Franklin Leslie
Encyclopedia
Nashville Franklin [Franklyn] Leslie was an lawman, U.S. Army scout, gambler, and an outlaw. He was known for his fringed buckskin jacket and his twin revolvers. He became famous in Tombstone, Arizona for killing two men in self-defense before he killed one of his wives while drunk and in a fit of jealousy. He served nine years in prison before he was pardoned and left for California. He remarried twice in California before disappearing from public records in 1922. The most reputable source reports that he died in San Francisco in the back of a pool hall, homeless, at about age 80.
on March 23, 1848 where he grew up. His father's last name was Kennedy and his mother was Martha Leslie. He took his mother's last name as his after a falling out with his father. Frank Leslie was first recorded as a scout for the U.S. Army in Texas, Oklahoma and the Dakotas during the 1870s.
in 1880 and became a bartender at the Oriental Saloon. Frank had long, blonde hair and a wide, drooping mustache. He wore a jacket festooned with fringed buckskin, yellow-braided cavalry pants, and a wide-brimmed hat—an outfit to which a “fully laden twin-gun harness added a lethal touch.” He was 5 in 7 in (1.7 m) tall and wore 2 inches (5.1 cm) heels to boost his height.
Leslie and Mrs. Killeen were married two weeks later. According to The Tombstone Epitaph newspaper:
Leslie was reputed to be the owner of a special revolver. On January 14, 1881, Leslie sent a letter to the Colt firearms company.
, Claiborne claimed to have killed three men who had ridiculed him, but there is only evidence of Claiborne 's fight with Bill Hickey. After the O. K. Corral shootout, Claiborne's reputation suffered because he fled the scene.
According to Leslie, he was talking with some friends in the Oriental Saloon when Claiborne elbowed his way in and began using insulting and abusive language. Claiborn was very drunk, threatened patrons, and vandalized the saloon. He demanded that Leslie call him "Billy the Kid". Leslie asked Claiborne to not interfere, but Claiborne returned and resumed his foul and abusive speech. Leslie grabbed Claiborne by his coat collar and escorted him out. Leslie said, "He used very hard language, and as he started away from me, shook a finger at me and said, 'That's all right Leslie, I'll get even on you.'"
A few minutes later first one man and then another said there was a man waiting outside to shoot Leslie. The second man said it was Claiborne and that he was waiting outside with a rifle. When Leslie stepped outside he saw "a foot of rifle barrel protruding from the end of the fruit stand." He tried to talk Claiborne out of shooting but he raised the rifle, missing Leslie. Leslie returned fire and hit Claiborne in the chest. "I saw him double up and had my pistol cocked and aimed at him again... I advanced upon him, but did not shoot, when he said, "Don't shoot again, I am killed." "
Because Claiborne was waiting outside to ambush Leslie and fired first, the killing was ruled self-defense. It was described as "an incident that became an open-and-closed affair over the short period of time required by Frank to puff through a rolled cylinder of Bull Durham."
Mike Joyce sent Leslie to work on his ranch 40 miles (64.4 km) to the east in the Swisshelm Mountains
. During 1884 to 1886, he served during the Apache uprisings
as a scout for the Fourth Cavalry, and afterward as a mounted customs inspector along the Rio Grande
area and became a rancher.
After his divorce, Leslie began living with a prostitute from the Bird Cage Theatre named "Blonde Mollie" Williams. They both drank heavily, and one night were drinking with a friend James "Six-Shooter Jim" Neil. Jim was prone to recite fantastic tales of his ability with guns, and after a few drinks, Frank left to obtain some more booze. When he returned, Leslie saw Molly chatting on the porch with O'Neil. In a jealous fit he thought they were having an affair. When he argued with her, she pulled a pocket revolver but he shot her first, killing her. He then shot O'Neil twice, wounding him.
Convicted of Molly's murder, Leslie was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in the Yuma Territorial Prison
.
After serving 8 years, Governor Franklin
pardoned Leslie for good behavior and released from the Yuma Territorial Prison
on November 7, 1896. He relocated to California and settled in Stockton, California
where he married Mrs. Belle Stowell on December 1, 1896. She had been living in San Francisco when he was imprisoned and "read the narrative of the scout's adventures and, it is said, fell in love with him." They corresponded while Leslie was in prison and she arrived from Warren County, Illinois
for the marriage. They allegedly traveled to China on their honeymoon. Leslie later traveled to Mexico and became a field assistant to a Professor Dumell on a geological survey for coal deposits. The San Francisco Call
, on 26 November 1902, reported, "Frank Leslie was accidentally shot through the right knee and on the right side of the head by the discharge of his own revolver yesterday morning, while at a saloon at Eddy and Market streets. Leslie, who carries a self-acting revolver, was entering a side room, when the weapon slipped from his pocket and striking on the asphalt floor was exploded, sending the ball through the outside of his right knee. The bullet passed so close to his head that it clipped off a portion of his right ear and cut a furrow along his scalp. " After trying his hand at prospecting in the Alaska
n gold fields, Leslie moved to Oakland, California
in 1913 where he worked at a pool hall. On November 6, 1913, at Napa, he married Elnora Cast although it is unclear whether he was legally divorced from his other wife Belle (Stowell) Leslie.
