I always thought it was odd that Jack Pope decided that the solution to his problems was to slaughter his wife Lydia (Hansell) Pope, their baby, and members of her family. His motive was to collect insurance money.
But how does a man, who has known the personal tragedy of losing his first wife in a horrible tragedy and who was operating a small farm, become a man who cold-bloodedly wipes out most of a family? That has always bothered me. What is it that turns a man into a monster?
It turns out that Jack Pope had killed before in 1899. Papers across the state of Texas carried small notices about the crime:
There is little doubt that the Jack Pope of English, Texas who committed this crime is the same Jack Pope who murdered his wife in Oklahoma. It's hard to pin down an accurate surname for his victim. The papers variously report him as being Lewis Lover, Louis Dover, and Louis Dorer. My suspicion is that he was Louis Dorer.
At age 22, Jack Pope probably did not own any property yet. Eventually, he would own the Old Home Place. I know that the Old Home Place was just down the road a short distance from Alfred Dorer's farm. Alfred Dorer had married my grandfather Chapman's first cousin, Tish Chapman, daughter of John Thomas Chapman. Tish and Alfred married in Red River County, Texas on 17 October 1893. My grandfather moved to Red River County from Titus County to work for Tish Dorer when she was widowed, but that was after Alfred's death in 1912. I do not remember my grandfather ever talking about the killing of Louis Dorer.
Alfred Dorer was born in 1870, so he was much too young to have had a son old enough to have tangled with Jack Pope. However, Alfred Dorer had a brother named Louis Dorer, who would have been of the right age to have died in an encounter with Pope. There was also a Lewis Dorer who married A. F. Petty in Red River County on 11 December 1887. This Lewis is not found on the 1900 census in Red River County nor is his wife A. F. This, then, might be the Louis Dorer who was killed.
So far, no news items have turned up that reveal exactly who Louis Dorer was or what happened between him and Jack Pope. The Clarksville Times would have been expected to run a more detailed article, but if it did, it was not picked up by other papers. Most of The Clarksville Times from that period were burned.
Jack Pope was at home with his brother's family on the 1900 census because he had made bail.
Pope was received at the prison on 11 July 1900 with a sentence that was to run through 27 June 1902. Prisoner #19483 was 22 years old, 5'7", 134 lbs, dark complected with grey eyes and dark hair. He had a scar between his shoulder blades and one on the calf of his left leg. He had no marital relations and used tobacco. He was poorly educated with only four years of school, but he could read and write. He was born in Tennessee in 1878 and did not know the birthplaces of his parents. He had been employed as a laborer.
The record states he was incarcerated in Spiller although this is in the Huntsville records.
The prison record reveals that he had been convicted of manslaughter. That is why he received such a light sentence. He only served part of his sentence and was released early. He was pardoned by the governor on 22 December 1901 with full rights of citizenship restored, including the right to vote.
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