Bill Doolin was a famous gunslinger, American outlaw, and founder of the Wild Bunch, sometimes known as the Doolin-Dalton Gang. He was a criminal during the time of Jesse James and other infamous Wild West personalities.
Like the earlier Dalton Gang alone, it specialized in robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches in Arkansas, Kansas, Indiana, and Oklahoma during the 1890s.
Also Read: 30 Famous Outlaws of the Wild West
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Doolin was born in Johnson County, Arkansas, in 1858. He worked as a cowboy and a farmer before turning to a life of crime.
In 1891, he joined the Dalton Gang, and he avoided the gang's infamous Coffeyville, Kansas, bank robbery in 1892. If he had been at the robbery, it is possible he would have been killed much earlier.
After the Coffeyville robbery, Doolin formed his own gang, the Wild Bunch. The gang robbed banks, trains, and stagecoaches throughout the Midwest.
They were eventually tracked down by lawmen and killed in a shootout in Lawson, Oklahoma, in 1896.
Family Overview
Bill Doolin's family is a bit of a mystery.
His father was married twice and, prior to Bill's birth, had seven children. He would have been born just prior to the Civil War, and his dad only lived another seven years.
The South was destitute after the Civil War, and the family his father left behind would have had a hard time providing. They were sharecroppers.
His mother had a daughter but never remarried.
He had many half-siblings, but they were older than him, and some would have been out of the house before he came along.
He secretly married and had a son but was killed before his son was 4 years of age. His son would take his stepdad's name.
Family Tree Chart
Parents:
Michael Doolin (1808 - 1865) - He was born in Kentucky and eventually moved to Arkansas. He and his wife had 7 children.
Artemina Bellar (1820 - unknown) - there is little known of her. She was the second wife of Michael and inherited many children. She and her husband had two children together.
Spouse:
Edith Maria Ellsworth (1871 - 1928) - She and Bill had one son together. She and Bill were married in secret, and she seemed to always support him. After his death, she remarried.
Children:
Jay Doolin Meek (1894 - 1980) - He was raised by his stepdad at the age of 3 and lived many years in peace with everyone. He married and had children that carried on his line.
Siblings:
There is little known about Doolin's half-siblings.
Margaret Doolin (1830 - unknown) - There is little known of her.
Barton Doolin (1832 - unknown) - Nothing is known of him.
Melinda B. Doolin (1834 - 1892) - She lived until she was 58 years of age. It is not known if she married and had children.
Jamima Doolin (1840 - Unknown) - There is nothing known of her
Tellitha Ann. Doolin (1841 - Unknown) - There is nothing known of her
John Doolin (1845 - unknown) - There is nothing known of him
Mary Doolin (1848 - unknown) - There is nothing known of her
Tennessee Evelyn Doolin (1862 - 1918) - She was the youngest biological sister of Bill Doolin. She married and had one child.