FOURTH GENERATION

208. Alexander Glenn Beard was born on 27 Jun 1884 in Bull Creek, Travis County, Texas. ⁽³²⁾ He appeared on the census on 25 Apr 1910 in 1118 W. 6th, JP #3, 3rd Ward, Austin, Texas.⁽⁴⁷³⁾ He enlisted in the Texas Rangers as a private in Company B on 11 May 1916 in Austin, Travis County, Texas. He was suspended from Ranger service pending investigation. Resigned on 1 Feb 1919. He appeared on the census on 10 Jan 1920 in Marfa, Presidio County, Texas.⁽⁴⁷⁴⁾ He appeared on the census on 9 Apr 1930 in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. ⁽⁴⁷⁵⁾ He died on 20 Feb 1941 in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. ⁽⁴⁷⁶⁾ He was buried on 22 Feb 1941 in Austin Memorial Park, Travis County, Texas.⁽⁴⁷⁷⁾

Glenn Beard was a Texas Ranger, and was part of a group of 16 Rangers under Captain Jerry Gray that were suspended from duty on February 1, 1917, as a result of a mission into Mexico. Afterwards was a city Marshall at Marfa, Presidio County, Texas, and a bodyguard for an oil company in Tampico, Mexico. Later he was an employee of the Sinclair refining company in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1932 until his death. He had been promoted from fireman to houseman of the Sinclair Plant shortly before his death, and fell ill while going to Austin to visit his mother. He had an operation for appendicitis in 1913.





From the Evening Fort Worth Star Telegram
February 21, 1941, Page 3


ALEXANDER GLENN BEARD

Alexander Glenn Beard, 56, an employee of the Sinclair Refining Company plant here since 1932, died Thursday night in a hospital after a brief illness. He lived at 521 Blevins Avenue.

Mr. Beard had recently been promoted from fireman to houseman of the plant and almost immediately thereafter had gone to Austin to see his mother, Mrs. Mary Beard. He became ill while in Austin and entered the hospital here upon his return.

Besides his mother he is survived by his widow; a son, Frank Beard, Baytown, three daughters, Misses Betty Carolyn and Mary Pat Beard, Fort Worth, and Mrs. A. E. Lozano, Austin; six brothers, a sister, and two grandchildren.

Th Funeral service will be conducted at 4 p.m. Friday at Riverside church of Christ by Willard Mortimer, minister. Burial will be in Austin at 2 p.m. Saturday.


The Austin Newspaper
Saturday, February 22, 1941, page 13

Mortuary

Alfred G. Beard

Alfred G. Beard, 57, former Austin resident, died Thursday at a Fort Worth hospital. Survivors are his widow, four children, Frank Beard of Bayton, Mrs. Isabelle Lozano of Austin, Bettie and Mary Beard of Fort Worth; his mother, Mary Beard of Austin; one sister, Mrs. Parrish of San Antonio; and six brothers, Carl G. Beard and Clyde R. Beard of Austin, Claude W. Beard of Fort Worth, Dick W. Beard of Houston, F. A. Beard of Alpine and Andy J. Beard of San Antonio.

Funeral services will be held at the Hyltin Funeral home Saturday at 2 p.m. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Pallbearers will be H. E. Brodie, Jim Belger, Roy McCuistion, C. C. Champion, Jim McCoy and R. W. Potter.


A Biography written by his great-grandson, Monty Waters:


A.G. Beard, Law Officer, by Monte M. Waters, Grandson


Alexander Glenn Beard (who signed his name “A.G.”) was born on June 27, 1884 on Bull Creek, in Travis County Texas. He married Laura A. Brodie in Austin, Travis County Texas on April 15, 1909. A son was born in 1909 and a daughter in 1912 of this marriage. The family lived in Austin and nearby Taylor (in Williamson County).[1] He enlisted in the Texas Rangers on May 11, 1916 in Austin Texas; at the time of his enlistment he gave his occupation as “peace officer” [2], but Beard’s captain later said that he had no experience as a law officer[3].

The enlistment date is significant because it followed a raid by Mexican bandits on Glenn Spring and Boquillas, Texas on the night of May 5-6. Three soldiers and one civilian were killed at Glenn Spring.[4] Texas Governor James Ferguson announced on May 8 that the Ranger force would be increased to 50 men.[5] Ranger Captains were told to recruit up to 26 privates and “report daily by wire progress of enlistments.”[6] Enlistment records show that 14 rangers enlisted in company B between May 10 and May 17.[7] The circumstances surrounding Beard’s enlistment are unknown. Ranger Captains were generally responsible for their own recruits, but ranger headquarters may’ve recruited at this time because of the large numbers of recruits needed. Captain James Monroe Fox began his law enforcement career in Travis County[8], and frequently recruited in Central Texas. He may have known Beard or found him through common acquaintances. Fox was in Austin twice in May 1916, but he was not present when Beard was sworn in.[9]

The Glen Springs raid had the Big Bend alarmed and fearing further violence. The Adjutant General’s correspondence contains a letter from H.T. Fletcher, manager of the O2 Ranch, south of Alpine offering horses and feed if three rangers could be stationed there[10]. Sheriff Dudley S. Barker of Pecos County telegraphed the same day reporting “great apprehension of danger felt here”[11] and requested Rangers. The governor interceded and ordered Fox to send two mounted rangers to Barker in Fort Stockton.[12] The manager of the silver mine in Shafter wrote of their precarious existence with 40 Americans amidst “8 or 900 Mexicans”. The reply stated that “within the next few days I feel sure you will be satisfied with the protection afforded.”[13] All of this correspondence occurred in the week following the raid.

