Bob Olinger
| Bob Olinger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Ameridith Olinger c. 1850 Delphi, Indiana, United States |
| Died |
April 28, 1881 (aged 30–31) Lincoln, New Mexico, United States |
| Occupation | Lawman |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | Lincoln County War |
Ameredith Robert B. "Pecos Bob" Olinger (1850 in Delphi, Indiana – April 28, 1881 in Lincoln, New Mexico) was a frontier lawman most widely known for being the last victim of Billy the Kid and a participant in the Lincoln County War.
Early life and career
Ameredith Robert B. Olinger was born in approximately March 1850 to the family of William C. Olinger and his wife Rebecca Robinson in Carroll County, Indiana. They moved to Delaware, Polk County, Iowa and were living there at the time of the 1856 Iowa State Census. The Olingers then move to Mound City, Linn County, Kansas Territory, arriving there in 1858. They were still there when the 1860 U.S. Census was taken. William C. Olinger dies at age 37 in 1861. His widow Rebecca remarries to a Mr. Joshua Stafford and the Stafford-Olinger Family was living in Scott, Bourbon County, Kansas in 1865. The family then moves to the Indian Territory, which would later become Oklahoma. The family then moves to Grayson County Texas in about 1874 as Rebecca Stafford is listed on the County tax rolls for 1874, 1875, & 1876. Robert Olinger is listed in the 1875 Grayson County Texas tax rolls. His brother John Wallace Olinger and his ranching partner William Harrison Johnson arrive at Seven Rivers, NM at stay at the Beckwith Ranch. Robert along with his mother arrive sometime later.
He later participated in the Lincoln County War as part of the Murphy-Dolan faction before being assigned as be a deputy for famed lawman Pat Garrett after he was elected Sheriff of Lincoln County, NM in 1880. After the capture of Billy the Kid, Olinger was one of two deputies assigned to guard Billy in the Lincoln County Courthouse, the other being James Bell.[1]
Death
On April 28, 1881, while guarding Billy the Kid with James Bell, Olinger left to go across the street to the Wortley Hotel to have lunch. During this time, "the Kid' was able to overwhelm Bell and shoot him as Bell attempted to run down the courthouse stairs. Hearing the gunshots, Olinger assumed that Bell had killed the Kid and started back across the street to investigate. Meanwhile, the Kid had secured Olinger's shotgun, which he had left leaning against the wall and positioned himself in the window above the street. As Olinger crossed, the Kid was reported to have said "Look up, Bob", before shooting him with both barrels of twelve-gauge buckshot. Olinger was struck in the breast and died instantly.[2]
Controversy
Despite his service as a deputy, Olinger has been widely denounced as a "bully with a badge" and serial murderer.[3] Most notable were the formal accusations brought against him by fellow deputy Pierce Jones, who brought charges against him for shooting an unarmed Bob Jones in the back while serving a small civil fine. The charges were later dismissed, but Olinger's reputation as a bully have remained.[4]
References
- ↑ Burns, Walter Noble (1925). The Saga of Billy the Kid. University of New Mexico Press.
- ↑ Rachel Martin (ed.). "Lincoln County Courthouse – Lincoln, New Mexico". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ↑ "Bob Olinger - Killer With a Badge". Legendsofamerica.com. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ↑ "Bob Olinger, New Mexico's Killer Deputy". Desertusa.com. 1981-03-02. Retrieved 2017-07-19.