OK OK - Nimrod Johnson Miller: Texas Sheriff, 37, Indian Territory, 1 Sept 1881

Here is a case from the Old West...

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Nimrod Johnson Miller
Missing since September 1, 1881 from Oklahoma
Classification: Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: circa 1844
Age at Time of Disappearance: 37 years old

Circumstances of Disappearance
Miller was last seen in Indian Territory, modern day Oklahoma on September 1, 1881. He was working for the Burnet County Sheriff's Department in Texas.

Sheriff Miller was shot with an arrow and beaten by several suspects while en route to Indian Territory (modern day Oklahoma) to arrest a suspect. Sheriff Miller's body was never found. What happened to Sheriff Miller was learned when a prisoner in Fort Smith, Arkansas, confessed that he witnessed the murder.

Sheriff Miller had been with the agency for four years and was survived by his wife and seven children.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Burnet County Sheriff's Department
512-756-8080

Source Information:
Officer Down

The Doe Network: Case File 2343DMOK

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2343dmok.html

Here is an age progression to age 162.

Shoot! I was all set to laugh but the attachment wouldn't come up.

Dr. Doogie said:

Here is an age progression to age 162.

Click to expand...

LOL. I'll have to see if this is the same person whose profile I posted before.

Bumping for Nimrod. Missing but not forgotten.

I've been trying to find a news article on him but then I realized it was a lot different back then, especially since he wasn't in a recognized state at the time of his disappearance/murder. No newspapers probably even mentioned anything, if any were even around the area. It's really amazing IMO that we even know about him to be completely honest.

oh oh oh there's a picture of him here!!!

http://www.odmp.org/officer/16732-sheriff-nimrod-johnson-miller

ETA: he looks much older than 37. I can't imagine how hard life was back then.

ETA2: bigger image here, showing more of his outfit. http://www.oklemem.com/images/Miller%20Nimrod%20J.jpg

Found more details and names of some of the people involved.

"In late August of 1881 Sheriff Miller, 37, left Burnet County, Texas for Pauls Valley in the Indian Territory (I.T.) in search of a man named W. P. Brown who was wanted for a murder that occurred in Burnet County in February 1876. Sheriff Miller was last seen on September 1, 1881, in Dennison and Sherman, Texas area headed to the Indian Territory. Shortly after that reports of his death in the Indian Territory were received but his body and the circumstances of his death were never found. In August of 1882, there was an unsubstantiated report of a man named Sam Paul, who was in the Ft. Smith jail, stating that he witnessed the killing of a Sheriff Miller in Chickasaw County (I.T.) by a Sam S. Wood. Sheriff Miller was survived by his wife Pollie and seven children."

http://www.oklemem.com/Agencies/Texas,%20State%20of.htm

Here's a petition he signed. Read it - gives a glimpse into why he looks twice his age and so worried in his picture. Horrifying.

http://www.bourlandcivilwar.com/1864Petitioners.htm

Some interesting info on the witness.

Witness' son killed him at one point, then the son's cousin killed the son. Then the cousin was found dead on railroad tracks.

Witness was actually part of an Indian police force and was a candidate for governor at some point. The place where the Sheriff disappeared was named after the witness' father. (Paul's Valley - named after Smith Paul, witness' father). Hope this isn't too long of a snip:

"As a member of the Lighthorse, Sam Paul had arrested a young non-Indian on suspicion of harboring horse thieves. While on the way to jail, the prisoner took off and Sam shot and killed him. Some say that Sam Paul and three other policemen took the prisoner back in the bushes and were attempting to compel to the prisoner to talk when the prisoner was shot. Judge Isaac Charles Parker, U.S. District Judge presiding over the Western District of Arkansas, known as the “Hanging Judge” (see the movies “Hang ‘Em High” and “True Grit&#8221, had warned the Territorial Marshals about the number of prisoners being held on minor charges who were shot while trying to escape. Sam Paul was convicted for the murder of the young prisoner and sentenced to federal prison in Detroit. [13] The information given by Sam Paul regarding Sheriff Miller was provided in an attempt to obtain leniency from Judge Parker. In 1884, U.S. President Chester A. Arthur granted Sam Paul a full pardon (he had served two years in the penitentiary). Sam Paul, however, lived to only 44 years of age, as his own son, Joe Paul, murdered him in December 1891. [14] Joe and Sam had been in an open feud for a number of years and there had been several shoot outs between the two. In a December 1890 confrontation, Sam fired six times at his son and wounded him twice. The son returned fire and hit his father once. Sam Paul was arrested but released at the time of the 1890 shooting. [15] Three years after Joe Paul murdered his father, a cousin killed Joe at the same restaurant where Joe killed Sam Paul. Two years after Joe’s murder, the cousin was found dead on the railroad tracks. Sam Paul had served in the Chickasaw House of Representatives and Senate, and was a candidate for Governor of the Territory of Oklahoma in 1890."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Gareth_Bahlmann

