My mom did a lot of genealogy, went back to like 1500s or so. Here is a tale about my great grandfather, this is the actual newspaper story. It may not entirely answer your question, but it is a story of horse crime and punishment from 1899. Enjoy.
Sheriff McCullough returned from Creston on Monday bringing with him a young man Andrew Pauley who was captured by the Sheriff of Union County as the man who stole the team of horses from Edgar Close on Monday night one week ago. Mr. Pauley is a young man who was raised near Powersville, MO. and worked a month for Mr. Close last Fall. He also worked a month for others parties in the neighborhood. He was married about a month ago to a lady named Banister who lived in Adair Co. but who visited a family in the neighborhood where Mr. Close lived but recently moved to Creston. After getting married they made their home near Powersville. It seems that after stealing the team Pauley went direct to where he and his wife were living near Powersville, hitched the horses to his old wagon using his harness, and taking his wife with him started for the place where his wife formerly lived in Adair Co. He passed through Allerton where the first clue of his whereabouts was gained and went on via Osceola. About 5 miles west of Osceola he traded the team of blacks taken from Mr. Close for an old broken down team to a man named Page from whom he received five dollars as the difference and went on into Union County. Sheriff McCullough had in the meantime written to Sheriff of Union County to look out for him. Mr. Close arrived in Preston on Saturday evening and hunted up Pauley who had recently arrived and the sheriff arrested him and notified Sheriff McCullough who went to Preston on Sunday. Mr. Close recognized his team and brought them home while the sheriff took charge of the prisoner. Pauley claimed that he would be able to prove himself innocent. The team he admits was the same that Mr. Close owned, but persist in the statement that he bought them off someone.
Time Republican, Thursday. January 5, 1899.
(He was sentenced like 3 years in prison. He came out, still married to his wife. They went on to have a family, I am one if his descendants. His crimes were not mine, I assume no blame and owe nothing to the descendants of the victim.)