Laura Bullion

Most sources, as well as Bullion's grave marker, provide 1876 as the year of her birth;[5][6] 1873 is also mentioned as a possible year of her birth.[4] The exact day is not known.

In an arrest report dated November 6, 1901, her age is mentioned as 28 at the time of the arrest.[5] Provided the birth year of 1876 is correct, Bullion would have been 24 or 25 years of age at this time.

The death certificate states Bullion's age at death as 74, and her date of birth as October 4, 1887.[1] Provided the birth year of 1876 is correct, Bullion would have been 84 or 85 years of age at her death. The certificate is issued under the name Freda Bullion Lincoln, a false identity she assumed when she moved to Memphis, claiming to be the war widow of Maurice Lincoln and making herself about 10 years younger than she was.

Most sources, including Laura Bullion's death certificate, give Texas as her state of birth.[1][5]

Data found in the 1880 and 1900 census suggests Bullion might have been born on a farm in the Palarm Township near Conway in Faulkner County, Arkansas. The 1880 Federal Census of Population for Palarm Township shows the family of a Kentucky-born farmer named Henry Bullion, aged 42, living with his wife Martha, 40 years old, and four children, including a son Lewis, 4 years of age.[2]

The 1900 census documents a 23-year-old Laura Bullion, born October 1876 in Arkansas, who stated her occupation as "housekeeper" and who was living with her grandparents E.R. and Serena Byler, her aunt Mrs. Mary Allen, and her three children at the Byler homestead in the southwest portion of the Commissioner's Precinct Number 4 in Tom Green County, Texas.[3] Tom Green County borders Irion County, Bullion's assumed county of birth, in the north and east.

Other material claims Laura Bullion probably was born in Kentucky in 1873 and was raised in Texas.[4]

Members of the Wild Bunch nicknamed Laura Bullion "Della Rose", a name she came by after meeting Kid Curry's girlfriend Della Moore. Often, Bullion also was referred to as the "Rose of the Wild Bunch". When her boyfriend Ben Kilpatrick and she fled east to evade the law after a train robbery in 1901, the couple traveled under the names "Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Arnold".[7]

In an arrest report following the train robbery, dated November 6, 1901, Bullion's name is filed as "Della Rose" and her aliases are stated to be "Clara Hays" and "Laura Casey and [Laura] Bullion". The arrest report lists her profession as prostitute.[5] According to a New York Times article, she was "masquerading as 'Mrs. Nellie Rose' at the time of her arrest.[8] The same article also mentions the suspicion that she, "disguised as a boy", might have taken part in a train robbery in Montana. The paper cites Chief of Detectives Desmond: "I would'nt [sic] think helping to hold up a train was too much for her. She is cool, shows absolutely no fear, and in male attire would readily pass for a boy. She has a masculine face, and that would give her assurance in her disguise."[8] Instead of "Clara Hays", Bullion also used "Clare Hayes" or "Clara Hayes" as a version of her alias. Other assumed names she used at that time were "Desert Rose", "Wild Bunch Rose", and "Clara Casey".[7]

When Bullion turned up in Memphis in 1918, she used the names "Freda Lincoln", "Freda Bullion Lincoln", and "Mrs. Maurice Lincoln", claiming to be a war widow and her late husband had been Maurice Lincoln.[6] She also made herself 10 years younger, claiming to have been born in 1887.[1] On her grave marker at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis, Bullion's name is inscribed as "Freda Bullion Lincoln" and "Laura Bullion", her birth name. The epitaph "The Thorny Rose" refers to her nickname in the Wild Bunch.

Ben Kilpatrick (1900)

In the early 1890s, Bullion became involved romantically with Ben Kilpatrick after Carver began a relationship with a prostitute named Lillie Davis, whom he had met at Fannie Porter's brothel in San Antonio. As the gang robbed trains, Bullion supported them by selling stolen goods and making connections that could give the gang steady supplies and horses.

By 1901, Bullion again was involved romantically with Carver and had occasional involvement with other members of the gang. When Carver was killed by lawmen on April 1, 1901, Bullion became involved romantically with Kilpatrick again, and the two fled to Knoxville, Tennessee. Della Moore and Kid Curry met with them there, and the four stayed together for a number of months, until October, when Della Moore was arrested for passing money linked to one of the gang's robberies.

On about November 1, 1901, Ben Kilpatrick and Laura Bullion arrived in St. Louis by train, and checked into the Laclede Hotel using the aliases Mr. & Mrs. J.W. Rose. At 11:50 pm on Nov.5 (Tuesday ), Ben Kilpatrick was arrested at Josie Blakey's resort at 2005 Chestnut St. In his pocket, the authorities found a key to a room at the Laclede Hotel. On the morning of November 6, they entered the hotel lobby, where Laura Bullion was in the process of checking out with her luggage. In her valise, they discovered $8500 in unsigned banknotes taken in the Great Northern train robbery. Laura was arrested at 9:15 am[9] on federal charges for "forgery of signatures to banknotes."[8]

Curry escaped capture on December 13, 1901, killing two Knoxville policemen in the process. Both Bullion and Kilpatrick were convicted of robbery, with Bullion being sentenced to five years in prison and Kilpatrick receiving a 20-year sentence. She served three and a half years before being released in 1905. Kilpatrick was not released from prison until 1911.

Laura Bullion's residence in Memphis from 1927 to 1948 (2007)

In 1918, Bullion moved to Memphis, where she spent the remainder of her life working as a householder and seamstress, and later as a drapery maker, dressmaker, and interior designer.

In 1920, the Memphis City Directory lists Bullion as seamstress for the Jennings Furniture Co., with rooms at 221 Monroe Ave. From 1927 to 1948, she is listed as "householder" at 1374 Madison Ave. This is the only one of the buildings still in existence in 2007. In the 1930s, Bullion was listed as "drapery maker". Her occupation was upgraded to "interior decorator" in 1940. Her fortunes declined in the late 1940s. In 1950, Bullion moved to 1065 Walker Ave, with no profession listed. The following year, she moved to 3691 Southern Ave and in 1952 to 733 Decatur St. From 1953 to 1959, Bullion disappeared from the telephone book and is not listed in the city directory.

In 1959, Bullion was listed as living at 278 Cossitt Place.[6] She lived there until her death two years later.

Grave marker at the Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis (2007)

According to her obituary, Bullion died of heart disease at the Shelby County Hospital at 6:45 pm on December 2, 1961. The memorial service was held at 11:30 am on December 4. She is buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery.[6] Bullion was the last surviving member of the Wild Bunch gang.

Her grave marker reads:

Freda Bullion Lincoln

Laura Bullion

The Thorny Rose

1876 - 1961

Bullion's bronze grave marker has a decoration of embossed rose vines along the edges. The decoration and her epitaph "The Thorny Rose" refer to Bullion's nickname in the Wild Bunch.