Thomas Benton 'Buck' Powell with wife, Eliza Jane Hester Powell and child
Thomas Benton 'Buck' Powell was born in Chickasaw County, Mississippi on July 24, 1845. However, he happened to be raised in Texas. He was an army scout in 1869 and came to New Mexico in the 1870s. He settled in the Seven Rivers area and joined the Seven Rivers Warriors, a gang of rustlers and killers. In November of 1876, Buck got into an argument with a man known only as Yopp at a cattle camp on the Pecos River. The argument ended with Yopp and Buck both pulling their guns and Buck killing Yopp. Buck later married Eliza Jane Hester in New Mexico and altogether they would have eight children. Buck was a member of the posse of Seven Rivers Warriors and Jesse Evans Gang members that ambushed Frank MacNab, Frank Coe, and Ab Saunders on April 29, 1878 and he also fought in the Battle of Lincoln the next day. In mid-June 1878, Buck, along with Jack Long, Marion Turner, and Jose Chavez y Baca, was appointed a deputy by Sheriff George Peppin. Following his appointment, Buck led a posse that chased the Regulators to the John Chisum South Spring Ranch. However, the Regulators could not be captured and Buck and his posse eventually turned back. He later fought in the Five-Day Battle in Lincoln and was nearly killed towards the end of it. He was even forced to take shelter from flying lead in the privy in the McSweens' backyard. He later testified in Lt. Colonel Dudley's favor at Dudley's court of inquiry in 1879. Buck may have then gone briefly to Marfa, Texas, where he shot and killed a man and fled the scene back to Lincoln County. In 1898, he partnered with Billy Mathews in a plot to start a ranch at Duncan, Arizona. The plot did not work out though because the ranch foreman stole all the money Buck and Mathews were going to use for their ranch. Buck died on August 31, 1906 at his ranch on the Rio Penasco.
Buck Powell
This photo of Buck Powell was probably taken in 1904.
