Approximately 80 young riders were in use at any one time. In addition, some 400 other employees included station keepers, stock tenders and route superintendents. Riders were paid $100 to $125 per month.

Dozens of applicants vied for jobs, eager to accept the death defying rigors they would soon experience. Mark Twain, who saw the Pony Express in action first hand, described the riders as: "... usually a little bit of a man". Though small in stature, their untarnished record proved them to possess the hearts of lions. History would record that they were among the most durable horsemen to ever straddle a saddle.

One of the most frequently asked questions is "Why isn't my great-great-great relative found on the list of Pony Express riders?" To date, none of the Central Overland and California Pony Express company records containing an authentic list dating back to the days when it was in operation have ever been found. There also have been a number of "pony express type" operations throughout the 18th and 19th centuries (and even to the present). He may have ridden for one of these.

The following list of riders has been compiled by the staff of the St. Joseph Museum from various sources, including accounts from people who knew riders, relatives of riders and newspapers.

Additional names marked with an asterisk (*) are from lists found in Saddles and Spurs by Settle and Settle.

Over the past 20 years Patrick Hearty, Utah Division - NPEA, has compiled a list of riders based on all of the lists that he has been able to obtain. A number of riders found on his list, and not on either Settle and Settle's list nor the St. Joseph Museum list, have been added below and marked (H). His list, complete with citations, may be found here.

Julius Loeb in his article "The Pony Express", The American Philatelist, November 1930, includes a number of Riders' names not found elsewhere. These names have been added below and marked with (TAP). Not all of these names are considered to be correct, but are nevertheless included to keep this list as complete as possible.

Recent research of the 1860 Census data for Ruby Valley has revealed a number of Pony Express riders that until now had not been identified. These names have been added to this list and marked with (RV).

From time to time names of riders are submitted who are claimed by their descendent to have been a Pony Express rider. While the names have not been verified to have been in fact a rider for the Overland Pony Express of 1860-61, they are included and marked with (NV). If anyone has additional information on any of these riders please submit it on this form.

Since the creation of the Pony Express Home Station web site, a number of new names of riders has been verified and added to the list:

• Andrew Ole Anderson
• Thomas Bedford
• James Bently
• Asher Bigelow
• Michael Casey
• Josiah Faylor
• James Bean [Benjamin] Hamilton
• Lucius Lodosky Hickok
• Thomas Landon
• James Madison Lenhart
• Joseph Malcom
• John Mufsey
• Edward Pollinger
• Sewel Ridley
• Edward Sterling
• Littleton Tough
• Thomas Thornhill Willson

  This list is not considered to be complete nor have all of the names been confirmed. (In fact a number of the names may be the same person with a different spelling.) However, if a name does not appear on this list, the rider in question may well have ridden for one of the numerous "other pony expresses" that carried the mail throughout the west.

  If a name is not listed below, please go to the page for Those Who Also Rode.

  

  Click on a highlighted name for more information about that rider.

  Indicates riders whose biographical information has not been published before.

  Jack Ahlport (TAP) Jack Alcott* Andrew Ole Anderson J.W. Anderson (RV) John Anson Anton (H) F.X. Aubrey (TAP) Henry Avis Rodney Babbit L. W. Ball ("Little Baldy")* Lafayette Ball James Banks James Barnell Jim Baughn Melville Baughn Marve Beardsley James Beatley Charles Becker Thomas Bedford James Bently Asher Bigelow Charles Billman "Black Sam" "Black Tom" Thomas Black* Lafayette Bolwinkle Bond "Boston" William Boulton John Brandenburger* James Brink Hugh Brown James Brown James Bucklin Jimmy Buckton(TAP) John Burnett Ed Bush Henry Butterfield (RV) William Campbell Michael Casey James H. Carlen (RV) Gustuavus Carlton (RV) Alexander Carlyle William Carr William Carrigan Carson (H) James Carter William A. Cates Francis M. Cayton (H) James Clark John Clark Richard W. Clark* Richard Cleve Charles Cliff Gustavas Cliff William F. Cody Buck Cole Bill Corbett Edward Covington James Cowan Jack Crawford James Cumbo A.E. Curtiss (TAP) James Danley (H) James E. Dunlap (TAP) Louis Dean James William Dennis Frank Derrick Alex Diffenbacher Thomas Dobson J. Dodge Joseph Donovan Tom Donvan W. E. Dorrington Calvin Downs Daniel Drumheller James E. Dunlap William Eckles Major Howard Egan Howard Ransom Egan Richard E. Egan Thomas J. Elliot

