Ma Barker
| Kate Barker | |
|---|---|
Barker circa 1932.
|
|
| Born |
Arizona Donnie Clark October 8, 1873 Ash Grove, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 16, 1935 (aged 61) Ocklawaha, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Gunshot by federal law enforcement. |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Ma Barker Kate Barker Rita Ma Barker |
| Spouse(s) |
George Barker (m. 1892–1924) Arthur Dunlop (common law) |
| Children | Herman Barker (1893–1927) Lloyd Barker (1897–1949) Arthur Barker (1899–1939) Fred Barker (1901–1935) |
| Allegiance | Barker-Karpis gang |
Kate (Ma) Barker (née Clark; October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935) better known as Ma Barker, and sometimes as Arizona Barker, was the mother of several criminals who ran the Barker gang during the "public enemy era", when the exploits of gangs of criminals in the U.S. Midwest gripped the American people and press. She traveled with her sons during their criminal careers.
After Barker was killed during a shoot-out with the FBI, she gained a reputation as a ruthless crime matriarch who controlled and organized her sons' crimes. J. Edgar Hoover described her as "the most vicious, dangerous and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade". Ma Barker has been presented as a monstrous mother in films, songs and literature. However, those who knew her insisted she had no criminal role.
Born Arizona Clark in Ash Grove, Missouri, the daughter of John and Emaline (Parker) Clark, her family called her "Arrie". In 1892 she married George Barker, in Lawrence County, Missouri. The couple had four sons - Herman (1893–1927), Lloyd (1897–1949), Arthur (1899–1939) and Fred (1901–1935). The 1910 to 1930 censuses and the Tulsa City Directories from 1916 to 1928 show that George Barker worked in a variety of generally low-skilled jobs. From 1916 to 1919, he was at the Crystal Springs Water Co. In the 1920s, he was employed as a farmer, watchman, station engineer, and clerk. An FBI document describes him as "shiftless" and says the Barkers paid no attention to their sons' education. As a result, they were all "more or less illiterate".
Barker's sons committed crimes as early as 1910, when Herman Barker was arrested for highway robbery after running over a child in the getaway car. Over the next few years, Herman and his brothers Lloyd, Fred and Arthur were repeatedly involved in crimes of increasing seriousness, including robbery and murder. They were inducted into major crime by the Central Park gang. Herman died on August 29, 1927, in Wichita, Kansas, after a robbery and confrontation with police that left one officer dead. He shot the officer at point blank range in the mouth. He killed himself to avoid prosecution when he was seriously wounded after crashing his car. In 1928, Lloyd Barker was incarcerated in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, Arthur "Doc" Barker was in the Oklahoma State Prison, and Fred was in the Kansas State Prison.
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Wikipedia