William Todd (Bill) POWER

On 5 Oct 1892 in Coffeyville, Kansas, the Dalton Gang attempted a daring double bank robbery. During the robbery the townspeople took up arms and there was a shoot out with the gang. Oneof the gang members killed was Bill Power.

The following letter from Evelyn Henisley of the Montgomery County Genealogy Society to Bruce William Power, Jr, dated Sep 1999, details this further:

"Bodies of Gratton, Robert Dalton, and William Powers are buried in Elmwood Cemetery in the extreme east part. They were not allowed to have a stone so instead a long piece of pipe was laid across the three graves. In 1935 Emmett Dalton had a stone brought in from out of town and all three names were put on it.

The day of the Dalton bank hold up was said to be the day that John Callahan was in town collecting the effects of the late Bill Power. He was to sell them and apply the money to the payment of funeral expenses. One shot killed Power and I think Callahan was a lawyer. None of the family came to the funeral.

Nancy Samuelson has traced the Daltons and others. One book, the "Dalton Gang Story" details this on page 100.

Bill's mother died when he was young and his father married a woman named Mary. Mary was not kind to her step-children and both Bill and another brother left home at age 13 because of theway their step-mother treated them.

Bill reportedly filed on land in the area known as Cowboy Flats in Oklahoma in May 1891 but sold it in December of that year.

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