Sheriff Marion Dekalb Wallace

Marion Dekalb Wallace

On Monday, December 17, 1888 prior to 2:00 p.m., Sheriff Marion D. Wallace and Deputy T. B. Collier went to the Denson farm to arrest Boone Marlow. The officers held a warrant for Boone Marlow charging him with the murder of James Wesley Holston in Wilbarger County, Texas. At the command of Deputy Collier to throw up his hands, Boone Marlow fired a shot from his Winchester rifle. The shot struck Sheriff Wallace below the heart, mortally wounding him. Boone Marlow escaped from the scene. Sheriff Wallace died from the bullet wound one week later on Monday, December 24, 1888.

The Texas Governor offered a $200 reward, dead or alive for Boone Marlow. The citizens of Young County added another $1,500 to the reward. In January of 1889, Boone Marlow was shot and killed on Hell Creek in Indian Territory. Three men brought Boone Marlow's body back to Graham where the reward was promptly paid.

Marion D. Wallace was elected sheriff of Young County on November 4, 1884, and re-elected on November 2, 1886 and November 6, 1888. He was survived by his wife, two sons, and four daughters. They are buried in Section 12, Oak Grove Cemetery, Graham, Texas.

The story of Boone Marlow and his four brothers has been chronicled in the book, "The Fighting Marlows: Men Who Wouldn't Be Lynched," by Glenn Shirley, and glamorized in the movie, "The Sons of Katie Elder," starring John Wayne.