Henry Methvin
Encyclopedia
Henry Methvin was an American criminal, bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. He is best remembered as the final member of Bonnie and Clyde
's gang and whose father, Ivan Methvin, helped arrange their deaths at the hands of a posse headed by Texas lawman Frank Hamer
in 1934. His role in the gang has often been misattributed to teenage gang member W.D. Jones as both men were portrayed as composite character
"C.W. Moss" in the film Bonnie and Clyde
(1967).
when Bonnie and Clyde
came to breakout Raymond Hamilton
on January 16, 1934; one guard was killed and another wounded in the jailbreak. In the confusion, Methvin and three other inmates took the opportunity to escape with Hamilton. Though Hamilton initially ordered them to go back, Clyde welcomed the convicts and offered to let them join the gang. Though the three men chose to take their chances alone, Methvin accepted Clyde's offer to stay. He would remain with the gang until their end five months later.
A month after the breakout, Methvin joined Hamilton and Clyde in stealing guns and ammunition from a National Guard
armory in Ranger, Texas
under the cover of darkness on February 19. Eight days later, the men used the weapons to steal $4,138 from a bank in Lancaster
. Bonnie and Clyde agreed to drive Methvin to visit his father near Gibsland, Louisiana
on March 1. Methvin was present when, the following month, the gang shot and killed motorcycle officers E.B. Wheeler and H.D. Murphy on April 1, 1934. Conflicting reports from relatives and allege eyewitnesses have implicated each of the four gang members. Clyde himself was inconsistent on who he believed was the shooter. He wrote to relatives blaming Methvin who he claimed had misunderstood Clyde's suggestion that they "take" the officers, meaning to disarm and take them for a "joyride", and instead opened fire on the officers. In a later letter to authorities however, Clyde named Hamilton as the killer.
Regardless of Methvin's role, he was part of another of the gang's murder five days later. On April 6, their car became stuck in mud near Commerce, Oklahoma
. While trying to get the car moving, they were surprised by two local officers out on patrol and fired at them. Constable Cal Campbell was killed and Police Chief Percy Boyd was wounded. Boyd was then taken hostage by the gang and later released at Mangle Corner, near Fort Scott, Kansas
. The next day while eating at a cafe in Stillwater
, they abruptly left when they a patrolman passed by. Methvin and the gang would remain on the run for the next few months.
On April 30, Methvin took part in a Kansas bank robbery with the Barrow gang, joined by Joe Palmer, and they escaped with $2,800. On May 1, the gang was identified in a bank robbery in Sac City, Iowa
, and two days later they took $700 from a bank in Everly
. They then traveled south to meet relatives in Dallas on May 6, and then another family meeting with Methvin's father in Louisiana. On May 19, Methvin was sent into a diner to get sandwiches for the gang. While still at the counter, a police car passed the diner and Clyde drove off leaving Methvin behind. He managed to hitchhike his way to Ruston
where his parents were living at the time.
According to most versions of the story, Methvin told his father that the gang had planned a spot for a rendezvous in the event any of the gang should be separated. Methvin was supposed to meet the gang on a deserted stretch of highway south of Arcadia
. Ivan Methvin, then being harassed by lawmen in pursuit of his son and the rest of the gang, was alleged to have given this information to Louisiana sheriff Henderson Jordan
, who in turn then passed it on to Texas Ranger
Frank Hamer
. In exchange, Methvin was promised that his son would not get the death penalty for the murders of officers Wheeler and Murphy in Grapevine two months earlier. It is unclear whether Henry Methvin was aware of this arrangement.
On May 23, 1934, Ivan Methvin parked his truck near the meeting spot and removed one of the wheels as if removing a flat tire. When Bonnie and Clyde stopped to assist Methvin, Hamer gave the signal and his 6-man posse fired, killing both of them. An alternate scenario in the 1990s, supposedly suppressed for over 60 years, claimed that Ivan Methvin had been forced to go along with the ambush. He was stopped by lawmen on the highway and tied to a tree while his truck was disabled in order to lure Bonnie and Clyde.
