14 Facts About Bill Doolin

William Doolin was an American bandit outlaw and founder of the Wild Bunch, sometimes known as the Doolin-Dalton Gang.

Bill Doolin was born in 1858 in Johnson County, Arkansas, to Michael Bill Doolin and the former Artemina Beller.

Bill Doolin left home in 1881 to become a cowboy in Indian Territory, where he worked for cattleman Oscar Halsell, a Texas native.

Shortly thereafter, Bill Doolin became a member of the Dalton Gang.

In late 1892, Bill Doolin formed his own gang, the Wild Bunch.

Sources indicate that Bill Doolin gave bandit Jennie Stevens her nickname of Little Britches.

In March 1893, Bill Doolin married Edith Ellsworth in Ingalls, Oklahoma.

Bill Doolin shot and killed Deputy Marshal Richard Speed during that shootout.

In late 1894, gang member Bill Doolin Dalton was killed by US marshals.

Bill Doolin fled to New Mexico Territory, where he hid with outlaw Richard "Little Dick" West during the summer of 1895.

Bill Doolin is buried next to outlaw Elmer McCurdy, in the Boot Hill section of Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Bill Doolin was permanently crippled, but sent to the Ohio Penitentiary near Columbus.

Bill Doolin was released for poor health in 1892 and returned to western Oklahoma where he married his girlfriend, Blanch Whitenack on Nov19,1902 in Taloga, Oklahoma.

Bill Doolin died an early, natural death in about 1910.