Charles A. Shibell

Charles A. Shibell
Charles A. Shibell
Born	August 14, 1841(1841-08-14) St. Louis, Missouri
Died	December 16, 1938(1938-12-16) (aged 84) Tucson, Arizona
Occupation	Miner, customs inspector, Pima County Sheriff, county recorder
Known for	Pima County Sheriff at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Spouse	Nellie Norton

Charles A. Shibell (August 14, 1841—October 21, 1908) was a teamster, miner, hotel owner, customs inspector, recorder, and Pima County, Arizona County Sheriff and a contemporary of Wyatt Earp and his brothers. Shibell promised a job as Deputy Sheriff to Earp, but when Earp announced his support for Bob Paul as the next sheriff, Shibell appointed Earp's antagonist Johnny Behan to the position instead.

Personal life

Charles Alexander Shibell^[1]:22 was born in St. Louis, Missouri on March 8, 1841^[2] where he attended public school. He attended Iowa College (later renamed Grinnell College). In 1860 he left Iowa for Sacramento, California, where he got a job as a clerk in a general store. He later moved to the southwest where he married Mercedes Sais Quiroz in 1868. They had four children, Mamie A., Lillie M., Charles B. and Mercedes A., before Mercedes died in 1876 at age 26.^[3]:122[4] In 1877 Shibell married Nellie Norton and they had two children, Lionel J. and Orpha.

Professional life

In 1862, just as the Civil War was beginning, he joined Col. James H. Carleton's California Column. He worked as a civilian teamster and was with the Union forces when they re-captured Tucson, Arizona from Confederate forces on May 20, 1862. He followed the force to the Rio Grande River and remained there until January 1, 1863, when he returned to Tucson. He worked for the federal government transporting supplies 300 miles (480 km) from the headquarters at Tucson to Ft. Yuma. In 1864 the troops were ordered to the Rio Grande where they would be mustered out, and Shibell remained in Tucson.^[5]

In June, 1864, he went to work at the Cerro Colorado Mine as a silver miner about 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Tucson. In May, 1865 he moved to the Sonoita River about 30 miles (48 km) south of Tubac, Arizona where he operated a cattle ranch.^[6] His ranch was repeatedly attacked by Apache Indians and he lost cattle on several occasions to the Indians,^[6] until two or three of his men were killed. Unable to withstand the Apache's attacks, he left the area in 1867 and returned to Tucson. He became a Customs Inspector for the next two years. He may have been a participant^[7]:221 in the Camp Grant Massacre on April 30, 1871, during which 144 Aravaipas and Pinal Indians were killed and mutilated, almost all of them women and children.^[8]

He then opened a stagecoach stop named Desert Station on the road 26 miles (42 km) northwest of Tucson which he maintained through 1872. He also resumed the teamster business that year between Tucson and Yuma.^[5]

A lifelong Democrat, in 1874 Shibell developed an interest in politics. In January, 1875 he was appointed a Pima County Deputy Sheriff by Tucson Mayor William S. Oury and held the office for two years.

He ran for Sheriff in 1877 and held that office for four years, until 1881. He was responsible for enforcing the law for 3,000 citizens spread out over 12,000,000 acres (4,900,000 ha) on the extremely remote border with Mexico, a wide-open area on the edge of the American frontier.

On Monday August 19, 1878, Shibell and a citizen posse tracked Arizona and New Mexico Territory road-agent William Whitney Brazelton who was suspected of repeated stagecoach robberies in the Tucson area to a meeting place where he expected to receive supplies from a confederate named David Nemitz. Nemitz warned that Shibell "would not be taken alive unless by artful strategy."^[9] Shibell gave orders to shoot on sight if needed, and Brazelton was killed during the confrontation in a mesquite bosque along the Santa Cruz River approximately three miles south of Tucson. Shortly thereafter, Brazelton's body was photographed by pioneer Tucson photohrapher Henry Buehman and copies of these were availabe for sale to the general public. Additionally, John J. Valentine, Sr. Wells, Fargo & Co. would as a direct response to Brazelton's criminal actions in Pima County send special agent and future sheriff of said couunty Bob Paul to investigate on their behalf."^[9] Shibell was reelected Sheriff in 1878.

On July 27, 1880, Shibell appointed Wyatt Earp Deputy Sheriff in Pima County, when Tombstone, Arizona was still part of Pima County, making Earp the primary law enforcement officer for most of eastern Pima County.^[10]

Election overturned

Shibell ran for reelection as Pima County Sheriff in the November 2, 1880 against Republican Bob Paul. The region was strongly Republican^[11]:158 and Paul was expected to win. Whoever won would likely appoint someone from the same political party. Republican Wyatt expected he would continue in the job.

Shibell was supported in his reelection bid by a loosely organized federation of outlaw Cowboys, mostly Southerners, who strongly opposed Wyatt Earp and the Republicans generally. A cowboy in that time and region was generally regarded as an outlaw. Legitimate cowmen were referred to as cattle herders or ranchers.^[12]:194

Elections were held on November 2, and it was expected that Democrat Shibell would be defeated by Republican Bob Paul, who Wyatt had supported during the campaign. Shibell won the election by a 58-vote margin.^[13]

On November 19, Bob Paul filed suit and accused Shibell of ballot-stuffing in the San Simon Cienega precinct, since the precinct delivered a 103 to 1 vote for Shibell in a precinct estimated to contain only 15 eligible voters.^[14] The trial was transferred to Tucson's district court and began in January 17. On January 20, 1881, the Arizona Star reported, “There has been some big cheating somewhere, and by some persons. It was clear that there had been reckless counting at Tombstone, fraud at San Simon and a careless election board at Tres Alamos.”^[13] A recount was held and this time Paul had 402 votes and Shibell had 354. Sixty-two were kept from a closer examination.

