Beaumont Police discover previously unknown fallen officer

Beaumont Police recently discovered a fallen officer whose existence was previously unknown, and now they are “ just hoping to do right” by one of their own, said officer Haley Morrow.

The finding has Sgt. Bobby Anderson, whom Morrow calls “a super history buff,” working a different kind of case – a sort of history mystery - to learn more about officer George Frederick, who was born five years after Juneteenth. The now federal holiday marking the official end of slavery in Texas, though the rest of the country had already abolished slavery in 1865.

His discovery also makes him the department’s first Black officer – an attribute which long given to Off. John Freeman, who was sworn into service in 1917.

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Frederick was born into a new-found freedom and went on to achieve something his ancestors could have scarcely imagined – a position of authority as a police officer in Southeast Texas.

On May 3, 1902, officer Frederick was off-duty at his home when he heard shots fired and screams echoing throughout his neighborhood.

He followed the ruckus to nearby  5^th Street behind a schoolhouse, home of the Morris sisters – now Zena Bayo and Ella Dickinson.

Ella had shot her sister Zena through the neck and threatened Frederick with the same upon his arrival.

When Frederick entered Zena’s home, Ella  followed, shooting him in the face. The bullet exited the back of his head, and Frederick returned fire, striking her twice, once in the arm and once in the abdomen.

All three suffered critical injuries, and were sent to their respective homes after the incident.

Ella died the following day, while her sister Zena ultimately recovered.

Frederick lingered two more days before succumbing to his injuries on May 7.

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While dying, he was besieged by the women’s brother Ray Morris, who came to Frederick’s home threatening to kill him. Deputy Marshall Buck Smith intercepted Morris, arresting him on site.

No obituary can be found in historical archives or local press, nor any photographs of Frederick.

The only documentation of Frederick’s fate is a Beaumont Enterprise article, published May 10, 1902, recounting the events that occurred May 3.

In it, Frederick was described as “a special officer (who) has been with the force for some time. He is said to be a good and faithful servant of the city.”

From there, Frederick’s story is unknown – who actually buried him and where they buried him.

Records and census data provided to Sgt. Anderson detail Frederick’s known relatives, indicating where several were buried.

They include his mother Aggie Frederick Demps, who is interred at Blanchette Cemetery, and a wife, who’d later remarried becoming Kate Frederick Wilson.

She is buried at Evergreen Cemetery.

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If Frederick is buried in Beaumont, given segregation laws of the time, he would almost certainly be in one of the Black cemeteries, “and we figure (his grave) probably isn’t honored the way it should be,” Morrow said.

Lillie Samuels, a Tampa-based genealogist and cemetery historian, has done extensive research and mapping of Evergreen Cemetery, which culminated in the book “Evergreen Cemetery, Beaumont Texas: A Gift of Appreciation for the Work of Sandra Wilturner.”

She found Kate Frederick Wilson in her database, “but George Frederick is not included,” Samuels said.

Locating records for those interred at the cemetery are complicated by the fact that “the state of Texas officially started recording deaths in 1903,” and cemeteries like Evergreen, which was a pauper’s field in its earliest days, has “no documentation of the deceased” from that time frame, according to Samuels.

That leaves any living descendants of the family who may have personal records as their last best hope to locating Frederick’s burial site.

The department is turning to the public for any information through their website, social media and local news media.

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“We’re hoping it rings a bell with a family member, because we just want to make sure (his grave) is marked and he is properly honored,” Morrow said.

The department is “already moving forward with the process to get his name on Fallen Officer Memorials,” including the national memorial in Washington, D.C., the state memorial in Austin, and their own, located outside police headquarters.

It’s the honor officer George Frederick is due as one of BPD’s 19 fallen officers – its first and only fallen Black officer.

Morrow said a ceremony recognizing his service and sacrifice will most likely be incorporated in their annual Fallen Officer ceremony next May.

Anyone with information about officer Frederick is asked to contact Sgt. Bobby Anderson at bobby.anderson@beaumonttexas.gov or 409-980-7256.

kbrent@beaumontenterprise.com

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