RANCH STORIES
The Taylor-Sutton Feud
On, or around, May 15, 1873 Jim W. Cox (father of San Augustine Ranch patriarch, W.W. Cox) was waylaid and killed near DeWitt County, TX. Jim W. Cox had been connected with the Sutton family which had been embroiled in a fued with the Taylor family since the late 1860s. It is alleged that notorious criminal John Wesley Hardin, a member of the Taylor clan, was behind the murder. Shown here are some of the original newspaper articles which provide some additional context and insight. Use the arrow keys to go back and forth, or click on the image to get a link to the original newspaper article.
Pat Garrett - Incident at the Cox Ranch
Most notable for killing Billy The Kid, Pat Garrett crossed paths with the Cox family and ranch on several occasions. In 1899, Garrett was serving as sheriff for Doña Ana county. He and a deputy responded to a request from an Oklahoma lawman tracking a murder suspect named Billy Reed, originally called Norman Newman. They followed a lead to the Cox ranch where Reed was supposed to be working. Rob Cox, grandson of W. W. Cox, reported that Garrett and the deputy burst into the house and confronted Reed. They waited up the hill for all the cowboys to head out to work
before making their move. When Reed made a run for it, both lawmen shot at Reed and killed him. They then hauled his body to Las Cruces.
To the Coxes it didn’t matter if Reed was a criminal or not. According to Rob, the only other adult in the house when Garrett broke in was Rob’s grandmother and her small children. She was pregnant with her third son, Hal, and Rob’s father Jim who was four-years old and A.B., Jim’s younger brother, were present. More accounts (and versions) of this story can be found in the following books. Click on the link for an online excerpt related to the incident at the Cox ranch:
Pat Garrett: The Man Behind the Badge
by W. C. Jameson
1911 Film - The Dude
In search of a location to shoot his Western feature, "The Dude", Hollywood director, Pat Powers, chose the San Augustine Ranch as a back drop for this comedy. Filmed on and around the ranch, the film starred Gladys Field, Thomas McMahon, Leo Herbert White (The Dude and #13 in the picture), Enrique Robles, Jack O’Brien, Gladys Fields, Jesse Robinson, Bill “Will” Crosby, J. E. Macklin, Ethel Dudley, F.C. McMahon, A. Neilson.
Not to be left out, ranch patriarch, W.W. Cox, can be seen in the back row center, appropriately labeled number 1.
