Robert H. Paul
Encyclopedia
Robert H. Paul was a law enforcement officer in the American Southwest for more than 30 years. He was sheriff of Pima County
Pima County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

 from April 1881 to 1886 and a friend of Deputy U.S. Marshall Virgil Earp
Virgil Earp
Virgil Walter Earp fought in the Civil War. He was U.S. Deputy Marshal for south-eastern Arizona and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the Arizona Territory. Two months after the shootout in Tombstone, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of...

 and his brother Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

. As Sheriff he was fearless and tenacious in his pursuit of the lawless, which included Doc Holliday and the Earps. At 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) and 240 pounds (108.9 kg), he was described as "larger than life". Others described him as "powerful, fearless and very lucky".

Early life

Bob Paul was born in Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...

 on June 12, 1830 and at age 12 (some reports say age 14) went to sea from New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

 on the whaling ship
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...

 Majestic with his older brother John. When the voyage ended two years later in the Sandwich Islands
History of Hawaii
The human history of Hawaii includes phases of early Polynesian settlement, British arrival, unification, Euro-American and Asian immigrators, the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, a brief period as the Republic of Hawaii, and admission to the United States as Hawaii Territory and then as the...

, the captain sold the cargo of whale oil
Whale oil
Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...

 and gave Paul his share, $250 (approximately $ as of ). He shipped out as a merchant sailor for the next two years and when his ship put in at San Francisco on February 2, 1848, he left to try his luck in the California gold fields
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

.

Mining in California

He worked a placer mine in Hangtown
Placerville, California
Placerville is the county seat of El Dorado County, California. The population was 10,389 at the 2010 census, up from 9,610 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 for several months without success. He followed others to fresh discoveries of gold on the Yuba River
Yuba River
The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sacramento Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is one of the Feather's most important branches, providing about a third of its flow. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into North, Middle and South...

 and then to the Mokelumne River
Mokelumne River
The Mokelumne River is a river in Northern California. The Upper Mokelumne River originates in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and flows into Pardee Reservoir and then Camanche Reservoir in the Sierra foothills. The Lower Mokelumne River refers to the portion of the river below Camanche Dam...

, where he found and worked a successful mining claim. He was first elected constable in Campo Seco
Campo Seco, California
Campo Seco is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It sits an elevation of 564 feet above sea level and is located at . The community is in ZIP code 95226 and area code 209....

 in 1854, and a month later was appointed Calaveras County
Calaveras County, California
Calaveras County is a county located in the Gold Country of the U.S. state of California. Calaveras is the Spanish word for skulls; the county was reportedly named for the remains of Native Americans discovered by the Spanish explorer Captain Gabriel Moraga. As of the 2010 census, the county had a...

 Deputy Sheriff for the next three years. In 1857 he was appointed undersherriff. He was responsible for breaking up the Tom Bell
Tom Bell (outlaw)
Tom Bell was a western outlaw and physician known as the "Outlaw Doc". He is the first outlaw to organize a stagecoach robbery in the United States.-Biography:...

 gang that was operating in Calaveras and Placer County
Placer County, California
Placer County is a county located in both the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada regions of the U.S. state of California, in what is known as the Gold Country. It stretches from the suburbs of Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and the Nevada border. Because of the expansion of the Greater Sacramento,...

.

In 1862 he married Margaret Coughlan, a 17-year old Irish woman, in Mokelumne Hill
Mokelumne Hill, California
Mokelumne Hill is a census-designated place in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 646 at the 2010 census, down from 774 at the 2000 census. It is commonly referred to as "Moke Hill" by locals...

. They had 10 children, only six of whom lived to adulthood. He tried mining again but had no luck and in the 1870s took a job as a stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 shotgun messenger
Shotgun messenger
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a shotgun messenger was a private "express messenger" and guard, especially on a stagecoach but also on a train, in charge of overseeing and guarding a valuable private shipment, such as particularly the contents of a strongbox or safe...

 for Wells Fargo & Co.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...

 operating out of San Andreas
San Andreas, California
San Andreas is an unincorporated census-designated place and the county seat of Calaveras County, California. The population was 2,783 at the 2010 census, up from 2,615 at the 2000 census. Like most towns in the region, it was originally founded during the California Gold Rush...

 and later Visalia, California
Visalia, California
Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...



