User:LaurenLe/John X. Beidler

John X. Beidler
John Xavier Beidler, referred to as "X", was a vigilante and U.S. marshal who lived in Montana late in the 19th century. Born on August 18th, 1841, John Beidler spent most of his young life drifting between professions in Pennsylvania until he moved west. He lived in many different states before finally settling in Montana and living out a career of vigilantism.

Early Life
Beidler was born on August 18th, 1841, in Mt. Joy, Pennsylvania, and raised on a farm in Harrisburg, where he received minimal schooling. Beidler spent many of his childhood years earning money by selling chestnuts and hickory chips. His father, John Beidler, died in February 1849, and his mother, Anne Hoch, died in 1850. After his parents deaths, Beidler floated between many different jobs and cities, shoemaking, brickmaking In Harrisburg and Middletown, bartending at a hotel in Chambersburg, and broom manufacturing. He moved to Kansas sometime after the 1852 presidential election. Beidler left Pennsylvania after being disappointed in a love affair and made his way to Kansas.

Kansas
Beidler moved to Atchison, Kansas, and continued brickmaking until his partners ran off with most of the profits and left him broke. After this, he opened a bar called "The People's Saloon." Beidler got his first taste of U.S. Marshall type work when he was asked to investigate illegitimate voting in Kickapoo. Later, Beidler was invited to a group trying to track down and arrest abolitionist John Brown, which Beidler refused as he was also an abolitionist. It is said that Beidler was a part of John Brown's boarder ruffians in Kansas but that cannot be corroborated.

Colorado
John Beidler moved to Denver, Colorado, in early 1859 and worked in a store over that summer. He witnessed several duels and assisted in arresting a man named Mose Young for murder.

Montana
By the time Beidler made it to Montana, he had a fair amount of experience with the law and had arrested a few people. This did not stop when he finally settled in Montana. He traveled to Montana to mine for gold with two men named John Grannis and J. Berhinger. Beidler defended his fellow gold miners from various road agents and gangsters. Allegedly, Beidler solved the first murder case in Montana shortly after he arrived, but that has not been corroborated. There are many other stories attributed to Beidler in news articles and other sources that are quite possibly untrue.

Vigilantism and Marshall Service
In Montana, John Beidler worked to apprehend road agents and gangsters while the Montana territory still lacked any form of federal law enforcement. He acted as the leader of the Virginia city vigilantes and during this time worked to drive out many of the road agents that were harassing miners in the area. At some point before 1880, Beidler became a U.S. marshal for the Montana territory. He tracked down and hung the murderers of J. W. Dillingham and Nick Tbolt. Beidler is responsible for the apprehension of George Ives, a man in charge of federal pack trains who used his position to plan robberies. Allegedly, he is also responsible for breaking up a majority of the gangs that operated in Montana before he was even a deputy marshal.

Wells Fargo
For a few years John Beidler worked for Wells Fargo as a shotgun stagecoach rider. After an incident where he was missing from a stagecoach that was robbed he resigned from his position, but was re-hired until he was appointed a deputy marshal.

Death
John X. Beidler died in 1890, leaving nothing behind but his diary and the numerous tales about his deeds and adventures. He had no children and died with very little money, but he was given a large funeral which hundreds of people attended to pay their respects.