Deputy Billy Mathews, 1860s
Jacob Basil "Billy" Mathews was born in Woodbury, Tennessee on May 5, 1847. He enlisted in the Confederate army at McMinnvilly, Tennessee and was discharged in 1865. He became a miner in 1867 at Gilpin County, Colorado and later in 1867 he moved to New Mexico. In 1874, he became a rancher near Roswell for two years. He sold his ranch to John Tunstall and acquired a small interest in the Murphy-Dolan-Riley business. He was deputized by Sheriff William Brady and ordered to attach Tunstall's horses on February 18, 1878 with a large posse of twenty-two other men. Dolan was in the posse as were several members of the Jessie Evans Gang and the Seven Rivers Warriors. Tunstall was killed rather than having his horses attached. After this, Billy the Kid tried to kill Mathews, but failed in his attempt. Mathews was with Brady and other deputies on April 4, 1878 when Billy and five other Regulators assassinated Brady. In the assassination, Mathews managed to shoot Billy and Regulator Big Jim French through the thighs. Mathews later participated in the ambush of Regulators Frank MacNab, Frank Coe, and Ab Saunders. He also fought in the Battle of Lincoln and the Five-Day Battle. He testified in Lt. Colonel Dudley's favor at Dudley's court of inquiry in 1879. After the war, he married Dora Bates in 1883. The couple had three children. From 1885 to 1892, Mathews managed the Penasco Cattle Company and in 1892, he and Dolan were made directors of the Penasco Reservoir & Irrigation Company. Mathews eventually went bankrupt. Around 1894, he moved to Roswell and became the manager of the Pecos Irrigation & Improvement Company. In 1898, he and his friend Buck Powell traveled to Duncan, Arizona, where they planned to start a ranch together. The plans fell through, however, when the man they hired to be their ranch foreman stole their money and fled the area. Mathews soon after returned to Roswell and became the postmaster there. He died there of pneumonia on June 3, 1904.
Billy Mathews
This photo was taken at Roswell in 1890.
Billy Mathews with wife, Dora Bates Mathews
This photo was takn in 1883.