Little is known of A. G. Beard’s first months in the Ranger force. He was not mentioned in the “Monthly Returns” of Company B for May or June, but these documents mentioned only rangers who travelled from their duty stations or made arrests. The “Monthly Returns” for July, August, and September are missing. Thus it is unknown where Beard was stationed from May to October of 1916. The Rangers of Company B maintained different camps and posts throughout West Texas. A large contingent seems to have been kept in Ysleta, near El Paso. These first weeks of his service in the Rangers involved the rangers in several incidents that demonstrate the dangerous nature of their work. On May 14, ranger Gustave “George” Snyder was shot in El Paso, on his second day on the force, when he and three other Rangers were disarming drunken soldiers. Snyder was seriously wounded, but eventually recovered. He did not return to the ranger force.[14] Several other May recruits did not last until the end of the summer: some didn’t last until June.[15]

On September 19, Fox reported “the killing of Antonio Samanijo on of the Conna [sic] bunch.”[16] Fox wrote: “this Mexican came across the River at LaJitas at 11 o’clock at night to locate how many soldiers they were at that point with a view of robbing [sic] the store there and got captured just as he come out on this side and while bringing him to [the] Marfa Jail he tried to escape and was killed.”[17] Mexican prisoners were frequently killed by rangers under similar circumstances during this period. Fox wrote his letter on the letterhead of El Paso’s “Coney Island” saloon, which was about to become even more notorious.

The Ysleta/El Paso rangers seemed to have a penchant for getting into trouble. In July rangers Sand and Swift were charged with manslaughter after one of their prisoners died of internal injuries. In August a Mrs Alderete denounced the rangers in general, and two (Clint Holden and John D. White) by name for their violent behavior. These rangers were later cleared of any wrongdoing after an investigation, but not before the adjutant general ordered a complete change of rangers assigned to Ysleta. On September 21 Sands shot U.S. Army Sergeant Bierne during a drunken altercation in the Coney Island Saloon. The eventual trial for murder resulted in a hung jury but Sands was immediately terminated from the rangers.

The first record of Beard’s service discloses that he went on a scout with Private A. J. Woelber “on [the] river” on October 4, 5, and 6.[18] Then he and Rangers Nathan N. Fuller and Graham Barnett went on an extended patrol in the Chisos Mountains from October through December 1916.[19] Two smugglers were arrested in October, which required Fuller to bring them in to the U.S. Marshall, and then he returned to his companions.[20] In December, Fox recorded that Barnett, Beard and Fuller were still “on scout in the Cheaspes [sic] Mountains during the first part of the month. Fox reported that [they] received seven head of wet stock horses from Vicente Santiago and [are] still holding same for River Guards. On Dec. 6, seized 28 head [Cattle Raisers] Association’s marrs [sic] and hold same for Association Inspector.” [21] It was probably during this long scout in the Chisos Mountains that Barnett, Beard and Fuller were photographed at Glen Spring.[22]

During December Beard started to travel to Austin, but he was subsequently detailed to Snyder, Texas.[23] On December 16 Edward Sims was shot and killed by his ex-wife Gladys Johnson Sims, and her brother Sidney Johnson. The shooting stemmed from a child custody dispute and occurred on the streets of Snyder with the Scurry County Sheriff as a witness.[24] The accused were members of a prominent Scurry County ranching family and the victim was from a prominent family in adjacent Garza County. Tensions in Snyder were high. The Johnsons hired Frank Hamer and his brother Harrison as bodyguards. Hamer was already a well known law enforcement officer, though at that time he was only a “Special Ranger” and detective for the Texas Cattle Raisers Association[25]. His brother Harrison was a Game Warden, and employee on the Johnson ranch. Both of the Hamers were subsequently employed as bodyguards for the Johnson family. Their bullying and threatening behavior led to the local sheriff and marshall to complain of the Hamers’ behavior to the governor, and request rangers to help preserve the peace[26]. The telegram got prompt results. Captain Fox immediately wired that two rangers were on the way.[27] These rangers were privates A. G. Beard and John D. White. Beard was originally destined for Austin when he left Marfa. He may’ve been deflected in route or actually left from Austin.[28] The rangers reported quiet conditions in Snyder but requested permission to stay through the round up ball on New Year’s Eve, as many members of both factions would be present.[29] The threat of violence subsided but because of the local pressure put on the adjutant general Hamer surrendered his warrant on January 11.[30] It isn’t clear how much time Beard spent with White in Snyder after January 1, but Beard and Fuller were there in March, when the “Monthly Returns” said they were moving back to Marfa. Nevertheless, Beard made at least one other trip there in the middle of March.[31]

Hamer eventually married Gladys Johnson Sims on May 17, shortly before her first scheduled appearance in district court[32]. Her trial and that of her brother were moved to Lamesa and Baird respectively.[33] They were served skillfully throughout these proceedings by the same attorney who had represented Gladys in her divorce, former district judge Cullen Higgins. Edward Sims’ death was the first of a series, though no violence occurred while the company B rangers were present.

