Old West Lawmen - Last Name Starts With "B"

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Elfego Baca (1865-1945) - Born in New Mexico , Baca and his family later moved to Topeka, Kansas when he was still a boy.  After his mother's death in 1880, he returned with his father to Belen, New Mexico where his father became the marshal. In 1884, at the age of 19, Baca stole some guns and bought a mail-order sheriff's badge, intending to follow in his father's footsteps. He soon appointed himself a deputy sheriff in Socorro County, an untamed, lawless land in southwestern New Mexico. In no time, Elfego became embroiled in a shoot-out after arresting a cowboy who had been shooting up the town of Frisco (now Reserve.) A standoff ensued when Baca took shelter in  the tiny house of Geronimo Armijo. The standoff resulted in a furious attack by over 80 cowhands, in which over 4,000 rounds were fired into the house by those outside. Elfego Baca managed to kill four of his assailants and wounded eight others.  Thirty-six hours after it began, Elfego Baca walked out unharmed. Baca was admitted to the Bar in 1894 at the age of 29 and later became a Deputy United States Marshal, an assistant district attorney, the held the positions of both sheriff and mayor of Socorro County. Elfego Baca died in 1945. More ...

William "Billy" Bailey, aka: Bill Wilson, William Baylor (18??-1871) - A lawman and cowboy, Bailey was thought to have been from Texas before winding up in Newton, Kansas in 1871. A career cowboy, and sometimes lawman, he probably wound up in the Kansas cowtown after a cattle drive. Though he was reportedly easy going and even-tempered, he also had a reputation as a gunfighter. having known to have been in three gunfights, where he killed two men.

During the August elections of 1871, Bailey was hired by the Newton authorities as a Special Policeman to help keep order. On August 11th, he and another Special Policeman by the name of Mike McCluskie argued over local politics in the Red Front Saloon. The dispute soon turned violent and Bailey was knocked outside the saloon into the dusty street. McCluskie followed, drew his pistol, and fired two shots at Bailey, hitting him in the chest. The wounded man died the next day.

John Beckwith (1853-1879) - A native of New Mexico, John was born on January 14, 1853 and along with his older brother Robert, ran a cattle ranch on the east side of the Pecos River in Lincoln County. Both John and his brother were working as deputies under Sheriff William Brady, when a posse was sent out to attach rival faction leader, John Tunstall's cattle. When the posse met up with Tunstall, the rancher refused to give over his herd and was killed on February 18, 1878. This event set off the infamous Lincoln County War Billy the Kid and the rest of the McSween "Regulators," John's brother, Robert was killed during the climactic battle in Lincoln in 1878. John was shot to death the following year by John Jones.

Robert "Bob" W. Beckwith (1850-1878) - The son of a rancher, Bob was born on October 16, 1850 and when he grew up he worked as a rancher with his younger brother John in Lincoln County, New Mexico. By 1876, the pair had established a ranch of their own. When the bitter rivalry that would spawn the Lincoln County War began, the two became involved in the Dolan-Murphy faction and were deputized. On February 18, 1878, the brothers were with a group of deputies who stopped rancher John Tunstall, killing him and setting off the infamous Lincoln County War. Bob was killed in the climactic battle in Lincoln on July 19, 1878.

Johnny Harris Behan (1845-1912) - Hailing from Westport (now Kansas City,) Missouri, Behan made his way to California as a young man, working as a freighter and a miner. In 1866, he became the under sheriff of Yavapai County, Arizona where he gained a reputation as a brave and honest lawmen. By 1871, he was made the sheriff. By 1880, he had become the sheriff of newly-created Cochise County, which included Tombstone. Soon afterwards, Virgil Earp became the city marshal of Tombstone and recruited brothers Wyatt and Morgan as "special deputy policemen." The Earps almost immediately came into conflict with the Clantons and the McLaurys, to whom Behan was an advocate. This naturally pitted him against the Earps. After the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Behan arrested Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan Earp Earp, as well as Doc Holliday for the murder of Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury. However, the judge decided that they had been justified in their actions. In 1888, Behan became superintendent of the Territorial State Prison at Yuma and later served as a U.S. agent in El Paso, Texas, tasked with controlling area smuggling. Behan died of Brights Disease in Tucson on June 7, 1912.

