Some just can’t get away from the romance of the outlaw era. Research can bring the past much closer, but I consider this branch of treasure hunting the most difficult. The trail is the coldest, the primary sources the fewest, and the aerial imagery is the most useless.
If you wanted to hear that this is easy, and that you can definitely find outlaw treasure, you’ve come to the wrong website. I’m here to help you research, not to bullshit you.
Embrace the Outlaw Mindset
Those who are passionate about their interest will enjoy the chase and have a chance. If you think this is simply the easiest treasure to chase down, you are in for a rude awakening.
Lead Sources
Resources for such endeavors will test your researching skill. There are plenty of secondary sources, many of which are so biased they are not to be trusted and can even be a liability in your research. You will need to learn how to use microfiche machines to scour old archived newspapers from the time in question. Further, you may need to talk with the courthouse about where prosecution records from that time period are kept and how to get access to them. Each state is different about when prosecution records can be opened up to the public, and some states are downright prickly about it.
A less guaranteed resource may be to find the judge who presided over the trial, and seek the nearby colleges and universities to him. He may have donated his papers to them and these papers may be in a special collection.
I told you this wasn’t going to be easy.
