Tom Pickett (outlaw)
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Tom Pickett (1858-May 14, 1934) was a 19th century American cowboy, professional gambler and, as both a lawman and outlaw at various points in his life, was an associate of Dave Rudabaugh and later Billy the Kid.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Camp Throckmorton, Wise County, Texas, Pickett began rustling cattle as a teenager growing up in Decatur and was eventually arrested for stealing cattle at age 17. His father, then a member of the state legislature and ex-Confederate officer, was forced to mortgage the family home in order to pay his son's fine. Briefly serving with the Frontier Battalion of the Texas Rangers from April 1, 1876 to August 31, 1877, he later arrived in Kansas City after working on a cattle drive and lived as a professional gambler for a time.
While in Kansas City, he would meet outlaw Dave Rudabaugh and traveled with him to the New Mexico Territory after being indicted in Cooke County for cattle rustling in 1879. He served as a peace officer for the Dodge City Gang in Las Vegas until the two were run out of town after Rudabaugh killed a deputy sheriff. He was also an assistant marshal in White Oaks, New Mexico before arriving in the Fort Sumner-area where he was hired by Charlie Bowdre as a ranch hand. He and Rudabaugh soon became involved in cattle rustling with Billy Wilson, Tom O'Folliard and Billy the Kid.
In December 1880, he and his partners were forced to flee after an encounter with a local posse led by Pat Garrett left O'Folliard dead. Hiding out in a remote rock cabin at Stinking Springs, they surrendered to Garrett's posse a few days later after a long siege. Pickett was released on $300 bail and soon left the area.
He later had a brief stint as town marshal of Golden, New Mexico, however, he was later run out of town by a lynch mob in 1882. Living in Mexico for a time, he was one of several men who were charged with the murders of four Mexicans at Seven Rivers, New Mexico on January 8, 1884 although he managed to avoid arrest.
Pickett later turned up in northern Arizona where he was hired by the Hash Knife outfit (Aztec Land and Cattle Company) and later participated in the Graham-Tewsbury feud. After suffering a serious leg injury, Pickett went back to "punching cattle" serving as a packer for the US Army during its campaign against Geronimo in 1886.
He settled in Holbrook, Arizona and, in 1888, married Catherine Kelly. After his wife and baby died in childbirth the following year, he returned to drifting working at various times as a bartender, prospector, cowhand and was a stage driver for the Fort Apache-Holbrook line for several years. Between 1912 and 1914, he was also a deputy U.S. Marshal.
He eventually had to have his leg amputated and returned to northern Arizona to live out his final years. He died of nephritis at the age of 76 in Winslow, Arizona on May 14, 1934.
[edit] Further reading
- Philip J. Rasch, "He Rode With the Kid: The Life of Tom Pickett." London. English Westerners' 10th Anniv. Pubn., 1964.
[edit] References
- Neal, Bill. Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. ISBN 0-8061-2335-4
- Roth, Mitchel P. Historical Dictionary of Law Enforcement. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. ISBN 0-313-30560-9
- Thrapp, Dan L. Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: In Three Volumes, Volume III (P-Z). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988. ISBN 0-8032-9418-2
