My Great Great Grandpa John Berry 1863-1912 AKA Catfish Jack
In an effort to track down my great grandma's (Minnie Berry b1909) life in Oklahoma I initially had two pieces of evidence to go on. Her parents names (John Berry 1863 & Effie Satterwhite 1893) and one 1910 census record showing all three living in the home with the correct birthdays and names. Then I tracked down her parents marriage record in a local town. (She was 30 years younger than him!) I knew he died shortly after her birth. She was just 3 years old when her dad died.
I was able to hunt down a death certificate that I had a hunch was his. Most of the time I can view them free online but this one I could not so I ordered it through the state of oklahoma. I waited for weeks and it finally came. BINGO! It was him. There were a few clues that helped me further on my investigation. His cause of death was Malaria. (Malaria is from mosquitos, mosquitos are frequent near water. The puzzle is coming together) His occupation was "Fisherman". That word reminded me of the 1910 census he's listed in and it said fisherman as well. So things were lining up. I searched high and low for John Berry. In every method available to me and I'm really good at this. Nothing. All came up inconclusive.
So I turned back to what I do have. I decided to look at the other people living near him on the 1910 census to see if they were related or could toss a few bread crumbs my way. There were some Berrys living on the same block and I researched them but I couldn't say definitely yes or no. I was not satisfied. I then noticed his direct next door neighbor was a man listed as "Arrington Lucas". His occupation was also fisherman. What are the odds? I hadn't been looking for occupation up until then. I was looking for people with familiar surnames. I thought for sure they had to know eachother. They were literally the only two men who listed fishing as their occupation in the entire census of this territory. Since I could not find information on John I decided to see who and where this Arrington was. Maybe this could shed some light?
And did it ever!!
Arrington was actually Orrington Lucas and he was not a fisherman. He was one of the most prolific US Marshals in Oklahoma Territory in his time. He was involved in some of the most notorious arrests and take downs of the Doolin gang, Jesse James even mentioned him by name in letters. They called him "Red".
In several diary entries and interviews he spoke of his time in Oklahoma. And this where it got interesting.
In 1893 He was commissioned to hunt down the Doolin Gang who had given law men in the area of Stillwater Oklahoma quite a hard time. He went deep undercover posing as a fisherman selling channel catfish to locals in a tent set up in town. He furthered his cover by teaming up with a man he described as "Catfish Jack" he was quoted as saying he was "the ugliest man in the whole territory". What's another name for John? Jack! What was his occupation? Fisherman. Is this sounding promising? Uh, yes!
The surveillance work paid off and they ended the investigation in what's now known as the "Ingalls Battle".
In one interview at the end of his life he said he enjoyed the life of a Marshal but his one true love was fishing. I can only assume the experience John and Orrington shared bonded them because just 17 years after the "Ingalls Battle" they are living directly next to eachother, 200 miles away from Ingalls in Leflore Oklahoma and reported fishing as their occupation. Was it a cover then as well? We're they on the job or had Orrington finally settled down, retired and made his first love his occupation? I can't say for sure. Just two short years after the census of 1910 my great great grandfather contracted Malaria while fishing and died. After Johns death Orrington moved out of Oklahoma. My 2xs grandmother Effie remarried moved too. I may never know exactly the detail but I can say with 99.9% certainty that my 2xs grandfather is down in history as the "ugliest fisherman in all of Oklahoma territory Catfish Jack" and maybe unknowingly assisted in the Ingalls Battle in 1893.
I was able to hunt down a death certificate that I had a hunch was his. Most of the time I can view them free online but this one I could not so I ordered it through the state of oklahoma. I waited for weeks and it finally came. BINGO! It was him. There were a few clues that helped me further on my investigation. His cause of death was Malaria. (Malaria is from mosquitos, mosquitos are frequent near water. The puzzle is coming together) His occupation was "Fisherman". That word reminded me of the 1910 census he's listed in and it said fisherman as well. So things were lining up. I searched high and low for John Berry. In every method available to me and I'm really good at this. Nothing. All came up inconclusive.
So I turned back to what I do have. I decided to look at the other people living near him on the 1910 census to see if they were related or could toss a few bread crumbs my way. There were some Berrys living on the same block and I researched them but I couldn't say definitely yes or no. I was not satisfied. I then noticed his direct next door neighbor was a man listed as "Arrington Lucas". His occupation was also fisherman. What are the odds? I hadn't been looking for occupation up until then. I was looking for people with familiar surnames. I thought for sure they had to know eachother. They were literally the only two men who listed fishing as their occupation in the entire census of this territory. Since I could not find information on John I decided to see who and where this Arrington was. Maybe this could shed some light?
And did it ever!!
Arrington was actually Orrington Lucas and he was not a fisherman. He was one of the most prolific US Marshals in Oklahoma Territory in his time. He was involved in some of the most notorious arrests and take downs of the Doolin gang, Jesse James even mentioned him by name in letters. They called him "Red".
In several diary entries and interviews he spoke of his time in Oklahoma. And this where it got interesting.
In 1893 He was commissioned to hunt down the Doolin Gang who had given law men in the area of Stillwater Oklahoma quite a hard time. He went deep undercover posing as a fisherman selling channel catfish to locals in a tent set up in town. He furthered his cover by teaming up with a man he described as "Catfish Jack" he was quoted as saying he was "the ugliest man in the whole territory". What's another name for John? Jack! What was his occupation? Fisherman. Is this sounding promising? Uh, yes!
The surveillance work paid off and they ended the investigation in what's now known as the "Ingalls Battle".
In one interview at the end of his life he said he enjoyed the life of a Marshal but his one true love was fishing. I can only assume the experience John and Orrington shared bonded them because just 17 years after the "Ingalls Battle" they are living directly next to eachother, 200 miles away from Ingalls in Leflore Oklahoma and reported fishing as their occupation. Was it a cover then as well? We're they on the job or had Orrington finally settled down, retired and made his first love his occupation? I can't say for sure. Just two short years after the census of 1910 my great great grandfather contracted Malaria while fishing and died. After Johns death Orrington moved out of Oklahoma. My 2xs grandmother Effie remarried moved too. I may never know exactly the detail but I can say with 99.9% certainty that my 2xs grandfather is down in history as the "ugliest fisherman in all of Oklahoma territory Catfish Jack" and maybe unknowingly assisted in the Ingalls Battle in 1893.
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