Use “Back” for
previous page or click: HOME
John William Poe
John William Poe was born on October 17, 1850 and was raised on his
grandfather's farm in Maysville, Mays
County, Kentucky*. By
the age of 15, he had developed a yearning to go West and his travels took him
to Missouri, Kansas,
Texas, and eventually the New Mexico territory. He was a buffalo
hunter, cattleman, stock detective for Charles Goodnight, lawman in Texas and New
Mexico, and banker. John William
Poe married Sophie Alberding on May 5, 1883. Their only child
lived a few hours. The home of John William and Sophie Poe is located at 311
West Seventh in Roswell
and is known as the Poe-Mossman house in the National Register of Historic
Buildings.
While serving as Sheriff of Lincoln County,
Poe became friends with Pat Garrett and John Chisum. His most famous experience
occurred when he accompanied Garrett to Pete Maxwell's ranch near Fort Sumner.
Garrett went inside. Waiting outside, Poe saw William Bonney (Billy the Kid)
enter the ranch house, though he did not recognize him. He heard the gunfire when
Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Pat Garrett. He wrote several articles for
newspapers and books about the death of Billy the Kid. After retiring as a
lawman, John William Poe and his
wife settled in Roswell
where he was one of the organizers of the Bank of Roswell. He was later
President of the Citizen's Bank of Roswell. He died on July 17, 1923. Sophie
Alberding Poe commemorated his life in a biography, Buckboard Days.
* The city of Maysville, Kentucky is in
Mason County.