In an earlier post, I theorized that Jack Pope of Red River County, Texas had murdered Lewis Dorer years before he cold-bloodedly murdered his wife, child, and in-laws near Haworth, Oklahoma.
Newspaper clippings spelled Dorer's name various ways: Doer, Dover, Lover. My best guess at the time was that the victim was Lewis Dorer. I did not get very far with newspaper clippings in terms of finding out what happened between Dorer and Pope although I did learn that Jack Pope was convicted of man-slaughter and sentenced to a two-year prison term in 1900.
Later, I heard that Lilbon Thomas Moore, who lived in the Henrietta community of Red River County, had recounted the story of Lewis Dorer's murder.
In 1985, L.T. Moore wrote out his memoir by hand, which was then transcribed by a family member. It was printed and bound in a small run of copies and distributed to family members. Last year, one of his family members kindly printed a copy for me.
I am going to let L.T. Moore tell the story of Lewis Dorer's murder, and then add my own comments at the end. Click on the images to enlarge them.
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The victim, Lewis Dorer, was the brother of Alfred Dorer, who was a large landowner in the Henrietta community. Alfred was considered very well-to-do by his neighbors. It is not surprising that Lewis owned a sawmill in the area.
To illustrate how small and tight this little community was, Alfred Dorer had married Luetishie "Tish" Chapman, who was my grandfather Chapman's first cousin. The Dave Chapman who found Annie (McPeak) Pope after she had been burned was Tish (Chapman) Dorer's younger half-brother. Another place Dave Chapman ran for help was my grandparent's. My grandmother, Bertha (Brown) Chapman nursed Annie (McPeak) Pope through the three days she lived after the accident. During that time Annie begged my grandparents to take her baby and raise it. They refused, and my mother said it was because they were newlyweds.
My grandparents had married in September 1920, and Annie Pope died a couple of months later in December, so it was true that they were newlyweds. However, my grandfather had worked for the Dorers when he first came to Red River County. He was surely aware that Jack Pope had murdered Alfred's brother. My grandfather was a very good judge of character, and my guess is that he did not want to take the baby and be permanently entangled with Jack Pope.
My grandfather, Bill Chapman, said the Pope baby stayed with the Jacksons just a short time. Jack Pope took the baby home, where it died.
The Old Home Place
Jack Pope Had Killed Before
The House That Compassion Built
To illustrate how small and tight this little community was, Alfred Dorer had married Luetishie "Tish" Chapman, who was my grandfather Chapman's first cousin. The Dave Chapman who found Annie (McPeak) Pope after she had been burned was Tish (Chapman) Dorer's younger half-brother. Another place Dave Chapman ran for help was my grandparent's. My grandmother, Bertha (Brown) Chapman nursed Annie (McPeak) Pope through the three days she lived after the accident. During that time Annie begged my grandparents to take her baby and raise it. They refused, and my mother said it was because they were newlyweds.
My grandparents had married in September 1920, and Annie Pope died a couple of months later in December, so it was true that they were newlyweds. However, my grandfather had worked for the Dorers when he first came to Red River County. He was surely aware that Jack Pope had murdered Alfred's brother. My grandfather was a very good judge of character, and my guess is that he did not want to take the baby and be permanently entangled with Jack Pope.
My grandfather, Bill Chapman, said the Pope baby stayed with the Jacksons just a short time. Jack Pope took the baby home, where it died.
The Old Home Place
Jack Pope Had Killed Before
The House That Compassion Built
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