A Devotion to Service

A teacher/town marshal gave his all for Coffeyville.

Charlie Connelly was a teacher in Coffeyville, Kansas in the early 1890s. Reports say he was beloved by all. In 1892, he was looking for extra work. So he became town marshal of Coffeyville—a job he planned to give up in November when he became the high school principal. That plan ended on the morning of October 5, when the Dalton Gang tried holding up two town banks. Connelly, armed with a borrowed rifle, came running at the sound of gunfire. He was killed by Grat Dalton as he got to the scene.