James B. Gillett
Encyclopedia
James B. Gillett was a lawman
of the Old West, mostly well known due to his service as a Texas Ranger
, and is a member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame
.
, Gillett was raised working as a cowboy
on local ranch
es. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1875, in Menard, Texas
. Gillett initially served under Captain
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 numerous skirmishes with Kiowa
, Apache
, and Comanche
Indians
. He was involved in the July 21, 1878 killing of outlaw
Sam Bass
in Round Rock, Texas
, when Bass was shot by Texas Ranger George Herold, and Gillett later took part in putting down both the Mason 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 pursued outlaw
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.
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 local Judge
, and offered Gillett a $1,000 bribe 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 to Socorro, Texas
to be held until he could be taken back to El Paso. Shortly afterward, Onefre Baca was lynch
ed by an angry mob. After only six years service, under protests that he illegally arrested Baca by entering Mexico and under pressure from Texas Governor
Oran M. Roberts
, Gillett resigned from the Rangers at the rank of sergeant
, accepting a position as Deputy Marshal
for El Paso, Texas
, in June, 1882, working briefly under famed gunman Dallas 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 to Roswell, New Mexico
in 1907. Purchasing the Barrell Spring Ranch, Gillett then began raising a premium herd of Hereford
cattle. Gillett retired from ranching in 1923, leasing his ranch to his son Milton, and moved to Marfa, Texas
. In 1921, Gillett had written his memoir
s, Six years with the Texas Rangers, which has remained in print since. He died of heart failure on June 11, 1937, and is buried in the Marfa cemetery.
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
of the Old West, mostly well known due to his service as a Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
, and is a member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, is the state-designated official historical center of the famed Texas Rangers law enforcement agency. It consists of the Homer Garrison, Jr. museum gallery, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, the Texas Ranger Research Center and the Headquarters...
.
Early life and career
Born James Buchanan Gillett in Austin, TexasAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Gillett was raised working as a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
on local ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
es. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1875, in Menard, Texas
Menard, Texas
Menard is a city in and the county seat of Menard County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,653 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. Gillett initially served under Captain
Police captain
- France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....
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 numerous skirmishes with Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
, Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
, and Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. He was involved in the July 21, 1878 killing of outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
Sam Bass
Sam Bass
Sam Bass was a nineteenth-century American train robber and outlaw.-Early life:Bass was orphaned at the age of 10. For the next five years, he and his siblings lived with an abusive uncle. In 1869, he set out on his own and spent the next year in Mississippi...
in Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
, when Bass was shot by Texas Ranger George Herold, and Gillett later took part in putting down both the Mason County War
Mason County War
The Mason County War, also called the Hoodoo War was a cattle rustling dispute between German-American settlers and the non-German ranchers in Mason County, Texas.-Background:...
and the Horrell-Higgins feud
Horrell Brothers
The Horrell Brothers, sometimes referred to as the Lawless Horrell Boys were five brothers from the Horrell family of Lampasas County, Texas, who were outlaws of the Old West, and who committed numerous murders over a five year period before four of the brothers were killed in different incidents...
.
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
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...
. The Rangers surprised the band, killing six of the Apache, scattering the rest of the band. Gillett also pursued outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
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, was murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
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 local Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, and offered Gillett a $1,000 bribe 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
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, 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 to Socorro, Texas
Socorro, Texas
Socorro is a city in El Paso County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 27,152. By the 2010 census, the number had grown to 32,013. It is part of the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city was reactivated in 1986 and has been a working city since then...
to be held until he could be taken back to El Paso. Shortly afterward, Onefre Baca was lynch
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
ed by an angry mob. After only six years service, under protests that he illegally arrested Baca by entering Mexico and under pressure from Texas Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Oran M. Roberts
Oran M. Roberts
Oran Milo Roberts , was the 17th Governor of Texas from January 21, 1879 to January 16, 1883. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Roberts County, Texas, is named after him....
, Gillett resigned from the Rangers at the rank of sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
, accepting a position as Deputy Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
for El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, in June, 1882, working briefly under famed gunman Dallas Stoudenmire
Dallas Stoudenmire
Dallas Stoudenmire was an American Old West gunman and lawman, who gained fame for a brief gunfight that was later dubbed the "Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight". Although lesser known than many others from the Old West called gunfighters, his name is becoming more prominent...
.
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
Alpine, Texas
Alpine is a city in and the county seat of Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,786 people at the 2000 census, and had increased to 5,905 by 2010.-History:...
, then moved he and his family to Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,366 at the 2010 census. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also...
in 1907. Purchasing the Barrell Spring Ranch, Gillett then began raising a premium herd of Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
cattle. Gillett retired from ranching in 1923, leasing his ranch to his son Milton, and moved to Marfa, Texas
Marfa, Texas
Marfa is a town in the high desert of far West Texas in the Southwestern United States. Located between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, it is also the county seat of Presidio County. The population was 1,981 at the 2010 census....
. In 1921, Gillett had written his memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s, Six years with the Texas Rangers, which has remained in print since. He died of heart failure on June 11, 1937, and is buried in the Marfa cemetery.