did wild bill hickok have children

The story quickly became newspaper and magazine fodder. [60] McCall then entered the saloon, walked up behind Hickok, drew his Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army .45-caliber revolver, and shouted, "Damn you! Hickok died immediately. He was sentenced to death on January 3, 1877 and on March 1, 1877 he was executed by hanging. Alonzo and Polly Hickok moved to Illinois in 1833, finally settling in Troy Grove (known as Homer at the time), LaSalle County, along the banks of the Little Vermillion Creek. Hickoks growing reputation for fairness and courage earned him, in 1858, a position as a constable in Monticello, Kansas. [57] The two possibly met for the first time after Jane was released from the guardhouse in Fort Laramie and joined the wagon train in which Hickok was traveling. Jane had been hired to travel with Kohl & Middleton Dime Museums; as she purchased her ticket out of town she told railroad agent A.O. Dismounting, he approached the bear and fired a shot into its head, but the bullet ricocheted off its skull, infuriating it. Most modern retailers of Old West period clothing seem to sell only banded collared shirts, yet old photographs show cowboys did wear shirts with collars. Now, she said, both Calamity Jane and another famed woman of the west, Belle Starr, were her aunts. The "special election" may not have been legal, as a letter dated September 17 to the governor of Kansas noted that Hickok had presented a warrant for an arrest which was rejected by the Fort Hays commander, because, when asked to produce his commission, Hickok admitted that he had never received one. Wild Bill Hickok's iconic status is rooted in a shootout in July 1861 in what came to be known as the McCanles Massacre in Rock Creek, Nebraska. Col. George Armstrong Custer. When a seat opened up at the table, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play. The movie The Plainsman (1936), starring Gary Cooper as Hickok, features the alleged romance between Calamity Jane and him as its main plot line. The town of Deadwood, South Dakota, re-enacts Hickok's murder and McCall's capture every summer evening. This was during the Indian Wars, in which Hickok sometimes served as a scout for General George A. Custer's 7th Cavalry. The couple had five children besides James Butler, three boys and two girls. 1. In 1941, Jean Hickok McCormick appeared in Billings, Montana. He noted that the sound was similar to tapping a brick wall and believed the remains weighed more than 400lb (180kg). Around this time, young James Hickok began using his father's name of William - the 'Wild' part came later - and he also met Buffalo Bill Cody, then just a messenger boy on a wagon train. In any case, Hardin appeared to have thought highly of Hickok. Before being called Wild Bill Hickok, his original name was James Butler Hickok. Were Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane married, and did they have a daughter? He was holding two pairs: black aces and black eights (although there is some dispute as to the suit of one of the aces, diamond vs. spade) as his "up cards", which has since become widely known as the "dead man's hand". Perhaps most famously, Harper's New Monthly Magazine printed an account of the story in 1867, claiming Hickok had killed 10 men. While at Castle City Jane went to Gilt Edge, some two hundred miles away, where she was jailed for being drunk. Hickok is a playable character in the 2018 board game Deadwood 1876 by Faade Games. awaiting execution. Wild Bill Hickoks legend only grew further when other stories about his fighting prowess surfaced. Hickok then tried acting in Wild West shows, which were growing in popularity. Like his friend Buffalo Bill Cody, Hickok was the son of an abolitionist. In June of 1887, the Cheyenne Daily Leader in Wyoming reported that Jane was arrested for drunkenness. Later that year he became a teamster with the great freighting enterprise Russell, Majors and Waddell, creators of the Pony Express, for which he was too tall and heavy to be a rider. During the Civil War he found employment as a teamster and spy for the Union Army. He usually sat with his back to a wall so he could see the entrance, but the only seat available when he joined the game was a chair facing away from the door. He told Clemmons (Hardin) to stay out of trouble in Abilene and asked him to hand over his guns, and Hardin complied. Coe claimed that he was shooting at a stray dog,[g] and then suddenly turned his gun on Hickok, who fired first and killed Coe. They traveled to Deadwood, South Dakota, together and were acquaintances, but there is no evidence of a romance (especially on his part). As vile a character as I ever met for some cause Wild Bill incurred Coe's hatred and he vowed to secure the death of the marshal. One account of him, written in the late 1860s, described Hickok as six feet tall, lithe, active, sinewy, [a] daring rider, [a] dead shot with pistol and rifle, [with] long locks, fine features and mustache, buckskin leggings, red shirt, broad-brim hat, twin pistols in belt, rifle in hand. Despite his rough-and-ready ways, Hickok was also said to have been genteel and courteous and to have enjoyed dressing with panache in the latest styles of the day. He is also remembered for the cards he was holding when he was shot dead a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights since known as the dead man's hand. McCall was executed for the murder . To date, four children have been credited to the lady, although some of the claims have come from the children themselves. Their quick-draw duel was recorded as the first of its kind. Hickok was of English ancestry. I heard him speak recently, and his is the definitive work on this wild woman of the West. Were Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane married, and did they have a daughter? He later became a lawman before settling down in Deadwood, South Dakota where he would soon meet his death. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [3][4] James was the fourth of six children. Not having the courage to do it himself, he one day filled about 200 cowboys with whiskey intending to get them into trouble with Wild Bill, hoping that they would get to shooting and in the melee shoot the marshal. Macintosh of irregularities and misconduct during the election. "George Ward Nichols and the Legend of Wild Bill Hickok. [46]:pp.5456[47], In August 1871, Hickok sought to arrest Hardin for killing Charles Couger in an Abilene hotel "for snoring too loud". In an instant, he pulled the triggers again sending two bullets into Coe's abdomen (Coe lived a day or two) and whirling with his two guns drawn on the drunken crowd of cowboys, "and now do any of you fellows want the rest of these bullets?" and that Deft. ", Nichols, George Ward (1867). Relegated to making a living through other means than law enforcement, he traveled from one town to another as a gambler. [44] In his 1895 autobiography, published after his death, Hardin claimed to have been befriended by Hickok, the newly elected town marshal, after he had disarmed the marshal using the road agent's spin, but Hardin was known to exaggerate. "J.B. Hickok, Deputy U.S. Wild Bill Hickok, byname of James Butler Hickok, (born May 27, 1837, Homer [now Troy Grove], Illinois, U.S.died August 2, 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory [now in South Dakota, U.S.]), American frontiersman, army scout, and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. She said she was the daughter of Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, and was born in a cabin near Livingston, Montana in 1873. Visit our corporate site. Tutt called out, "Boys, I'm killed", before he collapsed and died. There, again, he killed several men, including his deputy marshal, whose deaththe result of an accidental shootingled to Hickoks dismissal. This, too, was badly defaced, and was then enclosed in a cage for protection. [5] William Hickok died in 1852, when James was 15. "Wild Bill and the Timber Thieves. Best Known For: Wild Bill Hickok was an American frontiersman, army scout and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. The Bull's Head Saloon in Abilene had been established by gambler Ben Thompson and Coe, his partner, businessman, and fellow gambler. In another account of the Coe shootout: Theophilus Little, the mayor of Abilene and owner of the town's lumber yard, recorded his time in Abilene by writing in a notebook, which was ultimately given to the Abilene Historical Society. Last, there is Jessiethe most credible of Calamity Janes daughters. In 1941, Jean Hickok McCormick appeared in Billings, Montana. It was at this time that Hickok came across a bear blocking a road, an encounter that would become part of the lore surrounding him: Hickok shot the bear, which only angered it, and a struggle ensued, during which Hickok used a knife to slit the bears throat, but not before he was nearly crushed to death. ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1984). [9], At the time of his death, Hickok was wearing a Smith & Wesson Model No. shot Tutt to prevent the threatened impending injury [then] the jury will acquit.". After in inquest where other incidents of Hickoks brand of frontier justice was revealed, he was relieved of his duties. He reported returning with five prisoners after killing 10. Jean McCormick was the daughter of Jane "Calamity Jane" Cannary and James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok. The bullet emerged through his right cheek and struck another player, riverboat Captain William Massie, in the left wrist. 22nd August 2017 ), 18721886. Marshal. Despite his reputation,[70] Hickok was buried in the Ingelside Cemetery, Deadwood's original graveyard. Jessie later said that the Deadwood Chief of Police wrote her about Janes death in 1903. "[55], On March 5, 1876, Hickok married Agnes Thatcher Lake, a 50-year-old circus proprietor in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. [82], At the time of this affair I was at a station farther west and reached this station just as Wild Bill was getting ready to go to Beatrice for his trial. Hickok's retort is one of the West's most famous sayings (though possibly apocryphal): "Did the crow have a pistol? During the next several years he appeared in Buffalo Bill Codys Wild West Show, living off his fame as the consummate gunfighter. In 1857, Hickok claimed a 160-acre (65ha) tract in Johnson County, Kansas, near present-day Lenexa. The gun did not sell because the highest bid of $220,000 was less than the reserve set by the gun's owners.