Charles A. Shibell
Encyclopedia
Charles A. Shibell 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.
on March 8, 1841 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. In 1877 Shibell married Nellie Norton and they had two children, Lionel J. and Orpha.
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 (482.8 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.
In June, 1864, he went to work at the Cerro Colorado Mine
as a silver miner about 75 miles (120.7 km) southwest of Tucson. In May, 1865 he moved to the Sonoita River about 30 miles (48.3 km) south of Tubac, Arizona
where he operated a cattle ranch. His ranch was repeatedly attacked by Apache Indians and he lost cattle on several occasions to the Indians, 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 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.
He then opened a stagecoach
stop named Desert Station on the road 26 miles (41.8 km) northwest of Tucson which he maintained through 1872. He also resumed the teamster business that year between Tucson and Yuma.
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 12000000 acres (4,856,232 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." 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." 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.
. The region was strongly Republican 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.
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.
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. 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.” 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
. Meanwhile, a week after the election on November 9, 1880, Earp resigned. The position of undersheriff was now open, and Shibell immediately selected Democrat Johnny Behan
to serve as Tombstone area undersheriff.
In February 1881, the San Simon results were thrown out by the election commissioners, but Shibell filed an appeal. He was finally removed from office in April and replaced by Bob Paul.
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."
In 1888 Shibell was elected as the Pima County Recorder, a position he held until 1902. Shibell died in Tucson on October 21, 1908.
Teamster
A teamster, in modern American English, is a truck driver. The trade union named after them is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters , one of the largest unions in the United States....
, miner, hotel owner, customs inspector, recorder, and Pima County, Arizona
Pima County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
County Sheriff and a contemporary of Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
and his brothers. Shibell promised a job as Deputy Sheriff to Earp, but when Earp announced his support for Bob Paul
Robert H. Paul
Robert H. Paul was a law enforcement officer in the American Southwest for more than 30 years. He was sheriff of Pima County, Arizona Territory from April 1881 to 1886 and a friend of Deputy U.S. Marshall Virgil Earp and his brother Wyatt Earp...
as the next sheriff, Shibell appointed Earp's antagonist Johnny Behan
Johnny Behan
John Harris Behan was from April, 1881 to November, 1882 sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. Behan was appointed the first sheriff of the newly-created county in February, 1881. The mining boomtown of Tombstone was the new county seat and Behan's headquarters...
to the position instead.
Personal life
Charles Alexander Shibell was born in St. Louis, MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
on March 8, 1841 where he attended public school. He attended Iowa College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
(later renamed Grinnell College). In 1860 he left Iowa for Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, 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. In 1877 Shibell married Nellie Norton and they had two children, Lionel J. and Orpha.
Professional life
In 1862, just as the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
was beginning, he joined Col. James H. Carleton's California Column
California Column
The California Column, a force of Union volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas during the American Civil War. At the time, this was the longest trek through desert terrain...
. He worked as a civilian teamster
Teamster
A teamster, in modern American English, is a truck driver. The trade union named after them is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters , one of the largest unions in the United States....
and was with the Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
forces when they re-captured Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
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 (482.8 km) from the headquarters at Tucson to Ft. Yuma
Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...
. In 1864 the troops were ordered to the Rio Grande where they would be mustered out, and Shibell remained in Tucson.
In June, 1864, he went to work at the Cerro Colorado Mine
Cerro Colorado Mountains
The Cerro Colorado Mountains are a low mountain range in Pima County, Arizona, USA. The highest point of the range is at the Colorado Benchmark , at ....
as a silver miner about 75 miles (120.7 km) southwest of Tucson. In May, 1865 he moved to the Sonoita River about 30 miles (48.3 km) south of Tubac, Arizona
Tubac, Arizona
Tubac is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 949 at the 2000 census. The place name Tubac is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name, which translates into English as "rotten". The original O'odham name is written...
where he operated a cattle ranch. His ranch was repeatedly attacked by Apache Indians and he lost cattle on several occasions to the Indians, 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 in the Camp Grant Massacre
Camp Grant Massacre
The Camp Grant Massacre, on April 30, 1871, was an attack on Pinal and Aravaipa Apaches who surrendered to the United States Army at Camp Grant, Arizona, along the San Pedro River. The massacre led to a series of battles and campaigns fought between the Americans, the Apache, and their Yavapai...
on April 30, 1871, during which 144 Aravaipas and Pinal Indians were killed and mutilated, almost all of them women and children.
