Clyde Champion Barrow
Wanted by the Division of Investigation under the stolen-car law from May 1933; named in Identification Order No. 1227; killed with Bonnie Parker by officers near Sailes, Louisiana on 23 May 1934, as the FBI states.
- Died
- 1934-05-23
- Aliases
- Clyde Barrow, Roy Bailey, Jack Hale, Eldin Williams, Elvin Williams
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state. The photograph is a United States government work, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.
On the record
- February 1932 — The FBI history page says he was paroled and rejoined Bonnie Parker.
- 20 May 1933 — The FBI history page: the U.S. Commissioner at Dallas issued a warrant charging Barrow and Parker with interstate transportation of a stolen car. Identification Order No. 1227 gives the destination as Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
- 24 July 1933 — A Bureau report in the FBI Vault (Bonnie and Clyde Part 02) dates the raid on the camp near Dexter, Iowa to July 24, 1933 and says his brother "Marvin Barrow died from his wound." The FBI history page dates the Iowa shootout July 29, 1933.
- 16 January 1934 — Palmer v. State (Tex. Crim. App.) recites testimony that James Mullins, Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and Floyd Hamilton carried weapons to the Eastham farm "in Barrow's V-8 Ford coupe" before the break that day.
- 6 April 1934 — Methvin v. State: Henry Methvin was charged with killing Cal Campbell at Commerce, Oklahoma "while acting conjointly with Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker."
- 23 May 1934 — The FBI history page: shot to death with Bonnie Parker by officers in an ambush near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
- Undated — The National Archives holds federal files charging others with harboring Barrow and Parker (No. 8250) and charging Barrow, Parker and others with theft of weapons from a Texas National Guard armory (No. 8008).
Filed in the Public Enemies side section. This is not an organized-crime family page: the records here are federal fugitive, court and prison records.
No federal record opened for this archive gives his date of birth. The aliases are those printed on Identification Order No. 1227. The FBI’s list of killings it says he was suspected of is the Bureau’s summary, not a record of convictions.
Records
itemIdentification Order No. 1227: Bonnie Parker and Clyde Champion Barrow (21 May 1934)Division of Investigation wanted notice for Bonnie Parker and Clyde Champion Barrow under the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, dated two days before both were killed near Sailes, Louisiana. A copy is stored here.
itemClyde Barrow with William D. Jones (photograph published by the FBI)Snapshot of two men in suits against a rock face, captioned on the FBI's Bonnie and Clyde page "Clyde Barrow (left) with William D. Jones, one of the Barrow gang." A copy is stored here.
itemBonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow posed with a shotgun (photograph published by the FBI)Snapshot published by the FBI under the title "Bonnie and Clyde Horse Around With a Gun": a woman holds a shotgun toward a man in a hat. The FBI identifies them as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. A copy is stored here.itemBonnie and Clyde: FBI history pageThe FBI's history essay on Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker: the stolen-car evidence that gave the Bureau jurisdiction, the 20 May 1933 federal warrant, the January 1934 Eastham prison farm break, and the ambush near Sailes, Louisiana on 23 May 1934.
itemBureau report on the raid near Dexter, Iowa, 24 July 1933 (Vault, Bonnie and Clyde Part 02, pages 59 to 62)Kansas City office report in the FBI Vault's Bonnie and Clyde file: the gang's camp in woods near Dexter, Iowa, the attack "shortly after daybreak on Monday July 24, 1933," "Marvin Barrow died from his wound," and Blanche Barrow's account of the Joplin shooting. A copy of report page 9 is stored here.
itemLetter from SAC F. J. Blake, Dallas, to the Director, 29 August 1933: Browning automatic rifles recovered from the Barrow gangDallas Special Agent in Charge F. J. Blake reports that four Browning automatic rifles recovered from members of the Barrow gang had in part been traced to Government armories, and suggests the Division ask the War Department to protect armories.
itemBureau of Investigation report, 1 September 1933: Ordnance Division traces Colt .45 pistols and Browning automatic rifles taken from the Barrow gangForm No. 1 report by Dwight Brantley, Washington, D.C., listing by serial number the Colt .45 pistols and Browning automatic rifles the War Department says were stolen from Illinois and Oklahoma National Guard units.
itemLetter from J. Edgar Hoover to SAC Dallas, 8 September 1933: no Division recommendation to the War Department on armory theftsDirector Hoover answers the Dallas letter of 29 August, restating its suggestion that, since the Barrow brothers were armed with Browning automatic rifles stolen from National Guard units, the War Department be asked to protect armories, and says it would be inappropriate for the Division itself to make that recommendation.item8250: United States v. Mary Pitts, alias Mary O'Dare, et al. (harboring Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker)Federal criminal case file from the Northern District of Texas in which the defendants were charged with conspiring to harbor and conceal Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. 131 digitized pages; undated in the catalog.item8008: United States v. Raymond Hamilton, et al. (theft of weapons from a Texas National Guard armory)Federal criminal case file from the Northern District of Texas against Raymond Hamilton, Clyde C. Barrow, Bonnie Parker, Henry Methvin, Joe Palmer and Hilton Bybee, accused of stealing weapons from a Texas National Guard armory.itemMethvin v. State, 60 P.2d 1062, 60 Okla. Crim. 1 (Okla. Crim. App. 1936)Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals opinion in Henry Methvin's appeal from his conviction for the 6 April 1934 killing of Cal Campbell at Commerce, Ottawa County, "while acting conjointly with Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker." Conviction affirmed; death sentence modified to life.itemPalmer v. State, 81 S.W.2d 76, 128 Tex. Crim. 293 (Tex. Crim. App. 1934; on the merits 1935)Texas Court of Criminal Appeals opinion in Joe Palmer's appeal from his conviction for killing a guard during the 16 January 1934 break from the Eastham State Farm. The testimony it recites says Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and others brought weapons to the farm.