Although Henry Methvin was able to avoid the Grapevine murders, his arrangement did not include the murder of Constable Campbell. Extradited to Oklahoma, he was found guilty of the officer's murder and sentenced to death on December 20, 1935. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on September 18, 1936, and he was paroled on March 20, 1942. Methvin continued to remain in trouble with the law. In November 1945, he was jailed for fighting and carrying a shotgun. He was arrested again for attempted robbery and drunk driving near Shreveport, Louisiana
eleven months later. On April 19, 1948, Methvin was intoxicated while attempting to cross a railroad track and was killed by an oncoming train. Although it has been speculated that his death was, in fact, retribution for the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, especially after the similar death of his father Ivan 16 months earlier, no evidence of foul play has ever been produced.
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were well-known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934...
's gang and whose father, Ivan Methvin, helped arrange their deaths at the hands of a posse headed by Texas lawman Frank Hamer
Frank Hamer
Francis Augustus Hamer was a Texas Ranger, known in popular culture for his involvement in tracking down and killing the criminal duo Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934...
in 1934. His role in the gang has often been misattributed to teenage gang member W.D. Jones as both men were portrayed as composite character
Composite character
A composite character is a character composed of two or more individuals, appearing in a fictional or non-fictional work. Two fictional characters are often combined into one upon adaptation of a work from one medium to another, as in the film adaptation of a novel...
"C.W. Moss" in the film Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde (film)
The film was originally offered to François Truffaut, the best-known director of the New Wave movement, who made contributions to the script. He passed on the project to make Fahrenheit 451. The producers approached Jean-Luc Godard next...
(1967).
Biography
Henry Methvin was born in Louisiana on April 8, 1912, to Ivan "Ivy" T. Methvin and Avie Stephens. He was serving a 10-year prison sentence at the Eastham prison farm in Huntsville, TexasHuntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
when Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were well-known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934...
came to breakout Raymond Hamilton
Raymond Hamilton
Raymond Hamilton was a member of the notorious Barrow Gang during the early 1930s. By the time he was 21 years old he had accumulated a prison sentence of 362 years.-The Barrow Gang:...
on January 16, 1934; one guard was killed and another wounded in the jailbreak. In the confusion, Methvin and three other inmates took the opportunity to escape with Hamilton. Though Hamilton initially ordered them to go back, Clyde welcomed the convicts and offered to let them join the gang. Though the three men chose to take their chances alone, Methvin accepted Clyde's offer to stay. He would remain with the gang until their end five months later.
A month after the breakout, Methvin joined Hamilton and Clyde in stealing guns and ammunition from a National Guard
Texas National Guard
The Texas National Guard consists of the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. The Guard is administered by the adjutant general, an appointee of the governor of Texas. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state...
armory in Ranger, Texas
Ranger, Texas
Ranger is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,584 at the 2000 census. Ranger College, a community college, is the second largest employer in the community....
under the cover of darkness on February 19. Eight days later, the men used the weapons to steal $4,138 from a bank in Lancaster
Lancaster, Texas
Lancaster is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The population was 25,894 at the 2000 census.Lancaster is a suburb of Dallas, Texas and is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Lancaster, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Duncanville. Most of the city is in Dallas County. But a...
. Bonnie and Clyde agreed to drive Methvin to visit his father near Gibsland, Louisiana
Gibsland, Louisiana
Gibsland is a town in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. Conveniently near Interstate 20 and less than an hour from both Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana, Gibsland offers small town living with access to urban amenities...
on March 1. Methvin was present when, the following month, the gang shot and killed motorcycle officers E.B. Wheeler and H.D. Murphy on April 1, 1934. Conflicting reports from relatives and allege eyewitnesses have implicated each of the four gang members. Clyde himself was inconsistent on who he believed was the shooter. He wrote to relatives blaming Methvin who he claimed had misunderstood Clyde's suggestion that they "take" the officers, meaning to disarm and take them for a "joyride", and instead opened fire on the officers. In a later letter to authorities however, Clyde named Hamilton as the killer.
Regardless of Methvin's role, he was part of another of the gang's murder five days later. On April 6, their car became stuck in mud near Commerce, Oklahoma
Commerce, Oklahoma
Commerce is a city in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,645 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Commerce is located at ....
