Texas Ranger Badge
Alfred Y. Allee was a prominent lawman, serving as a Texas Ranger and lawman in Karnes and Frio Counties of Texas.
Born in DeWitt County, Texas, in 1855, Allee grew up to become a lawman and quickly developed a reputation for violence and was often known to shoot prisoners even after they had surrendered. When he was a Deputy Sheriff in Karnes County, Texas, in 1882, he shot and killed a robbery suspect under questionable circumstances. Some said he was settling an old score with the man, and Allee was charged with murder. However, he was not convicted.
Later, while working as a Deputy Sheriff in Frio County, Texas, the lawman became involved in a dispute with another deputy over who could draw their guns faster. The dispute ended with Allee shooting the other deputy eight times and leaving him dead in the dust. Again, Allee was charged with murder, but when witnesses testified that the other deputy had drawn his gun first, Allee was found justified for self-defense.
The quick-tempered lawman was also known to be a vicious racist, and at one point, when a black porter bumped into him while Allee was boarding a train, the lawman shot him dead. Once again, he was arrested and tried, but again was acquitted, for a third time, primarily due to the victim’s race.
In September 1888, Allee was tasked with tracking down Brack Cornett, a Bill Whitley gang member who had been robbing banks and trains in southwest Texas. Though the other members had been apprehended or killed, Cornett had fled to Arizona Territory. After a heated gun battle on horseback, Allee soon tracked him there and killed Cornett. Years later, Allee was stabbed to death in a barroom brawl in Laredo, Texas, in 1896.
Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated September 2022.