Conditions in the Big Bend continued to provide the rangers with work there. On December 18, private Woelber arrested three soldiers for “shooting up the town” in Marfa.[34] This incident is one of several indications that relations between the rangers and soldiers stationed in the Big Bend were not good. As mentioned above, one of the Company B rangers was accused of killing a popular sergeant in an El Paso saloon though he was never convicted. Corporal Robert Kiel gave another reason the rangers were disliked:

Rangers frequently extorted money from off-duty soldiers in Marfa. Pairs of Rangers would catch cavalrymen alone and charge them with offense and promise to “take the money to the judge in the morning.” The money, of course, never went further than the Rangers’ pockets and the troopers never forgot the swindle. According to Keil, on one payday the Rangers victimized fourteen cavalrymen from one troop.[35]

One of the rangers associated with Beard’s long scout in the Chisos Mountains, Graham Barnett, left the rangers January 28, 1917.[36] Barnett had acquired a reputation for violence before he entered the rangers because he killed a neighbor, Will Babb in Langtry, December 8, 1913. Barnett was eventually acquitted on grounds of self defense, but he never escaped his reputation.[37] When he attempted to re-enlist in 1918 he was refused. Across the enlistment form someone scrawled “wont do ‘wild west’”. [38] Barnett subsequently held a number of different jobs in and out of law enforcement. July 24, 1925 he killed bootlegger Kirtley “Noisy” Watson in Big Lake after an altercation. He was ultimately acquitted in July 1927, but was killed by Sheriff Will Fowler of Rankin on December 6, 1931.[39]

Throughout early 1917 the ranger force was short of funds. Attrition thinned the ranks of the rangers and some rangers were put on the payroll of the Fish and Oyster department in a desperate attempt to keep them employed.[40] But historic changes were ahead for the state and nation and the rangers would benefit because the state would come to perceive a need for them. In April the United States declared war on Germany. In May Governor Ferguson signed legislation that would greatly strengthen the ranger force. Unfortunately for him, his political career began to decline sharply and he would not be in office to implement the new law.[41]

It was a very turbulent time for the Rangers in the Big Bend. In late 1917 Mexican raiders attacked the Brite ranch, a large ranch in a remote part of Presidio County, on Christmas day. Several rangers from Beard’s company responded to this raid, which cost the lives of three people and resulted in the looting of a store on the ranch. The respondents included Albert Henry Woelber, Will Duncan, John Bates, Boone Oliphant, and Clint Holden. The bandits had fled by the time the rangers and U.S. Army arrived at the ranch but after a brief pursuit they were engaged at long range and several were killed as they made their way back into Mexico.[42]

In response to this raid, a group of rangers, ranchers and cavalrymen descended on the small river settlement of Porvenir on the night of January 28, 1918. The residents of this place were thought by the rangers and ranchmen to have been involved in the Brite Ranch raid. Fifteen residents were removed by men wearing masks, taken to a nearby location, ostensibly to be interrogated. What happened next is difficult to reconstruct because accounts vary: but the outcome was that the 15 men were shot at close range and their bodies left for the surviving residents to find the next morning. The story told subsequently by the rangers was that as they were attempting to move the prisoners, persons unknown opened fire on them. Any casualties they inflicted resulted from the fire they returned to defend themselves.[43] The weight of evidence suggests they were executed by the rangers, with an undetermined degree of participation by the ranchers and soldiers.[44]

Beard’s company B lost half of its strength, and it was disbanded. Beard and the other surviving members were transferred to Captain Gray’s Company.[45] Beard reenlisted on May 9, 1918, and was possibly tainted by this episode, though there is no evidence that he played any role in it. There is reason to believe that the adjutant general and governor were weighing the political effects of disciplining the rangers involved in this episode prior to dismissal. Those who were discharged had their service records altered to reflect a prompt dismissal in February, when in fact they were kept on the service rolls until June.[46] Meanwhile Beard’s reenlistment was apparently suspended while the matter was investigated and the adjutant general and governor decided whether all of the company B rangers should be dismissed[47]

Beard served until March 15, 1919[48]. This date corresponds with a post-war downsizing of the Ranger force following the end of the First World War[49]. Sometime after his discharge in May 1919, Beard became the marshal of the newly organized city of Marfa.[50] His service as City Marshal was much more controversial than his service as a ranger. He was engaged in many mundane law enforcement activities, such a discouraging the discharge of firearms within the city limit.[51] But he was also a suspect in a sensational armed robbery of a Mexican army payroll.