  J. K. Ellis Charles Enos George Fair Henry J. Faust Josiah Faylor Johnny Fischer John Fisher William F. Fisher Thomas Flynn Jimmie Foreman Johnny Fry Abram Fuller Bill Gates (TAP) George Gardner James Gentry James Gilson Samuel Gilson James Gleason* "Irish Tom" Grady Frank Gould* Martin Hall (H) Parley Hall (H) Sam Hall James Bean [Benjamin] Hamilton Samuel Hamilton* William Hamilton Tom Hanahan (TAP) George Harder* Hardy (H) Pony Bob Haslam Theodore Hawkins Sam Haws Frank Helvey Levi Hensel William Hickman Lucius Lodosky Hickok Chas Higgenbotham Martin Hogan Clark Huntington Lester Huntington Lot Huntington (H) "Irish Jim" (H) "Irish Tom" (TAP) William (Bill) James David R. Jay William D. Jenkins Bob Jennings Samuel Jobe William Jones William Kates (H) Jack Keetley Hi Kelley Jay G. Kelley Mike Kelly Thomas O. King John P. Koerner Thomas Landon Harry La Mont William Lawson James Madison Lenhart George Leonard George E. Little Elias "Tough" Littleton (see Littleton Tough) "Little Yank" (TAP) N. N. Lytle Sye Macaulas Joseph Malcom Robert Martin Elijah Maxfield Montgomery Maze Emmet McCain J. G. (Jay) McCall Charlie McCarty James McDonald Pat McEneany David McLaughlin James McNaughton William McNaughton Lorenzo Meacona J. P. Mellen

  Howard Mifflen Charlie (Bronco) Miller James Moore John Mufsey Jeramiah H. Murphy Newton Myrick Paul Obershaw (RV) Mathew Orr Robert Orr G. Packard William Page John Paul "Mochila Joe" Paxton George W. Perkins Joseph (Josh) Perkins (H) Edward Pollinger William Pridham Thomas Ranahan Theodore (Yank) Rand James Randall Charles Reynolds Thomas J. Reynolds William Minor Richards H. Richardson* Johnson W. Richardson Sewel Ridley Bartholomew Riley Jonathan Rinehart Don C. Rising Harry Roff C. H. Ruffin (H) Edward Rush John Rutsel (RV) Robert Sanders G. G. Sangiovanni George Scovell John Seerbeck* Jack Selmen Joseph Serish James Shanks (H) John Sinclair George Spurr William H. Streeper Robert C. Strickland (TAP) William Strohm John W. Suggett George Talcott (RV) Billy Tate George Thatcher J. J. Thomas Bill Thompson Charles P. "Cyclone" Thompson James M. Thompson Alexander Toponce Littleton Tough W. S. Tough George Towne Bill Trotter (H) Henry Tuckett Warren (Boston) Upson William Edgon “Pony Ned” VanBlaricon* Bill Vickery (H) John B. Wade Henry Wallace A. B. Waller Jun (RV) Cap Weaver (H) Daniel Westcott Michael M. Whalen George Orson Wheat "Whimsay" (TAP) "Whipsaw" Jas. William (TAP) H. C. Wills Thomas Thornhill Willson Elijah Nicholas Wilson Slim Wilson (H) Joseph Barney Wintle Henry Worley James Worthington George Wright Mose Wright* Huston Wyeth (TAP) Jose Zowgaltz

  

  James Brink

  Born: Pennsylvania on August 29, 1835

  Died: St. Joseph, Missouri, June 5, 1912, and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery.

  One of the five Pony Express riders buried in St. Joseph is James W. "Dock" Brink. He lived the last 29 years of his life in St. Joseph working as a butcher and restaurateur. It appears that not many people knew of his career as a Pony Express rider and, it is not mention in his obituary which stated that he was a scout in the Indian Wars in the West for 11 years before settling in St. Joseph. In fact, it was not known that Pony Express rider Brink was buried in St. Joseph until about 12 years ago when his descendants, Richard Smith, Brink's great grandson, and his daughter, Patty Rogers, both of Watonga, Oklahoma, began to do genealogical research. Smith, who had always heard that his great grandfather was a Pony Express rider, visited the Pony Express Museum and asked for help in locating Brink's grave. After learning that Brink had died in St. Joseph, the grave site was easily located in Mount Auburn Cemetery.

  With Smith's help and through research of museum staff members, the life of Brink was pieced together. The story may give a clue as to why Brink chose not to publicize his role in the famed Pony Express.

