How Tall Were Our Historical Heroes?

This past week, I watched an interesting show on National Geographic Channel about one married couple’s attempts to authenticate an old tintype photograph they’d bought which they believed to depict Billy The Kid and a few of the Regulators playing, of all things, croquet. Perhaps you’ve heard stories about this “new discovery” (a few years old now)—or even watched the show. I won’t take the time to rehash the details in the 2-hour episode. Nor is my intent to debate whether the photograph truly doesdepict these famous figures out of Old West lore. There is debate about the validity of the claim. So if you’d like to read a detailed account of whether this photograph truly is “the real McCoy” in Billy The Kid memorabilia, please look at the thorough article done by True West Magazine. 

Old Tintype photograph that is rumored to depict Billy The Kid
and several of the Regulators

I found many of the details presented in the show to be a fascinating view into how one goes about authenticating antiques and other memorabilia. One such detail was how the facial recognition specialist hired to compare the new image to the only known one of William Bonney, then used the croquet mallet held by the supposed “Billy” to figure the man’s height. (Just a note, in the above-referenced article, they poke holes in the specialist’s assertion that there was a standard length for croquet mallets in that time period, so his math could be wrong). But, regardless, I found it interesting to see them estimate the supposed “Billy” figure’s height to be 5’8” tall, which, lo and behold, is the height recorded for the real Billy The Kid in history.

Close-up of the "Billy" figure, holding a
croquet mallet.

Hmmm. Billy The Kid was just 5’8”? He wasn’t much taller than me. Certainly not a very imposing figure for such a notorious outlaw. This got me to wondering about other historic figures and how tall they were. As is often the case, when I get curious, you get to benefit from my questions.

So how tall were the people from our past?

The general who led us through the Revolutionary War and who later become the first President of the United States, George Washington, stood at 6’2” tall. His wife, Martha, was a mere 5’ tall.

Martha and George Washington

Our 16^thPresident, Abraham Lincoln, was the tallest of our nation’s leaders, topping the height scale at 6’4” tall. His wife Mary Todd Lincoln, was another slight-of-stature woman at 5’2”.

Mary Todd Lincoln and President Abraham Lincoln

Interestingly, our shortest president was the fourth, James Madison, who stood only 5’4” tall, but was “dwarfed” by his above-average wife, Dolley, who stood 5’7” tall.

President James Madison and his tall wife Dolley.

General Robert E. Lee, who led the Confederate Army during the Civil War, stood 5’8” tall.

General Robert E. Lee

General Ulysses S. Grant, who led the Union forces in the same war—then went on to become our 18^thpresident—also topped out at 5’8”. 

General Ulysses S. Grant

Famed Old West lawman Wyatt Earp stood 6’ tall.

Lawman Wyatt Earp

Wild Bill Hickok, who worked many jobs in the Old West, including soldier, spy, wagon master, lawman, gunfighter, and actor, among other things, had a height of 6’ even.

Wild Bill Hickok

Martha Jane Canary, better known as Calamity Jane, doesn’t have a recorded height that I could find, but she was tall for a woman, strong like a man, and quite a character in every sense of the word.

Martha Jane Canary, also known as
Calamity Jane

Western sharpshooter, Annie Oakley, was all of 5’ tall.

Annie Oakley, famed sharshooter

What about more recent historical figures?

Longest-serving president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who presided over the country when Pearl Harbor was attacked, stood 6’2” tall, though few got to see his impressive height. He was stricken with polio, rendering him paralyzed from the waist down. He served as president from a wheelchair, the only disabled president of our country.

President Franklin D Roosevelt

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the second World War was a mere 5’6”.

Winston Churchill

I found conflicting reports on Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazis during World War II, which said he was 5’8 or 5’9”.

Adolf Hitler

Five-star general Douglas MacArthur, who played a major role in the Pacific theater of World War II, was 6’ tall. Emperor Hirohito, who was leader of Japan during the Occupation of Japan, stood 5’5”.

General Douglas MacArthur standing next to
Japanese Emperor Hirohito

And since our current president, Donald Trump, and his wife Melania, just visited England and met with the Queen, I thought I’d look up their respective heights. Donald Trump is 6’3”. Melania is 5’11”. And Queen Elizabeth of England is 5’4” tall. I found the photos taken during that visit to be cute. (Due to copyright laws, I can’t repost, but you can see them here).

