Ira Aten
Ira Aten (September 3, 1862 – August 5, 1953) was a
Texas Ranger who was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame
.
Aten was born in
Methodist circuit rider, and moved the family to Texas in 1876, settling near Round Rock. In 1878, while still a boy, Aten witnessed the death of outlaw Sam Bass. In March 1883, Aten joined the Texas Rangers, becoming a member of "Company D" serving under Captain L. P. Seiker. Aten was assigned to the counties bordering the Rio Grande
, and due to the rough nature of this area, he became involved in numerous dangerous encounters.
Aten was involved in the
Jaybird-Woodpecker War, after which he was elected to the position of Fort Bend County, Texas Sheriff. In 1890 Aten moved to Castro County, Texas
, where he became sheriff.
In 1895, he became a foreman for the XIT Ranch, a position he held for the next 10 years. He hired two former rangers, Wood Saunders and "Big Ed" Connell.[1] In 1904, he moved with his family to the
Boulder Dam and the All-American Canal. In 1945, J. Marvin Hunter's Frontier Times magazine published Aten's memoirs. Aten died of pneumonia at his daughter's home in Burlingame, California, and was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro
.
References
- ISBN 0806114282.
External links
- Ira Aten, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Archived 2008-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
- Ira Aten at Find a Grave
- Fence Cutters War
- Fence Cutters War, 1883 through 1888
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