Bea Elizabeth Dalton Phillips

The Myth

Bea Elizabeth Dalton was the daughter of James Lewis Dalton and Adeline Lee Younger and a sister to the infamous late 19th century Dalton gang who terrorized Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Source of the Myth

The descendants of Tom Phillips and his wife Bea Elizabeth have somehow adopted the Dalton family as Bea Elizabeth's parents and relatives. The evidence record shows that not all the family held that belief but it appears to now be accepted by most of the current generation.

Straightening the Record

There are many explanations put forth by the family attempting to explain the dearth of information about Bea Elizabeth Phillips. One family member has forged documents and has had multiple tombstones replaced with his grandmother's name inscribed on them as a daughter or a relative.

Fact 1:  Documentation and inference. Bea Elizabeth, with any last name, does not appear on 1860, 1870 or 1880 censuses. The family says she was born 1856 and died 1894, so one would think she would appear on at least one of them. The Phillips family says she left home and traveled some 300-400 miles into Indian Territory and then to Texas before the 1870 census, meaning she left home before she was 13 years old. No other evidence supports this theory.

Fact 2:  Documentation. The Dalton children were all born in Missouri with the exception of one born in Kansas. The Dalton family never visited Texas, where Bea Phillips was born.

Fact 3:  Documentation. The censuses for Bea Elizabeth Phillips' children consistently give her birth place as Texas. Her husband was from Kerr County, Texas and was there through at least 1890. They were both there between 1882 and 1890 as that is where their children were born.

Fact 4:  Documentation. Her surname may have been Dalton, Dawlton, Harris or Harrison based on death certificates and social security applications of her children.

What do the facts tell us about the myth?

No record or document supports Bea Elizabeth Phillips' parents being James Lewis Dalton and Adeline Lee Younger.

The Dalton children were born in Missouri or Kansas. The following indicate that Bea Elizabeth Phillips was born in Texas, showing that she is unlikely to be their child:

The following provide evidence for her surname:

All known records and documentation indicate Bea Elizabeth Phillips was born in Texas and lived there through 1890. Her grave is in Elmore City, Oklahoma, so it appears she moved there with the family. No untainted source record or documentation exists for her being anywhere else.

Sources listing the children of James Lewis Dalton and Adeline Lee Younger.

(None of them show anyone named Bea or Elizabeth or Phillips.)

Known sources of erroneous information supporting the myth.

Evidence supplied by Bea Elizabeth Phillips' descendants.

If you find evidence supporting or refuting this myth please contact the author.

Source documents can be seen on the Evidence Locker page.

* See the Evidence Overview page.
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