- James B. Gillett
James B. Gillett (
November 4 ,1856 -June 11 ,1937 ) was a lawman of theOld West , mostly well known due to his service as a Texas Ranger, and is a member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.Early life and career
Born James Buchanan Gillett in
Austin, Texas , Gillett was raised working as acowboy on localranch es. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1875, inMenard, Texas . Gillett initially served underCaptain D. W. Roberts with "Company D", and later served with Captain N. O. Reynolds and Captain G. W. Baylor, whose daughter Helen would later marry Gillett. Mostly assigned to the West Texas border regions, Gillett found himself involved in numerousskirmish es withKiowa ,Apache , andComanche Indians. He was involved in theJuly 21 ,1878 killing ofoutlaw Sam Bass inRound Rock, Texas , when Bass was shot by Texas Ranger George Herold, and Gillett later took part in putting down both theMason County War and the Horrell-Higgins feud.He first came to notice when, in January, 1881, while under the command of Captain Baylor, his company pursued a hostile band of Apache which had attacked a
stagecoach . The Rangers surprised the band, killing six of the Apache, scattering the rest of the band. Gillett also pursuedoutlaw Dick Dublin that same year, killing Dublin in a gunfight. His fights with indians and several little known outlaws made him a legend in the Ranger organization.Capture of the Baca brothers, resignation
On
New Years Eve , 1881, Gillett's friend, A. M. Conklin, wasmurder ed in El Paso by the Baca brothers, after Conkiln was involved in a fight with Onefre Baca. Gillett and fellow Ranger George Lloyd set out in pursuit of the brothers immediately after the killing. Tracking the brothers to their uncles home, Gillett made it known they were their to bring the brothers in. The Uncle, Jose Baca, was a localJudge , and offered Gillett a $1,000bribe to allow his nephews to go free, which Gillett refused. Gillett and Lloyd captured all of the brothers at Jose Baca's house with the exception of Onefre Baca.Onefre Baca had fled to
Mexico , and upon learning this, but receiving no authorization to enter Mexico, Gillett crossed the border into Mexico illegally to arrest Onefre Baca, and then took him toSocorro, Texas to be held until he could be taken back to El Paso. Shortly afterward, Onefre Baca waslynch ed by an angrymob . After only six years service, under protests that he illegally arrested Baca by entering Mexico and under pressure from TexasGovernor Oran M. Roberts , Gillett resigned from the Rangers at the rank ofsergeant , accepting a position as DeputyMarshal forEl Paso, Texas , in June, 1882, working briefly under famed gunmanDallas Stoudenmire .Gillett held the marshals position until 1885, when he left to accept a job managing the "Estado Land and Cattle Company", a position he held for another six years. He started his own ranch after that, in
Alpine, Texas , then moved he and his family toRoswell, New Mexico in 1907. Purchasing the "Barrell Spring Ranch", Gillett then began raising a premium herd ofHereford cattle. Gillett retired from ranching in 1923, leasing his ranch to his son Milton, and moved toMarfa, Texas . In 1921, Gillett had written hismemoir s, "Six years with the Texas Rangers", which has remained in print since. He died ofheart failure on June 11th, 1937, and is buried in the Marfa cemetery.External links
* [http://www.texasranger.org/halloffame/Gillette_James.htm Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, James Gillett]
* [http://www.curtrich.com/gillett.html Ranger Jim Gillett]
* [http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2004/gillett.htm Fugitives from Justice, James Gillett]
* [http://www.epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/23/James%20Gillett.htm The Legend of James Gillett]
* [http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/lad/0000021071.shtml Six Years with the Texas Rangers, James B. Gillett]
* [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/fgi25.html Texas Online, James B. Gillett]
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