26 Facts About Roy Bean

Roy Bean was born circa 1825 in Mason County, Kentucky, and was the youngest of five children of Phantly Roy Bean Sr.

The family was extremely poor and at age sixteen Bean left home to ride a flatboat to New Orleans, hoping to find work.

Samuel Gore "Sam" Roy Bean, who had earlier migrated to Independence, Missouri, was a teamster and bullwhacker.

Roy Bean hauled freight to Santa Fe and then on to Chihuahua, Mexico.

Roy Bean was left to choose the targets and decided that they would shoot at each other.

Roy Bean used the knives to dig through the cell wall and escaped on April 17,1852.

Roy Bean then fled to San Gabriel, California, where he became a bartender in his brother Joshua's "Headquarters Saloon".

In 1854 Roy Bean courted a young woman who was kidnapped and forced to marry a Mexican officer.

Roy Bean challenged the groom to a duel and killed him.

When he was hanged, the rope stretched and Roy Bean was able to stay alive.

Shortly thereafter, Roy Bean chose to leave California and migrated to New Mexico to live with Sam, who had been elected the first sheriff of Dona Ana County.

In 1861 Samuel G and Roy Bean operated a store and saloon on Main Street in Pinos Altos in present-day Grant County, New Mexico.

Roy Bean then tried to run a dairy business but was caught watering down the milk.

Roy Bean later worked as a butcher, rustling unbranded cattle from other area ranchers for his business.

Roy Bean sent for his children, who then lived with him at the saloon, with his youngest son Sam sleeping on a pool table.

Unable to attract customers, Roy Bean left the area and moved to Eagle's Nest, 20 miles west of the Pecos River, which was renamed Langtry.

Roy Bean named his new saloon The Jersey Lilly in honor of Lillie Langtry, who recounted in her autobiography that she had visited the area after Roy Bean's death.

Roy Bean refused to send the state any part of the fines, and kept all of the money.

Roy Bean was noted for his unusual verdicts, some of which are reported to have been:.

Roy Bean won re-election to his post in 1884, but was defeated in 1886.

In 1890, Roy Bean received word that railroad developer and speculator Jay Gould was planning to pass through Langtry on a special train.

Roy Bean then invited Gould and his daughter to visit the saloon as his guests.

In 1896, Roy Bean organized a world championship boxing title bout between Bob Fitzsimmons and Peter Maher on an island in the Rio Grande because boxing matches were illegal in both Texas and Mexico.

In January 1901 Roy Bean stated that a claim for damages of $13,000 from Apache depredations of his mules would certainly be allowed.

Roy Bean died peacefully in his bed on March 16,1903, after a bout of heavy drinking in San Antonio.

In 1965, as part of the Civil War Centennial commemoration in Texas, an official Texas Historical Marker honoring Roy Bean was erected on the museum grounds in Del Rio, Texas.