Henry Methvin

Henry Methvin (April 8, 1912 – April 19, 1948) was an American criminal, a bank robber, and a Depression-era outlaw. He is best remembered as the final member of Bonnie and Clyde's gang and whose father, Ivan Methvin, was handcuffed to a tree and used his log truck to slow them down so they could shoot them to their deaths at the hands of a posse headed by Texas lawman Frank Hamer in 1934. His role in the gang has often been misattributed to teenage gang member W.D. Jones as both men were portrayed as composite character "C.W. Moss" in the film Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

Biography

Henry Methvin was born in Louisiana on April 8, 1912, to Ivan "Ivy" T. Methvin and Avie Stephens. He was serving a 10-year prison sentence at the Eastham prison farm in Huntsville, Texas when Bonnie and Clyde came to break out Raymond Hamilton on January 16, 1934; one guard was killed and another wounded in the jailbreak. In the confusion, Methvin and three other inmates took the opportunity to escape with Hamilton. Though Hamilton initially ordered them to go back, Clyde welcomed the convicts and offered to let them join the gang. Though the three men chose to take their chances alone, Methvin accepted Clyde's offer to stay. He remained with the gang until their end five months later.