Frank Parish was hung on Jan 14th 1864 for the crime of arson. He was one of five men who tried to burn down Virginia City, Montana in December 1863. He was hung on the same day as his four partners in the crime: Levi Boone Helm; Haze Lyons; George Lane AKA Club Foot Lane; and, Jack Gallager.
They were buried in Virginia City's Boot Hill cemetery, but their wooden Head Stones were removed in the 1930s to be placed in a local museum which was distroyed by fire.∼After a prospector struck pay dirt in 1863, Virginia City had become more a lawless gold camp than a city. The area turned to vigilance committees to protect themselves from thieves and killers roaming the area. The leader of the area "road agents" (criminals who often operated on stage routes in unsettled districts), Henry Plummer [10952198], was hanged on 10 January 1864. Five of his confederates, including Frank Parish, were hanged on 14 January. The local newspaper accounts of the time reference murders done by each of the men.
The idea (expressed in some flower messages) that they were hanged for confederate sympathies is untrue. Although Helm supposedly praised Jeff Davis with his dying words, Gallager was a union supporter, reportedly clad in his union cavalry overcoat at his hanging; the vigilance committee leadership also contained both a staunch confederate as well as an active abolitionist.
The wikipedia entry on Montana Vigilantes is a good starting point if you are interested in knowing more on this time, place, and people, and its Notes and Additional Reading sections can take you even deeper into the subject.∼Hanged by vigilantes.
Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, Montana) 26 Jan 1930, Page 17
They were buried in Virginia City's Boot Hill cemetery, but their wooden Head Stones were removed in the 1930s to be placed in a local museum which was distroyed by fire.∼After a prospector struck pay dirt in 1863, Virginia City had become more a lawless gold camp than a city. The area turned to vigilance committees to protect themselves from thieves and killers roaming the area. The leader of the area "road agents" (criminals who often operated on stage routes in unsettled districts), Henry Plummer [10952198], was hanged on 10 January 1864. Five of his confederates, including Frank Parish, were hanged on 14 January. The local newspaper accounts of the time reference murders done by each of the men.
The idea (expressed in some flower messages) that they were hanged for confederate sympathies is untrue. Although Helm supposedly praised Jeff Davis with his dying words, Gallager was a union supporter, reportedly clad in his union cavalry overcoat at his hanging; the vigilance committee leadership also contained both a staunch confederate as well as an active abolitionist.
The wikipedia entry on Montana Vigilantes is a good starting point if you are interested in knowing more on this time, place, and people, and its Notes and Additional Reading sections can take you even deeper into the subject.∼Hanged by vigilantes.
Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, Montana) 26 Jan 1930, Page 17
Frank Parish was hung on Jan 14th 1864 for the crime of arson. He was one of five men who tried to burn down Virginia City, Montana in December 1863. He was hung on the same day as his four partners in the crime: Levi Boone Helm; Haze Lyons; George Lane AKA Club Foot Lane; and, Jack Gallager.
They were buried in Virginia City's Boot Hill cemetery, but their wooden Head Stones were removed in the 1930s to be placed in a local museum which was distroyed by fire.∼After a prospector struck pay dirt in 1863, Virginia City had become more a lawless gold camp than a city. The area turned to vigilance committees to protect themselves from thieves and killers roaming the area. The leader of the area "road agents" (criminals who often operated on stage routes in unsettled districts), Henry Plummer [10952198], was hanged on 10 January 1864. Five of his confederates, including Frank Parish, were hanged on 14 January. The local newspaper accounts of the time reference murders done by each of the men.
The idea (expressed in some flower messages) that they were hanged for confederate sympathies is untrue. Although Helm supposedly praised Jeff Davis with his dying words, Gallager was a union supporter, reportedly clad in his union cavalry overcoat at his hanging; the vigilance committee leadership also contained both a staunch confederate as well as an active abolitionist.
The wikipedia entry on Montana Vigilantes is a good starting point if you are interested in knowing more on this time, place, and people, and its Notes and Additional Reading sections can take you even deeper into the subject.∼Hanged by vigilantes.
Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, Montana) 26 Jan 1930, Page 17
They were buried in Virginia City's Boot Hill cemetery, but their wooden Head Stones were removed in the 1930s to be placed in a local museum which was distroyed by fire.∼After a prospector struck pay dirt in 1863, Virginia City had become more a lawless gold camp than a city. The area turned to vigilance committees to protect themselves from thieves and killers roaming the area. The leader of the area "road agents" (criminals who often operated on stage routes in unsettled districts), Henry Plummer [10952198], was hanged on 10 January 1864. Five of his confederates, including Frank Parish, were hanged on 14 January. The local newspaper accounts of the time reference murders done by each of the men.
The idea (expressed in some flower messages) that they were hanged for confederate sympathies is untrue. Although Helm supposedly praised Jeff Davis with his dying words, Gallager was a union supporter, reportedly clad in his union cavalry overcoat at his hanging; the vigilance committee leadership also contained both a staunch confederate as well as an active abolitionist.
The wikipedia entry on Montana Vigilantes is a good starting point if you are interested in knowing more on this time, place, and people, and its Notes and Additional Reading sections can take you even deeper into the subject.∼Hanged by vigilantes.
Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, Montana) 26 Jan 1930, Page 17
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