Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Frank Hamer
Of the many Texas Rangers during their nearly two-hundred-year history, many men stand out. One who stands out as perhaps the greatest ranger in the first half of the twentieth century is Frank Hamer [HAY-mer].
Hamer was born in Fairview, Texas, on March 17, 1884. His family moved twice before ending up in Oxford, Texas. Frank's father was a blacksmith. Frank began learning that craft but did not find it as interesting as he had hoped.
Instead of pursuing that work, he and his brother Harrison decided to try sharecropping with a local farmer. After that, the two brothers worked as wranglers on a couple of ranches. While at the second ranch, Frank helped to catch a horse thief for the local sheriff. The sheriff was so impressed that he recommended the young man to the Texas Rangers.
Frank was 22 when he joined the Rangers. He was sent to a place near the Rio Grande called Del Rio, where he made border patrols for two years. This was not easy because the area was in a constant state of turmoil.
In 1908, a new challenge was offered to the young ranger. He had already earned a reputation as a tough, strong-willed law man, and there was a town that needed him. Navasota, Texas, was out of control. Their last marshal had lasted only a week. Hamer left the Rangers and took up the challenge. In three years the young marshal turned the town around.
