Written in Blood: The History of Fort Worth's Fallen Lawmen, Volume 1, 1861-1909

CHAPTER 3 Deputy Marshal George White (August 2, 1879)

52 CHAPTER 3 George White was a deputy under Marshal Sam Farmer at the time he was killed, but Farmer could not have prevented the tragedy. In fact it is questionable if the Marshal even knew what the freelancing deputy was up to that day, serving warrants in Arlington. (Courtesy of J. R. Taggert, Lohman, MO) 53 CHAPTER฀3 Deputy฀Marshal฀฀ George฀White August 2, 1879 “All that was left of a hero boy . . .” When is a police officer justified in using “deadly force”? Today that question is a weighty legal and ethical issue. In nineteenth-century Texas the answer was simple: an officer’s decision to draw his weapon was circumscribed only by his own good judgment. There are always two sides to every question, and this one is no different. An officer who hesitated to reach for his gun in a tight situation was likely to wind up dead, and since officers usually operated without backup, it was critical to get control of any situation right out of the gate. The unwritten rule was “shoot first and ask questions later.” On the other hand, a trigger-happy lawman might inspire fear, but he would also quickly wear out his welcome. In April 1879 Sam Farmer was elected Fort Worth marshal, starting a new era in the city’s law enforcement history. The T. I. Courtright era was over after three terms in office although “Longhair Jim” would not be riding off into the sunset any time soon. In the weeks after Sam’s election, he went through the usual routine of selecting four or five men to serve as his police force for the next twelve months. One of those was nineteen-year-old George White, who despite his youth was appointed “deputy marshal,” making him second-in-command. George took to law enforcement like a colt takes to a field of clover—until fate intervened. 54 CHAPTER 3 George H. White was born in Pike County, Alabama, on December 7, 1859, to Enoch and Amanda White.1 His father was a poor dirt farmer who moved west with the frontier, starting in Georgia before coming to Alabama and finally Texas. By the time the family settled in Upshur County, Texas, George had four siblings , and the family continued to multiply in the years following as they moved yet again, this time to Rusk County, Texas. By 1877, George had fled the farm and was living in Fort Worth working as an agent for sewing-machine-salesman S. C. Bradford and living under Bradford’s roof.2 Sometime after 1877 George made the acquaintance of R. C. McPhail who also sold sewing machines. Mr. and Mrs. McPhail were twenty-five years older than George and childless, and soon they were treating George like a son. Around 1879, after an eighth child was born to the Whites and they took in two boarders to help make ends meet, George packed up and went to live with the McPhails. He now considered them his adoptive family, and they had similar feelings for “Georgie,” as they called him.3 That was the same year that George White joined the barely six-year-old Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD). Although this was his first job in law enforcement, he was hired as deputy marshal , the second position in the chain of command, just below the marshal. Starting so close to the top suggests that he had pull with either Marshal Sam Farmer or the city council that had to sign off on all police appointments. He was also a volunteer fireman, not a surprising development since firemen and policemen were practically blood brothers. He was accepted as “one of the boys.” He was unmarried, but he had found all the family he needed in the McPhails, and all who knew the blended family considered George “a most affectionate and devoted son” even though they were not his birth parents.4 To make ends meet, George worked part-time as “special constable ” (i.e., bailiff) for the Tenth District Court. Since the court only met in March and July it was a job he could easily fit into his regular duties as deputy marshal. Besides, being selected by Sheriff Joseph M. Henderson and Judge J. A. Carroll was a testimonial to his status as an up-and-comer. Serving as Judge Carroll’s bailiff while a deputy marshal was not considered...