Lawmen Of The Old West

Lawmen Of The Old West DEDICATED TO HISTORY OF LAWMEN OF THE OLD WEST 1866-1900. WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN OLD WEST MOVIES, ONLY HISTORY

09/05/2022

Born July 31, 1853, Bell was the longest-living Old West lawman in the history of the American West. Working in Dodge City during its boisterous cattle days, his life is written about in this 1912 historic text By Frank W. Blackmar.

Meet Hamilton Bell – https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-hambell/

08/20/2022

On August 20, 1900, Sheriff John Henry Dillingham of Platte County, Missouri, was summoned to the sleepy little town of Farley over a case of multiple murder. A local physician named Sterling Price “Sturley” Harrington had gone on a day-long, drug and alcohol fueled killing spree. Taking his ten-year-old daughter along on his bloody errands, the doctor shot and killed his mother-in-law in cold blood, then calmly drove to the home of his wife’s uncle and killed him as well. He drove across the state line into Leavenworth, Kansas, where – apparently with further killing in mind – he resupplied with ammunition and more weapons before returning to Farley.

In what was likely part of an addle-brained plan to escape, Harrington tried to rob the town’s general store, and engaged in a point-blank shootout with the store’s clerk. About this time Sheriff Dillingham arrived with a trio of deputies, one of whom was his son, Henry. As the lawmen approached the store, Harrington met the sheriff at the entrance, the two men exchanged shots, and Sheriff Dillingham was killed instantly. As the murderous doctor fled toward his wagon, Henry Dillingham fired three times and Harrington fell dead in the street.

Twenty-two year old Henry Dillingham was appointed to finish out his father’s term as sheriff. Thirty years later he would also serve as the United States Marshal for the Western District of Missouri

Sheriff John Dillingham’s eventful career and the tragic events leading up to his death are detailed in Chapter 8 of Some Gave All: amzn.to/2tK5OAT

07/31/2022

Hamilton 'Ham' Bell, the longest living Old West Sheriff and Marshal, is described in this 1912 article by Frank W. Blackmar.

05/04/2022

TOMBSTONE REMEMBERS JEFF MILTON, THE LAST "GUNFIGHT!"

Skeeter Skelton once wrote that Jeff Davis Milton was "perhaps the most efficient, most successful, and longest-lived officer of them all...".

Milton's law enforcement career spanned 4 decades in which he served as a Texas Ranger, deputy sheriff, U.S. Marshal, Wells Fargo Railroad Guard and finally as a Mounted Customs Inspector along the border of Arizona and Mexico. Throughout that long and rather colorful career, he faced off against many a bad man, and one way or another he always came through breathing.

His last "gunfight" would ironically take place in Tombstone, Az. On Friday, November 2, 1917, a man from Gleeson, AZ, named Fred Koch decided to rob the First National Bank of Tombstone. He waited outside the Cochise County Bank for most of the day on November 1, hoping for an opportune moment. The ill-prepared Koch walked through the door and leveled a revolver at the head cashier, Mr. Brandt. Brandt was a tough character, and he did not plan on letting this guy steal the money entrusted in his care.

Inside the cashier's cage, just within reach was a 10-gauge Wi******er Model 1887 shotgun, Brandt reached for it. He was fast, but not fast enough. Koch shot him twice. With two chest wounds, Brandt fell to the floor.

He was a well-loved citizen of Tombstone, and as fate would have it...Jeff Milton was sitting down to lunch a few blocks away. Milton was on patrol as a Customs Inspector and had since traded his horse in for a Ford Model T. After Koch shot Brandt, he tried to enter the locked cashiers' cage. Unsuccessful, he gave up, ran into the street and away into the desert.

Milton caught up to him and when Koch didn't heed his warning. Milton blasted away...shooting him in the shoulder, which was uncommon for Milton. Milton was known as a "shoot to kill" type.

Milton lived out his final years in Tombstone and then Tucson. Per his request he was cremated, and his ashes were spread over the Arizona desert.

05/01/2022

John B. Jones, Confederate Army officer and Texas Ranger, was born in Fairfield District, South Carolina, on December 22, 1834, the son of Henry and Nancy (Robertson) Jones. The family moved to Texas in 1838 and settled first in what became Travis County; Jones subsequently moved to land that later....

05/01/2022

Brother to Bat Masterson, James was a lawman in Dodge City and Trinidad, Colorado. He later served as a U.S. Deputy Marshal in Indian Territory.

04/25/2022

The real lawman in the family. When it comes to the Masterson boys, Bat has the reputation and legend. But his brother Jim spent more time as a lawman.

03/12/2022

One of the first female lawyers in the United States, the first female appointed as a U.S. Marshal, and a well-known suffragist, Phoebe Couzins was a trailblazer for women’s rights and equality.

Meet Phoebe Couzins – Lady Law – https://www.legendsofamerica.com/phoebecouzins/

03/07/2022

The first elected Black sheriff in the United States was Walter Moses Burton of Fort Bend County.

Born into slavery in North Carolina in 1840, Burton was brought to Texas around 1860. At the end of the Civil War, he purchased land from his former enslaver and became a successful farmer.

During Reconstruction, Black men in Texas were newly eligible to vote. A number of counties, especially in East Texas, had a majority Black population, and citizens began electing Black officials to represent them.

In 1869 Burton was elected sheriff of Fort Bend County. A white deputy was hired alongside him to arrest white lawbreakers.

Burton was elected to the Texas Senate in 1873 and served four terms, representing Fort Bend, Wharton, Waller, and Austin counties. One of the bills that he supported with other Black legislators created the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youths, now known as Prairie View A&M University .

After retiring from the legislature in 1882 Burton returned to farming and remained active in local politics until his death in 1913. An official Texas historical marker was placed at his grave in Richmond in 1992.

📷: State Preservation Board

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