John X. Beidler (1831-1890) - Born in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, Beidler was raised at Chabersburg where he went to school for a brief time and worked as a shoemaker and a brickmaker. Later he made his way west, landing in Kansas where he worked a small farm. During his time in Kansas, he became friends with the abolitionist John Brown and joined with other "free-soilers" in making attacks on border ruffians during the Kansas-Missouri Border War. After Brown was executed after his raid on Harper's Ferry, Beidler moved to Texas and Colorado before finally landing in Montana. During these transient times, he worked in a number of positions including store clerk, prospector, pack train operator, and freighter. In Montana, he worked as a stagecoach shotgun guard a soon joined a local Vigilante Committee to help control the lawless territory. Enthusiastic in this role, he quickly became the group's chief hangman and participated in a number of executions, including that of Henry Plummer. As a "reward" for his work on the Vigilante Committee, he was given the jobs of Customs Collector and U.S. Deputy Marshal. He remained in Montana until he died on January 22, 1890 and is buried in Helena.

William J. Brady (1825-1878) - Born in Corvan, Ireland in 1825, Brady emigrated to the United States and fought in the Civil War with the 2nd New Mexico Volunteers. When the war was over he became close friends with two other Irish immigrants by the names of James Dolan and Lawrence Lawrence  Murphy, the owners of the Murphy & Dolan Mercantile and Banking operation in Lincoln County, New Mexico. With their support, he was elected as the Lincoln County Sheriff in 1975. In 1876, Alexander McSween and John Tunstall, fed up with Murphy and Dolan's virtual control of the county's economy, set up a rival business. This, of course, upset Dolan and Murphy, who had become accustomed to their nice profits. Dolan attempted to goad Tunstall into a gunfight, but Tunstall refused. However, he soon hired Billy the Kid and other gunfighters to protect his interests. In February, 1878, Dolan and Murphy obtained a court order to seize some of Tunstall's horses as payment for an outstanding debt. Sheriff Brady and a posse soon went out to take the horses and in the confrontation on February 18, 1878, Tunstall was killed, an event that erupted into the Lincoln County War.

Billy the Kid and the other men fighting for the McSween faction, called the Regulators, soon set about taking revenge. On April 1, 1878, Billy, along with two other Regulators named Henry Brown and John Middleton were involved in a shootout with law enforcement in front of the Lincoln County Courthouse. When the dust cleared, William Brady and his deputy, George Hindman lay dead.

George Bravin (1862-1918) - Originally hailing from England, Bravin immigrated to the United States when he was 18. He first settled in Cripple Creek, Colorado, where he worked as a miner before moving on to Tombstone, Arizona in 1882. After again mining for several years, Bravin became a Tombstone Deputy Sheriff, a U.S. Deputy Marshal, and served for a short time as the Pearce, Arizona Constable. He returned to Tombstone, where he served as a lawman, running into the likes of the Alvord-Stiles Gang. He remained a loyal and dependable officer until illness forced him from the job in 1917. He died the next year. More ...

Dow Braziel (18??-1919) - Braziel served as a U.S. Deputy Marshal and an IRS Oficer before he was killed in Ardmore, Oklahoma by Deputy Sheriff Bud Ballew. Apparently, the pair had a long-standing feud, that culminated in Ballew's killing of Braziel on January 31, 1919. Though arrested, it was found that Braziel had shot first and Ballew was released only to be killed three years later by the Wichita Falls, Texas Police Chief.

William Milton Breckenridge (1846-1931) - Breckenridge was the Cochise County Deputy Sheriff under Johnny Behan during the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. At the same time, he was also a U.S. Deputy Marshal. He was friendly with the "Cowboy" faction in Tombstone at the time of the famous gunfight and would later write a book portraying Wyatt Earp as a desperate character. He went on to work as a surveyor, initially choosing the site of Roosevelt Dam, and worked as a detective for the Southern Pacific Railroad. More ...

Richard M. Brewer (1850-1878) - Born on February 19, 1850 in Franklin County, Vermont, his family moved to Wisconsin in 1860 and when the lad turned 18, he made his way west. Settling down in Lincoln County, New Mexico, he became a rancher and horse breeder. He soon befriended his neighbor John Tunstall who was in a feud with the Murphy/Dolan faction, known as the Lincoln County War. By March 1, 1878, when the rivalry had grown to gunplay, Brewer was appointed constable by the Magistrate. His group known as “The Regulators” included Billy the Kid and other deputies. Their purpose was to serve arrest warrants to members of the Dolan Gang for the ambush and murder of John Tunstall. On April 4, 1878, Brewer led the Regulators to Blazer's Mill where they were confronted by one of the men they held a warrant for - Buckshot Roberts. Soon, the guns blazed and two Regulators were wounded and one killed - namely Constable Brewer. Buckshot Roberts was also killed and the two were buried side by side.

