Wanted! For Bigamy J.W. Wilson, Alias Tug Wilson, Alias Edwards..

1916. A Well-Dressed Bigamist [Broadside]. [Criminals]. Wilson, J.W. Wanted! For Bigamy J.W. Wilson, Alias Tug Wilson, Alias Edwards, Alias Whitmore, Alias Groff. Walla Walla, WA: Allied Printing, [1916]. 10" x 7" (25.4 x 17.8 cm) broadside, text in single column below headline with inset photo of fugitive, signed in type by Sheriff [Robert Edward] Lee Barnes. Moderate toning, two faint horizontal fold lines, inkstamp "Received by Chief of Police Jul 17 1916" and pencil signature to upper right corner. A well-preserved item. $250. * Wilson, a "good dresser" with a "bullet hole scar between [his] eyes," was wanted for bigamy in Walla Walla, Washington. He was a member of the National Order of Cowboy Rangers, a fraternal benefit organization founded in Wyoming in 1914. According to newspaper articles about the case, a suspect named J.D. Whitmore was held in Billings, Montana, where he "refused to state definitely just how many wives he has." Whitmore managed to escape through the open window of a train car while being extradited to Washington. Our research suggests that he was never apprehended. "Alleged Bigamist Held at Billings," The Valley Tribune, May 11, 1916 (accessed online).