Outlaw George ‘Big Nose’ Parott’s body was skinned after his death

FRESHWATER COUNTY – A revolver currently on display at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River, Wyoming belonged to an outlaw who was killed by a lynch mob, but his afterlife was even more cruel than his death.

After a failed train robbery attempt in 1878, George Parott – known as “Big Nose George” – and his gang murdered two law enforcement officers near Elk Mountain, Wyoming: Carbon County Deputy Sheriff Robert Widdowfield and Union Special Agent Pacific, Henry “Tip” Vincent. Parott was captured in 1880 and returned to Rawlins, the seat of Carbon County, where he stood on trial and was convicted.

Sentenced to execution, he tried unsuccessfully to break into Rawlins prison on March 22, 1881, injuring a prison guard, Robert Rankin. (Rankin’s wife Rosa held Parott at gunpoint until help could arrive.)

Advertising – The story continues below …

An angry mob gathered, took Parott out of his cell and lynched him. Parott was not the first outlaw to end this way, nor was he the last, but his story was not over.

Two Rawlins doctors, John Osborne and Thomas Maghee, took possession of Parott’s body; They were particularly interested in studying a criminal’s brain and sawed off the top of his skull to remove and examine. They presented the skullcap to their assistant, a young woman named Lilian Heath, who later became the first woman to become a doctor in Wyoming, but they weren’t quite finished: parts of Parott’s body had been skinned – according to some reports, his chest and thighs – and the skin tanned. Osborne then had the skin incorporated into a pair of shoes he wore to his inaugural ball after he was elected governor of Wyoming in 1892.

• Dr. John Osborne
• George “Big Nose” Parott

Osborne was later a member of the US House of Representatives from Wyoming and was appointed Assistant Secretary of State in the Wilson administration from 1913 to 1916. He died in Rawlins in 1943 at the age of 84.

Parott’s remains, including his skull, were stuffed into a barrel, buried, and then forgotten for 70 years. In 1950, construction workers discovered the barrel and its skeletal contents during excavations in Rawlins. The skullcap was missing, and Lilian Heath – now Dr. Lilian Nelson, the wife of Dr. Lew Nelson – was visited, and the skull and top of the skull were a perfect match: the remains were those of George Parott.

Parott’s handgun, a .44-caliber Remington New Model Army, is part of the Firearms of the American West – Single Action Revolvers exhibit at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum and has two notches in the handle.

Left: This Remington New Model Army Percussion Revolver owned by George “Big Nose” Parott is currently on display at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River. Right: This is the George “Big Nose” Parott exhibit at the Carbon County Museum. Courtesy of photos

The Carbon County Museum in Rawlins has a fine exhibit by George Parott showing his death mask, a cast of his skull, the gold watch given to Rosa Rankin for her quick action to prevent Parott’s escape, and Dr. Osborne’s shoes from his tanned shoes contain skin.

The Sweetwater County Historical Museum is located at 3 E. Flaming Gorge Way in Green River. Opening times are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., admission is free.

The Carbon County Museum, located at 904 West Walnut Street in Rawlins, is currently open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the summer. Entry is free.