hmtl5 Robert Boyd Stamper b. 26 Oct 1898 Powell County, Kentucky d. 6 Jul 1934 Wolfe County, Kentucky: Robinson Genealogy
Robert Boyd Stamper

Robert Boyd Stamper

Male 1898 - 1934  (35 years)

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  • Name Robert Boyd Stamper 
    Born 26 Oct 1898  Powell County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Occupation merchant  [1
    _MILT KENTUCKY
    PVT. 1 CL., 149 INF
    38 DIV.
      [2
    Died 6 Jul 1934  Wolfe County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    • We found two death certificates for Robert Boyd Stamper. See documents below.

      The first death certificate has date of death July 6, 1934, age of deceased: 41. Name of father Will Stamper; mother maiden name Moore. Informant line is blank. Cause of death: Homicide. There's a stamp across which reads: QUERIED NO REPLY.

      The second death certificate has date of death June 29, 1934. Age of deceased 35 years, 8 months and 3 days. Name of father W.C. Stamper; mother, Martha Moore. Informant W. C. Stamper. Cause of death: gun shot wounds in chest and arms.
    Buried Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum, Middletown, Butler County, Ohio Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I97  Robinson
    Last Modified 6 Apr 2023 

    Father William Crit Stamper,   b. 27 Apr 1866, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 Jun 1937, Middletown, Butler County, Ohio Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 71 years) 
    Mother Martha E. Moore,   b. 6 Aug 1870, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Sep 1965, Oxford, Butler County, Ohio Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 95 years) 
    Married 1888  [3
    Family ID F35  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 26 Oct 1898 - Powell County, Kentucky Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 6 Jul 1934 - Wolfe County, Kentucky Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum, Middletown, Butler County, Ohio Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Photos
    Stamper, Robert Boyd
    Stamper, Robert Boyd
    Stamper family
    Stamper family

    Documents
    Robert B. Stamper death cert 1934
    Robert B. Stamper death cert 1934
    We found two death certificates for Robert Boyd Stamper.

    The first death certificate has date of death July 6, 1934, age of deceased: 41. Name of father Will Stamper; mother maiden name Moore. Informant line is blank. Cause of death: Homicide. There's a stamp across which reads: QUERIED NO REPLY.
    Robert B. Stamper death cert number 2
    Robert B. Stamper death cert number 2
    We found two death certificates for Robert Boyd Stamper.

    The second death certificate has date of death June 29, 1934. Age of deceased 35 years, 8 months and 3 days. Name of father W.C. Stamper; mother, Martha Moore. Informant W. C. Stamper. Cause of death: gun shot wounds in chest and arms.

