Crawford's father, George Goldsby, was from Perry County, Alabama, a sergeant of the Tenth United States Cavalry, and a Buffalo Soldier.

His mother Ellen Beck Goldsby Lynch was a Cherokee freedwoman of mixed African, Native, and white ancestry.

[4] In a signed deposition on January 29, 1912, George Goldsby stated that he was born in Perry County, Alabama, on February 22, 1843.

George also stated that he had four brothers and two sisters by the same father and mother: Crawford, Abner, Joseph, Blevens, Mary, and Susie.

During his last visit, rumor spread that he would be captured and lynched for fighting with the Union Army, after which he departed the area for the Indian Territory.

[5] In 1867, Goldsby enlisted in the 10th Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldier) under his proper name, and by 1872 was promoted to sergeant major.

She left her son, Crawford Goldsby, in the care of an elderly black lady known as "Aunty" Amanda Foster.

He went back to Fort Gibson, moved in with a man named Bud Buffington, and began working odd jobs.

Thinking Lewis was dead, Goldsby went on the run, leaving Fort Gibson and heading for the Creek and Seminole Nations, where he met up with outlaws Jim and Bill Cook, who were mixed-blood Cherokees.

[5] During the summer of 1894, the United States government purchased rights to a strip of Cherokee land and agreed to pay out $265.70 (~$9,357 in 2023) to each person who had a legal claim.

Between August and October, Goldsby and the Cooks went on a crime spree, robbing banks, stagecoaches, and stores, and mercilessly killing those who stood in their way.

[2] On January 31, 1895, Goldsby was captured by Ike Rogers and Clint Scales in Nowata, Oklahoma; $1300 (~$47,611 in 2023)[24][25] and taken to Fort Smith, Arkansas, to wait for his trial.

In June 1895 a pistol was discovered in a bucket at the Fort Smith jail; Goldsby claimed that a prison trustee named Ben Howell had brought the gun in and then had run away a few days later.

The second trial lasted three days, resulting in a guilty verdict and U.S. District Judge Isaac C. Parker sentenced Goldsby to be hanged on September 10, 1895.

At 9:20, his mother and "Aunty" Amanda Foster were admitted to his cell and shortly afterwards came Father Pius, a Catholic priest with whom he had been voluntarily meeting for the previous five days.

Placed aboard the train, Ellen and Georgia escorted the body to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, for interment at the Cherokee National Cemetery.

[5] On April 20, 1897, Ike "Robinson" Rogers, who was reported to have been involved in the capture of Cherokee Bill, was shot and killed by Clarence Goldsby at Ft Gibson Oklahoma.

[29][30] In the 2021 film The Harder They Fall directed by Jeymes Samuel, the character of Cherokee Bill is played by actor Lakeith Stanfield.

[31][32] The role of Cherokee Bill was played by the actor Pat Hogan in a 1955 episode of the syndicated television series, Stories of the Century, starring and narrated by Jim Davis.