  James W. Brink was born in Pennsylvania on August 29, 1835. By 1860, the Brink family was living in western Missouri. James Brink was hired by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company as a Pony Express rider and assigned the approximately 80 mile route in present-day southern Nebraska from Rock Creek Station to 32 Mile Creek Station. He carried mail on the initial run of the Pony Express, receiving the west-bound mochila on April 4, 1860.

  Rock Creek Station was known as a "road ranch" to early western travelers, and when the Pony Express started in 1860, it was a logical site for a home station. In the spring of 1861, James B. Hickok was assigned to the station as an assistant stock tender. The station keeper was a man named Horace Wellman. The Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company was in the process of buying Rock Creek Station from David McCanles. On July 12, 1861, McCanles, his 12 year old son, and two other men went to see Wellman in hope of collection a purchase payment. An argument ensued and Hickok pulled a gun and shot McCanles. McCanles's son, who had witnessed the shooting, was able to run and escape. The other two men who had accompanied McCanles, realizing what had happened, also tried to run. However, Hickok, Wellman, and Brink, possibly wanting to get rid of witnesses to the shooting, pursued the two men and shot them. Although, it appeared that Hickok, Wellman, and Brink were guilty of murder, they were found innocent in the trial. The only witness, McCanles's 12 year old son, was not allowed to testify.

  Wellman, Hickok, and Brink were transferred further west. Hickok went on to gain fame as Wild Bill Hickok and Brink later served as a scout during the Indian Wars. By 1882, Brink was married and settled in St. Joseph where he lived quietly and raised two daughters.

  Around the turn of the century, many stories were written about the incident at Rock Creek - most of them by novelists who glorified the life of Wild Bill Hickok for their readers. The novelists usually portrayed Hickok, Wellman, and Brink as acting in self-defense. James W. Brink, living in St. Joseph, made no public comment about the stories. Today, Rock Creek Station is restored to its 1860 appearance and features a visitor center operated by the Nebraska Historical Society.

  Thanks to Jackie Lewin, Curator, St. Joseph Museum, who wrote this article for the museum newsletter several years ago.

  The five Pony Express riders buried in St. Joseph are:

  Charles Cliff at Mount Mora Cemetery
  James W. Brink at Mount Auburn Cemetery
  Michael Whalen at Ashland Cemetery
  John Phillip Koerner at Ashland Cemetery
  Cyclone Charlie Thompson at Mount Auburn Cemetery.

  

  

  Alex Carlyle

  Alex Carlyle, one of the first riders employed at St. Joseph, is credited by some with being the first rider out of that place. Being ill with tuberculosis he rode only a few months before he was compelled to retire. One day an Indian shot at him and knocked his cap from his head. After that he would never wear a cap again.

  Source: Settle and Settle, 1972.

  Historical Note: Alex's brother James "Jimmie" Carlyle was killed by Billy the Kid at Stinking Springs,New Mexico.

  

  Thomas Flynn

  Thomas Flynn rode the section between Genoa and Sink of the Carson. One day in 1861, not being met by the rider from the east, he rode on to Dry Creek. There he found six terrified emigrants barricaded in the station to stand off an Indian attack. The station keeper had been killed.

  Source: Settle and Settle, 1972.

  

  

  Sam (William) Hamilton

  Sam (William) Hamilton was hired for Bolivar Robert's Division not only because he was an excellent horseman but because he was familiar with the country through which the route passed. He took the first mochila off the boat from San Francisco at Sacramento. When the first west bound mail arrived, he carried it from Placerville to Sacramento where he boarded the Antelope, horse and all, for San Francisco.

  There is little additional biographical information on Hamilton. Some historians say Hamilton's name was Samual and others say it was William. The Sacramento Union of April 5, 1860, list the rider as W. Hamilton. The Sacramento Bee of April 4, 1860, says W. Hamilton. (These two must have gotten their information from the same source. Remember it was stormy when Hamilton left Sacramento.) The Sacramento Union of April 14, 1860, then gives the rider the name of Sam Hamilton.

  Of the various list of historians the first name is given as follows:

  Visscher - doesn't list Hamilton at all as a rider.
  St. Joseph Museum Graphic - Samuel.
  Carter - both Samuel and William as if they were separate people.
  Loeb - Sam
  Honnell - Sam
  Hamlin - Sam
  Ellenbecker - William
  Driggs - William
  Floyd - both Samuel and William as if they were separate people.
  Bradley - say Harry Roff rode clear to Placerville, was replaced by Boston who went to Friday's Station, and then Sam Hamilton who rode to Fort Churchill. (He is probably in error especially since Fort Churchill was not even there at the start of the Pony Express.)
  Settle - both Samuel and William.