Claudette said:

Some interesting info on the witness.

Sam Paul, however, lived to only 44 years of age, as his own son, Joe Paul, murdered him in December 1891. [14] Joe and Sam had been in an open feud for a number of years and there had been several shoot outs between the two. In a December 1890 confrontation, Sam fired six times at his son and wounded him twice. The son returned fire and hit his father once. Sam Paul was arrested but released at the time of the 1890 shooting. ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Gareth_Bahlmann

Click to expand...

Makes you wonder if Sam was actually able to witness anything correctly. Sounds more like he made up the story in order to save his own skin. He obviously wasn't much of a shot from what is said about his several shoot-outs with his son. So, Sam probably DID shoot his prisoner at close range - if he had been running away, the chances of Sam hitting a moving target would have been slim.

If Nimrod had faced this Sam Paul character in a shoot-out, Sam (not Nimrod) would have come out on the short end of the deal. And Sam likely would have known that - thus the story that he only "witnessed" the killing of Nimrod. He may, however, have been involved in the murder. He seems to have been mixed up in just about everything else.

Richard - agree with you 100%. It looks like it is just another murder out in the old west, probably killed by the indians in the territory and taken away. Wonder why this one is remembered to this day (with a picture even) as opposed to so many thousands of others?

Just saw the thread on Nimrod and Sam Paul. Sam Paul is my husband's g,g grandfather. We have copies of his trial records from Forth Smith. He was trying to save his own skin, but he also would have been a very good witness for the Nimrod case. Sam Paul was a truly amazing character. You can read about the life of Sam Paul in our book "Shadow of an Indian Star".

cbpaul said:

Just saw the thread on Nimrod and Sam Paul. Sam Paul is my husband's g,g grandfather. We have copies of his trial records from Forth Smith. He was trying to save his own skin, but he also would have been a very good witness for the Nimrod case. Sam Paul was a truly amazing character. You can read about the life of Sam Paul in our book "Shadow of an Indian Star".

Click to expand...

Welcome to websleuths, cbpaul.

I would like to hear more about your ancestor and his times. Most of the cases here do not go so far back in time, as has been mentioned, but it would be great to learn more about these old ones.

Yes it would be wonderful to hear your side of his story! Thanks so much for stopping by! It was definitely a "do what ya gotta do to survive" kind of time.

Saw True Grit recently and thought of Nimrod. Took place at the same time, had a Texas Ranger and they went into indian territory. 1881 really wasn't that long ago.

Bumping for Nimrod...

Nimrod seems a pretty good name for a lawman - the Hunter.

Sheriff Nimrod Johnson Miller

Burnet County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch Thursday, September 1, 1881

NIMROD JOHNSON MILLER

Sheriff Miller was shot with an arrow and beaten by several suspects while en route to Indian Territory (modern day Oklahoma) to arrest a suspect. Sheriff Miller's body was never found. Details of his demise were not learned until a prisoner in Fort Smith, Arkansas, confessed that he witnessed the murder.

Sheriff Miller had served with the agency for 4 years. He was survived by his wife and seven children.

BIO

• Age 37
• Tour 4 years
• Badge Not available

INCIDENT DETAILS

• Cause Assault
• Location Oklahoma
• Weapon Edged weapon; Bow and arrow
• Offender Not available

LINK:
Sheriff Nimrod Johnson Miller

Here is the book mentioned in an earlier post. I don't know if Nimrod Johnson is mentioned in it.



LINK: