FRONTIERADO IS COMING UP ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 3rd!
As always, Frontierado is a holiday dedicated to the myth of the old west, not the grinding reality. Here is a look at a handful of ladies who served as gunslinging Marshals.
ADA CURNUTT
Around 1889 or 1890 Ada Curnutt moved to Oklahoma (formerly Indian Territory) with her sister and her brother-in-law. By some accounts Ada chose to head west to get out from under the influence of her Methodist Minister father and equally devout mother.
When she was 20 years old, Curnutt started working as a Clerk of the Court in Norman, OK. Finding a desk job too dull for her, Ada soon became a Deputy Marshal for United States Marshal William Grimes. Her duties included serving writs and warrants, escorting dangerous prisoners from one jurisdiction to another and, of course, making arrests.
In 1893 alone, Marshal Curnutt arrested at least 19 criminals wanted for various offenses. In December of that same year the gunslinging heroine traveled to Oklahoma City and dramatically got the drop on a pair of outlaws in the Black & Roger Saloon in front of a large, admiring crowd. Continue reading
Balladeer's Blog 