The Various Lives of Lawmen

 

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In the rugged days of the Old West, being a lawman often didn’t pay enough to cover the bills. To make ends meet, many sheriffs and marshals took on unusual side jobs, creating some fascinating stories of dual lives. Some of them dabbled in mining, gambling, bounty hunting, and even owning a saloon.  For example, there was even a lawman up North who owned a funeral parlor.  He offered a package deal stating he could “shoot the bad guys, embalm them, and bury them” (True West, 2016).

This multifaceted lifestyle of early lawmen reflects the resourcefulness required to maintain law and order while keeping their own households afloat. It also adds a human dimension to the larger-than-life figures immortalized in history and folklore.

Meet the Pioneer Lawman of the Wild West at the PMMP!

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In the untamed days of early Phoenix, it took courage, grit, and a strong sense of justice to maintain law and order. These remarkable men were the first to serve as peacekeepers, shaping the foundation of our community and paving the way for the city we know today. 🏜️⚖️

Did you know that many Old West lawmen often wore multiple hats—sometimes working as sheriffs by day and gamblers or saloon owners by night? 🎲🤠 Their lives were as rugged and multifaceted as the frontier itself!

Join us as we uncover the stories of these trailblazing lawmen—heroes who brought order to the wild frontier and left their mark on history. 

Stay tuned for a glimpse into their lives and legacies!

 

Territorial Livestock Sanitary Commission - 1887

Bing AI/Prompt by Val

According to the Arizona Department of Agriculture, cattle came to Arizona as early as the 1690s by the Spanish conquistadores and missionaries.  After the Civil War, Arizona began to see a cattle boom.  In 1887 the Territorial Livestock Sanitary Commission was formed, which had its own veterinarian. This agency was tasked with enforcing livestock laws, including brand registration, inspection, and health regulations. The Board's creation was driven by the need to standardize practices and curb the spread of diseases like Texas fever, which threatened the cattle industry. Inspectors were appointed to oversee branding and ensure compliance with health standards, playing a vital role in protecting both the livestock and the livelihoods of ranchers. This regulatory framework helped lay the foundation for a more organized and prosperous cattle industry in Arizona.

Clark Churchill (1836 - 1895) - Attorney General

Phoenix Union High School Campus in 1940

Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 

Clark Churchill was born in Pennsylvania during June 1836.  In 1861, he traveled to San Francisco where he studied law.  He was considered to be very bright. 

During 1863, Churchill relocated to Virginia City, Nevada, where he became a junior partner with an established law firm, also serving as city attorney there in 1865.  Clark returned to San Francisco during 1866-1877, winning new laurels at the bar.   

 

In 1877 he removed to Prescott, Arizona.  While there, in addition to his legal and official duties, he successfully carried through the great project of the Arizona Canal.  His business interests also prospered. 

 

While on a professional visit to Phoenix in 1880, he was so impressed with the great resources and fertility of the soil in the Salt River Valley that he determined to take up residence there, making the development of the Valley his life’s work. He served as territorial  attorney general in 1881, dividing his time between Prescott and Phoenix. 

 

He invested heavily in lands in Phoenix, developing the Churchill Addition and building a mansion at 5th St. and Van Buren.  

 

Clark Churchill was a high-ranking member of the Masons, a member of the National Republican Committee, the territorial adjutant general for four years and attorney general for six years. Toward the end of his life he suffered a downturn in fortunes and eventually had to sell his mansion.  Acquired in 1897 by the City of Phoenix, it became Phoenix High School. 

Churchill’s wife and two nephews are handsomely memorialized in the family plot in the Masons Cemetery, but he is not.  - adapted from a story by Bob Cox  

 

         

Lindley Orme (1847 - 1900) - Lawman

PCA Archives

Lindley Hogue Orme was born in Maryland on December 19, 1848 to Charles and Deborah Orme, who were both part of the original Colonial families of the United States.  He served in the Company B, 35th Virginia Cavalry Regt, Virginia, Confederate States Army as a private, and was admitted to the hospital for measles at one point.  In his early years after the war, he lived in California, and arrived in Arizona in 1870, with his brother John following him in 1877, and his brother Henry in 1879.

During his residency in Phoenix, he became a well known citizen, serving the area in an official capacity for several years.  In 1880, he was elected sheriff, and elected again in 1882.  From there, he served on the Territorial Council, and was elected again as sheriff in 1891, serving two terms. 

During his devoted service to the community, he built the first Phoenix jail with incandescent lamps, conducted quarantines for smallpox, assisted in securing the state capital to Phoenix, and serving justice to civil and criminal offenses alike.

At one point, he even interrupted a plot to rob a bank!

For More information on this loyal lawman, come find out more at the PMMP! - Val W.

Prisoners on a Chain Gang

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA 

Joseph Barnum (1832 - 1909) - First Elected Sheriff of Maricopa Co.

PCA Archive

Joseph Thomas Barnum was born in 1832 in New York state, the son of Truman Barnum and Harriet Rich.  Although he is said to have been a cousin of P.T. Barnum, the famous showman (Phineas was the son of Philo, while Joseph Thomas was the son of Truman), so far no proof has been found that Philo and Truman were brothers.  By 1835, the Barnums were in Chicago, where Joseph Thomas's brother William E. was born.

The Barnums came to Arizona in 1864 and settled first in Prescott, where Joseph Thomas met and married Jeanette Jane “Jenettie” Osborn, daughter of John P. Osborn and Perlina Swetnam, on May 10, 1865.  He was 33, almost 17 years older than his teenage bride.

When Barnum, who usually went by his middle name of Thomas, moved his family to the Salt River Valley in 1868, Barnum was quick to see the Valley's potential and went into partnership with J. W. Swilling in digging irrigation ditches.    

Barnum was a personal friend of John T. Alsap; in fact, the two families were sharing a household in 1870.  Barnum was one of the signers of the original Salt River Valley Town Association pact on October 20, 1870 and is believed to have helped William Augustus Hancock lay out the original Phoenix town site, 

When Maricopa County was created in 1871 from Yavapai County, it became necessary to elect county officials for the first time.  After one candidate for sheriff, a man named Chenoweth, shot and killed another candidate, J. Favorite, in a gunfight, Barnum became the front runner for the office.  He was elected and served from May until August, 1871. 

Besides enforcing the law, Barnum's duties included developing a tax roll and collecting taxes for the new county.  He also had to take convicted felons to the state prison in Yuma and transport the insane to the nearest mental hospital which was in California.  

For more information on Joseph Barnum, who was a fascinating man, come down to the PMMP.  -adapted from a story by Donna Carr