Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
John Selman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Selman (November 16, 1839-April 6, 1896) was an outlaw and sometimes lawman of the Old West. He is best known as the man who murdered outlaw John Wesley Hardin.
Contents |
Selman was born in Madison County, Arkansas to an English father and an American mother. The family moved to Grayson County, Texas in 1858. After his father's death on December 16, 1861, Selman joined the 22nd Texas Cavalry and served in the Civil War. He deserted in April of 1863.
On August 17, 1865, Selman married Edna Degrafenreid, and the couple eventually had four children. He and his family moved to Fort Griffin, and he then became a deputy sheriff, working under Shackelford County Sheriff John M. Larn. During this time he crossed paths with several notable Old West personalities, such as Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Dave Rudabaugh. Selman and Larn fought against rustlers and vigilante justice in the then very wild area of northwest Texas. The two were involved in several shootouts with bandits and outlaws during the period that followed, until one day when Selman was out of town, and vigilante's overpowered Larn, forced him into his own jail and into a cell, and shot him to death.
With vigilante's now hunting Selman, due to vengeance for several of their comrades he had either arrested or killed, he became less prominent, and more elusive. His wife died in 1879, and he moved with his children to Lincoln County, New Mexico. There, he entered into life as an outlaw, organizing and leading a band of desperados called Selman's Scouts, which was later accused of numerous acts of rape and murder in that area. By 1880 the band had been driven from Lincoln County, and began operating in Jeff Davis County, Texas. Selman was captured shortly thereafter by Texas Rangers, and taken to Shackelford County for trial.
Selman escaped, and fled to Chihuahua, where he hid out until around 1888, when all charges against him were dropped. He then moved to El Paso, Texas, and on August 23, 1893, he married Romula Granadine. He began working as a Constable, and also spent time gambling. On April 5, 1894, Selman killed a former Texas Ranger named Bass during a drunken brawl in a brothel called Tillie Howards. He was not arrested for the shooting, but it would figure prominently into his eventual death.
On August 19, 1895, Selman arrested the prostitute girlfriend of outlaw and gunman John Wesley Hardin, who had recently been released from prison, having served 17 years for numerous murders. Hardin, who was working as an attorney by that time, confronted Selman, and the two men had a verbal dispute. Hardin then went to the Acme Saloon, where he began playing dice. Selman walked in shortly thereafter and shot Hardin from behind three times, killing him. Selman was arrested for the murder, stood trial, but a hung jury resulted in his being released on bond.
On the night of April 5, 1896, Selman left the Wigwam Saloon after a night of drinking and gambling. He met US Marshal George Scarborough on the street. Scarborough had been a friend to the Texas Ranger, Bass, that Selman had killed exactly two years earlier. The two men argued, and began fighting. Selman went for his gun during the fight, and Scarborough shot Selman four times. Scarborough was acquitted on murder charges, and never held in jail.
Selman was buried in an unmarked grave in the Catholic section of El Paso's Concordia Cemetery. To date, his exact grave location in the cemetery is not known.