He was so successful at his job with Wells Fargo that in 1878, Wells Fargo superintendent J.J. Valentine ordered Bob to Arizona to deal with a series of gold bullion robberies in Maricopa, Arizona
Maricopa, Arizona
-Surrounding Municipalities:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 43,482 people, 14,359 households, and 11,110 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,356.8 people per square mile . There were 17,240 housing units at an average density of 540.4 per square mile...

. Bob was joined in 1879 by Al Sieber
Albert Sieber
Albert Sieber was a German-American military figure, prospector, and Chief of Scouts during the Apache Wars.-Biography:...

 and Johnny Behan
Johnny Behan
John Harris Behan was from April, 1881 to November, 1882 sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. Behan was appointed the first sheriff of the newly-created county in February, 1881. The mining boomtown of Tombstone was the new county seat and Behan's headquarters...

 in a chase for the robber and murderer during the stage holdup near Gillette, Arizona (near present-day Tip Top, Arizona
Tip Top, Arizona
Tip Top is a ghost town in Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. The town was settled in 1876 in what was then the Arizona Territory.-History:Primarily a silver-mining town, it had a post office from August 12, 1880, until February 14, 1895...

 in Yavapai County
Yavapai County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*89.3% White*0.6% Black*1.7% Native American*0.8% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.5% Two or more races*5.0% Other races*13.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

).

Election as Pima County Sheriff

With several years of experience as a sheriff in California, Paul ran as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 for the office of Pima County
Pima County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 Sheriff against Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Charles A. Shibell
Charles A. Shibell
Charles A. Shibell was a teamster, miner, hotel owner, customs inspector, recorder, and Pima County, Arizona County Sheriff and a contemporary of Wyatt Earp and his brothers...

. He was a large man, At 6 foot 6”, and weighed about 240 pounds. Paul was expected to win, but on November 2, 1880, Shibell was unexpectedly reelected, and he immediately appointed Johnny Behan
Johnny Behan
John Harris Behan was from April, 1881 to November, 1882 sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. Behan was appointed the first sheriff of the newly-created county in February, 1881. The mining boomtown of Tombstone was the new county seat and Behan's headquarters...

 as the new deputy sheriff for the Tombstone region of Pima County. A week later Bob Paul accused Shibell and his Cowboy supporters Ike Clanton, Curly Bill Brocius, and Frank McLaury of ballot-stuffing and filed suit in the courts.

Stagecoach murder

While the election decision was being argued in the courts, Bob rejoined Wells Fargo as a shotgun messenger
Shotgun messenger
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a shotgun messenger was a private "express messenger" and guard, especially on a stagecoach but also on a train, in charge of overseeing and guarding a valuable private shipment, such as particularly the contents of a strongbox or safe...

. On the evening of March 15, 1881, three Cowboys
The Cowboys (Cochise County)
The Cowboys were a loosely associated group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. They were cattle rustlers and robbers who rode across the border into Mexico and rounded up cattle that they then sold in the United States...

 attempted to rob a Kinnear & Company stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 carrying USD$26,000 in silver bullion (about $ in today's dollars) en route from Tombstone to Benson, Arizona
Benson, Arizona
-Transportation:Benson Airport is located 3 miles north west of the city.Benson is served by Interstate 10 to the north, which travels directly to downtown Tucson....

, the nearest freight terminal. Near Drew's Station, just outside of Contention City
Contention City, Arizona
Contention City or Contention is a ghost mining town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was occupied from the early-1880s through the late-1880s in what was then known as the Arizona Territory...

, a man stepped into the road and commanded them to "Hold!"

When the driver had taken ill in Contention City, Paul took the reins and driver's seat. Paul fired his ever-present shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...

 and emptied his revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

 at the robbers, wounding a Cowboy later identified as Bill Leonard
Bill Leonard
William R. Leonard is a Republican U.S. politician who served as a member of the California State Board of Equalization from 2002 until his resignation in March 2010.-Life and career:After earning his B.A...

 in the groin. The popular and well-known driver Eli 'Budd' Philpot was shot and killed as well as a passenger named Peter Roerig riding in the rear dickey seat
Rumble seat
A rumble seat, dicky seat, dickie seat or dickey seat is an upholstered exterior seat which hinges or otherwise opens out from the rear deck of a pre-World War II automobile, and seats one or more passengers. An 1899 Century Dictionary describes a rumble as " A seat for servants in the rear of a...

