Wild West

ROBBER’S GRAVE

homas Edward “Black Jack” Ketchum was the more infamous train robber, but older brother Samuel Wesley Ketchum held his own, criminally or online at ). A sheriff and a posseman were killed in the gunfight. The seriously wounded Sam Ketchum and two other gang members got away, but Sam was captured a few days later and taken to the New Mexico Territorial Penitentiary hospital in Santa Fe for treatment—too late. Gangrene had taken over, and the 45-year-old died on July 24, 1899, leaving a widow and two children. “Samuel’s grave is at the old Odd Fellows Cemetery (next to the Fairview Cemetery) in Santa Fe, and I went there to photograph his marker,” says contributor Jay Warner. “The folks at the graveyard were very helpful, but they must not have known about Samuel Ketchum, because after they told me how to find his grave, one asked me if he was a loved one I was looking for! Being a straight-up feller, I informed her, ‘No.’”

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