  U.S. District Judge Sherrill Halbert of Sacramento did quite a bit of research into the first California rider for the 1960 centennial. This is part of his letter to historian Raymond Settle in 1959:

  "It should be borne in mind that Hamilton left Sacramento at 2:15 A.M. on a very stormy night. I think it not unreasonable to assume that neither paper had a reporter present, especially since the hour of his departure was not certain. That both papers referred to the rider as "a young man named W. Hamilton" would appear to indicate that they both secured the "news story" from the same source the next day. This view would seem to be further supported by the fact that only the initial "W." was used. Surely anyone with the given name of William, or any of its derivatives, if at all well known in Sacramento, would not have been left to take his place in history as "W. Hamilton". A further facet of this matter which is of interest is the fact that the Sacramento Union, after having referred to the rider as "W. Hamilton, nine days later, after a personal interview with this man, referred to him, as "Sam Hamilton". . . "the rider who carried the first Express to Placerville." It would not appear to me to be likely that the paper would have changed from "W. Hamilton" to "Sam Hamilton" unless there was some very good reason for it. The latter name having been predicated on a personal interview with the person himself, is it not reasonable to assume that "W. Hamilton" was used in error, and when the error was discovered, it was corrected?"

  Settle later replied: "Could it be possible that Samuel was the rider's middle given name, and that he was known by both?"

  Source: Jackie Lewin, Curator of History, St. Joseph Museum

  

  

  Lucius Lodosky Hickok

  Born: 1838, Washington, Litchfield, Cn.

  Died: 1872, not known where

  Hickok rode out of Sacramento, California. His family has said that he never returned to Wisconsin.

  Here is a letter written by Lucius Lodosky Hickok...much is water stained and parts are missing:

  North San Juan Nov 18, 1860
  My Dear Blessed wife I place my pen to paper oncemore to inform you how londsom I am & of my health & other things in general first my health is good I am awfull lonsom & grow so more every day I want to see my family as bad as you can want to see me I know I wrote you on )ct 29 & sent you ten dollars & agreed to send you some more in 15 days but I have failed again but don't blame me for I could not get the bill of exchange in time I will send it the fifth of Dec. I want you should write when you recieve money from me every time for I have a receipt of the money & when you reieve it I have to deliver it ------the man I get the draft of I am still on the Pony Exprys yet & how long I shall stay there I don't know I have had a prety hard time of it through this Presidental Campaighn you bet Pruilla the Pony came through from St.Joseph on the Missouri river to Sacrimento in six days & 16 hours & I rode 75 miles of it 6 hours & 3 minutes by the time I changed Ponys only 6 times what do you think of that we had Presidential news from the states on my trip owt we had the same of Cal Cal has gone for Lincoln I voted for him you ought to see an election in Cal the man that can drink the most liquor is the best fellow & then at night my gad such a drunken set it is fighting gambling & raving oof all kinds I never want to see another in Cal nor don't believe I shall if I hold the mind I have now I my home here in San Juan looking aro ight for to makemoney faster at present t to go out with the Exprys twice a week that take me two days in all the rest of the time I have to myself and it takes the rest of the week for me to get rested it is the hardest work that I ever done in my life think of me on every Thursday & Friday fro the hours of six in the morning untill the hours of 10 in the evening for sometimes I have to wait for the return exprys the longest I ever waited was 4 hours but it is seldom I have to wait any & then I get back about seven ! in the evening think of your husband riding a Pony at the rate of 12 miles an hour & on his back from 6 in the morning untill 7 in the evening you bet it is hard work but I can make the most money as it yet but I am going to try to get into different buisnys I dont know what it will be I want to earn money enough to come home with and lay it aside so when I get ready to come I shall have it to come with & the rest I earn I shall send it to you I have sent to SanFrancisco for a check to send to you & should have sent it in this letter but it hant come yet I cant get any any where else I will start it the fifth of dec I don't know butI shall send it by the Pony I shall if the agent comes out from Sacramento so I can get a pays for it it costs five dollars and ounce to send a letter from Cal to the states but if he comes out I can get a pays for it I think after you get the next draft I want you should drys y & the children and keep yourself so home & the be long now I rell You write for me to stay longer here and that I have ome ittle ranche here one mile from San Juan, (San Juan is pronounced San Wan), but wrote San Juan, & work long enough to get money enough to come home & fetch my family here but I don't to know what I shall do yet until I hear from you I have wrote you three letters sinc I have been in Cal & havnt got any answeres yet I begin to feel kinder homesick you bet but I am going to stick to the buisnys that I am at untill I get a better chance this is steady work & can have a steady employ for as long as I am a mind to stay & I shant run around for work for I see enough of that every day hundreds of around enquiring for work every day and cant get a stranger stands a poor chance here in Cal a man wants to be aquainted before he stands much of a chance, Pruilla I dont write mutch love you think why the reason is this the more love I write the homesicker I get get so homesick sometimes that if I had money to! come home with I should start rite off and then to think I have got to work for it before I can come it makes me feel bad now I tell you I have great many crying spells some nights I dont sleep at all and sometimes I go out in the woods and andsir & think how far we are apart& think of my starting from the only friend I had in the world & if I only prys you to my heart once more I never will leave you again no no no no never never more will I leave my loved one again you never Pruilla never you can rest asured of that but want for sending you this draft I should start for home in one month from this but I will wait untill I can earn more wagges will come up a little then I shant what I am a getting per month but doing well I cant write any more this time Excuse bad writing and bad spelling you will want Direct to North San Juan Direct to North San Juan Nevada Co California this iis from your mo neglectfull husband L.L. Hickok to his most blessed wife Pruilla Hickok.

