Phantly Roy Bean Jr. (c. 1825 â€" March 16, 1903) was an American
saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas who
called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos". According to legend,
he held court in his saloon along the Rio Grande on a desolate stretch
of the Chihuahuan Desert of southwest Texas. After his death, Western
films and books cast him as a hanging judge, although he is known to
have sentenced only two men to hang, one of whom escaped.Roy Bean was
born circa 1825 in Mason County, Kentucky, and was the youngest of
five children (four sons and a daughter) of Phantly Roy Bean Sr.
(November 21, 1804 â€" June 13, 1844) and the former Anna Henderson
Gore. The family was extremely poor and at age sixteen Bean left home
to ride a flatboat to New Orleans, hoping to find work. After getting
into trouble in New Orleans, Bean fled to San Antonio, Texas, to join
his elder brother Sam. Samuel Gore "Sam" Bean (1819â€"1903), who had
earlier migrated to Independence, Missouri, was a teamster and
bullwhacker. He hauled freight to Santa Fe and then on to Chihuahua,
Mexico. After Sam fought in the Mexicanâ€"American War, he moved out
of San Antonio, where his brother Roy joined him. In 1848 the two
brothers opened a trading post in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Soon
after, Roy Bean shot and killed a Mexican desperado who had threatened
"to kill a gringo". To escape being charged with murder by Mexican
authorities, Roy and Sam Bean fled west to Sonora, Mexico. By the
spring of 1849, Roy Bean had moved to San Diego, California, to live
with his elder brother Joshua Bean, who would be elected the first
mayor of San Diego the following year.Considered handsome, Bean
competed for the attentions of various local women. A Scotsman named
John Collins challenged Bean to a pistol-shooting match on horseback.
Bean was left to choose the targets and decided that they would shoot
at each other. The duel was fought on February 24, 1852, and ended
with Collins receiving a wound to his right arm. Both men were
arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder. In the two
months that he was in jail, Bean received many gifts of flowers, food,
wine and cigars from women in San Diego. Hidden in the final gifts he
received while incarcerated were knives that were encased in tamales.
Bean used the knives to dig through the cell wall and escaped on April
17, 1852. He then fled to San Gabriel, California, where he became a
bartender in his brother Joshua's "Headquarters Saloon". After Joshua
was murdered in November 1852, Bean inherited the saloon. In 1854 Bean
courted a young woman who was subsequently kidnapped and forced to
marry a Mexican officer. Bean challenged the groom to a duel and
killed him. Six of the dead man's friends put Bean on a horse and tied
a noose around his neck, leaving him to hang when the horse moved.
When he was hanged, the rope stretched and Bean was able to stay
alive. The bride, who had been hiding behind a tree, cut the rope,
freeing him and saving his life. This experience left Bean with a
permanent rope burn and a stiff neck for the rest of his life. Shortly
thereafter, Bean chose to leave California and migrated to New Mexico
to live with Sam, who had been elected the first sheriff of Doña Ana
County. In 1861 Samuel G. and Roy Bean operated a store and saloon on
Main Street in Pinos Altos (just north of Silver City) in present-day
Grant County, New Mexico. It advertised liquor and "a fine billiard
table". A cannon belonging to Roy Bean sat in front of the store for
show and had been used to repel an Apache assault on the town.During
the Civil War, the Confederate Army had invaded New Mexico. During the
Battle of Glorieta Pass in March 1862, the Confederates lost their
supply wagons and were forced to retreat to San Antonio. After taking
money from his brother's safe, Bean joined the retreating army. For
the remainder of the war, he ran the naval blockade by hauling cotton
from San Antonio to British ships off the coast at Matamoros and
returning with needed supplies. For the next twenty years, Bean lived
in San Antonio, working nominally as a teamster. During this time he
attempted to run a firewood business by cutting down a neighbor's
timber. He then tried to run a dairy business but was soon caught
watering down the milk. Bean later worked as a butcher, rustling
unbranded cattle from other area ranchers for his business. Roy Bean Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter