Joseph Graves Olney (October 9, 1849 – December 3, 1884) was a
ranch
A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...
er and cattleman in what is now
Cochise County, Arizona
Cochise County ( ) is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after Cochise, a Chiricahua Apache who was a key war leader during the Apache Wars.
The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The count ...
. He arrived there around 1877 and set up a ranch in the
San Simon Valley
The San Simon Valley is a broad valley east of the Chiricahua Mountains, in the northeast corner of Cochise County, Arizona and southeastern Graham County, with a small portion near Antelope Pass in Hidalgo County of southwestern New Mexico. T ...
. Olney moved from Texas under circumstances which were notorious.
Early life
Olney was born in
Burleson County, Texas
Burleson County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,642. Its county seat is Caldwell. The county is named for Edward Burleson, a general and statesman of the Texas Revolution.
...
, to Joseph and Mary K. (Tanner) Olney on October 9, 1849. The family remained in Burleson until 1860, then they moved their ranch to
Burnet County, Texas
Burnet County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 49,130. Its county seat is Burnet.
The 2024 county population estimate was 55,722. The county was founded ...
. In 1870, Olney married Agnes Jane Arnold and set up his own ranch in neighboring
Llano County, Texas
Llano County () is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,243. Its county seat is Llano, and the county is named for the Llano River.
History
The Tonkawa tribe were ...
. About this time, Olney became friends with cowboy
Johnny Ringo
John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882) was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County War in Texas during which h ...
.
Texas
In 1872, Olney served in John Alexander's Company O of the Texas Minutemen and participated in action against Indian raiders. His name appears on the court dockets for minor indictments such as exhibiting a
Monte Bank and
gaming
Gaming may refer to:
Games and sports
The act of playing games, as in:
* Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming"
* Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles
* Playing ...
. Over the next few years, Olney, along with John Ringo and the
Baird brothers
Baird may refer to:
Places United States
* Baird, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Baird, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Baird, Texas, a city
* Baird, Washington, a community
* Baird Mountains, Alaska
* Baird Inlet, Alaska
...
, became involved in the
Mason County Hoo Doo War. As the situation escalated,
Scott Cooley and John Ringo were arrested and incarcerated in the
Lampasas County
Lampasas County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,627. Its county seat is Lampasas. The county is named for the Lampasas River.
Lampasas County is part of t ...
jail. It is believed that Olney and John Baird were the leaders of the group that sprung the two out. It is also believed that Olney hid Ringo in Llano.
Gunfight
The morning of September 7, 1876, brought two riders, Deputy Sheriff S.B. Martin and Wilson Rowntree, to the Olney ranch. Not recognizing Olney, they asked where to ford the river. Olney directed them, and feeling suspicious, he followed the men. Martin and Rowntree then recognized Olney. A gun battle ensued in which Rowntree was wounded in the arm and Martin was killed. Olney attempted to exonerate himself by submitting his explanation to the local paper. He fled to
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
where he began using the alias Joe Hill. His name appeared on Governor
Lew Wallace
Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, artist, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Walla ...
's list of outlaws. He was a wanted man listed as "Joseph Hill (alias Olney) killing a Deputy Shff. In Burnettown, Texas, sandy complected."
Arizona
By the late 1870s, Olney had purchased a ranch in Old Mexico at
Nuevo Casas Grandes
Nuevo Casas Grandes is a city and the seat of the Nuevo Casas Grandes Municipality in northern Mexico. It is located in the northwestern part of the States of Mexico, state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel river ...
near Corralitos and established another ranch in the
San Simon Valley
The San Simon Valley is a broad valley east of the Chiricahua Mountains, in the northeast corner of Cochise County, Arizona and southeastern Graham County, with a small portion near Antelope Pass in Hidalgo County of southwestern New Mexico. T ...
of Arizona. He drove cattle between the two ranches and up to
San Carlos Reservation
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation (Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed fro ...
for sale to
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.
Agents established in Nonintercourse Act of 1793
The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the Un ...
s. On one such drive, Olney, John Ringo, Ike Clanton, and Al Turner
hurrahed the town of
Safford, Arizona
Safford (Western Apache language, Western Apache: Ichʼįʼ Nahiłtį́į́) is a city in Graham County, Arizona, Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population of the city is 10,1 ...
, a typical cowboy behavior. Olney and Ringo were present at the 1881 killing of Dick Lloyd. The two men and others were playing cards in the saloon when the drunk Dick Lloyd shot Ed Mann, mounted Olney's horse, and rode into the saloon. Lloyd was shot by Jack O'Neal. Olney and Ringo also rode together as part of the 1882 posse who pursued the Earps after the vendetta killings of Frank Stilwell and a Mexican, Florentino Cruz.
Later life and death
After John Ringo's death in 1882, Joseph Olney's life finally began to settle down. He died on December 3, 1884, survived by his wife, Agnes Jane, and five children under the age of 15.
On December 13, 1884, The ''Arizona Silver Belt'' reported,
From ''The Willcox Stockman'' we learn that Joe Hill, a well-known cattle man, met with a fatal accident at Bowie, on Wednesday of last week. While driving cattle into a corral, riding at a full gallop, his horse stumbled and fell. Mr. Hill was thrown violently to the ground and received internal injuries from which he died within an hour.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Olney, Joseph Graves
1849 births
1884 deaths
Fugitives
People from Arizona Territory
Outlaws of the American Old West
People from Burleson County, Texas
People from Burnet County, Texas
People from Llano County, Texas