Only one historical source discusses this incident and it relies on raw uncorroborated Federal Bureau of Investigation reports, which demonstrably get some of the facts regarding Beard wrong.[52] But the basic facts of the incident can be simply related. Captain Palma, Mexican Army paymaster arrived by train in Marfa on July 30, 1919 to deliver $22,600 to the Mexican army garrison at Ojinaga across the Rio Grande from Presidio. He hired a driver to transport him from Marfa to Presidio. Three miles from town the road was blocked and three masked men demanded the money at gunpoint. FBI informants implicated Beard and other local law enforcement officers, most of whom were ex-Rangers. The crime was officially never solved. This was not a federal crime so the federal authorities could take no action, despite their suspicions. The thieves may have justified their action by politics. The Mexican army was hotly engaged by forces under Pancho Villa, and many local residents sympathized with Villa.[53] But the local grand jury said this “recent highway robbery that was committed almost within our city limits was a most disgraceful affair and was a blot on our boasted civilization.”[54]

There is evidence that crime was a problem in Marfa at this time, though on the surface it was a healthy, thriving community. The local grand jury wrote an open letter to the district judge who stated “We find gambling and bootlegging carried on in the County to a great extent. Also lewd women visit town frequently. Ranches near the river suffer rustling and slaughter of cattle. . . . We appeal to succeeding Grand Juries to take up the effort to establish law and order.”[55]

This grand jury wrote that “some of our [law enforcement] officers have been taking the law into their own hands when the proper course to pursue should have been to report their complaints to the court, who they should represent.” They added: “We wish to point out to the good people of this county the recent highway robbery that was committed almost within our city limits was a most disgraceful affair and was a blot on our boasted civilization.”[56] This grand jury indicted A.G. Beard for multiple crimes: “robbery with firearms and assault to murder” and “threat against life and false imprisonment.” Two other men were indicted for identical crimes by the grand jury, Charlie Craighead and Jack Rawls. [57]

Craighead was one of the ex-rangers suspected by the bureau informants of participating in the Mexican payroll robbery. According to Harris and Sadler,”Craighead had also been a Ranger stationed in the Big Bend, after which he became a deputy U.S. marshal, then a mounted Customs inspector. For the past year or so he had been a brand inspector at Marfa but had been dismissed a month earlier.”[58] He was one of the ex Rangers suspected of taking part in the Mexican payroll robbery. Though the indictments are a tantalizing coincidence, it appears they were not related to the payroll robbery. Saddler and Harris list of other suspects include ex-rangers Andy Barker, Boone Oliphant, Presidio County Sheriff Ira Cline and his brother Beuf (identified as “a notorious local bootlegger”); and local rancher Buck Pool.[59] None of these men were indicted by the grand jury.[60] Since the grand jury completed its work on August 5th, it’s unlikely it could have indicted for the robbery which occurred on July 30.

The most notorious incident involving Beard was the execution of four prisoners apprehended by the United States Army in Chihuahua, near Carrizo Springs, Mexico on August 20.

The Army incursion into Mexico was the last of its kind during the Mexican revolution. It followed the capture and ransom of two American airmen who had drifted into Mexico and crashed their aircraft. The army successfully ransomed one of the airmen, and rescued the other, then invaded Mexico to apprehend the kidnappers.[61] Near Carrizo Springs the Army caught four men wanted on various criminal charges in Texas. The Army turned them over to four American civilian scouts and law enforcement officers, one of whom was Marshal Beard. These four started to take the prisoners back to Texas but executed them shortly after they got beyond the main body of the cavalry.[62] The executioner(s) of these men cannot be identified by the historical sources, and some details of the killings are different in different accounts.[63] One of the murdered men was said to have murdered the brother of Pablo Chaves, a government scout who was with the escort party, which would seem to make him a prime suspect.[64] But as the shootings occurred in Mexico, no American law enforcement officer would have had jurisdiction to arrest, and no one was ever charged with these murders. These killings were said to have caused the well known Mexican bandit, Chico Cano to swear revenge.[65]

It is not known how Beard’s law enforcement career ended. Early in 1920, he was accused of an unknown minor criminal infraction which was subsequently dismissed for lack of evidence.[66] Family folklore says that Beard made himself unpopular in Marfa by shutting down a popular house of ill repute in Marfa.[67]

Beard’s wife, Laura Brodie Beard died in November 1922. He married Essie Hunter in December 1923. Two daughters were born of this marriage. Alexander Glenn Beard died in Fort Worth, February 20, 1941.[68]





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[1] Information from the “Descendants of Thomas Watt Beard” family webpage compiled by Ernest E. Hunt IV, http://www.mindspring.com/~eehiv/beard/d454.htm

[2] The date on Beard’s warrant which can be viewed in the records of the Texas Adjutant General: http://tslarc.tsl.state.tx.us/service/RR/b/be/bea1330.pdf. See also Harris, Charles H. and Sadler, Louis R., Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution: The Bloodiest Decade, 1910-1920. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 2004, page 511, hereafter cited as Harris and Sadler. Nothing is known of Beard’s service in Central Texas as a law enforcement officer.

