In the early morning hours of 19 April 1909, an organized mob hung Jim Miller, Jesse West, Joe Allen and Berry B. Burell—four men who were set to be tried the next day for the murder of cattleman and former U.S. Marshal, Allen Augustus "Gus" Bobbitt (1862 - 1909). This almost forgotten event could be said to mark the end of the the Wild West era. None of the mob were ever identified, but popular belief has it that local freemasons were involved.
As can be seen on his gravestone, Gus Babbitt was a freemason, a member of Ada Lodge No. 119. But, public opinion to the contrary, there is no proof that freemasons played any role in the lynching.
Rose Hill Cemetery in Ada, Oklahoma.
Nothing justifies lawlessness and mob rule. But the events of 19 April 1909 must be examined in the context of the times. As the rest of America entered the twentieth century, Oklahoma was the last frontier of the Wild West, and Ada Oklahoma was the last retreat of its outlaws. A town with a population of about 5,000 people, Ada had 38 murders in one year. Bootleggers, cutthroats and criminals ran roughshod over the town, and juries were often intimidated into returning verdicts of not guilty.
Early in 1909, Jim "Deacon" Miller was contracted by local ranchers Jesse West and Joe Allen through middleman Berry B. Burell [Burwell] to kill "Gus" Bobbitt, for a fee of $1,700. Jim Miller was a pathological killer, boasting of killing 31 people, starting with his grandparents when he was eight years old. True or not, when he was twenty-three he was convicted for killing his brother-in-law, although released on appeal. Embarking on a twenty-five-year career as a hired gun, there is evidence of at least eight hired killings and six killings resulting from saloon brawls or gambling altercations.
The murder on 27 February 1909 of a leading citizen by a hired killer was the final indignity to the citizens of Ada and although it is true that the crowd lynched the four men they believed responsible for Bobbitt's killing, they did it soberly, quietly, and without firing a shot. In the aftermath of the lynching it is reported that the criminal element quietly left town.
Please make sure cache is securily put back in its place and out of site.