John Riley
Events
Born: John Henry Riley
Birthdate: May 12, 1850
Birthplace: Valentia Island, County Kerry, Ireland
Marriage: Anita (Anne) Cunniffe on November 9, 1882 at Albuquerque, NM
Children:
Patrick John Riley
John Dolan Riley (b-9/26/1885)
Genevieve Riley
Death: February 10, 1916 at Colorado Springs, Colorado
Cause of death: Pneumonia
Burial: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Colorado
During the early 1860s, John Riley and family made their way to America and settled in Baltimore briefly before heading out to the Colorado territory. It is speculated that young John joined the California Column stationed in New Mexico and, if true, would have been a young adolescent at the time. The California Column was a group of union soldiers that marched from California through New Mexico territory to El Paso in late 1862 to prevent confederates from entering the area. After the civil war, Riley began working for the Colorado Central Railroad and later settled in Lincoln, NM, near Fort Stanton, in the mid-1870s. Riley was employed by Rockwell Blake to operate a store and trading post at Blazers Mill.
John Riley acquired a ranch south of Fort Stanton and became acquainted with his neighbor, John Copeland.
Mr. Copeland eventually employed two individuals of Mexican nationality to carry out various tasks on his farm and ranch. Their identities are unknown. One morning, Mr. Copeland noticed that one of his employees was missing, along with two horses, a rifle, a blanket and some spoons. Mr. Copeland consulted with John Riley and discovered that a brand new saddle belonging to Riley had also been stolen. Mr. Copeland promptly set out on the trail, determining the direction in which the thief was likely headed, and caught up to him via a shortcut. The thief attempted to draw his rifle, which he had stolen from Mr. Copeland, but was not quick enough and was ordered off his horse. The man climbed down and made a move for his pistol, but was shot and killed by Mr. Copeland. Upon returning home, Mr. Copeland discovered that his other employee was still present. He traveled to Riley’s Ranch to discuss the events that had transpired, and, in conjunction with Riley, decided to detain Mr. Copeland’s other employee and transport him to Fort Stanton for a thorough investigation. While traveling on foot, the man attempted to escape into a heavily-wooded area, at which point Riley and Mr. Copeland killed him. The following day, Mr. Copeland and Riley reported to Probate Judge Saturnino Baca, who called for an official investigation. Clerk of Court Juan Patron desired to immediately arrest Mr. Copeland and Riley, but did not do so as it would be a violation of due process. Patron even went so far as to gather a mob for lynching purposes, but Mr. Copeland and Riley had already departed town. Later, a mob arrived at Mr. Copeland’s house, but he was not present. Regrettably, John Riley was present, as was army doctor Henry G. Tiedemann from Fort Stanton. The mob forced Riley back to his home and followed him, possibly to prevent Mr. Copeland’s family from being subjected to more drama. When the group arrived at Riley’s home, they discovered Copeland.
This allowed the Army doctor to ride up to Fort Stanton for help since he was left alone. In the meantime, the mob ordered Copeland and Riley to escort them to the dead body which they did without hesitation. When they arrived at the corpse a man in the mob named Lucas Gallegos put his pistol to Riley’s head and asked him if he shot this man. Some of the others had already dismounted and began to bury the deceased. Just in time a detachment of soldiers were at a fast Gallop towards Copeland’s place when they spotted the mob and rode in that direction. Patron and the mob quickly dispersed, abandoning their prisoners, possibly saving their lives.
One day, while examining a firearm at John Riley’s shop, Doc Scurlock inadvertently fired and fatally injured Riley’s friend and store manager, Mike G. Harkins. No charges were pressed.
Shortly after, Riley entered into a partnership with L.G Murphy and Jimmy Dolan in a profitable mercantile and banking venture. The successful Irish trio had beef contracts with Fort Stanton and the Apache reservations. They devised schemes to sell land that they did not own to unsuspecting new farmers, promising to purchase the crops and beef they raised. Although their store was pricey, since it was the only one in the area, residents paid the high prices. The small farmers in Lincoln County despised them since they were compelled to pay high prices for Murphy & Dolan’s land leases and supplies while receiving low prices for their livestock and crops. Farmers frequently agreed to store credit in exchange for their products.
