John Wallace Olinger

Last updated
John Wallace Olinger
John Wallace Olinger.jpg
Personal details
Born(1849-05-03)May 3, 1849
DiedFebruary 25, 1940(1940-02-25) (aged 90)
Van Nuys, California
Cause of death Broncho-pneumonia
Occupation Lawman
Military service
Battles/wars Lincoln County War

John Wallace Olinger (3 May 1849 - 25 February 1940) was a lawman from New Mexico.

While the family moved to Indian Territory, he went down to Seven Rivers, New Mexico, where he was a member of the Seven Rivers Warriors who fought in the Lincoln County War. [1] He was deputized alongside his older brother Bob Olinger by George Peppin to fight against Lincoln County Regulators, led by Alexander McSween. A few months later, he participated in a gunfight on behalf of his ranch partner and wounded a man. [2] [3]

He was involved in a gun battle near Lincoln on 30 April 30 1878, when his posse caught up with Frank McNab, who was slain, Abe Sanders, who was seriously wounded, and Frank Coe, who was captured when he ran out of ammunition and later escaped custody in May, allowed by Olinger. In August, Olinger was arrested for shooting one party in a dispute involving his family's business partner, but he was later released and retired. [4]

He later moved to Los Angeles where he died of broncho-pneumonia at Van Nuys, California on 25 February 1940. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy the Kid</span> American outlaw and gunfighter (1859–1881)

Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21. He is also known for his involvement in New Mexico's Lincoln County War, during which he allegedly committed three murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln County War</span> 1878–1881 conflict in the Old West of the US

The Lincoln County War was an Old West conflict between rival factions which began in 1878 in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, the predecessor of the state of New Mexico, and continued until 1881. The feud became famous because of the participation of William H. Bonney. Other notable participants included Sheriff William J. Brady, cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and businessmen Alexander McSween, James Dolan and Lawrence Murphy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Garrett</span> American lawman (1850–1908)

Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender and customs agent known for killing Billy the Kid. He was the sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, as well as Doña Ana County, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Earp</span> American lawman and Earp family brother (1851–1882)

Morgan Seth Earp was an American sheriff and lawman. He served as Tombstone, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil and Wyatt, as well as Doc Holliday, confront the outlaw Cochise County Cowboys in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. The lawmen killed Cowboys Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. All four lawmen were charged with murder by Billy's older brother, Ike Clanton, who had run from the gunfight. During a month-long preliminary hearing, Judge Wells Spicer exonerated the men, concluding they had been performing their duty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Brocius</span> American gunman, rustler, and outlaw (1845–1882)

William Brocius, better known as Curly Bill Brocius, was an American gunman, rustler and an outlaw Cowboy in the Cochise County area of the Arizona Territory during the late 1870s and early 1880s. His name is likely an alias or nickname, and some evidence links him to another outlaw named William "Curly Bill" Bresnaham, who was convicted of an 1878 attempted robbery and murder in El Paso, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doc Scurlock</span> American Old West figure (1849–1929)

Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock was an American Old West figure, cowboy, and gunfighter. A founding member of the Regulators during the Lincoln County War in New Mexico, Scurlock rode alongside such men as Billy the Kid.

The Lincoln County Regulators, or just the Regulators, were an American Old West deputized posse that fought in the Lincoln County War in New Mexico, during the late 19th century. They are well known for including Billy the Kid as a member.

The Jesse Evans Gang, also known as The Boys, was a gang of rustlers and robbers led by outlaw and gunman Jesse Evans, which lasted from 1876 until 1880. The gang was formed after Evans broke with the John Kinney Gang. After breaking away, he brought along with him Billy Morton, Frank Baker, Tom Hill, Dolly Graham, George Davis, Jim McDaniels, Buffalo Bill Spawn, Bob Martin, Manuel "Indian" Segovia and Nicholas Provencio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Evans</span> 19th-century American criminal

Jesse Evans was an American outlaw and gunman of the Old West, and the leader of the Jesse Evans Gang. He received some attention due to his disappearance in 1882, after which he was never seen or heard from again. Commentators speculated that Evans was living in Florida under the name Joe Hines in 1948, though no definitive proof was ever provided.

Charles "Pony Diehl" Ray was an Old West outlaw in the New Mexico Territory and Arizona Territory. He was accused by Wyatt Earp of having taken part in an attempt to kill his brother, Virgil Earp. Diehl was not tried due to a lack of evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Coe (Lincoln County War)</span> American Old West figure (1851–1931)

Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Coe was an Old West cowboy, gunman, and member of the Lincoln County Regulators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander McSween</span> American Old West figure (1837–1878)

Alexander McSween was a prominent figure during the Lincoln County War of the Old West, and a central character, alongside John Tunstall, in opposing businessmen and gunmen Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan.

The Battle of Lincoln, New Mexico, was a five-day-long firefight between the Murphy-Dolan Faction and the Regulators that took place between July 15–19, 1878, in Lincoln, New Mexico. It was the largest armed battle of the Lincoln County War in the New Mexico Territory. The firefight was interrupted and suppressed by United States Cavalry led by Lt. Col. Nathan Dudley from Fort Stanton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Peppin</span> American sheriff in New Mexico (1841–1904)

George Peppin was a corrupt sheriff in Lincoln County, New Mexico, who figured prominently into the Lincoln County War.

The Seven Rivers Warriors was an outlaw gang of the Old West known primarily due to its part in the Pecos War and the Lincoln County War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Dolan (rancher)</span> American Old West businessman and cattleman (1848–1898)

James Joseph Dolan was a Union Army veteran, Grand Army of the Republic member, Republican Party political boss, racketeer, Old West businessman and gunman, cattle baron, and a key figure in the Lincoln County War, in New Mexico, which launched Billy the Kid to fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Murphy</span> Irish-American Union Army veteran, politician, and mobster

Lawrence Gustave Murphy was an Irish immigrant to the United States, Union Army veteran, Grand Army of the Republic member, Democratic Party ward heeler, racketeer, Old West businessman and gunman, and a main instigator of the Lincoln County War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ab Saunders</span> American cowboy and gunfighter (1851–1883)

Ab Saunders was an American cowboy, and at times gunman, best known for his association with Billy the Kid, Charlie Bowdre, Frank McNab, Doc Scurlock, and Saunders's cousins Frank and George Coe, when he was a member of the Lincoln County Regulators, a deputized posse, during the 1878 Lincoln County War in the New Mexico Territory

Harvey H. Whitehill was a sheriff of the American Old West, whose life as a lawman was documented in the book Sheriff Harvey Whitehill; Silver City Stalwart, by author Robert Alexander. Alexander also wrote extensively about Whitehill in Six-Guns and Single-Jacks: A History of Silver City and Southwestern New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Olinger</span> American Old West lawman (1850–1881)

Robert Ameredith B. "Pecos Bob" Olinger was a frontier lawman best known as the last victim of Billy the Kid and as a participant in the Lincoln County War.

References

  1. "Tormentor of the Kid". Angelfire . Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. "Gunfighter List". Legends of America. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  3. Boardman, Mark (18 June 2021). "The Other Olinger". True West Magazine . Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  4. "John Wallace Olinger: A Marvelous Ensemble of "Tools of the Trade" Belonging to this New Mexico Lawman". Heritage Auctions . Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  5. Weiser-Alexander, Kathy (December 2018). "Seven Rivers Warriors of New Mexico". Legends of America. Retrieved 25 April 2023.

Further reading