The Coe cousins, Frank & George, were a little different from Billy the Kid and the majority of the other Lincoln County Regulators. They both became substantial citizens of Lincoln County, sired strong families that still have roots there, and both managed to live to a ripe old age. And because they lived so long, they also became one of the the last eyes and ears that saw and experienced the Lincoln County War first hand and left many quotes about it and the character of Billy the Kid. I will start with Frank, the older of the two.

Benjamin Franklin Coe was born in West Virginia in October of 1851. He made it to the New Mexico Territory with his cousin George in 1871 and worked a ranch with another cousin, Ab Saunders. In July of 1876 Frank and Ab killed cattle rustler Nicas Meras in Baca Canyon just outside of Lincoln. Later the same month both Coe cousins, Ab, Doc Scurlock, and Charlie Bowdre broke into the obviously fairly porous Lincoln County Jail and nabbed horse thief Jesus Largo from Sheriff Saturino Baco and hanged him on the outskirts of town. These were the days of 'do-it-yourself' law enforcement in a land of gray hats. Roy Rogers was not shooting the guns out of bad guy's hands to teach them a lesson.

Frank was also at the Blazer's Mill gunfight and supposedly tried to talk Buckshot Roberts into surrendering before the shooting started. That might have been a good idea, as Buckshot managed to wound about everyone else, including shooting the trigger finger off cousin George's hand and killing Dick Brewer before they finally managed to kill him. Frank was captured in April of 1878 by a posse containing elements of Jesse Evan's Gang and the Seven River's Warriors. Frank McNab was killed and Ab Saunders seriously wounded. Coe eventually escaped in time for the Battle of Lincoln, where evidently he was part of the faction that held up in the Ellis Store.

After the Lincoln County War the Coe cousins decided maybe a move out of New Mexico might be in their best interest until things cooled down. Frank spent some time in Colorado and Nebraska before returning in 1884 and buying a ranch where he spent the rest of his life. Before Frank came back he was briefly arrested and released for the murder of Buckshot Roberts after being mistaken for his cousin George. In 1898e also shot and killed a boyfriend of his daughter who gave her a black eye, but was not convicted after an 18th month trial. That pretty much wrapped it up for the 'Wild West' years as the 19th Century ended.

Frank lived out the rest of his life quite peaceably in Glencoe, a town he helped found and and name, basically the Scottish term for 'Coe Valley'. He also helped open the first post office, school, and Protestant church, St. Anne's Chapel, named after his mother-in-law, though Frank died before it was completed. The Chapel is a beautiful edifice and well worth seeing. He and his wife, Helena, were married for fifty years and raised six children. Frank died on September 16th, 1931 at the age of 79, just shy of 80 by a few days, after a full and eventful life and is buried in the Coe private cemetery in Glencoe. The photo of Frank is obviously when he is older and a genteel gentleman.

Frank had many quotes about Billy the Kid that I ran across, but this one is my favorite: "Billy never seemed too care much for money, except to buy cartridges. Cartridges were scarce, and he always used about ten times as many as anyone else."