James Johnson later testified for Bud Paul in the election hearing and said that the ballots had been left in the care of Democrat Phin Clanton.^[15] Meanwhile, a week after the election on November 9, 1880, Earp resigned.^[16] The position of undersheriff was now open, and Shibell immediately selected Democrat Johnny Behan to serve as Tombstone area undersheriff.^[17]

In February 1881, the San Simon results were thrown out by the election commissioners,^[14] but Shibell filed an appeal. He was finally removed from office in April and replaced by Bob Paul.^[18]

Operates hotels

When his term as Sheriff ended, he bought and ran the Palace Hotel and the Occidental Hotel. In 1884 he opened a store until 1887 when he was once again appointed deputy sheriff under Sheriff Eugene O. Shaw. He was deputy sheriff until January 1, 1889.^[5] On February 22, 1888, Shibell along with U.S. Deputy Marshal William Kidder Meade and deputies pursued men suspected of robbing a Southern Pacific train deep into Mexico. When they finally notified Mexican authorities of their purpose in Mexico, they were arrested for entering the country illegally.^[1]:221

It was during his second appointment as deputy sheriff that Shibell challenged an old friend, a former guide and scout for the U.S. Army named Alfred Franklin Banta, the reputed discoverer of Meteor Crater, to track down a fugitive 900 miles into Old Mexico and back. He returned with his prisoner, though saying he "had one horse shot; missed being assisinated three or four times, but I am here yet, telling the story."^[19]

In 1888 Shibell was elected as the Pima County Recorder, a position he held until 1902. Shibell died in Tucson on October 21, 1908.^[19]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Metz, Leon Claire (2003). The encyclopedia of lawmen, outlaws, and gunfighters. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 978-0816045433. http://books.google.com/books?id=BegmwZ3fuGUC&pg=PA22. 
2. ^ Charles A. Shibell at Find a Grave
3. ^ Gregory, Michno; Michno, Susan (2007). A Fate Worse Than Death: Indian Captivities in the West, 1830-1885. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press. ISBN 978-0870044519. 
4. ^ Farish, Thomas Edwin (1916). History of Arizona, Volume 4. Phoenix, Arizona. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Charles A. Shibell". http://files.usgwarchives.org/az/pima/bios/shibell.txt. Retrieved September 20, 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Charles A. Shibell". WWHA Research Center. Wild West History Association. 
7. ^ Metz, Leon Claire (2003). The encyclopedia of lawmen, outlaws, and gunfighters. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 978-0816045433. 
8. ^ Phil Konstantin, "This day in North American Indian history", p.107
9. ^ ^{a b} Wright, Erik J. (2010). '"Yes, Here I am Again!" Tucson's Prize Bandit of 1878: William W. Brazelton'. Wild West History Association: Journal 3(5). 
10. ^ Gatto, Steve. "Wyatt Earp History Page". WyattEarp.net. http://www.wyattearp.net/deputysheriff.html. Retrieved 5 May 2011. 
11. ^ edited, William M. Breakenridge; Brown, with an introduction by Richard Maxwell (1992). Helldorado: Bringing the Law to the Mesquite. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803261006. 
12. ^ Lubet, Steven (2004). Murder in Tombstone: the Forgotten Trial of Wyatt Earp. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-300-11527-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=iuqp1zVGnzQC&pg=PA38. Retrieved 2011-04-14. 
13. ^ ^{a b} Traywick, Ben. "Wyatt Earp's Thirteen Dead Men". http://thetombstonenews.com/wyatt-earps-thirteen-dead-men-p1369-84.htm. Retrieved 5 May 2011. 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Wyatt Earp vs. Curly Bill". http://www.tombstonevigilantes.com/curly.html. Retrieved 5 May 2011. 
15. ^ Johnson, David (1996). John Ringo (first ed.). Stillwater, OK: Barbed Wire Press. ISBN 978-0935269239. http://books.google.com/books?id=7mT_E8MS2koC&pg=PA137. 
16. ^ "Resignation of the Office of Deputy Sheriff of Pima County". November 9, 1880. http://www.awesomestories.com/images/user/1a1c18ea6e.jpg. Retrieved March 7, 2011. 
17. ^ "Wyatt Earp". http://www.inn-california.com/articles/biographic/earp1.html. Retrieved April 11, 2011. 
18. ^ "Cochise County Arizona". County Website. Cochise County. 2009. http://www.cochise.az.gov/Default.aspx?id=4104. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
19. ^ ^{a b} "Charles A. Shibell". http://the-wanderling.com/shibell.html. Retrieved 21 September 2011. 

External links

Biography portal

Persondata
Name	Shibell, Charles A.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	Aug. 14, 1841
Place of birth	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
Date of death	October 21, 1908
Place of death	Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A.