. While trying to get the car moving, they were surprised by two local officers out on patrol and fired at them. Constable Cal Campbell was killed and Police Chief Percy Boyd was wounded. Boyd was then taken hostage by the gang and later released at Mangle Corner, near Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National...
. The next day while eating at a cafe in Stillwater
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
, they abruptly left when they a patrolman passed by. Methvin and the gang would remain on the run for the next few months.
On April 30, Methvin took part in a Kansas bank robbery with the Barrow gang, joined by Joe Palmer, and they escaped with $2,800. On May 1, the gang was identified in a bank robbery in Sac City, Iowa
Sac City, Iowa
Sac City is a city in and the county seat of Sac County, Iowa, United States, located in the rolling hills along the valley of the North Raccoon River, in one of America's prime agricultural regions. U.S. Route 20 bisects the city, forming its Main Street, and the city is one of 45 designated Main...
, and two days later they took $700 from a bank in Everly
Everly, Iowa
Everly is a city in Clay County, Iowa, United States. The population was 603 in the 2010 census, a decline from 647 in the 2000 census. The Ocheyedan River flows to the south and west of the city.-Geography:...
. They then traveled south to meet relatives in Dallas on May 6, and then another family meeting with Methvin's father in Louisiana. On May 19, Methvin was sent into a diner to get sandwiches for the gang. While still at the counter, a police car passed the diner and Clyde drove off leaving Methvin behind. He managed to hitchhike his way to Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
where his parents were living at the time.
According to most versions of the story, Methvin told his father that the gang had planned a spot for a rendezvous in the event any of the gang should be separated. Methvin was supposed to meet the gang on a deserted stretch of highway south of Arcadia
Arcadia, Louisiana
Arcadia is a town in and the parish seat of Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,041 at the 2000 census....
. Ivan Methvin, then being harassed by lawmen in pursuit of his son and the rest of the gang, was alleged to have given this information to Louisiana sheriff Henderson Jordan
Henderson Jordan (Louisiana sheriff)
Henderson Jordan , as sheriff of Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, was one of six law enforcement officers who on May 23, 1934, ambushed the fugitives Bonnie and Clyde in a deadly encounter on Louisiana Highway 154 between Gibsland and Sailes to the south.-Background:According to his grave...
, who in turn then passed it on to Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
Frank Hamer
Frank Hamer
Francis Augustus Hamer was a Texas Ranger, known in popular culture for his involvement in tracking down and killing the criminal duo Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934...
. In exchange, Methvin was promised that his son would not get the death penalty for the murders of officers Wheeler and Murphy in Grapevine two months earlier. It is unclear whether Henry Methvin was aware of this arrangement.
On May 23, 1934, Ivan Methvin parked his truck near the meeting spot and removed one of the wheels as if removing a flat tire. When Bonnie and Clyde stopped to assist Methvin, Hamer gave the signal and his 6-man posse fired, killing both of them. An alternate scenario in the 1990s, supposedly suppressed for over 60 years, claimed that Ivan Methvin had been forced to go along with the ambush. He was stopped by lawmen on the highway and tied to a tree while his truck was disabled in order to lure Bonnie and Clyde.
Although Henry Methvin was able to avoid the Grapevine murders, his arrangement did not include the murder of Constable Campbell. Extradited to Oklahoma, he was found guilty of the officer's murder and sentenced to death on December 20, 1935. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on September 18, 1936, and he was paroled on March 20, 1942. Methvin continued to remain in trouble with the law. In November 1945, he was jailed for fighting and carrying a shotgun. He was arrested again for attempted robbery and drunk driving near Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
eleven months later. On April 19, 1948, Methvin was intoxicated while attempting to cross a railroad track and was killed by an oncoming train. Although it has been speculated that his death was, in fact, retribution for the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, especially after the similar death of his father Ivan 16 months earlier, no evidence of foul play has ever been produced.
External links
- Henry Methvin
- Henry Methvin at TexasHideout.com
- Clyde Barrow & Henry Methvin at EmmetLabs.com