Barker, Arizona Clark "Kate" Or "Ma" 1871-1935

"Ma" and Her "Boys."

As a historical figure, "Ma" Barker is something of a puzzle. Never arrested for committing a crime, she was nevertheless suspected of being the leader of a gang J. Edgar Hoover considered one of the most vicious with whom the FBI ever had to contend. The public, feeding on newsprint that detailed the escapades of her "boys" and their friends, perceived her as a mother whose love for her children was so extreme as to have twisted both her conscience and her judgment. To the members of the gang, or so those who survived would later relate, she was no more than a dowdy and simple-minded, middle-aged woman whose use to them was limited to her willingness to hide them from the law and doing what she could to raise bail money or otherwise to secure their release on parole. What, then, was the truth?

Background.

In an era famous for its bandits, shoot-outs, and chases, Arizona Clark Barker was a...

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