Although they didn't rival the James gang, the Youngers, or the Daltons, the little-known Blalock-Fry gang had an unsavory reputation that made them notorious throughout southeast Kansas during the late 1880s. Centered at Columbus, the gang consisted of several brothers and a cousin from two different families. One or two of the parents were also involved in aiding and abetting the criminal activities of their sons, and a Blalock sister named Clara, although she had previously had an outstanding reputation in the community, ended up implicating herself as the "secretary" of the gang.
The gang pulled off a series of burglaries, arsons, and other petty crimes in southeast Kansas and then finally escalated to murder when two of the Blalocks gunned down Columbus constable David Gordon in March of 1888. The whole gang went on trial for various crimes, and nearly all of them, including the Blalock mother and the Fry father, were convicted. The two Blalock brothers, John and William, were convicted of the most serious charge--killing Gordon.
I had an article about the Blalock-Fry gang published in the October 2009 issue of Wild West Magazine. The gang's story also composes a chapter in my book about notorious Ozarks incidents.
4 comments:
The Blalock are my kin folk.My Father's mother was a sibling.Carolina.We just found out about these folks they Ancestry.com
Dan Fry was my grandfather, his daughter Marian Violet was my mother.
The “Fry father” Andrew Fry, was my great great grandfather. His youngest son, Andrew Jackson Fry was my great grandfather.
Clara Blalock was my great grandmother, the school teacher turned “secretary” of the gang, an interesting article….
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