[3] Letter from Captain J. Monroe Fox to Adjutant General dated October 15, 1917, reprinted in Texas. Legislature, “Proceedings of the Join Committee of the Senate and House in the Investigation of the Texas State Ranger Force,” 1919, 3 vols., typescript, page 832, online at www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/law/index.html in pdf format. Hereafter “The Canales Report.”

[4] There are many sources on this raid. See “Glenn Spring Raid” Handbook of Texas, Austin, Texas State Historical Association, 1996, volume 3, page 189, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/jcgdu.html.

[5] Harris and Sadler, page 302. As of late March, 1916 the force was 34 men, Harris and Sadler, page 300.

[6] Telegram from Hutchings to Sanders May 8, 1916, Aldrich Papers, Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin, Box 3P157. No such telegram is available to other Captains, but it may be assumed the pressure to recruit was general.

[7] Some of these rangers were assigned to Company C. Ranger enlistments for H.O. Aultman, Graham Barnett, A.G. Beard, O.L. Beaumier, J.O. Bratton, William D. Carr, R.C. Carter, Nathan Fuller, Clint Holden, E. Langford, James L. Lubbock, Jack Moore, O.W. Smith, Gustave Snyder, J.D.White.

[8] Ritter, Al and Chick Davis, “Captain Monroe Fox and the Incindent at Pourvenir”, Oklahoma State Trooper, Winter 1996, page36. Fox’s career in law enforcement began sometime prior to 1905 when he served as a deputy sheriff in Travis County. He also served as a member of the Austin Police Department, and a deputy constable for Travis County. He left this position in October 1911 to enlist in the Ranger Force.

[9] “Monthly Returns of Captain J.M. Fox, Company B, Ranger Force, State of Texas, May 31, 1916” Texas State Archives, 401-1262-2, The “Monthly Returns” recorded travel activities for each Ranger in the company that claimed travel expenses. Fox was in Austin from the first of the month until May 4, and from May 20 to 22, 1916.

[10] Telegram, H.T. Fletcher to Adjutant General Hutchings May 11,1916, Texas State Archives, Adjutant General Correspondence File, 555-1.

[11] Telegram, D. S. Barker to Adjutant General, May 11, 1916, Texas State Archives, Adjutant General Correspondence, File 555-1.

[12] Telegrams, Hutchins to Fox, and Hutchins to Barker, May 13, 1916, Texas State Archives, Adjutant General Correspondence, File 554-19. Rangers Oliphant and Bands[?] were dispatched from Ysleta to Fort Stockton that day. “Monthly Returns of Captain J.M. Fox, Company B, Ranger Force, State of Texas, May 31, 1916” Texas State Archives, 401-1262-2.

[13] E. M. Gleim to Ferguson May 12, Governor’s office to Adjutant General May 15, 1916. The intended reply quoted is penciled in on the letter. Texas State Archives, Adjutant General Correspondence, File 554-19.

[14] Sadler and Harris, p. 308

[15] O.L. Beaumier and Jack Moore left May 31; Gustave Snyder left on June 20, though he was hospitalized from his wound for all but one day of his enlistment. J. O. Bratton left on July 18; H.O. Aultman left on August 15; Earl Langford left on August 20; Charles P. Beall left in September. All were May enlistees. Adjutant General’s online enlistment records.

[16] Letter from Fox to Adjutant General Hutchings, June 19, 1916. This letter was in the Aldritch papers (Box 3P 157) at the Center for American History at the University of Texas in Austin. Fox’s spelling was extremely poor. He probably meant that Samanijo was associated with the well known Mexican bandit Chico Cano.

[17] Ibid.

[18] “Monthly Returns of Captain J.M. Fox, Company B, Ranger Force, State of Texas, October 31, 1916” Texas State Archives, 401-1262-2

[19] “Monthly Returns of Captain J.M. Fox, Company B, Ranger Force, State of Texas, October 31, November 30, December 31, 1916” Texas State Archives, 401-1262-2

[20] “Monthly Returns of Captain J.M. Fox, Company B, Ranger Force, State of Texas, October 31, 1916” Texas State Archives, 401-1262-2.

[21] “Monthly Returns of Captain J.M. Fox, Company B, Ranger Force, State of Texas, December 31, 1916” Texas State Archives, 401-1262-2.

[22] A.G. Beard was photographed with Rangers Nathan Fuller, Graham Barnett, and two armed civilians at Glenn Spring. Coffey, Jim and Barnett, John T., “Graham Barnett: Legend in the Big Bend”, Journal of Big Bend Studies, vol. 19, 2007, page107. The photograph is captioned “Rangers of the Big Bend 6 May 1916” but the accompanying text says it was taken two days after the raid (May 8th). Neither date could be correct, since Beard enlisted on the 11th, Fuller on the 15th, and Barnett on the 16th.

