Samuel P. Cowley was born in Franklin, Idaho, on July 23, 1899, to Matthais F. Cowley and Luella Parkinson. He was the fifth son in a family of nine sons and six daughters. The Cowleys lived here until Sam was six years old, when the family relocated to Preston. Sam attended George Washington Law School and then spent five years with the FBI. He advanced quickly within the ranks and was soon promoted to inspector. His reputation brought him to the attention of J. Edgar Hoover, who selected him to hunt down John Dillinger. Cowley tracked him down, and Dillinger was killed by FBI agents as he was exiting a theatre in Chicago. Hoover then assigned Cowley to bring in "Baby Face Nelson," Public Enemy #1. It took Sam six months to corner Nelson. On November 27, 1934, along a country road in Barrington, Illinois, a shootout ended in the death of Baby Face Nelson. Sam Cowley and another FBI agent were also killed in the gunfight. Hoover said many times that Sam Cowley was "the Bravest Man He Ever Knew."