as another mystery emerges: Although I am now in possession of solid proof that George Wallace Hurley served as the elected Sheriff of Harper County, Oklahoma, the very same "proof" throws into doubt the identity of George's mother.
According to a biography printed in the book Oklahoma: A History of the State and Its People (1929) (see below), George's mother was not Eliza, but rather Catherine Hurley.
My readers are by now familiar with Eliza Hurley (nee Gunter): United States censii identify her as the wife of David T. Hurley, and thus as George Wallace's mother. Eliza passed away in Erath County, Texas, near a fork of the Chisholm Cattle Trail upon which a youthful George supposedly herded longhorns out of Texas, north to Kansas.
George Wallace eventually would settle, according to later censii, in the area of Woodward and Harper Counties, Oklahoma.
It was in Harper County that he was elected in 1922 as Sheriff -- an office he held until 1927.
Appearing at the bottom of this post is an outstanding photo of Sheriff Hurley sitting atop a horse, wearing a period-correct suit, hat and mustache.
Further proof confirming George's tenure as Sheriff of Harper County will be posted soon.
In the meantime, who is Catherine Hurley? Could she -- and not Eliza -- be George's real mother?
That mystery remains unsolved.
For now, let us enjoy a biography of George Wallace Hurley, excerpted from the book Oklahoma: A History of the State and Its People (1929):
What if her name was Eliza Catherine and she went by Catherine ? It’s just a thought. I’m from the same Hurley line.
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