[23] Harris and Sadler, page 318

[24] Harris and Sadler pages 317-318 give an account of these events but the most complete version of the Sims-Johnson feud are found in O’Neal, Bill, Pink Higgins: A Half Century of Violence in Texas, Austin, Eakin Press, 1999, Chapters 9-11, hereafter cited as “O’Neal”. Hamer’s biography: Frost, H. Gordon and John H. Jenkins, I’m Frank Hamer, Austin, Pemberton Press, 1968, and 2nd ed. State House Press, 1993 has a version of these events, but the facts are severely distorted.

[25] O’Neal page 133

[26] Telegram from W.A. Merrill, Sheriff, and O.P. Wolfe, City Marshall, to Hon. James Ferguson, December 20, 1916. A copy is in the Walter Prescott Webb papers at the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

[27] Memo from the Governor to the Adjutant General, December 21, 1916. A copy is in the Walter Prescott Webb papers at the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. O’Neal page 127 citing the quotation of the telegram in The Snyder Daily Signal December 22, 1916.

[28] See the monthly “Reports of Scouts and Arrests” for Ranger Co. B, December, 1916 in the Texas State Archives. White’s report from Snyder dated December 27, 1916. A copy is in the Walter Prescott Webb papers at the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

[29] White’s report from Snyder to Adjutant General dated December 27, 1916. A copy is in the Walter Prescott Webb papers at the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

[30] Cover note from Hamer is in his Adjutant General enlistment file.

[31]“Reports of Scouts and Arrests” for Ranger Co. B, March, 1916 in the Texas State Archives.

[32] O’Neal page 135

[33] O’Neal page 131

[34] Monthly “Reports of Scouts and Arrests” for Ranger Co. B, December, 1916 in the Texas State Archives.

Remaining notes - see Laura Brodie Beard.

He was married to Laura A. Brodie (daughter of James Brodie and Hattie Talk) on 15 Apr 1909 in Austin, Travis County, Texas.⁽⁴⁷⁸⁾ Laura A. Brodie was born on 12 Sep 1886 in Austin, Travis County, Texas. She appeared on the census on 4 Feb 1920 in Austin/Fredericksburg Road, JP #5, Travis County, Texas.⁽⁴⁷⁹⁾ She died on 14 Nov 1922 in Austin, Travis County, Texas.⁽⁴⁸⁰⁾ She was buried in Masonic Cemetery of Onion Creek, Travis County, Texas.

Laura Brodie Beard was Legislative Advisor to the Texas Board of Pardon and Parole.

Newsclippings, most undated, probably from the Austin newspaper:

BEARD-BRODIE

Glenn Beard and Miss Laura Brodie United in Marriage

Glenn Beard and Miss Laura Brodie were united in marriage by the Rev. Mr. Garrett Thursday evening at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Brodie, six miles southwest of the city. The bride was born and raised in Travis County and is a charming and popular young lady. The groom is a son of James Beard and is employed by the Waters-Pierce Oil company. Mr. and Mrs. Beard will go to housekeeping on West Sixth Street, where Mr. Beard has recently purchased a home.


April 9, 1913:

Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Beard have gone to Austin, where Mr. Beard goes to the Seton infirmary for an operation for appendicitis. - Taylor Democrat.


Obituary

Funeral Notice

Mrs. Laura Brodie Beard, aged 36, wife of A. G. Beard died at home of her mother, Mrs. James Brodie, on the Oak Hill road, at 4:15 a.m. Tueday. Funeral services will be conducted at the residence by V. O. Weed. Interment in Boggy Cemetery. Mrs. Beard is survived by her husband, A. G. Beard; two children Isabelle and Frank; her mother, Mrs. James Brodie; one sister, Dedie Brodie, and five brothers, J. L., T. J., J. C., H. E., and A. B. Brodie.


Mrs. Laura Beard Dies Early Tuesday

Mrs Alura Beard, 36, wife of A. G. Beard, died at the home of her mother, Mrs. James Brodie, on the Oak Hill road, Tuesday morning at 4:15 a.m. o'clock. Funeral services will be conducted at the residence of Rev. Johnson. Interment will be in the Boggy Cemetery.

Mrs. Beard is survived by her husband, A. G. Beard; her mother, Mrs. James Brodie, two children, Isabelle and Frank; one sister, Dedie Brodie, and five brothers, J. L., T. J., J. C., H. E., and A. B. Brodie.



Remaining notes from article on AG Beard my grandson Monty Waters:



[35] Justice, Glenn, Little Known History of the Texas Big Bend, Odessa, Rimrock Press, 2001, quoting a letter from Keil to Mrs J.E. Walker, December 31, 1961, Walker papers in the J.J. Kilpatrick Collection, Archives of the Big Bend, Sul Ross State University, Alpine. Keil also wrote a book that about his Big Bend service, Bosque Bonito, but the quoted anecdote was not included in it.

[36] Adjutant General’s enlistment file for Graham Barnett.

[37] Coffey, Jim and Barnett, John T., “Graham Barnett: Legend in the Big Bend”, Journal of Big Bend Studies, vol. 19, 2007, page101-104.