  • Notes 
    • Pair Surrender for Slaying of Floyd Prisoner
      Campton Men Give Up and Are Said to Have Admitted Shooting
      Campton, Ky, June 30 – (AP) – John Clair and Arlie Hatton were held in the Wolfe county jail here today under charges of murder following their surrender to Sheriff Fred Stamper who said they made the simple statement they had killed R. Boyd Stamper, 40 years old, a prisoner who fell in a surprise rain of bullets in front of his home as he arrived in custody of Clark county officers for a visit to his two children.
      Sheriff Stamper said the men added nothing to the statement and that he told them he had no prerogative but to put them in jail. The sheriff later went to the home of Boyd Stamper, who is not a relation of his, and said he found the body “just full of bullet holes.” Asked how many shots had struck the man, Sheriff Stamper replied: “That would be hard to tell – he was simply riddled.”
      The sheriff was unable to say what had precipitated the trouble and did not know whether the two men and Boyd Stamper had ever harbored ill feeling. “I didn’t ask them anything much about it,” said the sheriff.
      The Park City Daily News, Bowling Green, Kentucky. Saturday, 30 June 1934, page 1.
      [4]
    • Campton Man is Victim of Hail of Lead
      R. Boyd Stamper, 40, is shot down on visit to children
      Two Jailed on Murder Charge
      Sheriff Fred Stamper is unable to learn reason, he asserts
      Campton, Ky., June 30 – (AP) – John Clair and Arlie Hatton were held in the Wolfe county jail here today under charges of murder following their surrender to Sheriff Fred Stamper who said they made the simple statement they had killed R. Boyd Stamper, 40, a prisoner who fell in a surprise rain of bullets in front of his home.
      Stamper had gone to his home, with Clark county officers, to visit his children, the sheriff said.
      His body was :simply riddled” with bullets, the sheriff said.
      He was unable to give any reason for the shooting.
      The Messenger, Madisonville, Kentucky. Saturday, 30 June 1934, page 1.
      [4]
    • Two Are Jailed In Slaying Case
      Clark County Prisoner Killed In Wolfe While Visiting Children
      Campton, Ky, June 30 – (AP) – John Clair and Arlie Hatton were held in the Wolfe county jail here today under charges of murder following their surrender to Sheriff Fred Stamper who said they made the simple statement they had killed R. Boyd Stamper, 40, a prisoner who fell in a surprise rain of bullets in front of his home as he arrived in custody of Clark county officers for a visit to his two children.
      Sheriff Stamper said the men added nothing to the statement and that he told them he had no prerogative but to put them in jail. The sheriff later went to the home of Boyd Stamper, who is not a relation of his, and said he found the body “just full of bullet holes.” Asked how many shots had struck the man, Sheriff Stamper replied: “That would be hard to tell – he was simply riddled.”
      The sheriff was unable to say what had precipitated the trouble and did not know whether the two men and Boyd Stamper had ever harbored ill feeling. “I didn’t ask them anything much about it,” said the sheriff.
      Jailer Omer Booth and Deputy Sheriff Goebel Rice, of Clark county, had taken Boyd Stamper, held in the Clark county jail to await trail in Breathitt county on a killing charge, into Wolfe county on an order of Circuit Judge J. Brack Howard, Royalton, to see the children and take them some fruit. The Clark officers were waiting in an automobile nearby when the shots rang out.
      Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington, Kentucky. Saturdy, 30 June 1934, page 1.
      [4]
    • Prisoner Reported Slain From Ambush
      Guards were taking man from Winchester to Wolfe county home.
      R.B. Stamper Victim
      Was on way to visit children: Accused in Breathitt Killing
      Special to the Courier-Journal
      Winchester, Ky. June 29. – Report of an ambush murder of a prisoner taken to his home in the mountains of Wolfe County by his jailer and a deputy sheriff on order of the Circuit Judge of the district, were brought back here tonight by Jailer Omer Booth of Clark County and Deputy Sheriff Coebel Rice. The two officers said they ran when the shooting started and did not return to verify a report brought to them that their charge was dead. R. B. Stamper, 40yars old, indicted in Breathitt County in a killing, is reported victim.
      According to Jailer Booth, Circuit Judge J. Brack Howard, Royalton, of the Thirty-sixth Judicial District, issued an order for him to take Stamper to his home in Wolfe County to visit his two children 5 and 7 years old. The officer said they left the Clark County jail here, where Stamper was brought for safekeeping on April 27, and drove to Slade, Powell County, thirty miles east of here.