  Information provided by Marion Rowert (Lucius Lodosky Hickok was her Great Great Grandfather), June 2001, in memory of Mildred Dinham Hickok without whom, we would have no knowledge of family and she really wanted to get L.L.s name added to the Pony Express rolls. Marion states in part:

  "Letter written by Lucius Lodosky Hickok to his wife (Pruella Rice Hickok) who was in Madison,Wis. Letter written on Nov. 18,1860 in North San Juan. I received copy of letter from Bancroft Library in Berkley,Ca.. They have original that was given to them by family."

  She writes further:

  "There was also a story about Kit Carson seeing L.L. ride the Pony Express---Passed L.L. perhaps as he was galloping by. Kit Carson supposedly wrote down some where that he ' saw Hickok riding the Pony Express' and supposedly thought it was Wild Bill he saw because he knew Wild Bill and L.L. looked a lot like him. The original letter has the date changed and the Presidents name changed to Garfield but family said that Pruilla did not want anyone to know that L.L. did not return to her so she changed the date and the name."

  

  

  William James

  William James was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1843. When he was five years of age he crossed the plains to Utah with his parents. In 1861 he was hired as a Pony Express Rider and put on the run from Simpson Park to Cold Springs on Bolivar Robert's Division.

  At eighteen, he was one of the best Pony Express riders in the service. He rode only sixty miles each way but covered his round trip of one hundred and twenty miles in 12 hours including all stops. He always rode California mustangs, using five of these animals each way. His route crossed the summits of two mountain ridges, lay through the Shoshone Indian country and was one of the loneliest and most dangerous divisions on the line.

  Source: Settle and Settle, 1972.

  

  

  Michael Casey

  As a young man, Michael Casey was a Pony Express rider from Julesburg, Colorado to Mud Springs. He was born in New York and with his parents settled in Nebraska.

  Source: From writings of Mrs. A. C. (Brady) Cabela, mother of Dick and Jim Cabela, owners of Cabela's World Famous Outfitters, and Jerome, owner of Cabelas Furniture. This information was in a time capsule which was opened in 2007 on the 100th Anniversary of the City of Chappell . The same material is quoted from Chapter 2, page 31 of the "Duell County History". This information provided by Arleta Martin.

  

  

  Bob Jennings

  Bob Jennings was a hunter and provided meat for the stations in eastern Wyoming. He was a relief rider. At Cottonwood Station, 21 miles west of Fort Laramie, he killed station keeper Hod Russell. Jennings was later hung at Fort Laramie for the crime on May 21, 1865. One story is that he was taking revenge for his brothers death.

  Source: Jackie Lewin, Curator of History, St. Joseph Museum

  

  

  Samuel S. Jobe

  Born: February 22, 1841, in Anderson County, Missouri

  Died: December 30, 1933, in California and is buried in Union Cemetery, Bakersfield, California

  Samuel Jobe had the nickname of Red Devil.

  His wife was Eliza E. Blackburn Jobe who was born in Wayne County, Missouri, on July 14, 1851. They were married in Walla Walla, Washington in August, 1883. They lived in southwest San Luis Obispo County, California.

  There is an account of an Indian battle which Jobe was involved in where he secured a Sioux Indian war bonnett. He later gave the bonnet to Buffalo Bill for exhibit in the Wild West Show. The bonnet is said to now be in the New York Museum.

  His Pony Express route was from Horseshoe Bend to Julesburg. This would be from Julesburg, Colorado, north and west past Chimney Rock and Scott's Bluff in Nebraska and on past Fort Laramie to Horseshoe Station in eastern Wyoming.