For a brief time, Frank Coe favored John Riley, assisting him in securing a monthly contract to supply Fort Stanton with hay and grass. However, after becoming more familiar with Riley, Frank had this to say, “He was a coward, more well-known for instigating fights than actually participating in them.”
Juan Patron, a highly respected citizen of Lincoln, strongly opposed Riley and others like Murphy and company, who were stalling expressway development. In September of 1875, an argument erupted between John Riley and Juan Patron on the street. As Patron walked away, Riley aimed his carbine rifle and fired, hitting Patron in the back. The shot pierced his back, narrowly missing his spine before settling into his abdomen. Riley subsequently claimed self-defense and escaped charges by alleging Patron was drunk and had been harassing him all day. As a result of the shooting, Juan Patron walked with a limp for the rest of his life.
In 1876, Alex Mcsween and John Tunstall established J. H. Tunstall and Co, a store and bank, with the support of Chisum as a partner. Chisum was a prominent ranch owner in eastern New Mexico with over one hundred thousand cattle and was known as the cattle king. However, Murphy/Dolan and Riley, who had control of the local law enforcement, became furious at the development of a rival business and tried to provoke a fight by rustling Tunstall’s herds. This resulted in Tunstall being shot and killed by a posse led by Billy Matthews, most likely under the orders of Dolan and Sheriff Brady, on February 18, 1878, which sparked the Lincoln County War.
During this time, Murphy was diagnosed with cancer, leading to his reliance on alcohol and incapacitation, leaving Riley and Dolan in charge of the business. To safe guard his empire, Murphy, also in agreement with Riley and Dolan, mortgaged his empire to Thomas Catron of The Santa Fe Ring. If they were to fail, the business would go to Catron. This move weighed heavy on Riley who was to be Dolan’s right hand man, however Riley had concerns for Dolan’s business ethics and that he was more of a fighter than a business man. The events that followed proved that Riley’s instincts were true.
There were rumors circulating that Dolan had offered $1,000 to anyone willing to murder Alexander McSween. Due to the lack of local law enforcement support, Robert Widenmann, Alex McSween, and Tunstall’s closest friend, organized the Lincoln County Regulators. The Regulators were deputized and sent to arrest the murderers but were unsuccessful, leading to revenge killings from both sides.
Amidst all this chaos, reports have emerged that Riley came to the Tunstall store while intoxicated and accidently dropped a book of records, which may have contained incriminating evidence into some of Dolan and Riley’s misdeeds. However, the book seems to have been lost to history or never mentioned again.
In July of 1878, Alexander McSween and his supporters, including Billy the Kid, were caught in a standoff with Sheriff George Peppin and his posse at McSween’s home. Tragically, the house was set on fire and several individuals were killed as they attempted to flee, including an unarmed McSween, which ultimately brought the conflict to an end.
Despite his previous involvement in the activities of his businesses and hired gunmen, Murphy had become less active in these matters by the time of his death on October 20, 1878, at the age of 47. His passing left Riley and Dolan with a struggling business that eventually collapsed due to the cancellation of beef contracts and bankruptcy of their store, which was ultimately sold to the county.
John Riley, a man of ambition, settled down in Las Cruces and married Annie Cunniffe in 1882 and had three children: John Dolan Riley, Patrick J. Riley and Genevieve. In 1885, the family moved to Colorado before relocating back to New Mexico, when John was elected as the Dona Ana county assessor. After that, they moved back to Colorado in 1904 and successfully owned and operated a very successful hog farm in Fowler, Colorado.
John H. Riley unfortunately passed away due to pneumonia at his apartment in The El Paso Club mansion in Colorado Springs on February 10th, 1916. His daughter Genevieve was proudly by his side when he passed. John H. Riley was laid to rest at Mount Olivet cemetery a few miles West of Denver in what is now Wheat-Ridge.
For the story of John Copeland, follow the trail below!
https://palsofbillythekidhistoricalsociety.com/john-copeland/