      At Slade, the jailer said, he left his automobile and, with the prisoner and the deputy sheriff, proceeded in a car with Carol Maze, a nephew of Stamper. Leaving the main road, about fifteen miles further east, they drove five miles over a dirt mountain road to the place where Stamper’s children were staying.
      As Stamper stepped from the automobile, with a bag of fruit for his son, Mr. Booth said, several rifle
      (continued on page 6, column 5)
      Prisoner Reported Ambush Victim
      (continued from first page)
      shots were fired and Stamper dropped to the ground.
      Maze shouted “They have killed Boyd,” Booth reported, and all three of them ran, becoming separated. Booth said he rain down a creek and about a mile away came to a religious gathering. Asking some of the worshipers to go back with him to investigate, Booth reported they told him it would be best for him to stay away, as he didn’t know what he was getting into.
      An old man on a mule offered to investigate, Booth said, and rode up the hill toward the place where they shooting occurred. He came back twenty minutes later with the report that “Boyd Stamper is layin’ in front the house dead.”
      Booth said he hailed a rural mail carrier, passing on horseback, and rode on the horse with him to the highway, where he hailed a tourist and rode to Slade, where he found Maze and Rice. He said the mail carried told him, “I met a man on the road back there who said he had just killed Boyd Stamper. He was carrying a high-powered rifle and a pistol.” Booth said the mail carrier said he knew the man, but did not get his name.
      Mrs. Minnie Faulkner, who lives near the parents of Boyd Stamper at Slade, said she was told that two men went to Campton, county seat of Wolfe county, and surrendered in the case late today. No one in Campton could be reach by telephone to verify the report, however.
      The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky. Saturday, 30 June 1934, page 1.
      [4]
    • 2 Are Arrested After Prisoner Is Slain At His Home
      They admit guilt after mysterious shooting: Body riddled by bullets
      Campton, Ky, June 30 – (AP) – John Clair and Arlie Hatton were held in the Wolfe county jail here today under charges of murder following their surrender to Sheriff Fred Stamper who said they made the simple statement they had killed R. Boyd Stamper, 40 years old, a prisoner who fell in a surprise rain of bullets in front of his home as he arrived in custody of Clark county officers for a visit to his two children.
      Sheriff Stamper said the men added nothing to the statement and that he told them he had no prerogative but to put them in jail. The sheriff later went to the home of Boyd Stamper, who is not a relation of his, and said he found the body “just full of bullet holes.” Asked how many shots had struck the man, Sheriff Stamper replied: “That would be hard to tell – he was simply riddled.”
      The sheriff was unable to say what had precipitated the trouble and did not know whether the two men and Boyd Stamper had ever harbored ill feeling. “I didn’t ask them anything much about it,” said the sheriff.
      Jailer Omer Booth and Deputy Sheriff Goebel Rice, of Clark county, had taken Boyd Stamper, held in the Clark county jail to await trail in Breathitt county on a killing charge, into Wolfe county on an order of Circuit Judge J. Brack Howard, Royalton, to see the children and take them some fruit.
      The body was taken to a mortuary in Jackson, Ky., where it was said 28 bullet wounds from a shot gun and a high powered rifle were found. The shooting took place 12 miles south of Campton, at the home of Taylor Brewer, the slain man’s father-in-law. With Boyd Stamper and the two officers was Stamper’s nephew, Carl Maze of Slade, Ky. They left when Stamper was shot down as he entered the yard.
      Boyd Stamper was under a peace bond, and was awaiting trial for murder in the July term of Breathitt county circuit court.
      The murder charge was the outgrowth of the killing of Kelly Shackleford near Wilhurst, 15 miles from Jackson, last July, during a school election.
      The Paducah Sun-Democrat, Paducah, Kentucky. Sunday, 1 July 1934, page 3.
      [4]
    • Officers First Thought Stamper Killing ‘Faked’
      But later report states 28 bullet wounds found in body
      Special to the Leader
      Winchester, Ky., June 30 – a “hill country killin’,” so much like fantastic fiction that those who witnessed the tragedy could scarcely believe what they had seen, was reviewed today by official of Clark and Wolfe counties.
      R. Boyd Stamper, 40, under indictment on charges of murder in Breathitt county, and brought to the Clark county jail April 27 after failure to post a peace bond on another charge, was shot to death Friday afternoon in front of the home of his father-in-law, Taylor Brewer, 12 miles south of Campton, Wolfe county.