It’s Your Turn:

Do you enjoy knowing the heights of historical figures? Why or why not?

Jennifer Uhlarikdiscovered the western genre as a pre-teen when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has finaled and won in numerous writing competitions, and been on the ECPA best-seller list numerous times. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, college-aged son, and four fur children.

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Heartfelt Echoes by Jennifer Uhlarik
1875—Virginia City, Nevada: A short, urgent letter mentioning his childhood love, Millie Gordon, forces deaf Travis McCaffrey to turn to his estranged birth father for help rescuing the woman he can’t forget.

Buckey O'Neill: Jack Of All Trades

Buckey O’Neill was one of those Western men who did a little bit of everything. I first became aware of him during our trip to Grand Canyon last summer, but upon returning home, I did further research and found him to be quite the character.

Capt. Buckey O'Neill

William Owen O’Neill was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in February 1860. He moved to Washington, D.C. with his mother and brothers, and later graduated from the National Law School. He applied for the Assistant Paymaster of the United States Navy, and of seventy-two applicants, he was the one chosen. However, when the appointment was delayed, O’Neill ended up going west instead.

Her arrived in the Arizona Territory in 1879, and by 1880, took up residence in the town of Tombstone. As many men did in that day and in that town, O’Neill got involved in gambling, playing the common game of the day, Faro. He liked to play against the odds, which was known as “bucking the tiger.” And thus came his nickname, “Buckey.” It would be the name he was known by the rest of his days.

Buckey took a job with the local newspaper, the Tombstone Epitaph. This was during the days when the Earp brothers provided law enforcement for the town, and since the Epitaph was a pro-Earp newspaper, Buckey likely had plenty of dealings with the famous brothers. In fact, it may very well have been Buckey who reported on the shootout we know as the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.”

Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp 

Soon after that incident, Buckey became a special deputy for the Phoenix City Marshal Henry Garfias. In 1882, he, Garfias, and two other officers faced down a trio of drunken cowboys who went on a shooting spree along Washington Street. As the story goes, the four lawmen attempted to arrest the drunken men, who in turn charged their horses directly at the marshal and his deputies. Garfias fired two shots, first knocking the gun from one of the men’s hand, then killing him. Upon seeing their friend die before their eyes, the remaining two cowboys surrendered quite willingly.

Later in 1882, Buckey moved on to Prescott Arizona, where he settled down. He became a court reporter, editor of the Arizona Miner, as well as began his own newspaper dedicated to the livestock industry, the Hoof and Horn. He served as school superintendent, tax collector, Yavapai County probate judge, and a member of the volunteer firefighters known as the “Toughs.”

Pauline Schindler O'Neill

Four years later in 1886, he joined the local branch of the Arizona militia, the Prescott Grays, where it is said that he once passed out while on the honor guard, serving at the hanging of a convicted murderer. Once the trap door dropped from under the murderer’s feet, poor Buckey also dropped unconscious. It was a moment he never quite lived down.

In the same year, married Pauline Schindler. He and Pauline quickly had a son, but the boy was born premature and lived only two weeks. Later the same year, they adopted a child who they named Maurice.

While serving as judge in Yavapai County, Buckey ran for and was elected Sheriff. On March 20, 1889, four cowboys decided to rob the train in Diablo Canyon. As soon as Buckey heard, he gathered a posse of three other men—Carl Holton, Jim Black, and Ed St. Clair—and rode to the scene of the crime. They tracked the bandits for weeks and eventually caught up to them near Wahweap Canyon. When one of the bandits made a break for it, Buckey shot the man’s horse out from under him. In turn, the man shot Buckey’s horse as well, and Buckey was temporarily pinned by the dead saddle horse. However, the rest of the train robber gang were so surprised by the outbreak of gunfire that their horses all ran off, stranding the men on foot. It took very little time for the posse to capture the four. This incident elevated Buckey to the status of hero.

