John Wallace Olinger Explained

John Wallace Olinger
Birth Date:3 May 1849
Death Place:Van Nuys, California
Death Cause:Broncho-pneumonia
Occupation:Lawman
Battles:Lincoln County War

John Wallace Olinger (3 May 1849 - 25 February 1940) was a lawman from New Mexico.

While the family moved to Indian Territory, he went down to Seven Rivers, New Mexico, where he was a member of the Seven Rivers Warriors who fought in the Lincoln County War.[1] He was deputized alongside his older brother Bob Olinger by George Peppin to fight against Lincoln County Regulators, led by Alexander McSween. A few months later, he participated in a gunfight on behalf of his ranch partner and wounded a man.[2] [3]

He was involved in a gun battle near Lincoln on 30 April 30 1878, when his posse caught up with Frank McNab, who was slain, Abe Sanders, who was seriously wounded, and Frank Coe, who was captured when he ran out of ammunition and later escaped custody in May, allowed by Olinger. In August, Olinger was arrested for shooting one party in a dispute involving his family's business partner, but he was later released and retired.[4]

He later moved to Los Angeles where he died of broncho-pneumonia at Van Nuys, California on 25 February 1940.[5]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tormentor of the Kid . 25 April 2023 . Angelfire.
  2. Web site: Gunfighter List . 25 April 2023 . Legends of America.
  3. The Other Olinger . Mark . Boardman . 18 June 2021 . 25 April 2023 . True West Magazine.
  4. Web site: John Wallace Olinger: A Marvelous Ensemble of "Tools of the Trade" Belonging to this New Mexico Lawman . 25 April 2023 . Heritage Auctions.
  5. Web site: Seven Rivers Warriors of New Mexico . Kathy . Weiser-Alexander . December 2018 . 25 April 2023 . Legends of America.