Indian Territory (Oklahoma) was a violent place in the late 1800s. Crime increased dramatically after the Civil War, and because law enforcement in Indian Territory was close to nonexistent (the Indian Nations police force had no jurisdiction over crimes committed in other states), outlaws flocked to the area seeking both criminal opportunity and a safe haven from arrest and prosecution. In other words, outlaws did as they pleased with little chance of retribution unless it was the unofficial kind.
The U. S. Court for the Western District of Arkansas, located in Fort Smith, on the border of Indian Territory was the only court with jurisdiction over the area, which covered 74,000 square miles. Little was done to police the lawless territory until Isaac Parker was appointed judge for the Western District of Arkansas in 1875 and decided to clean up Indian Territory. He appointed 200 U.S. Deputy Marshals to
hunt down and arrest wanted criminals and to help bring law and order to the area. Several of these deputy marshals were women.
Ada Curnutt, the daughter of a Methodist minister, moved to Oklahoma Territory with her sister and brother-in-law around 1890 at the age of 20. She became the Clerk of the District Court in Norman and then a Deputy Marshal under U.S. Marshal William Grimes. Her duties as a Deputy Marshal included serving warrants, escorting prisoners and making arrests.
In 1893, she received a telegram from Marshal Grimes telling her to send a deputy to Oklahoma City to arrest two known “toughs” who were wanted for forgery. No deputies were available, so Ada took matters into her own hands and boarded a train to Oklahoma City. She tracked the fugitives to the Black & Rogers Saloon, then sent in a message that a lady wanted to see them outside. When the men exited the saloon, she attempted to arrest them, without aid of a weapon. The armed men thought it was a joke, and allowed her to handcuff them, but once they realized she was serious, they attempted to resist. Ada told the criminals that she’d deputize every man in the growing crowd to help subdue them if need be. Not long after, 24 year-old Ada escorted the men to the train and transported them back to Norman, where they were convicted. In 1893 alone, Ada made 19 arrests. When she wasn’t working as a Deputy Marshal, she enjoyed painting china.
To learn about another early female Deputy Marshal serving in Indian Territory, check out Winnie Grigg’s excellent 2019 post on F. M. Miller by clicking here.
Jeannie Watt raises cattle in Montana and loves all things western. When she's not writing, Jeannie enjoys sewing, making mosaic mirrors, riding her horses and buying hay. Lots and lots of hay.
Amazing story. I wasn’t aware of any women deputy Marshalls. She was courageous and quite inspiring in a profession among men in the 1800s. Thanks for sharing.
I agree, Julie—she was very brave.
I agree, Julie. She was very brave and inspiring.
Incredible. Brave and courageous.
Yes, Denise. I try to imagine doing what she did, and don’t know if I’d have it in me.
Wow! I wasn’t aware of any real female deputies before reading these two posts, and I’m impressed by their grit and pluck! I would have loved to meet them (on the right side of the law, of course)!
Grit and pluck are perfect descriptors of these women, Ami.
Yes!
Wow! Very interesting! On both posts! And to arrest them without a weapon! That is brave!
She was very quick thinking for sure. I can’t believe she didn’t have a weapon.
Never underestimate the determination of a woman!
Well said, Rhonda! 🙂
Yes she had nerves of steel! I am sure that I would not be that brave!
I agree, Teresa. Don’t know if I could face down two armed men.
This is so fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome, Kathleen.
Wow! I did not know there were female deputies. She had a lot of guts.
She certainly did, Anna.
Quite interesting! I knew there were women involved, but not any particulars about the women. They were definitely trail-blazers.
Yes, they were definitely brave and paved the way for the women who followed.
This is an interesting story.
I agree. I smiled when I read it. Such a gutsy woman.
Thank you for sharing this story. It was very interesting. I had no idea there were any female deputy marshals.
I knew that there were some, but not that they were so gutsy in their role as Marshals.
This was fascinating! I didn’t realize there were any women who worked as US Marshal’s.
I gather from my research that Oklahoma hired several women as Marshals. It was definitely not the norm.
I enjoy these stories. These women are amazing.
Indeed they were!
What a fabulous story! I love learning about women doing amazing things. She sounds like a brave, clever woman. Love it!
Totally…kind of like our heroines. 🙂
I didn’t know there were women marshals. I found this very interesting.
I did, too, Linda. I’m doing more research, because this topic sucked me in.
Thank you for sharing this!
You’re welcome, Emily. 🙂
I absolutely love to read about history, especially in snippets like your writing. Picking up a whole book about one person is more than I would want to do. Women have been doing spectacularly things for some times and it is very heart warming to read about them, especially here. Thank you, Winnie. These women were not familiar to me and I enjoyed reading about each of them. There are lots of women with the fortitude to seek dangerous professions and they are successful. I am not one of them.
Thank you, Judy. It was fun researching this subject.
I grew up 18 miles from Judge Parker’s courtroom, and I’ve heard stories about it all my life, but I never knew there were female marshals! Even the books I’ve read about it don’t mention them. This is wonderful information!
How cool, Kim. I did some reading on Isaac Parker. He sounds like a fascinating man.
Wow!! Awesome woman… The West was very wild back in those days. Sounds like she had a lot of courage & determination to get those bad men into jail.
She was so impressive. Women then put up with so much and then to be a Marshal on top of it–amazing.
Wow this is so interesting , I had no idea. And how brave of them. Thank you for sharing this. I enjoyed reading it.
It was fun to research, too!
Thanks for sharing Love this
You’re very welcome, Sarah!
Good for her!!! So interesting!! Women didn’t just sit home and have babies!!
Right you are, Trudy!
That’s an awesome story and something else I didn’t know. I learn more and more from this blog. Love it. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much, Nicole!
It is interesting that several women were appointed as U. S. Marshals. I wonder if it was intentional to use women or just an inability to attract enough men to the job. Since men didn’t take women seriously as a person of authority or danger, it seems to have proved advantageous as in the example given above. One has to wonder how many other times outlaws underestimated the ability of the women marshals. Thank you for an interesting post.
I bet the women were often underestimated, Patricia. I read that Oklahoma hired on the basis of availability. They also had Bass Reeves around that time, the former slave turned lawman. Truly a fascinating chapter in law enforcement.