Brooks was born in Ohio around 1832 where he later became a buffalo hunter in the late-1840s or early-1850s whose success equaled fellow buffalo hunter William F. Cody earning the same nickname of Buffalo Bill. During the late 1860s, Brooks had killed several men in various gunfights, and was briefly hired as a stage driver for the Southwestern Stage Co., before becoming the marshal of Newton, Kansas in 1872. Although he was reported to have been around 40 years old, several biographers have claimed Brooks was in his 20s.[1]
With Brooks success in Newton he was soon offered a position in Dodge City as town marshal where he was later involved in 15 gunfights during his first month. In one case one of the men killed had four brothers who came after Brooks in revenge. As the brothers arrived in town Brooks was said to have killed all four men with four shots each. By the following year Brooks had cleared the city of most major criminals. Brooks however killed several men in questionable circumstances including one incident where he killed a man over an argument with a local dance hall girl. After backing down from gunfighter Kirk Jordan, Brooks left town shortly after.[2]
According to legend, Brooks went to Butte, Montana where he attempted to become the city marshal but, in part because of Brook's reputation, was instead passed over in favor of Morgan Earp. Confronting Earp over his defeat, Brooks was shot in the stomach and Morgan was shot in the shoulder.[3]
Records show however that, shortly after leaving Dodge City, Brooks returned to his old position as a stage driver for the Southwestern Stage Co. in early 1874. Several months later however the company had lost a mail contract to a rival company and Brooks lost his job. In June several mules and horses owned by the rival company had been stolen and Brooks, with two other men, were arrested the next month. It was charged that Brooks had apparently attempted to weaken the rival company and win back the mail contract for the Southwestern Stage Company. Brooks was lynched while awaiting trial on July 29, 1874.[4]
Resourcesedit
^"William "Billy" Brooks – Lawman & Horse Thief – Legends of America". www.legendsofamerica.com. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
^"Legendary Lawman Morgan Earp". Officer. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
^Rosa, Joseph G. (1 October 1979). The Gunfighter: Man Or Myth?. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 108. ISBN9780806115610. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
^"Morgan Seth Earp". www.jcs-group.com. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
Bibliographyedit
Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of American Crime, New York, Facts on File Inc., 1982
January 01, 1970
william, brooks, other, people, with, same, name, william, brooks, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, . For other people with the same name see William Brooks disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources William L Brooks news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message William L Buffalo Bill Brooks c 1832 July 29 1874 was a western lawman and later outlaw William L BrooksBornWilliam L Brooksc 1832Ohio United StatesDiedJuly 29 1874 1874 07 29 aged 41 42 Caldwell Kansas United StatesCause of deathLynching by hangingNationalityAmericanOther namesBuffalo BillOccupation s Stage driver gunfighter lawman gamblerCriminal chargeTheft Brooks was born in Ohio around 1832 where he later became a buffalo hunter in the late 1840s or early 1850s whose success equaled fellow buffalo hunter William F Cody earning the same nickname of Buffalo Bill During the late 1860s Brooks had killed several men in various gunfights and was briefly hired as a stage driver for the Southwestern Stage Co before becoming the marshal of Newton Kansas in 1872 Although he was reported to have been around 40 years old several biographers have claimed Brooks was in his 20s 1 With Brooks success in Newton he was soon offered a position in Dodge City as town marshal where he was later involved in 15 gunfights during his first month In one case one of the men killed had four brothers who came after Brooks in revenge As the brothers arrived in town Brooks was said to have killed all four men with four shots each By the following year Brooks had cleared the city of most major criminals Brooks however killed several men in questionable circumstances including one incident where he killed a man over an argument with a local dance hall girl After backing down from gunfighter Kirk Jordan Brooks left town shortly after 2 According to legend Brooks went to Butte Montana where he attempted to become the city marshal but in part because of Brook s reputation was instead passed over in favor of Morgan Earp Confronting Earp over his defeat Brooks was shot in the stomach and Morgan was shot in the shoulder 3 Records show however that shortly after leaving Dodge City Brooks returned to his old position as a stage driver for the Southwestern Stage Co in early 1874 Several months later however the company had lost a mail contract to a rival company and Brooks lost his job In June several mules and horses owned by the rival company had been stolen and Brooks with two other men were arrested the next month It was charged that Brooks had apparently attempted to weaken the rival company and win back the mail contract for the Southwestern Stage Company Brooks was lynched while awaiting trial on July 29 1874 4 Resources edit William Billy Brooks Lawman amp Horse Thief Legends of America www legendsofamerica com Retrieved 9 June 2018 Legendary Lawman Morgan Earp Officer 28 September 2011 Retrieved 9 June 2018 Rosa Joseph G 1 October 1979 The Gunfighter Man Or Myth University of Oklahoma Press p 108 ISBN 9780806115610 Retrieved 9 June 2018 Morgan Seth Earp www jcs group com Retrieved 9 June 2018 Bibliography editSifakis Carl Encyclopedia of American Crime New York Facts on File Inc 1982 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William L Brooks amp oldid 1206740454, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