When his term as sheriff ended, Buckey chose not to run for the office again, and instead delved into mining. He became quite prosperous with onyx mines across the next several years. He also spent his time writing pamphlets promoting the Arizona Territory, as well as fictional stories he published in a few newspapers and magazines across a span of twenty years.

With his interests in mining, Buckey soon struck on an idea—create a railroad between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon, which was sixty miles away. The railroad would provide a means for the mines to transport the heavy ore more easily, as well as provide a means for tourists to visit the beautiful canyon that was otherwise difficult to reach. He became instrumental in securing the funding to build the Grand Canyon Railway. (You can read more of the story here in my earlier blog post on the railway). He also built a cabin there on the South Rim, which still stands today.

Historic view of Buckey O'Neill cabin.

Politics wasn’t completely out of Buckey’s system. In the 1890’s, Buckey ran twice to become the Territorial delegate to Congress (1894 and 1896). However, he ran under the Populist party and was defeated both times by major party candidates. His final foray into political office was to run for mayor of Prescott, which he won handily in 1897.

His stint as mayor didn’t last long, though. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Buckey mounted a volunteer force from the men in Arizona Territory. He was made the captain of Company A, 1^st US Volunteer Cavalry, which most people would know better as Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. He and his men fought in the Battle of Las Guasimas and moved on to the Battle of San Juan Hill. Unfortunately for Buckey, his penchant for bucking the odds ran out here. At the age of 38, he was struck in the head by a bullet and died instantly. His men buried him on San Juan Hill, but his body was later exhumed and relocated to Arlington National Cemetery. Nine years after his death, a monument featuring Buckey as a Rough Rider was unveiled in Prescott Arizona, and he was portrayed by Sam Elliott in the TNT movie, Rough Riders.

Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders atop San Juan Hill,
where Buckey O'Neill lost his life.

It’s your turn: Have you ever heard of Buckey O’Neill? Which of his many accomplishments most impresses you?

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won five writing competitions and finaled in two other competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.

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Joseph Isaac Clanton, The Cowboys Outlaw Who Got Away & 5 Free Chapters

Joseph 'Ike' Isaac Clanton

 Joseph Isaac Clanton (1847-1887), most well-known simply as Ike Clanton, was a heavy drinker, possessed a quick temper and tended to talk too much. But he lives in infamy because he was an enemy of Wyatt Earp. 

This enmity was triggered in 1880 when Wyatt learned Ike and his ranch hands stole his horse. Wyatt and friend Doc Holliday rode out with legal papers from Tombstone to the Clanton Ranch in Charleston, Arizona Territory, to retrieve it. 

This so angered Ike that a lifelong war started between them.

During the confrontation, insolent eighteen-year-old Billy Clanton handed the

Billy Clanton

horse over to Wyatt with the snide remark, “You got any more horses to lose?” That didn't sit well either.

Ike Clanton was one of seven children born to Newman and Maria Clanton. His father ‘Old Man Clanton’ worked as a day laborer, gold miner, farmer, and later a cattleman in Arizona Territory. Old Man Clanton allowed a group of outlaws known as The Cowboys to base their operation on his Arizona ranch.

The animosity between Ike and Wyatt grew through several different conflicts. 

In October 1880, Wyatt Earp arrested William ‘Curly Bill’ Brocius, one of The Cowboys, for the murder of Tombstone marshal Fred White. When Brocius was found not guilty, tensions intensified.

Wyatt Earp

Wyatt believed The Cowboys were involved in a bungled stagecoach robbery in March 1881. Two men on the stage were killed. Ike Clanton blamed Doc Holliday instead.

In July 1881, Curly Bill Brocius and gunfighter Johnny Ringo headed for New Mexico to kill two brothers, William and Isaac Haslett. A few weeks earlier Cowboy members Bill Leonard and Harry Head died during an attempted robbery at the Haslett brothers’ general store.

Later that month, Curly Bill led an ambush against a Mexican trail herd at San Luis Pass. They killed six vaqueros and tortured eight.*

William 'Curly Bill' Brocius

When Old Man Clanton died in the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre of August 1881, Curly Bill took over The Cowboys. 

