James Masterson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 James Masterson |
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| Born: | 1855 |
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| Died: | March 31, 1895 |
| Occupation: | Deputy Marshal |
James Masterson, also known as Jim Masterson, (1855-March 31st, 1895) was a lawman of the old west, and the brother of gunfighter and lawman Bat Masterson and lawman Ed Masterson.
[edit] Lawman career
James Masterson, regardless of not achieving the fame that his brother Bat achieved, was actually involved in more shootouts than his brother ever was. Bat Masterson's fame, mostly attributed to his association with Wyatt Earp, Luke Short, and others, was built on his being a gunfighter. However, historical records indicate that Bat Masterson was only in one gunfight throughout his lifetime, not including his alleged involvement in the shootout in which his brother Ed was killed, and any he was involved in while on the frontier. Whereas James was involved in at least four confirmed gunfights. Although historically he receives little notoriety, James Masterson was well known in the Kansas and Oklahoma areas as a formidable gunman, and an extremely capable lawman.
After working on the western frontier as a buffalo hunter with his brothers, he returned to Kansas. He became Assistant Marshal in Dodge City, Kansas in June of 1878. At that time Charlie Bassett was the Marshal, having replaced Jim's brother Ed Masterson, Ed having been killed that past April. Wyatt Earp was a Deputy Marshal under Bassett at that same time, along with Earp's brother James. In the summer of 1878, a cowboy named George Hoy opened fire on the Comique Variety Hall, outside of which stood Masterson and Wyatt Earp. Earp had been involved in an altercation with Hoy previously. Both Earp and Masterson returned fire, and Hoy was shot from his horse by one bullet that severely injured his arm. Hoy died a month later, and Earp always claimed to have fired the shot that ultimately killed Hoy. However, that was never confirmed, and it is entirely possible that the shot was actually fired by Jim Masterson. Masterson, however, never disputed Earps claim, and simply didn't comment.
He made several hundred arrests during the next two year time span, mostly of drunken cowboys that came through Dodge City on cattle drives. In November, 1879, he was promoted to Marshal after the resignation of Bassett. He shot at least one man during his service with the Dodge City Marshal's Office, aside from the Hoy shooting. On April 6th, 1881, he lost his job after a change in city government, and the belief that the long standing hard-lined stance of the Marshal's Office was past its prime and no longer useful. Ten days later, during a shootout, he shot Al Updegraff, and was ordered out of Dodge City. [1]
Masterson moved to Trinidad, Colorado, where he became town Marshal. While in Trinidad, Masterson arrested John Allen for the shooting death of Frank Loving, in what became known as the Trinidad Gunfight. He later moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma, and then later became a Deputy Sheriff of Logan County, Oklahoma. On September 1st, 1893, he was involved in the Battle of Ingalls as a Special Deputy US Marshal, a gunfight in Ingalls, Oklahoma against the Doolin-Dalton gang, and was responsible for the capture of gang member "Arkansas Tom" Jones. He died of consumption on March 31st, 1895.
