Type of Officer: City Marshal
Jurisdiction: Baxter Springs
County: Cherokee
Death Date: 11/7/1870
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death: Gunshot
A “fallen woman” by the name of Nellie Starr, who is listed in the Cherokee County census as operating a brothel, became involved in an argument with two Texas cattle drovers at the Wiggins House Hotel. She fired a pistol at one of the men. Marshal Seaman attempted to arrest Starr, but several more shots were fired and one of the Texans shot the marshal. Before Seaman died, he seriously wounded one of the suspects. During the shooting, the owner of the Wiggins House was wounded and the hotel caught on fire. Marshal C. M. Taylor was appointed by Mayor J. R. Boyd to succeed Seaman. On June 29, 1872, Mayor Boyd shot and killed Marshal Taylor in a dispute.
Panel: 29