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Thomas Edward Ketchum
| Name: Thomas
Edward Ketchum |
| Aliases: "Black
Jack" Ketchum |
| Date of Birth:
October 31, 1863 |
| Location of
Birth: San Saba County, Texas |
| Occupation: Outlaw |
| Relationships:
Sam Ketchum (brother) |
| Affiliations: The
Ketchum Gang |
| Date of Death:
April 26, 1901 |
| Cause of
Death: Hanging |
| Location of
Death: Clayton, New Mexico |
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“Black Jack” Ketchum was born Thomas
Edward Ketchum on Halloween in 1863 to Green Berry and Temperance
Katherine Ketchum in San Saba, Texas. Thomas was the younger brother of
Samuel W. Ketchum and together the two brothers would soon become
notorious outlaws.
Like his brother, Tom Ketchum started out
as a law-abiding citizen–finding work as a cattle driver and cowboy.
After leaving Texas around 1890 he fell into the outlaw life. In 1892 Tom Ketchum was among the suspects named in a train robbery in New
Mexico.
Ketchum’s older brother Sam joined him by
1894 and the two men developed a crew of men that would come to be known
as the Ketchum Gang. The gang would become infamous for a string of
robberies including post offices, stagecoaches and banks.
In June 1896, Tom and Sam Ketchum robbed a
post office in Liberty, New Mexico. The aftermath of the robbery ended in
the deaths of two men.
Tom Ketchum bore an uncanny resemblance to
another famous outlaw, “Black Jack” Will Christian, and was often
mistaken for the outlaw. The name stuck with Tom and he would forever be
known as “Black Jack” Ketchum.
Wild Bunch members
Elzy Lay, Will Carver
and Ben Kilpatrick were known to ride with
the Ketchum's and joined the
brothers in a series of train robberies in the American Southwest.
“Black Jack” was supposed to
participate in the July 11, 1899 robbery of a Colorado &
Southern train near Folsom, New Mexico but after an argument with members
of the gang he changed his mind and left he party. Sam
Ketchum, Elzy Lay
and Will Carver went ahead with the robbery without him. As a result of
the robbery, Sam Ketchum would lose his life while Lay found himself
sentenced to life in prison.
Unaware of the others fate, “Black
Jack” Ketchum decided to go ahead and rob the Colorado & Southern
train by himself. He stopped the train near Folsom, New Mexico on August
16, 1899. The conductor, Frank Harrington, was prepared for an outlaw
attack and shot “Black Jack” in the arm with a shotgun.
Authorities found Ketchum the next day and
transported him to the penitentiary in Santa Fe, New Mexico where his arm
was later amputated due to the severity of the gunshot wound.
Ketchum was sentenced to death by hanging
on October 5, 1900. The sentence was carried out in Clayton, New Mexico
seven months later on April 26, 1901. According to the New York Times
April 27, 1901 edition, Ketchum muttered, “Goodbye,” then asked his
executioners, “Please dig my grave very deep.” As the cap was placed
over his head, Ketchum’s final words on this earth were, “Let her
go!” Due to a mix-up in the rope's length, Ketchum was decapitated.
“Black Jack” Ketchum is buried in the
Clayton Cemetery in Clayton, New Mexico.
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