  Surviving children at the time of his death: C.L. Jobe, Mrs. J.A. Stubblefield, J.B. Hudson, Sam Jobe, W.R. Stubblefield, Mrs. Jess Wilkinson.

  Infomation provided by Jackie Lewin, Curator of History, St. Joseph Museum.

  

  

  James Bean [Benjamin] Hamilton

  St. Joseph Morning Herald
  November 22, Friday, 1867

  DEATH OF BEAN HAMILTON—We are called upon to record another fatal accident — one that caused the instantaneous death of a resident of this city — James Bean [Benjamin] Hamilton.

  Mr. Hamilton, Wednesday morning, went to Ullman’s racetrack, in company with Sloan Young, of Savannah, to test the speed of a horse lately purchased by Young. While testing the horse, Mr. Hamilton was thrown from his horse and instantly killed.

  As soon as the intelligence was brought to the city, Coroner Berghoff repaired to the racetrack and held an inquest upon the body. A number of individuals who witnessed the accident were called and examined. The material parts of their evidence is as follows: That whilst on the lower turn of the track, Hamilton was ahead of Young, and raised in his saddle to see where Young was; his right foot slipped from the stirrup, and the horse giving a sudden start, Hamilton was thrown upon the ground and his neck instantly broken; his left foot remaining fast, his body was dragged some twenty feet, when those who were on the track approached him, but found that their services could be of no avail. In accordance with these facts, the verdict of the inquest was rendered.

  The deceased was a young unmarried man of about twenty-eight years, the son of Mrs. Hamilton, the respected widow of a regular army officer. He came with his parents to this city in his early infancy, and has ever since had his home in St. Joseph. For a number of years he was a rider in the Pony Express and Overland Mail Company, and was looked upon as one of the most efficient attachees on the route. He had many warm friends in this city.

  The funeral yesterday was largely attended.

  ---

  Jackie Lewin, Curator, St. Joseph Museum, provides the following information:

  Recently, the St. Joseph Museum took on a research associate who is cataloging and making a computer database of people buried in Mount Mora Cemetery, one of St. Joseph's oldest cemeteries - lots of big mausoleums and old tombstones. In going through some of the old records, the above newspaper clipping was found last week. It talks about the death of James Benjamin (Bean) Hamilton and says that he was a rider for the Pony Express.

  This is pretty close to the time of the end of the Pony Express so I would think people would know whether or not he was a rider. It is strange that his name has never come up locally. However, it is also possible that he died so early that when people in St. Joseph started reminiscing that they did not remember him as a rider. But, we are adding him to our list of riders.

  The article says he was about twenty-eight. His tombstone has 1836-1867 which makes him about 31.

  

  

  J. G. Kelley

  J. G. Kelley was one of the men hired by Bolivar Roberts at Carson City in the beginning. He was therefore one of the initial party which went out with a wagon train to locate and build stations as far east as Robert's Creek. They built corduroy roads of willows in Carson Sink, fought hordes of mosquitoes while doing so, and erected a station house, which they called a fort, with adobe bricks. In preparing them they tramped the mud to proper consistency with their bare feet. This required a week or more of time and when they were through, the skin had peeled from the soles of their feet. They also built another so-called fort at Sand Springs where Kelley was assigned as assistant station keeper under James McNaughton He recalled the following narrative about his experiences as the assistant station keeper:

  "The war against the Pi-Ute Indians was then at its height and as we were in the middle of their country, it became necessary for us to keep a standing guard night and day. The Indians were often skulking around, but none of them ever came near enough for us to get a shot at him, till one dark night when I was on guard, I noticed one of our horses prick up his ears and stare. I looked in the direction indicated and saw an Indian's head projecting above the wall. My orders were to shoot if I saw an Indian within rifle range, as that would wake the boys quicker than anything else; so I fired and missed my man.

  "Later on we saw the Indian campfires on the mountain and in the morning many tracks. They evidently intended to stampede our horses, and if necessary kill us. The next day one of our riders, a Mexican, rode into camp with a bullet hole through him from left to the right side, having been shot by Indians while coming down Edwards Creek in the Quaking Aspen Bottom. He was tenderly cared for, but died before surgical aid could reach him.