Some have portrayed the town of Tombstone as living in fear of The Cowboys. This was not the case. With the exception of Ike Clanton, who was widely disliked, most of The Cowboys were seen as harmless or merely a nuisance.
All of that changed with the gunfight at the OK Corral on Lot #22, Block 17. 

On a cold day, Wednesday afternoon, October 26th, 1881, 3:00 p.m., in Tombstone on a lot eighteen feet wide, over thirty shots were fired. In thirty seconds. Three Clantons were killed. 

Unarmed Ike Clanton ran away without firing a shot. 

The Earps and Doc Holliday hated him the most, but they didn’t shoot him. After all, he had no weapon. That’s the way things were done in the Old West. The Code. 

Ike Clanton's run-ins with the law were not over. Charged with cattle rustling,

Ike Clanton

Ike and his brother Fin were cornered by detective Jonas V. Brighton on June 1, 1887, in Springerville, Arizona. Fin Clanton surrendered. Ike resisted and was shot dead.

*My husband Stephen once hiked into the canyon where the Mexican smugglers were ambushed. Don’t think of these smugglers as evil, violent men. They were usually merchants who wanted to bypass the often corrupt officials at custom houses on both sides of the border.

Stephen mentioned this ambush, a part of the backstory of the OK Corral gunfight, in cowboy poetry he wrote entitled, “Ridin’ The Divide.” You can find it here: http://www.blybooks.com/2015/11/ridin-the-divide-cowboy-poetry/

~~~~~~~~

Janet Chester Bly

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Janet Chester Bly has written and co-written 32 books with her late husband, Christy Award winning western author Stephen Bly. She and her three sons completed Stephen’s last historical novel for him, Book 7 of the Stuart Brannon Series: Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot. Can a committee write historical fiction? The Bly family had a four month deadline to find out. Read about the story of the writing process here: http://www.blybooks.com/category/finishing-dads-novel/. Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot, a Selah Award Finalist, is set near Portland, Oregon in 1905.

Wind in the Wires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill, is her first solo adult novel. It’s

Wind in the Wires
Trails of Reba Cahill Series

a 1991 western mystery. It’s a road adventure with a touch of romance. It’s Cowgirl Lit. Janet is working on Book 2 now with a scheduled Spring 2016 release.

More info about the Blys here: http://www.BlyBooks.com  

Free! 5 Chapters of Wind in the Wires to receive right now when you sign up for Bly Books Almost Monthly News here: https://blybooks.leadpages.net/5-chapters-witw-optin/

Bill Tilghman--Legendary Lawman

A little confession. I am a fan of the actor, Sam Elliott. So when I saw a movie of his on TV in the last couple of months, I flipped to the channel and began to watch. (Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch the whole thing as I kept getting called away from the TV for other obligations). The movie was called “You Know My Name,” and was a retelling of the last weeks of historic lawman Bill Tilghman’s life. I’d never heard of Tilghman, so I thought I’d research him and see if he was as interesting a character as the movie portrayed him to be.

Bill Tilghman
circa 1912

William Matthew Tilghman, Jr., was born on July 4, 1854 in Iowa, the third child of six. In 1871, his family moved to Kansas, and soon afterward, Tilghman took a job as a buffalo hunter, supplying meat to the crews building the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. In 1872, he left his camp to go hunting, and while he was away, the Cheyenne raided it, stealing and/or burning everything he owned. While most rational people would count themselves lucky and move on, Tilghman sought justice. He resupplied his camp, hid out, and waited. Not long afterward, a Cheyenne raiding party returned to steal from him again. Only this time, Tilghman turned his Sharps rifle on them. Of the seven raiders, he killed four and scared off the remaining three.

Bat Masterson (left)
and Wyatt Earp--
Dodge City

After his stint as a buffalo hunter, Tilghman—a lifelong teetotaler—opened a saloon in Dodge City, Kansas. Known as the Crystal Palace Saloon, the establishment did fairly well for Tilghman and his business partner, but an old friend from his buffalo hunting days encouraged Tilghman to sell out and seek another line of work. The friend’s name was Bat Masterson, and the new line of work was to become a deputy sheriff of Ford County, Kansas. Alongside the likes of Masterson and his brother Ed, Wyatt Earp, Lary Deger, and Ned Brown, Tilghman helped clean up the streets of Dodge City. Deputy Tilghman was known to avoid gunplay whenever possible, though he was equally known for his deadly accuracy when gunplay became necessary. He gained popularity during his time as a Deputy Sheriff, and in 1884 was elected the Marshall of Dodge City. He spent two years in that job before resigning to tend to his growing ranch. Unfortunately, in the great blizzard of 1888, Tilghman and many in that area lost everything.

