Fort Worth Characters (review)

Richard Selcer cements his reputation as the finest of the working scholars on Fort Worth history with this fascinating and well-done collective biography. The common theme of the twelve vignettes comprising the work is that the subjects "slipped through the cracks of Fort Worth history" (1). Included in the book are Ripley Arnold, Jim Courtright, Hagar Tucker, Sam Farmer, Al Hayne, Maggie Tewmey, Jeff Daggett, Quanah Parker, Thomas Finch, Mary Rea, Mary Porter, and James Swayne. These twelve people are not as well known as B. B. Paddock, Amon Carter, William McDonald, John Peter Smith, or I. M. Terrell, but they are men and women who have had some degree of fame or infamy in the city. Names such as Arnold, Swayne, and Hayne certainly rank among those who have gained some significant measure of fame in the city and might be added to the more notable names above. Similarly, Jim Courtright achieved more than a small degree of infamy in his stay in Fort Worth. Courtright is infamous in his own right for the gunfight on Main Street in which Luke Short killed him. The story of Quanah Parker, the Comanche chief who journeyed easily between the worlds of his ancestors and the newcomers is well known to fanciers of the West.

Most of the others are unknown to all but the most knowledgeable of Fort Worth historians. The most interesting story Selcer tells is that of Maggie Tewmey. Readers of Oliver Knight's Fort Worth: Outpost on the Trinity might recall an incident in which a prostitute identified only as Sally was said to have been found nailed to a privy in Hell's Half Acre in 1887. Selcer proposes and provides enough correlation between that story and the one of Maggie Tewmey to demonstrate that two stories are about the same woman. He thus provides a plausible end to a mystery long unsolved.

A theme that has run through Selcer's writings is the desire to correct errant concepts about the history of Fort Worth. That theme continues to a degree in FortWorth Characters. For instance, he tells of Jim Courtright's alleged ambidextrous ability as a gunfighter but points out that Courtright had a crippled left hand and states there is no record of Courtright engaging in a stand-up street gunfight during his tenure as marshal of Fort Worth. Similarly, Selcer takes the time to discredit statements that Al Hayne was a firefighter when he died rescuing people in the 1890 Spring Palace fire.

Selcer shows his considerable research skills with extensive use of primary sources. Contemporary newspaper accounts, census, judicial, property, and probate records are all present in abundance. Selcer writes in a clear and lucid manner, telling the stories in a way that keeps the reader more than interested in the outcome. He also demonstrates his strong analytical abilities in making connections such as that of Sally to Maggie Tewmey.

Fort Worth Characters is a must have title for anybody interested in the history of Fort Worth. It is a truly pleasurable read.