; the best source however, states that he ended his days in 1930, drunk and penniless, except for the generosity of a bartender who let him sleep in his back room in exchange for sweeping up every night. It was estimated that this Frank Leslie was about 80-81, which would make him to be the right age to be the Frank Leslie of Tombstone fame. In June of 1974 a newspaper article reported " A silver buckled belt owned by gunfighter Buckskin Frank Leslie sold for $2,500 at a recent Los Angeles Auction specializing in Old West memorabilia."
Early life
Leslie was born Galveston, TexasGalveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
on March 23, 1848 where he grew up. His father's last name was Kennedy and his mother was Martha Leslie. He took his mother's last name as his after a falling out with his father. Frank Leslie was first recorded as a scout for the U.S. Army in Texas, Oklahoma and the Dakotas during the 1870s.
Tombstone, Arizona
He arrived in Tombstone, ArizonaTombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
in 1880 and became a bartender at the Oriental Saloon. Frank had long, blonde hair and a wide, drooping mustache. He wore a jacket festooned with fringed buckskin, yellow-braided cavalry pants, and a wide-brimmed hat—an outfit to which a “fully laden twin-gun harness added a lethal touch.” He was 5 in 7 in (1.7 m) tall and wore 2 inches (5.1 cm) heels to boost his height.
Kills Mike Killeen
On June 22, 1880, he began dating the buxom Mary Killeen. Accounts differ as to whether she was separated from her husband or still married to him. After the dance, they sat on the porch of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and were spotted by her husband. Mike appeared out of the dark street and shot at Leslie, barely missing him. Leslie fired back and shot Mike Killen twice. Mike Killen died five days later and was buried in Tombstone's Boot Hill cemetery on June 22, 1880.Leslie and Mrs. Killeen were married two weeks later. According to The Tombstone Epitaph newspaper:
Leslie was reputed to be the owner of a special revolver. On January 14, 1881, Leslie sent a letter to the Colt firearms company.
Kills Billy Claiborne
On November 14, 1882, Leslie became involved in an argument with Billy Claiborne who, after the recent death of William Bonney, had demanded to be known as "Billy the Kid". A survivor of the Gunfight at the O.K. CorralGunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
, Claiborne claimed to have killed three men who had ridiculed him, but there is only evidence of Claiborne 's fight with Bill Hickey. After the O. K. Corral shootout, Claiborne's reputation suffered because he fled the scene.
According to Leslie, he was talking with some friends in the Oriental Saloon when Claiborne elbowed his way in and began using insulting and abusive language. Claiborn was very drunk, threatened patrons, and vandalized the saloon. He demanded that Leslie call him "Billy the Kid". Leslie asked Claiborne to not interfere, but Claiborne returned and resumed his foul and abusive speech. Leslie grabbed Claiborne by his coat collar and escorted him out. Leslie said, "He used very hard language, and as he started away from me, shook a finger at me and said, 'That's all right Leslie, I'll get even on you.'"
A few minutes later first one man and then another said there was a man waiting outside to shoot Leslie. The second man said it was Claiborne and that he was waiting outside with a rifle. When Leslie stepped outside he saw "a foot of rifle barrel protruding from the end of the fruit stand." He tried to talk Claiborne out of shooting but he raised the rifle, missing Leslie. Leslie returned fire and hit Claiborne in the chest. "I saw him double up and had my pistol cocked and aimed at him again... I advanced upon him, but did not shoot, when he said, "Don't shoot again, I am killed." "
Because Claiborne was waiting outside to ambush Leslie and fired first, the killing was ruled self-defense. It was described as "an incident that became an open-and-closed affair over the short period of time required by Frank to puff through a rolled cylinder of Bull Durham."
Service as a Scout
After Leslie killed Billy Claiborne, business at the Oriental Saloon dropped off due to public opinion turning against Leslie. Oriental Saloon ownerMike Joyce sent Leslie to work on his ranch 40 miles (64.4 km) to the east in the Swisshelm Mountains
Swisshelm Mountains
The Swisshelm Mountains are a small mountain range adjacent to the southwest corner of the Chiricahua Mountains of eastern Cochise County, Arizona...
. During 1884 to 1886, he served during the Apache uprisings
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...
as a scout for the Fourth Cavalry, and afterward as a mounted customs inspector along the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
area and became a rancher.
