Clay Allison facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Clay Allison
Born	Robert A. Clay Allison (1841-09-02)September 2, 1841 Waynesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	July 1, 1887(1887-07-01) (aged 45) Pecos, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Cattle rancher, cattle broker, and gunfighter
Spouse(s)	Medora "Dora" McCulloch
Parent(s)	Jeremiah Scotland Allison Mariah Ruth Brown

Robert A. Clay Allison, known as Clay Allison, was a cattle rancher and broker in the American Old West. He was born on September 2, 1841, and passed away on July 1, 1887. Clay Allison was also known as a gunfighter. He fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Allison was known for being involved in many fights. He survived several knife and gun duels.

Clay Allison's Early Life

Clay Allison was born on September 2, 1841. He was the fourth of nine children. His parents were Jeremiah Scotland Allison and Mariah Ruth Allison. His father was a Presbyterian minister. He also raised cattle and sheep to support his family. Clay helped on the family farm near Waynesboro, Tennessee. He stayed there until the Civil War began. He joined the Confederate Army when he was 20 years old.

Serving in the Civil War

On October 15, 1861, Clay Allison joined the Confederate States Army. He was part of Captain W. H. Jackson's artillery group. However, three months later, he had to leave. An old head injury made it hard for him to serve.

On September 22, 1862, Allison joined the army again. This time, he was in the 9th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment. He served under General Nathan Bedford Forrest. General Forrest was known as the "Wizard of the Saddle." Clay Allison surrendered with Forrest's men on May 4, 1865. This was at the end of the war. After being held as a prisoner of war for a short time, Allison and others were released on May 10. They were allowed to go home.

Life After the Civil War

After the war, Clay Allison returned home. He was involved in several conflicts. One story says that a soldier from the 3rd Illinois Cavalry came to the Allison family farm. The soldier wanted to take their farm. After a fight, Allison took a rifle and killed the man. Soon after, Clay Allison, his brothers Monroe and John, and his sister Mary moved west.

In Cimarron and Elizabethtown, New Mexico, Allison became known as a dangerous person. This was during the Colfax County War. In 1870, a man named Charles Kennedy was in jail in Elizabethtown. People thought he was acting strangely. They also suspected him in the disappearance of several people and his own son. A group of people, led by Allison, broke into the jail. They took Kennedy from his cell, and he was killed. Later, when Kennedy's house was searched, the missing bodies were found. This included his son.

Allison thought he was very fast with a gun. But this changed when he had a friendly competition with Mason Bowman. Bowman was faster. Bowman and Allison became friends. Bowman helped Allison get better at drawing his gun quickly.

In October 1878, Allison had a small fight with Comanches. This happened during the Texas-Indian War in Wheeler County, Texas. Allison was riding when he saw a family home being attacked by Indians. He asked the U.S. cavalry for help, but they said no. So, he gathered a group of ranchers and cowboys. They charged at the Indians. They killed one, and the rest ran away.

Becoming a Notorious Gunfighter

On January 7, 1874, Clay Allison killed a gunman named Chunk Colbert. Colbert was known for having killed seven men before this. Colbert and Allison first raced their horses. Then, they went into the Clifton House, an inn in Colfax County, New Mexico. They sat down for dinner. Colbert and Allison had argued years before. Allison had beaten Colbert's uncle, Zachary Colbert. This happened when the uncle tried to charge Allison too much for a ferry ride.

During their meal, Colbert suddenly pulled his pistol. He tried to shoot Allison. But his gun hit the dinner table. This gave Allison time to quickly pull his own gun. Allison fired one shot, hitting Colbert in the head. After the event, Allison was asked why he accepted dinner with a man who might try to kill him. Allison said, "Because I didn't want to send a man to hell on an empty stomach." Allison's fame as a gunman grew after this.

On October 30, 1875, during the Colfax County War, Allison was part of a group that killed Cruz Vega. Vega was suspected of murdering Reverend F.J. Tolby. On November 1, Vega's family, led by his uncle Francisco Griego, threatened revenge. They went to the Lambert Inn (now the St. James Hotel). There, they confronted Allison. Griego reached for his gun, but Allison was faster. He shot Griego twice, killing him. On November 10, Allison was charged with Griego's murder. But after an investigation, the charge was dropped. The shooting was ruled as self-defense.

In December 1876, Clay Allison and his brother, John, rode into Las Animas, Colorado. They stopped at a local saloon. Constable Charles Faber told them they needed to give up their pistols. A town rule made it illegal to carry weapons inside town limits. The Allisons refused. Constable Faber left. He brought two other men with him and returned to the saloon. When they stepped inside, someone yelled, "Look out!" The constable and his men started shooting. John Allison was hit three times. Clay Allison fired four shots. One shot killed Faber. The two other men ran away. Both Allison brothers were arrested. They were charged with manslaughter. But the charges were dropped because the constable had started the gunfight.

Meeting Wyatt Earp?

In March 1877, Clay Allison sold his ranch to his brother, John. He moved to Sedalia, Missouri, and then to Hays City, Kansas. There, he became a cattle broker. When he first arrived in Dodge City, Kansas, his reputation was already known. Dodge City was a town for cattle. Wyatt Earp was the deputy marshal there at the time.

Some stories say that several cowboys working for Allison were treated badly by the marshal's office. Earp and his writer claimed that Earp and his friend Bat Masterson faced Allison and his men in a saloon. They said Allison backed down. However, Masterson was not in town then. There is no proof this meeting ever happened. Earp only made this claim after Allison had died.

Other accounts from that time say that a cattleman named Dick McNulty and Chalk Beeson (who owned the Long Branch Saloon) convinced Allison and his cowboys to give up their guns. Charlie Siringo, a cowboy who later became a famous Pinkerton detective, saw the event. He wrote that McNulty and Beeson ended the problem. He also wrote that Earp did not even go near Clay Allison that day.

The 1880s

Clay Allison kept his ranch from 1880 to 1883 with his brothers, John and Jeremiah. Their ranch was 12 miles northeast of Mobeetie, Texas. It was at the meeting point of the Washita River and Gageby Creek. This area was then in Wheeler County, Texas (now Hemphill County, Texas).

Clay Allison's Family Life

In Mobeetie, on February 15, 1881, Clay Allison married America Medora "Dora" McCulloch. She was from Sedalia, Missouri.

By 1883, Allison had sold his ranch. He moved to Pope's Wells, a famous spot on the Goodnight–Loving Trail. He bought a ranch near the Pecos River crossing. This was on the Texas-New Mexico border.

Clay and Dora had two daughters. Patti Dora Allison was born on August 9, 1885, in Cimarron, New Mexico. Clay Pearl Allison was born on February 10, 1888, in Pecos, Texas. This was seven months after her father's death.

How Clay Allison Died

Clay Allison died on July 1, 1887. He was moving a wagon full of supplies. The load shifted, and a sack of grain fell from the wagon. Allison fell from the wagon trying to catch it. A wagon wheel rolled over him, breaking his neck. He was 45 years old. Allison was buried the next day in Pecos Cemetery.

Tributes to Clay Allison

On August 28, 1975, a special ceremony was held. Clay Allison's remains were re-buried at Pecos Park. This is just west of the Pecos Museum. His grave marker has the wrong birth date of 1840. It reads:

A second marker was later placed at the foot of the grave. It has an added phrase: "He never killed a man that did not need killing."

Images for kids

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  Tombstone of Clay Allison in Pecos, Texas, showing the incorrect birth year

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  An additional tombstone placed at Allison's grave in Pecos, Texas