caption death_date death_place children birth_place allegiance cause name birth_date spouse image article_title birth_name
barker c. 1932 16 january 1935 ocklawaha , florida , u.s. herman , lloyd , arthur , fred ash grove , missouri , u.s. barker-karpis gang gunshot by federal law enforcement . arizona barker 8 october 1873 george barker ; arthur dunlop -lrb- common law -rrb- ma barker.jpg ma barker
 arizona donnie clark
ma barker

arizona donnie barker -lrb- née clark -rrb- -lrb- october 8 , 1873 -- january 16 , 1935 -rrb- better known as ma barker , and sometimes as kate barker , was the mother of several criminals who ran the barker gang during the `` public enemy era '' , when the exploits of gangs of criminals in the u.s. midwest gripped the american people and press .
she traveled with her sons during their criminal careers .
after barker was killed during a shoot-out with the fbi , she gained a reputation as a ruthless crime matriarch who controlled and organized her sons ' crimes .
j. edgar hoover described her as `` the most vicious , dangerous and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade '' .
ma barker has been presented as a monstrous mother in films , songs and literature .
however , those who knew her insisted she had no criminal role and `` could n't plan breakfast '' , as one put it .
