Western Lawmen
Cabinet card portrait of Thomas J. Smith, marshal and chief of police in Abilene, KS, murdered by outlaws in 1870. Abilene, KS: Forney's Studio, n.d.
5 1/2 x 4 in. silver gelatin photograph (including margins) on cardstock mount, with manuscript identification in lower margin and imprint of Forney's Studio of Abilene, ca 1899. With printed information on mount verso identifying the subject as Marshall in 1870, who was murdered while attempting an arrest. The card was sold to raise funds for a monument in Smith's honor.
Thomas J. Smith (1840-1870), (aka "Bear River Tom") gained his moniker as an enforcer in the Bear River City, a construction camp of the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming. He was known for enforcing the law with his fists, and although carried two guns, rarely used them. When he became Marshall of the cow town of Abilene, Kansas, in 1870, he made it an offense to carry a gun within the city limits and was backed in his efforts by the city council. He never killed a man while sheriff and survived at least two assassination attempts before being murdered while arresting a fugitive near Detroit, Kansas, about 10 miles from Abilene on 2 November 1870.
This lot is located in Cincinnati.