  "As I was the lightest man at the station, I was ordered to take the Mexican's place on the route. My weight was then one hundred pounds, while I now weigh one hundred and thirty. Two days after taking the route, on my return trip, I had to ride through the forest of quaking aspen where the Mexican had been shot. A trail had been cut through these little trees, just wide enough to allow horse and rider to pass. As the road was crooked and the branches came together from either side, just above my head when mounted, it was impossible for me to see ahead for more than ten or fifteen yards, and it was two miles through the forest. I expected to have trouble, and prepared for it by dropping my bridle reins-on the neck of the horse, putting my Sharp's rifle at full cock, and keeping both my spurs into the pony's flanks, and he went through that forest 'like a streak of greased lightning'.

  "At the top of the hill I dismounted to rest my horse, and looking back saw the bushes moving in several places. As there were no cattle or game in that vicinity, I knew the movements to be caused by Indians, and was more positive of it when, after firing several shots at the spot where I saw the bushes in motion, all agitation ceased. Several days after that two United States soldiers, who were on their way to command, were shot and killed from the ambush of those bushes, and stripped of their clothing by the red devils.

  "One of my rides was the longest on the route. I refer to the road between Cold Springs and Sand Springs, thirty-seven miles, and not a drop of water. It was on this ride that I made a trip which possibly gave to our company the contract for carrying the mail by stagecoach across the plains, a contract which was largely subsidized by Congress."

  On another occasion when he rounded a bend in the trail, the driver of an emigrant wagon took a shot at him with a rifle. When he stopped and inquired into the matter the emigrant said, "I thought you were an Indian."

  When the ponies quit running he became an eminent mining engineer and lived in Denver.

  Source: Settle and Settle, Saddles and Spurs, 1955.

  

  

  Mike Kelley

  Mike Kelley was another one of those hired by Bolivar Roberts for his Division from Sacramento to Robert's Creek.

  Source: Settle and Settle, Saddles and Spurs, 1955.

  

  

  James Moore

  Among the more famous riders was Jim Moore who was one of the first riders hired at St. Joseph for Lewis' Division.

  Moore made his greatest ride on June 8, 1860. He happened to be at Midway Station, half way between the Missouri River and Denver, when the westbound messenger arrived with important Government dispatches to California. Moore "took up the run," riding continuously one hundred and forty miles to old Julesburg, the end of his division. Here he met the eastbound messenger, also with important missives, from the Coast to Washington. By all the rules of the game Moore should have rested a few hours at this point, but his successor, who would have picked up the pouch and started eastward, had been killed the day before. The mail must go, and the schedule must be sustained. Without asking any favors of the man who had just arrived from the West, Moore resumed the saddle after a delay of only ten minutes, without even stopping to eat, and was soon pounding eastward on his return trip. He made it, too, in spite of lurking Indians, hunger and fatigue, covering the round trip of two hundred and eighty miles in fourteen hours and forty-six minutes - an average speed of over eighteen miles an hour. Furthermore, his westbound mail had gone through from St. Joseph to Sacramento on a record-making run of eight days and nine hours.

  Moore later became a ranchman in the South Platte Valley, Nebraska. He died at Cheyenne, Wyoming.

  Source: Smith, The Story of the Pony Express.

  

  

  Robert and Mathew Orr

  Robert Orr was born May 10, 1835 in Kilbirnie, Ayershire, Scotland, the son of Robert and Elizabeth McQueen Orr. The parents with ten children sailed on the Falcon for America and arrived in Utah in the fall of 1853, converts of Mormonism They settled in Salt Lake City where the father and older boys were employed as workers on the Salt Lake Temple After a short time the family moved to Tooele county, making their home in Grantsville where Robert Sr freighted to points both east and west.

  Robert and his brothers, Matthew and John, frequently accompanied their father and the knowledge they obtained proved a valuable asset when they assisted in the Pony Express venture. Robert is named as a Pony Express rider while other members of the family were employed at the relay stations.

  Sarah Eliza Wickell became the wife of Robert. After the Pony Express days were over he returned to Grantsville where he became city marshal and was well known as a musician.

  Matthew Orr, station keeper at Deep Creek, was at times a substitute rider. He was born in Scotland May 15, 1836, the sixth child of Robert Orr and Elizabeth McQueen Orr. He made his home in various places in Tooele county. Elizabeth Arthur became his wife, and his many descendants are scattered throughout the west. Nicholas Wilson in "Uncle Nick" Among the Shoshones mentions the Orr brothers as being riders of the Pony Express.

  The mother of Robert and Matthew kept a store and fed many of the freighters who passed her way She was well known to the Pony Express Riders.

  Source: Carter, Utah and the Pony Express.

  

  

  "Mochila Joe" Paxton

  Julesburg Grit-Advocate
  April 8, 1964.