[76]. Drawn to this ruffian lifestyle, he headed west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice, working as a stagecoach driver and later as a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Hickok managed to fire another shot, wounding the bear's paw. This was the last time Hickok was ever involved in a gunfight; the accidental death of Deputy Williams was an event that haunted Hickok for the remainder of his life. Wild Bill Hickok was born on May 27, 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois. From William Alonzo and Polly Butler's marriage, they welcomed six children in total, and HIckon is the fourth among them all. On July 21, 1865, in a shootout in Springfield, Missouri, he killed David Tutt, a skillful gunfighter who had been flaunting the watch he won from Hickok in a poker game. [33], In September 1865, Hickok came in second in the election for city marshal of Springfield. Few could help her verify the truth, and Jean McCormick was of little help. Hardin left Kansas before Hickok could arrest him. They performed together until Bill was tragically murdered in 1869. Several times he was arrested for vagrancy. Nicholss version of the shootout in Harpers grabbed the publics attention, making Hickok an instant legend whose gunfighting prowess became fodder for dime novels. After his release, McCall had lingered in Deadwood for a short while before heading to Wyoming. It was the last word on a true child of one of the wildest women of the west. Wild Bill Hickok, byname of James Butler Hickok, (born May 27, 1837, Homer [now Troy Grove], Illinois, U.S.died August 2, 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory [now in South Dakota, U.S.]), American frontiersman, army scout, and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. There, the freight company had built a stagecoach stop along the Oregon Trail near Fairbury, Nebraska, on land purchased from David McCanles. What happened to Wild Bill Hickok's pistols? In quick succession, Hickok was said to have then killed five members of McCanless gang and knocked out another before three more gang members threw him down on a bed, only to be bested in hand-to-hand combat by the knife-wielding Hickok. Lorenzo Butler Hickok spoke with McCall after the trial, and said McCall showed no remorse. Area newspapers reported that Jane named the boy Little Calamity. A freighter named Evans recalled watching Jane smother the baby with kisses, calling him Muzzies yittle snoozey [sic] darling. Jane later told others that Little Calamity died. Fox met Jessie when she interviewed Jane for an article in Illustrated American magazine. She claims to have known James Hickok, known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, and she is thought to have traveled with him for several years. McCall alleged that John Varnes, a Deadwood gambler, had paid him to murder Wild Bill. In the Clint Eastwood movie Hang em High, a tumbleweed wagon picks up prisoners to haul them off to jail. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. While a Jayhawker, he met 12-year-old William Cody (later known as "Buffalo Bill"), who, despite his youth, served as a scout just two years later for the U.S. Army during the Utah War. When they returned from overseas, Agnes and Bill Lake decided to start their own circus. Wild Bill Hickok was one of the early "Heroes of the West." He had built a reputation as an extraordinary gunfighter with a sense of fairness and justice. There are many versions of the shootout that occurred at Rock Creek on July 12, 1861, shortly after the start of the Civil War, and all, in one way or another, contributed to Hickoks legend. In 1855, at the age of 18, he left to become a part of thegrowing American West. ", DeMattos, Jack (1980). Six months later Jane visited friends in Deadwood, stating Jessie had married and was living in North Dakota with two children. [9], Hickok used his late father's name, William Hickok, from 1858, and the name William Haycock during the American Civil War. Jane claimed that James Butler Hickok was the father of her child Jean . [12], While in Nebraska, Hickok was derisively referred to by one man as "Duck Bill" for his long nose and protruding lips. [31], Several weeks later, an interview Hickok gave to Colonel George Ward Nichols, a journalist who subsequently became known as the creator of the Hickok legend,[32] was published in Harper's New Monthly Magazine. Hickok, just a stable-hand at the time, killed the three men, despite being severely injured. Wild Bill had learned of the scheme and cornered Coe, had his two pistols drawn on Coe. By the end of the night most of the money had been spent, and Jane was roaring drunk. McCall was found guilty and sentenced to death. Hardin alleged that when his cousin, Mannen Clements, was jailed for the killing of two cowhands (Joe and Dolph Shadden) in July 1871, Hickokat Hardin's requestarranged for his escape. Death on January 3, 1877 he was executed by hanging ] the jury will.. West shows, which were growing in popularity thegrowing American West credited to the frontier West children... Deadwood, South Dakota where he would soon meet his death, Hickok was buried the! Eastwood movie Hang em High, a position as a constable in Monticello, Kansas interviewed Jane for an in. Managed to fire another shot, wounding the bear and fired a into! 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