Robert Widenmann
| Robert A. Widenmann | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Robert A. Widenmann January 24, 1852 Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Died |
April 13, 1930 (aged 78) Haverstraw, New York |
| Resting place | Mount Repose Cementary |
| Occupation | Deputy US Marshal |
| Spouse(s) | Albertine Seiler-Lemke (m. 1881; died 1905) |
| Children | 4 |
Robert A. Widenmann (January 24, 1852 – April 13, 1930) was a Deputy United States Marshal and associate of Billy the Kid during the Lincoln County War.[1][2][3][4]
Early life
Widenmann was born January 24, 1852, to German-born parents in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Widenmann's father was the Bavarian Consul in Ann Arbor. As a teen-ager, Widenmann was sent back to the family’s native Germany for his schooling. He lived there for several years with a grandfather.[5]
Returning to America, Widenmann lived for some time in New York City before drifting west, finally arriving in Lincoln in mid-February 1877. In New Mexico, he would be appointed Deputy Marshal by U.S. Marshal for New Mexico Territory John Sherman Jr.[6][7]
Lincoln County War
On February 18, 1878, John Tunstall was killed by Murphy-Dolan gunmen William Morton, Frank Baker, Jesse Evans and Tom Hill. Tunstall had been accompanied by Robert Widenmann, Dick Brewer, Billy the Kid, John Middleton, Henry Newton Brown, and Fred Waite while herding horses from his ranch on the Rio Feliz to Lincoln.
On April 1, 1878, Regulators Jim French, Frank McNab, John Middleton, Fred Waite, Henry Newton Brown and Billy the Kid ambushed Sheriff William J. Brady and four of his deputies on the main street of Lincoln. They fired on the five men from behind an adobe wall. Brady died of at least a dozen gunshot wounds. Deputy George W. Hindman was hit twice, fatally. Widenmann was present, but whether he participated was never ascertained: he claimed he was feeding Tunstall's dog at the time of the shooting.[8]
Both Billy the Kid and Deputy Marshal Widenmann were wanted by county law officials for their deaths. Deputy Marshal Widenmann turned himself into the military at Fort Stanton. A few weeks later he left the territory fearing for his life.[9]
Later life
Robert A. Widenmann's post-New Mexico career took him to Great Britain, where he visited Tunstall's family, and onto New York where in 1896 he was a National Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 17th District. He died in Haverstraw, N.Y. on April 13, 1930 at the age of 78.[10]
According to his daughter Elsie, Widenmann lived in fear of his life for many years because of his role in the Lincoln county war and in bucking such powerful New Mexico politicians as Stephen B. Elkins.[11]
References
- ↑ https://familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-300-45220-514-26/dist.txt?ctx=ArtCtxPublic
- ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=gABJ88abRooC&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&ots=2UMphXoBKQ&focus=viewport&dq=robert+bob+widenmann+haverstraw&output=html_text
- ↑ http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid-and-the-us-marshals-service.htm/5
- ↑ http://www.mountaintimes.net/Newspaper/41-May2001.pdf
- ↑ http://www.mountaintimes.net/Newspaper/41-May2001.pdf
- ↑ http://www.mountaintimes.net/Newspaper/41-May2001.pdf
- ↑ http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid-and-the-us-marshals-service.htm
- ↑ https://familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-300-45220-514-26/dist.txt?ctx=ArtCtxPublic
- ↑ http://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2011/08/04/deputy-marshal-v-deputy-marshal/
- ↑ https://familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-300-45220-514-26/dist.txt?ctx=ArtCtxPublic
- ↑ http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid-and-the-us-marshals-service.htm/4
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