He then opened a stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
stop named Desert Station on the road 26 miles (41.8 km) northwest of Tucson which he maintained through 1872. He also resumed the teamster business that year between Tucson and Yuma.
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 12000000 acres (4,856,232 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
Posse
Posse may refer to:* Posse comitatus , a group of men assembled to assist in law enforcement* Posse , starring Kirk Douglas* Posse , starring Mario van Peebles...
tracked Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
Territory road-agent William Whitney Brazelton who was suspected of repeated stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
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." Shibell gave orders to shoot on sight if needed, and Brazelton was killed during the confrontation in a mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
bosque
Bosque
Bosque is the name for areas of gallery forest found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States...
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.
John J. Valentine, Sr.
John Joseph Valentine, Sr. was an American expressman. He was the first president of Wells Fargo & Company who had not been a banker and served from 1892 until his death in 1901.-Early life:...
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." Shibell was reelected Sheriff in 1878.
On July 27, 1880, Shibell appointed Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
Deputy Sheriff in Pima County, when Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
was still part of Pima County, making Earp the primary law enforcement officer for most of eastern Pima County.
Election overturned
Shibell ran for reelection as Pima County Sheriff in the November 2, 1880 against Republican Bob PaulRobert H. Paul
Robert H. Paul was a law enforcement officer in the American Southwest for more than 30 years. He was sheriff of Pima County, Arizona Territory from April 1881 to 1886 and a friend of Deputy U.S. Marshall Virgil Earp and his brother Wyatt Earp...
. The region was strongly Republican 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
The Cowboys (Cochise County)
The Cowboys were a loosely associated group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. They were cattle rustlers and robbers who rode across the border into Mexico and rounded up cattle that they then sold in the United States...
, 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.
Elections were held on November 2, and it was expected that Democrat Shibell would be defeated by Republican Bob Paul
Robert H. Paul
Robert H. Paul was a law enforcement officer in the American Southwest for more than 30 years. He was sheriff of Pima County, Arizona Territory from April 1881 to 1886 and a friend of Deputy U.S. Marshall Virgil Earp and his brother Wyatt Earp...
, who Wyatt had supported during the campaign. Shibell won the election by a 58-vote margin.
On November 19, Bob Paul
Robert H. Paul
Robert H. Paul was a law enforcement officer in the American Southwest for more than 30 years. He was sheriff of Pima County, Arizona Territory from April 1881 to 1886 and a friend of Deputy U.S. Marshall Virgil Earp and his brother Wyatt Earp...
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. 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.” 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
Phineas Clanton
Phineas Fay Clanton was the son of Newman Haynes Clanton and the brother of Billy and Ike Clanton. He was witness to and possibly played a part if a number of illegal activities during his life...
. Meanwhile, a week after the election on November 9, 1880, Earp resigned. The position of undersheriff was now open, and Shibell immediately selected Democrat Johnny Behan
Johnny Behan
John Harris Behan was from April, 1881 to November, 1882 sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. Behan was appointed the first sheriff of the newly-created county in February, 1881. The mining boomtown of Tombstone was the new county seat and Behan's headquarters...
to serve as Tombstone area undersheriff.
In February 1881, the San Simon results were thrown out by the election commissioners, but Shibell filed an appeal. He was finally removed from office in April and replaced by Bob Paul.
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. 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.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."
In 1888 Shibell was elected as the Pima County Recorder, a position he held until 1902. Shibell died in Tucson on October 21, 1908.