Strange Connections

Frank Hamer’s ties to an outlaw family.

Frank Hamer has gone down in history as one of the greatest lawmen of all time. But before he became a Texas Ranger, he had some different connections. In 1901, when he was 17, Hamer and his brother Harrison went to work on the Pecos Ranch in West Texas. The owner: family friend Green Berry Ketchum (left in photo). He was the older brother of outlaws Sam and Tom “Black Jack” Ketchum. The elder Ketchum didn’t participate in his brothers’ escapades—but they occasionally hid out on his property.