When embarking on genealogical research, people often joke or express hesitation about discovering horse thieves in their family trees. Tonight, I found mine. Although certainly not the first or only law-breaking relative that I have been aware of, this is my first horse thief.
David Laurence “Dave” Sutherland was born in 1876 in North Carolina, most likely in the Sutherland community of Ashe County, a son of Dan and Lucinda “Lou” Horton Sutherland. His maternal grandfather was Jack Horton, Watauga County’s second sheriff. Dave was a first cousin to my great-grandmother, Maggie Horton Henson, and therefore a first cousin thrice removed to me. He’s also more distantly related to me through shared Cornett and Wagner ancestors. In 1890, Uncle Dan and Aunt Lou and their children moved west to Idaho. By 1894, Uncle Dan had died, and Aunt Lou was living in Lewiston, Nez Perce County in 1900. She later remarried and lived in Pullman (1910) and Spokane (1920), Washington.
As for Cousin Dave, he was reportedly part of a horse thief ring, the other members being Solomon “Sol” Caldwell, Kit Carson Chitwood, Harry Noyes, Frank Lowe, and Will Phinney. In July 1900, this gang was said to have stolen 300 horses from a Nez Perce Indian by the name of Luke Billy and driven them to Elgin, Oregon, from which point they were shipped to market in Kansas. All the gang members were arrested in the fall of 1900 except for Dave and Chitwood. Chitwood was still at large when Dave was captured after resisting arrest and making an attempt on the life of Sheriff Michael Rock of Owyhee County. Sheriff Rock had been instructed to be on the lookout for Dave and Chitwood, and he located Dave at Chitwood’s brother’s ranch near Oreana. Dave attempted to shoot the sheriff with a rifle, but the sheriff overpowered him and took him into custody. Chitwood was also subsequently arrested in Memphis, Tennessee and taken back to Idaho.
When Sol Caldwell was tried in 1901, his co-defendants swore he had nothing to do with these horses and that it was Dave and Chitwood who had driven the horses to Elgin, where, they said, Chitwood claimed to have bought the horses from their owner. Upon his arrest, however, Dave testified against Caldwell, saying all six men (himself included) were equally guilty. Because he turned state’s evidence, Dave secured his release on horse thievery charges, but he was immediately re-arrested and taken to Owyhee County to stand trial for the assault charge.
On October 27, 1901, Dave pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to one year in the penitentiary. He was imprisoned in Owyhee County but was paroled by Idaho Governor Frank Hunt on July 7, 1902. I was fortunate to locate his prison and parole record as well as his “mugshot,” which I have posted here. The last trace of him was 1918 when he lived in Wonder, Nevada and worked as a teamster for the Nevada Wonder Mining Company. Today, Wonder is a ghost town, and Cousin Dave is seemingly a ghost as well. So far, I have found no further record of him, and the remainder of his life is a mystery to me…at least for now.
And that’s my “horse thief in the family tree” story.