DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker in Coke County tells it, here's the story of Locklin Bartholomew Murray. Now that is a name that carries some weight. Locklin Bartholomew Murray.
Born June 17, 1849, in Jackson, Mississippi — and if you think that name alone didn't turn heads, just wait until you hear what he made of himself. Sometime in the early 1860s, the Murray family packed up and came to Texas. The boy came with them, and Texas, as it tends to do, got its hooks in deep.
He eventually married a woman named Susan Lucinda McSpadden — born in 1855 — and together they built something real. Seven children, all of them living to adulthood. That alone, in that era, is a story worth telling.
Around 1888, Locklin settled his family near Sanco, out in Yellow Wolf Valley, and he took up ranching. Now Yellow Wolf Valley is the kind of place that sounds like it's already halfway to legend, and Locklin Murray fit right in. But here's where the tale turns.
In 1894, the citizens of Coke County elected him sheriff and tax collector. Sheriff and tax collector — two jobs that, separately, will make a man plenty of enemies, and together will test every ounce of his character. Locklin Murray apparently had character to spare.
He held that position for four consecutive terms, all the way through 1902, and what he left behind wasn't just a badge on a shelf. He earned a reputation — the marker says it plainly — as an honest and efficient lawman. In a time and a place where that was not guaranteed, not even close, that reputation was everything.
Susan Lucinda passed in 1917. Locklin Bartholomew Murray followed on April 29, 1923. But out here in Yellow Wolf Valley, his name is still on the marker, and his reputation still rides ahead of him.
What the marker says
(June 17, 1849-April 29, 1923) Born in Jackson, Miss. Came to Texas with family in early 1860's. Married Susan Lucinda McSpadden (1855-1917), and had 7 children who lived to adulthood. Settled near Sanco, in Yellow Wolf Valley, about 1888, and began ranching. In 1894 he was elected sheriff and tax collector by Coke county citizens. He held the position for 4 consecutive terms, until 1902, earning a reputation as an honest and efficient lawman. Recorded - 1973