[38] Adjutant General’s enlistment file for Graham Barnett.

[39] Coffey, Jim and Barnett, John T., “Graham Barnett: Legend in the Big Bend”, Journal of Big Bend Studies, vol. 19, 2007, page111-114, 120-123.

[40] Sadler and Harris, 324-325

[41] Sadler and Harris, 325

[42] The names of the rangers who participated in this incident are from Keith, Noel L., The Brites of Capote, Fort Worth, TCU Press, 1950. Most of these rangers are shown in a photograph on pagexxvii, Holden and Oliphant are also mentioned in the text at page 120.

[43] There are many accounts of this incident. See Harris and Sadler pages 352-356; “Porvenir Massacre” Handbook of Texas, Austin, Texas State Historical Association, 1996, volume 5, page 285-286. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/jcp2.html, Utley, Robert M., Lone Star Lawmen: The Second Century of the Texas Rangers, NY, Oxford University Press, 2007 pages 59-64; Keil, Bosque Bonito, Alpine, Sul Ross State University, 2002; Justice. Little Known History of the Texas Big Bend, Odessa, 2002; “The Canales Report, see fn 3 above. For sources reflecting the Ranger’s version of events see Webb, The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Defense, 2nd ed., Austin, University of Texas Press, 1965; Captain Fox’s report, dated February 18, 1918 is in the Canales Report page 834-835.

[44] Keil in his book Bosque Bonito, says that only two rangers were present, though Captain Fox in his February 18 report gives the number as eight. The issue is complicated by the unknown status of some of those present. Many ranchers were “special rangers” who were permitted to carry weapons and make arrests but were not on the state’s payroll. Andrew Barker was one of the rangers terminated in June for his role at Porvenir, though his warrant indicates he was a “Special Ranger”. Clint Holden has been named as a participant. His resignation before the other participants of his company were fired prevented his suffering that fate but according to Keith, The Brites of Capote, page xliii, he was an employee of the Brite Ranch in January 1918, though most list him as a ranger participant. Though all accounts absolve the army of the killings, Glenn Justice examined the site of the killings and concluded that army weapons were used. See his “Texas History Blog”: “Porvenir Massacre Ballistic Evidence Found”www.rimrockpress.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080507-081420.

[45] Harris and Sadler page 355. There were actually eight Rangers assigned to the Porvenir operation. By June 4, when the firings occurred, three had already resigned.It isn’t clear which company this is. The famous photograph of the company, mounted is usually labeled as Company A, but Captain Gray, who is in the photograph, was captain of Company D at this date. See Thompson, History of Marfa and Presidio County, Marfa, Presidio County Historical Commission, 1985, volume 2, (hereafter Thompson) pages 164 (photo) and 165 identifying Beard as a member of Company A. For the tenure of these Captains see Stopka, Christina, “Partial List of Texas Ranger Company and Unit Commanders” (2005, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum) www.texasranger.org/ReCenter/Captains.pbf

[46] Utley, Robert M., Lone Star Lawmen: The Second Century of the Texas Rangers, NY, Oxford University Press, 2007. Page 353-354 (footnote 27)

[47] Handwritten notation on Beard’s warrant: http://tslarc.tsl.state.tx.us/service/RR/b/be/bea1330.pdf.. There is an obvious irregularity in Beard’s reenlistment: It was not endorsed by the Adjutant General until September 10, indicating there may have been some question about accepting the reenlistment. The best known history of the Texas Rangers states twice that all members of this company were dismissed, (Webb, Walter P., The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Defense, 2nd ed., Austin, University of Texas Press, 1965), though A.G. Beard’s service seems to refute this.

[48] See the handwritten subscription on Beard’s warrant and Harris and Sadler, page 511.

[49] Harris and Sadler, page 460. The authors note that many histories claim the Ranger force was downsized following legislative inquiry into abuses by the Rangers, but this is not supported by the record.

[50] Thompson, page192.

[51] Citation needed: A notice signed by Beard was published in the local newspaper. Photocopy in the possession of Caleb Waters.

[52] Harris and Sadler pages 478-480. Though Marshal Beard is clearly implicated in this account, he is referred to as “Jim” Beard and was claimed to have been discharged from the Rangers for his participation in the Porvenir massacre.

[53] Thompson p. 193

[54] From a letter published by the foreman of the grand jury, W.P. Fischer, and T.C. Crosson, clerk of the grand jury, to the district Judge Joseph Jones. This letter was published in the local paper, The New Era on August 9, 1919.

[55] From the same letter quoted above. This portion of the letter was quoted in Thompson p. 189.

[56] From the letter cited above. This portion of the letter was not cited in Thompson.

[57] From the letter cited above. This portion of the letter was not cited in Thompson.

[58] Harris and Sadler, page 478, another entry for Craighead, on page 521 shows he was a “Special Ranger” until May 21, 1919, this was a status frequently given to brand inspectors.