Kills Molly Williams
Leslie and Killeen divorced in 1887 after seven years of marriage. Killeen claimed that Leslie would shoot at her as he attempted to trace her outline along a wall. May Leslie was granted a Divorce from N.F. Leslie on June 3, 1887 Conchise Co., Arizona. Mary Leslie then married Alexander Durward on October 12, 1889, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona, and moved to Banning, Riverside County where she died on March 24, 1947.After his divorce, Leslie began living with a prostitute from the Bird Cage Theatre named "Blonde Mollie" Williams. They both drank heavily, and one night were drinking with a friend James "Six-Shooter Jim" Neil. Jim was prone to recite fantastic tales of his ability with guns, and after a few drinks, Frank left to obtain some more booze. When he returned, Leslie saw Molly chatting on the porch with O'Neil. In a jealous fit he thought they were having an affair. When he argued with her, she pulled a pocket revolver but he shot her first, killing her. He then shot O'Neil twice, wounding him.
Convicted of Molly's murder, Leslie was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in the Yuma Territorial Prison
Yuma Territorial Prison
The Yuma Territorial Prison was a prison in the Arizona Territory of the United States and now in present day Yuma, Arizona. The Territorial Prison is one of the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites on the National Register of Historic Places in the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.The site is...
.
Later years
Sheriff John Slaughter delivered him to the Yuma Territorial Prison on January 9, 1890, where he became convict number 632. The Mohave Miner, on Jan 18, 1890, reported "The eleven convicts who were brought here from Tombstone yesterday, arrived in an intoxicated condition. One of the number, a life prisoner, Frank Leslie, was so drunk that he could scarcely walk." Leslie became a model prisoner and volunteered to serve in the prison hospital. During several epidemics, he risked exposing himself and worked hard caring for fellow inmates. Dr. P.G. Cotter, the physician in-charge, wrote that Leslie "was a most humane and self-sacrificing attendant".After serving 8 years, Governor Franklin
Benjamin Joseph Franklin
Benjamin Joseph Franklin was a U.S. Representative from Missouri, and territorial governor of Arizona.Born in Maysville, Kentucky, in March 1839, Franklin attended private schools, and Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia from 1849 to 1851.He taught school.He studied law.He was admitted to the bar...
pardoned Leslie for good behavior and released from the Yuma Territorial Prison
Yuma Territorial Prison
The Yuma Territorial Prison was a prison in the Arizona Territory of the United States and now in present day Yuma, Arizona. The Territorial Prison is one of the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites on the National Register of Historic Places in the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.The site is...
on November 7, 1896. He relocated to California and settled in Stockton, California
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
where he married Mrs. Belle Stowell on December 1, 1896. She had been living in San Francisco when he was imprisoned and "read the narrative of the scout's adventures and, it is said, fell in love with him." They corresponded while Leslie was in prison and she arrived from Warren County, Illinois
Warren County, Illinois
-External links:**...
for the marriage. They allegedly traveled to China on their honeymoon. Leslie later traveled to Mexico and became a field assistant to a Professor Dumell on a geological survey for coal deposits. The San Francisco Call
San Francisco Call
The San Francisco Call was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called The San Francisco Call & Post, the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, San Francisco News-Call Bulletin, and the News-Call Bulletin...
, on 26 November 1902, reported, "Frank Leslie was accidentally shot through the right knee and on the right side of the head by the discharge of his own revolver yesterday morning, while at a saloon at Eddy and Market streets. Leslie, who carries a self-acting revolver, was entering a side room, when the weapon slipped from his pocket and striking on the asphalt floor was exploded, sending the ball through the outside of his right knee. The bullet passed so close to his head that it clipped off a portion of his right ear and cut a furrow along his scalp. " After trying his hand at prospecting in the Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n gold fields, Leslie moved to Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in 1913 where he worked at a pool hall. On November 6, 1913, at Napa, he married Elnora Cast although it is unclear whether he was legally divorced from his other wife Belle (Stowell) Leslie.
Death
Records of Leslie's death do not agree. One source says that he committed suicide in 1925; another story states that he struck it rich in the Alaskan Gold Fields, and died as a rich land baron in the San Joaquin ValleySan Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
; the best source however, states that he ended his days in 1930, drunk and penniless, except for the generosity of a bartender who let him sleep in his back room in exchange for sweeping up every night. It was estimated that this Frank Leslie was about 80-81, which would make him to be the right age to be the Frank Leslie of Tombstone fame. In June of 1974 a newspaper article reported " A silver buckled belt owned by gunfighter Buckskin Frank Leslie sold for $2,500 at a recent Los Angeles Auction specializing in Old West memorabilia."
Further reading
- Rickards, Colin. Buckskin Frank Leslie: Gunman of Tombstone, El Paso, 1964.