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Clyde Chestnut Barrow was born on March 24, 1909, into a poor farming family in Telico Texas.He was the fifth of seven children of Henry Basil Barrow
and Cumie T. Walker. During the rough times, Clyde and his siblings were frequently sent to live with other relatives. The Barrows spent their first months in West Dallas living under their wagon. After hard months of labor, Henry finally saved up enough money for them to buy a tent. It was a major upgrade for them all.
As a child, Clyde got his first taste of being a criminal when he and his brother, Marvin "Buck" Barrow, would sneak out late at night to run all over town stealing neighbor's animals and other trinkets they would find pleasure with.
Clyde was first arrested in late 1926, after running when police confronted him over a rental car he had failed to return on time. His second arrest, with brother Marvin, came soon after, this time for possession of stolen goods. Despite having legitimate jobs during the period 1927 through 1929, he also cracked safes, robbed
stores, and stole cars. After sequential arrests in 1928 and 1929, he was sent
to Eastham Prison Farm in April 1930. While in prison, Barrow complained many times and reported another inmate who was sexually assaulting him. After waiting for something to happen to the other inmate, Clyde took it into his own hands and beat him to death. This was Clyde's first killing. Paroled in February 1932, Barrow emerged from Eastham a 'hardened and bitter criminal.' Remarking on her older brother, sister Marie said, "Something awful sure must have happened to him in prison, because he wasn't the same person when he got out." A fellow inmate that became friends with Clyde while in prison, Ralph Fultis, said he watched him "change from a schoolboy to a rattlesnake."
and Cumie T. Walker. During the rough times, Clyde and his siblings were frequently sent to live with other relatives. The Barrows spent their first months in West Dallas living under their wagon. After hard months of labor, Henry finally saved up enough money for them to buy a tent. It was a major upgrade for them all.
As a child, Clyde got his first taste of being a criminal when he and his brother, Marvin "Buck" Barrow, would sneak out late at night to run all over town stealing neighbor's animals and other trinkets they would find pleasure with.
Clyde was first arrested in late 1926, after running when police confronted him over a rental car he had failed to return on time. His second arrest, with brother Marvin, came soon after, this time for possession of stolen goods. Despite having legitimate jobs during the period 1927 through 1929, he also cracked safes, robbed
stores, and stole cars. After sequential arrests in 1928 and 1929, he was sent
to Eastham Prison Farm in April 1930. While in prison, Barrow complained many times and reported another inmate who was sexually assaulting him. After waiting for something to happen to the other inmate, Clyde took it into his own hands and beat him to death. This was Clyde's first killing. Paroled in February 1932, Barrow emerged from Eastham a 'hardened and bitter criminal.' Remarking on her older brother, sister Marie said, "Something awful sure must have happened to him in prison, because he wasn't the same person when he got out." A fellow inmate that became friends with Clyde while in prison, Ralph Fultis, said he watched him "change from a schoolboy to a rattlesnake."
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After getting released from Eastham, Barrow chose smaller jobs, robbing grocery stores and gas stations, at a rate far outpacing the ten to fifteen bank robberies attributed to him and the 'Barrow Gang'. His favored weapon was the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (called a BAR). According to John Neal Phillips and many pothers having relationships with Clyde, Barrow's goal in life was not to gain fame or fortune from robbing banks, but to succeed at revenge against the Texas Prison System for the abuses he suffered while serving time.
Many warrants, wanted, and reward signs were issued, but in the end, no one truly brought in Clyde Barrow. Barrow and Parker were ambushed and killed on May 23, 1934, on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The couple appeared in daylight in an automobile and were shot by a posse of four Texas officers.
Many warrants, wanted, and reward signs were issued, but in the end, no one truly brought in Clyde Barrow. Barrow and Parker were ambushed and killed on May 23, 1934, on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The couple appeared in daylight in an automobile and were shot by a posse of four Texas officers.
To learn more and listen to a biography about this leading criminal of a man, go to;
http://www.biography.com/people/clyde-barrow-229532
http://www.biography.com/people/clyde-barrow-229532