Judge Roy Bean Autographed Document Signed ADS 1882 100% GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC Start Price USD 5,000.00 Current Price USD 5,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, November 18, 2008 End Time Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Location El Cerrito, California See more about 'Judge Roy Bean Autographed Document Signed ADS 1882' Description Click Here. Double your traffic. Get Vendio Gallery - Now FREE! Scarce Autographed Document Signed by Judge "Roy Bean" County of Pecos, Texas 1882. Roy Bean Autograph Document Signed "Roy Bean" as Justice of the Peace. One page 8" x 12.25". Lined paper, County of Pecos, Texas, Sept. 8 1882. "State of Texas, County of Pecos, before me, Roy Bean, a justice of the peace in and for said County and State. Precinct No. 6 In the Sheriff or nay duly an changing constable you are hereby commanded to attach one Martin Ester and have you then and there the said Mr. Nester at any Court at Eagles nest in the County of Pecos and The State of Texas is plaintiff and B. A. Durham is defendant instated; in hold him, the said Nester, till other wise ordered by the court. Given under my hand and official seal this the 8th Day of September A. D. 1882. [Signed] Roy Bean, J. P. (Justice of the Peace) and said State and County Precinct No. 6". *NOTE: On August 2, 1882 Bean was appointed the Justice of the Peace for the new Precinct 6 in Pecos County. This rare document details one of his first offical acts issued as Justice of the Peace. Condition: Overall very good, small seperations to folds, spindle hole. Of the many colorful characters who become legends of the Old West. "Hanging Judge Roy Bean," who held court sessions in his saloon along the Rio Grande River in a desolate stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas, remains one of the more fascinating. According to the myth, Roy Bean named his saloon and town after the love of his life, Lily Langtry, a British actress he'd never met. Calling himself the "Law West of the Pecos," he is reputed to have kept a pet bear in his courtroom and sentenced dozens to the gallows, saying "Hang 'em first, try 'em later." Like most such legends, separating fact from fiction is not always so easy. Early Years Roy Bean was born in Mason County, Kentucky about 1825. At age 15 he left home to follow two older brothers west seeking adventure. With Brother Sam, he joined a wagon train into New Mexico, then crossed the Rio Grande and set up a trading post in Chihuahua, Mexico. After killing a local hombre, Roy fled to California, to stay with his brother Joshua, who would soon become the first mayor of San Diego. There, Roy developed a reputation for bragging, dueling and gambling on cockfights. Mayor Josh Bean appointed Roy a lieutenant in the state militia and bartender of the Headquarters, his own saloon. In 1852, Roy was arrested after wounding a man in a duel. He escaped, and after Mayor Josh was killed a few months later by a rival in a romantic triangle, Roy headed back to New Mexico where brother Sam Bean had become a sheriff. Roy tended bar in Sam's saloon for several years while smuggling guns from Mexico through the Union blockade during the Civil War. Afterward, he married a Mexican teenager and settled in San Antonio, where throughout the 1870s, he supported 5 children by peddling stolen firewood and selling watered-down milk. His notorious business practices eventually earned his San Antonio neighborhood the nickname Beanville. West of the Pecos Check out our other items ALL 100% GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC! In 1882, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad hired crews to link San Antonio with El Paso, Texas across 530 miles of scorching Chihuahuan Desert, infested with bobcats, rattlesnakes and scorpions (locally called vinegaroons by local Texans). Fleeing his marriage and illegal businesses in San Antonio, Roy headed to Vinegaroon to become a saloonkeeper, serving railroad workers whiskey from a tent. As his own best customer, he was often drunk and disorderly. But with the nearest courtroom a week's ride away, and County Commissioners eager to establish some sort of local law enforcement. They appointed Roy Bean Justice of the Peace for Precinct No. 6, Pecos County, Texas. Roy was just crazy, or drunk enough to accept. He packed up and moved north from Vinegaroon to a small tent city on a bluff above the Rio Grande named Langtry in honor of a railroad boss who had run the Southern Pacific's tracks through it. The name also happened to belong to a beautiful British actress, Lillie Langtry Roy had read about and become enchanted with. Roy built a small saloon, he named the Jersey Lilly (Lillie's moniker) which also served as his home. He hung a tattered picture of Miss Lillie behind the bar, and above the door, posted signs proclaiming "ICE COLD BEER" and "LAW WEST OF THE PECOS." From here Roy Bean began dispensing liquor, justice and various tall tales, including that he himself had named the town for actress Lillie Langtry. Dispenser of "Justice" & "The Law West of the Pecos". Roy Bean's justice was not complicated by legalities; it was characterized by greed, prejudice, a little common sense and lots of colorful language. "It is the judgment of this court that you are hereby tried and convicted of illegally and unlawfully committing certain grave offenses against the peace and dignity of the State of Texas, particularly in my bailiwick," was a typical Bean ruling. "I fine you two dollars; then get the hell out of here and never show yourself in this court again. That's my rulin'." One of Bean's most outrageous rulings occurred when an Irishman was accused of killing a Chinese worker. Friends of the accused threatened to destroy the Jersey Lilly if he was found guilty. Court in session, Bean browsed through his law book, turning page after page, searching for another legal precedent. Finally, rapping his pistol on the bar, he proclaimed, "Gentlemen, I find the law very explicit on murdering your fellow man, but there's nothing here about killing a Chinaman. Case dismissed." In legend, Judge Roy Bean is a merciless dispenser of justice, often called "The Hangin' Judge." But that title goes to Isaac Parker of Fort Smith, Arkansas, who sentenced 172 men to hang and actually strung up 88 of them. In his book "Judge Roy Bean Country," Jack Skiles says that although Bean threatened to hang hundreds, "there's no evidence to suggest that Judge Roy Bean ever hung anybody." One or two were sentenced and taken to the gallows, but allowed to escape. Despite his self-serving antics, Roy was duly elected to the office in 1884 and often reelected, so that between 1882 and 1902, most of Roy's bizarre rulings were the law. Except for an occasional murder, his cases consisted mostly of misdemeanor counts of drunkenness and the crimes of smalltime con men like himself. Roy spent most of his days sitting on the porch of his saloon, with rifle handy. In his spare time, he served customers. His favorites were railroad passengers, desperate for something to drink while the train took on water. Bean served them quickly, then lingered before giving them their change. When the train's warning whistle blew, customers swore and demanded their change. Roy then fined them the exact amount and sent them cursing back to their railroad cars. Partial ref;source:http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/aug/papr/du_roybean.html   Sellers: Get your own map today. Click here now. Simple."      SquareTrade © AP6.0 Place a Bid!