Noah Broadway (1833 - 1905) - Arizona Lawman

PCA Archives - Noah Broadway

Noah Broadway is believed to have been the son of William M.  Broadway and Mary “Polly” Key.  On the federal census of 1850, Broadway was living with his brother John in Kemper County, Mississippi, and his age was given as 19, making him born around 1831.   

No photo of Broadway has ever been found, nor evidence of him marrying or serving during the Civil War.  He seems to have been a somewhat solitary man. 

Broadway is known to have been farming in the Salt River Valley by 1868.  He and seven other men formed the Prescott Ditch company on 26 Sep 1870, and dug the Prescott (later Broadway) Ditch to irrigate his crops. 

The Maricopa Crossing was on Broadway’s ranch.  It was a nice crossing with a firm gravel bottom, and the stages usually crossed the Salt River there.  The road which ran through Broadway’s ranch is known today as Broadway Road. 

Broadway never sought public office but was nominated for sheriff and elected on the 14th ballot in late 1884.  Some didn’t support him as he had publicly expressed a desire to ‘string up’ men who were selling whiskey to Indians.   

Broadway was the first sheriff to have his office in the new, two-story brick courthouse between First and Second Avenues facing Washington.  the previous office was an adobe structure, and had several escapes.

As sheriff, Broadway regularly conveyed prisoners to Yuma.   Another of Broadway’s duties was conveying insane people to the hospital in Stockton, California.  On 9 March 1885, the county approved the issuance of bonds to build an insane asylum in Phoenix.   

Broadway’s term as sheriff was plagued by a rash of armed robberies, and host of other issues.  For more fascinating information on this man, come to the PMMP! - adapted story from Donna Carr

Benedict Mosier (1833 - 1908) - Soldier and Farmer

PCA Archives

Benedict F. Mosier was born 8 Dec 1833 in Alsace Loraine, France, possibly in is father’s hometown of Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin.  He was the second son of Christian Mosier and Ann Wenger.  

Shortly after Benedict’s birth, the Mosiers sailed from France, arriving in New York City on June 7th, 1834.  From there, they traveled to Holmes County, Ohio, where several more children were born.  According to family lore, they may have been Mennonites; Strasbourg was a center for Protestant sects not particularly welcome in Roman Catholic France. 

The Mosiers were in Iowa by 1858, when Benedict wed Mary Ann List. Soon thereafter, the young couple moved to Tyler Township, Hickory County, Missouri.  There, they had ten children born between 1860 and 1875, six of whom survived to adulthood. The Mosiers were farmers and, apparently, successful ones. 

In the summer of 1861, Mosier enlisted in Company C, 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry,vii serving in Captain William C. Human’s company.  The mission of the regiment was to prevent Confederate forces from establishing a foothold in southwestern Missouri.  The soldiers went on numerous scouting patrols and engaged in a few skirmishes.  Since Mosier’s duties kept him fairly close to home, he was able to make periodic visits to his family. 

As the Mosier sons grew up, they began to migrate west.  Benedict and Mary Ann accompanied them to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1884.  Their son Sydney died on 30 May 1886 and was buried in City Loosley Cemetery.

Late in life, Mary Ann developed heart problems.  While driving home on December 14, 1897, she apparently suffered a stroke.  A neighbor moving cattle noticed that the horse and buggy had stopped in the road and came to her aid, but attempts to revive Mary Ann failed.  She too was buried in City Loosley Cemetery. 

Benedict Mosier joined the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and, in 1904, applied for a pension based on his Civil War service.  After his wife’s death, he went to live with one of his children in Mendocino, California.  Plagued with eczema in his final years, he ultimately sold his property in Mendocino and returned to Phoenix, where he died on 4 October 1908.  He was buried in the family plot in City Loosley.  - by Donna Carr