[59] Harris and Sadler, pages 478-9. Barker and Oliphant were fired from the rangers for their participation in the Porvenir massacre, Justice, Little Known History of the Texas Big Bend, Odessa, Rimrock Press, page 157; Utley, Lone Star Lawmen, page 63 and text of fn 27. Pool was present at the massacre, Justice, id. Page149.

[60] Letter published by the foreman of the grand jury, W.P. Fischer, and T.C. Crosson, clerk of the grand jury, to the district Judge Joseph Jones. This letter was published in the local paper, The New Era on August 9, 1919. The other person whose indictments matched those of Craighead and Beard, Jack Rawls, may have been the same person as ranger T.H. Rawls who served until Janurary 1919. Harris and Sadler page 556.



[61] Numerous sources describe this incident. See Hinkle, Stacy, Wings and Saddles: The Air and Cavalry Punitive Expedition of 1919, El Paso, Southwestern Studies, Volume V, no. 3, 1967, and sources cited below.

[62] There are many different versions of this incident which vary in details. The sources which name Beard as one of the escorts are: Thompson, page 195 (though she lists his name as “Baird”); Mogenthaler, The River Has Never Divided Us: A Border History of La Junta de los Rios, Austin, University of Texas, 2004, page 197; Smithers, Chronicles of the Big Bend, Austin, Madrona Press, 1977 page 44-45; Cano and Sochat, Bandido: The True Story of Chico Cano, the Last Western Bandit, Canutillo, Reata Publishing, 1997 page 206. All of these sources (except Smithers who was part of the army unit involved) rely on the evidence and testimony at the subsequent court martial of commanding officer Major James P. Yancey. Yancey was convicted of falsifying his report of the incident, though he was eventually pardoned by President Wilson.

[63] Some sources give the number of men murdered as three. At least one source lists a set of men in the prisoner escort that does not include Beard, see Justice, Little Known History of the Texas Big Bend, Odessa, Rimrock Press, 2001, pages 178-179. Others simply attribute the murders to unnamed “rangers”.

[64] This is the theory advanced in Hinkle, Stacy, Wings and Saddles: The Air and Cavalry Punitive Expedition of 1919, El Paso, Southwestern Studies, Volume V, no. 3, 1967 page 40. Hinkle was a pilot supporting the expedition.

[65] Cano and Sochat, Bandido: The True Story of Chico Cano, the Last Western Bandit, Canutillo, Reata Publishing, 1997 page 206. There is no evidence Cano ever attempted any revenge.

[66] Minutes of Presidio County Court show the dismissal (Cause No. 520, page 192, dated March 1, 1920). Only misdemeanors are tried in the County Courts. Only the dismissal of the case, not a description of the charges could be found in the index. In an adjacent entry in the book of minutes is a similar dismissal of charges against Charles A. Craighead, another former ranger who was serving as a deputy Sheriff in Marfa at the time of the payroll robbery and also implicated by the bureau of investigation (Harris and Sadler, pages 478-479). Craighead had a varied career as a Texas law enforcement officer (Harris and Sadler, pages 47, 190, 248)

[67] Verbal information from Beard’s nephew, Jim Beard.

[68] Information from the “Descendants of Thomas Watt Beard” family webpage compiled by Ernest E. Hunt IV, http://www.mindspring.com/~eehiv/beard/d454.htm





Alexander Glenn Beard and Laura A. Brodie had the following children:

+646 i. Frank McLaughlin Beard.
+647 ii. Laura Isabelle Beard.

He was married to Essie Irene Hunter (daughter of Henry Hunter and Elizabeth Carolyn Lee) on 6 Dec 1923 in Clinton, South Carolina. Essie Irene Hunter was born on 6 Dec 1896 in Austin, Travis County, Texas. She died on 4 Mar 1994 in Austin, Travis County, Texas. ⁽⁸⁶⁾ She was buried in Austin Memorial Park, Travis County, Texas.
From the Austin American-Statesman, Austin, Texas
Monday, March 7, 1994


Essie Irene Beard

Essie (Hunter) Beard, age 97, died Friday, March 4, 1994, in Austin, Texas.

Essie (Hunter) Beard was born near Manor, Texas, December 6, 1896. She spent some of her youth in South Carolina, and was married there to Alexander Glenn Beard of Austin who died in 1941. She lived in Fort Worth, Texas, for most of her life where she worked as an Avon representative and was active in the Riverside and Richland Hills Churches of Christ. Her last three years she resided at Heartland Healthcare Center in Austin.

Essie Beard is survived by two daughters, Betty C. Waters of Manchaca, Texas, and Mary Pat Malloy of Los Osos, California; nine grandchildren; 19 great-granchildren; and one half-brother, Walter Turner of Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Gravesides services 2:00 PM, Tuesday at Austin Memorial Park with Mr. Ken Malloy officiating.

Arrangements by Harrell Funeral Home in Austin, 443-1366.

Alexander Glenn Beard and Essie Irene Hunter had the following children:

+648 i. Betty Caroline Beard.
+649 ii. Mary Patricia Beard.