omaha Valentine Nevada Carson City Virginia City Reno New Mexico Territory Alamogordo Albuquerque Cimarron Fort Sumner Gallup Las Vegas Lincoln Mesilla Mogollon Roswell Santa Fe Tucumcari Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory Broken Arrow Fort Sill Oklahoma City Oregon Territory Astoria The Dalles La Grande McMinnville Oregon City Portland Salem Vale Texas Austin Abilene El Paso Fort Worth Gonzales Lubbock San Antonio Utah Territory Salt Lake City Washington Territory Everett Port Townsend Seattle Vancouver Wyoming Territory Fort Bridger Fort Laramie VIAF : 70500296 LCCN : n88282142 GND : 14134556X IATH : w6vq3pvf Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tom_Ketchum&oldid=819068686 '' Categories : American robbers Gunslingers of the American Old West Outlaws of the American Old West 1863 births 1901 deaths 1892 crimes Cowboys Deaths by decapitation Executed people from Texas People executed for robbery 20th - century executions of American people 20th - century executions by the United States federal government People executed by the United States federal government by hanging People of the New Mexico Territory People from San Saba County, Texas Hidden categories : Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016 All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from January 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français 日本 語 Norsk Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 7 January 2018, at 06 : 42. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was the last outlaw to be tried convicted & hanged for train robbery
Answer: Thomas E. Ketchum