      Late Friday night, two Wolfe countians, John Clair, 43, and Arlie Hatton, 25, surrendered to Sheriff S.J. Stamper, and allegedly admitted they killed Stamper after they had warned him not to enter Brewer’s gate.
      Clark County Jailer Omer Booth and Deputy Sheriff Geobel Rice, on order of Circuit Judge J. Brack Howard, Royalton, had removed Stamper to Wolfe county Friday to visit the latter’s two sons, 5 and 7 years old, who reside at the Brewer home. The officers, with Stamper, drove to Slade, and continued the journey in the automobile of Carl Maze, nephew of Stamper.
      When they reached the Brewer home, five miles from the Jackson-Winchester highway, Stamper stepped from the automobile and started through the gate. A fusillade of shots fired from within the house, felled Stamper. Maze shouted, “They’ve killed Boyd!” and the trio ran from the scene as the firing continued. Jailer Booth, separated from the other two, made his way a half-mile down Holley creek to a religious meeting and informed the crowd Stamper had been shot.
      Booth was told not to return to the scene of the shooting if he knew what “was good” for him, and a volunteer mounted a mule and rode up the valley. He returned 20 minutes later and reported, “Yep, Boyd’s a layin’ up there in the gate dead.”
      A mail carrier, riding horse-back insisted that Booth ride his horse back to the main highway, two miles distant by a “short cut” over the mountain. The postman walked beside the mounted jailer on the return trip. Shortly after they left the fathering at the creek, the mail carrier said he had me the man who killed Stamper, quoting him as saying, “I just killed Boyd Stamper and I’m going in to give up.” Booth was warned “not to say anything to anybody around here about the shooting as it might cause trouble.”
      The mailman, carrying a 45-calibre pistol he used “to guard the government’s property,” hailed a passing motorist and requested that Booth be given a ride to Slade. Maze and Rice returned to Slade by bus. The two officers attempted to communicate with Wolfe county officers late Friday night, but efforts to determine whether Stamper was dead were futile early Saturday morning.
      The victim’s body, covered with 28 rifle and shotgun wounds, was taken to the J.R. Blake and Son funeral home in Jackson late Friday night by Stamper’s father, a Breathitt county farmer. Until today, officers here believed it possible that the shooting could have been “faked” to obtain Stamper’s release. Due to a heavy rain falling at the time, the three men with Stamper were unable to determine definitely where the shots came from, or whether Stamper had been hit.
      Stamper was to have been returned to Jackson next week for trial in the Breathitt circuit court on charges of murder.
      The victim and his wife were divorced years ago. Before leaving for Wolfe county Friday morning, Stamper stopped at a local grocery store and purchased some candy and fruit “for the kids.” The sack containing the gifts was found beside his body.
      Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington, Kentucky. Sunday, 1 July 1934, page 1.
      [4]
    • Two Are Held After Slaying
      John Clair and Arlie Hatton surrender to Wolfe County Sheriff following ambush killing
      No Motive Advanced
      Campton, Ky., June 20 (AP) – Following their surrender to Sheriff Fred Stamper today, John Clair and Arlie Hatton were being held in the Wolfe county jail here charged with murder. The sheriff said the pair told him they had killed R. Boyd Stamper, 40, a prisoner slain from ambush in front of the home of his father-in-law, Taylor Brewer, as he was going to visit his two children.
      Boyd Stamper who is not related to the sheriff, was in custody of Jailer Omer Booth and Deputy Sheriff Geobel Rice, of Clark county. He was awaiting trail for the alleged slaying of Kelly Shackelford in a school election fight last July.
      Sheriff Stamper was unable to give a motive for the shooting. He said he found the body “simply riddled with butter holes.”
      Booth said that as he and Rice left the car in front of the Stamper home a few miles from Slade, several shots rang out and Stamper fell. The officers and Carl Maze, Stamper’s nephew, fled to the woods, became separated, and later met at Slade.
      Unfamiliar with the country, Booth and Rice decided after their meeting in Slade that it would be futile to attempt to get back to investigate the shooting.
      Stamper was taken to Winchester in April facing an arson charge, in addition to the charge resulting from the shooting of Shackelford. He had also been under a peace bond.
      Lexington Herald, Lexington, Kentucky. Sunday, 1 July 1934, page 1.
      [4]
    • NOTE: This article does not mention R. Boyd Stamper in the murder of Kelly Shackelford.

