Amelia Bolton Church-- "I Knew Major Brady Very Well."

Amelia Bolton was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1862 and travelled to America in 1871 to Fort Stanton, New Mexico Territory, where her father John Bolton was head of the Quartermaster Department. In 1873, John Bolton moved his family to Lincoln, where he was made postmaster. It is here his daughters Amelia and Ella grew to young girlhood, surrounded by the constant elements of danger in Lincoln County. Amelia was roughly 16 years-old on April 1, 1878, the day of Brady’s assassination.

In an interview given in 1937 at her home in Roswell, Mrs. Church stated:

“He was Sheriff of Lincoln County when he was killed. I saw him as he and another man, deputy sheriff George Hindman, lay dead in the street, shot down, as they were passing, by Billy the Kid and his gang, who lay hidden behind an adobe wall. Major Brady was killed instantly. George Hindman fell when he was shot, and Ike Stockton who standing near, on seeing he was still alive, ran to him and gave him water that he brought from a ditch in his hat. However nothing could revive him for he was mortally wounded and died in a few minutes. The third man, Billy Mathews, who was with Major Brady when the shooting began, made his escape by running into an adobe house near by.”

Analysis of the Account

The first reference from Mrs. Church was her naming Brady as “Major Brady” which she does twice. She acknowledged his status as Sheriff, but Brady’s level of military experience is not often sourced, so her calling him “Major” could possibly refer to a level of respect, or it’s quite possible Brady referred to himself as such. On October 8, 1866, Brevet Major William Brady was honorably discharged from service of the United States.

The second reference Mrs. Church gave was Ike Stockton delivering the water to George Hindman. This incident was also mentioned by Dr. Taylor Ealy. He wrote, “One of Brady’s men named Geo. Hyndman fell just in advance of him [Brady]. Hyndman begged for someone to give him water and [Ike] Stocton ran over & helped him up & as he leaned on Stocton’s shoulder, he was shot the second time & fell dead.”

The last reference she gave was Deputy Mathews escaping into an adobe house for protection. This is also true. “As they scuttled across to where Brady’s body lay, Billy Mathews opened up on them from the Cisneros house, where he had taken cover.”

Things to Consider

Mrs. Church does omit the other two deputies from that day, Jack Long and George Peppin. This could be result of her location at the time, or a frightened reaction to the gunfire. According to the 1916 map of Lincoln, which was revised by Robert Mullin in 1950, the original Bolton house was directly behind the homes of Manuel Romero, Francisco Pacheco, and the Cisneros house. It is said that George Hindman ran after originally shot and fell in advance of Brady. This would’ve been easier to see for Mrs. Church as opposed to seeing Brady fall, that is of course, if she was even at home at that time of the killing. (She could have been walking on the street)

Sources:

Richard Eastwood "Historic Lincoln NM- The Buildings and People"

Frederick Nolan "West of Billy the Kid"

Donald Lavash "Sheriff William Brady: Tragic Hero of the Lincoln County War"