Raymond Elzie Hamilton (May 21, 1914 – May 10, 1935) was a member of the notorious Barrow Gang during the early 1930s. By the time he was 20 years old, he had accumulated a prison sentence of 362 years.
Early life
Raymond Hamilton was born May 21, 1914, in a tent on the banks of the Deep Fork River in Oklahoma. who abandoned the family when Raymond was 10 years old. His mother was Sara Alice Bullock. Raymond had one brother, Floyd Hamilton (1908-1984), and four sisters – Lilly Hamilton, Lucy Hamilton, Margie Hamilton, and Audrey Hamilton. when Moore and Sheriff Charlie Maxwell became suspicious of the men at an outdoor country dance in Stringtown, Oklahoma. Sheriff Maxwell sustained six gunshot wounds in the exchange but survived. It was Barrow's and Hamilton's first murder of a police officer. The group had drawn suspicion because they were well-dressed strangers at a small-town dance, and some local boys were upset that they were dancing with the local girls. The police, assuming the strangers were just bootleggers, originally intervened to prevent a fight.
Hamilton's presence in the group was often problematic, with Clyde Barrow and other members of the gang commonly referring to his girlfriend Mary O'Dare as "the washerwoman." Mary was the sister of local criminal and early partner of Clyde – O'Dell Chambless. When Hamilton was imprisoned at the Eastham prison farm north of Huntsville, Texas, Bonnie and Clyde raided the farm to free him and four other prisoners on January 16, 1934. and caused a series of events which led to Texas Prison System chief Lee Simmons to issue a shoot to kill order against Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.
Hamilton was recaptured April 5, 1935, in a Fort Worth railyard while posing as a hobo. Hamilton had sent a note to his sister in Dallas, which was intercepted by Dallas deputy Bill Decker. Decker and four more deputies drove to Fort Worth and enlisted the help of Fort Worth detective Chester Reagan and Tarrant County deputy sheriff Carl Harmon.
The group canvassed the railyard and came upon Hamilton around 50 feet north of the East First Street overpass, "sprawled on the tracks" with six or seven hobos nearby. When arrested, he was wearing dirty overalls and had two .45s on him plus a suitcase full of new clothing beside him. Decker approached Hamilton with gun in hand and said, "Host em up Ray, before I cut you in two". Hamilton surrendered and was taken to Dallas. The next day over 500 curiosity seekers flooded the courthouse to see the Public Enemy Number One.
Death
Hamilton was convicted of his role in the murder of M.J. Crowson and sentenced to death. He was executed on May 10, 1935, at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, by electric chair. Palmer had agreed to go first to give Hamilton time to compose himself. Hamilton was executed eleven days before his twenty-first birthday. Raymond Hamilton was convicted of the murder of John Bucher of Hillsboro, Texas on May 1, 1932, though he had nothing to do with it. The actual killer was Ted Rogers with Clyde Barrow and Johnny Russell as accomplices.
Bibliography
- UNDERWOOD, SID. Depression Desperado: The Chronicle of Raymond Hamilton. Eakin Press, United States, (1995). 242 pages. .
- BLANCHE CALDWELL BARROW and JOHN NEAL PHILLIPS. My Life with Bonnie and Clyde. USA. University of Oklahoma Press; Illustrated edición, (2005). 376 pages.
- ROBIN COLE-JETT. Lewisville. Arcadia Publishing Library Editions (2011) . 130 pages. .
- BURROUGH, BRYAN. Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34. Reprint edición. Penguin Books; Media Tie In (2005). 624 pages.