      Six Are Slain In Blue Grass Voting Fights
      Three others wounded as guns bark at polling booths; probe under way
      Kentucky’s ever-ready election guns have blazed again, and as a result six men are dead, one is critically wounded and two others hurt less seriously, according to dispatches.
      Five of the six dead in a gun battle late Saturday at Prater Creek, near Prestonburg, Ky., in a crowded voting booth during a school trustee election. The sixth was slain in a gun fight at an election booth at Paxton, near Jackson, Ky., where a school trustees also was being elected.
      Those killed in the Prater Creek fight are: Wilburn con, 38; his uncle, Wayne Click, 40; Mimms Conn, 45, his son, Millard Conn, 21, and Green Conn, 62, father of Wilburn. Lawrence Conn, 23, another son of Green Conn, is in critical condition at a Prestonburg hospital, a bullet wound in his abdomen. Ike Conn, wounded in the side, and Hayden Howell, shot in the shoulder, were the two slightly wounded men.
      The shooting was classified as the worst shooting in Kentucky in recent years.
      Details Vague
      Ike Conn has been arrested by Sheriff B.L. Sturgill, pending further investigation of the shooting, details of which still are vague. Conflicting tales have been told Floyd-co authorities as to the cause of the conflict.
      A number of witnesses told officers the shooting followed an arguement in which followers of Sol Sammons, leading candidate for the school trustee post, contended it was time to close the voting booth, which supporters of Arnold Robinette, the other candidate, contended that two more minutes remained for casting ballots.
      Funs were pulled out suddenly and the shooting began, with participants ranged on both side of the table in the booth. More than 50 shots were fired during the battle, officers were told.
      Another version of the shooting was that it began when a man in the crowd surrounding the table snatched a tally list from the election official after the time had arrived for voting to stop.
      Two Killed On Spot
      Wilburn Conn and Wayne Click were killed instantly. Mimms and Millard Conn died a short time later in a hospital and Green Conn died late Sunday at a Pikesville hospital. Lawrence Conn has no change to survive his wound, physicians said Monday.
      Kelly Shackelford, 40, Jackson, Ky., was shot and killed instantly at the battle near Paxton. Shackelford, police were told, was shot by Lacy Lindon, an election officer. No arrests have been made.
      Breathitt-co officers were told that Lindon shot the victim when Shackelford pulled a pistol. Lindon, it was reported, had ordered the voting booth to be cleared so that voting might be started, and Shackelford drew his pistol when ordered out. The two men had had trouble previously, it was reported.
      The Kentucky Post and Times-Star, Covington, Kentucky. Monday, 3 July 1933, page 2.
      [4]
    • Note: article does not mention R. Boyd Stamper as murderer.

      Slain at Breathitt School Vote
      Special to the Courier-Journal
      Jackson, Ky., July 1. – Kelly Shackelford, 40 years old, was shot and killed in a quarrel at a school election near Paxton, seventeen miles north of Jackson at 1 o’clock this afternoon.
      Officers here were told that Lacy Lindon, election officer, shot and killed Shackelford as the latter attempted to draw a pistal. It was reported Lindon had ordered the school room cleared in order that the election could get under way. Shackelford refused to leave, it was reported and, when ordered out by Lindon, started to draw his weapon. Lindon beat him to the draw and shot him, witnesses said.
      Coroner James T. Goff left this afternoon for the school to investigate the killing. No arrest had been made early tonight.
      Officers were told Shackelford and Lindon had had trouble before.
      The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky. Sunday, 2 July 1933, page 1.
      [4]

  • Sources 
    1. [S4] death certificate.

    2. [S3] Find a Grave.

    3. [S1] 1900 US census.

    4. [S31] Newspaper article, newspapers.com.