  "Mochila Joe" Paxton left Julesburg one day in the face of severe blizzard conditions, but made his way to Nine Mile station up Lodge Pole valley, where the station tender was out working to keep the trail open. He arrived at Lodgepole station to find the incoming rider, W.S. Tough, was two days overdue with his mail. Joe watched for Tough all the way to 30 Mile station with no luck, but the agent there reported that he had left 36 hours before. Joe went back to look for him and in a protected place just off the trail he found an Indian brave placing the partly conscious form of Tough on a pole-litter. Working together they got Tough to the Mud Springs station where he was cared for, and lived, but was not able to walk or ride again, so badly had he been frozen. Joe secured the mail, and it continued on its way.

  Information provided by Jackie Lewin, Curator of History, St. Joseph Museum

  

  

  Edward Sterling

  Born: Kings County, New York in 1834
  Died: Seneca, Kansas, May 20, 1895

  "One by one the pony express riders and overland stage drivers in the early 60's are passing away. Edward Sterling, better known among the old stage boys as 'Sandy' died at his home in Seneca on the 20th of May. We first knew 'Sandy' in '63, when we were both employed by Ben Holiday, he as driver and me as express messenger, on the great Overland Stage Line between Atchison and California. Previous to that date 'Sandy' had been for some time in the employ of Wm. H. Russell as poney express rider at various sections on the plains between St. Joseph and Ft. Kearney. For some time he kept the Rock creek stage station in Nebraska. Subsequently he was employed in the staging business on the Smoky Hill route during the wild Indian excitement following later in the 60s. When the railroad was finished from Omaha to Kearney the stage route was abandoned between Atchison and the old government military post, 253 miles distant, on the Platte. In 1877, after a few years farming in Nemaha county he opened a livery stable in Seneca which he christened the 'overland' stable and continued in that business until his death. Ed. Sterling was a genial gentleman, a pleasant conversationalist and had a host of friends on the old stage line having driven west as far as Salt Lake. The last time we saw him was in 1891, previous to which date we had not seen him since we left the overland stage route in 1863. Mr. Sterling was married and left a wife and three children. His age was about 60 years."

  In an obituary written by Frank Root for the Kansas Agriculturist at Wamega, Kansas, titled "Another Overland Boy Gone"

  Information provided by Jackie Lewin, Curator of History, St. Joseph Museum

  

  

  Henry Tuckett

  Born: September 24, 1831, London, England
  Died: January 30, 1924

  Henry Tuckett, pioneer of 1852, came to Utah with his wife Mercy Westwood, his mother, brothers and sister. He was born in London, England, September 24, 1831, the son of Charles Tuckett and Jane Pattondon. The father had previously been drafted into the English army and was never heard from again. Shortly after Henry's arrival in the Valley he opened a shoe and harness repair shop. When the Saints were advised by the Church authorities to move south, he took his family and during his absence the shop was taken over by others who had remained in the city. Upon his return he was unable to regain possession of it-neither did he receive compensation for his loss. Henry then went to work for the Dinwoodey Furniture store until such time as he could again go into business.

  Employed by the Pony Express company as a rider, he rode on Howard Egan's Division west of Salt Lake City. He was one of the party organized by Egan to go out along the line to the west in 1860 and put it back into operation after the Indians had disrupted it.

  Mr. Tuckett later stated that the boys were more afraid of highwaymen than they were of the Indians. At one time he said he was carrying a large sum of money and felt that information concerning it had leaked out through someone employed in the station. He, therefore, left the usual route, stopped at a secluded spot and hid the pouch then when back to the station. There he met the rider who was going in the opposite direction and they exchanged places. The other young man found Henry's pouch at the designated spot and proceeded along the trail. He was stopped by highwaymen, but when they did not recognize the rider, they let him pass thinking he was not employed by the Pony Express. Henry participated in other exciting events during his months of service.

  Lelia Tuckett Freeze, daughter of Henry Tuckett, remembers as a child she was permitted to go to the old Salt Lake House with her father and see him off on his run. While waiting there she heard several men talking about the Indians being on the warpath in Nevada, in Ruby Valley, and that some of the riders had been wounded or killed. After bidding her father goodbye she ran quickly home and, in the privacy of her own bedroom, prayed fervently that the Lord would protect him.

  Twelve years after obtaining a divorce from Mercy Westwood he married Esther Elizabeth Frisby. After their separation he married her niece, Jane Thompson, and still later Margaret Stamm became his wife. He was the father of fourteen children. Mr. Tuckett was one of the last surviving Pony Express riders, being 93 years of age at the time of his death, January 30, 1924.

  Source: Carter, Utah and the Pony Express.