Jack L. Bridges (1838-??) - Born in Maine in 1838, Bridges moved westward where he landed in Kansas City. There he served as a lawman for 15 years before becoming a a U.S. Deputy Marshal in 1869. He was first assigned to Hays City, Kansas before later being sent to Wichita, where he became involved in one of the most serious altercations of his life.

On February 28, 1871, Bridges got the opportunity to arrest an infamous train robber, horse thief, and murderer by the name of J.E. Ledford. The U.S. Deputy Marshal harbored a deep resentment against Ledford for having pistol-whipped him some months earlier and looked forward to taking his “revenge.” Taking no chances, Bridges rounded up some 25 soldiers of the Sixth United States Cavalry to accompany him on the arrest.

The men approached the Harris House Hotel, where Ledford was the proprietor, but were  told he was not on the premises. They then scouted the area, seeing a man run into an outhouse behind the hotel.  Bridges, a cavalry scout named Lew Stewart, and Lieutenant  Hargis were approaching the outhouse when Ledford came charge out with his pistol blazing. He shot Bridges but the men emptied their guns into him, hitting him four times. Ledford died a few hours later.

Severely wounded, Bridges returned to his birthplace in Maine to recuperate from his wounds. Once he was healed, he headed west again, first to Colorado and then back to Kansas, where he settled in Dodge City. He soon became the city marshal in the wicked little town where he had a number of altercations with hardcase cowboys, including Luke Short. When Bill Tilghman replaced Bridges as marshal of Dodge City, the ex-lawman left town and faded into history.

William "Billy" L. Brooks, aka: "Buffalo Bill" (1832–1874) - Born in Ohio, Brooks moved westward and became such a successful buffalo hunter, that he earned the nickname of "Buffalo Bill." At the same time, he was gaining a reputation as a gunfighter and was briefly hired as a stage driver before becoming the marshal of Newton, Kansas in 1872. Successful in the role, Dodge City soon offered him a better position and Brooks became the town marshal there. Though in his first year, he cleared many of the town's seedier elements, it was also felt that he was too quick on the trigger. In his first month alone, it is said that he was involved in 15 gunfights. By 1873, Dodge City was began to wonder about several men who had been killed in questionable circumstances, including a man Brooks killed in an argument over a local dance hall girl. Brooks left the position shortly afterwards and returned to his old position as a stage driver for the Southwestern Stage Co. in 1874. However, when the stage company lost their mail contact, Brooks lost his job and turned to outlawry. In June, 1874, several mules and horses belonging to the rival stage company who had garnered the mail contract, went missing. In July, 1874 Brooks was captured by a posse with several other horse thieves near Caldwell, Kansas. Hauled to jail to await trial, a lynch mob stormed the Caldwell jail on July 29, 1874 and lynched Brooks, along with two other horse thieves by the names of L.B. Hasbrouck and Charlie Smith. Reportedly, Brooks struggled violently after the rope failed to break his neck and strangled to death.

Henry Newton Brown (1857–1884) - Outlaw turned lawman turned outlaw, Brown worked as a cowboy in Texas and Colorado before drifting to New Mexico , where he hooked up with Billy the Kid. In 1878, he returned to Texas and took a job working as a deputy sheriff in Oldham County. He then made his way to Caldwell, Kansas, where he was the City marshal. Brown hired his friend Ben Wheeler, aka: Ben Robertson, to work as a deputy and the two men “cleaned up” the tough town. However, the two soon returned to their outlaw ways, and on April 30, 1884, they made a failed attempt to rob a bank in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. They were hanged the same day by vigilantes. More ...

Neal Brown (1850–????) - Dodge City, Kansas Assistant Marshal and U.S. Deputy Marshal in Oklahoma Territory.

Seth Bullock (1849-1919) - Born near Windsor, Ontario, Bullock headed to Montana as a young man and was elected to the Territorial Senate in 1871. While there, he introduced a resolution to protect Yellowstone from settlement and in March 1872, Yellowstone became the first National Park in the nation. When gold was found in Deadwood, he and his partner Sol Star went to the camp to establish a hardware business in 1876. The murder of Wild Bill Hickok on August 2, 1876 triggered a demand for law and order in the turbulent town. Seth Bullock was appointed Lawrence County, South Dakota's first sheriff, bringing order to the lawless town of Deadwood. Later, Bullock would establish the Belle Fourche and Deadwood's Bullock Hotel, before serving with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders during the Spanish American War. Bullock died in September, 1919 and is buried in Deadwood on a hill above Mt. Moriah Cemetery. More ...

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