. The horses spooked and Paul was unable to bring the stage under control for almost a mile, leaving the robbers with nothing. Paul said he thought the first shot killing Philpot in the shotgun messenger seat had been meant for him as he would normally have been seated there. Paul returned to the attempted robbery site near Drews Station and joined in with the posse on an 18-day chase that proved fruitless.

Court awards him office

The Arizona Territorial Supreme Court ruled on his election lawsuit in Paul's favor in February, but Shibell appealed, and the decision was not confirmed until April. Paul held the position through 1886. On February 1, 1881 Cochise County was split off from Pima County, relieving him of a large and difficult territory.

Ordered to arrest Wyatt Earp

After the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight 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...

 Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp
Warren Earp
Baxter Warren Earp was the youngest brother of Wyatt, Morgan, Virgil, James, and Newton Earp. He was not present during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. After Virgil was maimed in an ambush, he joined Wyatt and was in town when Morgan was assassinated. He helped Wyatt in the hunt for the outlaw...

 and other deputies were accused of killing Frank Stilwell
Frank Stilwell
Frank C. Stilwell was an outlaw Cowboy who murdered at least two men in Cochise County during 1877-1882. For four months he was a deputy sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona Territory for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan...

 in the railyard at Tucson. Paul as Pima County Sheriff ordered their arrest and issued a warrant. The Earps and other deputies then rode out and sought revenge
Earp vendetta ride
The Earp Vendetta Ride, lasting from March 20 to April 15, 1882, was a manhunt for outlaw Cowboys led by newly appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp. He was searching for men he held responsible for maiming his brother Virgil, the Tombstone Marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal, and assassinating his...

 against the other Cowboys
The Cowboys (Cochise County)
The Cowboys were a loosely associated group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. They were cattle rustlers and robbers who rode across the border into Mexico and rounded up cattle that they then sold in the United States...

 they held responsible for the maiming of Virgil Earp
Virgil Earp
Virgil Walter Earp fought in the Civil War. He was U.S. Deputy Marshal for south-eastern Arizona and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the Arizona Territory. Two months after the shootout in Tombstone, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of...

 and the assassination of Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp
Morgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually...

. They killed Florentino "Indian Charlie" Cruz, Curly Bill Brocius
William Brocius
William "Curly Bill" Brocius was a gunman, rustler and an outlaw Cowboy in the Cochise County area of Arizona Territory during the early 1880s. He had a number of conflicts with the lawmen of the Earp family, and he was named as one of the individuals who participated Morgan Earp's assassination....

, and Johnny Barnes. Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan
Johnny Behan
John Harris Behan was from April, 1881 to November, 1882 sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. Behan was appointed the first sheriff of the newly-created county in February, 1881. The mining boomtown of Tombstone was the new county seat and Behan's headquarters...

 organized a posse to pursue and arrest them, but Paul pointedly refused to join in, or was not invited, due to his known friendly relations with the Earps.

The Pima County Supervisors ordered him later that year to bring Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday back from Colorado. A friend of the Earps, he served a warrant on Doc Holliday, but the Colorado governor refused to allow extradition, and he returned empty handed.

Prevents lynching

It was April 1883 in the Old Pueblo, and the locals anxiously awaited their cue. When a bell sounded, the mob conspiring to lynch a jailbird rushed the courthouse. Only one person stood between the masses and Joseph Casey, who earlier that day had murdered the jailer. Paul cleared the courthouse and almost single-handedly saved Casey’s life. Bob served as Pima County sheriff until 1886 and later as a detective for the SPRR
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

 during 1888-90. On that job he was responsible for tracking down the robbers who held up the Stein's Pass railroad in Sonora, Mexico in 1888.

In 1890 he was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...

 as U.S. Marshal for the entire Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

 and held that post until 1893, after which he served as Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 in Tucson. He passed away in 1901.

Over the years, Paul’s courage, omnipresent shotgun and manhunts into Mexico drew national acclaim. Paul died of cancer on March 26, 1901, in what his obituary called both “his first and last sickness”. He was buried in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

's Court Street Cemetery.
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