Thomas J. Smith
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2017) ) |
Thomas J. Smith | |
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Born | June 12, 1830 New York City, US |
Died | November 2, 1870 (aged 40) Abilene, Kansas, US |
Occupation(s) | Boxer, railroad worker, lawman |
Years active | 1865–1870 |
Thomas James Smith, also known as Tom "Bear River" Smith, (June 12, 1830 – November 2, 1870) was a lawman in the
Early life
Little is known of Smith's youth, though he was well known as a tough man and had been a professional middleweight boxer. Originally from New York he first prospected in Montana, Wyoming and Utah with partner John Conkie. Smith served as a lawman in a few small towns in Wyoming, including Bear River, as well as in Kit Carson, Colorado, prior to his move to Kansas.
Smith received the nickname "Bear River" due to being the leader of the Bear River Riot in 1867. A vigilante group had
Smith has been described as having been a
Marshal of Abilene
Prior to Smith's appointment as Abilene marshal, two
Smith was also commissioned as a deputy
On November 2, 1870, Smith and a temporary deputy, believed to be named James McDonald, attempted to serve a warrant on two local farmers, Andrew McConnell and Moses Miles. The two men were wanted in connection with the murder of another Abilene man, John Shea. McDonald and Smith located the suspects in a small settlement ten miles outside of Abilene. A gunfight erupted, in which Smith was badly wounded in the chest. Smith returned fire and wounded McConnell. His deputy fled the scene, and as Smith lay wounded, Moses Miles hit him with the butt of a rifle, then took an axe and decapitated him.
McConnell and Miles were captured and arrested in March 1871, Andrew McConnell got 12 years in prison and Moses Miles got 16 years in prison. Smith was buried in Abilene, and a huge
In media
Trail Town by Ernest Haycox was a loose fictionalization of Smith's time as Abilene's marshal. Smith's fictional counterpart was "Dan Mitchell." Abilene became "River Bend." A film version, Abilene Town, starred Randolph Scott as Mitchell. The town's real name was restored for the film.
Tom Smith was featured in Season 1, Episode 7 of the TV series American Lawman titled "Tom Smith: The Two-Fisted Marshal of Abilene"
He was portrayed by Ronald Reagan in a Death Valley Days episode entitled "Marshall 'Bear River' Smith."[1]
References
2. Abilene'a Able but Short-lived Lawman. Wild West magazine, Spring 2023. Roger Myers
- Marshal Thomas J Smith
- Marshal Tom Smith's murder
- The Death of Thomas Smith as told by Walter D. Nichols, (1931), H.L. Humphrey
- Great Gunfighters of the Kansas Cowtowns, 1867-1886, Nyle H. Miller and Joseph W. Snell
- Policing lawless Abilene
- Thomas James Smith