The family of crime

   The primary members of the Archer Gang we have detailed on this site are not the only Archer's to commit            various crimes throuhout Indiana history.  Below are a few more interesting Archer Oulaws:



Andrew archer

                                                                   

     Andrew Archer was born in 1867 to Thomas and Jane Wolfington Archer.    

     Andrew was arrested for larceny about 1885 and was in prison at the time of his father's arrest and lynching.                                      
Andrew was again arrested in 1890 for Assault and Attempted Murder on a Police Officer and was returned to prison.

albert archer

                                                               

Albert Archer was born in 1870 to Thomas and Jane Wolfington Archer.  

Albert was incarcerated within the Indiana Reform School around 1885 and was incarcerated at the time of his father's arrest and lynching.

Albert was again arrested in 1890 for Assault and Attempted Murder on a Police Officer (with is brother Andrew) and was returned to prison.




james archer

                                                                     

    James Archer was a brother to  Thomas and Martin Archer.   James was born in 1835 to Jesse and Mary Archer.

    In 1888, James was arrested for the murder of Jack Ballard, a Union Army soldier who had returned home to         Orange County Indiana.  Ballard was ordered to search for a Union Army deserter who was believed to be in the     Orange County area.  Ballard was murdered outside of his home by members of the Knights of the Golden             Circle, a secret society loyal to the Southern interests.  The Knights of the Golden Circle had sworn to protect         the deserter that Ballard was instructed to apprehend.

    James was acquitted of the charges, but suspicion remained for years afterwards as to his guilt or innocence.

    An intesting side note from Civil War and Martin County Indiana history:

    On September 19, 1861 one of Indiana's greatest tragedies occurred at the hands of the Kights of the Golden         Circle, the same group James Archer was said to be associated with.  On this day, a train carrying Union                 soldiers and their supplies crashed about a mile and a half East of the train depot located in Shoals, Indiana, at     a point known as the twin bridges, crossing Beaver Creek.

    The soldiers were a portion of Col. Turchin's 19th Illinois Regiment.  40 men were killed in the wreck, with             another 105 injured.  The Knights of the Golden Circle, a group of Southern sympathizers which operated in         Southern Indiana and elsewhere, have been reported as being the culprits responsible for this tragic day.

tom archer

                                                                    

    Tom Archer was the son of James Archer (see above) and was a nephew to Thomas and Martin Archer.  Tom         was also a member of the Archer Gang and was reported to have committed numerous crimes with the Gang         prior to their demise.

charles archer

                                                                

Charles Archer was the son of James Archer (see above) and was a nephew to Thomas and Martin Archer.  In December of 1887, Charles was charged in the murder of Annabel Stanfield, his sweetheart.  Charles swore in court that Annabel committed suicide because he had stolen her virtue and would not marry her. The local doctor and Annabel's family swore that Charles had murdered the girl.  Charles was acquitted of the murder charges, but the tensions between the Archer and Stanfield families would culminate in a feud that lasted for years and caused numerous members of both family's to be murdered.

clyde archer

   
                                                                    
   
    Clyde Archer was son of Tom Archer (see above), who was a former member of the Archer Gang.

    In 1922, Clyde was murdered by the Stanfield family in retaliation for a murder Clyde committed the previous         year.  In 1921, Clyde Archer quarreled with Roy Stansfield, a neighbor, on Stanfield's accusation that Clyde had     stolen some money from him.  Clyde ended up stabbing Stanfield, which resulted in Stanfield's death.  Clyde         was acquitted of the murder due to the Court ruling he acted in self defense.