Killer F. M. Snow, convicted of the 1925 murder of Bernie Connally, became a character in folklore--while sitting on death row--when Milton Brown wrote a song entitled "Old Man Snow." (Brown is now remembered as "the father of Western swing.") Decades later came Carroll Martin's ballad, "The Legend of Ole Man Snow." Both ballads were reprinted in the updated Blood Legacy: The True Story of the Snow Axe Murders. Now only did several embellished versions of F. M. Snow's bloody saga unfold in detective magazines over the years, but the gruesome tale inspired two vignettes in Mary Joe Clendenin's Galloping Ghosts (1997). Most recently, the murders and the Snow farm made appearances in Donna Walker-Nixon's novel, Canaan's Oothoon (2010).
I found this story while researching my Grandfather's maternal side of the family. My grandfather is the son of Winston and Merzilla's daughter, Sarah Ellen Snow. FM Snow would have been his cousin. My grandfather changed his name and took the name of Merzilla's 2nd husband, Joseph Penn. Having grown up with no knowledge of my ancestors finding this story has been amazing! I've wondered if the Snow side of the family has anything to do with the name change??
ReplyDeleteIt's possible that the name change had something to do with the notoriety of the murder case. I understand this tragedy was rarely discussed within the family.
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ReplyDeleteLike I said I am looking forward to reading this, since it seems like they may be ancestors of mine...
ReplyDeleteMarcliff Penn
I hope you'll enjoy the book. I've met several members of the Snow family -- all nice people.
DeleteThank I know I will, I am suprized that your book was not available at Amazon.com, would have been nice for my kindle Libary. I just found out a few days ago from my mother about the possible ancestoral connection..
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ReplyDelete"Blood Legacy" may eventually become available via Kindle, but not with the family trees. Unfortunately, charts don't translate well in an e-book format.
ReplyDeleteI wanna read this since it happened in my area! My great grandmother used to ride Old Man Snow's wagon home. She was good friends with him.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's no wonder now why my grandmother Dillard (Married to George Walter also murdered) never mention any relatives. Period. My mother passed away a few weeks back and I found some newdpaper clippings but haven't read the book yet so I don't know if that information is included or not. Can't wait to read what was kept a mystery for so many years.
ReplyDelete"Blood Legacy" includes the story of Henry Polston's murder. As you're aware, Mr. Polston's granddaughter married George Walter Dillard.
ReplyDeleteI just downloaded my first E-book
ReplyDelete"Blood legacy"
My Uncle was Amos Merrill Smith
Poor guy ran into the story while doing my Ancestry " crazy" never know what your gonna find out....Thanks for putting this all together and all your hard work....🙋💜