On one adventure through the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area I tracked down the infamous Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow final resting places. Though they spent their final years together in life they rest in separate places beside family members.
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born October 1, 1910, in Rowena, Texas, and passed May 23, 1934. Her Father was a bricklayer who died when she was four years old. Her widowed mother Emma Krause Parker (1855-1944) survived Bonnie and is buried beside Bonnie in the Arlington, Texas cemetery. Parker was buried in the Fishtrap Cemetery, although her body was moved in 1945 to the new Crown Hill Cemetery in Arlington.
Bonnie as an adult wrote poetry mostly related to her life of crime. She was scared dramatically following a car crash during a high-speed escape where battery acid took the flesh down to the bone on her right leg.
Clyde Chester Champion Barrow was born in a poor farming community southeast of Dallas, Texas March 24, 1909, and passed May 23, 1934. He was buried in Western Heights Cemetery in Dallas, next to his brother Marvin. The Barrow brothers share a single granite marker with their names on it and an epitaph selected by Clyde: "Gone but not forgotten."
Clyde met 19-year-old Bonnie through a mutual friend in January 1930, and they spent much time together during the following weeks. Several accounts describe Parker and Barrow's first meeting. One of the more credible versions is that they met on January 5, 1930, at the home of Barrow's friend, Clarence Clay, in West Dallas. Barrow was 20 years old, and Parker was 19. Parker was out of work and staying with a female friend to assist her during her recovery from a broken arm. Barrow dropped by the girl's house while Parker was in the kitchen making hot chocolate.
Both were smitten immediately. Most historians believe that Parker joined Barrow because she had fallen in love with him. She remained his loyal companion as they carried out their many crimes and awaited the violent death that they viewed as inevitable.
While serving time in jail Barrow purposely had two of his toes amputated in late January 1932, either by another inmate or by himself. Because of this, he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. However, without his knowledge, Barrow's mother had already successfully petitioned for his release and he was set free six days after his intentional injury.
The duo were criminals active during the great depression and were known for their bank robberies, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural funeral homes. Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and were occasionally referred to as the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934.
Their rampage ranged from Texas as far north as Minnesota. By May 1934, Barrow had 16 warrants outstanding against him for multiple counts of robbery, auto theft, theft, escape, assault, and murder in four states.
They were ambushed by police and shot to death in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. It is believed they had murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians.
Bonnie and Clyde wished to be buried side by side, but the Parker family would not allow it. Her mother wanted to grant her final wish to be brought home, but the mobs surrounding the Parker house made that impossible. More than 20,000 attended Parker's funeral, and her family had difficulty reaching her gravesite.
The six men of the posse who shot and killed Bonnie and Clyde on the Louisiana road were each to receive a one-sixth share of the reward money. Dallas Sheriff Schmid had promised Hinton that this would total some $26,000, but most of the organizations that had pledged reward funds reneged on their pledges. In the end, each lawman earned $200.23 for his efforts and collected memorabilia. Mind you they spent months tracking the criminal gang.
In 1934 new federal statutes made bank robbery and kidnapping federal offenses.
The Arlington cemetery site where Parker rests beside her mother is handicap accessible, though the ground is uneven and can be challenging to locate. Barrow site is difficult to get to and would not be accessible to anyone in a wheelchair. However, ambulatory people may be able to reach it. There are uneven steps and ground to get to the site.
The entrance to the Arlington Cemetery where Bonnie rests can be challenging to locate.
These people grew up in challenging times in America during the great depression and chose to find funds at the expense of others. Barrow was a hardened criminal in and out of more than one jail/prison. They lived dangerously and have been idolized by many as a romantic couple living a romantic lifestyle.
This blog is meant as a historical note not an immortalization of criminals.
LINKS:
wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/bonnie-and-clyde