Baxter Stingley's Murder

"BRAVE BAXTER

MEETS HIS DEATH AT THE HANDS

OF A BAD CITIZEN"

shouted the headlines of the November 3, 1883 Salida Mail.

Five months after being shot by Thomas Neinmyer, Salida Marshal Baxter Stingley had recovered and was back on the job. He heard that Frank Reed and Ernest Christison were at the Arbour's Variety and Dance Hall. Stingley had an arrest warrant for both men for stealing cattle. Reed had told everyone he wasn't going to be arrested and lynched like Ed Watkins had been. So, when Baxter Stingley held his gun on Reed and said, "I have a warrant for your arrest," Reed pulled his gun out and shot Stingley. (Another report says Reed shot Stingley with Stingley's gun.) Reed ran for the back door with Stingley following him and both men were shooting. After Reed exited the back door, Stingley stopped and Mr. Arbour asked him if he was shot. Stingley said, "Yes, he has shot me three times." They laid him on a table, removed his boots which were filled with blood, and he died shortly after.

Frank Reed escaped and was never captured. Ernest Christison was arrested early the next morning and taken by train to the jail in Buena Vista.

Baxter Stingley's funeral was held at the Opera House. The funeral procession included the Knights of Pythias lodge and the fire company. Baxter Stingley's murder was also reported in the New York Times.

If you are related to any of the people mentioned in this post, please contact me at GayleGresham@gmail.com

Passing Along the Kreativ Blogger Award

Over the weekend I received the Kreativ Blogger Award from several GeneaBloggers! Those who honored me were:

Colleen of Orations of OMcHodoy

Janet of Janet The Researcher

Becky of Grace and Glory

Virginia of Oh Blah Vi, Oh Blah Va

Diane of Our Attic Treasures

The rules for the award are simple:

1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those sites on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.

I'd like to nominate Heidi Thomas http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/

Heidi wrote "Cowgirl Dreams," a wonderful novel based on her grandmother, who rode steers in the rodeo in the 1920's.

I'd also like to nominate Donlyn Arbuthnot of http://homesteadorigins.com/

Donlyn's blog was the only blog listed under Colorado History when I joined Facebook. She introduced me to the GeneaBloggers on Facebook.

The Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium

I will be presenting a paper at the Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium in Colorado Springs on Saturday June 6. It is sponsored by the Pikes Peak Library District. The theme of the symposium is "Rush To The Rockies: The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush."

My paper is "The Cash Creek Miners" and it is about the early days of the mining camp where my great-great-grandparents, Wilburn and Elizabeth Christison, first settled. I will share some fun newspaper articles and advertisements, talk about the mining camp, and give details about the ten partners of one mining company who were later involved in or directly affected by the Lake County War, including Wilburn Christison and Father Dyer.

The Pikes Peak History Symposium will be held at the East Library in Colorado Springs at 5550 N. Union Blvd. If you plan to attend the symposium, you need to register at the PPLD website.