 1849 - 1922 (73 years)
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| Name |
Thomas Thumb HARRIS |
| Born |
08 Jun 1849 |
Missouri  [1] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
18 Jul 1922 |
Elko, NV |
| Buried |
Elko, NV |
| Person ID |
I173 |
Wemple Family Ancestry |
| Last Modified |
13 Dec 2017 |
| Family |
Elizabeth Jane WEMPLE, b. 23 Apr 1856, Adrian, MI , d. 11 Oct 1942, Elko, NV (Age 86 years) |
| Married |
24 Dec 1873 |
Milford, CA by The Reverand William McIelland |
| Children |
| | 1. Cora Belle HARRIS, b. 16 Jun 1876, Boulder, CO , d. Sep 1953, Boise, ID (Age 77 years) |
| | 2. Joseph Crawford HARRIS, b. 01 May 1878, Fort Collins, CO , d. 01 Mar 1936, Elko, NV (Age 57 years) |
| | 3. Jessie Mae HARRIS, b. 21 Dec 1879, Fort Collins, CO , d. 08 Apr 1962, Elko, NV (Age 82 years) |
| | 4. Thomas Reay HARRIS, b. 15 Mar 1882, Reno, NV , d. 04 Oct 1936, Idaho Falls, ID (Age 54 years) |
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| Last Modified |
13 Dec 2017 |
| Family ID |
F46 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- Tom killed a man named Winters over a dice game in the Milford Hotel in 1874. A few days later, during a court hearing in Janesville he escaped by horseback and fled to Nevada. After spending a few hours with a sheepherder in Nevada, Tom pressed on and eventually arrived and settled near Pike's Peak in Bolder, Colorado. After a short time, he sent for his bride of only a few months. Tom's wife, Elizabeth or Libby for short, had no one to take her to Tom, so her brother, John, who was only 10* at the time, took her to him by horse and buggy. This trip was about 900 miles long and it took them several weeks to make the jaunt. The Harris' oldest child was born in Boulder.
A few years later, Tom and Libby moved onto Fort Collins where their two middle children were born. They stayed in Fort Collins until about 1881. At this time Tom and Libby were notified that if they returned home to Honey Lake Valley, Tom would in all probably be exonerated for the killing of Winters because it could be proven that the Grand Jury which Indited him was prejudiced.
While living in Fort Collins, Tom had a armed man come into a bar he owned. The man pulled a pistol on Tom and it is said that Tom grabbed the pistol by the barrel, jumped over the bar and disarmed the man without incident.
Tom and Libby did return to Honey Lake Valley where Tom was exonerated for the killing of Winters. They moved and settled for a short time in Reno, where their youngest child was born. A few years later, they again moved to Elko, Nevada where Tom first ranched and raised cattle. Several years later, he bought a hotel and bar in Elko, which he ran until retirement.
The escape itself is an interesting story. After a day long hearing, Tom was placed under arrest and was leaving the courtroom in the company of a deputy sheriff named Parks. Joseph C. Wemple got a couple of neighbors to feign a fight and during the fracas, Tom ran and jumped on Joseph's favorite horse, named Bally. Bally was an excellent horse and the pursuing officers couldn't keep up with him. Tom simply outran his pursuers and made a clean escape.
*As hard as it might be to believe that a 10 year old boy would make such a long trip with his 17 year old sister, this fact was verified by two completely different sources. First, the compilers brother, Donald, related this. He said that he had heard it from N's family. A few years later, Murray Wemple, grandson of John, told the compiler the same thing. Murray said that his other grandfather, David Raker, had told him the story of John taking Libby to Tom in Colorado when he was only 10. DRW
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| Sources |
- 1910 Elko County Census, per e-mail from Megan Harris to David Wemple dated 11/24/2002.
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