Ann Ware Farmer Collection

Summary: Donor is the step grandchild of longtime law enforcement officer, Thomas W. Wren. Photographs and clippings came from his collection.

  • Photograph: Hanging in Decatur, Wise County, 18 February 1898. George Henry hung for the  murder of jailer George Coberly  at the Denton County jail, February 1897. 8 by 6 inches photo mounted on broken card mounting
  • Photograph: Fort Worth Police Department, 1921 group photograph. Bryant Studios. 6 by 4 inches
  • Photograph: T. W. Wren portrait. 3 7/8 by 5 inches mounted on card. Pasted below photo on card is a business card which has printed: T. W. Wren  Deputy Sheriff.  Written in ink on same card is: Came to Ft. Worth in 1887 on a cow pony.  Next to text "Deputy Sheriff" is hand written: 1896-1902 (image shown)
  • Photograph: Two lawmen in Tarrant County jail, one holding a rifle, one a pistol; cells behind them appear to be empty of prisoners, a bicycle seems to be in one cell. 4 7/8 by 3 7/8 inches mounted on a card, no photographer credited. On back is written in pencil: Jesse Rudd    L. H. Dillard   no date given, Dillard worked in sheriff's department 1901-1902

                          Deputy Sheriff Wren

  • Photograph: Two men and a boy with hunting dogs standing in a field near a farm house. 4 by 3 inches. Written on back: Dear Tom: This is almost equal to bird hunting. Plenty of wolves but hard to catch. Plover are just beginning to come in. Have killed but few yet. Come out and take a hunt with me. Yours, Hubbard  Addressed to: Mr. T.W. Wren 705 Bessie St. Ft. Worth, Texas - Postmarked Hermleigh, Texas April 28, 1908
  • Photograph: Tom W. Wren, 7 by 9 inches,  Fort Worth Star-Telegram photo, published in May 16, 1952 - Written on back in ink: Born Sept. 5, 1871  Passed Over July 9, 1957
  • Photograph: T. W. Wren home in Fort Worth, 2801 Dalford, built in 1925, 9 3/8 by 7 inches, no date, no photographer
  • Photograph: T. W. Wren home, 2801 Dalford, used as a Christmas greeting. 4 by 3 inches, 1947. Mr. and Mrs. Wren are seen standing on their porch, no photographer, date has been placed as 1947 by the donor
  • Photographs: Three snapshots of the Dalford Street house in the snow, no date, 3 by 3 inches
  • Photograph: Jim Miller lynching in Ada, Oklahoma, April 19, 1909. Picture shows Jim Miller, Joe Allen, D.B. Burrell, and Jesse West hung is stable near Ada jail. Jim Miller's body was later brought to Fort Worth and buried at Oakwood Cemetery
  • Newspaper clippings: "Old-time Deputy Has Memories of Violence, Killings in Early Days Here" May 16, 1952, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Mounted on back of same card: "Bowie Mob Moved to Storm House As Gunmen Hid in Secret Room" January 28, 1953 Fort Worth Star-Telegram; "Quiet Death of Man Stirs Memory of Saloon Shooting  44 Years Ago" November 10, 1952 - Written in ink on card: "I have the gun Walker Hargrove was killed with, Mrs. Wren"; J. W. Renfro, Former Police Chief, Recalls Blue Laws Test in 1911, May 23, 1956, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; "T. W. Wren, 86, Ex-Officer and Bus Firm Worker, Dies" Fort Worth Star-Telegram "Swung into Eternity" February 25, 1898, Wise County Messenger; "The Sheriff's Force Here 40 Years Ago" Fort Worth Star-Telegram; "20-Year-Old Stevens Case Remains Vivid in Memories by Blair Justice" February 22, 1953, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; "Disappearance of Mrs. Courtright, Widow of Slain Marshal, Cleared Up" May 3, 1953, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
  • Postcard: County Orphan Home near Fort Worth Texas
  • Postcard: New State National Bank Building, Fort Worth
  • Postcard: A Home on the Interurban near Fort Worth, Texas
  • Postcard: Fort Worth, Texas High School
  • Postcard: Steel Bridge over the Trinity River near Fort Worth, Texas
  • Postcard: Entrance to Trinity Park, Fort Worth, Texas (postmarked 1914)
  • Postcard: New Opera House, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Postcard: Greenwall's  Opera House, Fort Worth (postmarked 1914)
  • Postcard: Hunter with shotgun and two bird dogs
  • Booklet: Architectural publication for residences with floor plans
  • Letterhead: "T. W. Wren  Breeder of Fine Race Horses Owner Of the Celebrated Jule E.  Fort Worth, Texas - 1890s.