James Andrew Branstetter

James Andrew Branstetter

Interview of his Life and Accounts of the Past ~ Background Information by Shellie Merrell

The interview of James Andrew Branstetter is important because the information he gives has some Wagoner County roots. In the excerpt below from the OKGenWeb/Indian Pioneer Papers, Branstetter shares his account of The Killing of Dick and Zeak Crittenden in which Ed Reed, a Deputy US Marshall stationed in Wagoner, Indian Terriotry and son of Belle Starr, was killed after the deaths of the Crittenden men.

The Killing of Dick and Zeak Crittenden

I knew the Crittenden brothers for years, and Zeak and I were good friends. There were no ill feelings between Dick and I, but Zeak and I through circumstances, just became better friends and were closer together. I never did know just exactly the beginning of the trouble, or the cause that lead to the killing of Crittendens by Ed Reed, who was a deputy United States Marshal stationed at Wagoner, but there was bad blood between them for a long time. On the day of the killing the Crittendens were in Wagoner and Reed claimed the Crittenden brothers had made threats to kill him, or at least that was the evidence at the trial when he was exonerated of the killing. When the killing occurred, Zeak and Dick were riding down the street at Wagoner on their horses when Ed Reed stepped out of a store door and begin shooting, killing Zeak first and then Dick. There was quite a bit of ill feeling against Reed about the affair.

About two weeks later, after the killing of the Crittendens, Ed Reed was in Claremore and got into a difficulty with a man that ran a pool hall at that place, I can't recall the fellow's name, but Reed did not have his gun on him and he asked the fellow to wait there until he returned, and the supposition was he was going after his gun, and in just a few minutes he returned and as he walked into the door the fellow shot him, killing him instantly and was later acquitted of the killing.

Background information written by Shellie Merrell
For more on James Andrew Branstetter's interview, click here.

This page last updated on: 07 Sep 2016

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