Cherokee Bill
| Crawford Goldsby | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
February 8, 1876 San Angelo, Texas, United States |
| Died | March 17, 1896 (aged 20) Fort Smith, Arkansas |
| Other names | Cherokee Bill "Gorilla" |
| Occupation | old west outlaw/robber |
| Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Parent(s) | George and Ellen (Beck) Goldsby |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
Crawford Goldsby (February 8, 1876 – March 17, 1896) was a 19th-century American outlaw, known by the alias Cherokee Bill. Responsible for the murders of eight men (including his brother-in-law), he and his gang terrorized the Indian Territory for over two years.
Goldsby was born to Sgt. George and Ellen (née Beck) Goldsby on February 8, 1876 at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas. Goldsby's father, George Goldsby, was a mulatto from Perry County, Alabama, a sergeant of the Tenth United States Cavalry, and a Buffalo Soldier. Goldsby's mother was a Cherokee freedman, with mixed African, Indian and white ancestry. Goldsby had one sister, Georgia, and two brothers, Luther and Clarence.
In a signed deposition on January 29, 1912, George Goldsby stated that he was born in Perry County, Alabama on February 22, 1843. His father was Thornton Goldsby of Selma, Alabama and his mother Hester King, a mulatto, who resided on her own place west of Summerfield Road between Selma and Marion, Alabama. George also stated that he had four brothers and two sisters by the same father and mother: Crawford, Abner, Joseph, Blevens, Mary, and Susie.
George served as a hired servant with a Confederate infantry regiment during the American Civil War. While serving at Gettysburg, he fled and went to Harrisburg, where he worked as a teamster in a Union quartermaster unit and subsequently enlisted as a white man in the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment under the name of George Goosby. (The spelling sometimes varied between Goosbey and Goosley).
After the Civil War ended, he returned to the Highland, Illinois. During his last visit, the word was out that he would be captured and lynched for fighting with the Union Army, after which time he departed the area for the Indian Territory.
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