Born: 1871?
Died: January 16, 1935
To the FBI, Kate “Ma” Barker was the mastermind behind her sons’ criminal careers. To her sons, she was a dowdy, middle-aged woman who liked the movies. In spite of these vastly differing accounts, one thing seems sure: she was a fiercely protective mother who was deeply attached to her sons.
Arizona Donnie Clark—who later became Kate Barker—was born to Scottish-Irish parents sometime around 1871 near Springfield, Missouri, in the Ozark Mountains. As a child she had once seen Jesse James (see entry), who was also a native of the area. The experience reportedly had a profound impact on her. The young Barker mourned the murder of James—who was, to many people, a folk hero like Robin Hood.
As a young woman, Barker played the fiddle, read the Bible, and regularly sang in church on Sundays. In 1892, she married a farm laborer named George Barker, who seemed to be resigned to a life of poverty. What is known about her married life is that it was hard, unhappy, and taken up with the raising of her four sons, Herman, Lloyd, Arthur (who was called “Doc”), and Fred.
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