Sam Dedrick
Sam Dedrick, the middle Dedrick brother, was born in Indiana in 1852. When he was fourteen, he lost his right arm in a cane crusher accident. In 1879, Sam, and his brothers, Dan and Mose, as well as a friend, William H. "Harvey" West, started producing counterfeit bills. In late 1879 or early 1880 Sam and West bought a livery stable in White Oaks, for $400 from Billy Wilson. The stable was a hangout for the Rustlers and stolen stock was kept there. Meanwhile, Wilson, not knowing the bills Sam and West had given him were counterfeit, soon put them into circulation. With that, the U. S. Treasury Department got involved and sent Special Agent Azariah Wild to New Mexico to investigate the matter. Wild's investigation concluded by Wild stating that the counterfeiting operation was the brainchild of the three Dedricks, West, and Billy Wilson. After this, and after Sam's younger brother Mose was captured and then released, the three Dedrick brothers fled to Soccoro County, New Mexico. Shortly thereafter, Sam and Mose went to Arizona. There, Sam gave up his guns for good. Nevertheless, he was mysteriously shot and killed by a Mexican on the Verde River at Deming, New Mexico in 1909.