With nothing to tie him to Dodge City any longer, the wind blew Tilghman to Guthrie, Oklahoma, where the Oklahoma Land Rush was set to take place in April of 1889. While he didn’t participate in the first land rush, he did set up a business in town and used the proceeds to help him reestablish himself as a rancher in the new area. Another land rush occurred in September of 1891, and Tilghman did participate the second time around. The ranch he set up became quite profitable thanks to crops of alfalfa and corn, as well as plentiful herds of cattle and hogs.

Chris Madsen

However, the idyllic life of a rancher wasn’t without its issues. Numerous outlaws set up shop in and around Guthrie, and it wasn’t long before the U.S. Marshal Service came calling for Tilghman to become a deputy. He accepted the appointment, and with deputies Chris Madsen and Heck Thomas, the three (who became affectionately known as “The Three Guardsmen”) began to clean up the Oklahoma Territory. Among the most notable outlaw gangs were the Wild Bunch and the Doolin Gang. One of the most wanted between the two gangs was Bill Doolin, so Tilghman made it his priority to hunt and capture the bank robber. He pursued the man all the way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in 1894, then waited for the most opportune moment to apprehend the villain. The arrest occurred when Doolin went into a bathhouse and climbed into a tub for a nice soak. Tilghman showed great patience in waiting until he was separated from his clothes and weapons before he moved in. As the story goes, somewhere around five thousand people gathered to watch the arrest of Bill Doolin. Whether that is the truth, I am unsure, though it sure makes a great story.

 

Bill Doolin Wanted Poster

The Wild Bunch
(front row, L to R): The Sundance Kid,
The Tall Texan, Butch Cassidy
(back row, L to R): News Carver, Kid Curry

Once the outlaw issues were cleaned up in the Oklahoma Territory, Tilghman was elected Sheriff of Lincoln County around the turn of the century. He served there for a few years, got involved in politics for a time, serving as a senator for a single term starting in 1910, and returned to Oklahoma in order to serve as chief of the Oklahoma City Police for a brief stint. Rather than writing his memoirs as many of his Old West counterparts did, Tilghman teamed up with Chris Madsen and another man in 1915 to form a film company and produce and act in the stories of their exploits. For several years after they produced the film, The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws, Tilghman traveled to different movie showings, where he would give lectures and answer questions afterward.

Even after such a long and illustrious career as a lawman, it was hard for Tilghman to let the career fade away. In 1924, during the height of the Prohibition Era, the folks of Cromwell, Oklahoma, asked him if he would become their chief of police in order to help clean up their town. His old friend Chris Madsen recommended he not take the job, citing that at age 70, his reactions were slower than they once were. Tilghman took the job anyway. Just a few weeks after he started, he heard gunshots in the street and went to investigate. He found Federal Prohibition Agent Wiley Lynn waving a gun. The man was obviously drunk, so Bill Tilghman arrested him. However, Lynn had another gun hidden on his person, and when he attempted to draw it, the two struggled. Tilghman was fatally wounded in the struggle, and died within twenty minutes of the incident. In a travesty of justice, his killer got off on a technicality and served no time for the lawman’s murder.

All told, Bill Tilghman served a total of fifty-four years as a peace-keeper in one form or another.

It’s your turn. Had you heard of Bill Tilghman before reading this article? What did you find most interesting about him?

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won five writing competitions and finaled in two other competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.

The Oregon Trail Romance Collection:

 

Nine romantic adventures take readers along for a ride on the Oregon Trail where daily challenges force travelers to evaluate the things that are most precious to them—including love. Enjoy the trip through a fascinating part of history through the eyes of remarkably strong characters who stop at famous landmarks along the way. Watch as their faith is strengthened and as love is born despite unique circumstances. Discover where the journey ends for each of nine couples.